Creative Labs Vado HD 8 GB Pocket Video Camcorder, 2nd Generation (Black Gloss with Maroon Accents)

by Creative Labs

Product Details

• Product Dimensions: 3.3 x 7.9 x 6.3 inches ; 11.2 ounces
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Shipping: This item is also available for shipping to select countries outside the U.S.
• ASIN: B002JM1XWQ
• Item model number: VF0580 BK-MR
• Batteries: 1 Lithium ion batteries required. (included)
• Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (110 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,294 in Camera & Photo (See Top 100 in Camera & Photo)
• Date first available at Amazon.com: September 1, 2009

Product Description

From the Manufacturer

See it, shoot it, and share it--all in high definition. With the Creative Labs Vado HD 8 GB Pocket Video Cam Second Generation, you can capture life's amazing moments in 720p high-definition quality, all with a touch of a button. The Vado HD has a compact, stylish glossy black design and features 8 GB of memory to store your videos. Small enough to fit in the palm of your hand, the Vado is the first pocket video camcorder that you can directly connect to an HDTV to share your videos instantly. And with its built-in USB connectivity, you can just as easily upload your videos to popular Web sites such as YouTube, or you can directly upload them to your computer for storage and editing.

Vado HD Pocket Video Cam Second Generation Accessorize your Vado HD: Vado HD Rechargeable Battery Add up to 2 hours of recording and playback time. Vado HD Battery Charger Keep batteries fresh so you never miss a great shot! Vado HD Waterproof Pouch (Blue) Take great shots while underwater! Vado HD Mesh Pouch (Silver) Carry and protect your Vado with style.

Take high-definition video anywhere with just a push of a button. View larger.

A built-in USB cable makes it easy to upload movies onto your computer. View larger.

Precision-Engineered Lens for Superb Clarity
A PC Magazine Editors' Choice recipient, the Creative Labs Vado features a precision-engineered glass lens for sharp, clear, professional-looking videos. With this wide-angle lens, you can capture wider scenes and record more action, and with the Vado's 2x digital zoom, you can get up close with your shots, even in dim environments.

Easy, One-Touch Recording
Recording high-definition video with the Vado is as simple as touching a button. Press it to start recording and press it to stop. It doesn't get any easier than that.

The Vado features 8 GB of internal memory and four recording modes, giving you the freedom to choose the video quality that's best for you. You can record up to two hours of stunning HD-quality video, or up to four hours of video at VGA resolution.

Edit Movies and Snap Photos
With integrated Vado Central software, the VadoPocket Video Cam makes it easy to quickly shoot and edit your own short movies and capture snapshots in still and burst modes. For Mac users, the new Vado Central™ for OS X lets you transfer and import your videos direct into iMovie.

Easy HDTV Playback or Web Upload
The Vado features high-quality HDMI connectivity and an HDMI cable, which allow you to connect your camcorder into your HDTV and immediately enjoy your videos and pictures in full 720p HD quality. You don't need any special software or downloads--just plug it in and play.

And for videos you want to upload to YouTube or other popular Web sites, the Vado makes it as simple as can be. Just plug the camcorder's integrated USB tab into your computer and post your files. Vado will take care of everything, so you can concentrate on your videos and not worry about the details.

Easy to View Screen
The Vado features a large, two-inch antiglare screen, so you can review your clips or show them off to friends without a computer or HDTV. For further convenience, it runs off an included rechargeable Lithium-ion battery. Fully charged, the battery offers up to two hours of recording and playback time. Recharge the battery via the USB connector, or if you're in a hurry, simply take it out and replace with a fresh battery.

The Creative Labs Pocket Video Camcorder is backed by a one-year limited warranty.

What's in the Box Vado HD Pocket Video Cam HDMI cable USB extension cable Silicon skin Rechargeable battery

The Vado HD's compact size lets you easily take it with you everywhere.

