Checking Our List #3: RCA Small Wonder HD Digital Camcorder {Review & Giveaway}

{This giveaway is now closed. Congratulations, Mrs.Smitty!}

When I was a kid, I did gymnastics. I can remember my mom faithfully coming to my meets to watch me tumble through my floor exercise or cringe while I wobbled on the balance beam. Ah, those were the days.

I can also recall the time that she lugged a massive video camera to one meet in an attempt to preserve some of my young athleticism on record. I'm pretty sure the camcorder itself weighed as much as she did... and I seem to remember some sort of mishap connected with it being up on a tripod. Needless to say, I don't think I ever saw that tape.

Times sure have changed now, haven't they? As a mom I don't want to miss a single highlight of my kids' lives and pretty much want to be ready at a moment's notice to record everything from their laughter and joy while playing to the smiles of pride of their new accomplishments. Fortunately, Audiovox and their high quality, well-known brand, RCA, make that completely possible with their EZ209HD Small Wonder High Definition Digital Camcorder.

Arriving in a modern, simple box, right away I liked that I could flip open the front and see not only the camcorder itself but a great deal of information about it was listed right inside the flap.

Taking the camcorder, cords, carrying case and wrist strap out of the packaging, all that was needed to do in order to start recording was plug the Small Wonder in to ensure it was fully charged.

Accessing the USB port on the side was easy, I simply flipped up the rubber cover and plugged the charger right in. When I returned to look at it later, the camcorder had a full battery and was ready to go.

Heading outside to play with the kids, I tossed the Small Wonder in my pocket (it measures 4.3" x 2.5" x 0.9" and only weighs 11.2 ounces, so the slim design fits great into pretty much anywhere you want to carry it) and waited until they were happily immersed in a patch of sand and dirt to examine things further.

Without having looked at the directions, the clear labels and simple point-and-shoot capabilities of the Small Wonder made it straightforward and easy to aim and record without having to do more than push one button.

By sliding the power switch (you sort of pull it down and hold it for a second), all of the information that I needed to know was right there on the 2" screen. One glance and I could see the mode (video, camera or playback), the recording quality (there are 3 levels of resolution) and how much battery and time was remaining.

I was surprised to see that I only had about 5½ minutes of time, but, after checking the manual, found that the EZ209HD Small Wonder features 256MB of internal memory on its own and has a Micro SD card slot on the top that can expand the memory up to 16 GB. Once that card is in place, you actually have 8 hours of HD recording and even more in the lower resolution sizes.

As I'm one of those people that takes video and then just leaves it sitting on the camera, having eight hours of space is great! That means I still have 7 hours and 59 minutes to fill up with more of this, right?


But that wasn't all. One of the features that I especially like about the Small Wonder is that as well as a camcorder, it takes photographs. By pressing the Photo button once, it told me that it was "Preparing for photo mode" and then a second later it was ready. As there is no option for a flash, of course, I probably wouldn't use this in low lighting situations...

But the fact that we were outside and I had it in my hand made it possible to catch one of my new favorite pictures of Fall:

What a great way to have both action and still shots available all in one small device! Plus, with the possibility of moving the micro SD card out to a phone or other camera, this camcorder becomes conveniently cross-compatible.

When I was done recording the fun outside, I came back in to find multiple options of how to view my video. I could watch it right on the large LCD screen in playback mode, connect the Small Wonder to my television with the provided cable or download onto my computer using the USB cord.

There is even Memory Manager software built right into this camcorder so, depending on your computer and its processing system, any downloading and editing to be done is just as easy as the recording. Then just pop this back into your pocket or purse or diaper bag and never miss a moment!

Although I had a few slight issues with the RCA Small Wonder High Definition Digital Camcorder (mainly that I felt the zoom was choppy, that there is no way to stand it up on its own due to the rounded bottom and that when I first uploaded my videos they had odd spots that seemed to be in fast-forward), it really is extremely portable and very handy to take along to capture events that you otherwise wouldn't with a traditional video camera.

With a retail price of $149.99 (but found much lower on various websites, including RCA itself at a steal for $89.99), this camcorder would make an amazing gift for pretty much anyone on your list. Do you know someone who might like to take great HD videos anytime, anywhere? Thanks to the generosity of Audiovox, one person will be able to make their holiday wishes come true, because...

One lucky person will win an RCA EZ209HD Small Wonder High Definition Digital Camcorder from Audiovox!

To enter to win: Visit Audiovox and tell me another of their innovative items that you would love to own.

Extra Entries (available after the mandatory entry above is completed; please leave a separate comment for each entry in order for them to be counted).

1 Extra Entry if you head over to A Mom's Balancing Act and enter to win an awesome 7" Portable DVD Player from Audiovox!
1 Extra Entry (per method) if you sign up for news and offers from RCA, follow them on Twitter and/or Like them on Facebook. 1 more Extra Entry if you leave the following message on their wall: I just entered to win an RCA Small Wonder High Definition Camcorder at Thanks, Mail Carrier - what a perfect holiday gift! http://bit.ly/bBZJ1d
1 Extra Entry (per giveaway entered) - Enter any (or all) of the Holiday Gift Guide giveaways (Checking Our List giveaways ONLY) running on Thanks, Mail Carrier for the duration of this giveaway.
1 Extra Entry if you follow me on Twitter and tweet about this giveaway by copying and pasting the tweet below and leaving me the link. Tweet daily for an extra entry every day!

Checking Our List 3: WIN an RCA Small Wonder High Definition Digital Camcorder ($150)! #thxmailcarrier http://bit.ly/bBZJ1d #win #giveaway

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Giveaway will end on November 26th at 11:59pm CST. Do me the favor of leaving an email address or making absolutely sure it is visible in your profile, I have to have a way to contact the winner. The winner will be chosen by random.org and announced here as well as emailed and will have 48 hours to contact me or respond to notification or a new winner will be chosen. This giveaway is open to U.S. residents only.

A big thank you to Audiovox for providing an RCA EZ209HD Small Wonder High Definition Digital Camcorder for me to review as well as for one lucky giveaway winner. The opinions shared are my own and honest and if you really need to see more, click here to see how I roll.