FLIP vs Picsio

[upton75]

Hello How are you. I am looking to get a camcorder and housing for my diving. I am looking at the Flip and Picsio and was wondering what peoples experience with both has been. They are about the same price and the housing are close in price. I just want a cheap cam to play around with and capture some video underwater.

Thanks for any and all assistance you can give me

 

[czervos]

I bought myself the Picsio and an Ikelite housing for Christmas. With kids now, buying myself presents is the only way I can make sure I get what I want!

Anyways, I haven't dove with it yet, but will next week in Maui. I can tell you what I think so far- The camera if VERY small and lightweight. HD footage looks great outside where there is a lot of light. Inside or in low light situations it starts looking pretty grainy. The camera doesn't really have a menu, so you can't manually set white balance. It's really inexpensive so I guess you can't ask for too much. I'm excited to see what it looks like underwater.

The Ikelite housing is pretty nice, typical Ikelite quality. However, it does seem really large compared to the size of the camera. Seems like a lot of wasted space. I think they probably use this same housing for a lot of different cameras. The blue water filter that came with the camera was really loose around the lens when I got it. I emailed Ikelite about it and found out that they had a manufacturing tolerance problem. They immediately sent me a band to temporarily fix the problem and say they will send me a new filter at the end of the month. Again, these are just my initial observations without having dove with it yet.

Hope this helps
-Chris

 

[Bazooka Joe]

I bought myself the Picsio and an Ikelite housing for Christmas. With kids now, buying myself presents is the only way I can make sure I get what I want!

Anyways, I haven't dove with it yet, but will next week in Maui. I can tell you what I think so far- The camera if VERY small and lightweight. HD footage looks great outside where there is a lot of light. Inside or in low light situations it starts looking pretty grainy. The camera doesn't really have a menu, so you can't manually set white balance. It's really inexpensive so I guess you can't ask for too much. I'm excited to see what it looks like underwater.

The Ikelite housing is pretty nice, typical Ikelite quality. However, it does seem really large compared to the size of the camera. Seems like a lot of wasted space. I think they probably use this same housing for a lot of different cameras. The blue water filter that came with the camera was really loose around the lens when I got it. I emailed Ikelite about it and found out that they had a manufacturing tolerance problem. They immediately sent me a band to temporarily fix the problem and say they will send me a new filter at the end of the month. Again, these are just my initial observations without having dove with it yet.

Hope this helps
-Chris

http://www.scubaboard.com/forums/un...ousing-ikelite-jvc-coming-out-november-5.html

Check out my last post.

 

[H2O Photo Pros]

The Flip Ultra HD definitely has the better image quality. I tested both of the cameras side by side the beginning of December. The color was much better on the Flip, and the Picsio produced a lot more noise.

Here is the link to my sample Flip video. I have yet to post the JVC Picsio footage.

Flip Ultra HD Test Video in Ikelite Housing on Vimeo

 

[bennyscuba]

I would also take a look at the GoPro Camera. Here is the thread - I posed my impressions as well as a video at the end:

http://www.scubaboard.com/forums/un...862-crazy-1080p-cam-180-housing-270-a-12.html

I just used it on some dives and was really impressed. It is overall cheaper than the the Flip/JVC, seems to do better on wide angle than Flip and have better battery and image than JVC. The audio is a bit weak but that is no biggie for diving.. It is also really strong and sturdy which i like b/c i tend to just through my dive gear in a bag while travelling...

hth,

bg

 

[jamga02]

I'm looking at both the Ultra and JVC. Can anyone sum up the major differences in a couple of words?

 

[H2O Photo Pros]

The Flip performs much better in low light. JVC is very Grainy. I shot both the same day doing tests and they just didnt compare to each other.

One nice thing about the JVC is that it accepts an SD card, versus the built in only on the flip...but just doesnt compare. Also, the JVC/Ikelite package is a bit more than the Flip kit. $425 for camera and housing versus $395 for Flip camera and Ike housing.

 

[JackConnick]

The JVC does 8MP stills, not sure the Flip does? Also the JVC has macro capabilities...?

Jack

 

[mako781]

Hey all,

I bought into these small devices and I feel like I have some advice to offer on the matter.

First I want to preface everything by saying I went back and forth on which model I was going to buy for months, combing the forums and video sites to see samples. I was in between the Flip Ultra HD and the Picsio.

I first went with the Flip Ultra HD. Initial thoughts were: very nice build and takes great video. Nice audio too. However, upon plugging into my computer, I found the fatal flaw. The device is annoying because it stores the video files as MP4 files, which are not universally compatible with editing programs. The flipshare editing software is very basic and I am using other programs such as Corel and FinalCut Pro. The files would not transfer, and upon an internet search I realized that they needed to be converted. This is basically a huge pain.

I went back to best buy and picked up the picsio. I haven't been happier since. Great video outdoors, and the still are pretty decent too. Definitely slightly grainy inside but this is something that you are going to see in many cameras, let alone slightly more budget models. The audio is not stellar, but like I plan on using this extensively underwater---Ikelite has dedicated the R&D to make a nice UW housing so if they believe in the device, that says alot. I will be picking up that housing soon.

It is pretty sweet that I can shoot HD video underwater and then also snap photos as well--this device's pro's definitely outweigh the cons thus far. No UW samples yet, but I have used it alot around town and it looks great--the HD is nice and the files are stored as .MOV, so it is very useful in quicktime and editing.

Just my two cents, but the JVC gets my seal of approval.

 

[cylonboomer]

Here is my footage of Roatan shot with the Flip Ultra HD with Ikelite housing in March 2010. More videos to come. I'm also shooting footage this weekend in Cozumel. Subscribe to see more videos! Great camera setup, esp around 70 feet in low light!

YouTube - spalkowetz's Channel