Vivitar DVR910 HD Camcorder

The 4 stars is only in the context that this can be yours (price+tax(if any)+S/H) for less than $70. So here we go.

Pros:

Price. I've spent money on $1500 packages on high end video and still cameras, but for someone who takes pics and videos only a few times a year and mostly for personal use, these expensive purchases really didn't make sense, especially when the technology changes/advances so much and they go from "top of the line" to "average and legacy" within 3 years. At this price, I have no regrets if it sits around and collects dust most of the time or if it becomes obsolete in 3 years.

Ease of use. I've owned a lot of cameras throughout the years, both very expensive and cheap ones. Since I'm not a pic/video enthusiast, the expensive cameras have always been frustrating because of all the settings/modes/buttons and sometimes I end up making the pic/video quality worse, or it just takes a lot of prep for me to get the camera operational in order to shoot one small vieo. This one is mostly basic and easy to use.

No proprietary software required. I haven't jumped fully into it, but it records in an AVI format for video, so there is no proprietary conversion software required to get it from the camera/media to your PC or a DVD. The recorded video can be viewed directly by most common devices.

Cons:

Where is the lens cap? Mine came with no lens cap and from what I can tell, you don't get one. I understand leaving out the SD card to cut costs, but how expensive can it be to include a "one size fits all" lenscap so I could feel more comfortable taking it on whale watching trips or somewhere else where the lens can get exposed to the elements.

Need SD card to do anything (possible price creep). Yeah, great price, but since there is no internal storage, you will need to buy a class 4 or greater SD card (I spent about $30 for an 8GB SanDisk Ultra) unless you already have one to spare. Because I didn't have one to spare, it took my purchase from the $60s to the $90s.

AAA battery requirement (price creep). I will usually never purchase an item like this that does not come with an AC adapter and/or its own rechargeable battery pack. Because I already owned a AA/AAA battery charger and some rechargeable AAAs, this did not bother me. Also, as mentioned, I am an infrequent user, so replacing normal Alakaline AAAs once or twice a year would not bother me either.

The bottom line for me is that I am not a picture/video enthusiast, so I will use it once a month maximum and do not need perfect quality and there are free and low cost touch up software solutions to fix most things. I didn't want to spend too much for something that sits around most the time, the video quality is actually decent (I won't use this for still images as I have other cameras I prefer for that), it is something that if I don't use it for 6+ months won't require me to pull out the user manual to set it up and learn how to use all over and then have to re-learn the software to convert the video to a widely compatible format, and also with the infrequent use, the battery situation is not an issue either.

This camera can be used for fun stuff outside or in well lit rooms but not so much in any other situation. If the light is insufficient, even when the brightness is turned all the way up, the picture is really too dark. If you want something better you need to spend 3 to 4 times more. It is definitely not high def.

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So you should not expect a nicely loaded camera, it does the job for us. We have a one year old granddaughter and it takes pictures of her doing things well.

Have not tried other then indoor shots of granddaughter.

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terrible product, you get what you pay for. images are grainy, video is terrible, forget about taking a pic or vid in low light. there is a "flash" but its just two LED lights on the front and they dont help at all. only saves videos in avi format. the buttons are cheap, the zoom isnt smooth, it increments and you dont hold the zoom button to make is zoom in/out, you hit it once, it zooms in one increment, hit it again to go to the next...terrible. cheap plastic, hard to hold, makes my hand hurt, save your money and get something better. i got this as a gift from work, would love to send it back but i think i will give it to my kid

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This camera does not take very good video...might want to shop around more...it is almost worthless in low light and by low light I am talking shade, not pitch black. The camera is extremely low resolution....not what I expected from a Vivitar