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| Aiptek GO-HD High Definition 720p Camcorder with 3x Optical Zoom | 
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| Brand: Aiptek
Category: Photography
List Price: $299.99
Buy New: $137.17
You Save: $162.82 (54%)
New (26) from $137.17
Avg. Customer Rating:  39 reviews
Sales Rank: 1666
Color: Black/Silver
Media: Electronics
Autographed: No
Memorabilia: No
Batteries Included: Yes
Floppy Disk Drive: None
Optical Zoom: 3
Display Size: 2.4
Maximum Focal Length: 21.5
Minimum Focal Length: 7.5
Shipping Weight (lbs): 3
Dimensions (in): 10 x 8 x 3.2
Legal Disclaimer: Warranty does not cover misuse of product.
MPN: GO-HD CAMCORDER
Model: GO-HD CAMCORDER
UPC: 653886020411
EAN: 0653886020527
ASIN: B000FVXZ2E
Shipping: Eligible for Super Saver Shipping
Availability: Usually ships in 24 hours
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| Customer Reviews:
| Showing reviews 1-5 of 39 | | ... 8 NEXT » |
 Bad Audio; Bad video; Bad still picture August 17, 2008
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
I have owned this camcorder for nearly six months. It has been a very disappointing purchase.
The audio gets very scratchy at times. I have seen this happening when recording musical programs where there is continuous loud audio. Video quality is so-so. In the name of HD, it creates huge video (.MOV) files, but the videos that I capture from my Sony MiniDV camcorder (in DV format) are much better in clarity and quality. The zoom is almost useless because of the absence of steady-shot feature. Even with a tripod, I have seen the video quality reduces with zooming, though it shouldn't happen with the optical zoom.
Still pictures: It is very easy to mess up a picture. Half of my still pictures come out to be out-of-focus or shaken.
If you are not in a hurry to go HD and if you are considering this camcorder because of the attractive price, WAIT... I can see that the Sonys and Canons are coming down on price.
 A beginner's HD DV, what it is supposed to be August 13, 2008
This is my first DV as I always hesitate if I need a DV or not. I know many people who own a DV but told me that they only use it twice a year after spending a few hundred bucks and then it is out of date. I decided to try one just for the reason that it is inexpensive, under $200 and found the video quality is so good.
Now I've used it for couple of months and I would give 4 star review for it. It is a perfect beginner's HD DV, as what it is supposed to be.
First, the video quality is so good in 720P, I put some screen capture online and one can hardly tell the difference with those still images captured with a digital camera. Even in low light conditions like indoor or at night, the noise is still very low. I'm surprised how they could do that with a CMOS sensor. I know some DC can capture videos in 640X480 or even 1024X768, but they use the sensor in fast exposure mode and use motion-jpeg compression, the video noise is very high.
It is an idiot proof consumer product, there's not much you need to set or control, just turn it on, start and stop recording, zoom in and out, review, turn on light.
It is so compact that you can put it into your purse or pocket.
It uses SD card, which is inexpensive now, buy a 4GB sdhc and you are all set(almost two hours recording time). Take the SD card out and put it into your computer, then you can play it with many software like quicktime. I never tried the software comes with the package but I recommend Kmplayer, which is free and you can download anywhere. Its decoder is the only one that plays the video clips on my 1.3G laptop smoothly.
The battery life is short, like 30-45 mins, but I found most of the clips I shot are no longer than 5 mins. and I do know this is common for most if not all HD consumer DV's. Try searching reviews for those sony and canon one. Fortunately it comes with two batteries in the package.
The biggest problem is it does not have anti-shake or image stabilization function, so you have to hold it very steady to get good shot. Unfortunately, for consumer DV, I found it is always a problem, even those who have IS function, they still have the problem. The CMOS camcorders use rolling shutter, which causes weird effect like smear. even for those expensive one. so my suggestion is: using a tripod, or don't move while shooting.
And audio, the most clear sound it can capture is the voice from the guy who is shooting. Outdoors, the wind will make a noise. But again, do some research you will find it is again a common problem for consumer DV. Fortunately this does not bother me, I only enjoy the image but not the sound most of the time. when I edit the clips, I simply replace the audio with music as background. If audio is important for you, try find one which can use external directional mic.
A minor issue is its plastic feeling and smell, which makes it felt cheap, very bad marketing in US. but don't be fooled by the outlook, it is worth every penny.
so I would highly recommend this one if you are planning buying a DV and don't want to spend a lot money. Canon HF100 is another option, which will drop below $[...] soon. or Samsung at $[...]. you can review HD clips at www.vimeo.com before making your decision.
 A nice little gadget for the money July 6, 2008
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
Not the most reliable, stable piece of equipment, but what do you want for the pricetag? I'd say it's a very amusing gadget and I'm prepared to see how far this little thing can go. This actually has an optical zoom, unlike the other models that have a "digital zoom" (completely useless as far as I'm concerned). The biggest minus is the sound - it's outright horrendous. Manual override with the other functions is not easy to implement. Picture wise it's a nice achievement, 720 P video for such a low price.
