Aiptek A-HD 720P 5MP CMOS High Definition Camcorder

Manufacturer: Aiptek, Inc. Availability: Usually ships in 24 hours List Price:$199.99 Our Price:$134.99 Features: 1280 x 720 H.264 Video @ 30fps Connect to TV/VCR/DVD player to record video, pictures and audio Charge with USB or AC Adapter without removing battery 5MP CMOS sensor with still images up to 8MP 2x digital zoom with fixed focus Description:

Reviews:

Video editing difficult on PC
For the money, I give material 5 holds the first role. I recommend a tripod since the cheap cameras do not do them good with the movement. The video is very interesting, but the noise could be better. Since the manufacturer forgets while passing to indicate to you that you will not be able to publish your videos on a PC, I give this camera 2 holds the first role. The visual files are complex - you have the container (mov, avi, wmv, MPEG), you have visual coding, and you have audio coding. This camera creates files of mov of APPLE Quicktime coded with the visual and audio last codecs. My friend could play


Great Camera
I recieved this camera for Christmas. I was kind of skeptical because of the brand name, but it turned out to be my favorite little toy. I carried it everywhere and recorded several clips.


The Good: Long Battery Life. USB Charging. Indoor Video/Picture Quality. Ready to record once the screen opens. Easily fits in back pocket. Easy to hold. Flip screen

The Bad: Low light/nightime video quality. Zoom Feature is irrelevant. No shortcut to view photos/videos. Choppy Video when watching on PC


This camera is great for capturing those everyday, not-so-great moments in life. I wouldnt suggest this camcorder if you are seriously trying to capture important events.



Great camera!
You should know that I am probably the least person "tech there" on planet, thus I bought this product with hesitation, particularly since it did not have stellar reviews. I tested it out of several times at the video my infants, always inside during the day. The light was very well, did not employ us any additional special lighting. The quality of HD was enormous on our HD TV (although we had a certain trouble to connect the noise - proves had to us to connect this part with the healthy system, not with the duh of TV!) I was shocked with the quality of the video. I thought that the microphone made a reasonable gathering of work to the top of the noise of a couple yards far from my kids. It was really easy to transfer the files starting from the camera to my portable computer from imper... although I do not have any idea how to publish a film or to still make a dvd. I think that somebody had concern concerning any stabilization of image, but I did not have any problem to always keep the camera and the films did not come out of precarious. You can easily hold it in your right hand, and use the palm of your left hand to help to maintain it stable. Wasn't the buzz inside and exactly smooth outside by playing behind film, more jerked, but for $150? Badinez you?


Good camcorder for the price
It is a good caméscope for the price, but its still better with a wide-angle lens of Phoenix because it makes with all the pickling solution of glance and more pointed. Its good in value the $30 additional ones to obtain the wide-angle lens when you buy this. Moreover the mic are EXTREMELY sensitive which has like consequence strong acoustics. The stuffing of the tissue paper of silk in sector mic tiny room the noise of wind, but does not help much with volume. Unless you can soundproof the noise with your inch do not take this in strong sectors. Recommend the visual software of edition which can re-code acoustics with an estimate lower by dB. There are direct available newer firmwares for Aiptek for this caméscope, but they do not seem to help much with acoustics. Version 2.02 of the software packages lowers volume, but has by clicking noises when people speak and you cannot roll again to a older software package. If all is well the audio problem will be solved in future firmwares. If you improve the software packages I recommend to go not higher than 1.6. This caméscope also has exits with charts of SDHC thus I recommend of me to hold some with the standard charts of standard deviation until they fix this in a future software package.


WOW. HD Beaches. XBOX 360 PNP HD MOVIES. No more bulky tapes and chargers (or tape drag warnings in Cancun from humidity.)
Very flexible. Batteries cheap punts. Nice after update of software package to 2.002. Even the mode of CIF is pointed for its size (more than 10 hours in this mode). The batteries are 5-10 dollars. the wall of NP60/kit the automatic third of charger is 5. I have 3 batteries now. The minis or regular tripod and the remote control (for bottom 10.00) are a nice addition. I like to employ by using a monopod occasionally for a more professional field of landscape. The dredger and the fall with the computer, or MOVEMENTS of play or JPG right of the port of USB of cam in any research, including hello Def 720P, or even the sight upconverted with 1080P on your discs of XBOX 360. (requires the free update of dashboard of XBOX January 2008) (PVR) NTSC weight of the trade inside (4hrs on piece 4gb) to the very good quality of DVD, and you could even use bus word of copy of one of the cameras of projectiles of nite moving, running the cord in your pocket of shirt this it of the adjustments inside ( cam misses bands! !). I have gone up adaptor of ring of 37mm (included with objective of SIMA 2X SLS-20A or Sunpak CAL-1040KIT (cheaper) 2X) with before (2 drops nail the adhesive, thus I can jump it to far if I must) to use my wide-angle cheap wide-angle lenses of SIMA SLS-05 and 2x SIMA SLS-20A. You could also make a push of 37mm on the adaptor of friction starting from the cover of objective of back of sima (vimeo of control for fasten) the update that easy software packages 2.002 adjust the noise to the bottom with a better quality, and do not obtain with the buzz 4x (other dry blows too.)(AIPTEK Oct.. 22 2007 V2.002 Oct.. 22 17:48:19) no audio Click or problem with this chart of memory. Visual wide-angle ring of the objective w/Updated of teleobjective of Sima 2x of objective of conversion of tripod SIMA SLS-05 of Sima ST-10T of bracket of Sima of pro package of value of Xbox 360 of chart of memory of class 6 of standard deviation SDHC 4GB the Turbo one of A-Data the mini class the universal kit of objective the Tele one -- Conversion of Sunpak CAL-1040KIT 2.0x of light of caméscope of Sima SL-10LX LED with 25, 27, 30, 30.5 and the sizes total DIGITAL 2 of filter of 37mm pack the new battery of the equivalent 1200mAh LithiumIon Camera/Camcorder de Fuji/Fujifilm NP60, durable cell. It answers or exceeds with characteristics of OEM! New Camera Of DIGITAL


You get what you pay for.
I picked this unit up over the weekend at my local Best Buy. It was on special for $149.99 which also bundled a small tripod, 1GB Kingston SD Card and a carrying case. Overall this is a pretty good value for the extra $15 - $20.

The camcorder itself comes packaged with a lense-cover, wrist-strap, composite and component video cables, USB cable, instruction booklet and CD-ROM. One note about the CD-ROM for Windows users, you might want to at least install the Windwows Media Player codec that allows you to play the output files in Media Player, as it will only play in Quicktime if you don't. The rest of the software is pretty basic and, in my eyes, pretty worthless.

The device is relatively well put togetether for this price-point with a few exceptions. The plastic is fairly lightweight and cheap feeling. The main issue I have is that the battery doesn't seem to fit snugly into the battery compartment.

The on-screen interface is fairly basic but easy to navigate using the 5-way, thumb-operated joystick. Other buttons are limited to a dedicated camera key (used to exit any menu or to take a still photograph when in video mode), mode button (used to switch to playback mode), menu button, and the trigger-activated record button. There is also a slide next to the lense for the macro function to make close-up shots clear.

The LCD display is actually quite nice. The colors and well-represented, and the display is fairly bright and easy to see in direct sunlight. The display rotates and can be flipped flat against the body of the camcorder.

The quality of the video is a mixed bag. Video can be recorded in HD, SD or Web-quaity settings. In either case, video taken in well-lit environments works amazingly well for the price of the unit. Video is smooth, color well balanced and contains minimum artifacts and other digital distortion. In anything but well-lit environments though, the results drop off dramatically.

The sound quality of the built-in microphone is, as other reviewers have noted, sub-par. I am working around this by recording seperately using a decent microphone and mixing the audio in post-production.

