Digital Cameras Ratings: 3.1 Mega Pixel 1.5 Inches Color Screen Digital Video Camera Camcorder Review

Average Reviews:
2.0 out of 5 stars

(More customer reviews)I originally purchased this camcorder last summer for a family reunion in Texas.I was saving up money at the time and found dozens of these on ebay for $30 dollars or so and made a swoop.So...what do you get with this camera?It's very small,roughly about half the size of a stick of butter and about that wide.It's constructed of very thin plastic and is very light weight.That is one advantage.You get two basic focus settings on this camera:close up and landscape and you have to set those manually with a switch near the lens.It records 640 by 480 size images in the MPEG-2 format,readable on your average WMP format if that's what you have.Those are the main advantages.The image quality for this lower grade camcorder is.....surprisingly good.That meaning that if your idea of quality image resultion is like a bulky VHS camcorder from about 1991 then you won't be all that displeased with what you get in that department.Unfortunately in this case the camera's disadvantages are frusterating.The built in mic in this unit is really only three tiny holes in the front of the camera and,especially from afar the audio quality is extremely poor.There's no image stabilization and even without that the video picks up an extreme ammount of camera shake so a tripod of some sort is a must.In this case a little cheap table top model should do fine.The camera picks up indoor light fairly well if a lot of lights are on and outdoor light quite well.But the built in light is..almost a joke frankly.It won't illuminate anything much closer then three feet away at best,and that's about the closest focus range of the camera anyway.Not only that but almost two or three minutes of using this light will drain all power from the 3 AAA batteries used to power it,so you'll want to go with rechargable and/or high end Lithium or Titanium batteries as a result.And trust me:those can be a big expense by themselves.Needless to say it has a zoom but it's off the cheapest sort and offers no clean transitions between focal lengh at all. In the end,if your buying this camcorder for use online,say for YouTube there's nothing about this camera in terms of image quality that you could'nt get,or even be improved upon from your laptops built in webcam or the camcorder built into most regular digital cameras.If your planning as I was to make a serious video,this frankly won't cut the mustard. The very low audio quality and the difficult lighting pick-up will produce very awkward results. Decent image quality on this camera can ONLY be picked up in the most ideal conditions.My recommendation?For those looking for a budget minded camcorder with better quality I'd look for the Sony Webbie MHS-CM1 HD Camcorder (Silver):I don't own it but it was one of my early choices when I was looking to replace this one.And not only does that,unlike this record in high definition quality but comes with it's own battery,a higher quality light and picks up audio and lighting conditions better.And the lack of image stabilization isn't quite as big a problem with that as it is with this. I suppose this might be a good first camcorder for a grade school age child just learning about such devices but to someone who wants to put it through serious use it would be advisable to look elsewhere.

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Product Description:
?Main Function: Digital Video Camera?Resolution: - Video Resolution: 640x480, 320x240 - Photo Resolution: 2592x1944 (5.0MP), 2048x1536 (3.1MP), 1280x1024 (1.3MP Native), 640x480 (VGA)?Formats: - Video: AVI - Still Image: JPEG?Quality: Low, Medium, High?LCD screen: 1.5 Inch TFT LCD?Lens: F/ 3.1, f=6.5mm?Focus range: - Normal: 140cm ~ unlimited - Macro: 15cm ~ 25cm?Built-In Memory: 64MB?External Storage Memory: SD Card (support for up to 16GB)?White balance: Auto, Daylight, Tungsten, Fluorescent, Cloudy?EV compensation: Auto, -2.0EV to +2.0EV?Shutter: Electronic?Sensor sensitivity: 1.3 Mega Pixels ?Imaging sensor: CMOS?Self timer: 1s delay, 10s delay?Auto power off: 1min, 3min, 5min?Power supply: 3x AAA Batteries?PC interface: USB 2.0?Systems: Windows 2000, XP,Vista (32 bit version only) (Driver Needed)?Dimensions: 94mm x 53mm x 34mmProduct Notes ?Universal Tripod Mounting Hole?Multiple Shooting Effects including Sepia?Built-in light is a great little feature for easier shooting in darker conditions.Package Contents?Model CVSE-713 Camera?Soft Carry Bag?USB Cable?AV Cable?User Manual - English?Driver/Software CD