Low Price Flip UltraHD Camcorder, 120 Minutes (Black)

I ordered both the Mino HD and the Ultra HD to see which one would suit me best. I was looking for the one that would be best in low-light situations because I plan to record my sets on stage in dark clubs. I haven't yet tested it for that purpose yet but I just took some shots of the sunset and here are my results:

Bright-Light Pick: Ultra

The lens on the Ultra is set way back and that is to give the Ultra a much better advantage in bright light situations. And indeed, in my video of the sunset, the Ultra captured the image of the sun and preserved the mountain vistas whereas the Mino couldn't handle it and washed out the sun, the sky and the vistas. It also created sun spots in the frame the closer I got to the sun. If I had the time, I would have edited the videos to show you comparison shots with voiceovers and what-have-you but you'll just have to take my word for it.

Image Sharpness and Color Vividness: Ultra

The Ultra is noticeably better in picking up colors.

Low Light Pick: Ultra

If you just hit record and make no adjustments, the Mino will give you a lot more detail than the Ultra in a low light setting. A good video example of this is found on the [...] website.

BUT HERE'S THE TRICK: If you zoom in with the Ultra, the lens emerges from its little cave and you get BETTER quality images than the Mino. I posted this review specifically to explain this little trick because if someone else had said that, it would have saved me the trouble of researching for hours, then ordering both to do my own comparison and having to return one.

Mac Users:

I'm using a MacBook Pro and iPhoto reads both the mino and the ultra as cameras so it opened automatically when I plugged these units in (separately, of course!). I was able to import the video through iPhoto and then import into iMovie and work with it the same as any other video so if you're on a Mac, don't even bother with installing the Flip software. In future, I will open iMovie before plugging in to see if I can import directly into iMovie.

SUMMARY:

Mino Pros: small, easy to hold and carry, comes with TV component cable.
Mino Cons: only 1 hour of recording, not able to capture detail in bright-light settings, proprietary battery is built in (like the iPod).

Ultra Pros: crisper better quality images, stereo audio (instead of the mono audio on the Mino), 2 hours of recording, direct hdmi connection for the TV, can use any NiMH AA batteries which means you can carry spares for longer usage, cheaper than the Mino.
Ultra Cons: bigger and bulkier than the Mino, doesn't come with HDMI cable.

I agree with the Fast Company reviewer: If you don't mind the bulk of the Ultra, and you want really good images in a small package with usage time that lasts for as long as your supply of spare NiMH batteries, go for the Ultra. Just remember to zoom in when you have low-light situations. Get more detail about Flip UltraHD Camcorder, 120 Minutes (Black).