Speaking of post-production, my main gripe with this camera is that records video files to .MOV format, making it a nightmare for Windows users. If you have a Mac computer, you'll be all good. However, .MOV files are a pain to work with in a Windows environment. I use Adobe Premiere to edit my video, and while it does load these files, it takes forever to "conform" the videos to the project and subsequently causes frequent crashes. If you convert the files before editing, you will not only lose more time but more quality as well. If I needed more motivation to upgrade to a Mac, I think I've found it.

All in all, the Aiptek A-HD camcorder met my expectations of being and affordable, easy to use, HD camcorder.


I like it, but it has it's shortcomings
It is probably more than one toy or of a camera of amateur, rather than camera of quality general public, and for a principal reason - there is no stabilitzation of image, thus your hand must be * really * strengthen, or you must use a tripod. Other which that, aucunes felt sorry for. It will not give you the razor pointed high image of definition because of compression in real time to the chart of standard deviation, but it is decent. It has three modes of image: Hello-def, DVD and Web. The major part of time I employ the arrangement of quality of DVD. The image in this mode is manner better than video tape recorder or even of my older numerical caméscope of sharp of 8mm. It also takes the decent, comparable photographs at a cheap rate point-and-draw from the cameras. It needs the good lightning, but I have successfully filmed inside with step also the great states of the lightning and the image came out of better than I envisaged. In a general way, it exceeded my hopes. I like it much and I think that it has a great value for paid price I it (~$150). I give him only three beginnings because of the lack of stabilization of image.


Not the real deal!
I just checked it outside with the target. To add to the top of it is a toy $120. It just does not deliver to a level of HD. The recording of HD is a scrambled disorder. On the DV1 the adjustment of the video is close to the quality of my caméscope of miniDV, but it misses of many devices. The objective fixes does not concentrate on objects of close-up. The objects two feet or further appear very well, but at these distances acoustics turns hail. I would not consider this equal to a miniDV, nor I really employ it to record the videos at the house. I give it that one hold the first role because so dish-outside does not deliver on what it promises.


480p not really 720p
This camera could be able to record technically with 720p but compression is higher and the movement is chopy in my tests. Yeilds of video the D1 mode it the most balanced. The objective is rather slow, F3.0 and is somewhat soft. It is also fixed thus it can be difficult to judge the hearth sometimes shooting of low light? I would say that the minimum the probe and compression can handle the quantity of light in a standard bathroom with two bulbs of 60 Watts or around 50 luxes less light and the compression and the noise of probe start to become apparent. the video is a nice device inside. quality is correct. the playback on a computer is poor but on a def TV of stardard (examined on 20 "mémorex) was almost good. It was watchable. built in the flash is a joke but it could be employed to start others ($20) cheap slaves that the quality of image is better than the majority of the telephones of camera but the objective is the weak bond they claim the probe is 5mp thus why on ground you would like to interpolate in a so cheap camera? You do not gain anything. if something there is a loss of memory quality: if you have files on the internal storage, you can to only reach once them that the chart of standard deviation is removed to you must obtain the updates of software package via the email of the support of technology. The left cover postpones is annoying button and record is small. It should be placed where the flash is. I am a DP and a photographer by profession. I bought this camera because it is small, the growths on the standard deviation, $120 and you can take it anywhere.


