Reviews
Creative Labs Vado HD Pocket Video Camcorder 3rd Generation,120 Minutes (Black) – NEWEST MODEL Reviews
Creative Labs Vado HD Pocket Video Camcorder 3rd Generation,120 Minutes (Black) – NEWEST MODEL
- High definition 720P pocket video camcorder with 4GB of video storage capacity
- Fits easily in your pocket purse or the palm of your hand
- One touch recording with a spacious 2 inch display and touch capacitive buttons
- Record up to two hour of HD video footage at 30 fps
- Works with PC and Mac
Catch the perfect snowboarding stunt, your baby’s first steps or your kid’s graduation, share it online and save it for a lifetime with Creative’s new Vado HD Pocket Video Cam. The third generation of Vado HD camcorders introduces a sleek new industrial design, the latest Vado Central software, improved light sensitivity, optional stereo microphone input, and availability in multiple colors. The thin, lightweight Vado HD is small enough to fit easily in a pocket, purse or the palm of your hand,
List Price: $ 179.00
SALE Price: $ 138.94
Rating: 
(out of 31 reviews)
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about 1 year ago
Review by Antonios Printezis for Creative Labs Vado HD Pocket Video Camcorder 3rd Generation,120 Minutes (Black) – NEWEST MODEL
Rating:
Vado is my favorite brand when it comes to pocket size “HD” camcorders, even at 720p and 30 fps the 2nd generation was one of my favorite for its crisp frames, very wide lens, and color contrast. I was very glad to hear that the 3rd generation came out (due to some issues with the low sound quality, over-saturated colors, over-exposure of sky and other little nuances with the 2nd generation). Then i saw this… (!)
The 3rd gen. Vado HD has half the memory (4GB) and as such can only record 1 hour of HD+ footage (as opposed to 2 hrs with the 2nd gen). And it still comes with no external memory slot. The nice matte, scratch resistant and fingerprint free finish is now gone. And the buttons that were previously neatly located and easy to press and navigate are now a touch-sensitive surface that you can easily brush (thus press) and not ever realize it. Still the camera does not have optical zoom (understandable for its size), still no image stabilization (still ok since at that price range, most do nothing and optics take space) but still no 60fps or 1080p settings much un-like most of its competition. In addition, the memory is now cut in half and there is no way to add more!
The addition of motion detection is a ‘fun’ feature, but i don’t see when mainstream users would need it.
Personally i would much rather prefer to see a timelapse (like the Samsung U10 has), which is great for skyscapes.
Alternatively, the ability to double as a web camera (like the Webbie) would also be good and perhaps useful.
The 3rd gen also takes pictures, which (even at 1280×720) is a minor plus.
The manual light-adjusting settings work fine, but i always have to be careful not to touch them/activate them by accident.
Color-wise, the 3rg gen seems closer to reality, without over-saturating reds/greens that much. As a result the video looks more natural but also not as lively or vivid as the 2nd gen.
When it comes to sound, the 3rd gen seems slightly louder, but it comes with an external mic input for more demanding users or situations.
–
So, overall, we had a pretty great 2nd gen. Vado HD.. and instead of adding a much needed memory card slot, and perhaps adding a color option (i.e. vivid vs. normal) to give the user a change to choose whether high color saturation is desired or not, or maybe add a 60fps or 1080p setting.. we got a 4GB / 1 hour / glossy / colorful camera that can detect motion!!
My suggestions to Creative: Drop the internal memory all together (if some is needed for usb connection/drivers/codec/etc, just use that much), ADD a micro-SD memory card reader, add manual controls for saturation/contrast/light, keep the external mic and HDMI out, keep the replaceable battery, and do not downgrade the currently high data-rate of more than 4Mbps @ HD and more than 8Mbps @ HD+ (which is great to be able to record at these high bit rates – and imo larger files with quality are better than small useless ones, we can always compress later)
about 1 year ago
Review by K. Dawson for Creative Labs Vado HD Pocket Video Camcorder 3rd Generation,120 Minutes (Black) – NEWEST MODEL
Rating:
I am not one to typically write a review of a product (this is my first)… but the Vado made me do it! After having spent time with the Flip HD cam, i was ready to give up on the mini/micro HD market, because the quality (sound and video) was so poor. I assumed that would be the case for all similar products. But a friend convinced me to give the Vado a shot, and I was immediately impressed. I love the fact that it takes both static pictures and video. This is a great fix for all of the woes of packing bulky equipment and accessories to memorialize trips and vacations. Now you only have to have room in your pocket. And the quality is outstanding! I am definitely a fan, and am going to look into other products that Creative Labs develops… because we should all experience this type of happiness with all of our electronics.
about 1 year ago
Review by Lawrence H. Bulk for Creative Labs Vado HD Pocket Video Camcorder 3rd Generation,120 Minutes (Black) – NEWEST MODEL
Rating:
Offered to me for free by Amazon Vine, this is the first such product I have ever owned. Years ago, I took many home movies on film with 8mm silent, Super-8 silent, and Super-8 sound being the types I used, and then later I went to a JVC GR-SZ9 Super VHS camcorder. However, several years ago, I lost interest in video tape and I stopped taking home movies.
