EEVblog Electronics Community Forum
EEVblog => EEVblog Specific => Topic started by: EEVblog on March 26, 2014, 12:19:59 am
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Teardown Tuesday
What's inside the world shittiest camcorder that costs a whopping $7.50 on Amazon?
The Global New Beginnings DV-136ZB 1.5" 3.1 MP Digital Video Camera
Mailbag: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NYWGXLuyH4M (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NYWGXLuyH4M)
EEVblog #595 - World's Shittiest Camcorder: Teardown (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1EuBRmfJLSk#ws)
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Hi Dave,
sorry you had to do that teardown.
One quick thing: the link on the eevblog-homepage to this Forum-Thread is not working korrektly (there is a http:/ at the end of the link)
I allways enjoy your Teardowns. Looking forward to your next Video. Keep up your good work :-+ :)
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Got to say I dont understand the hate displayed for this camera.
The word you missed was value for money or not.
Perfect for a child to play with. I would never use it, but my mother has one like this, and was very smug to have bought one. Mind you I dont think she ever used it. Stupid people demographic, get what you pay for.
Aside from that, I was interested to see what was inside the camera, so thanks for the video. I doubt the $7.50 is rrp. I suspect my mom paid more like 10x that.
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I agree, this was a nice opportunity to see how a camera can be implemented as cheap as possible. Some of the cheap stuff on dealextreme or ebay can be worth getting just to pull apart. Sometimes you can even get a fun dev platform https://marcansoft.com/blog/2009/06/sunplus-spmp305x-media-player-hacking/ (not my article)
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Only $80 on Amazon for Prime members, and free shipping!
http://www.amazon.com/Global-Beginnings-DV-136ZB-Digital-Camera/dp/B002DUPTHY/ref=aag_m_pw_dp?ie=UTF8&m=ACUDU597YD3OX (http://www.amazon.com/Global-Beginnings-DV-136ZB-Digital-Camera/dp/B002DUPTHY/ref=aag_m_pw_dp?ie=UTF8&m=ACUDU597YD3OX)
;-)
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Only $80 on Amazon for Prime members, and free shipping!
http://www.amazon.com/Global-Beginnings-DV-136ZB-Digital-Camera/dp/B002DUPTHY/ref=aag_m_pw_dp?ie=UTF8&m=ACUDU597YD3OX (http://www.amazon.com/Global-Beginnings-DV-136ZB-Digital-Camera/dp/B002DUPTHY/ref=aag_m_pw_dp?ie=UTF8&m=ACUDU597YD3OX)
;-)
Only occasionally... http://camelcamelcamel.com/Global-Beginnings-DV-136ZB-Digital-Camera/product/B002DUPTHY (http://camelcamelcamel.com/Global-Beginnings-DV-136ZB-Digital-Camera/product/B002DUPTHY)
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Looks like you got at least $8 of fun out of that camera!
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Got to say I dont understand the hate displayed for this camera.
The word you missed was value for money or not.
I never said it wasn't value for any particular purpose. The fact that it's shit quality remains a fact regardless of that.
Of course, you expect shit quality for the price, that was always a given.
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Got to say I dont understand the hate displayed for this camera.
The word you missed was value for money or not.
I never said it wasn't value for any particular purpose. The fact that it's shit quality remains a fact regardless of that.
Of course, you expect shit quality for the price, that was always a given.
As an EE and professional in the electronics field, in order to manage, design + manufacture this, do you think any "average" EEs or professionals capable of deliver this value out of this price "easily" ?
Or you just need any crappy & shitty EEs to do that ? ;)
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Or you just need any crappy & shitty EEs to do that ? ;)
Not necessarily crappy & shitty, just low paid. And really, it looked well designed for the price.
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The video quality seems to be comparable to the old analog consumer camcorders. I think the main target market is R/C hobbyists. No big deal if you lose or break the camera.
BTW, 10 years ago, CVS sold a camcorder of comparable video quality but fewer features for $30. No SD card slot, USB only with a nonstandard cable, not even a macro mode. And yet it was once pretty popular in the hacking community.
http://www.digitalfluff.net/CVS/ (http://www.digitalfluff.net/CVS/)
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Oh Dave, you have set a terrible precedent. Now anyone (including, me maybe) that sends in a steaming pile of dog shit is going to expect a 24:08 video teardown. Oh the humanity!
(http://zmabz.smugmug.com/photos/i-bfFrmbv/0/M/i-bfFrmbv-M.jpg)
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As an EE and professional in the electronics field, in order to manage, design + manufacture this, do you think any "average" EEs or professionals capable of deliver this value out of this price "easily" ?
Or you just need any crappy & shitty EEs to do that ? ;)
The value gained is in the purchasing and assembly chain, not the design chain.
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I think the main target market is R/C hobbyists.
Can't be, it has a screen and hand held form factor. The consumer market for a cheap camcorder is orders of magnitude bigger than the RC market.
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Got to say I dont understand the hate displayed for this camera.
+1.
Plenty of arrogance in this video. Thumbs down.
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Screwdriver more expensive than the camera, that was golden :-)
That being said I can't imagine how anybody would make a profit by selling this with 7.xx retail, seems pretty packed (even if the quality is shit).
On the other hand I can't imagine how they make a profit on all those chargers and other things for 1$ shipped from ebay (and that 1$ or so includes the ebay and paypal fees).
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Got to say I dont understand the hate displayed for this camera.
+1.
Plenty of arrogance in this video. Thumbs down.
To be honest, its like watching The O'Reilly Factor version of Electronic Engineering tv show.
Really, just don't understand the hate as I'm not in Electronic Engineering field, but don't you guys at the same field at least show some respect and courtesy among the peers ? or the competition is so fierce that its like dog eats dog business out there ? :-//
I mean criticizing the work result is fine, but showing the excessive hate and feeling disgusted is way too much imo.
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I don't understand the excessive hate to cheap stuff
Why everybody love expensive stuff and hate cheap one (despite for quality)
that is superiority problem (i'm so rich, this stuff is insult me for being so cheap)
i'm live in country that produce branded fashion stuff for very cheap (~$1) and export it to Nike, Adidas, Polo, ... they sell it for fortune..
