For some time now, I have wanted a High Definition (HD) video camera but my favorite choices, namely the Canon HF10/HF 100 and the Sanyo Xacti 1010, were both out of my budget so it was time for plan B.

Plan B

I started researching the lesser known brands and stumpled upon Aiptek. Most of the less expensive cameras do not have some of the extras such as image stabilization, slow motion filming and more but my primary goals were to rid myself of mini-dv tapes become more familiar with high-definition recording and editing. Aiptek met both goals for an affordable price near $200.

Purchasing

I chose to purchase the A-HD+ 1080P camera from Amazon because it was cheapest price for $144 USD. I also purchased an 8GB SDHC card by Transcend for approximately $28 USD.

It should be noted that Aiptek has two flavors of HD 1080p cameras, namely the camera I purchased but also the Action HD – 1080p. Excluding some included accessories, the major difference between the cameras is the Action version focuses on optical zoom with auto-focus for recording fast-moving objects (action) while the other version focuses on digital zoom with fixed focus. Walmart, Target and Best Buy carry various versions so ensure you get the desired version.

The moment of truth

I have had the camera for a couple of days and I love it!! No, it does not have all bells and whistle’s in the higher-end cameras but as an introduction to the world of HD video recording, this camera is worth considering. I have recorded a few clips and tested it with iMovie ’08 and Final Cut Pro 6 without any issues. In fact, I have copied the recorded files from my camera, to my Mac Book Pro and then uploaded them directly to Vimeo without any editing. As a side note, Vimeo is an online video hosting company that supports HD format.

Below is a short clip that you can compare to videos in earlier posts:

HD Test from QueenGeek on Vimeo.

If you are considering a HD camera but do not believe it is affordable, consider an Aiptek camera.