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$79.99
20.0% pricedrop
Avg. Price: $99.99
40 customer reviews
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- Creative Vado is a slim, lightweight pocket video cam that makes it easy to capture and share everyday life as it happens. Simply connect Vado to your PC with the flexible USB plug and the built-in software lets you save videos to your computer or post them directly to YouTube or Photobucket. Since Vado is thinner than a deck of cards and as light as a cell phone, it fits into your pocket or purse and never weighs you down. Free yourself from the hassle of the bulky camcorder bag. You'll never miss a moment, with two hours of video capacity and one-button recording that makes capturing life on video effortless. With up to two hours of video capacity, you never need tapes, CDs or extra memory cards. With a 2x zoom and excellent low-light performance, you'll get great video quality every time you press record. Just connect Vado to your computer with the flexible USB plug and the built-in software takes over. You can transfer your videos to your computer or post them directly to YouTube or Photobucket, all at the click of a button. The rechargeable battery is removable so you can change out for a fresh one. Built-in microphone and speaker Built-in flexible USB connector TV-output (Vado Audio/Video cable available separately) Anti-flicker support for adjustment to 50Hz or 60Hz Easy-to-use with great video quality at the touch of a button Slim, lightweight design that fits in your pocket or purse Simple built-in software makes sharing videos on YouTube or Photobucket a snap System Requirements - Intel Pentium 4 2.0 GHZ or faster, Microsoft Windows Vista, Windows XP SP2, Mac OS X version 10.4.11 or later, QuickTime with Xvid plug-in, 512MB RAM and USB Port
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- Awesome camcorder really cute
- I must of bought bout 2-3 different cameras in the course of 08 so far. In search of a good quality including the embarassing keychain cam, one by sakar which is a nice cam for still shoots. and a creative webcamw which is awesome so i know they got good quality cams and a logitech which i didn't care for. This one is by far my favorite video capablity camera so far . The image quality is amazingly good. I been searching for something to do my expotv video opinions with as well they keep rejecting the others from the other cam due to lack of quality.I can see already by the image quality here that won't be a problem. It is a cute little cam however the usb thing looks a bit flimsy but long as I am careful i see no problems. I recommend t his to others looking for a cool little device to take with you on family trip that you can just pop in your purse take with you rechargablility is nice . No Sd Cards needed thats also a good saver. This is a cool little gadget Giving it 5 stars for being cool alone :).
- Best little flash based Camcorder around
- I got my husband a Flip video before we went on vacation so he could use it at his family reunion. It worked out wonderfully. I wish I would have had this. First, it doesn't use batteries which are a pain in the butt to keep track of. The little USB connector is mounted on a rubber extender that plugs right into my laptop. Because the extender is flexible (unlike the Flip) it's easier to snug in next to anything else I have plugged in. When I travel, I usually take a wireless mouse with me along with a portable hard drive. Being my laptop has only 4 usb ports, space is at a premium, so a flexible connector is MUCH appreciated.
Second, this is a bit smaller than the Flip. This fits easily in the zippered compartment of my purse. It also makes much better videos than my phone does, so I have taken to carrying it with me. It just 'feels' more solid than the Flip. Having a flash based camera is also a wonder because I am not worried about knocking it around. Hard drive based music players I have tend to react badly to stress. This little camera is rock solid. In the future I am going to stick with flash based devices because they have no moving parts, last longer and are ultimately lighter than heavy tape based camcorders or drive based mp3 players. They are also easier to recharge. The small videos these make (the Vado uses XViD to compress) are easily manipulated with basic software, and look good on even a large HD television. It's also very easy to put together a compilation with software like Nero, then burn it to DVD. If you have ever done the family reunion thing, you know that everyone wants copies of everything. Being able to assemble and burn something on the spot saves a lot in postage :p
I detected no reasonable difference between the Vado and the Flip as far as quality goes. Both contain features on the drive that enable you to upload videos to sharing services, like YouTube. The Vado drive contains a program you can use on your computer to view or upload your videos. It also has a self installing XViD codec which was very convenient. The Zoom is easier to use on the Vado. It also does very well in low light conditions which I found surprising. I bought the Flip because of brand recognition. If I had known about the Vado I would have certainly purchased that first. As it is, this is now MY camera :) My husband can keep the other thing :)
- awesome value for the price
- this little video camera is pretty great for the price. it is of course not a very high quality video when you transfer it to your computer, but thats not what it is meant for. i love to throw this in my purse along with my little point and shoot camera. it is awesome to have so that you never miss a moment. it is extremely easy to use, great for anyone who wants something easy to use. this would be perfect for the grandparents or even teenagers if they want something small and simple. this also is actually smaller than my blackberry curve. i LOVE this little camera and i have it with me at all times, which is easy since it is so small! if you are looking for high quality video, this isnt for you. but for youtube videos and such, its just right!
