Product Details

Creative Labs VF0624-BK Reviews

It's so little
by Michael D. Briggs from El Reno, OK United States, 2010-03-09

That's the first thing I noticed, it's the size of an iPhone and yet it's an HD video camera and a digital camera. Now if you are filming an epic movie, this is not the device for you. But if you are out walking and see bigfoot or an UFO, this camera is just the right size to have in your pocket to film them. (Be sure to keep the just out of frame and bounce around a lot)

There are several very nice features, the built in USB is great so you can connect quickly to any computer. The software is built in to install quickly and it allows you upload straight to YOUtube or other sites easily.

Now it does have couple negatives, no external memory slot for SDcards and only 4GB of memory. The Focus and Light Adjustment features are a little sensitive, but that just requires a little practice to use them. And I have to say that sometimes it is just too small when you are trying to film something elaborate.

Overall this is a very nice product that you can have on hand for those times you wish you had a video camera, as well as those times that a more elaborate system would be intrusive.

BEWARE!! Just Be Informed
by Timothy King , 2010-03-01

Okay ...

I purchased this little video camera so that I would NOT have capture video from "tape".

Yes, this video camera does a great job IF you want to go straight from the camera TO YouTube. However, might I remind you, that IF you plan on getting this camera, with anticipation of editing the video in another application, such as Sony Vegas, or Adobe Premier, GOOD LUCK!!! You have to do a lot of leg work ... and to me, it's just not worth it.

The editing software that comes with it is VERY bad, to say the least. OH, you can trim the front and back end. However, you can't JOIN other clips together. So, if you WERE planning on post to YouTube, and say, you were using this camera to build a tutorial. You'd have a very difficult time, and merely impossible with the included software.

Now ... somebody had mentioned Nero 9, but, let's face it ... A somewhat upper level, professional software like premier or vegas, ought to be able to handle these files.

So ... just informing you.

Camcorder
by E. K. Moseley from AZ USA, 2010-02-25

Creative Labs Vado HD 3rd Generation; is very easy to use and it is small. It takes still photos too. It work very well on my Mac. This camera comes with very little instruction, but is not hard to figure out. It has a high resolution picture and sound.

I highly recommend.

In love with this little camcorder!
by Kristen B from Los Lunas, NM USA, 2010-02-25

I am new to the camcorder scene, as my camcorder as been my camera in video mode. I can't say enough good things about this little device. Right out of the box I charged for about 4 hours. It auto installed the software and drivers needed to display the program on my computer. The program is Creative Vado Central and after taking a video I plugged into my computer, my computer prompted me for the program and I choose Creative Vado. From there it loaded my video and then I could save to my hard drive, post to my facebook or youtube. The video was so clear and the audio was awesome. The only drawback was in dark areas in which the camera doesn't do night/dark filming. I loved how I could view the videos, upload and delete from the program. ( I know I can do from my computer as well but this is so simple ! )

I am so impressed. Many of my friends are impressed with the awesome HD quality, and I can't wait to get a software program so I can edit my videos like I have seen online.

I think this is a awesome device, and my mother is so impressed she is going to buy one this weekend! Easy to use, and great quality. Thanks Amazon! :)

My First Pocket Video Camcorder - and It's an Excellent One!
by Lawrence H. Bulk from New Jersey USA, 2010-02-23

Offered to me for free by Amazon Vine, this is the first such product I have ever owned. Years ago, I took many home movies on film with 8mm silent, Super-8 silent, and Super-8 sound being the types I used, and then later I went to a JVC GR-SZ9 Super VHS camcorder. However, several years ago, I lost interest in video tape and I stopped taking home movies.

Fast forward to now: we have a granddaughter of whom we'd like to have some videos; I had been investigating various camcorders but had not yet made a decision.

Amazon Vine, with this Creative Labs Vado HD 3rd Generation Pocket Video Camcorder, 120 Minutes (Black) - NEWEST MODEL, made it for me.

