Creative Labs Vado HD 720p Pocket Video Camcorder with 8 GB Video Storage and 2x Digital Zoom (Black)
Hi All. I am comparing this camera to a Flip Mino HD....while it may not be fair, it is the only way I could give an accurate review to this product. Box Includes: Camera, removable battery, mini hdmi to hdmi cable (wow), usb extension cable, rubber/silicon skin, and documentation. So it starts....the battery comes pretty charged and thus it was easy to install and get the unit running. The first set of options you are presented with are the setup for date, time, country. Here is where the first issue begins....the buttons (scroll arrows up, down, right, left) are WAY too sensitive and thus you are moving around even if you dont want to. So I start to set the date...without paying attention....and I quickly notice that the format for the date is dd/mm/yy which is primarily how the eastern part of the world uses the date. I finally figure out that my mind is lacking without coffee and I get the date and time set.... Lets move on. The camera notifies you that you can hit the play/pause and trash buttons simultaneously to get back to the setup options. Works perfectly. In the setup menu you are presented with the following options: Time/Date Video Quality Instant Record Anti-Flicker Tv System Language Most of these are self explanatory. The ones with options are as follows: Video Quality: HD+, HD, VGA Instant Record: On / Off Anti-Flicker: 50hz/60hz TV System: NTSC/PAL Language: English, French, Italian, German, Spanish, Portugese, Dutch, Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Bahasa (Indonesia), Turkish, and Arabic The main screen shows you what mode you are in (record, ready, etc), the available recording time, the mode (hd+, hd, vga), and a battery meter...these are at the top of the lcd screen. The bottom of the screen shows the date (dd/mm/year) and the current time. When looking at the LCD the mini hdmi port is on the left hand side of the unit and the right hand side has a power button for on and off. The usb connector is at the bottom....folded into the body with a tab sticking out so you can pull the connector out. There is also a standard tripod hole. The shooting begins....I tried taking small clips of things inside the home as well as outdoors (although with the weather up here its not worth standing outside more then 4-5 minutes :-) ). I shot completely in HD+ mode as there are a lot of units this size that do regular vga and hd.... The image quality on the lcd screen was superb...even when outside under the sun I was able to see what I was shooting. This I like. My issue still remains that the rocker buttons are way too sensitive and it was driving me nuts for a while until I was able to mentally adjust the pressure I was applying to them. The viewing begins... I plugged the mini hdmi to hdmi cable from the camera into our 46" Sharp Aquos 1080p LCD Panel. The playback was indeed 720p/1080i as the unit should do. It was flawless and the quality of the video stunned me. I loved it. It was comprable to the Flip Mino HD. Of course, I need help with my stability...since I noticed that movement was apparent...but hey this is no image stabilization camera... HAHA! All that being said, Creative has created a great HD Pocket Camcorder. What I liked: Removable Battery 8gb Storage Build Quality Included accessories (cables, silicon skin) What I diskliked (which is why its 4/5): The buttons (right left up down) are way too sensitive for my needs. Computer Connectivity: MAC OS X Leopard: No drivers needed. Showed up as a usb Volume immediately. iPhoto automatically detected camera and came up with import options. Video Played in Quicktime. Awesome! Was also able to browse to the camera and manually open AVI file. Windows Vista and Windows 7 (32 and 64 bit operating systems tested) Drivers installed automatically. I did not need the Creative software on the device. I was able to browse (windows explorer) to the Vado and open the AVI file in Windows Media Player. I love this functionality. I dont like cluttered software on my machine if I dont need it. In case you are wondering...I am a cross platform user and thus I can review gadgets like the Vado and give accurate reviews. This unit would have earned a 5/5 but I am not quite there on the rocker buttons... I hope that the review above is informative and helps you make the right decision in this category.
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