Veho MUVI video review...that tiny tiny camera

[Tynan]

even a scrouge like me has just splashed £12.something on a looky likely HK one

hard to go wrong really init

 

[Darkmarkster]

http://www.facebook.com/?ref=logo#!/video/video.php?v=140559772706

Heres some footage I took last year as a test for the Muvi cam,Ive used it at quite a few Sportives and I think its a great little gadget,well worth the money! But the Sports kit is a must.

 

[Tynan]

not I'm not registered for facebook it isn't

why is it a must, I'm rather hoping to go the 'jam in the helmet vent' route for starters

 

[Darkmarkster]

not I'm not registered for facebook it isn't

why is it a must, I'm rather hoping to go the 'jam in the helmet vent' route for starters

I should edit that I got the whole package for a special price on Amazon and meant to say that if you can get it as a package its a must,obviously its not a must to spend additional money on it

 

[Rezillo]

Just received an MD80Q from an Ebay purchase - similar quality to the MD80 but in a slightly chunkier case that has a separate Li-ion battery. Leaflet calls the camera a Mini DV D005

Having a separate battery is great but the trouble is, I have no idea what model number it is to buy another one - the number on the battery seems to match nothing in Google other than a reference to an mp4 player.

http://tinyurl.com/ybkt2n5

John

Update - just unlucky I guess but mine is very flaky in use - randomly creates oversize files and shuts down, and the lens is skewed.

John

 

[Tynan]

return it then?

I'm old enough to view cheap electrics with prejuidice but hundreds of people are very pleased, I suppose with cheap prices come lower standards of quality control

 

[Rezillo]

return it then?

I'm old enough to view cheap electrics with prejuidice but hundreds of people are very pleased, I suppose with cheap prices come lower standards of quality control

Not that bothered, really. More hassle in sorting out the return and paying for postage to Hong Kong (that I might never see again) than my £10 post-free winning bid.

That's the gamble I made when I chose to order from somewhere as dodgy as Hong Kong. I wouldn't adopt the same attitude for a purchase closer to home, though.

John

 

[Tynan]

I've bought a fair bit from HK and China recently and other than the shipping time, it's all been sweet, nothing dodgy about it at all I reckon

the risk is in a £10 video camera I'd say, and a minituraised one to boot

 

[Rezillo]

I've bought a fair bit from HK and China recently and other than the shipping time, it's all been sweet, nothing dodgy about it at all I reckon

the risk is in a £10 video camera I'd say, and a minituraised one to boot

Of course, these units are allegedly made from cannibalised boards from reject mobile phone parts so not a recipe for high quality or a long life. The working ones are amazing - I've already got an MD80 and while it's a thirtieth of the price of my ContourHD it's still ok to use. On a small screen, there is not the gulf in picture quality that you would expect. How long it will last is another matter!

I've bought a fair number of low cost items from Hong Kong - no problems for me until now. I've never spent more than I could afford to lose, though.

John

 

[Tynan]

circuit borads cosr pence surely, the optics and the battery would be the tricky things to make very cheaply I'd have thought

 

[Rezillo]

circuit borads cosr pence surely, the optics and the battery would be the tricky things to make very cheaply I'd have thought

From http://www.chucklohr.com/808/ - key ring camera site but the internals of some of these match the MD80

"Why are these cameras so cheap? Because some of the parts are not the best. The parent design is a cell phone with a camera, but the cell phone features (radio, keyboard, screen) have been removed. Evidence - ring tones and cell phone graphics have been found embedded in the camera firmware! Because China makes millions of cell phones, there are lots of rejected parts. These parts sometimes have the manufacturer name or part number removed, are cheap and are sometimes sold by the pound. Some of the reject parts, like flash memory chips, are reprogrammed to fake a larger size. Many rejected parts don't pass the parametric tests but are still functional. I believe that some rejected parts get used in these cameras."

I've can't speak for how accurate this is but I've seen some of the phone graphics extracted from the firmware.

John

Edit - in case of any problems, I'm referring to the Ebay cameras available for ten pounds or so direct from China, not the subject item of this thread.

 

[Norm]

circuit borads cosr pence surely, the optics and the battery would be the tricky things to make very cheaply I'd have thought

The pinhole optics should be a piece of cake... well, not actually a piece of cake, that's not very transparent, but you know what I mean.

 

[Wobbly John]

He's my summary of the Muvi clones I've owned:

1: Aluminium cased, boxed Muvi £25 HK import. Works every time no problems.

2: Plastic cased, MD80 clone £12 HK import. Started to go wrong from day 1. Often wouldn't turn off. Often didn't record. Strange all-green movies. Returned, but seller denies receiving it.

3: Sunglasses type, £20 Uk seller. Temperamental. Often won't turn off. Once recorded Luminous pink video

 

[mr_cellophane]

I bought my working clone from http://myworld.ebay.co.uk/pirlo12

Odd the clones seem to have gone up slightly and the genuine ones down !

 

[gaz]

Is anyone getting corrupt files?
i start recording - green light flashing..

Off i go.. look back at the camera some 20 mins later and the light is off. turn the power off, turn it back on, press the record button - green light flashing.

Get to work and look at the first file.. 900 odd mb and it won't play