Disposable camcorder just about works
Fancy yourself a bit of a John-Luc Godard? Or have you recently watched a Cloverfield/Blair Witch double-bill in a darkened basement and felt the urge to create? Whatever the reason, if you suddenly have the makings of a no-budget classic, why not give the EZ201 a try? OK, it’s not going to win you an Oscar for best cinematography but, if there were an award for the most user friendly handheld, the EZ201 would be well in the reckoning.
A simple point and shoot digital camcorder, you set up the EZ201 by slipping in a couple of batteries and switching on – no further expertise required. The controls could not be easier, with record, play/pause, rewind, fast forward and delete being the main functions. The view screen is an adequate 1.5″ colour LCD that can flip out and rotate 180 degrees. The 256MB built-in memory allows for up to an hour of recording time, which can be increased by inserting a 2GB memory card. Two standard AA batteries provide up to 2 hours of continuous use (or an impressive 7 hours with optional Lithium batteries).
Once you’ve shot your footage, the camera has several connectivity options. You can view through your television, record it to VHS or DVD or upload video files to a PC using the neat retractable USB connector or other supplied cables. From here, you can use the editing function to tidy up your work before outputting the clips for viewing.
The EZ201 produces decent audio and video results at a relatively low price. It won’t satisfy the purists, and it is childlike in simplicity, but it doesn’t over-complicate the process with elaborate settings and features.
