Creative's Vado Pocket Video Cam gets reviewed

With the Flip Mino just hitting the scenes (and skyrocketing up Amazon's sales charts), there's no doubt that Creative's fighting an uphill battle with the Vado Pocket Video Cam. Designed to compete in the YouTube-friendly pocket camcorder sector, this critter was actually said to be built a bit studier than the Flip and pack a more luscious display to boot. Reviewers also found the audio quality to be (expectedly) subpar, and while video quality was decent for a sub-$100 device, the compression monster managed to make ho hum results downright ugly when clips were uploaded to the 'Tube. Still, for the market this one's aimed at (read: a market without videophiles), it's not a half bad addition to the cargo pocket arsenal -- just don't go expecting the world and you'll be fine.

[Daren @ Jun 7th 2008 10:29AM]

Am i the only one who finds it hilarious that an predominantly audio company would build a device with sub-par audio performance?

[PCIV @ Jun 7th 2008 10:53AM]

nope.

[tekdroid @ Jun 7th 2008 11:22AM]

sub-$100 device.
I guess it's somewhat understandable especially when you consider Creative sells to dealers for less than that and audio normally isn't the main focus of a video device.

[tekdroid @ Jun 7th 2008 1:52PM]

Paul @ Jun 7th 2008 1:17PM sez:
The price is right at bout ~$90 http://www.amazon.com/o/ASIN/B0018QIOPI/pasbl01-20/
The improved video quality is nice.
-----------
Did you see Shawn Collins' review on that page?

Why does the Flip look like its distorting the aspect ratio? Or did he do that by accident in his editing software for the side-by-side?

[vdogg89 @ Jun 7th 2008 10:55AM]

why cant creative come out with a decent mp3 player. i used to be a huge fan of them, but the like stopped suddenly. i want a creative itouch

[Dan @ Jun 7th 2008 3:08PM]

There's no such thing as an iTouch, so good luck waiting for Creative to top it.

[vdogg89 @ Jun 7th 2008 5:52PM]

omg are you an idiot? itouch is an abbreviated word for iPod touch. Seriously, jump off a cliff or something. I hope you die in a car accident tonight

[tekdroid @ Jun 7th 2008 11:07AM]

with the price of MiniDV camcorders really really really sinking to all-time lows, I know what I'd rather be buying...albeit at a cost and size and convenience disadvantage...but big advantages in virtually every other area.

[Jarhead2012 @ Jun 7th 2008 11:31AM]

Which are? I guess video and audio quality, but this beats this in price and is meant for low quality videos.

[tekdroid @ Jun 7th 2008 12:03PM]

Yeah, video and audio quality. But as I say at a price disadvantage, but not much when you consider:

Something like the Sony DCR-HC52 (or equivalent from Canon, Panasonic, etc) would offer:

1) far greater vid and audio quality
2) editing capability on PC which is lossless
3) far greater optical zoom range (40x on the Sony)
4) removable batteries (not sure if this cheap Creative cam has it)
5) larger LCD screen (rotatable for hard to record angles, touchscreen)
6) traditional viewfinder
7) better battery life
8) cheaper removable media (yes tapes but capable of capturing far higher quality, ~13GB of DV goodness if u want to talk GB)

All at a low $230-250ish price point. Which I consider to be a bargain considering the tech that goes into it.

Obviously not competing at this sub-100 price of this Creative, and obviously not comparing to its convenience for doing what it does (uploading vids to web), but there is definitely some usage overlap and it's not prohibitively expensive (or prohibitively inconvenient) that's for sure.

[Valgas @ Jun 7th 2008 11:42AM]

What kind of hacks are in store for this baby?

[psilver @ Jun 7th 2008 12:15PM]

This is NOT designed to compete with miniDV or even a hard drive video camera. This is a simple no frills/no worry camera for those who do not need the complexity of a full blown video camera.

I got the Flip Mino because I need a device that can fit my pocket and easily take simple "snap" videos that I can post online in a jiffy. I have no time for editing, complex uploading, or HD quality which takes hours to upload.

Some might argue that cellphone have video capabilities too but guess what, either some of us don't have one (I have an iPhone) or it is too complex to transfer videos from phone to pc.

How about low budget point and shoots? If you have one, then just use that instead. But I have a dSLR that I prefer for shooting pictures. I don't need another camera. All I need is a video that will fit my pocket along with my iPhone, car keys and some other junk!

Granted these devices are not for everybody but it still have a niche it can fill. For me, it is just what I need.

[tekdroid @ Jun 7th 2008 12:31PM]

Yeah not suggesting it competes with MiniDV, just suggesting that MiniDV sure is cheap, and some users might want to consider one (especially when comparing to the $180ish offerings that have been posted on Engadget before from Pure Digital with similar form-factors as this Creative, etc.

Obviously MiniDV cams can never be as small or convenient as these things but they sure do offer more flexibility and (IMO) great value (and can still do what you want to do regarding webbing, albeit with more steps from the user ;)

[L @ Jun 7th 2008 12:25PM]

Can somebody please enlighten me about the purpose of this thing? After all, pretty much every decent camphone takes clips that are absolutely good enough for YouTube...

[Valgas @ Jun 7th 2008 12:35PM]

Yeah well you know but maybe a firmware hack to up the vid quality.

[Brent @ Jun 7th 2008 1:11PM]

Sturdier or Studier? Does it have stud finder applications?

[BigTeebo @ Jun 7th 2008 10:03PM]

Thankfully a quick search of Vado shows some sample videos, which the stupid review in TFA couldn't be bothered to show. C'mon get with it.