Hummingbird Video

We just put out the hummingbird feeders over the weekend and we’re already getting customers.  I saw this little guy coming and going on the feeder so I broke out the mini-tripod and started filming using my Aiptek A-HD 720P High Definition Camcorder.  It does a nice job – recording at 1280×720 resolution at 30fps directly to an SD card.  Pop the SD card out, copy the MOV file off and you’re ready to start uploading.  Where else can you get an HD camcorder for $130 ???  I saw it at Sears in a blisterpack while I was scoping out the $1000 camcorders up at eye level in the displays.

I took it to Hawaii with me to take videos as well as using it as a 5MP digital camera in-between videos.  It takes fantastic videos with a couple of caveats.  First, at 30fps, the video can get a tad jerky when you’re moving the camera around with any speed.  That gets a tad disconcerting.  If you’re panning it around slowly, you’re golden.  There’s a slightly more expensive version of this – the Action HD 1080p (~ $200 I believe) that does 1080p at 30fps AND 720p at 60fps.  I’m not sure whether it’s any better with motion video, but hey, for that price it’s worth testing it out.  The second issue was no optical zoom and no video stabilization.  the Action HD 1080p has a 3x optical zoom, but no image stabilization.  So keep that in mind before you commit.  And lastly, if you add an 8GB SD card, you can record for up to 8 hours I believe.  However, the battery will only last for 1-2 hours.  I tried plugging a USB cable into it to run it from an external battery pack, but it won’t record when it’s plugged in that way.  It just goes into charge mode.  If you’re wanting to record for any extended period and you opt for this camera – invest in a spare battery pack.

Doug White