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Not one of your better video's to me a camcorder under ten dollars for a child's present is good.I think you must have been acting on the video for effect.
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Come on guys, he actually says it's decent value for the money, but that doesn't change the fact that it's a heap of shit. Would you honestly use this thing for anything?
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There are cheaper one's yet out there, I saw one recently that was being given away free if you just placed an order with a mail order company any order with no minimum value either, the camcorder did not have a screen there was just a hole when you flipped up the view finder to look through. I was not tempted as I know what the quality of all the other crap from that company is which I shall not name but most people in the UK will know if I just say they are from Harrington dock in Liverpool.
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Despite the "hate" he couldn't hide being impressed by the actual effort made by the electronics engineers...
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Yikes, yeah, the hate seemed to disconnect me from the video a little. Imagine if you're shit-poor and want to record something, it is almost exactly like a reusable disposable camera you can get at some drug stores for a few dollars but does video instead. I mean it is not marketted as HD, and camcorders aren't the most stunning in the first place until lately but they are quite pricey, so why bash it? It's just a little slow on the times, better than some stuff back then surely, but I'd argue it'd just add plastic to the landfill being disposable.
Imagine guy spends $7, records war crimes happening in his country. Things being done to forests. A father showing something interesting to his son about where he works. Who knows. Maybe not a device for "our" countries.
Alexander.
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Yes, the quality is poor. But i'm sure even with $7000 in hand only few people can make at the same complexity/build quality.
The problem with Consumer stuff is people is see the price first.(i say Pride first).
I have friend say the same like Dave, he say "I don't use cheap stuff, it's make me feel itchy"
i find my friend is dumb, i buy the same thing ("t-shirt") direct from factory that make it (export leftovers) for 1/50 of the price...
so 1/50 for the factory and all those cheap labor and 49/50 for greedy CEO
http://www.ehow.com/info_8641461_average-salary-ceo-fashion-company.html (http://www.ehow.com/info_8641461_average-salary-ceo-fashion-company.html)
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Very unfair teardown/review Dave
The video quality may be crap compared to your professional video camera but for 7 dollars what do you expect.
It is not reasonable to compare it with cameras costing over a hundred times as much.
I have seen far worse build quality on much higher cost products.
While I would not buy one of these I am sure that this may be a good product for parents wanting to buy their kids a camcorder to play with but cannot afford much. Also the kids probably would not care about the video quality.
The build quality was way better than it needed to be for a product in the market it is aimed at, surely that is the point of a teardown.
Jerry
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My problem with those cheap stuff is that I like to buy things for more than a decade of use. YES I try that also with clothing. Try to buy as few as possible from companies like Nike, Adidas, Polo,... All day stuff not from ALDI, LIDL, KIK, ... These are a few of the bigger german discounter offered "every week new crap you don't really need" shelves.
I know today global industry is to cross linked together to easy separate good and bad. But can that be an excuse not to try it at least?
Example: I can buy a cheap desk from xyz who cares "brand" or a 10 times more expensive one from a local carpenter / cabinet maker. The last one can be a joy for generations.
1. Buy what you really need. (Saves you a lot of money for the quality things.)
2. Try to buy local.
3. Try to buy quality or try to DIY.
4. If this don't help restart at point 1. ;)
I don't need every two years a new cellphone. I bought a new one only if the old one dies and I can't repair. For me that's the real "bigger bang for the buck".
The cheap (and unrepairable) products are a waste of resources, energy and environment. They and their parts mostly produced under inhumane and unhealthy conditions to rise the profit. They are also often unsecure, unhealthy and don't work as long as expected.
Video from 30C3 in 2013 (DE/EN) Dead Man Edition - The way to fair electronics, by example of capacitors
http://media.ccc.de/browse/congress/2013/30C3_-_5293_-_de_-_saal_6_-_201312301600_-_dead_man_edition_-_sebastian_jekutsch.html (http://media.ccc.de/browse/congress/2013/30C3_-_5293_-_de_-_saal_6_-_201312301600_-_dead_man_edition_-_sebastian_jekutsch.html)
Don't buy this products for your kids! Most of this crap is extreme unhealthy especially for wet kids finger.
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Hi,
I certainly won't give this video a thumbs-down because it is in fact really interesting but, like others, I find this "hate" unnecessary.
I would have understood that if the product had been dangerous (for health and/or environment and/or ...) or if it would have been clearly prone to die within some hours of usage and contrary to many low end multi-meters/chargers/... this one isn't.
Clearly, this thing is made down to a price but I'm in fact surprised how well It's made/engineered *for the price*.
OK, the video/sound is not at all on pare with what we are used to see on the Eevblog but for me it is still "watchable". Dave, take a look back at your first videos for this blog, they weren't really better ! ;-)
To conclude, I think there is a market for this kind of thing (children, developing countries ...) and I also think the engineers who made *that one* shouldn't be ashamed. I'm sure there is is much more shitty camera on some markets.
Sylvain.
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Got to say I dont understand the hate displayed for this camera.
+1.
Plenty of arrogance in this video. Thumbs down.
Perhaps you missed the parts where I actually praised it a few times?
Got to say I don't quite understand why so many people don't get what this video was about it :-//
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It seemed to be mostly about how crap you could say any particular product is.
It's a cheap camera, it's not meant to give high quality video results or pictures.
I'm actually very impressed they can sell that for about $16 all in and still make a profit on each unit sold (presumably.)
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Not one of your better video's to me a camcorder under ten dollars for a child's present is good.I think you must have been acting on the video for effect.
Now you might be starting to get it...
This WASN'T a review, and it does seem like I seem to be being bashed for what I didn't say. i.e. I didn't say this an absolutely fantastic value camera and has it's place blah blah :blah:
Fact is, when you put any value or niche use aside, it's an awful camera, complete garbage. It is what I claimed any everyone expected, the worlds shittiest camcorder.
It was a teardown, not a review, and I actually somewhat praised the engineering in it for the price.
People really need to lighten up a little I think, the video was mostly for entertainment value because people ask for it :palm:
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It's a cheap camera, it's not meant to give high quality video results or pictures.
And I didn't say otherwise, it's exactly what you'd expect. Extremely low quality for an extremely low price.