Fast forward to now: we have a granddaughter of whom we’d like to have some videos; I had been investigating various camcorders but had not yet made a decision.
Amazon Vine, with this Creative Labs Vado HD 3rd Generation Pocket Video Camcorder, 120 Minutes (Black) – NEWEST MODEL, made it for me.
I received the unit yesterday and, per the instructions, I charged the battery. Now the instruction say to insert the battery into the camcorder and attach the camcorder to a USB port on your computer. I wanted to see if there was an alternate method of charging the battery – and there is! You need only attach the camcorder (with the battery inserted) to a Creative Labs Battery Charger for Vado and Vado HD Camcorders or similar and plug the adapter into a wall socket. This is quite advantageous.
Amazon offers a spare battery [Creative Labs Rechargeable Lithium Ion Battery for Vado HD Camcorder] and external chargers, one for the home and one for the car [Creative Labs Vado HD 720p Pocket Video Camcorder 6 Feet USB Extention Cable, Car Charger, Travel Charger], thereby offering the option of having two batteries – using one while keeping the other one charged. That will be quite a convenience and you’ll never run out of power. Amazon also offers several carrying cases for this unit (one is even waterproof). The prices for these accessories, as well as several other accessories offered by Amazon, are quite reasonable.
I want to emphasize the fact that the battery is easily removable and replaceable. This is a rare thing in this age of built-in non-replaceable (except by the factory at a very high price) batteries and, for me, is a distinct advantage.
I was a bit worried that the camcorder might not work with my computer; it is configured to work with either Windows (XP SP2, Vista, or 7) as well as Mac – but I use the Ubuntu Linux operating system on my computer.
I need not have worried. The camcorder works perfectly in conjunction with my computer and it will obviously work well with yours, regardless of your operating system. And transferring a video or picture file from the unit to your computer is a snap!
Thus far I have had only enough time to try the cam minimally. I have tried all three video settings – HD+ and HD (both are configured to produce MP4 files with AAC+ sound and the video in both is 1280 x 720) and VGA, which also produces MP4/AAC+ files with the video is formatted at 640 x 480 (ideal for e-mailing and for posting to YouTube, etc.). I did send via e-mail a VGA video [33 seconds, 8.9 MB] to my son (who lives across the country in California) and he said the video was fine – though there was some “snow” in the picture (I had sent him a video of our latest snowstorm! …
… just to bring back to him some “fond memories” – he always hated shoveling snow!).
The picture quality in all three settings is excellent. (My son was actually quite amazed at the quality of the video I had sent him – and remember that this was taken at VGA, the lowest quality setting.) I believe that any purchaser will be surprised and VERY pleased with the results this camcorder supplies. I am!
Sound recording, being somewhat more problematic, is good if care is taken; an external microphone, which this unit can accommodate, would greatly improve the sound quality but at a price, of course – both the cost of the microphone as well as the cost in portability and ease of use.
I think that, for most people, the built-in microphone will suffice.
It is very easy to convert MP4 files to the Audio_TS and Video_TS files used on DVDs and I plan to make DVDs from the videos I take with this camcorder.
I also tried taking a still picture. It turned out quite nicely though not as good as that which can be obtained with a dedicated digital camera.
Nonetheless, taking into consideration its size (tiny), weight (next-to-nothing), ease of use (REALLY easy!), and the relative high quality of the videos and pictures it produces, this camcorder is a definite winner.
Frankly, as I’m sure you are aware and as I indicated, it is not going to replace an elaborate dedicated video camcorder or a dedicated digital camera (especially a DSLR or Micro Four-Thirds model) for certain applications but, with its portability and ease of use and the fact that you can take it everywhere you go, this unit will be available to you when you might not be carrying one of those more elaborate cameras. Plus it “boots up” VERY fast (and can be set to turn on even faster, if you wish) so you will never miss a shot. The videos and pictures it produces are far better than anything that I have seen produced by a cell-phone. It even features a standard tripod mount!
Is there anything I would like to see changed? Yes – I wish Creative would introduce a model which had NO internal memory and used an SD or similar card. The user of such a product would essentially have “unlimited” room to take video (imagine using a 32 GB card!) and would not have to transfer files to a computer or external hard drive (and delete them from an internal memory) nearly as often.
But that is really a minor point. Given this camcorder’s wonderful attributes (including its obvious superb construction quality – which includes its lens and LCD screen), I can give it NO LESS than five stars – as well as my highest recommendation possible.
