A View from the Top Without Spending a Grand: DXG-A80V HD Camcorder
Gone are the days of lugging around a heavy, inconvenient eyesore as you try and record every inch of that swim meet or memorable family vacation while narrowly missing Grandma Betty’s head. DXG has introduced the A80V Pro Gear 1080p HD digital video camera that allows you to film life’s excitement in high definition without all the hassle of lugging around large equipment.
We were a bit skeptical about a camcorder in this price range being worth it’s weight in HD, but we have to admit that we’ve been won over. This camcorder exceeded our expectations, and, especially for the price, it’s a pretty good buy. Our previous experience with DXG wasn’t quite so good- it was flashy and inexpensive, but was flawed- audio and video were murky.
But we were pretty impressed with the Advanced Manual Focus System which allowed us to move the AF point around the LCD and pick exactly where we wanted the shot to be without the hassle of reframing the subject. The 3-inch touchscreen allowed us to simply tap on the LCD where we wanted to focus and when it locks into place, consider it picture history. We could navigate our way through the various icons with the touch of a finger and for once, it was that simple.
The DXG-A80V HD behaves as an OK still camera as well, with a 10 megapixel sensor and 5X optical zoom, as well as 10x optical zoom. Considering we’re camera snobs, we don’t recommend using this as a primary camera, but it might be better than the point-and-shoot you have at home and is definitely superior to your cell phone. The only major downside is the slow shutter speed.
Cars have their own electronic stability program (ESP) and this camcorder does as well, in the form of a built-in electronic image stabilizer. It helped to equalize the shakes and blurs that come with an unsteady and slightly wavering hand, though it certainly no substitute for a good tripod or monopod. Not enough for my friend’s shaky hand and wildly frenetic movement, but luckily it compensated just right for my occasionally-not-so-steady hand.
For those of you who aim to share your pride and joy in the form of video or pictures, the A80V HD has a HDMI interface that allows you to connect directly to your HDTV or plasma TV. The HDMI cable is included and our images showed up bright and resolute.
You can also wirelessly transfer your files from your camcorder to a PC when using an Eye-Fi SD card. Long gone are the days when you had to cart around the video tapes for your camcorder- any SD card will work ! If you’re just looking for a bit of extra convenience, it’s pretty easy to just leave your device on when you get home while you make a meal or do something else productive. We’ll actually have an Eye-Fi review coming up soon as we’ve been playing with it for the last few weeks.
Video quality is important, and this camcorder does not disappoint. It records 1080p at 30fps, 720p or 1080i at 60 fps, and the A80V can also handle up to a 16GB SD card for up to 8 hours of video. We should add that an SD card is not included with camcorder, for better or worse, since it lowers the price and allows those who already have SD cards to simply pop them in and get started. You’ll only have 128 MB of internal memory to start with. Colors were a bit dull, and audio was still only so-so (especially outside in the wind), but images were sharp and clear.
The best part of this camera compared to some other models we’ve used in the past is that instead of some absurd proprietary video format only editable with their special online program, the DXG-A80V HD saves files in .mov format each time you hit the record button. We’re talking high-def H.264! This means no capturing, conveying or reconfiguring required. We were able to just drag and drop into our video application right off the SD card. Oh, and Mac compatible too, though their custom software is not, the video files are easily importable into other applications!
For the price, DXG-A80V HD offers some pretty great features. At 10 ounces without batteries, it isn’t heavy, but feels solid. It is a bit bulky however, and certainly won’t fit in your pocket like a Flip. On the other hand, the feature set is broader and we liked the low-light performance and built-in video light. Available for a fairly affordable sub-$300 on Amazon.
