Intova Sport Pro HD Video Camera (Clear/Red)

I was looking for a camera to use on a recent SCUBA trip to the Caribbean and it came down to a debate between the Intova Sport Pro HD and Go Pro HD Hero2. I took a chance with the Intova Sport Pro HD because it had the following nice advantages over the Go Pro:

1. Flat casing around the lens means that it won't have problems focusing underwater like the stock case of the Go Pro HD Hero 2 (fwiw, Go Pro sells a dive housing for an extra $50).

2. Standard tripod mount makes it fairly versatile and means I don't need additional strange mounts.

3. Manual white balance

4. Available red filter for when I'm too lazy to white balance underwater

5. Integrated LCD screen

6. Cheaper

Initial tests were optimistic with the Intova Sport Pro HD. Video quality was good, but not spectacular. The red filter added in nice colors underwater. Audio was okay, but had the presence of a distinct whine in the background. Still pictures were rather mediocre as it needs to be very still underwater and I have not yet fully mastered the fine art of buoyancy control. In any case, it was inexpensive and took decent video to document interesting stuff underwater. The buttons were firm but I could still navigate the menus underwater with no difficulty. It was good but not great device.

Well, that is until the second day of the trip. Sometime during my fourth dive of the trip the battery got low and it powered off. This was understandable as it had been running for about three hours at that point. I charged the device and the next morning it wouldn't power on even when outside of water (I tried turning the camera on before jumping off the boat and it didn't work). Further attempts to charge it were fruitless. The design of the device makes it impossible to take the camera out of the casing and examine the battery. So, I was left without a camera for the last fifteen dives of my vacation.

I've sent two emails to Intova, tweeted to them, and called their customer service line over the past eight days and I have yet to receive any response or acknowledgement from Intova. At this point I'm writing the device off and have concluded I would've been better off spending the extra money to get the Go Pro HD Hero2.

I purchased the Invota Sport Pro HD video camera despite several very critical reviews. Enticed by the pricepoint, I was hoping I would have better luck . However, it failed within a few hours of use right and after the second battery charge. This product has many flaws and is not ready for market in my opinion.

1) The housing was extremely difficult to open for the first time. Almost as though there was a partial vacuum inside. With great care, I had to use a jeweler's screwdriver to pry open the door and even then it was resistant to opening. After the first opening the door operated normally which leads me to think it may have been manufactured at altitude. I am at 550'.

2) I didn't mind the buttons being hard to press as other reviewers commented but I found that the controls were often not activated by a press of the buttons, quite frustrating. Felt as though the inside surface of the housing buttons is just a little too short to make good contact the the camera's buttons.

3) The wrist strap broke immediately upon use as another reviewer commented.

4) The image quality was about what I expected at the price point.

5) The camera went completely dead after the first battery charge in the field. It was charged from an automotive USB cable. I returned the unit to Amazon for a full refund.

Buy Intova Sport Pro HD Video Camera (Clear/Red) Now

I have taken this camera on about 7 dive trips and also borrowed my brother's Go Pro Hero2 camera as well; so here's the differences:

PROS:

this camera is almost as small as the Hero2 but it has a built in screen which the Hero2 does not. So if you added the screen accessory to the Hero2, then this camera would be smaller.

the picture quality is great with less fish-eye distortion than the Hero2 camera

this camera floats, unlike the Hero2, which is good if it falls off somehow

the head-mount does have a quick release and the Hero2 does not

this camera costs hundreds less the the Hero2!

this camera has more buttons and is easier to navigate the menus than the Hero2

the owner's manual is on a mini CD and has about 15 pages and is easy to understand

the case is made of high quality material which resists scratches (I know because I bumped it twice against rocks)

the lens does not fog up in cold spring water (72 degrees)

NEUTRAL:

this takes a micro SD card unlike the Hero2 which takes a regular SD card

CONS:

the back opens up to access the mini USB port and SD card, but you will need a butter knife to gently pry it open because a vacuum seal forms when closed

this camera does not have an audible beep when it starts or stops recording, unlike the Hero2

the head mount sticks out far from your head, which makes it easy to wobble; the Hero2 headmount is very compact and doesn't have this problem

the buttons are stiff and hard to press, after some time the buttons might even stick down

the audio has a high pitch tone or ringing sound in the background! it also doesn't pick up sound very good above water; so the audio track in your videos is almost worthless

I frequently had memory card errors when recording 1080p video! I bought a new memory card and still had the same problems. Basically, I had to erase all data on the card and record 1 long video, because I would get an error trying to record any more videos.

the camera will turn itself off in 5 min if you're not recording video or taking pictures.

this camera slowly leaks water! I greased the O-ring but it still happened in less than 60ft.

**Overall, it would have been better if I spent more money to get the Go Pro Hero2. The Sport HD camera records better video, but it doesn't work like its supposed to.

UPDATE: I called Intova customer service at 877-837-0074 and found out that their 2nd batch of cameras were defective, so they will happily replace your camera if you send them the old one. Their new batch of cameras are supposed to work correctly.

Read Best Reviews of Intova Sport Pro HD Video Camera (Clear/Red) Here

Purchased this unit a couple of months ago as soon as I became a certified OW Diver. Got also the red slip-on filter and cleaning kit at the same time.

First time I laid my hands on the unit I felt that it has a decent build, albeit with buttons that are very hard to press (I assume that they will become soft in time). The lock seems to be sturdy and reliable in sealing the inside of the camera from water.

I was a bit surprised at the audio quality of the item as well. Even as it captures excellent video at HD resolution I found that it has a consistent high-frequency ringing and a low mechanical whirring noise (not sure where it comes from). Audio recording was pathetic at best. I guess the best way to explain it is that the sound is similar to what a person hears after a bomb explodes nearby. Distant voices and lots of high-freq noise. Not really good.

What Intova is good at, however, is recording nice underwater videos. Video captured is crisp, clear and absolutely a visual delight. Photos taken are the same as well -when you are talking about wide-angle shots. Once you decide to come a bit near to your subject, the images begin to distort similar to the effect you see on a fisheye lens.

Despite all the negatives, though, I thought it was a nifty piece of equipment that is value for money and designed specifically with divers in mind.

That is, until I actually brought it to a dive.

The unit is highly unreliable. First, the buttons are very hard to press, so your thumbs and fingers become callous in a very short period of time. You will look like an idiot trying to press what looks like a button but does nothing to the unit itself.

Second, the unit dies in unexpected moments. I brought it with me for a 40minute dive while recording a total of ten minutes of footage when the unit suddenly died without any warning. No battery low message is being prompted on the screen (in fact, the battery indicator showed that it still had a full charge right before it died). Pressing the power button also proved to be futile. It only turned on when I got home and plugged the unit to my computer.

Imagine your dissapointment when the only camera you have brought for a dive trip dies on you, making you lose out on opportunities to preserve memories which is why you have purchased the camera on the first place.

Third, after just having been with me for a total of barely 2 months, 2 pool dives and 4 water dives, my camera is now dead. The unit turns on when you plug it to a power source but dies after removing the plug and refuses to turn on. I suspect that it has a problem with the power button as it is not responding to varying levels of presses being applied on it. It dissapointed me again and therefore I find it hard to trust it again.

I have written a letter to intova about this and I hope they will respond to it asap. But I've decided that since it is highly unreliable I would just get a go pro regardless whether they will replace my unit or not. Its unreliable build makes me not trust it on dive trips, making me feel that the Go Pro, while a bit pricey, might have been the better choice all along.

Want Intova Sport Pro HD Video Camera (Clear/Red) Discount?

So far, so good. This camera is a lot of fun. I like the super wide angle, the ease of operation, the durability, and the features.

This is a portable, rugged sports video camera. It is not very suitable for home movies or vlogging, nor is it a great still camera though it can perform those functions in a pinch.

