Aiptek Action HD GVS 1080P High Definition Camcorder with 5x Optical Zoom (Silver) by Aiptek Inc.
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Digital camera reviews of Aiptek Action HD GVS 1080P High Definition Camcorder with 5x Optical Zoom (Silver)
Digital camera Review: Camcorder with good still image
Summary: 3 Stars
I was looking for one gadget which can be used for both digital camera and camcorder. This works good for both purpose. One thing is that the camera switch needs to be pressed a bit hard. It has 5x optical zoom. It doesn't have HDMI output so the HD quality of video might not be seen on regular HD TV.Digital camera Review: Compact and handy but FOV is too limited
Summary: 3 Stars
I used this camera on a recent trip to Europe. The HD video is really very nice, but even at zero zoom, the field of view is very limited. One has to stand quite far away from one's subject in order to capture a reasonable image size, way further than would be needed when using a standard digital camera or SLR with a 50mm lens, for instance. This made taking good video next to impossible. The low-light performance, as others have noted and one might expect, is fairly poor, but the daylight video and pictures are very nice. I would personally look for something with more flexibility in the way of field of view, this one is just too limited in that regard.Digital camera Review: Couldn't be more pleased
Summary: 5 Stars
Wow... Has Aiptek come a long way! From crummy little "pen" cameras to video cameras like this. While still quite the budget brand, this camera does not fail to impress.
Video quality is very good. The camera does well in most normal lighting situations. Expect a fair amount of noise indoors, but rarely does this camera yield an unusable video. Plus the night-shot mode gives quite a nice boost in exposure. Just expect a drop to around 25FPS.
The stabilizer...wow, I must say I'm rather impressed with this. Most camera's around this price range have completely useless stabilizers. While this one isn't the greatest, I will admit it's actually useful! Quality isn't dropped much at all, if any and it does compensate for minor shakes.
Still pictures are pretty fair. As with most CMOS cameras, it's nearly impossible to get a decent still image without a flash. The built-in flash does its job, but does tend cast a blue tint and over expose. However, with a little positioning and zooming, pictures can look pretty nice from this little guy.
The lens is pretty impressive for such a cheap camera. F3.5-3.7 through the zoom is better than some point and shoot cameras have to offer (at least at the far end of the zoom) However, the leans apparently has no control over the aperture, thus some photos tend to be over-exposed. But for what it is, I really can't complain. Oh, and for those who want to use filters, I'm afraid your out of luck. There are no threads around the barrel... Also, with regards to the zoom, there's only one speed to zoom. No smooth zooms, I'm afraid.
Focus speed is actually quite fast. I'd say it's compatible to most any low-end camcorder. It does tend to hunt from time to time, but typically finds and holds focus pretty well. Plus the AF-lock is yet another welcome feature
The microphone compared to previous Aiptek cameras is in a league of it's own. While it's still prone to becoming muffled by too much audio, it's miles ahead of any other camera I've used in this price range. Endcoding quality is much nicer than other cameras too (48kHz, 128bit) Now, I don't believe the mic is stereo but it is encoded as such. I have yet to test the external mic jack, so I'm unsure if it allows for stereo.
Ergonomics could use some work. Holding the camera without placing a finger over the flash takes some effort with my large hands. Plus the layout is a tad weird. Using the 5-way stick takes a little situating of my hands as well. But, to just press record then aim the camera is easy enough.
Battery life... Well, it's a lithium battery. Use it for a while, charge it while not in use. I've yet to actually run the battery down so I can't give any exact numbers. However, I did let it record for about 30 minutes in 1080p, using it off and on for the rest of the day and the indicator never got below half. The battery is a standard NP20, exactly like my Jazz HDV-178. The camera uses a special USB-style charger (it wouldn't charge other USB devices I had around) but the camera will charge off a computer.
A few miscellaneous quirks...
- The remote is a joke (as with other Aiptek's)
- It's very difficult to remove the SD card
- The included case places pressure on the 5-way stick (may break over time?)
- No video/night lights
As for the people with the "dreaded white dot" mine seems to have this problem too. However, it seems to be more occasional than anything. Typically shutting the camera off or simply going to playback then back to camera makes this dot disappear.
-- 09/07/09 --
I'm in the process of editing a Wedding I recorded using two of these cameras. I must say they performed exceptionally well. Audio is crisp and clear, even picked up more than I expected (which is a good thing). Colors are astonishing and there's very little chromatic aberration (outdoor wedding). I only had two problems with these cameras that day. Once it became dark outside, the quality diminished a fair bit and the focus began to hunt. The video is still usable after some minor post-editing, but I wish it were better to begin with. Also, the lack of zoom control is a bit annoying. I wish I could do something smoother while recording for a better looking pan. But even with these flaws, I love these cameras and will be recording more weddings with them in the near future!
Digital camera Review: Decent picture, non-existent stabilization
Summary: 3 Stars
I've owned this for about 4 months and have used it for about 3GB total of video.
Pros:
- Easy to carry, easy to use
- High resolution, clear & detailed videos (as long as you hold it completely still)
Con:
- Image stabilization is just about non-exsitent. I can't tell much (if any) difference between having it on & off. This defeats the purpose of having a small hand-held video camera.
Becasue of the poor stabilization, many of the videos I've shot are almost un-watchable. I find myself reaching for my older Panasonic PV-GS14 instead of this.
Digital camera Review: Difficult to use device
Summary: 1 Stars
I did not enjoy using this HD camcorder because of the frequent, and unwarranted, low battery warnings. Also you are forced to use the ArcSoft Media Impression software to download the media files from the camcorder to a computer, instead of simply dragging and dropping the files where you wish.
My biggest complaint was that after filming nearly 90 minutes of a live performance the device turned off due to low battery power. But when I went to retrieve the video I had captured, to my dismay no media files of any kind were found on the expansion SD card.
I will avoid this manufacturer's products from now and will seek more well known name in HD camcorders for future use.