Although it has been a while since the Vivitar dvr786hd was released onto the market, even though till today we still see a relatively stable number of people reaching out each month asking for advice on the action cam and its performance. Due to this, we have decided to publish our own Vivitar dvr786hd review in the hope it will help our readers or anyone else who is considering picking this up and using it as their go-to budget-friendly action camera.
Now, as we always say, if you are looking to pick up a budget-friendly GoPro alternative then we would always recommend that you actually go with the Akaso Brave 4 (Click here to check for product prices and availability) over any of the Vivitar range. We feel that the Akaso beats the Vivitar range in every aspect and also retails at a similar price offering you much better bang for your buck. We have a dedicated Akaso Brave 4 review online that we posted a few months back that you may find useful and we would definitely recommend that you check it out if you have the time.
Over the years, a number of Vivitar dvr786hd owners have chosen to post their own independent reviews (click here to read some of them) of the action cam online going over their thoughts and opinions of its performance. If you have time, reading reviews left by third-party owners of the product can be a great way to get an independent insight into the performance of the camera and what you can expect from it.
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Table of Contents
Build Quality
In all fairness to the action camera, the Vivitar actually does a great job of providing a solid build quality on the camera considering its price point in the market. Being an action camera, it is important that it is as robust as possible to ensure that it is able to easily take the large amounts of punishment coming its way when in use. The robustness of the dvr786hd can be further increased by encasing it within the included waterproof case even when using it out of water as it allows the camera to take a bunch of punishment without showing any damage.
The camera is made from lightweight materials to ensure that it is easy to wear when going about your action sport of choice without even noticing that you have the camera mounted on you. Unlike some of their other action cameras, Vivitar has actually planned out the dvr786hd and its accessories before building it to ensure that the camera remains as easy to use as possible when housed in its waterproof case or when mounted on one of the included mounts with the camera too.
All in all, we feel the build quality of the camera is fine for its price tag although a few other action cams at this price point to pull ahead, the Vivitar dvr786hd should be fine for entry-level use with a ton of action sports.
Feature List
Below are the key features offered by the Vivitar dvr786hd, one thing that we would like to point out is that although it may be able to reach these resolutions, the video and photograph quality can suffer a little in low light situations. We will be including some sample footage that was recorded using the Vivitar dvr786hd later in the article though.
- Records video footage at 1080p @ 30fps, 720p @ 30fps, and 720p @ 60fps.
- Takes 12.1MP still photographs.
- Has an integrated fixed focus lens with a 4x digital zoom feature.
- Has an integrated 2-inch LCD screen that is clear, bright, and easy to see.
- Comes with a built-in rechargeable Li-ion battery.
- Has a microSD card slot compatible with cards up to and including 32GB.
If you are wanting to capture some slow-moving but high-resolution video footage then the 1080p @ 30fps setting on the dvr786hd is perfect. That said, if you are wanting the best balance between smooth footage and a high resolution, we would actually recommend the 720p @ 60fps setting for any kind of fast moving action sport.
Sample Footage
The video footage below was recorded using the Vivitar dvr786hd and offers a decent example of the type of video that you can expect from it in a number of different situations.
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User-interface And Control System
One of the most common points of criticism for the Vivitar dvr786hd is definitely its user interface and user control systems. Unlike the majority of other budget-friendly GoPro alternative cameras on the market right now, Vivitar has tried to do something fancy rather than keep it simple and unfortunately they have failed at it.
That said, the system will let you control your camera and hot swap or tweak its settings on the fly as required but it is just slow and cumbersome. Depending on what you are doing it can also be made increasingly difficult too. For example, if your sport of choice is water based then it can be a nightmare to tweak a setting through the waterproof case. If your sport is winter weather based then this can also hold you back as the system can be a pain if your fingers are cold too.
Accessories
Just like many of the other action cameras on the market these days, a number of various accessories and mounts are also included with your purchase of the Vivitar dvr786hd as standard. The accessories are listed below as well as shown in the image above and they are surprisingly high-quality for the cameras price tag in all fairness to it.
You get the following accessories included with the camera when purchasing it:-
- A waterproof case.
- A wireless remote control.
- A helmet mount.
- A bike mount.
- A micro USB.
- A charger.
Our Verdict
That concludes our Vivitar dvr786hd review and as we mentioned back at the start of the article, we feel that picking up the Akaso Brave 4 (Click here to check for product prices and availability) over the Vivitar dv786hd would be a much better addition to your camera accessories. It is at a similar price point in the market but outperforms the dvr786hd in every way offering a much better camera.
Click Here To Read Independent Third Party Reviews Of This Product!
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The video below offers an additional third-party, independent review for the Vivitar dvr786hd to offer our readers an independent opinion of the product.
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