RCA EZ201 Small Wonder 60 Minute Point-and-Shoot Camcorder (White)
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Digital Cameras Photo Reviews of RCA EZ201 Small Wonder 60 Minute Point-and-Shoot Camcorder (White)
Customer Review: Small wonder compared
Summary: 4 Stars
Ok, I was curious so I bought the Small wonder and the flip (FW160) to compare them side by side. The Small wonder does have the advantage of the SD card reader, plus the flip LCD. However, in dim lighting like around my house, the Small wonder has a pinkish/reddish look to the images (I tried two small wonders with same results). The Flip does do a better job in poor lit conditions color wise in my opinnion. You can see the small wonder gain up light more noticably when lighting gets darker, but the Flip did a smoother job at it and the image was brighter. The Flip also has a much brighter display that you can see much better outside. I wanted to keep the Small Wonder because of the adjustable LCD and the SD cards, but the resulting video with the red/pink tint in dim conditions was no good for me. But not all small wonder indoor video had the red cast, only with certain lighting conditions and it depended on what you subject was. People's faces ended up with a sunburn look inside in certain light angles. Outdoors it did great. The Small wonder's software was also a bit behind the Flip's. The Flips allowed a larger video window for playing back the video, it was also just a bit more user friendly (better video making software with music). I will say that the Small wonder does a good job of updating firmware etc. One other thing about the Small wonder I liked was it's usb connector was easier to connect to my PC because of it's location. I still think the small wonder does a good job, I just think the flip is slightly better image quality wise. Ok, I plugged them both into two different TV's. One was a small 20 inch and I will say they were both about the same (VHS quality was pretty good). You can notice that darker shots have artifacts/blocky but acceptable to me. I tried plugging them into a 50 inch plasma and must say the results are not too hot. While I could watch the videos, they were fairly poor (but this is probably expected for this type of mpeg4 camcorder). I plan to watch these videos on PC or smaller TV anyhow. I ended up keeping the Flip 60 minute version instead of the Small wonder.Customer Review: RCA Small Wonder great for the price
Summary: 4 Stars
We've had ours for about 3 weeks now and really like it. Great for catching spontaneous moments with family and friends. I'm planning on using it to interview parents and other relatives to capture family history and save to CD.
As others have said, if you expect 500 dollar video quality, look elsewhere. If you take an hour and watch videos about how to make simple videos on youtube, you'll learn what you need to make acceptable videos for fun and profit. Mainly be aware that you have to be close to subjects and learn how to use lighting to your advantage.
I chose the RCA over the Flip mainly because I wanted the extra SD memory option and I like the swing out screen. The software is minimalist, easy to use and sufficient for very basic stuff. We use M$ movie maker to put together larger movies.
As for low light, I've been out at night and indoor in low light and it works ok. You can't expect miracles and there are some things you can do to improve it like being aware of how close you need to be to light sources and the angle. Again, watch the youtube tutorials and you'll soon be a pro.
So in summary, if you take a little time to learn how to maximize the RCA Small Wonder's strengths and minimize it's weaknesses, it makes a great camcorder for the money.
Customer Review: But it doesn't work with Vista OS!
Summary: 4 Stars
I read a review on here that says the EZ201 works with Windows Vista, but it does not. I bought it and I like the way it works, but I cannot install Memory Manager on my computer from the device, nor from the files, nor from Audiovox/RCA web site - they don't offer a download for 201 because it's supposed to come from the camcorder, and they don't have a patch for it either. I called the service center and they said it is not compatible with Vista. Now they didn't sound like the sharpest tools in the box, but if it was compatible or if there was a patch, it would be on the RCA Small Wonder web site and it is not. Now I have to contact Discount Jungle to find out how to return it. What a pain in the neck. I guess the moral of the story is beware older models of technology as they might not be compatible with newer Windows OS. I guess it's worth paying the extra $ to get something that is not already outdated. I know that Amazon doesn't take any responsibility for what its vendors sell through their web site, but you'd think someone would let the consumer know that this EZ201 does not work with Vista. Boo.Customer Review: RCA EZ201
Summary: 4 Stars
The EZ201 is a nice, very functional little camera. It
does a good job, for what it's supposed to do. I do
wish that it had a 4X optical zoom, but so far, I've
gotten along fine without that. I like the 'flip back'
television monitor so that I can monitor the shot when
I'm taping myself talk. By the way, this camera is great
for video blogging. With the optional SD flash card, you
get over two hours of HQ video which is more than enough.
Cheap alkaline batteries get gobbled up way too fast in
the thing, but lithium batteries keep it powered up and
so do rechargeable batteries. It's a good little camera
to keep with you when your on the go and it slips right
into your front pocket. I like it and the sound quality
is very good. For an easy to use, tiny camera --if that's
what you're looking for-- I'd recommend the EZ201. Some day,
I'll get a more professional camera but this is all that I
need for now and it's cheap and easy. Even better
than PixelVision, if you remember those.
Customer Review: RCA Small Wonder vs. Flip Ultra
Summary: 4 Stars
I recently purchased both cameras in November. I tried them both indoors and out. Here is my experience. Both cameras are extremely easy to use and upload videos to web sites like Youtube. The Flip Ultra seemed to take better indoor videos due to lower light settings. They are still grainy like the RCA just a tad better. Outdoors both seemed to do fine. After taking about 10 different videos, in different settings with both cameras, I found the Ultra to make a tiny bit better quality video. However, I ended up keeping the RCA because it was ALOT cheaper (Flip was $149 on sale and the RCA was $89 on sale), has the upgradable SD card slot and flip out screen. Keep in mind though that these are not camcorder quality cameras. These are meant to take close distance, well lit subject videos to easily email or upload to Youtube using the built in software.