Aiptek A-HD 720P 8MP CMOS High Definition Camcorder (Silver)
by Aiptek Inc.
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List Price: Our Price: $83.99 You Save: $116.00 (58%) Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days Category: Digital Camera See more product details |
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Customers in the UK,
Buy this product at amazon.co.uk
for British Pounds
Digital Cameras Photo Reviews of Aiptek A-HD 720P 8MP CMOS High Definition Camcorder (Silver)
Customer Review: Great camera!
Summary: 5 Stars
You should know that I am probably the least "tech-y" person on the planet, so I bought this product with some hesitation, especially given that it didn't have stellar reviews.
I've tried it out a few times to video my toddlers, always inside during the daytime. The light was fine, we didn't use any extra special lighting. The HD quality was tremendous on our HD tv (although we had some trouble hooking up the sound - turns out we needed to plug that part into the sound system, not the tv. duh!) I was shocked at the quality of the video.
I thought the microphone did a reasonable job picking up the sound from a couple of yards away from my kids. It was really easy to transfer the files from the camera to my mac laptop... although I have no idea how to edit a movie or make a dvd yet.
I think someone had some concern about no image stabilization, but I had no problems keeping the camera still and the movies didn't come out shaky. You can easily hold it in your right hand, and use the palm of your left hand to help keep it stable. The zoom in and out wasn't exactly smooth when playing back the movie, more jerky, but for $150? Are you kidding?
Customer Review: Decent inexpensive video camera, good value for price.
Summary: 4 Stars
I was a little hesitant to purchase the "cheap $100 video camera" but was surprised how good it works. Its not going to replace those who have top of the line video cameras but for a casual usage, or "quick video usage" it fits in your pocked and is ready to film when opened--a truly video on the go experience.
My only regret is not purchasing the higher version for an extra $85+ but you get what you pay for--a good value and instant on video-graphing.
I only have two "slams" and they're relatively minor ones. The flash is pretty useless for picture taking, but then again I didn't buy it for a higher end photo taking--that's what I have my Canon for.. It takes far too long for the flash to charge up after each use.
The other complaint is that I dropped it (not major drop, but jarred it) and the battery has become loose and I thought the camera was dead. The battery doesn't move when using it so its only after it falls or is jarred greatly.. I assume its a product of it being such a lightweight camera.
Overall, well worth $100 and is great for those "YouTube" moments to be--which is why I bought it...
Customer Review: very handy with multiple disadvantages.
Summary: 2 Stars
I got mine from circuit city because it is advertised as an HD video Camcorder and after I got it... I realized that sound quality is very poor the the picture quality is excellent. every time you move your hand you hear more of your own movement and breathing or rustling than of the target your are trying to capture. the mic is on top of the camera. no external mic input. must buys a tripod cause this camera does not stand up on it's own because of it's unusual shape. This camcorder doesn't have video light for recording in dark environment. other than that upgrade the firmware or else you will be stuck with the 2x zoom cause the upgrade has 4x zoom. due to the mic issue (for video mode) I have used it mainly as a high resolution digital camera with HD quality pic when set at 8 megapixel setting. good luck... and ps... buy extra batterys and 4gig SD card if your intent to video or take lots of pic. internal memory is very small. goodluck.
until they have improved the sound quality, night video light and a better zoom power. I'd hold off and buy a typical cam corder with a weaker digital camera feature.
Customer Review: Beautiful Videos
Summary: 4 Stars
I got this locally right after Christmas from a big box store. I wanted to use the recorder to make videos for the purposes of internet upload. Unfortunately, the sites I post at cannot take high resolution recordings. Regardless, I've found that a laptop camera is better for me as it allows me to read off the screen without the burden of having to have notes in my hands. Yet the Aiptek was an excellent deal anyway. I really like the videos I've captured with it and the display screen is a wonderful feature. Further, the digital pictures are miles better than the ones I normally take with my 2006 Fuji camera.
I read that one reviewer said that he had a problem with this software. Frankly, I have not experienced any difficulties. I even saved the pictures I uploaded to a disc and gave them to a friend. She, in turn, didn't have any problems opening them up on her Apple so I'm not sure exactly why he had those sync obstacles. I ended up buying a 4 GB card which gives me all the memory I need to complete my minimalist endeavors. Overall, this is a very good buy in lieu of its low price.
Customer Review: Good camcorder for the price
Summary: 4 Stars
This is a good camcorder for the price, but its even better with a Phoenix wide angle lens as it makes everything look cleaner and sharper. Its well worth the extra $30 to get the wide angle lens when you purchase this. Also the mic is EXTREMELY sensitive which results in loud audio. Stuffing tissue paper in the mic area reduces the wind noise, but doesn't help much with the loudness. Unless you can muffle the sound with your thumb don't take this into loud areas. Recommend video editing software that can re-encode the audio at a lower db rating. There are newer firmwares available direct for Aiptek for this camcorder, but they don't seem to help much with the audio. Version 2.02 of the firmware does lower the volume, but results in clicking sounds when people talk and you cannot roll back to an older firmware. Hopefully the audio issue will be resolved in future firmwares. If you upgrade the firmware I recommend going no higher than 1.6. This camcorder also has issues with SDHC cards so I recommend sticking to standard SD cards until they fix this in a future firmware.