I'm actually very impressed they can sell that for about $16 all in and still make a profit on each unit sold (presumably.)
So I am. Once again, I made no commentary on that in the video, and that seem to be half the problem.
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Despite the "hate" he couldn't hide being impressed by the actual effort made by the electronics engineers...
Yay, at least someone recognised that I actually said something good about the camera ::)
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It's interesting to contrast the difference in this video with say the old Agilent OLED multimeter video.
I coped a whole heap of abuse for giving the thumbs up to a really nice Agilent multimeter with basically only one major flaw (battery life). And then in the follow-up video I coped even more abuse for defending the fact that products have their niches.
And now I got a whole heap of abuse for calling a crap product crap, in a teardown that was meant to be humorous and wasn't a review, and not mentioning that products have their niches.
:-//
Welcome to the world of the video blogger where it is impossible to win... |O
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The community wanted you to do this tear down, you did it and gave your honest opinion, which regular viewers of the eevblog should expect. I didn't have a problem with the video, it was the truth.
Personally my dislike for cheap products like this is the fact that they have such little value that they're just a throw away item. 98% of these cameras will end up in landfill somewhere with little use.
I do agree that it would probably make a good gift for a 10 year old. Kind of like a poor mans go pro.
Thanks Dave.
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I'm with Dave entirely on this one, it is a peice of shit.
People say "oh, it's so cheap, and it actually at least does something, that makes it good value for money" no, that doesn't make it good value for money, that just means it isn't complete trash, in the same way you can buy cheap lithium batteries from china that hold almost no charge, but you don't hear anyone saying they're good value, no, because they aren't.
The camera costs $7 bucks, whoopdie fricken doo. Most $40 mobile phones will be able to record video equally as well, except they'll be smaller, thinner, have better battery life, be useful for other things, and more than likely, you'll already own one.
Why does Dave hate on it so much? Aside from the "feel" of the plastics, they also contribute to usability problems, like the battery cover, the latch on that will snap off quick smart, the hinge on the LCD will crack, the lense will scratch, heck, the LCD bezel is already falling off! If you spend any amount of time buying products like this, you'll know that in a week or two you'll throw it out because it has broken or has become unusable in some way or another, contributes to more companies making crap like this, and more crap going into landfills.
Though, as Dave recognises, it is pretty well made for its price, it uses actual screws, seems to offer somewhat decent board mounting, the macro switch works and uses chips you can find a datasheet on! That said, it still doesn't make it a good buy.
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The community wanted you to do this tear down, you did it and gave your honest opinion, which regular viewers of the eevblog should expect. I didn't have a problem with the video, it was the truth.
Personally my dislike for cheap products like this is the fact that they have such little value that they're just a throw away item. 98% of these cameras will end up in landfill somewhere with little use.
I do agree that it would probably make a good gift for a 10 year old. Kind of like a poor mans go pro.
Thanks Dave.
Nah, if you want a cheap camera for a kid, get em a 808 keychain camera or something of the sort.
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I love this irony teardown. It's fun, and make my smile.
Take 10 of this camera, put it in epoxy ( transparent epoxy ) and use the maximum legal weight of explosives that you can handle on your country (leave the USB cables outside the epoxy for data recover).
BTW: Note that this shittiest camcooder uses STANDARD USB CONNECTOR, thats is a thumbs up for me!
(https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/40319604/comes_to_the_dark_side.PNG)
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I do agree that it would probably make a good gift for a 10 year old. Kind of like a poor mans go pro.
Totally agree. If it wasn't in the bin, and Sagan already didn't have multiple cameras to chose from, I'd give it to him to play with.
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If Dave wants to take me way out of my comfort zone then I just want him to know. It might amuse him and the vast majority of viewers, but I found it too far over the top. That's my honest opinion.
And fair enough too. It is simply impossible to please everyone. I get complaints whether I do an extra sweary video, or I speak the queens english and have rainbows and ponies. So it's pretty much business as usual for me, although this one has generated more than the usual complaints.
What annoys me is people who complain about stuff (either directly or implied) that I didn't mention in the video. e.g. I didn't mention that it might useful and "good value" for some people. As I've said, this wasn't a review, and wasn't the point of the video.
But stuff like, I used the word shit too many times, ok, fair enough complaint. (I don't care of course, but fair enough ;D)
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Personally.. I like the video.. Of course Dave is a bit loud and sometimes use quite harash words ... But hey.. he's aussie. ^-^
IMHO that thing has it uses. Not that I'd want one these days, but I'm sure there are places where that one woudl fit just fine. And for a price, even if considered just as a cheap child's toy, it's not overly expensive.
Was expecting to see some hammer or other way of destructive teardown.
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I personally disliked the fact that there was no attempt to use percussive maintenance to open the case. :--
-kizzap
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I think most people aren't as outspoken as you are Dave, nor do they have a habit of verbally (and physically haha?) attacking inexpensive hardware. I think some just felt sorry for the poor little camcorder that was the focus of your wrath. You did say a few nice things about it, but I guess those comments were kind of buried under a mountain of disgust that you had for it. ;) I think it was a little harsh, but not the end of the world. Time to move on, I'm sure everyone is looking forward to seeing what's in the Agilent boxes!
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I usualy dont react on the forum just just sitting back an enyoing Dave's videos. However I felt that I should make my first post :)
I actualy liked the video - its a teardown not product review and I laught my ass :)
Iam kinda surpriesed at ppl reaction as they should be used to your video style (thats why I'm watching...)
Keep up the good work
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The teardown was a little over the top, but that was clearly the whole idea of the video, and you executed it very, very well.
The only problem I had was the first few minutes; bashing and accusing the design and build quality even before opening it, but instead of just mindless bashing and ranting, you pointed out the good and interesting points as well. You even praised good design choices a few times!
From me, definitely a thumbs up, keep at it you crazy aussie bloke :P
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Actual the video is very funny and amusing if i'm not a engineer, sadly i was.
And when someone hard work is mocked at that degree, it's doesn't feel right.
But now i'm sure it's only a joke and acting. :clap:
But if the world's-shittiest-camcorder maker watch it, there is a chance make he/she commit suicide
I say it's properly design with poorly component, i'm sure the designer can do better if he/she have a better component option.
