RCA EZ101 Small Wonder Camcorder with 1.5-Inch LCD Screen | 
| Brand: Thomson Consumer Electronics
List Price: $149.99
Buy New: $39.99
You Save: $110.00 (73%)
New (12) Refurbished (3) from $39.99
Rating:  31 reviews
Sales Rank: 3819
Color: Silver
Media: Electronics
Autographed: No
Memorabilia: No
Batteries: 2
Floppy Disk Drive: None
Display Size: 1.5
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1.9
Dimensions (in): 4 x 1.3 x 2.3
MPN: EZ101
Model: EZ101
UPC: 034909620373
EAN: 0034909620373
ASIN: B000FLXTBQ
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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| Features:
| • | Point-and-shoot simplicity -- just aim and press record | | • | Instant playback/delete, so you can see what you just shot and delete it if you don't want it | | • | Built-in memory holds up to 30 minutes of video clips; no tapes required | | • | Built-in Simple Software allows you to download video through high speed USB connection | | • | Convenient USB arm allows quick connect to PC or laptop for easy viewing and archiving of video clips |
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| Accessories:
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| Editorial Reviews:
Product Description
30 Minutes Built-In Recording Time / High-speed USB connection / Uses 2 AA Batteries Built-in Simple Software - Camcorder comes complete with integrated software in memory. Simple software allows you to download video through high-speed USB connection and email video clips to family and friends. Activates automatically when camcorder is connected Convenient USB Arm - Allows quick connection to PC for easy viewing or downloading of video clips Simple Downloading - Convenient USB arm allows quick connect to PC or laptop for easy viewing and archiving of video clips No Computer Needed - Users that have no computer can take camcorder to any Pure Digital Processing lab and have a DVD created while they wait. DVD can be played on a home DVD player and shared with friends or family. Processing labs are located at many chain retail stores.
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| Customer Reviews: Read 26 more reviews...
 Not bad for $100 July 28, 2006
J. Cortelyou (San Francisco)
70 out of 72 found this review helpful
I spent the afternoon testing this video camera in various "torture test" lighting conditions. It auto corrects well for environmental brightness. For the most part it handled them well with good video quality and color saturation. The camera does not work at all in low or very low light conditions. This is not the camera to use in a dimly lit club environment for example. The camera records the best quality video in brightly lit rooms and daytime outdoor environments.
The camera captures at 448 by 336 pixels at 30 frames per second using the MPEG-4 XVID codec. It records audio using Microsoft ADPCM at a bit rate of 64kb/s. The audio quality is good considering the mic is inside the camera's case. The problem with this mic setup is that anytime you press zoom, click record or stop you hear that button click sound very loudly during video playback. I would consider this the single worst aspect of the camera. Another problem I encountered is that the video software supplied with the camera would not install on my up to date Windows XP PC. However you can still easily access and retrieve your recorded videos by opening the camera as a hard drive via the computer. The camera sets itself up automatically as a hard drive when connected via the supplied USB cable to the computer. In my tests, 3.5 minutes of video yields an AVI file about 26.5 MB in size.
Video playback directly from the camera via the supplied composite cable to a TV looks pretty pixilated. The quality worsens when video is recorded in lower light levels. Video file playback on a computer display looks much better.
The interface on the camera is extremely minimal. There are 4 buttons: Power, Play, Record, Delete and a 4-way directional pad for digital zooming and cycling through record videos. There is no ability to adjust any other settings.
All in all, the RCA Small Wonder an inexpensive and relatively quality solution for recording up to 30 minutes of video in normal lighting conditions. Good for recording quick movies and sending them to friends via the Internet. And not so good for recording important life events and watching them on a TV.
 Great for kids November 22, 2006
Gary Coker
41 out of 41 found this review helpful
I bought this camera for my 9-year-old son to "make movies" with and he loves it. The best feature is the ultimate simplicity of the camera -- it has only 4 buttons (power, record, play, delete) and a 4-way directional pad and uses plain old AA batteries. Press the power button, press Record, and you're making movies. Press Record again to stop. You can give it to a child and he'll literally be shooting video 10 seconds later -- it's that simple and easy.
Each "movie" is saved to its own file on the camera, so you can use the directional pad to scroll through them and play them back instantly, right on the camera. The screen and speaker are surprisingly good. And the built-in USB connector and software make it ridiculously simple to transfer the video to your computer. I was worried that 30 minutes wouldn't be enough storage between transfers, but it's actually a very long time as video goes.
Most of all, this camera is just plain FUN. Because you know the quality of the video is just average (though better than you might think), you don't have to worry about it. Use your "real" camcorder for capturing important memories, but give this little camera to a kid and watch him have a blast with it. You'll enjoy seeing the world from a kid's perspective, too, when you watch the resulting clips.
I'm missing something August 3, 2006
Dawn G.
33 out of 45 found this review helpful
After searching the RCA website and finding that they had no information there, I finally tracked down information on this camera since the only manual was a txt file on the camera's memory: according to what I read THIS THING DOES NOT TAKE A MEMORY CARD. I bought it under the assumption that it did, but from what I read it just doesn't. 30 minutes is what you have, and all you will ever get. If 1/2 hour makes you happy, go for it.
I am also missing some time. I rarely get all of my 30 minutes. There seems to be no rhyme or reason to how long I get.
Apparently some folks wanted to tell me how stupid I was for thinking it would have a slot for a memory card in the first place, but it was actually in one of the product reviews I read where it specifically stated that it did. And yes, I thought "WOW! What a great price for something that will take a memory card!" I just wanted to clarify this for anyone who read that same review. No card. That's all. Kind of a neat little thing, but no card.
Great color, portability and manageability! June 14, 2006
Smee
24 out of 26 found this review helpful
The playback color is very crisp and clear.
The buttons are very simple and easy to use.
Downloading to the computer is no problem; you can use either the long USB cord, or just pop out the USB plug on the side. It goes back into the side when you're done.
No disc needed to download the viewing program; once you plug in the computer to download video, the program downloads.
It comes with two AA batteries and a free video DVD offer.
A memory card can be purchased, but you get 30 minutes without a card, so that's good enough.
Overall, it's small and lightweight, and I highly recommend it for anyone. Heck, senior citizens and anyone not up on technology can use this easily.
Fun, Pocket-sized Camcorder August 30, 2006
The G-Man (Eugene, Orygun)
19 out of 19 found this review helpful
I bought this camera on a whim and I love it. Put it in your pocket. Simple to use, a 7-year old can 'film'. It is point-&-shoot easy: push a button, it films, push again, it stops. Press play and show your friend what you just filmed. That's a lot of fun(!) and appeal of the camera.(Simply fun.)
Downside: NO MEMORY CARD SLOT, only 30 mins video/no volume control/slight digital zoom/TV viewing shows large green timer/Cannot film while plugged into TV/So-So color
Upside: Cheap camcorder/Take it anywhere-dinner/party/park, etc./Plug into late-model TV and see video/You will take more video because it is no big deal/Very good in light & dark/special feature: compress video into small email file and send to parents. Camera has a popout usb port.
I love this camcorder. Very light weight, easy to use, on a whim I take a video of the kids with NO big-deal camcorder, "I'm video-making now" documentation. It is fun like a disposable camea. Capture moments meaningless now, but will be fun to see when the kids are older.
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