RCA Small Wonder Traveler EZ210 Camcorder Reviewby Kaitlyn ChantryPublished on Oct 30, 2008 3:00 PM
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Picture & Manual ControlAutomatic Control (3.0)
Considering the complete absence of manual control offerings, consumers must rely solely on the Traveler's ability to make automatic adjustments for them. On the RCA EZ210, some automatic controls fared better than others. The automatic white balance was usually adequate, even indoors and in low light. Since the Traveler has a fixed lens, there was no automatic focus. Exposure was the chief concern, as the Traveler had a great deal of difficulty handling very bright and very dark areas within a single scene. While scenes with less contrast were handled with relative ease, high contrast images ended up with drastically overexposed highlights. (See Video Performance.)
Overall Manual Control (0.25)
Following the "less is more" philosophy of these up-and-coming YouTube camcorders, the RCA EZ210 is completely devoid of any manual controls—unless you count the meager 2x digital zoom. For some people, this is the camcorder they've been waiting for their entire lives; it's a match made in heaven for ascetics, technophobes, or anyone just plain tired of all the switches, buttons, and dials on modern electronics. For others, the Traveler might seem like a useless device: no control over focus, aperture, shutter speed, exposure, or even scene modes like portrait, nighttime, and waterfalls.
RCA is not alone in marketing a camcorder free of manual controls. The Small Wonder is taking a page out of the same book as the Creative Vado, the DXG 567V, the Kodak Zi6, and the entire Flip series from Pure Digital—including the Flip Mino. All of these camcorders shun manual controls in the name of simplicity, while virtually every other camcorder gives you significantly greater control over how you shoot. In fact, still cameras that record video have more manual options and even some cell phones are more versatile than the Traveler.
RCA does stand out from the crowd by offering still photography, which clutters the face slightly by adding an extra button—an addition that probably wasn't worth adding. (See Still Performance.)
For a little more money, you can take home a more traditional camcorder, like the JVC GZ-MS100 or the Samsung SC-MX20. Both of these camcorders are marketed as YouTube camcorders, but have slightly better video, optical zoom, and manual controls over things like focus, exposure, and white balance.
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The directional pad on the EZ210 has no manual options to control except for zoom (+ and -).
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Zoom (2.5)
These ultra-slim YouTube camcorders are too narrow to accommodate the lenses and moving parts that would be required for an optical zoom. But the RCA EZ210 does give the user a 2x digital zoom, operated via the + and - on the directional pad. There is about a four-second transition from 1x to 2x, represented by a scale on the right side of the LCD. It's not possible to increase or decrease the zoom speed with varying finger pressure.
Traditional camcorders include optical zoom, which won't deteriorate your image quality like digital zoom. The JVC GZ-MS100 has a 35x optical zoom; the Samsung SC-MX20 is 34x. But the 2x digital zoom is standard for the Small Wonder's class of camcorders. The Flip Mino, Creative Vado, DXG 567V, and Kodak Zi6 are all limited to 2x digital zoom.
Zoom Power Ratio (0.0)
There is no optical zoom on the RCA EZ210 (Small Wonder Traveler). Just the 2x digital zoom.
Focus (0.0)
There is no manual focus on the Traveler. In fact, it is a fixed focus that supposedly accommodates 3.9mm to infinity. (Though we found the focus to work best when your subject is at least a foot away.) With these little YouTube camcorders, there's probably no need or desire for manual focus.
Exposure & Aperture (0.0)
No manual exposure and no manual aperture. Some say less is more, but in this case, less is just... less. You won't find these options on the competition either.
Shutter Speed (0.0)
No shutter speed options here.
White Balance (0.0)
No white balance settings either. It's surprising to find that they don't even have a couple presets (like indoor vs. outdoor).
Gain (0.0)
If the vast majority of consumer camcorders do not offer manual gain, you shouldn't expect to see it on ultra-compact YouTube camcorders either. (Panasonic is the only manufacturer to offer gain control and they do not manufacture a camcorder in this class.)
Other Manual Controls (0.0)
Honestly, if there were any kind of manual controls on this camcorder we would tell you about them.
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