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Update: April 12, 2010
Last night, using my ASUS Eee PC 1000 10-Inch Netbook (1.6 GHz Intel Atom N270 Processor, 1 GB RAM, 40 GB Solid State Drive, 20 GB Eee Storage, Linux, 6 Cell Battery) Fine Ebony (no longer available) in conjunction with my Western Digital WD Elements 320 GB USB 2.0 Portable External Hard Drive WDBAAR3200ABK-NESN (Black) (on which I store my videos), I projected a three-minute video of our granddaughter (taken in a supermarket) onto a 110″ (diagonal) screen, using my PT-AE4000U LCD XGA 16:9 1600 Lumens HDmi Svid 16.1LBS Hdtv Projector. (On Friday I had received a VGA cable which allowed me to connect my computer to the projector.) I ran the sound from the computer into my Yamaha RX-Z9 – AV receiver – 7.1 channel. The projected picture was absolutely clear and sharp with almost perfect exposure (the first 5 or 10 seconds were too ‘red,’ as I described in a comment, but the color quickly settled down) and the sound was excellent.
I took the video using the middle video setting (720p). I had converted the MP4 file the camcorder produces to an AVI file but this would make no difference to the quality of the projected image. (One of these days I suppose I should try the higher 720p HD setting.)
Both my wife and I were really astounded – that is the only word I can use – at the quality of the image and sound we were seeing on our screen.
We both HIGHLY HIGHLY HIGHLY recommend this product. I’m quite certain that anyone who buys one will be REALLY pleased.
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Update: July 14, 2010
Having owned this Creative Labs Vado HD Pocket Video Camcorder 3rd Generation,120 Minutes (Black) – NEWEST MODEL and the Kodak PlaySport (Zx3) HD Waterproof Pocket Video Camera (Black) NEWEST MODEL and using them side-by-side, overall I now prefer this Creative one. It is just as easy to use as the Kodak, its images, at 720p, appear to be as good as Kodak’s 1080p images, at least on our 110″ screen, and the Creative’s battery lasts much longer. Even though the Kodak can hold, with a 16GB SD card, much more video than the Creative, its battery runs out before you can take even a fraction of what the card can hold.
Neither camcorder is perfect and I could be happy with either. I think most people would feel the same. But, having had and extensively using both, overall I prefer the Creative.
As always, it’s your call. Thank you for reading this and I hope it has been of some help to you.
about 1 year ago
Review by Craig A. Schwab for Creative Labs Vado HD Pocket Video Camcorder 3rd Generation,120 Minutes (Black) – NEWEST MODEL
Rating:
I owned the first generation of this camera, so when the lcd broke on the other one after an accident, I was pretty confident that I would love this one as well. Not so.
The worst problem is the addition of the touch sensitive controls. It’s very easy to accidentally push any of the buttons. I’d read about this in reviews before I got the camera, but it ended up being way worse of a problem than I expected. The only actual button on the back of the camera is the record button, and it must be way too easy to press as well, because in the short time that I owned it I recorded well over 3 hours of footage from my pocket. This even after I turned it off and disabled the quick record option. Call me old fashioned, but I think you should be able to put a “pocket camera” in your pocket. Also, I never had this problem with the first generation. Let me also say that I was really disappointed that they cut the amount memory in half from the first generation of this camera, and still without adding the option for a micro-sd slot to add anymore memory. Lastly, it may be a bit superficial, but they changed the wonderful mat finish of the first generation to a glossy finish on this one, and it’s covered in fingerprints after only a couple minutes use. Plus, the new design on the front of the camera is just plain ugly.
On the plus side, the video quality is pretty good for the price range and given that it’s a pocket camera. It definitely captured the colors well and in stunning resolution (though I would love to see them add options for 60fps and better image stabilization). The sound quality is about what you would expect (not so bad), but I love the addition of a microphone jack (for using an external mic instead of the built-in) and I wish I could’ve tried this out! Also, they added the option to choose your exposure level with this generation, which made me very happy, because the first generation definitely needed it, and so this camera works much better in lower light. Not great, mind you, but better. The added option to to take pictures instead of video was also a nice surprise, and the pictures came out pretty well as long as you could hold the camera relatively still and choose the correct exposure amount.
Overall, I was very unhappy with this camera. Mine ended up having some sort of issue, so luckily I was able to send it back and get a full refund; I would not have been happy had I been stuck with this one. I was happy with the video quality, and some of the new options were a step in the right direction, but creative definitely took a number of missteps with this camera that make it almost unusable. The biggest drawbacks of this camera were definitely the addition of touch sensitive buttons and the cameras tendency to record while in your pocket. Creative has definitely fallen behind the pocket camera market, and I do hope they step it up and come out with a camera that can compete a little better. At this point, I’m probably going to be getting the Kodak Zi8 instead.
about 1 year ago
Review by Jason Lake for Creative Labs Vado HD Pocket Video Camcorder 3rd Generation,120 Minutes (Black) – NEWEST MODEL
Rating:
I also own the 1st Gen VADO, but this newest model blew my socks off when I got it. The picture quality, options and ease of use far surpasses any other handheld video camera I’ve used before. I’ve always been a big video guy, but the ability to toss a small VADO into my pocket (or wife’s purse) has encouraged us to capture even more family moments that we wouldn’t have with other, bulky, HD cameras.
Props to Creative for venturing into this space and revolutionizing the HD video cam!
about 1 year ago
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