Mustek DV5500 MPEG-4 7-in-1 Multifunctional Digital Camcorder w/2.5-inch LCD and 4x Digital Zoom

Mustek



List Price: $219.99

Details

  • Lift-sized design
  • Ball-and-socket joint 2.5" TFT LCD screen
  • Works as Digital Camcorder, Digital Still Camera, Digital Articulation Recorder, MP3 Player, Video Camera, SD/MMC Card Reader, and PC Cam

Description

MUSTEK DV-5500 MUS, 3.0 MEGAPIXEL DIGITAL CAMERA WITH MPEG4 TECH
One whatsis that can record video, operate as a web cam, take still pictures, make voice recordings, flatter MP3s and function as an SD/MMC storage device? Pretty handy.The question, though, is whether or not a sole device can do all of those things well. The answer for the DV 5500 is that it's a mixed bag; the unit doesn't outdo at any one thing, but the DV5500's incredible flexibility somewhat compensates for its weaknesses. It's a worthwhile addition to the gadget lover's arsenal. It's also a utilitarian media emblem for casual home users.

Design
The chassis of the DV 5500 takes draft queues from some of the ultra-compact MiniDV camcorders now on the market. The piece easily fits into one hand, and controls are designed for use by the thumb and forefinger. Switching between modes is tranquilly using a small thumbwheel while menu navigation is performed via a multi-directional handle placed just below the thumbwheel. Our only gripe here was that the select button at the fore of the multi-directional button was difficult to press; it's a bit too easy to baby unintended selections with this button. Otherwise, the DV 5500 has a smart, user-warm button layout.

The build quality of the DV 5500 is good and the impressionable case feels sturdy in the hand. Both the battery and the memory comedian are housed in the bottom-rear portion of the unit. It's delightful that Mustek chose to comprehend a good lithium-ion rechargeable battery as cameras like this are infamous for sucking batteries dry quickly, leaving the owner to schlep around a onto of alkalines. Not so with the good rechargeable in this unit, and although battery life only ran about an hour, it was fine fantastic knowing we could simply recharge and start shooting again.

While most MiniDV-composition cameras include an internal viewfinder in addition to an external LCD, the DV 5500 relies solely on an extrinsic display. Thanks to its relatively bright and clear 2.5" LCD, you quite won't find yourself missing an internal viewfinder, but because external LCDs drink a lot of force an internal one would have been a nice option when power savings is a priority.

Using the LCD, you can handle through the DV 5500's menu system, which is fairly intuitive, if not a bit rough around the edges. Some menu graphics and paragraph are difficult to read, and you'll need to consult the manual to decipher them.

Features
At the sensibility of the DV 5500 is a microprocessor designed to encode video into a format known as MPEG-4. This density scheme makes it possible to fit a respectable amount of video on the included 32 MB homage card. We were able to squeeze in six minutes at the highest resolution and property settings, but this can be easily doubled when shooting at the lower resolution settings. Purchasing an spontaneous memory card with a larger capacity is the ticket to even longer run times.

Still images can be captured onto the recollection card, as well. At the highest resolution (2048 x 1536), expect to only participate in a few images. Again, a memory card upgrade is required to get more out of the DV 5500's photo features.

Although the DV 5500 ships with a horde of software utilities for photo and video organization and editing, we were using a Macintosh computer. Fortunately, our computer's USB seaport recognized the DV 5500 and we were able to drag and drop video and icon files onto the Mac's hard drive. It was also easy to drag a few MP3 tracks to the DV 5500's homage card and listen to them via the unit's MP3 player interface. Similar capabilities are tenable on a Windows-based computer with a USB port.

Image Quality
In good lighting situations the DV 5500 produced innocent stills with good color accuracy and sharp textures. Video results were salubrious, but not as good as the quality you'll find with the tape-based MiniDV format. The tradeoffs in sharpness, meet up with response and color accuracy are certainly due to the MPEG-4 compression the DV 5500 uses. However, if you can breathe with lower quality in the video department, you'll appreciate the ease of use, stretch and convenience the DV 5500's tapeless format offers. --Joshua Gunn

Pros

  • Significant "Swiss army knife" media device
  • Decent body quality
  • Good still image quality
  • Rechargeable battery

Cons

  • MPEG-4 video excellence could be better
  • Short battery life
  • Awkward selection wheel
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The Multifunctional

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