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The only problem I had was the first few minutes; bashing and accusing the design and build quality even before opening it
But it is pretty crap quality from the outside, and from the operation of it :-//
Exactly what's you'd expect of such a cheap camera of course, but that's a different point entirely.
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But if the world's-shittiest-camcorder maker watch it, there is a chance make he/she commit suicide
:o
I guess there's always that chance... but really ? Suicide?
So we can't ever criticize anybody because he might go freakin' kill himself?
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But if the world's-shittiest-camcorder maker watch it, there is a chance make he/she commit suicide
:o
I guess there's always that chance... but really ? Suicide?
So we can't ever criticize anybody because he might go freakin' kill himself?
that's is a joke..
but, still there is a chance of it. (at least on kid)
http://www.bullyingstatistics.org/content/bullying-and-suicide.html (http://www.bullyingstatistics.org/content/bullying-and-suicide.html)
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You did say a few nice things about it, but I guess those comments were kind of buried under a mountain of disgust that you had for it.
That's actually a very real effect I see in most videos to some degree. People get overly passionate/annoyed/disgusted about one particular thing I said, or thing I missed, or thing I got wrong etc, and they subconsciously ignore all the other stuff that kinda makes their complaint look rather silly in the big picture. There is probably a proper psychological term for it? For now, I'll call it simply being over-passionate :-+
The same effect can manifest itself in other ways too, like complaints about my video frequency, quality, type etc.
Did I mention I get a lot of complaints daily? ;D
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So we can't ever criticize anybody because he might go freakin' kill himself?
In today's politically correct world, sadly, many people would say yes >:(
Of course, I really only praised the designer somewhat, they did well for the constraints no doubt given to them by management and/or price point target.
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Of course, I really only praised the designer somewhat, they did well for the constraints no doubt given to them by management and/or price point target.
Yeah, I got the impression that you were disgusted by the design constraints but impressed with what was done within them. Which I approve of :-+
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But stuff like, I used the word shit too many times, ok, fair enough complaint. (I don't care of course, but fair enough ;D)
Really? I didn't notice. Maybe it's because I'm an aussie. :-+
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I was not impressed with the Tagarno shot of the CMOS sensor.
It was no better than the closeup with your regular camera.
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I was not impressed with the Tagarno shot of the CMOS sensor.
It was no better than the closeup with your regular camera.
The point was the working distance. Try getting that with a regular camera, while also giving yourself space to solder.
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Wow lots of abuse for a, granted hostile (lol), humorous tear down. I'm not forgetting the fact the only reason you tore it down was because people commented and said they wanted to see it.
I personally have 3 of these 'heaps of doggie do-do'. Kids are a little spoiled with tech these days, I don't think this camera qualifies as a kids cam anymore (because of that). Why do I have 3, well I knew someone who got 3 of them returned (retail) because the customer was unhappy with them...lol for $12...jeez the batteries would cost more than that...lol
These cameras are sold by a different company called Mercury here in Canada. I have a much better made (step up version) 720p Camera from Mercury that is orders of magnitude better. I have a few of them and would consider shipping to Dave for a tear-down but I think he's had it with the vid camera tear downs. ;-)
Personally I liked the video Dave did, one exception is I would have screwed around with the boards a bit before 'bin'ing them. And the sensor die was cool, might have kept that. Wait a minute >:D I could 'tear the arse' :-+ out of one of the ones I have here lol...awesome.
Chris
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See Dave, that's what you get when you cultivate a bunch of delicate flowers as your viewers. They shit their pants and feel oh so insulted when you tell the truth. I wouldn't be surprised if a few reported your video to the moderators for lack of proper cuddling-up.
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I enjoyed the video. I do agree with the other comments, but it's not exactly a big deal.
It really is amazing that it's even possible to build a camera and sell it for $7.50.
Meanwhile, I'll head over to Mike's channel...
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I was not impressed with the Tagarno shot of the CMOS sensor.
It was no better than the closeup with your regular camera.
It would have shown up better if I actually recorded the video. It's got higher zoom and a better quality image IMO than my camera with macro lens.
Plus the insane working distance.
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Have to say I did "skip a bit brother" over the overly long ranty bits.
Personally I think it's damn incredible, you have there a perfectly functional video camera, totally solid state, with a colour LCD, for little more than pocket change, AND the internal construction didn't look half bad.
It's even more amazing that you can buy cameras which have significantly better image quality for not much more money at all.
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You did get a bit excited about the shitness of the little critter, but I agree that is was a great tear-down of what has become the standard of nowdays crapness. Good work ;)
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Video 595. Concidence ? A 595 is a shi(f)t register ...
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Video 595. Concidence ? A 595 is a shi(f)t register ...
Now that is an epic groaner, if i ever heard one )
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That's just how it work. You make negative commentary on expensive product and everyone on your side. You make negative commentary on cheap product and BAM, everyone lose their mind.
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If Dave wants to take me way out of my comfort zone then I just want him to know. It might amuse him and the vast majority of viewers, but I found it too far over the top. That's my honest opinion.
And fair enough too. It is simply impossible to please everyone. I get complaints whether I do an extra sweary video, or I speak the queens english and have rainbows and ponies. So it's pretty much business as usual for me, although this one has generated more than the usual complaints.
What annoys me is people who complain about stuff (either directly or implied) that I didn't mention in the video. e.g. I didn't mention that it might useful and "good value" for some people. As I've said, this wasn't a review, and wasn't the point of the video.
But stuff like, I used the word shit too many times, ok, fair enough complaint. (I don't care of course, but fair enough ;D)
You've acknowledged that there is a market for this type of camcorder, and in my opinion that already saying it has a good side, for the right type of person. IMO that says it all. Everything else in the video is just your own opinion and rightfully so.
I enjoyed the video, especially the comment about the vaseline. xD
You did say a few nice things about it, but I guess those comments were kind of buried under a mountain of disgust that you had for it.
That's actually a very real effect I see in most videos to some degree. People get overly passionate/annoyed/disgusted about one particular thing I said, or thing I missed, or thing I got wrong etc, and they subconsciously ignore all the other stuff that kinda makes their complaint look rather silly in the big picture. There is probably a proper psychological term for it? For now, I'll call it simply being over-passionate :-+
The same effect can manifest itself in other ways too, like complaints about my video frequency, quality, type etc.
