27 Mar The Flip vs. RCA Small Wonder – Video creation on a budget
Video creation is becoming more and more mainstream. Technology is becoming increasingly affordable and applications are becoming easier to use (potentially). The Flip came out with a ton of buzz around the product late last year. It’s the first device to push the envelope on ease of use, and market itself towards the less technological advanced user.
Jim Kukral is the one who turned me onto The Flip last year. He is a well known video blogger and hosts theDailyFlip, where he posts daily videos about all sorts of Internet marketing topics.
So here at Ignite Social Media, we decided to do a bit of a test. RCA has licensed the technology behind the Flip and have created their own version, The RCA Small Wonder. It costs 85.99 right now on Amazon and has several features that the Flip doesn’t have such as:
- Media card slot
- High quality/low quality switch
- Flip out screen for recording yourself
While the Small Wonder can only record 30 minutes of footage at a time on high quality, the media card slot mentioned above is one way to add extra memory.
Below is the video we recorded with the Small Wonder. You will notice the difference in video quality and sound. Once the video was broken down to .wmv format and uploaded, it appears to actually be a little better than The Flip.
The Flip Ultra (the version we tested) on the other hand costs 144 dollars (Plus around 17$ S&H) on Amazon right now. It has fewer features than the the Small Wonder, but allows for 60 minutes of taping, which is a huge plus. The sound and picture quality seem to be a little different than the Small Wonder. The video when downloaded off of the player looks better and sounds less noisy, until you convert it over to a lighter format, and upload it to your favorite video hosting site. Decide for yourself by viewing the Flip video below:
Additionally, Lisa compared the packaging and “extras” that each comes with. The basic difference between the two (besides fancier packaging from the Flip) is that the Small Wonder actually comes with a small USB adapter, which is very handy addition considering plugging these devices directly into your computer can be a challenge.
Here are two screenshots of each piece of software that comes with the cameras. Both are very basic and do not allow for really any kind of editing or effects like you might find in your average video editing software.
The Flip Screenshot:
RCA Small Wonder Screenshot:
The videos come out as .avi format, and the Small Wonder doesn’t work with a Mac, keep in mind.
I am curious if others have found Video devices that are easy to use, and of good value like The Flip and Small Wonder?
