Aiptek MZ-DV-MPEG4 Camcorder with 3x Optical Zoom
by Aiptek Inc.
List Price:
Our Price: $130.00
You Save: $69.99 (35%)
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Category: Digital Camera
See more digital camera details and other models
Digital product summary information
Manufacturer: Aiptek Inc.Release Date: 2006-11-15
Model: MZ-DV
Color: Black/Silver
Product features:
- Record video from your TV, DVD player, VCR, or any device with composite outputs
- Built-in 5-megapixel CMOS sensor; still-image resolution enhancement up to 8 megapixels
- High-compression MPEG4 video format
- Digital video stabilization, red eye reduction, and built-in SD card slot
- 3x optical zoom, 8x digital zoom
- Pinnacle Studio HD V14 [OLD VERSION]
- Sony Vegas Movie Studio Platinum 9 [OLD VERSION]
- Pinnacle Studio Ultimate Collection V14 [OLD VERSION]
- Nero 9 [OLD VERSION]
- Roxio Creator 2010 [OLD VERSION]
Digital camera reviews of Aiptek MZ-DV-MPEG4 Camcorder with 3x Optical Zoom
Digital camera Review: A HUGE disappointment!
Summary: 1 Stars
This camcorder is terrible in just about every way:
Cons:
- Unacceptably blurry video; the specs say it records at 640x480, but it looks more like 320x240 (if that!) blown up to VGA.
- Noticeable aura around any dark shape on a lighter background.
- Awful light sensitivity; forget about recording indoors--no matter how brightly the room is lit, faces will come out too dark. The built-in LED's don't help much (and not at all at distances over 4 feet from the subject).
- Noisy zoom that gets picked up loud and clear by the microphone.
- Zooming goes in irregular steps--completely useless while recording.
- Video lags noticeably behind camera movement; when image stabilization is turned on, the lag becomes so atrocious that you can't tell when to stop panning--UTTERLY USELESS!
- When using AV-in and AV-out cables, the firmware has frozen on me a couple of times; the only way to reset the camera was to remove the battery.
- Video encoding (through the AV-in cable) produces an unacceptably noisy and undersaturated result.
- The LCD display has a very narrow viewing angle; anything more than about 10% and you can't make out a thing.
- Still photos taken at the native 5MP resolution come out strangely grainy and uneven--something like a "sharpen" effect gone wrong. I can get better looking pictures with my 2MP Canon Powershot A40 camera.
- The manual recommends keeping the camera motionless for 2-3 seconds AFTER snapping a picture (that's on top of the 3-4 seconds it takes the thing to focus BEFORE it snaps); but you can't keep THE SUBJECT from moving, folks! Welcome to the psychedelic land of image trails...
- Flash photos come out with wildly different color balance depending on the color of the background.
- The manual is a sorry affair--only 17 pages long and doesn't go much beyond identifying external controls and menu options.
- I could go on and on, but I'll stop now, as you probably get the picture...
Pros:
- The camera body seems sturdily built; the controls also have a sturdy feel to them, as do the battery and the USB port covers. Hmm... it's the only nice thing I can think to say about it.
Maybe a child (think pre-teen) could find this "camcorder" exciting as a toy, but I don't see how it can be enough even for an undemanding person looking to capture occasional life's moments on video.
Summary of Aiptek MZ-DV-MPEG4 Camcorder with 3x Optical Zoom
Aiptek's MZ-DV is a hand held multi-functional Media Player/Vieo Recorder which allows you to connect to your TV/VCR/DVD player to record your favorite tv shows, movies, and video clips and play them back on the built-in swivel-reversible 2.4" TFT color LCD screen or on your 60"TV for under $200! Record videos at 30 frames per second in MPEG-4 Super VHS quality (640x480 VGA resolution) with image stabilization and sound and take pictures at up to 8 Mega-Pixels enhanced resolution with a 5 mega pixel CMOS sensor. On top of all this, it's an MP3 player; voice recorder; and SD card reader/Removable Hard Disk. This product comes with 16mb of internal memory and has a built-in SD card slot that can hold up to 4GB (Card not included). It ships with a built-in lithium battery and charger, usb cable, av output cable, camera bag, and ear bud headphones. Also includes Camera Manager, Muvee AutoProducer, ArcSoft Photo Impression, ArcSoft Media Card Companion, and ArcSoft Media Converter software. Requires Microsoft Windows 98SE/ME/2000 /XP;Direct X8.0 or above, 128MB of Ram, 64MB Video Card, 4x Cd-Rom.Camcorders
Cameras and Photo
Most talked about in Aiptek Inc.
Aiptek VS-DV MPEG4 Multi-Function Camcorder with Image StabilizationAiptek Inc.; Digital Camera
Price in other shops:
Aiptek 3D-HD High Definition 3D Camcorder (Black/ Black)Aiptek Inc.; Digital Camera
Best price: $179.00
Aiptek PenCam Trio HD 4 GB Camcorder Value Pack (Red)Aiptek Inc.; Digital Camera
Best price: $127.88
Price in other shops:
Aiptek HD-1 720P High Definition Camcorder with Built-in 1GB Storage (Silver)Aiptek Inc.; Digital Camera
Best price: $297.00
Fidelity FDS-C-Instant Theater Docking Station for Aiptek CamcordersAiptek Inc.; Digital Camera
Best price: $8.99
Price in other shops:
Aiptek AHD Pro EHD 1080p HD Flash Memory Camcorder with 12x Optical Zoom (Silver)Aiptek Inc.; Digital Camera
Price in other shops:
Aiptek Action HD GVS 1080P High Definition Camcorder with 5x Optical Zoom (Silver)Aiptek Inc.; Digital Camera
Price in other shops:
Aiptek DV-S ISDV32P MP4 Digital Camcorder and Still Camera with Built-In MP3 Player (Pink)Aiptek Inc.; Digital Camera
Price in other shops:
Aiptek Portable 3D Photo and Video Display (Black)Aiptek Inc.; Release date: 2010-08-15; Digital Camera
Best price: $119.00
Price in other shops:
Aiptek PocketCam 4000 4MP Digital Camera & CamcorderAiptek Inc.; Digital Camera
Similar digital cameras
Sandisk 4GB Secure Digital SD HC Memory Card (SDSDB-4096, BULK, No Reader)SanDisk; CE
Best price: $0.79
Price in other shops: