Mobility Digest Review: Vivitar DVR 910 8.1MP 720p HD Camcorder

Geeks has sent me over a video camera for review from Vivitar, it’s the DVR 910 that can do 720P video and has an 8.1Mp still camera on-board as well. The camera is very easy to use, but it has one rather large flaw in my opinion, and that’s no macro mode whatsoever. Sure it’s fine for taking videos and pictures from a distance but you can’t do anything close up.

Author: Kristofer Brozio

Vendor: Geeks.com

Price: $44.99

Overall Rating: 3/5

Vivitar DVR 910 8.1MP 4x Digital Zoom SD 720p HD Camcorder w/2.7″ LCD

The Vivitar DVR 910 is an easy-to-use digital camcorder with 720p high-def resolution. It features 8.1 MP and 4x digital zoom so you can get amazing results. Preview your images on the large 2.7-inch TFT LCD and use the built-in microphone to capture audio, as well.

Use the self-timer function to get into the picture with your friends and family. Located to the side of the DVR 910 is a comfortable wrist strap so you can comfortably capture scenes for long periods of time. Feel free to post your videos on YouTube, you may just be the next Internet sensation!

General Features:
-8.1 Megapixels resolution (3264 x 2448)
-High-Definition 720p
-4x Digital Zoom
-2.7-inch TFT LCD
-LED Flashlight
-Memory: via SD memory card (card not included)
-Self-timer
-Image Stabilizer
-Camcorder Recording Speed: up to 30 fps
-Built-in microphone
-Audio Recording: mono audio
-Audio Playback File Format: MPEG4
-NTSC/PAL
-Runs on four (4) AAA batteries (not included)
-Tripod mount
-Includes wrist strap

Interface:
-AV Out
-USB 2.0

Unit Dimensions:
-2.5 x 1.5 x 4.5-inches (H x W x D, approximate)

He’s some other categories from Geeks for you to check out: Computer Monitors and 21 inch monitor.

What’s in the Box?

Let’s start with the video unboxing:

So here’s the box:

Inside you’ll find the camera, user manual, software disc, USB cable and A/V Cable.

The camera is small and portable of course, it’s a hand held with a strap on the side. On the bottom is the battery compartment along with a hole for a tripod.

On the top you’ll see the volume/zoom slider, photo button and a speaker. There are two door off to the side as well, one for the connections and one for the memory card.

On the back is the record button and navigation joystick.

The LCD display is 2.7” and it only opens out, it’s doesn’t rotate at all sadly.

When you open the display you’ll find the power button and the Vivilink button to help you get your pictures and videos on YouTube, PhotoBucket or Flickr.

To the left of the display are two more buttons for menu and mode. Menu is to access the menu, the mode button allows you to switch between Video Camera, Still Camera and Preview mode.

Impressions / Review:

Using the camera is easy, just turn it on and take pictures or movies. Battery life does not seem to be that good though, I only took a few pictures and a few minutes of movies when the battery low indicator came on. Yes they were brand new batteries that I put in there.

There are plenty of options of things to adjust, but in all of them I couldn’t find anything for macro mode.

I did check the Vivitar site for any firmware upgrades but there weren’t any.
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When you press the Vivlink button this is what pops up:

Here’s a view of the interface in movie mode, you can see icons down the left side and a timer at the top. The timer only has three seconds on it as I didn’t have a memory card in at the time.

Here’s some sample pictures. There’s no macro mode so close ups don’t work at all obviously. The digital zoom is worthless, but any digital zoom on any camera seems useless to me.

The LED assist light doesn’t really help that much either, here’s a couple pictures taken with the light off and with it on:

I did a video of course to test out the camera, having no macro mode makes it hard to do close up videos. I also ran into a small issue with Windows Media Player and playing back the files Which at QuickTime or .Mov files. There was audio but the video looked like this:

Then I tried it in VLC media player and it worked perfectly fine:

Don’t know what the issue is, I’ve never had an issue playing them before with Windows Media Player.

Finally here’s a quick video using the camera and you’ll see just what I mean about the camera.

So all in all, it’s pretty bad unless you’re far away from what you’re filming or taking a photo of. Even then they aren’t the greatest. For the price I guess it’s not too bad though, you’re not going to find many HD cameras in this price range.

Conclusion:

For what it is I guess it’s not bad, but then again it’s not good either. I can’t figure out how you can have a camera without a macro mode on it though.

The Vivitar is inexpensive yes, and for that I guess it gets some extra points. You won’t find many HD camera for this low of a price that’s for sure.

For general purpose things I guess it’s ok overall, but just not for my uses.

Pros:
+Simple and easy to use
+Seems well made
+Lots of features
+Video camera is actually decent

Cons:
-No Macro mode
-No real flash, just LEDs
-LCD doesn’t move
-Poor battery life