Very good "pocket" camcorder

Reviews Written by M. Pentecost (Sacramento, CA)

Very good "pocket" camcorder

I just purchased this product, and have only had a little time to play around with it, so I can not speak for the longevity of it, but I can tell you about my first impressions, and also how this camera performed based on my expectations. I do feel that a lot of the negative comments on this camera come from either a lack of knowledge of these types of devices, or simply unreasonable expectations. It should be noted, that this camera has a fixed wide angle lens, it is NOT going to have as much clarity and detail as a full size, full-on HD camcorder. What it will do is take reasonably good HD videos in an ultra-compact form. You can't have full size HD camcorder quality on a device this small, and on the flip side, you will never be able to haul all your normal camcorder equipment in your pocket, like you will with this. So, on to some specifics. 1. This camera records files in the h.264 codec. In my mind, this is one of the best codecs for this type of application - it allows you to put a lot of data in a very compressed file. These files will work seamlessly in a Windows environment, but you will need to be savy to get them to work on a mac. 2. Included software is very limited. If you want to edit more than 3 files into a movie at once, it will ask you to upgrade to a paid version of the app. I feel that you should just use a better stand alone editor, and not worry about included software. I have used Power Director flawlessly with this camera. 3. Because this camera is so small, and because none of the cameras in this niche have image stabilization, you will want to watch your movement. A small tripod will help - but so will a steady hand. Just don't expect the same stable performance that you are used to from your larger cameras. 4. This is a very simple device - you point and shoot simple, fairly high quality videos. Most people will think you are using a phone - and that is where this device gets its stars. You get the ability to shoot high quality video with a device as large as your smartphone, and you get it all for around [...] bucks ... You can't go wrong there. Just make sure to manage your expectations - this isn't a $1,000 HD camcorder with large optics.