Product Description

Catch the perfect snowboarding stunt, your baby's first steps or your kid's graduation, share it online and save it for a lifetime with Creative's Vado HD Pocket Video Cam. The thin, lightweight Vado HD is small enough to fit easily in a pocket, purse or the palm of your hand, and it captures video in 720P high-definition quality with just the touch of a button. Sharing videos online is simple with built-in software that helps you post videos to YouTube, Photobucket or Box.net. The Vado HD is the only pocket video cam to feature true HDMI connectivity and an included HDMI cable for a superior viewing experience on an HDTV. Take the Vado HD Pocket Video Cam with you everywhere you go and never miss a moment. Product specs include 720p high-definition video, wide-angle glass lens, 2x digital zoom, 8GB of video storage capacity, up to two hours of recording and playback per charge, up to eight hours of recording time at 640x480 at 30 frames per second, HDMI and RCA connections for TV, HDMI cable included, A/V cable sold separately, removable and rechargeable lithium battery, Vado Central software for simple video editing and sharing. System requirements include Windows Xp Service Pack 2 or Vista, Intel Pentium III or higher, 512MB of memory, USB port, 500MB free hard disk space, and 16MB of Video Memory or above. Product ships with silicon skin, HDMI cable, and USB cable.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

414 of 437 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Excels in some ways, but some fundamental flaws make this a sub-optimal solution to portable video, October 21, 2009

By 

David Pearlman "sound fanatic" (Arlington, MA) - See all my reviews
(TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Creative Labs Vado HD 8 GB Pocket Video Camcorder, 2nd Generation (Black Gloss with Maroon Accents) (Electronics)

(What's this?)

This is Creative's latest entry in the pocketable portable solid state video camera market. This is a hot segment of the market right now, with hot selling competitive models from Flip (who broke open the segment), Kodak and Creative, among others. This is Creative's higher end product, with more memory (8GB) and capable of taking "HD" high(er) resolution video.

In truth these pocketable video cameras are competing not only with each other, but also with other multi-purpose devices that can also take video, particularly digital cameras and portable phones.

Before proceeding, it's worth stating one absolute about all of these ultra portable video cameras: The selling point is portability. They are very small and light, and therefore you can slip one in your purse or jacket pocket and forget it's even there. That makes these video cameras great for impulse pictures.

If the portability is not a big selling point for you, then stop reading right now and get yourself a standard video camera. Even the lowest end standard video camera is capable of MUCH better video than any of these ultra portables. (And the higher end HD standard video cameras simply wipe the floor in terms of quality and extensibility).

Alrighty, you're still reading. So you the portability must be a selling point. So now the competition becomes a ultra slim digital camera that can also take pictures. There are dozens of such cameras now on the market. For the review that follows, I'll take as comparison the video that can be taken on a Sony DSC-W220, a ~$160 digital camera that sits in the middle of Sony's line and features 4x optical zoom, 640x480 30fps video, and image stabilization.

This particular video camera is being marketed as a "new version" of the Creative Vado video line. Let's make it clear what that means, because it means very little. This VADO differs from the previous " version" in only two ways, one insignificant, the other possibly important to you. The first version of the second generation Vado came in only one color (black) and did not come with Macintosh compatible software. This "version" comes in two new color schemes (White/Green, Black/Maroon, in addition to all black) and now comes bundled with Macintosh compatible software.

That's it. End of differences. If you already have the previous second generation Vado and if you were wondering whether it's worth upgrading...it's not.

So what are the good, bad and ugly?

The good: Very small, easily pocketable, very light. Comes with a rechargeable battery that can easily be replaced by the user, and which can easily power the camera long enough to fill up the memory (2 hours in HD mode). Very simple and minimalistic controls mean a very modest learning curve. Charges via any standard USB cable. Image stabilization built in (works OK). HDMI connection (easy attachment and viewing through modern TVs). Ample 8Gb memory included. Ability to switch between HD (2 hours) and VGA video (8 hours). Built in speaker for reviewing videos (low quality, but better than nothing). Good video possible in good light.