Excellent entry level HD (you get what you pay for)
To begin with, this is -not- a conventional digital camcorder.
Unless you find it too toy-like as others have found, it seems to be delivering exactly what it promises:
The lowest cost HD DVR for sale on the market.
A point-and-shoot eight megapixel digital camera.
Digital playback device that can show Quicktime media (when storage cards greater than four gigs are used (max 32 gig SDHC) (compatible with Apple products).
The quality is excellent and the only drawback I've seen so far is that the playback speaker is too small and delivers very nasty tinny audio. Much like the audio from almost any small microspeaker. Use your headphones when watching playback. Much better.
Of all the video resolutions you can use,(there are three) the smallest (CIF)(352x240) gives you the most bang for the buck in storage....
A two gig SD card will hold up to 320 minutes of video. That's -five- hours plus! You'll need to recharge the battery at least a couple of times to fill a one or two gig card at that rate.
The middle resolution is (D1) (720x480) is very close to VGA (slightly wider) and you can only cram 144 minutes full video onto a two gig SD.
The HD resolution is full true HD (1280x720) and will only record for 60 minutes before filling up that same two gig SD card. However, there are larger cards available now, and I still like have a few extra two gig cards in my pocket.
Battery life is estimated to be 90 minutes (factory spec) but I haven't pushed that far yet. My other Aiptek, the IS-DV, maxxes out at VGA (640x480)resolution, cannot handle longer than 48 minutes before depleting the battery.
The difference? The IS-DV is 2 year old design, and Aiptek is pushing the envelope.
Final verdict?
This is a very good product, worthy of consideration from both first time buyers and jaded users who are used to far more expensive gadget loaded camcorders.
It weighs nothing, a cellphone is slightly smaller, and the battery lasts and lasts. It has very few moving parts, and only one mechanical slide switch that operates the macro mode focusing.
I can't wait to see what's next, Aiptek. Perhaps even smaller? More resolution? Image stabilization?

I'd rate this a nine out of ten, the only fault is that playback speaker.
And it's not really a deal breaker, in my opinion.





Great for the money for sure!!!!
I have spent alot more money on high end sony, sanyo, and canon cameras and none come close to the quality of the pics and video indoors or outdoors as the Aiptek A-HD does.
Now it is not perfect such as the zoom, well don't use it because the pics and video quality degrade if you use it.
The pics have very correct color and saturation. But if you are indoors and try to capture little kids moving around they will most likely come out blury. I think they have the shutter speeds set abit slow for this but otherwise great.
In short I own this for 120.00 and also a Sanyo hd1000 for 710.00 and am very happy with both and will keep them.


High quality video for low price
With bought this camera black Friday for $120. Excel purchase! Visual quality is impressive for a caméscope of level of entry. The particularly good glances on a liquid crystal display TV with the components hung up.Very easy to employ and simple. The discoverer of sight makes full 360 rotation for the recording yourself if need be and can close the side of viewing recording to the top always, which can be useful if you want to assemble it to say your helmet (which I have to still make). The mem of chart of standard deviation made transfering to your computer a breeze. The wing of the nose of Ipod filling of model of USB but equiped also with a separated catch with A.C. more which is really A. do not record anything thus really long cannot judge the life of battery. The quality of its is medicore as well as possible but acceptable for the price. The camera for the delayed motionless projectile described. Useless device of buzz but still for the acceptable price. The bottom of the camera fished marks thus going up on an impossible flat outside. For-large quality so that easy superb of cheap camera entirely uses the Sight of large Flipable for Utube! The camera of quality of Against-Noise Delay the frame bevelled on surface punt... differently strongly recommend!


Best Deal Around.
Bought the latter for my brother and his wife and after having seen of which point it of work I think that I will obtain for me. The visual plays without apparent worked objects on a plasma of 42"et the images move without jolt. I was amazed to see such a compression full in only 2GB/hr. Emploie the standard files with Quicktime! Alleluia! The expenses with the USB and accepts the memory of standard deviation until 32GB. The execution of interior is nothing to shout about but certainly usable (no camera which this size cannot really impress in the low light). The noise is rather poor, because the other reviews suggest, but I can live with him. The provision of quality and ordering of construction are not large but explain the low price. The morals of the history here is that you can bring it anywhere length without agitation. And when it comes at the memorable times, drew is better than any projectile, right-hand side?. I think that I will henceforth keep one of the latter rempliés far in a pocket. A flight for this price.


beware verry bad sound recording
initially it is small camers of a recreation at a great price that the principal disadvantage is the sound recording it obtains easly overloaded and twisted thus the concert of band of kids the noise is thus bad all you forget to record hear is a great disorder


Plastic Fantastic.
I bought the Aiptek A-HD about a week ago. I wasn't expecting too much since I only paid about $100 for the thing. But after using it for a week I have to say I'm stunned. The video qualty is very good even in low light. The pictures are even better. Pictures are sharp and the colors are very accurate. Better than my old Pentax. I have had no problems with the sound as some others I have read. My only complaint is the lack of any image stabilization, the video does tend to bounce around alot. Aiptek has finally produced something here that is not a joke. Kudos to Aiptek! For the money you can't go wrong.


