RD32 HD Waterproof Action Camera
Saturday, July 9, 2011 at 5:02PM 
Wow I've really bought some rubbish recently. The problem stemmed from the fact that I felt I was taking too long between posting updates to the site so I decided I should buy a a few more things to review. In hindsight I would have been better off saving my money, but I suppose that I'm doing a public service by warning people away from repeating my mistakes This camera really does have some serious issues that needed demonstrating.
As I say in the review - this will be the last MJPEG HD video camera that I review. I've yet to find a single camera using this compression method that doesn't create jerky video. In comparison the HD808 #11 camera records at a constant and smooth 30fps and it's h.264 files are a fraction of the size of the equivalent mjpeg ones.
If you really want one of these cameras (why?) then here a couple of links to online retailers.
Why is this review so long….we'll the camera claimed to do a lot of different things, waterproof, motion-activation, night vision, so all of these needed to be tested in some shape or form.
So here is my longest review so far - and unfortunately it's of a product that you shouldn't buy.
Reader Comments (33)
Thanks for another great review, shame the camera falls short. Looking at the sealing at the back I'd be impressed if that actually went to 30m...
Wow, total Prince vision right there. How bizarre, but could be just a faulty unit?
On the MJPEG issue, do you think it has more to do with the hardware chosen or can new firmware create h.264?
I hope the Chinese manufacturers are reading this and taking notes on how to make the next version better.
A very useful and even-handed review, thanks. I have never been a fan of AVI/mjpg so this just tells me (the same as you!) h264 every time.
LOL @ "I suppose this is what it'd look like if you were being drowned by me... wearing purple." Thanks again for a great review.
i have it, yes is also for sub or when you have an action movie with rain.
other h264 camera, like HD808 #11 does not have these thing.
weight 75 g , i want to use also to fish
the space is not so important with today sd card , you can do a 3 hours video hd with 32 gb card.
it had led withe light, and IR (no light) mode, motion detect and photo mode in motion detect
i think a very good product also with avi/mjpeg, at low cost.
bye
Thanks again for 'taking another one for the team' ;-) apart from the recording format and the size of it I was almost set to buy one! Obviously I will not be bothering now.
I'll just be hanging on for the makers of the HD808 #11 to work their way through your posted 'wish list' - hope they don't take too long...
Sound your site thank for your informative idear of great cameras
Your review is quite extensive and very well done (I am discovering your site by the way).
I have a camera of this serie, and I wanted to tell a few more things :
- My camera doesn't have IR lights, and has not the 'purple clothes' thing. So I guess it is only the camera with IR leds that have this problem (I bought the red one on DX).
- I am not so sure about the camera automatically switching off after 3 minutes in motion-activation mode. On mine, the LEDs are switching off, but the motion-activation capture still works, and you just hav to press a button so that the LEDs switch on again! I think it is written in the user guide sheet and I have tested this in photo mode, it actually works.
- I have actually dived with it at 15m this summer. I must admit I thought the camera would be drowned before the dive was over, but it wasn't! And more astonishingly, in good light condition, the underwater videos seems to be sharper than the 'normal ones'.
Everything else is correct. The camera is fun if you dive and intend to capture some of your underwater trip, but it is not so good in other cases. It is the cheapest 30m underwater camera I have found until there (and my first one), but if you can find some better gadget around this price, you should consider buying it instead of the RD32.
I hope this can help, and I apaologize for the mistakes in this post, as english is not my mother language.
@McBerd
Many thanks for taking the time to post this info. Your description of how the motion activation works sounds more logical than the way that I thought it operated. I won't be going back to test this again, but hopefully this information will be useful to anyone who finds themselves here after buying the RD32.
ive lost my tv controls is there a flash to get the menu back tryed reset nothing happend
Hey,
I've got this camera since 3 days now and already regretting it... I'm trying to install the camera driver on my PC but there is no information on the CD (says my PC). I'm completely stuck with this, can't find the driver on internet or anything !!!! Would it be possible to send me a link of the driver or an Email with the driver attached please ???? I beg you ! ^^
I still can't believe I can't find the driver on internet or anybody having the same problem like me ... I tried it on 2 computers already so it's not coming from that side so must be a problem with the installation CD.
I'll be greatfull for the person that sends me that Email or link.
la mia e una rd32,
nella confezione anche il dischetto dei driver, sul primo portatile diceva non ci sono informazioni, sistema windows XP,
sul secondo portatile con window 7 riesco a leggerlo e scaricare i driver.
problema non riesco a cambiare l'0rario della telecamerina
chi mi aiuta.......... e mail luciame@tiscali.it grazieeeeee
I'm in the same boat as Aaron, above. I bought this camera and it came with an (apparently) blank CD.
Anybody have the Windows drivers for this thing, or a link to somewhere that does?
Thanks.