- I bought the Vado on a lark. I've never owned a video camera before and I've definitely never posted anything to YouTube. But I travel a lot and I thought it might be fun to have my husband post videos of our dog so I wouldn't feel quite so home sick. This thing is perfect for that. Its small enough that my husband can put it in his pocket and carry it with him to the dog park or anywhere else. The only problem is that I havent been able to give it up and have decided to keep it in my purse. His birthday is coming up though so I'll just get him his own.
As for features, you can read that for yourself but it seemed pretty clear that this does everything the Flip does but in a smaller package and its cheaper.
- The video equivalent of a point-and-shoot still camera
- My kids gave me a Vado for my birthday, and I've had some time to play around with it a little since I got it. The first thing you need to keep in mind is that this isn't a replacement for a high-end video camera. It's meant to be small, inexpensive, and easy to use, and it certainly is. Just a few buttons on the unit (see the product description for info) and yes, it pretty much does look like a cell phone without the phone. I walked around New York City yesterday afternoon with it in my jeans pocket and it was certainly easier to carry than a "full-blown" dedicated video camera or even a small still camera with video mode.
There's 2x digital zoom (I haven't played with that much so I really can't comment), and it's capable of up to 2 hours of recording in standard quality, or 1 hour in "high quality". I did a little comparison of a short scene in my backyard and the HQ version did seem to be better quality. Remember that this is shooting in 640 x 480, so if you blow this up and try to show it on your 52" plasma HD TV you'll probably be disappointed, but for personal use on your computer screen, it looks just fine.
Pros:
Small, lightweight = extremely portable.
Easy to use not only for recording, but also for importing videos to your computer (but easiest for PC users; built-in software launches when you plug device into your computer)
Rechargeable battery
Inexpensive!
Decent video quality
Cons:
Built-in software not (currently?) available for Mac users, but you can still use it like a USB connected disk drive
You need a computer to recharge (via the USB port) unless you buy the optional stand-alone charger.
The audio seems a bit low both when recording and when playing back on the device.
Overall, particularly when taking into consideration the price, I think this is an excellent value and would recommend it to anyone in the market for a point-and-shoot video camera.
- Creative has a winner - simple, fun and useful!
- My wife picked up the Vado last weekend and so far we are absolutely thrilled with it. The Vado has allowed us to capture video of our children that we never would have gotten with our HD camcorder. The Vado is unbelievably simple to use and it looks and feels great. The one button upload to online video sharing sites is a fantastic feature. The Vado also has a rechargeable battery (good for the environment!)
I can't imagine anyone not being happy with the Vado. It's not meant to be a super high quality camcorder. It's designed for ease of use. It gives you the ability to capture all of life's spontaneous moments and easily share them with friends and family.
- After reading reviews, I decided on this camera for my classroom. It's cool and ever-so-easy to use. Being a Mac user, I needed to use Quicktime to view my movies. Working on several different operating systems between school and home, I initially had problems. I found an application, ViddyUp to put my video in a format that moved between computers and between my Quicktime and iMovie. I'm entirely satisfied with the portability, quality, and ease of using this movie camera.... and it's soooo inexpensive!
