$129 (soon to be $99) 720p Camcorder Sample Video

[sigamy]

I wanted a really small camcorder for messing around. Figured I'd even let my kids make some movies with it. I know most of these cheap MPEG4 cams are just toys but look at this and let me know what you think.

$129 at CC with $30 mail in rebate to bring it down to $99

http://gallery.mac.com/brian.andrews29#100094

 

[Hawkeye411]

Well ... I was having trouble getting to sleep ...... watched your movie .. YAWN!!! ... thanks man .... NIGHT

 

[sigamy]

Yeah sorry, (or your welcome)...just raw footage of the cam, don't expect to be moved.

 

[statikcat]

Good to see the quality of the cam. Not the best but for under 100$ I would say that is pretty good. I would also be interested in seeing some footage of the 1000$ mark HD cams.

 

[IntenZ]

Looks like it would make a great camera to strap to a motorcycle. Whats the brand and where to get them?

 

[QuarterSwede]

You can buy them at Target. Thanks for the sample footage. I had always wondered how it performed.

 

[Eidorian]

I have to get me one of these.

 

[rt_brained]

I became interested in this category of camcorders for my nephew's Xmas gift this year. They're lightweight, compact, have fewer moving parts than most camcorders, as video is saved to internal flash memory and/or SD cards.

Unfortunately, the only camcorder manufacturer in this category to choose an out-of-the-box Mac-compatible video format was Aiptek. All the other manufacturers of camcorders in this category chose PC-only video formatting and offer no support or solutions for Mac users. They probably figure since it's an entry-level category, it's not worth the added expense.

Samsung has the most ergonomically designed camcorders (by a long shot). Everywhere I looked retailers claim the Samsung SD card-based camcorders shoot MPEG-4 video and are therefore both PC and Mac OS X (iMovie '08) compatible. However, video clips are actually saved as .AVI files, rendering them useless for the Mac, unless you can locate a third-party converter. And many of the other manufacturers are using outdated MPEG-2.

Aiptek's videos are saved as .MOV files and don't require any drivers at all.

 

[robanga]

It looks like the quality is quite good and you certainly can't beat the price.

I recently purchased the Canon HG10 for about a grand and I'm guessing that there are at least parts of this video where if you shot it with both camera's you would have a hard time telling them apart.

Thanks for posting!

 

[bloodycape]

So what camera was used to do this?

 

[Eidorian]

So what camera was used to do this?

If you watched the video...

 

[derekjd]

the cam

If you watched the video...

It's the Aiptek A-HD camcorder.... I have one these units and really like the portability of it with decent quality. On a 4gig SD card I can capture 2 hours and 9 minutes of 720p HD at 29.97 frames. The two things that need improvement on it are the microphone (it's a top mount) and a frame stabilizer would have been nice but what do you expect for under $150.... If anything pick one up for a week, play around with it and if you don't like it take it back..... BTW battery lasts about 90 minutes and spare can be found on ebay for about 2 for $10..... Hope that helps...

 

[baypharm]

Well you get what you pay for. I think for the cash outlay the quality is there. But I would not use it for anything serious or a paying job.

 

[sigamy]

I've used the camera a bit more now and for indoor normal household lighting it is indeed noisy. I know this is a strange comparison but it may help some people--for indoor shooting the Aiptek A-HD is a good bit better than the first Mini DV cam I purchased in Dec 2000, a Canon ZR10.

For outdoor shooting this could make a good second unit camera for POV shots or effects shots. Strap it to a bike or skateboard or hang it from a tree or something. If you stabilize the camera and have plenty of light, the quality (for $130-$100) is pretty good.

This thing has now spoiled me with HD resolution and drag and drop simplicity...I'm now looking to upgrade my Panasonic GS400.

 

[JWFerne]

not bad video for the price (could be better), but it had terrible sound. What bothered me in the video was the loud clicking sound when you zoomed. That's a deal breaker for me.

I look at it this way... you usually only have one chance to capture a great moment. Why do it with lousy sound and mediocre video.

 

[mcarnes]

Where do you get the $30 rebate?