Great product for low price June 14, 2008
The camera works as advertised. It is portable, light weight, easy to configure, comes with a handy bag.
The only con is battery life. If you are planning to record a 3 hour long event, forget about this one.
[...]
Make sure you check out the other options May 19, 2008
6 out of 6 found this review helpful
I admit that I am a geek and I'm proud of it. I love to explore new technologies and see how different designers approach the same problem.
I have had a little media production company for a few years which has allowed me to experiment with a lot of different equipment. High-end video cameras are great, but I also love the cheap little cameras sold by companies like Aiptek and Mustek. My interest in these cameras is based on their tiny size and tiny price. Unfortunately, the video quality has typically also been "tiny."
With that said, for little money you can buy a camera that serves both as a still camera and a video camera good enough to send videos of little Timmy's piano recital to grandma or to take some casual still shots. Several years ago I wrote a long review on the Aiptek IS-DV camcorder for E-pinions. Although the IS-DV was a seriously flawed machine it offered "good enough" performance, a very attractive price and a nice software bundle. Based on the above I thought it would be a great little camcorder for the above listed uses, especially for those on a tight budget.
So it was with great expectation I purchased the Aiptek "Go-HD" camcorder. This camera was bigger than the IS-DV but offered 750p resolution, a 5 MP camera, low light mode, auto focus (instead of fixed focus) and an optical zoom. I was very excited to try it out.
My overall impression has (unfortunately) been so-so.
Why?
1.Cost...The price of the Go-HD is dropping, I bought it when it had just come out and it was significantly more expensive than previous Aiptek products. It is significantly less expensive than a true HD camcorder. With that said you can now get a regular DV type camcorder for just a little more than this one.
2.Picture quality...Certainly an improvement over older Aiptek cameras but (IMHO) not as good as a regular DV camcorder. This surprised me as the specs of the camera suggests that the picture quality should be better..
3.No image stabilization...I didn't think that this would be a big deal as I know how to hold a camera. Yet, it turned out to be a big deal as the camera is so small it is hard to steady and the video can look pretty shaky unless you are real careful.
4.Quality of still pictures...They are pretty good, so what is my beef?? They are not as good as an inexpensive point and shoot which you can now get for around $100. Low cost point and shoots now offer a lot of modes (like sports, night shot, etc) which this camera does not. I often found that I had to tweak pictures in a photo editor, something that I don't have to do with pictures from other cheap cameras.
5.Poor battery life
6.Rare codec...The Aiptek web page says that the camera's video is in the .mov format. What is in the small print is that the camera uses a particular codec called the H.264 codec and it doesn't seem that many video editing programs support this particular combination. This is a huge problem if you want to edit your footage. I did buy Arc Soft's Total Media Extreme software from Aiptek and that software does work with this camera but is it extremely basic in its functioning. To get a useable file (one that I could edit) I had to combine all of the video clips and render them to more common file format. This was a very slow process (set it up and go to bed) which degraded the final video. Only then could I use a video editor like Vegas Video or Movie Maker. Apparently there is some sort of a work around to use ULead's Video Studio but even that program doesn't support the H.264 codec packaged in .mov. This is a big deal as many folks would buy this camera for things like emailing a video to family. When you do this you want to trim the video down so that you send the smallest possible file. If it was possible to easily edit video from the Go-HD I would rate it higher.
7.Noise...Using the optical zoom results in a very loud motor noise the in final video. Even when the zoom isn't used the audio quality isn't very good and you get a mechanical noise when you play back the video. This is very strange as the machine records to flash memory and there are no moving parts.
8.Size...The camera is very small, but bigger than the IS-DV which was so light you would forget that it was on your belt. Other camcorders have been shrinking and now the difference between them is less than it was a couple of years ago.
In many ways this camera is a vast improvement from the IS-DV that I liked in the past. However, the cost of this device is higher and the playing field has narrowed considerably. You can buy a decent DV or DVD camcorder for just a little more cash. On paper DV resolution should be a lot worse than the Go-HD's 720p, but in practice DV looks better (IMHO). Further, you can easily edit DV videos with many inexpensive or free programs.
Conversely, you can buy an inexpensive point and shoot camera that will take great still pictures. Most of these cameras will also shoot decent (not great) video, perfect for email or web use.
There is also a very inexpensive, tiny video camera called "The Flip." This camera takes very nice video and has built-in flash memory and editing software all for a very inexpensive price.
Will I continue to play around with this tiny camera?? Sure! However, I find that I rarely use it in "real life." Nowadays when I need a mini video of a recital I use a "Flip" video camera and for more serious video adventures, like a vacation, I go with my standard video camera. What about stills?? My $100 Nikon from Walmart seems to do a great job. I wouldn't say "don't buy the Go-HD," but I would say "check out all of your options." You may find a camera that better suits your needs.
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