Customer Reviews

Vivitar DVR865HD 8.1MP Camcorder with 8x Digital Zoom (Black)

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

 

 

I purchased this video camera for a trip to Florida,I am pretty much pleased with it so far. At first I was disappointed with the amount of internal memory it has but after purchasing an 8gig SD card I was able to use it.
The camera is very sensitive so you have to have a steady hand when taking pictures with it. As to the video recorder it works great and the zoom is fantastic,the only draw back with the video recorder is that the playback sound is very low.
I would recommend this camera to a friend,like I said for the price it's well worth the money.

If I were to compare and rate it accordingly, this camera would get only 2 stars.
Just based on my experience with this camera alone it rates good which is surprising
considering the other cameras I have.
The 8MP and HD video look pretty decent. The battery
life is excellent. Holding this style of camera takes a little getting used to & is awkward
when taking stills. The buttons are not very accessible and figuring out which buttons do what
is also awkward when first getting used to this style of camera.

The software installation was a somewhat painless since I figured out on the third try that
it helps to restart the computer after software installation. That's not in the instructions but
I decided to try it anyway and it worked.
The software is kinda important for uploading video to those social websites but my other computer
picks up the memory card just fine. The LCD screen is hard to view and unfortunately the zoom is not good.

This small camera makes a descent camera to carry around just in case.
Price to quality ratio is pretty good. I am satisfied with this little camera.
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DON'T TRY THE FOLLOWING AT HOME OR ANYWHERE!
The following is my experience alone & should not be attempted by anyone...not even professionals.

So after a few months the video screen went dead and I found out the solder inside the screen housing subject to break because there is a sharp bend in the strip. My camera warranty is expired.

I did some tinkering & research and found out two things:
1:This camera is very easy to take apart and put back together with a small Phillips screwdriver
It's very easy to check for a break in the circuit if you have the tools, and just as easy to repair the broken solder. Luckily I work very basic electronics & crafts & have all the tools needed to troubleshoot & fix this. Which is what I did. Works like new.
2: A replacement screen which you can only get from a website in China costs under $10.00 shipping not included. The screen is very easy to remove and replace. The screen part # is ALT-024CSLN-J2.

This camera is great for hobbyists and tinkerers.

My rating and opinion remains unchanged.

I bought this camera at radio shack on black Friday for $79 so I wasn't expecting a whole lot and that is what I got. It takes pretty crappy video especially indoors. very grainy and bad quality. I would rather spend twice as much which is still not very much cash and get a flip. My wife just bought a flip ultra hd and it is much much better but doesn't really have much of a zoom function but the video quality is very very good compared to the Vivitar POS.

This camera is probably the best you'll get for a hundred bucks. It shoots in full HD (1280x720) and has 20 FPS or 60 HZ AT THE MAXIMUM! You could look up test videos online at youtube of the quality and you will be surprised. I prefer getting the bundle with the 4 gigabyte memory card because my 2 gigabyte memory card only runs thirty minutes.

Vivitar DVR865HD 8.1MP Camcorder with 8x Digital Zoom (Black)

This little camera takes terrible quality videos so that the playback on a computer is pixalized (And it really does not look good if you want to add a video to youtube). The zoom is bad. The layout is really bad- I found it very hard to navigate around the menu's, Not only was it slow but it was confusing. You have to buy a big memory card too or it can't store much video.

The battery life was good (though sometimes it would just not turn on unless I charged it a tiny bit). I also didn't like that you can't use it while it's charging. The size is a plus though.

I would rather spend more money and get a real camera, but if you're looking for a cheap, throw away camera then go ahead. But I wouldn't suggest it to a friend.

when i first got it it seemed really cool. it worked just fine and was nice, however the controls were very WEIRD and hard to understand.
one of the first things that made me not like this camera is that it will not show you past picturs you have taken, at least i could not get it to. the only way you could see them is by pushing a sequence of buttons resulting in a slide show type thing which would show all of them but that was not what i wanted...i wanted to scan thru them myself and i think it is stupid that you can not...
secondly it is difficult to take good pictures, most of the picture i took with it are blurry, and the focus point is really far away, so it takes crappy upclose pictures which just does not work for me.
thirdly, ive had it for about a week or two and havent even needed to recharge it because of how little i have used it and the buttons are not working, i have to push it really hard like four times to get any results...i wanted to take a vedio of my cat playing with cat nip, he was being very cute, but by the time i gotten it to start recording he was bored and ran off...
so i am very very disopointed with this camera and i am returning it to amazon I strongly advise not getting it...its not worth it.