Customer Reviews

Aiptek HD-1 720P High Definition Camcorder with Built-in 1GB Storage (Silver)

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Just got the HD-1 for Christmas and haven't given it a full work-out yet but everything about it seems perfect thus far. My computer 'recognized' it right away and I can manipulate the great pictures it takes with my photo software. It charged easily via usb connection and the battery lasted all evening at a family gathering. It is a lot of camcorder for the money!

In my past life I've been a professional in the video and film industries. This camera isn't meant for any type of professional video work. It works well for 2 kinds of camera users... people who want to shoot video at family events and trips; and people who want something with passable quality that's super-portable. It has no image stabilization so get's really jittery when it's in motion. As well, the camera mic pics up every little movement and ambient sound, so don't expect to use it in open situations like Disneyland if you want to hear over the crowd or your own movements.

Where I've been most disappointed in this camera is the battery issues. There is a known problem with the battery being loose and not making contact. It can be easily solved with a piece of folded paper or bit of cotton to keep the battery still and in firm contact. But most disconcerting was when I tried to record plays at our community theater. This camera has just under 2 hours of constant recording on a full charge, which just barely catches a full performance if it's started right before curtain, and turned off during intermission. Picture quality is okay, but the audio from the piezo mic is awful, barely understandable enough for archiving purposes. What would have made this a much better camera is the simple ability to plug it in and run it on AC. Unfortunately, because it uses the USB port to charge, even if you have the wall charger plugged in and not plugged into a computer, the camera switches into PC mode and won't record video. It will ONLY record when it's on battery power.

This is a simple camera for people with simple needs. If you expect to show the video to friends and explain what's going on, it's a great deal. If you intend to edit and burn videos to DVD... Spend the extra money.

If you're in the market for $100 HD video camera then you'll get your $100 worth with this camera.

The Good:
Makes a good HD video
It's small and convenient to carry around in a pocket

The Bad:
Still picture quality sucks
Zooming in/out is not smooth
No ability to pause while shooting - have to stop recording. Result is you end up with a gazillion independent files to work with.

The Ugly:
Camera picks up every sound - and not in a good way.
picks up the click of the record/stop record button
picks up sounds of your hand if you happen to move it while holding the camera
picks up any sound the photographer makes
The only sounds it doesn't pick up are the ones made by your subject if he/she is more than 5 feet away

It's works for us in that we use to record kids sporting events (usually create a video afterward that has music inserted) or our kids use it for fun or an occasional school project or two.

Bottom line: good as a supplemental camera for fun and play but not as a main camera used to record life's special events.

it's a great little camera, the video and sound campture on this thing is really good for the price your paying, for home videos or school projects :)

Finally I got my camera, this camcorder is very usefull, is all I want, is simple to use and can be used on any occasion, at home and outdoors, has certain limitations for the duration of the battery

After some research, I purchased this to have something with me at all times to capture pictures/video of my five year old. I had it about a week before I returned it, though. The pictures it took in daytime and outside were not bad quality-forget poor lighting conditions. Video was the same. What was really the deal breaker was how long it took to snap a picture. I missed too many shots waiting for it to snap the picture I thought I took seconds before. I returned this and purchased a Kodak zi8. Took instant pictures-quality not as good as Aiptek's. Same thing in low lighting situations except this one didn't even have a flash-this one went back too after a couple of days. My last purchase was a Nikon Coolpix S570 that takes 12MP pictures and video. I think this is what I should've bought in the first place. I think it just depends on what you want the equipment to do and what your purpose is. My digital camera didn't work anymore so I wanted something to take decent pictures along with the video capability. The mini/pocket camcorders, although a slick concept, just didn't give me the picture quality I needed. As a secondary item, not my primary source, they may have been okay.

SD card said its full. but there nothing on it. Im trying to reset . no luck. anybody help me Elliot2698 @ yahoo. com