Creative Labs Vado HD 720p Pocket Video Camcorder with 8 GB Video Storage and 2x Digital Zoom (Black) OLD MODEL
by Creative Labs
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List Price: Our Price: $128.88 You Save: $101.11 (44%) Availability: Usually ships in 24 hours Buy Used: from $69.95 (click here) Category: Digital Camera See more product details |
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Digital Cameras Photo Reviews of Creative Labs Vado HD 720p Pocket Video Camcorder with 8 GB Video Storage and 2x Digital Zoom (Black) OLD MODEL
Customer Review: Very good video quality, easy to use and carry
Summary: 5 Stars
After trying out several other inexpensive camcorders, this is the one I have kept. Here's why.
- Excellent video quality. This was my most important criterion. Should you expect good video quality from a cheap product ? Well, this device produces quality good enough for me, better than I expected, in fact. (I deal with video encoding/decoding at work, so I have some experience in evaluating video quality). The picture is sharp and crisp in good lighting, but more importantly, noise levels are low even at low light levels. Indoors under normal room lighting the pictures are very low noise. Playing back the videos on a 42-inch TV and viewing from normal distances it is hard to see the noise unless you are looking for it. I recorded a few test clips inside my car at night with the reading light turned on, and even these are watchable. Panning and zooming are also handled well.
- Very convenient to carry. Smaller and thinner than the Flip products. Comes with a soft cover included, which is a nice touch. Seems fairly robust, my kids have not broken it yet.
- Battery life is great. The manual claims two hours, and so far I have seen no reason to doubt that claim. USB charging is very convenient.
- I thought the limit of 2 hours of recording time might be a bit restrictive, but in practice we are not even getting close to that amount before downloading to the PC. Of course if you are traveling and don't have access to a PC then this could be a problem.
- Controls are simple to use. My four year old son is getting close to being able to operate it on his own.
- The included software is basic but seems to work well so far. I have not attempted to do much with it yet though.
Highly recommended.
Customer Review: Great video!
Summary: 5 Stars
I was very surprised at the quality of video taken with the Vado HD. After reading many many reviews on different mini HD video recording products, I settled on this one because for an HD, the price couldn't be beat.
When I got it, it was bulkier than the Flip Mino HD (as expected), but still, it's relatively small in your pocket or purse. It barely creates a bulge and wow it takes great video!
Some reviewers of these mini video cameras complained that the video is shaky, since they don't have any stabilizers. This would definitely be true if you are taking video while on a snowboard or if you have shaky hands. But for a normal user standing still or walking slowly, it takes remarkably steady video. Just be sure to move slowly while you are panning around, and you won't be disappointed.
One note of caution: This product has a "standby mode", which sleeps and you can wake it up instantly to take quick videos. While it's convenient, this standby mode drains the battery pretty quickly. If you can charge it often, it's okay. But if you are on vacation where you can only charge it at night after a full day, I don't recommend using this mode. It's better to turn it off completely and just turn it on when you need it. It saves the battery and the time to turn it on is pretty fast anyway.
Second note: I initially tried uploading my videos to a mini netbook and found that my video and sound were not in sync. I thought I had gotten a bad Vado. But when I got back from vacation, I uploaded them to a regular laptop and they were fine. I realized that "HD resolution" means something else too... you need at least 1280 x 720p resolution on your computer to view it properly. A very satisfied lesson learned. :) Overall - great product!
Customer Review: Fantastic image quality for an HD camcorder of this size!!!
Summary: 5 Stars
everything is perfect except one thing - when taping indoors, VadoHD automatically changes the exposition level, so for example if you are taping a person with a window or another good source of light in the background, the person might come out heavily darkened in video. so just try not to come too close to the object you are taping, and everything will be great.
in short - extremely happy with this purchase, one of the rare things that is really useful in everyday life, especially when taping little kids - believe me, in 15-20 years they will be SO GRATEFUL to you for preserving in video their childhood... simply priceless... no need to run for your big DV/HD camera to another room, look for it on the shelf, take it out of the carrying case, turn it on (if battery is not dead - when did you charge it last time?), open the display, check the settings, tape, disk, hdd, flash memory, whatever -- well, too many operations. with this tiny beast you can instantly have on video whatever you want - birthdays, get-togethers, fishing/hunting trips, hiking, picnics etc. it is always in your pocket, with a nice light-gray silicon protective case on it (included w/ the device).
whoever sees it, immediately asks (1) what is this and (2) where it can be purchased from.
video format is AVI (HD compressed, of course) - a standard, classic, compatible w/ everything, format.
and yes, did i say it - unbelievably good video quality for a device of this size!!! especially outdoors. wide-angle (!!!) glass lenses are great!
but just remember that this camcorder is really useful in situations when you don't really need zoom. for school, sport, music or similar events, big concerts etc, take your DV/HD camcorder with you.
Customer Review: Read this IF Sony Vegas or another video editing program won't play the video
Summary: 5 Stars
I bot a Vado three weeks ago and just love it. However, I was flustered for a while because my video editing program, Sony Vegas Movie Studio 9 - Platinum Pro Pack, would play ONLY the audio track of a clip made by my Vado but not the video track (same thing happened when I instead used Windows Movie Maker to make a movie).
So I found a great website/message board, www.videohelp.com, and learned about something called "codec." I won't try to explain codecs here, you can learn a lot just by Googling the term. However, Sony Vegas will easily play your video tracks also if you go to this web site and download the codec the K-Lite Codec pack (latest version as of this writing is 4.7.3). It's a free download and only takes about two or three minutes. Here is the link to the K-Lite codec package: http://www.codecguide.com/
Alternatively, whenever you connect your Vado to your PC, the Vado software screen will open up on your computer. Yes, it is a simple program, but it's enough to get going. Once that program opens up, click on Copy from the menu bar of the program, and copy the clip to your PC. Then click on "Make a Movie," which converts the clip into a movie. Then, when you open up Sony Vegas, it CAN play that movie, which will have a "wmv" file extension. However, it's a lot easier to just download the K-Lite codecs to your computer. Oh, btw, if you prefer to use Windows Movie Maker to edit your clips, downloading the K-Lite codec package will also enable WMM to play back the video tracks.
As for the Vado HD, I think it is an awesome product. The videos are just stunning in quality, and the wide angle camera lens is an absolute must vs. the Flip, which does not have that.
Customer Review: A Good Value for $200
Summary: 5 Stars
I knew that the Vado HD did not have optical zoom and that it lacked any form of image stabilization before I purchased this camera. My thinking was that the video would still be very good if I simply could sit or stand very still while capturing video of events that were not too distant. This proved true for me.
I screwed an ultra-mini tripod into the mount into the bottom of this unit and have used that as a handle, which I think aids in giving the unit more stability--both because the Vado is then easier to hold and because the tripod adds a slight amount of extra weight, which helps eliminate some inadvertent movement as I'm filming.
What I did not realize was that the unit's lens has no cover whatsoever! There should be a little plastic cover that can slide back or something to protect the tiny (pea-sized) lens. Since there is no physical barrier there, dust, fingerprints, and even pet hair can easily land on that very important little piece of glass. HD video is no good if there is debris blocking the lens! My solution is to carry the Nikon 7072 Lens Pen Cleaning System with me and clean the lens as needed. It's an annoyance, but it does solve the problem for the most part. I also carry the camera around in a cloth pouch for added protection.
Video downloading is super easy, as expected, and the video quality was very good. Look at a video sharing site for videos shot with this product--search for Vado HD, and you should see some video first hand.
All in all, I think I got a bargain buying this little camera for $200, and it has met or exceeded my expectations.