One of the fun things that I do is review different toys… I mean electronics. This review is for the Aiptek HD 1080P camera. Before I signed up for the review, I had already purchased 2 of these camera.

I had a project where I needed to create a 3-D video. Part of making the 3-D video you need 2 cameras to record the video in stereoscopic format. The trick is the center of each lens needs to be about 2 1/5 inches apart. There are not many cameras that you can put together that closely. So I went in search of a camera I could do this with.

I found the Aiptek at Best Buy when I went looking and settled on them for the project.

Let me first say that if you are looking for a professional High Definition camera, stop reading now. There are the furtherest things from even a pro-sumer high definition camera. I picked them up at Best Buy for about $160.

The old saying “you get what you pay for” fits here. But let me just say, for $160 they are not horrible cameras. In my review process I recorded some video at a carnival of my nephews and when I edited the video just about everyone commented how clear the video was.

The cameras come with very limited build in memory for video but can take SD cards. I purchased 2 8 Gig SD cards, one for each camera.

Here is a review of the camera features:

• Record at 1080P @ 30 FPS
• Record at 720P @ 30 FPS
• Record at 720P @ 60 FPS
• Record DVD (NTSC) @ 60 FPS
• Record for the web @ 30 FPS
• Take still shots at 3, 5, or 8 Megapixels
• Night recording mode

That is a long list of features. Now the more technical side of things…. As far as the lens… There really is no lens. There is a small plastic cover that protects the sensor. The sensor is very small. It looks even smaller than the sensor that is on my iPhone.

Now one word of warning about the 60 FPS. I use Final Cut pro HD and am running the latest version. It had problems editing the 60 frames per second videos.

After I figured out the problems with 60 frames per second and started recording in HD at 30 FPS, editing was a breeze. To transfer the videos you can remove the memory card and use a card reader to remove the videos. Or you can plug up the camera to a PC with the USB and it will show up as a new drive on your computer. When connected to the USB, the battery gets charged.

There is no image stabilization in the camera and you can really tell when you are shooting in High Def if you do not have a steady hand.  I suggest using the camera mount and putting it on a tripod or monopod if you can.

There is a removable battery however, there is no batter charger sent with the camera. The USB is the method of charging. The camera also comes with cables that allow you to hook it up to a TV.

For the price, this is not a bad camera but it does not feel very sturdy and is low on the spectrum as far as quality goes.  If you are looking for a fun cheap camera that you will not be upset if it breaks, then this is not a bad camera.

But if you are looking for a long term camera or a camera to do some professional or semi-professional work then I cannot recommend this camera.

For the fun project of making 3D movies the camera worked great for me.  But it cannot be used to do any of my other projects.

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