Average Reviews:
(More customer reviews)I bought this not expecting much and not having seen any reviews on the Web or in print. The product is a couple of months old to market. There's some misinformation floating around out there -- here are a few clarifications and highlights of the product from my week's worth of testing. First, it does indeed shoot at a 16:9 aspect ratio even as the video resolution is 1440x1080p -- you just need to be sure and apply an "anamorphic" pixel ratio (i.e., not square/1:1). Also, it is a fixed focus camera: The benefit is that there's no noisy/slow auto-focusing mechanism, but the con (as with all fixed focus camcorders) is that low light performance suffers somewhat, while close-in subjects go out of focus (though there is a manual macro switch on this product). Big pluses include the fact that it's charged via a super-standard mini-USB connector, and accepts up to a 32gb SDHC card. There is a tripod mounting hole but no electronic or mechanical image stabilization, no optical zoom, and no external microphone/audio in port.
In short, this makes for a great "second-unit" camcorder in cases where you don't want to rough around with your primary HD camcorder, or where you want to strap this onto a skateboard and the like without worrying about lost investment. It's wise to take the native H.264 files that are wrapped in .mov format and convert them to .avi or MPEG-2 .mpg files for further processing/editing/burning, as most systems will stutter trying to decode the native video files at 1080p/30 fps on-the-fly (i.e., even high-end video cards do not necessarily include hardware acceleration for files in this specific format). Although users appear to be especially enamored of the product's 1440x720p/60 fps non-interlaced mode, I'm not convinced that their bias is based on the benefit of double the frames-per-second, instead of the mere shortcomings of their system's hardware playback at 1080p/30 fps.
UPDATE: The following wide-angle lens attachment works perfectly with this camcorder, and I'm tempted to use it full-time as it not only widens your field of view, but in the process mildly reduces the inherent shake of your footage by "pulling back" a little farther.
Sunpak CAM-2110 MagMount 0.5x Wide-Angle Conversion Lens (Large)
Click Here to see more reviews about: Aiptek A-HD+ 1080P High Definition Camcorder (Silver)
With the new A-HD+ from Aiptek you get all the great features of the A-HD but now you also get 1080P recording! One-touch recording allows you to capture stunning 1080 P HD video at 30 frames per second with H.264 technology. You can also record 780P HD video at 60 frames per second. Connect to your TV/VCR/DVD player to record video clips, pictures, and audio recordings, and playback directly on the built-in 2.4" color LCD. Take still pictures up to 8MP. 4X Digital Zoom with Fixed Focus and Night Shot. LCD swivels 270 for unlimited video and photo taking. Conveniently charge your new A-HD+ via the USB cable when connected to your PC or use the AC Charger cable included with no need to remove the battery from camera. Connect to your HDTV Component inputs to display your high definition video clips and pictures. Use up to 32GB of SDHC card storage to record longer video before having to upload to your PC. Ships with: Camcorder, Lithium Ion Battery, AC Charger, USB Cable, Component and AV Cable, Lens Cap, Wrist Strap, and User's Guide.
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