14 DAY TRIAL // From time to time, it's quite interesting to peruse a bit some of the websites pertaining to Chinese electronic retailers, since you're sure to find all sorts of more or less crazy contraptions, just like the one you'll read about as follows, namely the DOD F880HD “High Definition Video Camcorder with Motion Detection Infrared night vision Autofocus”.
Indeed, the rather long name should raise some eyebrows, especially since it implies that this thing is capable of achieving certain tasks no other camera can, namely that of recording good-quality Full HD videos even in the night.
However, after taking a closer look at this pocket camcorder's features, you'll immediately notice that, in fact, the situation is a tad different, since the device does indeed offer 1920x1080 @ 30fps video recording, but its built-in IR LED light (used for night vision) will mostly prove its worth in static shots.
The camcorder also sports a 4x digital zoom in/out function, supports up to 32GB SDHC memory card and allows users to review the recorded content on the 2.0-inch TFT LCD screen.
Moreover, it features a 5-megapixel CMOS sensor, as well as rotating 4-element fix focus lens (180-degree rotation is possible) and records movies in MOV format (MPEG-4 AVC/H.264 codec), while photos are saved in the JPEG format and can go up to 12 megapixels (via an interpolation process).
It's also interesting to note that the pocket camcorder is powered by a Li-ion Battery BL-5C/DC-in via USB, working for around 2 hours after a full charge.
Pricing for this thing (available on Etronixmart) has been set at 175.99, which is low enough in order to convince quite a few users out there that going for it might actually be a pretty good idea (we won't comment on that, since it's rather hard to tell what this thing is actually capable of until we get some hands-on time with it).