Did I mention I get a lot of complaints daily? ;D
That's why I usually don't bother to read all positive (five star) feedback comments on Amazon (and similar pages with a rating / feedback / comment system). Usually the very extreme (either really low or really high) ratings carry substantially less information than the more differentiated average ratings.
I think it's mostly because people get so hyped up by the new product they bought ... just like you said. Or they get so mad that they received a deffective product, but their rating isn't able to review the product itself, because it never worked in the first place.
Anyway I hope that makes sense, and keep up the good work Dave.
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my 2p worth dave...
I dont have an issue at all about what you said.
These types of product... generic no-name cheap electronics that come out of china are quite simply companies in china pumping out cheap shite because if they make it cheap enough people will just buy it, they are not expecting people to recommend them, or build a brand, they have no respect for their customer and no pride in their work.
i pity those who paid for theirs...
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I thought it was a good teardown, and I'm not sure why people can't see that it's an exaggeration.
note to all: If you find yourself getting upset over a youtube video then maybe you should evaluate why you're really angry and seek some help, because there is a lot more going on than a youtube video you don't like.
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[Perhaps you missed the parts where I actually praised it a few times?
Got to say I don't quite understand why so many people don't get what this video was about it :-//
Dave, having a 7$ products like this is in the market is a valid proposition and the engineering that was done to achieve it is sound so I don't understand why you chose the harsh negative angle. Frankly, the bang for the buck here is actually very impressive, way more than the $70 current to voltage amplifier that you proudly sell.
It's ok to put down clear bad design decisions, unsafe products or snake oil but this is not the case here, it's a fine product.
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Personally I think it's damn incredible, you have there a perfectly functional video camera, totally solid state, with a colour LCD, for little more than pocket change, AND the internal construction didn't look half bad.
This Chinese camera costs less than a Chinese lunch around here and is way better quality. ;-)
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Remove LCD and leds to put in parts box, smash rest with hammer.
Given what sparkfun and the like want for a small LCD you've still got your $7.50 worth.
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It's interesting to contrast the difference in this video with say the old Agilent OLED multimeter video.
I coped a whole heap of abuse for giving the thumbs up to a really nice Agilent multimeter with basically only one major flaw (battery life). And then in the follow-up video I coped even more abuse for defending the fact that products have their niches.
And now I got a whole heap of abuse for calling a crap product crap, in a teardown that was meant to be humorous and wasn't a review, and not mentioning that products have their niches.
:-//
Welcome to the world of the video blogger where it is impossible to win... |O
You are absolutely right but I must say there was a lot of 'hate' in the video and that made it one of the least nice ones to view. I think thats a little thing to keep in mind in the future. A lot of people like your enthousiasm a lot(!) but not if its only negative.
But don't let it get u worked up and just keep up the very good work u are doing! U sir, are a bosss!
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It would have shown up better if I actually recorded the video. It's got higher zoom and a better quality image IMO than my camera with macro lens.
Plus the insane working distance.
How do they get that fantastic working distance? Is it down to Barlow lenses? I have only used such with my telescope. My microscopes have a very poor working distance, they are only good enough for slides.
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.. But don't let it get u worked up and just keep up the very good work u are doing! U sir, are a bosss!
+1
I typically watch the eevblog videos end to end and enjoy them. Sometimes on my phone, sometimes on the big TV in the living room. Even Mrs Zapta learned to enjoy Dave's style.
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+1 and a big :-+ from me, Dave. I really liked the almost over the top irony. And even when you go to lengths to make sure the world knows how shitty this camera is you still cannot hide that you are actually a bit surprised/impressed by the electronics built quality.
I had quite a few laughs while watching it. I don't get it why people are getting so worked up about the content :-//. It's just for show people. Then again maybe Aussies, like us Dutchies are too direct/straight and regarded as blunt by most other cultures? Had quite some misunderstandings related to that myself.
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Fair enough comments on the camcorder, sans the overly ranty bits.
Now do the right thing, and do a teardown on your regular cam :). Could make for an interesting comparison.
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I think the main target market is R/C hobbyists. No big deal if you lose or break the camera.
640x480 resolution and OpenCV image recognition software could change this thing into usable one if used 2 in... stereo mode maybe even for humans recognition 8)
It has small power requirements I guess, so those main 2 PCBs could be usable in DIY.
Just developing inteligent tennis ball machine in spare time and... maybe this camcorder it is a garbage, but sometimes high resolution is not required and OpenCV post processing can extract in real time what we are looking for in live images, so it was cool to see what is inside this camcorder while electronics is not so old and it looks like it could be easy to hack it >:D
Just wondering how much does it weight without this LCD display and battery pack-main board and this front pannel image sensor PCBs only?
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Got to say I dont understand the hate displayed for this camera.
+1.
Plenty of arrogance in this video. Thumbs down.
Perhaps you missed the parts where I actually praised it a few times?
Got to say I don't quite understand why so many people don't get what this video was about it :-//
I mostly interpret any of the apparent hate to the Aussie tendency to call a spade a spade. Or at least my perceived tendency for Aussies to call a spade a spade :)
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That is a cheap camera with a low quality sensor but it is not shit. not by a long, long shot.... the one Dave got WORKS. It's cheap and the video is poor, but it WORKS. And the video while poor quality is usable.
I have one here (given to me free) that is TRULY shit. TRULY. Going by overall design it looks like the predecessor to the one in Dave's video: A "Digigr8" (Groan) DV182 that can only record in 320x240 to an SD card.
But that's just the problem, IT DOESN'T. It 'records' in Christ-knows-what to something that isn't a FAT filesystem of any known format and while you can play the video (only one) back on the device, inserting the SD card into the computer only gives you the biggest headache.
Windows can't read the card, Linux can't, the camera's own software can't. I had to use a file recovery tool to rebuild the totally f**ked up FAT filesystem and retrieve the video, which was AWFUL.
Check for yourself how shit it is: http://www.amazon.com/Digigr8-DV182-3-1MP-Digital-Camcorder/product-reviews/B000YMRDXQ (http://www.amazon.com/Digigr8-DV182-3-1MP-Digital-Camcorder/product-reviews/B000YMRDXQ)
This is a shit camera. Makes Dave's one look like a High-end Sony. Seriously.