I've uploaded my disc here as a zip file.
http://www.mediafire.com/?20x4ncuyd1j5d1m
For Aaron and Nate :
On the cd --> PCCAM driver --> STK03N.exe
Enjoy !
Techmoan I may have posted this to the wrong page before.Thank for your excellent work at keeping us informed. I really hope you understand how much your work is appreciated and eagerly anticipated. I didn't know if the matter with the IR recording on the RD32 was clarified. In the video review you said it only recorded for in the IR mode for about a minute. Because you initially thought the camera stopped recording in the motion detection mode after 3 minutes, I wondered if in the IR mode the camera continued recording but with the lights out to make it less detectable.
I looked for an answer in the posts, but couldn't find it. I still like the camera, and am considering purchasing one if the IR mode works for more than a minute. I can also use it to shoot video the next time I attend a Prince concert. That should really be a great video.
@Dandan You are right, the LED does go out (stealth mode) but the camera stays activated...waiting for motion. I redress this in my re-review of the RD32 camera...the yellow one posted a couple of weeks ago.
I have a rd32II and I`ve tried to do some changes in the adjustment. But neither pc nor tv recognizes the cam. The pc wants a driver cd but I do not have any.
mediafire driver doesn' t work
@downhill RE RE32II cam (not the RD32 cam) Not sure how the TV connection isn't working for you. Attach the camera to a TV using phonos or HDMI then switch it on and hold down the middle button. The driver I uploaded is purely for the Webcam function for the RD32 (not the RD32II).
Hi all, pls is any way how to off automatical shutdown? I need use my RD32 for motion detection pictures in my forest (animals pictures). 3 min is terrible thing ...
@Petr I was mistaken about the RD32 and it's shutdown time... See my follow up review here...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=--exv4LcSeY
well, i saw your review ... pls is any chance how to use rd32 without automatical shutdown? Some .ini file? some special settings?
Hi,
I have one of these cameras I got it for when cycling and get abuse from car drivers. It worked a couple of times but now when I switch it on it just vibrates and won't swit off. The lights are orange and purple. I have tried reset to no avail. It just vibrates until the battery goes flat.
Please help anyone.
thanks,
Jamie.
Jamie, have you tried attaching it up to the tv and going through the onscreen menus and formatting the memory card?
I bought the Tevion camera from Aldi 6 months ago. It took me until now to get around fixing the IR interference issue. If you want to do this, a suitable filter can be purchased (for A$22) from:
http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/25mm-Optical-UV-IR-CUT-filter-camera-lens-AU-/220889622396?pt=AU_Filters&hash=item336e0c277c
This filter is designed for screw mounting, but the coated glass filter can be removed from its housing and it is the same diameter as the glass disc which covers the lens of the camera. The filter is a little thicker, but the screws are long enough to enable it to be fitted. Removing it from its aluminium housing is a bit tricky, as the strength of retaining spring is over-designed and difficult to flip out. I simply took a wire cutter to the housing, cutting away enough to enable a grip on the spring.
Before and after footage confirmed expectations, i.e., unacceptable purple discoloration before and true colors after fitting the IR cut filter.
estimados, mi nombre es Herman Inzuzna y soy de Chile, y me gustaria saber como lo puedo hacer para comprar esta camara y cual es su valor, espero me repondan a la brevedad,muchas gracias.
Hi! My RD32 seems to loss frames. Do you know, what can be the failure? Sometimes it record normal then it is jumpy a few frames. The sound is ok. There are no failures. Can you help me?
@Rene The RD32 does drop frames. you can minimise this by using a fast memory card like a class 10.
Yesterday, I deployed the camera on a lobster trap in 63 ft (19 m) to watch the action after retrieving the camera. The camera was near its rated waterproof depth and worked well, capturing the images without the torches turned on. It took 1 minute video segments over the course of two hours and I retrieved the camera after 4 hours in the water. It was completely dry inside, from what I can tell.
Here is a link to one of the video segments: http://youtu.be/dKy5E2QROT8. There are other video segments I uploaded to my youtube channel.
Aaron Aaron,
I had the same pb. The trick is first turn your camera on and then plug it into the usb socket.
If you plug it into the socket and you did not turn on the power first it will only be recognized as a drive.
Hello,
I've bought this camera, but i've got 2 issue's with it:
-) the date wont allow me to change the month. It always returns to '07' instead of my input. (and i'm saving it correctly)
-) I set the video time to 'off' (or 5 or 10 minutes). But when i record, the camera only record for 30-50 seconds, then stops and saves it to the SD card. I think this is a firmware problem, because when i take a look at the settings again, the settings for the video time is 'off' (or 5minutes or 10minutes, i've tried them all, but no luck)
Has anyone an idea? I tried to mail the manufactor but no response.
Thanks!
I have problem with power button and recording button.
when I push the power button -> can ' t change mode ( for photo or audio mode)
when I push the recording button -> can ' t recording
What is a problem? motherboard, softweare ?