I received the unit yesterday and, per the instructions, I charged the battery. Now the instruction say to insert the battery into the camcorder and attach the camcorder to a USB port on your computer. I wanted to see if there was an alternate method of charging the battery - and there is! You need only attach the camcorder (with the battery inserted) to a Creative Labs Battery Charger for Vado and Vado HD Camcorders or similar and plug the adapter into a wall socket. This is quite advantageous.

Amazon offers a spare battery [Creative Labs Rechargeable Lithium Ion Battery for Vado HD Camcorder] and external chargers, one for the home and one for the car [Creative Labs Vado HD 720p Pocket Video Camcorder 6 Feet USB Extention Cable, Car Charger, Travel Charger], thereby offering the option of having two batteries - using one while keeping the other one charged. That will be quite a convenience and you'll never run out of power. Amazon also offers several carrying cases for this unit (one is even waterproof). The prices for these accessories, as well as several other accessories offered by Amazon, are quite reasonable.

I want to emphasize the fact that the battery is easily removable and replaceable. This is a rare thing in this age of built-in non-replaceable (except by the factory at a very high price) batteries and, for me, is a distinct advantage.

I was a bit worried that the camcorder might not work with my computer; it is configured to work with either Windows (XP SP2, Vista, or 7) as well as Mac - but I use the Ubuntu Linux operating system on my computer.

I need not have worried. The camcorder works perfectly in conjunction with my computer and it will obviously work well with yours, regardless of your operating system. And transferring a video or picture file from the unit to your computer is a snap!

Thus far I have had only enough time to try the cam minimally. I have tried all three video settings - HD+ and HD (both are configured to produce MP4 files with AAC+ sound and the video in both is 1280 x 720) and VGA, which also produces MP4/AAC+ files with the video is formatted at 640 x 480 (ideal for e-mailing and for posting to YouTube, etc.). I did send via e-mail a VGA video [33 seconds, 8.9 MB] to my son (who lives across the country in California) and he said the video was fine - though there was some "snow" in the picture (I had sent him a video of our latest snowstorm! ... ;-) ... just to bring back to him some "fond memories" - he always hated shoveling snow!).

The picture quality in all three settings is excellent. (My son was actually quite amazed at the quality of the video I had sent him - and remember that this was taken at VGA, the lowest quality setting.) I believe that any purchaser will be surprised and VERY pleased with the results this camcorder supplies. I am!

Sound recording, being somewhat more problematic, is good if care is taken; an external microphone, which this unit can accommodate, would greatly improve the sound quality but at a price, of course - both the cost of the microphone as well as the cost in portability and ease of use.

I think that, for most people, the built-in microphone will suffice.

It is very easy to convert MP4 files to the Audio_TS and Video_TS files used on DVDs and I plan to make DVDs from the videos I take with this camcorder.

I also tried taking a still picture. It turned out quite nicely though not as good as that which can be obtained with a dedicated digital camera.

Nonetheless, taking into consideration its size (tiny), weight (next-to-nothing), ease of use (REALLY easy!), and the relative high quality of the videos and pictures it produces, this camcorder is a definite winner.

Frankly, as I'm sure you are aware and as I indicated, it is not going to replace an elaborate dedicated video camcorder or a dedicated digital camera (especially a DSLR or Micro Four-Thirds model) for certain applications but, with its portability and ease of use and the fact that you can take it everywhere you go, this unit will be available to you when you might not be carrying one of those more elaborate cameras. Plus it "boots up" VERY fast (and can be set to turn on even faster, if you wish) so you will never miss a shot. The videos and pictures it produces are far better than anything that I have seen produced by a cell-phone. It even features a standard tripod mount!

Is there anything I would like to see changed? Yes - I wish Creative would introduce a model which had NO internal memory and used an SD or similar card. The user of such a product would essentially have "unlimited" room to take video (imagine using a 32 GB card!) and would not have to transfer files to a computer or external hard drive (and delete them from an internal memory) nearly as often.

But that is really a minor point. Given this camcorder's wonderful attributes (including its obvious superb construction quality - which includes its lens and LCD screen), I can give it NO LESS than five stars - as well as my highest recommendation possible.