The makers of the United States’ number one-selling camcorder today are launching a more robust and user-friendly version of a device that’s already made its mark by being – well, robust and user-friendly.

 

Pure Digital Technologies Inc. is introducing the second generation of its Flip Ultra line, with standard and high-definition models that will sell for $150 and $200, respectively (the Flip Ultra always has sold for $150, and the HD model is new). Together with the original Flip Video camcorder ($130) and sleeker Flip Mino brands ($230 HD, $180 SD), the Ultra line forms a family of camcorders that have sold more than 2 million units since the San Francisco-based company launched in 2007.

 

 
First of all, the Ultra HD – like the Flip Mino model that I own – is about the size of a cell phone, and it’s something I find I take with me when I go out, when I take my dogs for a walk in the park, when I visit my nieces in Boston and – I’m sure – it’s something I’ll have with me on Monday when I’m at the new Yankee Stadium watching the Bronx Bombers beat up on the Red Sox.

 
And when I come home from that annihilation, I’ll do what I always do after shooting a mini-movie: open my Facebook (News - Alert) account, unfurl the Flip’s built-in USB drive and download the glory so my Facebook friends can share in the fun. All except my brother-in-law Bill, a native of Massachusetts who is exposing my nieces to Boston baseball, over my objections.

 

A two-minute video uploads in about two minutes, and the sound and video quality are as good as any large handheld camcorder I’ve used, with 1280 x 720 video resolution on the HD model, and 640 x 480 on the SD model.

 

What’s new is that the HD model, with 8 GB of built-in memory, now records twice as much content – two hours in all – while the SD model, with 4 GB of memory, also records two hours. The new Ultra line also has a larger screen, at 2 inches, and it’s “transflective,” meaning it has no glare, either during recording or viewing. The HD model comes in black or white (with chrome trim), and the SD version comes in black, white, yellow and pink.

 

The camcorder includes a lock option so that users don’t have to worry about switching it on unintentionally and the buttons on the device – for recording, stopping, zooming, and so on – protrude from the device (the Mino’s are flush), so it’s easy to handle. Like all Flip camcorders, the Ultra HD and SD also come pre-loaded with “FlipShare,” Pure Digital’s software program for organizing, editing and sharing videos. One of the cool things about FlipShare – though it sounds simple – is that it lets users freeze any pane during a movie for a sort of screen capture that becomes a photograph, which can also be saved and shared separately.

 

I took my camera to a local park where I walk Wilbur and Russell – my golden retrievers – once in the morning and once at dusk, and the video captured the sounds (river, rustling leaves, conversation, barking) extraordinarily well, as well as the mood and light of both times of day.

 

There’s a learning curve to using the device – for example, users need to find a way to keep their hands steady so viewers of the movies don’t feel seasick later, and I find it helps create a better movie when there’s minimal panning or at least very slow panning involved, because images tend to blur when the Flip itself is moving too fast to capture an image.

 

Kabat told me that Pure Digital sees two fundamental ways that users are sharing videos with the Ultra line (which, incidentally, can be charged through the USB or by AA batteries). First, there’s a sort parent at home who is sharing videos privately – for example, shooting videos and e-mailing them to grandparents. Then there is a more active social media user who is creating something expressive or funny – a scripted film, for example, that can be uploaded to YouTube (News - Alert).

 
“The other is a more nuanced use, where a user may be carrying the device with him or her all the time and shooting a video that is then shared, for example, on Facebook,” Kabat said. “So the video becomes the medium of communications, and that’s where we think we’ve tapped into something that has inspired people.”

 

He’s right. With its light weight and small size (4.25-by-2.19-by-1.17-inches), the Flip Ultra becomes an “on-body” accessory, and when I’ve got it with me, I find myself looking for things to shoot, taking in my surroundings in a more profound way, whether I make a video or not.

 

Once those videos are shot, the new Ultra line includes not only a USB drive for uploading through a PC, but also a TV output port – an HDMI widescreen port for the HD model and composite video port for the SD version. As with digital cameras, the Flip line allows users to view their movies instantly and free up space by deleting anything they don’t want to keep.

 

And that’s a feature I also appreciate. What if the hated Boston Red Sox down my beloved Yankees again on Monday night? If that happens, there isn’t a moment of that game I’ll want to relive, let alone post to my Facebook page for Bill to see. Too much of that and my poor, unknowing nieces may end up Red Sox fans for life. Yuck.