Customer Reviews: Read 26 more reviews...
 Great for a full HD resolution, second-unit camera May 28, 2008
66 out of 67 found this review helpful
I bought this not expecting much and not having seen any reviews on the Web or in print. The product is a couple of months old to market. There's some misinformation floating around out there -- here are a few clarifications and highlights of the product from my week's worth of testing. First, it does indeed shoot at a 16:9 aspect ratio even as the video resolution is 1440x1080p -- you just need to be sure and apply an "anamorphic" pixel ratio (i.e., not square/1:1). Also, it is a fixed focus camera: The benefit is that there's no noisy/slow auto-focusing mechanism, but the con (as with all fixed focus camcorders) is that low light performance suffers somewhat, while close-in subjects go out of focus (though there is a manual macro switch on this product). Big pluses include the fact that it's charged via a super-standard mini-USB connector, and accepts up to a 32gb SDHC card. There is a tripod mounting hole but no electronic or mechanical image stabilization, no optical zoom, and no external microphone/audio in port.
In short, this makes for a great "second-unit" camcorder in cases where you don't want to rough around with your primary HD camcorder, or where you want to strap this onto a skateboard and the like without worrying about lost investment. It's wise to take the native H.264 files that are wrapped in .mov format and convert them to .avi or MPEG-2 .mpg files for further processing/editing/burning, as most systems will stutter trying to decode the native video files at 1080p/30 fps on-the-fly (i.e., even high-end video cards do not necessarily include hardware acceleration for files in this specific format). Although users appear to be especially enamored of the product's 1440x720p/60 fps non-interlaced mode, I'm not convinced that their bias is based on the benefit of double the frames-per-second, instead of the mere shortcomings of their system's hardware playback at 1080p/30 fps.
UPDATE: The following wide-angle lens attachment works perfectly with this camcorder, and I'm tempted to use it full-time as it not only widens your field of view, but in the process mildly reduces the inherent shake of your footage by "pulling back" a little farther.
Sunpak CAM-2110 MagMount 0.5x Wide-Angle Conversion Lens (Large)
Expected disappointment - but was very impressed...how is this so cheap? August 3, 2008
34 out of 35 found this review helpful
This camera has great image quality, and was a great buy. But one thing that frustrated me (before buying) was that I couldn't find much info about the more advanced specs.
But luckily, I have done the homework for you ;)
Here are some things you might want to know:
-The CMOS is 5MP native (resolution: 2592 x 1944)
don't bother with the 8MP it just 'blows up' the image (interpolation)
-The lens, even though the image quality is excellent, is the weak point of this camera. Its a fixed focus without any optical zoom. Theres only digital zoom which decreases the quality the farther its zoomed in, but not too badly.
The 2 focus modes,
Normal: Autofocuses from 30cm to infinity. Best for general purpose video recording. Nothing is really out of focus unless its too close to the camera. Though it can be slow at times.
Macro: For close-ups. Objects/people look alot clearer/better when focused on than with the normal focus mode, and everything in the background is blurred. But theres no focusing with this setting so you have to be sure the camera is the perfect distance away from the object so that its in focus.
On the camera, the top setting with the mountain/stick figure is normal focus mode and the lower setting with the flower shape is macro. There are also wide angle lenses available that fit this camera.
-The battery
Battery life for me is very good, but depends on your recording mode, screen brightness etc. Make sure to charge it for awhile when you first get it. Also sometimes the light seems to change randomly to show that its charged when its still charging. Theres a defect where the battery is loose inside and rattles around/loses contact with the terminals that make it turn off. Just improvise and put a piece of paper/cardboard below the battery to keep it from being loose.
-The screen is good quality, a little hard to see in bright daylight. No dead pixels.
-The mic is okay for me, but it tends to record the person behind the camera rather than whats in front.
-Records from AV-IN at 720 x 480 NTSC 29.97FPS
the quality is decent when I record from a satellite receiver [I always record pay-per-view ;)]. When played back on SDTV it looks nearly exactly as the original broadcast besides for some static at the very top of the screen. Audio quality is 5/5 with no hissing. Format: H264 @ 2.12mbits/sec Audio: AAC stereo 48.000khz BTW you can't do composite-in.
-has TV-OUT with AV-out and Composite-out
You can do everything with TV-out activated that you can do normally, even record vids/take pics/change settings. Video and picture quality is terrific, and they load instantly too. You can also zoom in pan around on photos, and of course fast forward/rewind/pause with videos. You can also zoom in on a paused video.
-works with my sandisk 4gb Ultra II SDHC memory card
make sure your memory card is 'high speed' or else it probably can't write data fast enough to keep up with the higher quality recording modes. I believe the memory limit is 32gb.
-recording modes:
1080p: 29.97FPS Data rate: 7.58mbits/sec at 1920x1080
720p 60f: 59.94FPS Data rate: 6.04mbits/sec at 1280x720
720p 30f: 29.97FPS Data rate: 4.10mbits/sec at 1280x720
'DVD quality': 59.94FPS Data rate: 3.57mbits/sec at 854x480
'CIF': 29.97FPS Data rate: 750.86kbits/sec at 320x240
All except 'CIF' are 16:9 aspect ratio (widescreen)
Image quality is a bit grainy if the room is dark, though you can adjust white balance/exposure settings to fix this. I would say the best overall setting is 720p 60FPS. Theres no stabilization but its really stupid to complain that the footage is 'shaky' when all you have to do is hold your arm more steady/hold it with 2 hands. After all the camera captures exactly what it sees. You can also use a tripod.
