Vivitar XVN-1 Digital Video Recorder Review

Disclosure: I received a free product sample for review purposes. All experiences and opinions are my own. Yours may differ.

I have had the fantastic opportunity of  trying out the Vivitar XVN-1 Digital Video Recorder. The Vivitar XVN-1 Digital Video Recorder is a combination digital video and picture camera, and voice recorder. The camera is very small and compact which makes it really easy to take with you anywhere. Some of the highlights of this camera are:

• The camera has internal memory for videos or pictures as well as being able to use SD cards
• The camera is able to take 1080p videos which means the videos are full HD
• The 3″ touch screen, the large screen makes it easier to see what you are trying to capture and since it is a touch screen it makes for a minimal buttons on the camera itself. The touch screen also allows you to swipe through pictures and even rotate pictures with your finger
• When taking videos there is a 3 second pre-recording feature that captures 3 seconds of video before you press the record button so you will be sure to catch that important moment
• The Dual Streams options will save videos in two files of different resolution. At first I didn’t understand what the point of this option was, but the manual says this option records a high resolution and a low resolution version of the video and the low resolution video make it easier to share the video online.
• You can take a picture of a video while it is being played on the camera
• The picture mode of the camera allows you to take 16 megapixel pictures
• The voice recorded only recorders sound no picture

At first I could not figure out how to switch between the video, picture and voice recording modes, it’s not even clear in the manual. I was able to figure it out by fiddling with the cameras buttons and settings. I do love how easy it is to start the video recording. Often times the moment to start taking video comes quick, and this camera has a well placed button for an easy quick start.

I think this camera is perfect for capturing videos of special (or not so special) occasions. This camera is mostly for recording video (hence the very easy to press recording button right on top of the camera), the still camera feature is just a bonus. We had a lot of fun making videos last weekend. My son is very into racing his cars on a race track. Check out this fun video of the race!

I’m really impressed with the high quality of video this camera makes. Watching the videos on our HD TV was really nice! We have an older camcorder that records on little tapes (stop laughing!) so it is really nice to have this digital version of a camcorder.

We tried making a time lapse video with that setting, but the activity we were recording wasn’t long enough to make a good video. It would be really cool to set it outside and do a time lapse of the night sky, or of the sunrise. I love that feature on this camera.

Overall, this small, light weight video recorder is so compact it is perfect for capturing family moments on the go!