Discount Creative Labs Vado HD 720p Pocket Video Camcorder with 8 GB Video Storage and 2x Digital Zoom (Black)

Initially I liked this camera. It performs well in low-light, takes nice video, feels solid, has a nice wide field of view, and has plenty of space. Inexplicably, it does not take stills, but I felt that I could work around that (which in retrospect I regret, but that is not a major point).

Then, I found that it started switching off randomly and refusing to start. It let me down at events that I was planning on using it for (Neither my Xacti or Ruvi ever let me down). I applied the latest firmware fix hoping that would fix the issue, after noting that others had had the same experience. It worked for a day and then started to fail again.

Now I presume that I will need to go through a tedious warranty process that is hardly worth my time. Clearly the reason for the $100 discount that I was offered was that the camera had flaws, but had been rushed to market and reduced in order to gain market share. Unfortunately, reviewers tend to accept claims at face value rather than thoroughly testing a camera, and whatever the issue is probably affects 10% of the run.

My lowest mark for Creative and their QA team. I will never purchase anything from them again.

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