Customers Reviews
2009-11-03
A Winner
I earned my living with 35mm motion picture cameras for 30 years and have owned several consumer camcorders.
The Creative Vado HD+ is an incredible bargain at the current price of $129.
Far and away the best attribute of this camcorder is the lens. It's wide. Really, really wide. This is extremely valuable for two reasons.
First, human beings see wide. That's why a wide angle lens is so valuable to photographers - this camera sees like you do. Your pictures look like the movies, even if the HD footage is a little contrasty.
Second, the camera is so small and light, hand-held images are gonna be shaky, no matter who's operating it. But, the wider the lens, the less a problem this is. Other cameras' lenses deliver a much smaller angle of view and a less natural and shakier picture. Kudos to Creative for giving this camera a truly wide angle lens. The only one that does.
All that said, an image stabilizing function would do wonders for this camera, even with such a wide view. Autofocus would be nice, too. The fixed-focus lens won't focus any closer than a foot or so. If you want to shoot bugs, this won't do.
Battery life is so-so. You can't fill an 8GB card (2 hours of HD+) on one charge.
This camera generates TONS of data. Be prepared to fill up your hard drive in no time. At top res, camera files occupy about one megabyte for every second the camera's recording.
Sound is also so-so. It's mono, not stereo. The mic does an adequate job of picking up sound, but is very susceptible to the slightest breath of wind.
All in all, a absolute winner. Convenient, easy to use, great pictures and very satisfying. The next generations of these cameras are going to be fantastic.
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2009-11-02
Thumbs Up
We have the Vado HD for recording sports with our kids and have liked the quality and portability. We recommend this product!
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2009-11-01
Great HD Video Camera for the Price
Bought this for my wife because it was less Bulky then our everyday video camera and could be easily carried in a purse or pocket. The Vado is simple to use and records in High Def for up to 2-hours, videos are easy to post on-line and the image in my opinion is the best in it's class. This was a great deal, I have no buyers remorse, and she loves it.
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2009-10-30
Pretty Cool Little Camera
This is a great little Camera for the price. I did a lot of research before I bought it, and almost went with the FLIP, but price played a big role in my decision as well...The only downfall is it's compatability with MAC, which is improving...I still have to use Handbrake to get the video to an MP4 format...Image stabilization in HD Mode is not good at all...You really need a tripod, but still a great buy at $100.
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2009-10-30
Fun, good buy.
For about $100, great video. It's like the camera on the iPhone--not tons of features and megapixels but easy and convenient. That's what this is. Video quality is very impressive. Sound quality is only 3 stars, not nearly as good as the video quality. Software is a bit flaky.
Would recommend.
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