The bad: Low light performance is subpar. No optical zoom (only 2x digital zoom). Built in microphone is extremely weak and not well suited to picking up unamplified sounds at a distance. The USB connector is at the bottom of the video recorder, and includes a pull tab that extends outside the bottom of the case and that makes it very difficult to place the camera on a surface and not have it result in tilted video. (I can't believe they didn't fix this in this new "version"). No way to add additional memory.

The ugly: The included software. The software is installed and accessed when you attach the camera via the USB plug to your PC. This brings up a Vado control center that allows you, in principal, to view and edit the videos on your camera. On two Windows computers, one running XP Pro, one running XP Media Center, I have NEVER been able to successfully edit a video using the included software. Any attempt to edit the video eventually results in the program crashing. Freezes and crashes also occur sometimes when just viewing the video through this utility. Fortunately, you can copy the videos from the camera (the camera looks like a standard USB storage device to your PC) and edit/view them with stable software from other manufacturers (Adobe Premier Elements, etc.) But the fact that the software is so buggy, even after multiple updates, reflects very poorly on Creative.

So there are pluses and minuses. But how does it compare to the Sony digital camera, which is only slightly bigger?

In a nutshell, for video quality alone, the Vado loses handily: The Sony camera takes comparably good video in good light, and SUBSTANTIALLY better video in low light. The Sony has a MUCH better built in microphone. The Sony uses user-supplied flash memory which can be expanded. The Sony has a 4x optical zoom, compared to the 2x digital zoom on the Vado. (Though on the Sony the zoom cannot be modified once video capture is started).

The two places where the Vado clearly beats the Sony are video compression (the Vado can store a lot more in the same amount of storage) and (somewhat) better resolution. One more arguable advantage of the Vado is that the controls are much simpler (and more limited). If you are technologically impaired, or if the camera is going to be used by those who won't have time to become familiar with it (kids, friends at parties, whatever), then the simpler control scheme on the Vado is a definite plus.

Obviously, there are MANY MANY other digital cameras available that also take video. I chose the Sony DSC-W220 for comparison 1) because I have one on hand; 2) because it is almost the same size; and 3) because it is competitively priced to this Vado.

As someone with no technological phobias, I would have to say that the Sony would be my go-to choice in many circumstances. I think the only reason I'd opt for the Vado would be if I needed two hours of video (8 hours in VGA mode, but I can't imagine using that mode), and a battery that would support extended recording (the Sony battery is inferior). It should be added that that's not necessarily a trivial difference. The peace of mind that comes from not having to worry your camera is going to go dark or run out of space while you're recording a special even shouldn't be underestimated.

In the end, this is a decent product, really good in some circumstances (good light, audio not critical, long recording times essential), and bettered by a good comparably priced digital camera in others.

Whether it's worth adding to your own arsenal of digital toys will be a personal choice.

260 of 279 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars I judge consumer electronics by my mother's user experience, October 15, 2009

By 

G. C. Vachon "c_ster" (SFO) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Creative Labs Vado HD 8 GB Pocket Video Camcorder, 2nd Generation (Black Gloss with Maroon Accents) (Electronics)

I rate this Creative VADO HD a five-star performer. Why? Because I bought it for my 70 year old mother [a complete technophobe] who wanted a video camera to keep me up to date on her gardens and her life. With virtually no guidance, Mom was Video-documenting her daily life. If her 10 year old Volvo had a strange noise, I was suddenly sent a Volvo video from Mom asking my advice. If the dog was sleeping close to the mangy cat - I was sent a "isn't this cute" video. When the city decided to change an intersection, Mom was there documenting the shoddy work to show/email the city supervisors. Spectacular sunsets on the beach? Mom's got her VADO in her pocket. As an aside, Michael Moore and Francis Ford Coppola probably shouldn't be worried about the competition. ;-)

The video quality is pretty good [even with Mom's Parkinsons]. The colors are rich, the adaptation to different lighting is good. The sound quality is not bad [for such a tiny device]. The huge amount of video that can be shot is staggering [We had to increase Mom's bandwidth on her DSL line because of all the video she is shooting/sharing].

