How to Take Pictures on the Flip Video Camcorder

In April 2011, Cisco decided to halt production of the award-winning Flip video camera -- one of the best-selling camcorders of all time. Devices like the Flip video camera are waning in popularity because of video capture features supported in most smartphones. Nevertheless, the Flip is an simple-to-use camcorder ideal for people who want to share their videos via email or social networking sites. One feature missing in the Flip video, though, is the ability to snap individual photos. While you cannot take still photos with the Flip, you can use the included FlipShare application to create individual snapshots.

Instructions

Install FlipShare

1. Unlock the spring-loaded USB connector on the Flip video camera. Plug the camera into an empty USB port on the computer. After the Windows "AutoPlay" menu appears, click the "View your Flip Videos" option.

2. Accept the FlipShare License Agreement by clicking the check box next to the "I have read and accept the terms of the License Agreement" message. Click the "Install" button to launch the FlipShare installer.

3. Wait for the setup utility to install files to your computer and configure FlipShare. Close the setup utility after the installation finishes.

Import Flip Videos

1. Click the FlipShare desktop icon to launch the program. Click "File," then "Import" on the FlipShare menu bar.

2. Click "Continue" in the "About Importing Items" dialog box, then browse to the folder where you want to save the videos from the Flip video camera.

3. Click "OK" button and wait for the application to copy videos from the Flip video camera to the folder you selected and load them in the FlipShare viewer.

Take a Snapshot

1. Open FlipShare on your PC. Click to select the video in the Navigation Pane from which you want to create a photo snapshot.

2. Click the "Play" button in the FlipShare viewer and allow the video to play until it reaches the approximate location of the frame you want to use to create a snapshot. Once you reach a frame point close to the one to use for the snapshot, click the "Pause" button.

3. Use the mouse to drag the slider on the playback bar to the exact frame position you want to use for the snapshot. Navigate forwards or backwards until the marker is in the correct frame position.

4. Click the "Snapshot" button on the "Action Bar" at the bottom of the FlipShare window. The "Create Snapshots" window appears and displays the current frame and 12 others just before and after the frame displayed in the viewer -- 13 images in all.

5. Click the "Take Snapshot" button to send selected snapshots to the "Snapshots" pane to the right of the viewer. Alternatively, drag and drop the frames you want from the "Create Snapshots" window to the "Snapshots" pane. After you make your selections, click the "Save" button. FlipShare creates photo images from the selected frames and stores the same folder as the source video.

References

• "The New York Times"; Pogue's Posts: The Tragic Death of the Flip; David Pogue; April 2011
• Flip Video Knowledge Base: How Do I Install FlipShare on My Computer with My Flip Video Camera?
• Flip Video Knowledge Base: How Do I Import Videos Using FlipShare?
• Flip Video Knowledge Base: How Do I Capture Snapshots from Videos Using FlipShare?