There seems to be a race on to produce the smallest, cheapest high definition camcorder. I’m a big fan of portable, but I also like quality imaging, which is often not associated with either cheap or small in the digital video world. Aiptek did a decent job in producing an affordable HD camcorder in with their GO-HD model which hovers around $200 as of this writing. Trying to reach an even lower price point, Aiptek is back with the A-HD, a 1280×720 resolution HD camcorder with an MSRP of $169.99.
On paper this diminutive camcorder looks solid, with a 5 Mega-Pixel CMOS chip (2592×1944). The A-HD records video at up to 30 fps at 1280×720 (h.264), 720×480 (D1), or 352×240 (CIF), providing a range of options. Still images can be shot at 3200×2400 (8MP), 2560×1920(5MP), or 2048×1536(3MP). Video files are saved as MOV, making them compatible for playback on any machine with iTunes or QuickTime installed, although if you edit in something like Windows Movie Maker, you’ll want to convert the MOV files to AVI. Video records to SD cards, with a 2GB card holding about one hour of 1280×720 footage or about 770 still images, topping out at about four hours of video with an 8GB SD card.
There are downsides to a budget priced HD camcorder. Aiptek doesn’t include any optical zoom on the A-HD, which is almost crucial for most video applications. The A-HD lacks a microphone line in. The handheld size lends itself to shaky camera motions because there’s no weight to the camera body. Still, if price is a major concern in your camcorder budget, you may consider the A-HD during the purchase process.
