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 (17)
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.