If you ever get a chance to buy a DV182 camera... Don't.
If you do buy it, kill yourself.
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What's the deal ?
Dave threw a shitty toy camcorder into the bin and on the way he made a teardown video and gave his opinion.
How can people hate somebody for that?
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The link to the forum from the video page is broken. It has an extra http:// at the end:
(copied from the page)
https://www.eevblog.com/forum/blog/eevblog-595-world%27s-shittiest-camcorder-teardown/http:// (https://www.eevblog.com/forum/blog/eevblog-595-world%27s-shittiest-camcorder-teardown/http://)
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Throughout Dave's video I am thinking to myself........go on Dave, throw it in the bin at the end........and whadaya know, he does!
Made my day.
Ian.
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My general attitude towards this is: I don't entirely agree with the opinion you gave about the product or its value, but that is perfectly fine :-+ Everyone is entitled to their opinion. And still, you took the time to tear it don against your will basically, so that's a thankyou form me :-DMM
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Obviously the target customers are people in countries with very low wages, and if you think of it like that the camera is really cool!!! If anything this has to be one the best low cost camera's on the market! it even had those little crappy marketing feature stickers on it and a decent instruction manual too; so throwing it in the bin was so un-cool! ;-)
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My general attitude towards this is: I don't entirely agree with the opinion you gave about the product or its value
I gave no opinion of it's value!
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Obviously the target customers are people in countries with very low wages, and if you think of it like that the camera is really cool!!!
That was my initial thought, but then I looked around and everyone here has phones with video camera functions, or at least one person in the house. And this is where the average wage is $4 a day...
I am failing to see where this product would have a real use as a practical device, in developing markets people already have this functionality in there phones. Example the cheapest - shit phone you can buy here new is p499, that's $12 and it has a video function.
I get the feeling the intended use case for this is "guy makes an impulse buy, it then sits in its box until its thrown in the bin." I guess its better than getting socks for Christmas. I figure the anger is at the bean counters that justified this as a legit project to design - not the skill of the engineer who made it work despite having very little to work with. It makes you wonder what these guys could do if they actually had a budget and the R&D....
I liked the video - you are never going to please everyone especially as audience numbers and demographics increase/widen. Important thing was it generated so much interest bad or good. So I would say it was a great success.
:-+
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Let's move on I am really looking forward to the new Agilent oscilloscope teardown.
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Agreed. The parsing of observation and explanation is getting very thin. :blah:
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loved the teardown. especially the tension between goosebumps because of the shitty product and the actual astonishing (for the price) internal build quality/quantity.
oh and i love dave getting the creeps… ;)
i've looked up german amazon for such cheapy/crappy "camcorders", but the lowest price here is at 30EUR… i guess thats because we are all rich here.
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I liked the video. The object, the comments and the way of speaking.
Instead of the previously stated "arrogance", I expierienced an kind of "outrage", that only can be observed on people that dedicate their life on perfectionalising designs, doing constant efforts to deliver nice products to customers, try to find better and smarter solutions.
Don't look at this video if you're completely on the consumer-side. The contrast to your only source of info: the publicity on packages and folders, is too huge.
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Sorry, I know my opinion can be against many others, but I try to ask for your comprehension.
Plainly, I cannot find this product justifiable in any way. :-//
I do not understand this specific concept: "Man, in some developing countries this can be an interesting product, for people that can only afford a 7.50$ videocamera".
Sorry guys, but if I was living in those countries, and 7.50$ was "money", I think the least of my worries would be to actually buy a camcorder.
I see it in this way: this product is intended to be sold to people who can afford to waste some money on a cheap, useless toy, which will become nothing more than hazardous waste in a matter of days.
I would not even define it as "cheap camcorder", but "confused attempt to place a product" instead. A true son of consumerism. :--
Just to be clear, I am not the kind of person that buys the latest iPhone and buys expensive clothes; I always try to find the best value for money, and keep on repairing stuff until I can.
But I truly believe there is a ground level to respect, below which lays the sheer definition of CRAP.
If I was 12, and wished for a "poor man's GoPro", I would save my coins for a little while and search for something cheap as well (come on, if you can save 7.50$, you can wait a little bit more, and save at least 50~60$), but at least worth the money.
My example? I personally bought a used Canon HG10 Full HD camcorder, with all the accessories, for 85$. For 50$ (but even 30$) you can find a lot of nice used stuff, in very good condition!
To turn on the good side, I admit that the engineering effort in producing something so incredibly cheap is noticeable. :-+ I would not be able to reach that level of optimization, that's for sure! :clap:
[ Internet rage coming in 3...2...1... ]
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I do not understand this specific concept: "Man, in some developing countries this can be an interesting product, for people that can only afford a 7.50$ videocamera".
Sorry guys, but if I was living in those countries, and 7.50$ was "money", I think the least of my worries would be to actually buy a camcorder.
+1 Of course.
What kind of pol-co does come up with such strange developing countries thinkings + they certainly don't live there.
7.5 dollar is the price for 1 week of internet access.
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Ok, I'm a convert now >:D, any chance we can get a new smiley (this -> (https://www.eevblog.com/forum/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=28756.0;attach=86687;image)) for the forum please ?
Definitely a good one for expressing at shitty stuff when posting in forum.
I guess we should call it "Dave's fingers". :-DD
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I maintain that this is an excellent product for the poorest in society to be able to document police brutality, corruption and so on without breaking the bank.
The world is a better place thanks to the availability of this camera.
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the worlds shittiest camcorder was long won by this :
(http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/1/12/PixelVision_PXL2000.jpg/567px-PixelVision_PXL2000.jpg)
The PXL-2000 : black-and-white camcorder using an audio cassette to record video.
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I maintain that this is an excellent product for the poorest in society to be able to document police brutality, corruption and so on without breaking the bank.
i second that point of view. the cam is definitely not a "stat-of-the-art" performer, but for documenting aforementioned stuff… yes.
plus it doesnt hurt if it gets stolen by the police.