Mom likes the Vado so much, she bought me one. While we live on opposite coasts [Mom on Cape Cod and my wife and I in Santa Cruz], we often swap sunset videos. Vado brings us closer. And that's worth many times more than the few hundred dollars that Vado costs.

277 of 298 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars The camcorder SHOWDOWN: I've done the product comparisons for you, November 6, 2009

By 

Chandler - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Creative Labs Vado HD 8 GB Pocket Video Camcorder, 2nd Generation (Black Gloss with Maroon Accents) (Electronics)

If I'm going to spend more than a hundred bucks on an item or somewhere around there, I do extensive research first to know I got the best bang-for-the-buck and, consequently, dodge any potential future buyer's remorse.
I've realized that the time I spend doing my product comparisons is often time that others don't have so I may as well share what I can.

I'll start by saying that you'll see my "Verified Amazon Purchase" on the Flip HD Ultra Camcorder review because, obviously, that's the one I wound up buying and I'll share with you why. But what I like in a camcorder may not suit your own needs so I'll break it down and let you decide what's best for you via what I found out:

Here are the pocket camcorders I compared:

Flip UltraHD (will be referred to as "F")
Flip Mino HD 2nd generation (Will be referred to as "M")
Creative Labs Vado HD 8 GB 2nd generation (Will be referred to as "CL")
Kodak Zi6 Pocket HD (Will be referred to as "K")
*SONY DSCW220: note: I have since had people ask me about the Sony dsc w220. I did look into this one but ruled it out for a finalist in my shopping because it is mono not stereo, it is NOT a point and shoot camera.--You have to select different modes prior to filming rather than the camera figuring it out automatically for you, it was not rated as well by the experts compared to the Flip UltraHD ( The Sony was rated "very good" as compared to "excellent", While it does have a optical zoom in photo setting, this can't be used in video setting, and the sound wasn't as good. So, while I did look at this in the end, it never made the final cut.

Why HD cameras only? Brighter colors and better images, wider images

HD SHOOTING TIME:
F: 120 minutes.
M: 120 minutes
CL:120 minutes
K: 25 minutes with batteries they included, 120 minutes if you buy an SD card


HOW CNET's editors rated the cameras:
F Excellent
M Excellent
CL Very Good
K Very Good



MEMORY:
F: 8 GB
M:8 GB
CL: 8 GB
K: internally only 30 MB recording space but it has 32 GB expandable SD/SDHC card slot. Because it comes with such small recording space you really need to buy an SD or SDHC card to maximize its potential, but the potential is really good and this will increase your ability to shoot longer.
SW 8GB


RESOLUTION:
All are 720p which is excellent, just one step below the top 1080p format.

MICROPHONE:
F: Stereo
M: Mono
CL: Mono
K: Mono


SOUND:
F:Premier AAC audio. Best sound quality but still not great in winds
M:Good sound; not great in winds.
CL:Poor sound quality; had issues with sound and picture not being in sync.
K:Poor sound quality



ZOOM:
F: 2x
M:2x
CL:2x
K: poor quality zoom on the one I tried but I still think it's 2x. It has a great macro focus for very close-up objects if, for example, you see a bumble bee and want to shoot it on a leaf a few inches away! Kinda cool.


CAMERA SIZE AND WEIGHT:
F: 4.3x2.2x1.2 4 oz
M: 3.9x2x0.6 3. 3 oz
CL: 3.9x3x0.6 3.5 oz
K: 5.5x2.5.0.9 5.6 oz


SHIPPING SIZE AND WEIGHT:
F: 6.2 x 3.1 x 3.1 inches ; 11.2 ounces
M: 2 x 0.7 x 3.9 inches ; 1 pound
CL: 3.3 x 7.9 x 6.3 inches ; 11.2 ounces
K: 4x 5x 2.5" 2.4 lbs


TECHNICAL DETAILS:
F: USB cable pops out of the back so you don't need to keep up with a separate cable. Comes with Flip Video rechargeable AA battery pack (recharges when connected to USB); also supported by standard AA batteries. Note: Some sets come with the HDMi mini included and others come with the rechargeable battery pack on Amazon. Looks like one or the other but of course if you need both you can buy the other.
M: USB cable pops out of the back on this one as well. Has child safe button to prevent accidental deletion of videos. Internal lithium ion battery recharges through built-in USB arm
CL: USB in camcorder. Included in box are HDMI cable (nice), USB extension cable,(nice)silicon skin (cool) & rechargeable battery.
K: Included in box are HD and AV cables and wrist strap and rechargeable batteries and battery charger. Has built in USB arm.


SPEED:
F: 30 frames per second.
M: 30 frames per second
CL: 30 frames per second
K: choice of 30 frames per second or 60 frames per second.

VIEWING SCREEN: All 2" except the Kodak was the largest at 2.4"


IMPORTANT NOTES:
F: Best low-light performance for the mini cameras (though not perfect at all) and least amount of blurring and dropped frames in my opinion. Best color. Only one with stereo sound. You can get an underwater case for this one! Though that may sound crazy for a Texan, we use the camera non-stop on vacations and even when we aren't IN the water, we are around the water...on boats, in the sand with sea mist, etc. Then we can dive in and record the fish. Comes preloaded with flipshare software...just plug in to computer and it pops up.
M: Colors don't appear as good on the Mino as the other cameras. Thinnest camera. Make sure you get the one that only comes in the color aluminum or brushed metal. If it comes in any other colors it is the 1st generation MinoHD and they improved upon that one in the newer models. Great audio. Better shooting in low light than most mini cameras. Camera comes preloaded with FlipShare software. Can get still images through flipshare software.
CL: Decent filming in low light but not anywhere near as good as the Ultra or Mino; Software is preloaded in camcorder. This has an optional underwater case too!
K: This is the only camera that I compared without the built in image stabilizatin which corrects for shaky images. What appears to be metal in picture is actually a chrome colored plastic. That said, this had the largest viewing screen of all of them. 2.4" Very poor in low light and seemed to have far more shaking and blurring. It also takes still pictures but they are really really poor quality...same as a lesser-quality cell phone pictures but good in a pinch if you want a still shot and have no cell or camera I s'pose. Heaviest for a pocket camera. Software is not preloaded in camcorder but a cd comes with it.

And, finally, the reviews of the Flip from experts swayed me quite a bit:
Fast Company: "Flip Ultra HD is Pure Digital's "Best Pocket Camcorder Yet." 6-09

USA Today: "New Flip Ultra Video Cameras Might Flip Your Switch" 4-09

Business Week: How do you Invigorate a Recession? Look to i-phone, Flip, Kindle, and Zip Car For Answers

There were lootttts more I came across when researching the Flip Ultra HD but those are some of my favorites.


CONCLUSION: Clearest picture and sound was important to me, expert reviews that pointed to the Flip UltraHD as well and I liked the built in software and the case I can get to shoot underwater. It is the number one selling camcorder as well. So that was my personal decision-making process. However, keep in mind that if you need reading glasses none of that will matter if the 2" screen is too small for your viewing the shots easily for playback in which case you may wish to get the Kodak if that's important to you..

Also: No matter which one you get, you will probably want a mini tripod if you ever want to be in the shot yourself do don't forget those.

Also note: It's confusing because when these manufacturers make changes in the camcorders, they do not change the names on the new versions, nor do they change the names if it's an HD version or a non-HD version so be sure you look for the "HD" after the brand name and look for "2nd generation" or "newer version" on the Mino and Vado if you like one of those better so you don't get the older models.


Hope my obsessive comparing and contrasting for my own purchasing assistance helped you as well even if what you wanted in a camera was different from me. :-)