Opteka X-GRIP Professional Camera / Camcorder Action Stabilizing Handle- Black
- Fits most compact cameras and camcorders with a standard 1/4-20 thread
- Cushioned NBR padded handle alleviates the stress of lengthy filming
- High-grade ABS impact-absorbent plastic
- Shoe mount (removable) for video lights, flashes, or microphones
- 1 Year Opteka Warranty
The Opteka X-GRIP handle can be used by both a professional or amateur user. This incredible support offers stability and control. The removable shoe attachment enables you to add a video light, flash or microphone. Extremely useful product for shooting events especially skateboarding and other extreme sports.
~ Fits most compact cameras and camcorders with a standard 1/4-20 thread
~ Cushioned NBR padded handle alleviates the stress of lengthy filming
~ High-grade ABS impact-abs
List Price: $ 59.99
Price: $ 19.95
Fisher-Price Kid-Tough Video Camera – Pink
- Built Kid-Tough to survive drop after drop after drop
- Records up to 15 minutes of video and play back on TV or computer
- Child-friendly controls?no reading required
- Transfer video to your PC with downloadable software (USB cable included)
- To see more information click the “Watch it in Action” link below the main product images
From the Manufacturer
Movie directors are getting younger all the time – with help from the Kid Tough Video Camera. It’s designed so little hands can hold it steady and access all the buttons. And since no one likes to wait, they can replay video instantly on the camera. Hmmm not quite perfect? Just delete and shoot again. Share the fun with the whole family on the computer-or on the TV. Features: Child-friendly controls for ease of use, SD card slot for extra recording time, Easy computer and T
List Price: $ 59.99
Price: $ 29.99
Rubbish,
Customer Video Review Length:: 4:23 Mins
I bought this based on reviews and I must say I was horrified when mine was delivered. I would not trust my video camera to this flimsy piece of plastic. I cannot say anything good about this product – I guess you get what you pay for.
I have added a video to demonstrate some of its shortcomings.
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X-grip is an excellent accessory for action video,
I bought the X-Grip for camcorder use. It was shipped fast and arrived in perfect condition. I appreciate the simple, uncluttered, straightforward design which was executed with quality materials. Attaching it to the camcorder is swift and easy, and the X-Grip can even be attached to a tripod or other mount when operating the camcorder. The heavy-duty accessory shoe can be detached. The grip of the unit is heavily padded and comfortable to use. Small built-in ‘loops’ at the top and bottom of the mount can be used to attach additional accessories via zip-ties or other field expedients. The X-Grip is constructed from very heavy duty plastic and is robust enough to withstand many years of service. I heartily recommend this unit to all active videographers who want bang for their bucks.
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Nice and versatile,
I love this thing. It’s much more than just a handle for low-angle skater shots. I use mine with a Canon Vixia HF-10, and I like that I can mount the camera forward, as you see in most of the product shots, or 90 degrees left so that the curved handle serves as more of a left-hand support for regular shooting… like a flash bracket that still photographers use. That’s going to be my default setup. Since the camera mounting screw is in a little track that extends the length of the flat rubber area, the camera can be slid forward or backwards within the X-Grip before tightening. In my case, I slide it all the way forward, rotate it 90 degrees counter-clockwise, and the camera’s video monitor has plenty of room to swing all the way out to the left without hitting the handle curve. The accessory bracket on top also rotates 360 degrees so the light/microphone can match the camera direction.
My only complaint is related to the mounting knob below. I’m thrilled that it also has a female thread for mounting to a tripod or other standard-thread item. But the X-Grip’s feet, the little skid things that it sits on, get in the way of my tripod head a little. I use a Manfrotto 501 pro tripod head with the large quick-release plate. If that plate is mounted directly underneath the X-Grip, then I can’t slide the plate/X-Grip combo onto the tripod head without some serious force – too much to be practical. Fortunately, the solution was to disassemble the whole thing and add a single metal washer between the camera mount knob and the underside of the X-Grip, which caused the knob to hang just a fraction of an inch lower when the camera was fully tightened in place. This lowered the female tripod threads in relation to the skids just a bit, so that the “skids” were raised off of my tripod head just enough to be able to slide the release plate in place without much effort. Your mileage may vary with other tripods. If you try this, be careful not to use too thick a washer, since you’re sacrificing the amount of threads that actually screw into your camera. This rig does not have the “two knob” type of camera mounting screw where you can set the screw depth with one knob and then tighten down with the other. On this, the depth you see is all you get. It’s just right for my camera, but if your camera has an exceptionally shallow tripod-mounting hole, you may need to do the washer trick. Or if your rig is so heavy that you need more than 3/16″-1/4″ or so of mounting thread to feel safe and secure, then the X-Grip may not be for you.
The rubber platform that the camera sits on is great. It’s actually about 1/4″ thick, and good rubber – not just the cheesy little thin layer of neoprene left over from the mousepad factory. So if you need to crank down on the camera mounting knob, the camera settles into the rubber pretty securely.
About the strength of the handle: more than enough. It’s not totally rigid plastic. It’s got a slight flex, so a heavy accessory on top might bounce up and down ever so slightly. I have a Rode NTG-2 mic up there on a shock mount, and I have no concerns about the flex. In fact, I prefer it. The plastic seems strong enough to support a pretty hefty camera rig, and I’ll gladly take the “flexy” plastic over the harder, more brittle plastic that is more likely to shatter if dropped.
That’s it so far!
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Tough Little Camera,
I bought this camera for my 2.5 yr. old daughter. She enjoys playing with it, but she presses the buttons in rapid succession over and over again. This rapid button pressing sometimes causes the camera to lockup — the camera’s screen will go blank and the camera’s speaker will make a clicking sound over and over. The only fix I have found for this issue is to pop the battery compartment’s door open and close it again, this resets the camera.
Another downside to the rapid button pressing is that you end up with a ton of “one second” videos. I think a feature to detect rapid button pressing should have been incorporated in the camera to avoid the lockup issues and the “one second” videos.
The quality of the video is what you should expect from a toy. The camera requires a lot of light to take anything other than “shadow” pictures. My daughter uses it mainly indoors, but outdoors is the preferred venue given the light requirements.
The camera comes with a USB cable to interface it with your home PC, but I have yet to try this feature out. It is very rugged and has been dropped, etc. without any problems, so far.
Overall, this is a great toy camera and I would buy it again. I would caution the buyer to shop around for pricing, though. I paid about $30 for mine, but I saw it advertised on the Net for as much as $50 from some of the ripoff sites out there.
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Fisher-Price Kid-Tough video camera,
I purchased two of these video cameras for Christmas gifts,
one each for my 5 and 7 years old granddaughters.
They had a blast with them and found them very
easy to operate and view. Great, educational fun.
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Great video camera!,
I bought this for my 2.5 year old daughter for Christmas. She enjoys carrying it around and recording even though she only records the floor, lol. It seems very durable and the video is decent quality on the screen. I have not hooked this to the computer to transfer any videos so I am not sure how the quality transfers. Amazon has the cheapest price I have seen for this camera. The only drawback is that it does not take still pictures as well but I bought this camera knowing this. It would be a great feature to add though. The camera is easy for her to grip and push the buttons on her own and she quickly figured out how to start and stop the recording. It is really easy to delete so if you want to transfer a video I would do it soon to reduce the chance of loosing it. I would recommend this video camera and at the 50% savings that Amazon has it listed for is great. Everywhere else this is 54.99-59.99.
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