Aiptek PocketDV AHD Z500 Plus

Over the last 20 years video cameras have gone from being big bulky devices to much tinier objects.

The Aiptek PocketDV AHD Z500 Plus is a fine example of this miniaturising trend. It’s small enough to fit into a biggish pocket and light enough not to be noticed.

However, it feels as though Aiptek valued size and weight over the quality of the camera. Its plastic build not only makes it feel cheap, but it’s very flimsy too.

On the side the 2.4in widescreen, which is extremely clear, can be flipped out from the body. The rest is left empty, giving plenty of space to hold it. However, opening the screen for the first time was fiddly and closing it was even worse. Doing this a few more times made the hinge feel looser and looser.

Recordings are saved to SD memory cards. The PocketDV has a 3x optical zoom lens and it can record in the 1080p high-definition resolution. However, even at this level the recordings were grainy. In dim lighting the picture was dull and suffered from a lot of noise.

It can also take 8-megapixel still shots, though, and these were the opposite, with bright and clear results from the test pictures we took.