Aiptek MPVR

Review Date
December 15, 2009

Overall Rating
 2 of 5

Value Rating
 2 of 5

Used product for
Less than 1 month

Visitors rate this review
1.00 of 5, 1 votes

Reviewed by
Brikkz , Beginner

Price Paid
$89.00 at Kmart

Photography Experience
0-1 years , People

Summary
I just wanted a simple camera to take videos of my kids for Christmas so we'd have something. I just don't like this very much. When a memory card is in everything in shot turns green. I figured out that I have to turn the camera off and on again to get it to not make everything I focus on green. That's okay but then the videos are dark and sometimes grainy. I was taking a video of my husband in a well lit room and the video camera turned his skin a orangy color. I was in a nicely lit small room and trying to video my son the other day and it filmed so DARK. I don't know if there is a way to make the videos come out better or brighter. If there's anything or any advice anyone can give me about this product before I decide to return it where I got it then feel free to email me:anonrhea@yahoo.com

My webcam takes better video than this and its a little nothing to do webcam. I can't use it to film the kids on Christmas because its built into my computer and it is hard to stand still holding a netbook. I was hoping for something I could stick in my pocket and WATCH what I am filming. Its not the same with a netbook.

Any advice on how to get it to take better videos would be appreciated or I am going to return it.

Strengths
It comes with a remote and the lcd screen swivels.

Weaknesses
Dark videos, poor coloring. I only wanted this for videos I didn't need the still images.

Similar Products Used
none

Review Date
May 7, 2006

Overall Rating
 4 of 5

Value Rating
 4 of 5

Used product for
Less than 1 month

Visitors rate this review
4.00 of 5, 8 votes

Reviewed by
richard stotts , Intermediate

Price Paid
$149.00 at Circuit City

Photography Experience
21+ years , Outdoor

Summary
If you want an easy to use, stick it in a pocket or purse digital camcorder/camera the MPVR fills the bill. Still photo mode provides crisp images needing little or no Photoshop correcting. Video is as good as can be expected from any product in the $150 price range. If you want to record great moments in your time than a conventional camera/camcorder will do better. If you just want a very handy point-and-shoot photo/video record then the MPVR fills the bill nicely.

Strengths
Ease of use. The manual actually tells you what you need to know, no translation needed.
Just open the viewscreen and it's on and ready to record video or photo.
Control buttons are simple and readily apparent.
Accepts up to a 2GB SD memory card. Apparently a couple of hours worth of video.
MP3 playback (which is of no interest to me).
Voice recorder (also of no interest).

Weaknesses
No lens cap. How much can a plastic cap cost to keep the lens clean?
No carrying case. Likewise, how much does that cost?

Similar Products Used
Vivitar-510

Okay still photos.
Video cannot cope with bright sunlight and flickers between exposure settings. Very unusable.

Customer Service
No experience with them yet.

Review Date
April 21, 2006

Overall Rating
 1 of 5

Value Rating
 1 of 5

Used product for
3 Months to 1 year

Visitors rate this review
3.20 of 5, 5 votes

Reviewed by
Dibbler356 , Beginner

Price Paid
$150.00 at WalGreens Online

Photography Experience
0-1 years , People

Summary
This Camera is Great .. At first .. But then after a month or so .. Once i was listening to music and wanted to change a song it would freeze she screen and eventually turn off. I ignored it after a while because it wasnt a big deal to me just to turn it back on . Well one day i was in the car ready to listen to some of my music . And it wouldnt turn on it all .. well it would turn on you would see the colorful screen opening . and then it would be a black screen on the camera && after about 5 seconds shut off . I thought it was the battery so i ordered another one off the aiptek site. Well turns out that wasnt the case either. This camera has only a 30 day warrenty .. I wonder why right .. yeah all of the above. Once the problems start to kick in its already after 30 days so your in some trouble. This camera is not reliable . I would choose something honestly more expensive next time.

Strengths
It is great untill the problems come along . Good Photos , Video , Music , Sound .. Until of course after a month or so . Then the problems start to slowly come along

Weaknesses
Battery LIfe , Warrenty , Problems listed in the Reveiw

Customer Service
Was not any help on the site or phone . Their line is always tagged up because theres so many custommers calling with problems is what i think

Review Date
December 12, 2005

Overall Rating
 5 of 5

Value Rating
 5 of 5

Used product for
0-1 years

Visitors rate this review
3.71 of 5, 21 votes

Reviewed by
webcityusa , Casual

Price Paid
$149.00 at Target

Summary
Getting my MPVR was a happy day - Im still smiling.
Im so glad I purchased this MPVR camera. I tell everyone I can about it. I love the fact that it can do so much with only one device. What a hassle to need to buy an MP3 player AND a camera AND a video recorder. It makes total sense to have them all in one unit... plus much more, as Im sure you've read. ______________________________________________________ I love to go to Costco, or Office Depot and compare my unit to anything they've got. It cant be beat, for even three times the price... ______________________________________________________ I use the video recorder to record movies or TV shows right off the set to watch while traveling, in the gym, or on a friend's TV set. I picked up 2 1 gb SD cards and have lots of room. Can't wait to get a 2 gb card when the price finally comes down. _________________________________________________________ MP3... Yes, it doesn't have all the bells and whistles of Ipod, but I use it to listen to music, podcasts, etc. You do have to manually put them on the camera, but thats ok. Some audio has to play only from the beginning. It doesn't let you fast forward MP3's. To save battery life, I turn off the screen when listening to audio. ______________________________________________________ Camera: Nice with swivel screen, lots of options, some a bit stupid (like two pictures in one, "frames" , old time color )but the pictures are clear and easy to take. It can even hook up directly to your hp "pictbridge compatible" printer to print direct from the camera. _________________________________________________________ Accessories: So many different accessories come with it or are available. Has a nice combo cable for both USB and AV input on one cable. A different cable is used for input. I got a stand for it and a battery charger and a set of headphones. I have not figured out if you can charge the battery from within the unit. The USB cable also doubles as a power supply, so you can power your camera from your laptop if your battery runs out. I just ordered the optional remote control. Sounds like a cool option. ___________________________________________________________ Camcorder: The main use of the camera is as a video recorder. I love to take it to seminars, meetings and trips. I usually use low quality mode QVGA to get a few hours of video on a 1 MB SD card, but it also has a higher VGA mode. For that I will need the 2 MB card, but the QVGA mode is just fine for me, even when played back on a tv. I guess I can try and use it like a spycam its so small. It can also be used like a tape recorder. To get that much video, it compacts it into MPEG-4 format. It plays back smoothly in the unit, but not always on a PC, due to the MPEG4 decoding codec thingy.. In other words, to download a video file and play it back on your pc, you need a powerful computer processor. ______________________________________________________________ Extras: It's got a low light feature that is useful, and it is a nice size for your pocket. I don't like the design of the accessory plug ins, having to remove a small cover to access them. The software in the unit is ok when you get the feel for it, but it does unfortunately crash sometimes when moving between MP3s. Aiptek.com also includes a bunch of software on disk for the computer, or you can just use it like a big portable hard drive. _______________________________________________________________ Oh , I forgot to mention my favorite feature. The screen is large enough to watch a movie on it comfortably : Thats cool, a pocket movie player ! You can take any movie from your PC, or from the internet, convert it to mpeg4 with the included software, and download it on your camcorder to watch later.

Strengths
Truthfully, try to find ANY device out there that does what this MPVR does. I dare you!

Similar Products Used
Earlier models from Aiptek. Not as good.

Customer Service
unknown. OK website.