RCA Small Wonder
EZ-105 Digital Camcorder
RCA Small Wonder
EZ-201 Digital Camcorder
RCA Memory Maker
There's a
major trend to the high-definition home,
with wide-screen HDTV home theatre and
even consumer high-def HDV camcorders.
But in this era of YouTube and Flash
video with short-form, low-res clips,
there's also a place for easier and
faster shooting, from your camera phone
to even highly-portable camcorders that
record to flash memory.
In contrast to powerful
HD camcorders, the emphasis of the
pocket-size RCA Small Wonder is
on easy and fun shooting (www.mysmallwonder.com).
Even the packaging even says nothing
technical -- nothing about resolution or
storage, megapixels or megabytes.
The interface is a simple
as possible, with few controls, and no
confusing menus or profusion of options.
Plus, there's a minimum
of connectors, with no power adaptor:,
it just uses two standard AA batteries.
And no additional cables required to
access the clips, with a built-in
pop-out USB connector. There is an A/V
jack to connect directly to a TV set for
immediate viewing.
The
RCA EZ-105 Small Wonder digital
camcorder is amazingly light and
comfortable to hold (2.43 x 4.27 x 1.33
inches, 0.31 lbs.), and great for quick
and easy videos ($129).
RCA EZ-105 Small Wonder
This
update from the EZ-101 adds more memory
(to 512 MB) and a handy tripod mount on
the bottom. But the key is that it's so
easy to use, with only a few buttons.
Just press Power to turn it on, then the
red Record button to start recording.
The 1.5 inch color LCD screen keeps you
updated with simple on-screen status.
And press the surrounding rocker switch
for up to 2X digital zoom.
Then
press the Play button to play back your
clips, using the rocker switch to adjust
the volume through the built-in speaker,
and to skip back and forth between your
clips. There's also a Delete button to
free up storage for unwanted clips.
There's
no confusing menus and profusion of
options on the Small Wonder (also no MBs
used or battery status display). The
only option is a switch between LP and
HQ quality (60 or 30 minutes). To make
life even simpler, there is no power
adaptor -- it runs on two standard AA
batteries.
To share
your shots, the Small Wonder includes an
A/V jack for displaying directly on a
television for immediate viewing.
And to
share digital files, RCA even has made
uploading easy -- the Small Wonder
includes a built-in pop-out USB
connector so no extra cables are needed,
and comes preloaded with software that
can autorun when you connect to a PC or
Mac to simplify transferring the files
(or you can just drag and drop
yourself). RCA uses the Pure Digital
Video platform that is compatible with
some 8,000 retail partner locations for
1-hour DVD processing.
The
actual video format is MPEG-4 at 30 fps,
with ADPCM audio (64 Kbps, 4-bit). It
shoots up to 60 minutes at good LP
quality (VGA 448 x 336, 173 Kbps), and
30 minutes at best HQ quality (Half-VGA
640 x 480, 340 Kbps).
to get your EZ-105
The new
model, coming in spring 2007, is the
RCA Small Wonder EZ-201 ($129).
about the same size as a deck of cards.
This adds
a 1.5-inch LCD panel that flips out 180
degrees for easier viewing while
shooting. It also adds a SD memory slot
for expandable storage.
to get your EZ-201
RCA also
has announced the RCA Memory Maker, a
DVD docking and recording system for
simple one-touch, at-home DVD burning of
favorite clips.
Portions
originally published in
Camcorder & Computer Video magazine,
23, 1, February 2007.
