I was watching the recent
This time I re-encoded the 40mb file down to 14mb using megui with x264 Unrestricted 2pass HQ profile at 3000kbps and audio as 64kbps aac.
There is no noticeable difference in quality between the original and the re-encoded file even though there is a noticeable amount of compression happening this is in the original file as well.
You'll notice that when I pan the camera quickly at the end, the framerate seems very jumpy. I guess this is just a problem the Vado has, so it's something you have to keep in mind when you're taking video and try not to move it too fast. It's fine if the camera is held still though and I'd say that's really what it was designed for.
Which brings me to my next point about holding the camera, it's actually very hard to keep still. Unlike normal video cameras which have image stabilizing so your slight twitching movements don't show up. The Vado can seem quite shakey when watching video back, even though you were trying your best to keep your hand still. It does have a tripod mount hole on the bottom but if you don't have a tripod you're stuck with trying to hold it still because you can't stand it up on any flat surface. The bottom of the Vado is taken up be the pulltab for the USB plug. So you'll just have to use some Macgyver skills and prop it up with something.
HDMI OutputI mentioned at the beginning about HDMI so you can plug it into a TV, well let's have a look at that.
It's pretty straight forward, you plug it in and everything that was on the Vado's screen is now on the TV. That includes the ability to watch yourself on the TV live from the camera which was kinda scary as I haven't shaved in awhile.
On the bigger screen at full HD res, you can see pretty much every gritty detail so it's best not to sit too close. From a good sitting distance though, it's fine and looks like footage from any normal HDcam.
You can also get a cable for normal AV output, it has the output just above the HDMI plug.
One last thing, the battery is removeable so you can eventually change it when it dies.
ConclusionIt's excellent for what it's designed to do and apart from the slight audio distortion I think it does it's job perfectly and you can't ask for more. It's super portable and that's why most people will want buy it and because of it's small size it can possibly be used for naughty things.