- Great product considering the price and market.
- I purchased this for my 11-year old who has shown an interest in creating videos. This product is simple to use, well-made, and inexpensive. The software is on the camera, so you have no disks to loose, and can install it on the fly. Although it might not work for Spielberg, it is a wonderful creative tool for children. I am quite impressed with the video quality.
For the price, and the intended market - I have done a lot of research - this is the winner!
- Ease of use lends it's self to constant use.
- The purpose of this kind of camera is ease of use. It's smaller than my iPhone, which means I can keep it in my pocket. I've had it less than a week and I'm using it constantly. I've gotten more video of my wife and son this week, than I have for the last two years combined. The video isn't HD quality, but it's not supposed to be. It's a great blogging and vlogging camera. 4 stars from me. Charges fast and the zoom actually works.
Oh yeah, it's super cheap. I got it with super fast shipping for just about $100. Money well spent.
- Really incredible little unit!
- The Creative Labs Vado video camcorder is an absolute gem. Clear, sharp picture, (640x480!!!) easy controls that even my youngest kids took right to, but rugged enough that I carry it around in my pants pocket on the beach and don't worry about it - and I am hard on my gear but the Vado is holding up beautifully. As with all these point-n-shoot pocket recorders it does NOT have great sound, but the picture quality and total ease of use more than compensates. Well worth the price, in fact my wife made the comment during our last outing "that's so cool, we should all have one!" so I bought her one. In Pink!
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- I purchased this as a gift for a business associate and I had planned to buy a pile more to create some low budget video fun. Sadly, the Vado was better in theory than in reality. The video was super fuzzy and seemed out of focus. My associate and I played with it for a couple days trying to get the video to be in focus but we never got it to look right. I bought a Flip and it worked great. Sadly the Flip used AA batteries and was more expensive but at least the video was in focus.....
- MAC USERS BEWARE - Don't Buy This Product
- I am a Mac user, and I did my research. I always do. But nowhere, on Creative's site or on Amazon, did it say that all of the files are saved as .AVI.
Yes, you can play the videos in QuickTime, once you have downloaded XivD, but you cannot edit in iMovie. So what you see is what you get...no editing allowed.
I did some reasearch on the web about converting .AVI to iMovie format, but everyone complained that you lost quality, and on this little recorder, you cannot afford to lose any more quality. I got this thinking we can record little snippets, do some very light editing, to trim off the fat in iMovie, and that we could do it easily. No way...not with an .AVI format.
And I got this for my husband for Father's Day too...darn it.
- Awkward to charge and I am still trying to figure out how to use it!
The instructions are not clear and the cord that hooks up to the computer is very short.
- I picked up the Vado Video camera this past week thinking I could use it to film my golf swing. And it sort of worked for that. Not so easy since I own a Mac and there was no support for mac within the software. I was able to shoot video with the camera, but noticed when viewing using quicktime that there seemed to be no sound and that the resolution when viewed on full screen was really poor. So I went and shot some more video just to do some more testing. The color reproduction outdoors was horrible, lots of yellow and pink tinge and again very little sound. I guess the microphone needs some real tweaking or the placement is bad. One other thing I noted was that the usb connector seemed pretty flimsy and I was afraid I would break it when opening it up. The last thing I did was to shoot some video in low light. To my surprise I was able to see on the camera screen what I was trying to shoot but unfortunately when viewing in quicktime on my computer all I got was a black video. I guess that the viewing screen on the camera is extremely bright and actually gives a false preview of what the actual video will be. This camera might be good as a toy for children but I would not recommend to anyone to buy it for anything else.
- I initially liked the fact that the Vado had a 2" screen and that it was small and light. After using the Vado for a little while though, I realized that the color on the screen wasn't good. It's got a blue tint, and it's kinda hard to see outside. The flip out USB connector is a pain. I wish there were a USB cable included. It's awkward to have the camera hanging off the side of my computer. The kicker though, is that it was a pain to load the videos onto my Mac and play them there.