Actually, It's Pretty Fun and Not That Bad
For the price, it is much. This camera is the pretty much visual camera cheaper of HD than you can buy. Consider just that it is nowhere close while the rich device or as well built as any Sanyo Xacti that costs $200 more. It is made almost entirely plastic coated by painting, although it should survive in your bag with back or purse if you pay attention. It will not astound you with an objective of terrible buzz or it video of 720p the most pointed HD which you ever saw, but it has some nice devices. Initially, it employs the format of the H.264 film which is compatible with the contact of iPod, the iPhone, the iPod 5G, and the Nano one of the iPod 3G (are just sure to employ the format of the sequence of the camera to ensure you do not have any other conversion to make for these players - only APPLE TV will play files DV1 without conversion; also, iMovie HD the motionless need to convert the H.264 files into format of iMovie HD). Any imper with OS X 10.3 or higher immediately identifies the camera like device of USB. In the second place, it can record 480p or 720p entered of an external device by him is the visual mini-port of entry *. it can contained upsample 480i with 720p (although that will not improve original quality behind of what you attach of the adhesive tape), or you can record with DV1 (480p). It comes with two exits: a weight of the staple trade in/out and a HD outside (YPP). * The recording of entry is like DV-R, but without timer or programming. For television or the old VHS which you want on your computer, quality is as good as the majority of the DV-R. What you must know: The video is the best in the day and the luminous light, otherwise you will see the noise. It tightens with overexpose white, but there is of A/- the adjustment of exposure placing, and placing it at -1 is in a permanent way a good idea. Othewise, it has correct contrast and saturation. Automatic white balance is really very good, too. But when you record in 720p, there is compression which can be apparent on a good posting of HD. Compression is noticible distance in 480p and CIF (format of sequence), but there is less of resolution. Moreover, the numerical buzz creates the jaggies weak antialiasing, which are more obvious in HD than in 480p. There is also no reduction of jolt, but there is a standard frame of tripod. There is an arrangement of "night" which inside low-light, but it increases the visual noise considerably. The objective is soft, which is where you can say yourselves only spent of the dollars of $1xx, but that does not carry out the entry of TV, which is sharp of abundance (so much then you know that it is a poor objective and not the piece of CMOS). And, yes, there can be a certain deformation of "vague" when you filter too much rapid around (it is not obvious on the screen of liquid crystal display, only with great televisions), because the refresh rates for the probe are a little slow. The execution it ruins is so bad the camera? Not. It is about what you would count of a camera sub-$300 in 2007. What must say, better than a camera $200 3 years ago. For me, the life of battery of the battery of Li-Ion was about 60mins visual recording with the liquid crystal display above, and of 75min-90mins of the recording with the liquid crystal display with far. The handbook recommends load to you the battery of the camera during approximately 4 to 8 a.m. before its first use, that I. You can obtain the additional batteries of replacement of Aiptek, but it is the same model as for a certain number of other cameras of Pentax and of Fuji, thus they cost only between $10 and $20. I like that it charges by USB, so that when it is not connected to the computer in mode of drive it can charge. It also comes with a lower-case A.C. to the adaptor from power from USB for displacement. It takes about 3hrs for a load. The buzz 4x is numerical, that functions in the photograph and the mode of video, and it does not go left you bourdonner inside very far or bourdonner outside very far. I would say that it is an equivalent of 35mm to 60mm in the focal range of camera of 35mm. The macro mode is only for 20"12", which is not too narrow. The pivots of posting of liquid crystal display outside and can turn jusqu in front of the camera around. It is lengthening of 4:3, but when you record in HD, the screen is letterboxed. You can also close the liquid crystal display and keep the recording to save the life of battery. It is useful when you entered of the recording TV. Entries (USB and weight of the trade) are hidden by a ribbon of protection out of rubber with slide which deserves to be treated delicately. It is attached to the camera, and turns to the variation, but if you think will be rough with him to break it enough with its weaker spot, traction right it outside permenantly. The operation of camera is really easy. The provision of menu simple- is occupied and directed with a handle of 4 directions. The graphs and the icons are designed pleasant well. There is a principal menu for the 4 modes: Arrangements, camera, my work (your recordings), and recorder of voice. Each mode activates this aspect of the camera, and there is then a secondary menu for this mode, too. In my work, you choose the projectiles, the photographs, or the visual notes of voice. The menu of submarine of photograph allows for same a presentation of photograph. All can be actuated with your inch and finger of index while holding the camera. The part of camera 5MP is much as a camera of cellphone (the LED on before unit is right for the instantaneous stroboscope with photographs, nonvisual), and although it can upsample with 8MP, it does not improve quality. For acuity, its option 3MP is the soft spot. I would not say that it is the talent most extremely of cameras, but it beats any old camera of MiniDV which included an option of the "photo" 2MP. There is a higher microphone assembled for the noise of recording, but there is no entered microphone if you want to make differently. The entry of weight of the trade just does not allow the audio entry of an external microphone. If you want to record an audio overdub, you will have to do it on your computer. However, the mode "of recording of voice" for acoustics of recording in the format of WAV functions a numerical tape recorder just like. And you can connect ear-phones so that the internal loudspeaker does not emit your playback with those around you. It does not come with a chart from standard deviation (obtain to you that seperately) but it has enough RAM for some photographs and seconds of video. I would guess about 32MB. It does not seem much of reasonable to employ this with a chart of standard deviation of less than 2gb. It is about 2GB by 1hr of the recording of HD. However, it accepts charts of SDHC until 32GB (I suppose that they will be available in the future) and of the transfers of USB 2.0 starting from the camera to your computer are as quickly as they should be. In a general way, it was better than I planned for $150 below. The camera is a little fragile and it really deserves to have the well lit subjects, but it is a good device of companion for your beause daily of outward journey-bag or purse of its size. He would make a good gift for a tween.


