Creative Vado HD

Full Review

If you are on the lookout for a pocketable video camcorder that can record HD video, the Creative Vado HD with its 720p high definition video recording capability is a good option. Let’s check out why.

Features & Design

Designed very similar to portable media players, the Vado HD that weights just 100g  fits easily in pocket. The rubberized finish body has a 2-inch screen. Below the screen are the unfussy controls to start and stop the recording, controls for playback, a delete button and a speaker grille.  The side has a power button. The Vado HD this time unlike the previous Vado, has a protruding lens at the back with a mic hole to its left. There is no optical zoom and all we got is the 2x digital zoom.  Fortunately, the Vado HD supports HDMI-out which let us connect it our HD-TV set and for others, it has RCA-out. HDMI cable but no RCA one is included in the package. The bottom has a tripod mount and a standard USB flexible connector at the bottom. The Vado has 8GB of internal flash memory which can record up to 2 hours  for HD+ quality, 4 hours  for HD quality and  8 hours for VGA quality. Videos are recorded in AVI using H.264 compression format at 30 frames per second. Creative PC Application preloaded in the 8GB memory can be used to creative a video and upload it to YouTube, Photobucket and Box.net.

Lack of image stabilization of any sort and the camera’s inability to catch up with the frames were the downer.

Performance

We were excited about such a small product with HD video capturing ability in the beginning. We just need to point and shoot to start the recording. Holding the camcorder was comfortable so was using the menu. We just have to point and shoot. The 2-inch screen was bright even outdoors but we would not complain much if it was larger either.  Straightforward placement for tactile controls made using a hassle-free experience as well.

Our videos captured outdoors looked great in terms of details, contrast and saturation even though it did not capture videos  in true HD.  Still subjects  recorded on the clip were the most impressive while subjects in motion captured always turned out with  jaggy edges and jerky movements. Lack of image stabilization of any sort and the camera’s inability to catch up with the frames were the downer.  Sure, the colors looked vivid, bright  and offered good color reproduction, but colors looked blown out too soon in a brightly lit environment. We got our best video shots when the camera is held extremely steady which is impossible to do it all the time. The 2X digital zoom worked smoothly though the output videos were pixilated and looked blurry.

The lowlight clips recorded were acceptable for a pocketable camcorder despite the lack of any kind of illumination. The images sacrifices on details with some noticeable noise and artefacts but for a pocket camcorder it was quite good. The built-in mono mic picked up audio with good clarity. The removable battery lasted for 2 hours of continuous shooting which is good. Overall, the Vado HD records good details high definition video but the poor frame rates is a letdown.

Bottom Line

At Rs.19,900, the Vado HD is a costly proposition. If you really need a pocket camcorder that record in HD , this is the only pocketable option right now.