I'm using a Class 4 32GB card which looks to hold about 8 hours of 720p video. I'm settling on this resolution for most of my work. The 1080 looks quite good too, though some of my PCs don't play it back well. This is a consumer camera, not a pro, so the optical quality is not like my Nikon. For what it is, it's quite good though. The wide angle hides a lot of sins. (And at 140 degrees coverage, expect a lot of distortion of nearby objects at the edges not fisheye, but getting there.) I saw some digital artifacts akin to posterization in dim areas of a scene with a wide range of lighting par for low light situations I think. Auto exposure seems to work well and adjust well I'm playing mostly with the Center mode (there is also Average and Spot, or something like that.)

The viewscreen is small but crisp. Audio playback is muffled by casing. Moreover, audio reception is muffled, and my audio contains a faint pulsing sound that almost sounds mechanical not something I can remove adequately with software (and I'm very good at audio restoration.) Will play with other resolutions and see if this persists. You should not expect to get hi-fi audio from a consumer U/W camera, and for my purposes, the audio is adequate. When people are talking, it picks it up okay, but drops off quickly with distance. You won't get much if people are across a room, say. So this isn't for home movies it's for outdoor dynamic shots and underwater videography. UW audio is good, since sound conducts better there you can hear the bubbles, for example.

I like a couple of the extra features such as burst mode photography, and time lapse. I like the TV out port. Cable included is flimsy but works 3 connections, 2 for audio, 1 for video. The charge port is a standard, and cable provided has USB at the other end. I would have liked a wall charger too, but have some of those around anyway.

The electronic manual is adequate, perhaps better than average for this type of thing. It would be better if it included explanations of the various modes however. It only tells how to set them, but little or nothing about why you might choose them. Menu navigation is easy; I grew accustomed to the buttons quickly.

The lens and back window came with a clear protector sheet on them which I removed. Later put a better one on the back since it was starting to get scratched. I recommend this I can only imagine how scuffed it will get when used in the surf and such, which would eventually make it hard to see the image on the viewscreen. In bright sun the screen can be hard to see, especially due to the reflectivity of the casing. And don't forget to lubricate the seal mine came prelubricated, but it doesn't come with silicon. Buy some at a dive store and keep it with the camera!

I boosted the saturation by using the Vivid mode. It's a bit oversaturated, but I will play with that during editing. I found that without it, the saturation felt a little soft. Most sample videos you see for sports cameras are oversaturated that seems to be the style of extreme excitement!

In the pool the camera performed flawlessly. No leakage, no fogging in 70 degree water. Buttons work fine. Most water streams off when emerging, so video looks good bobbing up and down. Exposure compensation is reasonably quick in this application. I haven't tried an extreme close up yet, but will do that the camera focuses very close but does not do macro.

So far, battery life looks good. I haven't actually drained it yet. My guess is that the advertised life is about right under average conditions.

Adressing a couple comments from others. Someone complained that opening the casing will take off your fingernails. No, if you look carefully at the manual and packaging insert, there is a little curved lever to the latch that pops the back open no problem. It's quite clever actually. About the buttons being very stiff. Mine seem to have loosened a bit, and I don't generally have a problem. Sometimes I use both thumbs with nails together, which makes it easier. The button sleeve has a groove from top to bottom so that your nails will easily depress the buttons. (Long nails would be a problem here.)

PROS

Overall use meets my needs

Value

Portability

Underwater capability far preferable to the "deeply" flawed GoPro Hero2

Features

Usability

Standard 1/4" tripod mount easy to use with your own contraptions

CONS

Audio quality

Lack of optical zoom everything is W I D E. (Haven't tried digital zoom much yet)

Apparent inability to mute the digital "click" sound when snapping a photo

Apparent inability to douse the internal red "camera on" light

No macro mode

Lanyard durability; mine came apart when I tried to slide it up onto my bicep. Replace with better one.

Bottom line: Very good at what it's designed for.

Watch my WyrdNet channel on YouTube some sample videos there.