The camera works pretty well, and it doesn't cost much, but ... with no optical zoom and the problems above, it's not great.
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- OK, I'll admit it. I was a skeptic. There was no way that this small, inexpensive video recorder could produce a decent video. I was wrong.
Of course, you won't get movie theater quality, but you will get adequate video to put on You Tube or a website, video that is good enough to viewed on a large computer screen. I tried shooting in a variety of conditions, from daylight, to overcast and indoors with backlighting and in each case the camera produced clear video with accurate color and decent audio.
The camera is simple to use and stows easily in a shirt pocket. The 2x zoom is a bit limited but it helps to get closer to the subject. The USB connection makes charging the battery and transferring videos simple.
There are a couple of things that could make this a better product. First, the USB connection, it is a standard sized plug on a short cord. This would work fine on a laptop, but reaching to the back of a computer to plug it in is inconvenient. A better solution would be a mini-USB port. Second, there is software included that runs on Windows, but, there is no Mac software included. This is not a problem for viewing, as Quicktime will play the AVI movies, but editing requires additional software. iMovie did not recognize files.
To summarize, this is a great little product for those who like to share short videos on You Tube or on a website, but it is not the ticket for creating a video masterpiece. It has a home in my camera bag.
Dave Lochner
NauticalReads
- Niche product - does its job.
- Its specs have been exhaustively reviewed here already, so I won't go into all of that. You take it out of the box, turn it on, press the record button. To upload, you connect the onbooard usb to your computer, the onboard sw starts up and then you click on whatever video you want to upload to YouTube, PhotoBucket, or Box.net without fuss and not much thinking. This device sits between a bonafide camcorder/camera and phone camera/camcorder. It's small and light like a phone cam but delivers much better video then any phone cam I own.
Little things that stick out to me are the rubberized coating on the case which gives a decent grip. The short usb cable was clearly designed to connect to a laptop or a usb port on a keyboard. It's somewhat disconcerting to see the camera dangling from the usb port on my desktop pc. The uploading sw is on the device itself which is handy - no need to download client software to different pc's - just connect and upload. Of course, in true Creative fashion, you can also navigate to the device in My Computer and open the video folder and drag the contents out to wherever. The on/off switch is thin and requires a push, but then again that keeps it from getting turned on accidentally.
All in all a device that does what it is suppose to do well and at a very competitive price.
- It's a great little video camera, it would be a great little camera if it was also had Mac based soft wear.
- After reading reviews, I decided on this camera for my classroom. It's cool and ever-so-easy to use. Being a Mac user, I needed to use Quicktime to view my movies. Working on several different operating systems between school and home, I initially had problems. I found an application, ViddyUp to put my video in a format that moved between computers and between my Quicktime and iMovie. I'm entirely satisfied with the portability, quality, and ease of using this movie camera.... and it's soooo inexpensive!
- I purchased this as a gift for a business associate and I had planned to buy a pile more to create some low budget video fun. Sadly, the Vado was better in theory than in reality. The video was super fuzzy and seemed out of focus. My associate and I played with it for a couple days trying to get the video to be in focus but we never got it to look right. I bought a Flip and it worked great. Sadly the Flip used AA batteries and was more expensive but at least the video was in focus.....
- A decent camera for Youtube
- I didn't think that I needed this camera when I got it, as my cellphone & my regular digital camera both take decent video, and I also have a MiniDV camera when I really want to make something nice. But it sounded convenient and easy to use.
For the most part, that is true. Taking a video is easy, with only buttons that you can operate with one hand if necessary. The camera also has a built in USB connector, so you can plug it straight into your computer. The 2GB of included memory is more than enough at the resolution the camera uses.
The form factor is the nicest part, as it easily slips into your pocket. It is very lightweight, and I even put it in my back pocket and sat on it by accident, without any apparent damage.
