Rollei ActionCam Youngstar HD 720p Digital Camcorder (5 MP, 4x Digital Zoom, 2'' LCD)

Nice camera, was an impulse purchase from Staples (UK).The first charge is a really long one. Be patient. (2 hours)Pros:1. Small2. Light3. Simple4. Good quality image5. Angle of vision is really nice6. ValueCons:1. Only comes with waterproof mount, which makes the audio very stuffy and muffled.2. The non-waterproof mount is only purchasable as a car mount (£39)3. The touch screen is very hit and miss. Setting the date and time is a long drawn out affair.4. Two buttons on the waterproof housing have no labelling, so get some tip-ex and mark one.5. There is no mount screw on the camera, only on the housing.6. Minor point, HD is 720 only.

Absolutely worth every penny. The Rollie youngster is fantastic value for money when compared to the market leader GP. I used mine motocrossing and the picture quality and sound level are superb. The only slight problem I encountered was some condensation inside the protective case. There does not seem to be many mounting accessories available for this camera which could make it awkward for mounting. The included camera mount is ok and works fine. Would I recommend this camera ! Absolutely in fact I will probably buy another the only reason I didn't give 5 star was the fixings and the condensation.

The battery life is so short that it has very limited use. Supposed to be 1hr 30 mins but at best 30 mins.As it can only be used in the waterproof housing, this makes recording sound with video redundant.However, the video recording is quite good.As with all such devices, it can't be charged while recording.Best avoided.

I was a bit nervous about buying this product, as there was very little information or reviews about it onlineHowever, I am extremely happy with it. The quality above and underwater are fantastic. The touch screen is simple to use, and its nice to be able to see your recorded videos and pictures as you go.I took it on a holiday to turkey, and used it everyday, in the sea, on water sports and down slides, so it is very hard wearing.The only problem I had was that the camera froze a few times while I was using it. The screen went black and I was unable to use any of the functions or turn the camera off. In the end I found a solution from the Q & A page on the Rollei website, which was very useful (http://www.rollei.com/products/actioncams/cams/rollei-youngstar-schwarz,p100050#faq)One bit of advice i would give is to find a strap and attach it to the waterproof case, it makes it a lot easier to carry and use in water.Overall a very good purchase, and would definitely recommend to anyone

Pros-Cheap-Comes with a helmet mount-Uses a standard tripod mounting threadCons-The footage is grainy, even in well lit situations.-Still images are similar to a smart phone from 2005 or earlier.-The waterproof case is badly made and I doubt the catch would last for long.-It can't be used and charged at the same time, and has a battery life of only 90 minutes.-Gets very hot whilst charging.-There aren't many settings to adjust, but if you did read the instruction manual you would find it is in broken English.-The touchscreen isn't very responsive.

Firstly, the unit I have received appears to have a faulty lens where one side of the image recorded is very out of focus compared to the rest of the picture (which isn't exactly pin sharp either). I'm going to pretend that this isn't the case though as this is clearly a fault with the lens on this unit and it will be sent back for a refund. I have seen footage from other users of these cameras before I purchased this one and have to say that the focus was good and crisp on the footage I saw - hence I don't believe this to be a flaw with the camera in general. Faults happen in production - even with expensive equipment.It needs to be pointed out that even though the camera is branded Rollei, this is the standard "SunPlus" hardware you'll find from cheap eBay cameras from Hong Kong sellers - in fact this camera appears to be one of those cameras with the Rollei logo branded on it. So it it any good then (ignoring the focus problem on mine).Pros :*) This is a small camera. It's just about smaller than a packet of cigarettes. With the waterproof case on it's about the footprint of a cig packet but about 1 1/2 times as thick.*) The waterproof case is included and makes using this outside very easy.*) Camera comes with a flat mount with adhesive stickers. The mount connects via a standard tripod screw fitting. Both the bolt and the screw thread on the case are made from metal (more than can be said for the screw thread of the expensive contour roam2!).*) The lens is wide angle. 130 degrees field of view at 720p. This means it's going to capture a decent amount of action as opposed to some of these cheap cameras which have a very narrow field of view.*) The menu system is easy to figure out (you won't need the manual) and is completely configured by touch screen (resistive) lcd on the back.*) The fact it has an LCD display means you can use it as a camera for taking pictures too (but see cons below) and it's very easy to align when mounting. No guesswork required. The LCD display will turn off after a few mins of filming to conserve the battery which is great.*) The video is cut into segments. The default appears to be 5 minute chunks. Having owned cheap eBay cameras in the past I can say this usually results in anything between 2 to 6 seconds of video being lost between each file... however... this camera manages to cut from one file to the next without losing a single second of video. Quite impressive, as even the expensive Rollei Bullet HD Pro used to lose 3 or so seconds every 15 mins.*) There is no permanent date / time stamp embedded into the video content. The camera uses the correct date and time in the file metadata so you can easily add one with software at a later date.Cons :*) The tripod screw is on the waterproof case and not on the camera itself (due to lack of space on the housing I guess). This means that if you're planning on mounting it on a tripod with the case off (so the sound is better) then forget it.*) The file format is *NOT* .MOV as advertised in the website / amazon page and even written on the box it comes it. The file format is .avi (container) and the video codec is motion jpeg - (not h.264 as would be expected in this day and age). As you can imagine this results in enormous files. 1 hour of footage is likely to consume well in excess of 8 GB.*) The file cannot be opened in Sony Vega for editing. I don't know why this is and I'm not going to spend any time looking into this as I'm returning the camera due to the lens fault but even other SunPlus hardware based cameras I've owned in the past (motion jpeg in a .avi container) have opened without problems in Vegas.*) The mic is on the back of the camera and like all these waterproof case type cameras, is covered by the thick plastic when in use, so don't expect anything too exciting from the audio.*) The photo mode isn't very good. Ignoring the focus fault on the camera I received, the picture resolution is pretty poor and is not very good in low light conditions.*) Battery life is about 90 mins. Ok for commuting but no good for long rides. Battery isn't removable.*) No ability to record while charging to extend battery life. Not that you'd be able to do so with the waterproof case on anyway but this rules out any serious ride recording (i.e. big routes).Conclusion:If you're after a cheap action camera for putting on your bike on a tight budget then this wouldn't be a bad one to choose. You get the benefits of a watertight camera with decent enough video resolution and a nice wide angle lens. If you're commuting and either do less than 30 - 40 mins each way or have the ability to charge at work then this will probably do the job. Make sure you get a decent sized memory card though as you'll only fit roughly an hours ride on an 8 GB card. Overall it's good value for money and (from other people's footage) I can see it has more than acceptable quality at 720p.Compared to the likes of the 640 x 480 resolution Veho Muvi (obviously this is about 3 times the size) you're going to get far far better quality video from this.However, if you're doing longer rides / have fussy editing software / or need to have better compressed video then go for something a bit more expensive that records in h.264. However, all said and done, this camera offers very, very good value for money hence the 4 stars (even though the one I received is faulty :)The service from 7dayshop is always good.