Horrible quality, no battery life, useful only as dvr.
This product is just horrible. I never expected it to be great, but the quality of this camera was just unacceptable. 720p must be done using interpolation because there is just NO detail in the picture. Also, if you move the camera at all while recording you will notice a fishbowl "wave" as the picture first updates from the top left to the bottom right.

A software bug came as soon as I tried setting it up: the date wont set. You can tell it the date all you want but it wont store it.

The battery wont even last me 20 minutes while recording. Playback can almost reach 30 minutes if you've got the lcd turned way down.

The design is horrible leading you to a very painful position. Holding this camera for more than a few minutes hurts my wrist badly as you have to hold your wrist crooked to get a straight picture.

Lowlight is actually surprisingly good and if you're just looking for a cheap night camera this might fit the bill.

DVR features are the one redeeming quality of this device. The DVR works flawlessly and battery life isn't really an issue as you can just leave it plugged in. My biggest problem with this, is that much better DVRs exist for the same, or lower price. It's still a decent feature and is the only reason I gave it 2 stars.

Overall, don't get this camera at all unless you just want it for a standard def DVR or a constantly plugged in camera to be used in the dark.


Before you Purchase
4x digital zoom, and led lights . are not incuded in this model. the lens angle wil force you to hold a downward grip. the flash will becoveered, and the record button located on front too small foryour index finger? the camera micseems just a tad lower not a problem as the go is over sensitive?

the Camera has no issues or maulfunctions
the batter ylife is good over 1 hour plus, Low light is not as powerful as the Go
but 170.00 at the debut it is a steal for "NEAR DVD QUALITY" it is a h-def came 720P excellent film there are great videos at sites
here is a Full blown view ENJOY
go to metacafe look for Aiptek A-HD 720P hi def review



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--end of Aiptek A-HD 720P 5MP CMOS High Definition Camcorder