The biggest problem is the video quality. It is good in a well lit situation, but anything beyond a very bright room or daylight will start to be a problem. Also, the resolution is low enough that it will not look very good when played on a TV, or full screen on a computer. But, for Youtube, it is enough. My only real problem with the video is that it automatically splits everything into individual clips. I would have liked an option to add onto the previous clip, so that it would be possible to do in-camera editing.
All in all, if you want a easy to cary and easy to use camera for making videos that will look good on Youtube, this is a great buy. If you want home movies that will persevere for generations, look elsewhere.
- Fun & functional as a toy, emergency backup or when discretion is required
- For this price range (under $100) this tiny video camera is a really fun toy that you might give to a teenager, use as an emergency backup, or use when you're just too afraid you might break or lose your better equipment (on a roller coaster, in a kayak on a river, etc.).
Pros:
Very lightweight, portable and compact.
Easy to use.
Files easy to download. I have an Intel Mac and I just plugged it in the USB port and dragged and dropped. No software is required to do this.
Inexpensive.
Neutral
VHS quality at best. Not much more can be expected at this price point.
Cons
Zoom function is very choppy. It's not smooth as you go back and forth and it looks like it's stopping at various increments.
Audio is acceptable at best. It's a very general mic that seems to pick up a lot of ambient noise.
The size and weight of the device can actually make it harder to have a steady picture.
One of the things I try to do with reviews is compare the item to your other options. I own a 6MP Canon S3 point and shoot camera that also shoots VHS quality video. You can currently (2008) get a quality used S3 for about $250 or a Canon S2 with 4MP (which has almost just as good video) for as low as $125. The Canon's video is far superior in all ways. The audio is focused, clear and adequately loud. The zoom is smooth. And you're only limited in length by the size of your SD memory card. If it were me making this purchase, I'd probably go the route of having both a digital camera and a video recording device all in one. It's not that much more expensive and the quality is simply better.
Still, the Vado has its major advantages. It's smaller, more compact and more easily carried around in your pocket. As a result it's a video camera you'll be able to use when discretion is paramount. It's less expensive and thus more expendable - better if you're giving it to a teen. It's far easier to use so it would be great for someone who needs things as simple as possible.
So I recommend the Vado with reservations. Know your needs and what you'd like to get out of your equipment. For some this will be a great item, for others who could use better video and more versatility it will be worth it for them to spend a little more for something like a Canon S2.
- Convenient, easy to use and downloadable on a Mac with MPEG Streamclip
- This is the sort of product that will eventually change how we shoot video forever, though other items like iPhones and such might eventually do it too. I don't know enough about such things to speculate with any authority, however, all I can say is this is sooooo easy to use it makes any kind of tape-based, clunky camcorder virtually obsolete, at least as far as taking the video itself.
If you want high quality, though, it only holds a limited amount of recording time, then you have to download it. If you're on a trip, that means having a laptop handy. Still, you can carry this around to have in a pinch, which you just cannot with a camera.
The only trouble I had initially was how to fully download this on my mac. Fortunately, I paid for a one-on-one Apple service so I can make appointments at an Apple store and be trained -- the best money I ever spent. They recommended something called MPEG Streamclip and I was able to download the video and edit it on iMovie. Well, live and learn.
- Great product considering the price and market.
- I purchased this for my 11-year old who has shown an interest in creating videos. This product is simple to use, well-made, and inexpensive. The software is on the camera, so you have no disks to loose, and can install it on the fly. Although it might not work for Spielberg, it is a wonderful creative tool for children. I am quite impressed with the video quality.
For the price, and the intended market - I have done a lot of research - this is the winner!
- Good Product and Good Price
- I bought this as a birthday present for my 11 years old son. He loves it very much and always carries it around. Under this price, of course, you can't expect it would have a lot of functions similar as the big brand. However, there are two things I don't really like as they don't allow to add external memory card which won't allow to have longer hour of recording; and also the manufacture doesn't provide any external adaptor or allow to use other battery which the user just only can recharge it in front of the computer.
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