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Maybe we need to have a "world's shittyest camcorder" competition. People could post videos of their entries, with teardowns. I would suggest sending them to Dave but I don't think he would appreciate a flood of crap camcorders :)
That's an interesting idea. Have a periodic the 'Crappiest X' or 'Wednesday Fail' videos but the criteria need to be fair, not just low price. Things that do not do what they are supposed to do, miserable reliability, hazard to the users, clearly bad design decisions, snake oil, etc. I would start with those snake oil manual vacuum pump pick and place thingies ;-)
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the worlds shittiest camcorder was long won by this :
(http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/1/12/PixelVision_PXL2000.jpg/567px-PixelVision_PXL2000.jpg)
The PXL-2000 : black-and-white camcorder using an audio cassette to record video.
4k resolution?
Alexander.
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I maintain that this is an excellent product for the poorest in society to be able to document police brutality, corruption and so on without breaking the bank.
The world is a better place thanks to the availability of this camera.
the entire "world shittiest camera" thing is sarcasm. a video of humorous intent.
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the worlds shittiest camcorder was long won by this : The PXL-2000 : black-and-white camcorder using an audio cassette to record video.
Oh yeah, the video quality is bad... BUT... you can actually get video from it. Try doing that on a DV182!
You ever heard of a computer game called "Big Rigs"? http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Big_Rigs:_Over_the_Road_Racing (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Big_Rigs:_Over_the_Road_Racing)
The DV182 is like the Big Rigs equivalent of a Camcorder.
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I don't mind the language but the ratio of "shit words" to "why this specific part is shitty" was very low.
If the intention was to be funnier than usual it really wasn't anything special, your normal videos are already funny, Dave.
In any case, poor camera, the internal design didn't look half bad and for that price is a winner, I wish there was something like that on the market when we were doing crazy things on motorbikes with my friends some 20 years back :)
And did anybody notice the user interface on the display? Pretty responsive.
Again, for that price I wasn't expecting it.
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To turn on the good side, I admit that the engineering effort in producing something so incredibly cheap is noticeable. :-+ I would not be able to reach that level of optimization, that's for sure! :clap:
I bet you can find schematics of entire camera in some kind of Application Guide for that ASIC - SPCA1528A. I often find that things usually are more benign and boring in reality when you look closer.
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Would it be possible to hack the firmware to stream JPEGs out the UART? Hook it up to a cheap transmitter of some sort and it might make a good low cost SSTV setup, in particular for DIY weather balloons and such.
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Here is a keychain camera that's been around for a while. Price ranges from 8-50 dollars, started out low and grew. Even though they look the same there are many variations. These things are tiny. And yes the low price ones are still sold and still suck.
Cameras
http://www.ebay.ca/sch/i.html?_sacat=0&LH_BIN=1&_nkw=keychain+camera+hd&rt=nc&_pppn=r1&LH_FS=1 (http://www.ebay.ca/sch/i.html?_sacat=0&LH_BIN=1&_nkw=keychain+camera+hd&rt=nc&_pppn=r1&LH_FS=1)
All about the evolution from "pretty much sucks" to "hey this is pretty nice"
http://www.rcgroups.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1556994 (http://www.rcgroups.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1556994)
I really like when a product evolves over time.
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As the guy who sent in this camera, I must say I found reading these comments very interesting. I only sent the camera as an afterthough when I was packing up the HP-41 rubber feet to send to Dave. I knew I would never use it for anything--I got it free for ordering more than a certain dollar value of office supplies--so though, why not. I thought at most he might comment on it a bit when he opened the package and that would be it. I was surprised to see an actual teardown video, but when I watched it I laughed by butt off. I thought it was humorous, and I think that was the intent. But some commenters seem to be extremely serious about defending cheap products against Dave's feigned anger. That, in a way, may be more humorous than the video itself.
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I maintain that this is an excellent product for the poorest in society to be able to document police brutality, corruption and so on without breaking the bank.
The world is a better place thanks to the availability of this camera.
I think you better first give them electricity in their favella. To charge the thing.
Or water. Or food.
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As the guy who sent in this camera, I must say I found reading these comments very interesting. I was surprised to see an actual teardown video, but when I watched it I laughed by butt off. I thought it was humorous, and I think that was the intent. But some commenters seem to be extremely serious about defending cheap products against Dave's feigned anger. That, in a way, may be more humorous than the video itself.
I would never have bothered with a teardown if I hadn't just off-handedly remarked if anyone would like to see it. I didn't really think anyone would be interested as it would obviously just be single chip and a lens. But someone remarked they wanted "the worlds shittiest camcorder teardown" and it got a ton of thumbs up, so I did it. With that exact intention of course, a humorous look inside a shitty camcorder, because, well, what other angle was there? And few doubt that it is in fact pretty shit (performance wise), but what they took offense to is that I didn't praise it's value for money. Why didn't I?
1) It wasn't a review, it was a teardown, so I didn't bother commenting on that kind of thing.
and
2) I know that my audience expect me not to praise crap stuff , they expect me to call a crap product what it is, crap. I actually felt a little nervous praising some of the internal design, thinking in the back of mind that I'd have to wear some hate mail for that. But it turned out the opposite, they ignored that praise almost completely and hammered me for not saying anything about it's value for money :o
Guess what would happen if I did a video "The worlds shittest multimeter" and actually praised it for it's "value for money" etc. There would be pitchforks on my doorstep.
|O
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Guess what would happen if I did a video "The worlds shittest multimeter" and actually praised it for it's "value for money" etc. There would be pitchforks on my doorstep.
|O
And rightly so! no-one wants a multimeter to blow-up in their face when they connect it to a high energy source or display 0 volts a/c when connected live mains; but the cam actually worked; I just think the rant factor was turned up too high, and with 8 pages of forum posts maybe others did too.
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I just think the rant factor was turned up too high, and with 8 pages of forum posts maybe others did too.
Well, you and they are in the minority. 1182 thumbs up, 188 thumbs down. An order of magnitude more people liked it than didn't.
And of course, as a general engineering rule, you can safely ignore anything that's an order of magnitude away :P
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I maintain that this is an excellent product for the poorest in society to be able to document police brutality, corruption and so on without breaking the bank.
The world is a better place thanks to the availability of this camera.
