RCA EZ201 Small Wonder 60 Minute Point-and-Shoot Camcorder (White)
by Thomson
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List Price: Our Price: $95.00 You Save: $104.00 (52%) Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days Buy Used: from $23.00 (click here) Category: Digital Camera See more product details |
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Digital Cameras Photo Reviews of RCA EZ201 Small Wonder 60 Minute Point-and-Shoot Camcorder (White)
Customer Review: Good quality video and easy to use
Summary: 5 Stars
I just got back from a family trip to a lodge. I took the Small Wonder and my Sony miniDV camcorder. I got the Small Wonder from Amazon in the mail the week before so this was it first real test. I did not even get the Sony out the whole weekend. I have it set to the highest quality setting. I shot lots of video indoors and at night and this is an old Lodge that we rented so I would consider these low light situations. The video turned out very good. I was very impressed. The quality is lower than the Sony miniDV but not noticeably. I have placed the video on my 19 inch computer screen and my 61 inch TV. I just knew it would look grainy on the big screen but it looks very good.
One other point I love: I plugged the camera into the USB port and downloaded the video. It took maybe 5 minutes. It is now on my computer, in the right format. This would have taken me at least an hour to go from camcorder(miniDV) to computer with my Sony.
oh, one more point: We went fishing over the weekend. Normally I would not have taken any camcorder since I would not want to lug it around or take the chance of breaking it but I dropped the RCA Small Wonder into my pocket and got my 4 year old son catching his first fish.
I have yet to burn a DVD with the video but am looking forward to that.
I highly recommend the Small Wonder. It may not replace your normal camcorder but I think it is a great supplement.
Customer Review: Features are great but they can't make up for poor video!
Summary: 2 Stars
I have played with the Flip Video Ultra extensively and was very impressed with the video quality, it was much, much better than I had ever expected from such a camcorder.
What I didn't like about the Flip Ultra was its fixed internal memory, hard to press record button and basically lack of any other features. When I heard about the RCA EZ201 Small Wonder with its SD card slot and swivel LCD screen I was very excited, especially when I discovered that the technology in the Small Wonder was licensed by Pure Digital, the same people making the Flip Ultra. I thought to myself, this is probably the same camera, but with better features.
The SD card slot and the swivel screen were very neat features, but when I looked at the recorded video captured by the Small Wonder on my PC there was no comparison to similar videos captured with the Flip Ultra. The Flip Ultra video was much clearer, more focused, just better all around.
I was very saddened because the Small Wonder held so much promise. It was much cheaper than the Flip Ultra also, but I guess you get what you pay for. Until the Small Wonder can compete in image quality with the Flip Ultra, all the features in the world won't make people buy it. People buy video cameras to watch the captured video, the Small Wonder's video is just not ready for prime time as I write this review.
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: Great bang for the buck!
Summary: 5 Stars
Look, if you want professional grade video out of a $100 digital video recorder, you will be disappointed. If you want a convenient media recorder for personal fun, quick business recordings, web video, etc, then this is a great asset. Point, shoot, upload, edit, move on. It's just a little bigger than an iPod, can be attached to a tripod, lasts for a few hours on standard AA batteries, and uploads right to a PC. The built-in software is OK but nothing to brag about. It is very basic. Now, the unit's compression uses a DivX codec. If you want to work with the avi files that it creates OR if you want to share the raw, larger file and higher quality, video with someone else, you must have DivX installed on the system. It's free and easy to get for a PC or Mac. So, no big deal there but I can see how some non-savvy people could get confused or frustrated. There is a built-in tool to convert videos to WMV. I took this on a two week trip to Italy and had a blast recording sites, commentary, panoramic shots, etc. I have used it at the park with my kids, at conferences, to record meetings, etc. This is a MUST for convenience. If you want to do something like start a vlog or post video to YouTube, this is perfect. It's a fun and functional piece but not a $700+ DV camcorder.Customer Review: I love this unit !
Summary: 5 Stars
I own five other video cameras (plus the "camera" found on our cellphones) and although this RCA won't win any awards for quality recordings, it's great to slip into your pocket or have in your car, for those times when lugging along the "good videocamera" is just impractical or you just don't want to bother.
I have taken so many priceless videos with this camera, which ordinarily would have been "lost" because I didn't have one of my other, bulkier cameras with me.
You can let the kids use it without fear of damage, and you can take it discretely into places that don't normally allow video cameras.
I live in Mexico City and sometimes go to areas where I'd rather not look conspicuously like a tourist or like someone carrying something valuable; and this camera is perfect for that.
The fact that it uses standard AA batteries, plus that it takes additional memory cards (really cheap right now) is a very nice feature.
The only thing I don't like about it is that it can be turned on accidentally while it's in your pocket or purse; to prevent that, I just reverse one of the batteries.