-tips for playback
The version of quicktime included on the CD is an old version that plays choppy on even the fastest computer. The best way to play back your vids in my opinion is to first:
1. Rename the file from .MOV to .HDMOV
2. Play the file with Windows Media Player
doing it this way uses the graphics card (GPU) to help play the video, instead of just the CPU which isn't very good at it. Doing it this way with my E2140 core2duo and 256mb graphics card, a 1080p video used just around 40-55% CPU. If you get an error about codecs, look up on google 'k-lite codec pack'.
Now the biggest problem everyone has is that the format of the videos (.MOV) is incompatible/doesn't work right with alot of editing software. Most people convert the video to another format which decreases the quality and takes forever. Are you ready for a simple solution that will prevent you hours of frustration?
The actual video captured is encoded to H.264 codec with AAC audio, the .MOV is just a container file. AVI, MP4, MKV and lots of others can hold H.264 video. So all you have to do is...
Rename FILE.MOV to FILE.MP4
easy as that...now the file should work in sony vegas and any other editing software that supports H264, and also play back fine with supporting media players.
Wow this can't be this good! June 1, 2008
28 out of 32 found this review helpful
Just got this camera today and after charging the battery, I have been in the back yard taking HD movies! I can tell you that this camera is better than my Hitachi DVD camcorder that cost me $475 dollars a few years ago. The Aiptek video quality is excellent. I can't believe this sells for $150. I hook the camera to my Windows XP computer using the included USB cable and drag the files to my desk top and put them in a program called ConvertXtoDVD. Convert X takes the .mov files from my computer and converts them to .vob files and automatically burns them to DVD! I like the 720@60 frames per second setting on the Aiptek A-HD+ Camcorder. The picture on my pioneer plasma is the best I have had to date in home movies, totally 16:9 wide screen and fills the screen. Still much experiementing with this camera. I did much research before I bought, Amazon feedback is always a great way to research and the $130 dollar model (HD-720) has audio problems. I have detected no audio problems with this model. I'm selling my hitachi DVD camcorder on Ebay! Burning the movie files to DVD is a snap using ConvertX to DVD. I just have to find a program that will cleaning play the files on my computer. The Nero 7 I am using to play the movies on my computer is a bit shakey. NO problem, I'm sure since they are recorded as .mov files, Quicktime player should work fine. I will also experiement with VLC player. By the way, Aiptek recommends a Pentium 4 to work the movie files. I'm using a 1.5mhz laptop and burning them to DVD with no problems, I also can convert them to .VOB files and edit them with all sorts of programs. I'm using a 1 GB SD card , which fits neatly in the camera handle and I'm getting 22 minutes of video at 720/60fps. So I will upgrade to a 2gb and almost get a hour of video, which is plenty for me. Another thought, the battery is slightly loose in the handle, not serious, but I read on youtube that you should place a thin piece of velcro or tape at the bottom of the battery to push it closer to the battery contacts. Speaking of youtube, I would suggest you go there and search the Aiptek A-HD+ to see all the great videos this great camera can take. Since the camera doesn't have video stablization and its so light, you must take caution to hold it steady. No big deal for me.. And one last comment, the pictures that this camcorder takes are not bad! I'm stil testing but compared to my old Hitachi DVD camcorder the still pics are much better. You have a selection of a 3meg, 5meg or 8meg still picture. Still experiementing and loving it. I will add more on this review as I learn more tricks...sorry to ramble on...love this camcorder!
Additional notes about the A-HD+ June 28, 2008
3 out of 3 found this review helpful
The focus "switch" on this camera is more like a linear focus control, as you can park it in intermediate positions between infinity and macro. Since the zoom is digital, it can be used to determine the best focus. Before beginning to shoot, zoom in fully, verify the best focus (important for HD in particular), zoom back out, and shoot. Remember that depth of field extends further away from the point of critical focus than it does in the closer direction (true of all cameras). No autofocus = no focus hunting, which can be very annoying (as well as no mechanism noise).
By the way, this suggestion is unfortunately not true for many optical zoom cameras. Their lenses do not maintain focus throughout the optical zoom range (particularly true of digital still cameras in video mode, many of which do not even allow zooming while shooting). All video cameras should maintain focus throughout their zoom range (parfocality), so this is a good quality test. Put the camera in manual focus mode, zoom in fully, focus, then zoom out and see if focus is maintained at the same point.
Another treat with the A-HD+ is its ability to record analog Standard Definition video, and play it back on its 2.4" screen (best with earphones). Standard Definition files are very conservative in their use of memory. Of course, it is also a portable playback device for your own videos, and is generally less expensive than devices sold for this purpose alone -- and which can't provide component output and high definition! It is like buying a portable player at a discount, and getting a great high definition camera for free. It doesn't play native MP3 files.
The other four reviews are excellent, and required reading for this amazing camera.
Aiptek A-HD+ great value July 1, 2008
4 out of 5 found this review helpful
I did a lot of research for an inexpensive HD camera. There are a ton of blogs and information out there for the AHD and AHD+. I have been very impressed. Like most others the sound is ok...but where it sets itself is the picture and price. I recently shot my son's bday (all indoors) and compared it with a Mini DV camera I shot last year at the same place. Picture is better with the AHD+ and get this...it took all but 2 mins to move about 30 mins to my PC...guess how long it takes to move a mini DV to a PC - 30 mins. I purchased a 16GB card for it as 720/60fps eats memory...about 1GB per 15 min of footage. Sweet spot seems to be 720/60fps vs the other settings.
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