Anyone try one of the cheap Vivitar gopro copy cameras?

[Evan55]

Has anyone tried one of the Vivitar gopro copy cameras like the 787HD?
1080p/30, 2.5" lcd screen, has a loop mode/ dashcam mode, and goes on sale regularly for between $40 and $50 at walmart.
I just picked one up for $40, I figure even if its no good its worth it for the mounts and as a backup gopro.
http://www.walmart.com/ip/Vivitar-DVR-787HD-12.1MP-Action-Full-HD-Camcorder-with-Universal-Car-Kit-Surf-Kit-and-Outdoors-Kit/31342300

If anyone has tried it as a dashcam I may pick up another.

 

[Dashmellow]

IMHO, investing in most of these cheap, low quality GoPro knock-offs is a complete waste of time and money. You'll get what you pay for.....or LESS! In many cases the mounts are incompatible and therefore useless for any other cameras.
The one budget priced GoPro clone that may be worth purchasing is the SJ4000.

Techmoan posted a good review of the SJ4000. (And the supplied mounts actually are GoPro compatible.)

 

[Evan55]

Well I asked who actually used one, not whoever has an opinion on something theyve never even seen.
But you're completely missing the point anyway.
$40 normally buys you a pretty awful dashcam, and the vivitar is almost certainly better quality and more polished than those *for use as a dashcam* (Not action cam. Personally I have a gopro3 black for that.)
(and yes, the vivitar's mounts are gopro compatible)

Its funny you slam cheap gopro copies, then mention a cheap gopro copy with a history of flaky firmware and more than double the price.

 

[extraoneya]

IMHO, investing in most of these cheap, low quality GoPro knock-offs is a complete waste of time and money. You'll get what you pay for.....or LESS! .........snip..........

Especially when u get to the bottom of the barrel prices.....sure, not every time does high price = high quality, but the lowest bottom price of a particular product line will almost always be crap...they r marketing to the crowd that says, "Hey, I can buy xxx, that looks & does the same thing as the main brand but costs a fraction of what it does". I've done that many times when I was younger & have learned from experience.

 

[Dashmellow]

Well I asked who actually used one, not whoever has an opinion on something theyve never even seen.
But you're completely missing the point anyway.
$40 normally buys you a pretty awful dashcam, and the vivitar is almost certainly better quality and more polished than those *for use as a dashcam* (Not action cam. Personally I have a gopro3 black for that.)
(and yes, the vivitar's mounts are gopro compatible)

Its funny you slam cheap gopro copies, then mention a cheap gopro copy with a history of flaky firmware and more than double the price.

I'm not sure what your point was in launching this thread in the first place but it certainly invites opinions and you got mine. As to the SJ4000, it is a well reviewed cam in its price range and all I said was that it "may" be worth considering. "Double the price" puts it in the range of decent performance by today's standards rather than the cheap obsolete components that are surely inside the "more polished" Vivitar you seem so enamored with. Glad to hear that the mounts are compatible with your GoPro black. Personally, I wouldn't trust a 400 dollar camera to a set of cheap mounts that came with a $40 camera. It could lead to an unpleasant surprise when you suddenly find the camera MIA.

 

[Xybone]

Something about OP doesn't feel right.... It's almost like he's advertising the product! Hmm...

 

[Dashmellow]

Something about OP doesn't feel right.... It's almost like he's advertising the product! Hmm...

You make a good point, and that sort of thing seems to be happening more and more around here. Hope DashCamMan nips this in the bud before it gets too out of hand as I've seen happen on other boards that have gotten ruined by spammers.

In any event, I found a brief review of Vivitar 785HD on YouTube that seems to confirm my speculation that the reliability of the mounts could be a problem (along with some other issues)

Edit: Evan, whatever your purpose in posting this thread may be I'm not interested in getting into some sort of internet forum snit here. I think our interest here at DashCamTalk is to discuss and analyse products like this to see if they are indeed worth purchasing. So far, this one doesn't look like a good bet even if it is only 40 bucks but maybe you'll share your experience.

 

[GJHS]

Maybe a restart would be in order? I have a cheap Vivitar gopro copy and it's (blank)! I'm curious to see the quality, though as @Dashmellow said, I wouldn't throw the money away sight unseen.

Please post your findings and some video. It's always nice to see new cameras in action and hear some opinions about it.

 

[Evan55]

Something about OP doesn't feel right.... It's almost like he's advertising the product! Hmm...

youre right, Im a shill for wallmart

clearly Im wasting my time.

people fall all over themselves on this forum over $100 flimsy chinese cameras with *no* brand name and terrible firmware programming and no support or warranty (I happen to have 4!), but I mention a camera made by a real comany with real engineers available locally for only $40 and I get people ranting about cheap cameras.....

wont make this mistake again


ps: 787 != 757

 

[Dashmellow]

I'm sorry but your notion of a "camera made by a real comany (sic) with real engineers" is misinformed. The different models in this series of cams sold under the Vivitar label are merely low end "generic" Chinese manufactured cameras that have been rebranded with the Vivitar name and logo. This is a very common practice these days. For example, most RadioShack electronics are made by other companies but sold under the RadioShack brand name.

Here's a Vivitar 785:



Here's a Gear-Pro:



Here it is as a Hyundai:



Here it is as the "Sports" cam:



And here it is as the "Action":

 

[extraoneya]

gee...I've never seen anyone so passionate about a $40 item.

 

[braka47]

I took the time to register to thank that 40$ cam guy.

• Heres what we must learn of that thread. You. OFTEN get for what you pay. Lets say you wanna buy a car. You have cars from 500 to.. what lets say, 50 000 (we are married).. are you gonna take the 500$ car ? Maybe ? Why ? Cause that fit your budget at that time. But that will fit your needs for a certain time too... In the case you chose the 50 000. That will certainly be more hard to digest when it comes to finance but you know youll be able to make a couple or years with it.
• Remplace the word car for cam. There u go.

 

[Hillbilly]

As far as its suitability for a car cam Ask yourself these questions.

Does it auto start and auto shut off

Does it overwrite when the card is full.

Does it have event recording to save video in an accident

If any answer is no it is not suitable for a dashcam.

Simples

 

[braka47]

Thats pretty what Ill be looking for if I was looking for a dashcam too. Maybe the more covered angles possible too and of course, night vision. I imagine you guys are still driving at night.. !?

 

[Dimas]

Let me answer Evans55.
I bought that 4 of the Vivitar around Christmas last year @ $30 each at Staples office store. Kept one and gave the rest to kids for Christmas present.
Absolutely horrible. Out of focus ( focus near - there is a youtube on how to refocus, but you will still get so so video ). I use it for underwater inspection of boat, car engine vibration etc. You'll find many uses as a tool because of the underwater housing.
For $30 to $40 it is worth having one.

 

[mollydog]

I can't comment on the Vivitar gopro copy, as I've never seen or used one, but that old saying of you get what pay for is more or less true, but there are exceptions,

Last year I got myself one of the Blackvue DR500GW, at a cost of £270 + import duty, what a load of sh*t that camera turned out to be and still is, only saving grace was that Mio (on here) made a firmware upgrade to improved image quality to something Pittasoft said the camera would deliver but never could as Pittasoft lied about it's make up, image quality was not as good as far far cheaper DVR cameras that could be bought at the time. then there is the Belkin wingman action camera, cost £99, it produces acceptable results for a non pro like me, a big drawback is it has to be switched on before putting it in its case/housing but for me its acceptable at that cost. sorry not being much help with the Vivitar only that in its day Vivitar used to produce some fine 35mm lens's and flashguns, before it turned in to just another re badge on other people's products