I think you better first give them electricity in their favella. To charge the thing.
Or water. Or food.
Do you have the slightest clue what you are talking about? Electricity is far easier to come by than food in modern slums.
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I think the only thing that bothered me was that Dave shat all over the camera...which is basically like shitting on the engineers responsible for producing this unit. Cheap product or not, I have a lot of respect for just about all engineers. This was a pretty well designed camera for what it is. I didn't see anything horrific that an engineer goofed up on. I suppose you could lay the hate on the bean-counters, but then again, its such a cheap camera. What's crap to some people might be great to others.
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which is basically like shitting on the engineers responsible for producing this unit.
Engineers weren't responible for this unit......some dumb ass company head was. The engineer who did the leg work will have been given a SOW, i.e. spec and price point to design to and he's done a pretty good job. He'll be more than happy!
Kudos to Dave for honesty on the camera and the pcb layout etc. The world need more honesty like this to help spread the word so that same dumb ass company head as above doesn't produce more of the same crap.
Ian.
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which is basically like shitting on the engineers responsible for producing this unit.
Engineers weren't responible for this unit......some dumb ass company head was. The engineer who did the leg work will have been given a SOW, i.e. spec and price point to design to and he's done a pretty good job. He'll be more than happy!
Kudos to Dave for honesty on the camera and the pcb layout etc. The world need more honesty like this to help spread the word so that same dumb ass company head as above doesn't produce more of the same crap.
Ian.
The west country didn't need very much effort to marketing a product,
But china cannot make a expensive and quality product without large Investment, because nobody will buy them.
Few year ago i fix a testing equipment with rant more then Dave rant..
The casing is quite nice( build by CNC milling machine)
but inside is very shitty..
they use $.05 sensor, in prototype board for 7805 and biasing for sensor, with very bad soldering.
off the self MCS-51 + 8 bit ADC , Chaepo 3 digit LCD.
One thing that make me mad.. it have $15K price tag
they buy it because it made in USA and have ASTM standard...
So, when there is a shitty overpriced product from rich country, it's normal.
But, cheapo product with poor spec with good production step from china.It have to go to trash bin...
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My only question is: Will it blend???
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I think the only thing that bothered me was that Dave shat all over the camera...which is basically like shitting on the engineers responsible for producing this unit.
No I did not, and no it is not. I praised the work on the internals, it was engineering quite well for it's cost.
Please don't extend my calling the product crap to mean I am attacking the engineers responsible, I am not. :rant:
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I think the only thing that bothered me was that Dave shat all over the camera...which is basically like shitting on the engineers responsible for producing this unit.
I think Dave actually praised the engineers who designed the unit based on the internal cirucuit boards, etc. The criticism was directed at the bean-counters, marketers, or whoever gave the engineers such pitiful specifications to work with, namely, no matter how well the electronics may have been designed, they are never going to produce a decent result with that sensor and the non-lens.
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Yet more pollution as these get pumped into landfill with all the other cheap junk products out there.
What a waste of time, resources and energy.
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Hi all! I had to register to just say that this video was hilarious. No one seemed to mention that the board with most components was actually "MIAN BOARD 1.3". I laughed so much when I saw that! See you!
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Good video. I liked watching you figure a way to get the the dam thing gently apart. I'd be inclined to use a hammer., myself.
This is gererally true of consumer producrt teardowns.
But is it this camcorder the world's shittiest? It looks like the makers decided to spend most their limited budget on the electronics, not the case. That isn't shitty to me.
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2) I know that my audience expect me not to praise crap stuff , they expect me to call a crap product what it is, crap. I actually felt a little nervous praising some of the internal design, thinking in the back of mind that I'd have to wear some hate mail for that. But it turned out the opposite, they ignored that praise almost completely and hammered me for not saying anything about it's value for money :o
cheap != value for money, unless you're in the Liberal Party.
Waste of 8 dollars, as others have pointed out it's in the trash at some point, due to:
a) You give it to your kids, and they smash it on a rock, then it goes in the bin.
b) You get bored with it and put it in the cupboard, then it goes in the bin.
c) It breaks, then it goes in the bin.
For the same $8 you could buy two bars of chocolate, and enjoy eating it.
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2) I know that my audience expect me not to praise crap stuff , they expect me to call a crap product what it is, crap. I actually felt a little nervous praising some of the internal design, thinking in the back of mind that I'd have to wear some hate mail for that. But it turned out the opposite, they ignored that praise almost completely and hammered me for not saying anything about it's value for money :o
cheap != value for money, unless you're in the Liberal Party.
Waste of 8 dollars, as others have pointed out it's in the trash at some point, due to:
a) You give it to your kids, and they smash it on a rock, then it goes in the bin.
b) You get bored with it and put it in the cupboard, then it goes in the bin.
c) It breaks, then it goes in the bin.
For the same $8 you could buy two bars of chocolate, and enjoy eating it.
The same arguments could equally apply to an $80 dollar camera.
And where the hell do you buy your chocolate?!
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Willie's chocolate (that's REAL chocolate, not the mass produced fatty substitute chocolate that seems to adorn the supermarket shelves) is about $6 a bar here, so not quite 2 bars for $8 then :(
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Willie's chocolate (that's REAL chocolate, not the mass produced fatty substitute chocolate that seems to adorn the supermarket shelves) is about a bar here, so not quite 2 bars for then :(
I prefer Hotel Chocolat.
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If you look at the specs of the main chip and the single shot resolution it can do, I'd say that it has been wrongfuly integrated. Give this chip a decent CCD, lens and preview screen, in a decently designed, good form factor case, for 45$ and you'd have a winning product here. Not just for developing countries.
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If you look at the specs of the main chip and the single shot resolution it can do, I'd say that it has been wrongfuly integrated.
You think there was a plan? More likely the boss said "make me 10,000 cameras for $5 each" and the engineer just used whatever chip he could score 10,000 of at the auction that day.
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If you look at the specs of the main chip and the single shot resolution it can do, I'd say that it has been wrongfuly integrated.
You think there was a plan? More likely the boss said "make me 10,000 cameras for $5 each" and the engineer just used whatever chip he could score 10,000 of at the auction that day.
Yep. I know. I was questioning the manufacturer' vision. No pun intended.