 5 stars for value |
| Review Date: June 20, 2005 |
| Reviewer: J. Pawlowski, Allentown, NY United States |
I gave it 5 stars not because it's a great camera, but because it's great & handy for the price.
My new pocket Digital video camera (DVD quality) I just got for Father's day (a week early) I take everywhere. The camera has headphone jacks & a built in speaker. It doubles as an mp3 player & is a great little still camera too. It can also play the role as an external disk drive to hold or transfer any type of files.
The camera is about the size of a pack of U.S. cigarettes which easily fits in any pocket. It encodes video into MPEG4 compression format, the same format used in HDTV broadcasts. So with a 512MB card (not included) if I don't have any stills or music loaded in it, I get 90 minutes of DVD quality recording time on it. The catch is it's only 10fps at DVD resolution. But still looks very good. It has several lower resolutions too, including VHS resolution at 30fps for smoother motion. But at that resolution it still looks better than standard VHS tape. No tape noise, grain, jitter, saturation, sync or color dot problems. It has no moving parts except for the buttons & the swing out screen. Everything is recorded digitally onto a memory chip.
Of course most computers are much higher resolution than most TVs. So the slightest flaws or artifacts will be more noticable on the computer than on most TVs. Burn them onto VCD, SVCD, or DVD to play them on your TV. If your graphics card has s-video output or better, just plug that into your TV.
On the lowest video resolution, also 30fps, it looks like those small low bandwidth online streaming videos you can watch on the net, not good at all but usable. If you're planning on sending video on limited bandwidth or file sizes the lowest resolution will be handy.
On that low a setting it'll record for hours or until the batteries die, making it great as a hidden spycam or nanny cam. It also is a net cam too.
It takes only 2 AA batteries so you won't have to keep running to the charger with expensive short-lived battery packs. I'm using Sony 2600mha newer rechargables I already owned. They lasted till the memory was full with a readout of 80% of battery life still left. So I have no experience on how long ordinary cheap AA batteries would last. The specs say 60 minutes with ordinary AA alkalines. I threw in a pair of 2000mah rechargables I got cheap in a 20 pack from Amazon. It recorded 90 minutes of video with plenty of power left over. When plugged into the USB port, it'll use the USB power, not the batteries, averaging a current draw of about 300ma.
The included video editing software is better than software that I already had that cost almost as much as the camera... & it's easier to use. It will work for editing any video, not just the ones made by the camera.
The camera & software are specifically designed for XP. But because without the software, if you plug it into the USB port, any computer will recognize it as an external drive. You can tranfer your files off or onto the camera as easy as you can move files from 1 disk, folder, or drive to another. Doing it that way, without the included software you can watch or burn your videos & pix on any computer, even a mac or linux machine. I tried it, it does work. Your computer will need an MPEG4 player to play the video. It will list video as AVI files, but if you ever had MPEG4 files before, it usually lists them as AVIs.
If you have the memory card, the computer will recognize it as 2 drives, the card & the internal memory.
Oh, it also includes jacks to plug it in to your TV, VCR, external burner, or stereo, & play your images, movies, or music without a computer.
Digital cameras need a lot more light than their analog tape or film sisters... this one too. It has a flash for still pictures, which works well, but no built in light for video. For indoors video you'll need all your ordinary house lights turned on their highest setting, or be near a good window in the daytime. Outdoors, there was plenty of light even on the cloudiest days even after sunset at dusk. Shortly after that, there won't be enough light.
It also comes with a mini pocket tripod, cheap but useful.
I experimented by duct taping a fairly bright 7-LED flashlight to it to video in a dark nightclub. I still had to get within 3 feet of my subject to get a fairly lit image. In the future I may build an infrared LED illuminator for it & video in Black & white in the dark... yes it has a B&W setting.
No optical zoom, digital zoom only, so any more than a tad of digital zoom,
& your images will look like the lowest resolution settings.
Bottom line, this is not a great camera. It's a cheapie. But for ease, portablity, flexibility, you can't beat it for the price... very handy, you can take it anywhere, & I never leave home without it. |
Great Little Toy
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| Review Date: August 16, 2005 |
| Reviewer: C. Marra, Long Island, NY |
| Alright, lets get something straight. If you have any expectations of this camera being great, then you're wrong. It isnt great. If you have any intention of high quality pictures, or above average video quality, this isnt for you. I'm a kid, and i don't need anything more than this (and i don't have the money for much else anyway). I enjoy it, its easy to share files with my friends, and for my age it is a good product. But, if you can afford something better, get something better. |
Aiptek DV4500 Multi Function Digital Camera
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| Review Date: March 13, 2006 |
| Reviewer: , |
I am a kid who loves to make short movies with my friends and got this for that purpose. This thing ROCKS! Here are the pros and cons:
Pros:
SD Card slot (You should get a card),
4 Megapixels,
Very small,
Includes a tiny tripod,
MP3 Player,
Flash Unit,
GREAT:) LCD display ,
Cheaper then other Digital Cameras,
Easy for kids to use
Cons:
Slightly hard to close battery compartment,
The flash uses lots of power,
Not alot of video if you don't have an SD Card,
Difficult to hold perfectly still,
Buttons can be difficult,
Sound could be better
As you can see, this is a good camera. I have seen a lot of reviews that say the digital zoom is no good. If you can keep the camera very still, perhaps witha tripod, then you will not have much of a problem with the zoom. It gets a little blurry, but for most purposes this is OK. The flash does drain the batterys very quickly, so use it sparingly. When I got my camera(Refurbished), I had trouble with the "Right" button and the "Up" button, but if you push them the right way, then they work fine. I haven't tried the MP3 player, but it looks cool. Sound in video and audio recorder is fine, but not at all professional quality. This would be a great gift for a kid or an adult, and it is very fun to use. At $100, this gets 5 stars. |
GREAT Entry Level Camera
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| Review Date: December 5, 2004 |
| Reviewer: Daryl A Bernard, Illinois |
The DV 4500 has exceeded my expectations. It is certainly a top contender in its class. It is functional, easy to use, and has plenty of features. If you want a better camera, be prepared to pony up another $500-$900.
For the price I got a great little entry level camera. I did not want to spend a whole lot of money on something that I might not use sufficiently. This will be an adequate DV camera for a tryout period.
For those of you who want a superior quality, intermediate or professional level, heavy horsepower camera with more features than you would ever use, pass up this great deal, get a second job, and buy the camera of your dreams.
In my experience . . . The camera does everything that it claims in its specifications. I would not expect anything more. Buy it. Try it. Go out and have some fun. |
Worth every penny
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| Review Date: December 10, 2004 |
| Reviewer: V. Gonzalez, Roseville, MI |
| Initially, I purchased the Mustek camera (which was HORRIBLE) but returned it and bought this little camera instead. This Aiptek camera takes good photos and also has a flash, unlike the Mustek. I was surprised by the clarity of the pictures! The video is of good quality. I have yet to use the MP3 function but so far, I have not been disappointed. It is easy to use and travels well. I would only suggest you obtain a memory card to increase the saving capacity. Otherwise, this is ready to go right out the package. FYI, it was on sale at Target for $88.00 and I bought two!! You will not regret it. |
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