AIPTEK DV5300 Pocket Digital Camcorder Review
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Written To Better Inform Our Visitors Regarding These Deals: • AIPTEK DV5300 Pocket Digital Camcorder [COUPONS] |
Camcorders have sure come a long way over the years, from being clunky devices that you could barely lug around to fitting in your pocket with room to spare. The AIPTEK DV5300 Pocket Digital Camcorder is a budget camcorder that still manages to pack a lot of features into a tiny little device while still costing less than $125. This is a pretty good price point for entry level consumers and this camera was really made for that segment of the population.
If you’re looking for a camera to shoot your independent documentary, you’ll need to go a little higher, but for the average, ever day user, this type of camera is well suited to the job and affordable. How does this one stack up to the competition? We’ll test it thoroughly and see if it is worth the money.
Weighing just a few ounces and coming in at a little under 4 inches tall, the size of this camera is one of its most remarkable features. It’s perfect for stuffing in your pocket or purse if you want to make sure that you’ll never miss that crazy moment or UFO again. While this market has had its competition cut out for it with cellphones, the overall quality of the finished product does give these cameras the edge.
The LCD is actually quite big considering the overall size of the unit and features bright colors. There is a lot of distortion however, especially if you are looking at it from the wrong angle. This is worse in sunlight, but to be expected. Few cameras have managed to rise above this problem and since the screen does tilt, it’s a relatively small complaint. To this day we have never found a display that is distortion free, so we really can’t fault Aiptek for this.
The screen folds back onto the camera itself, completely out of the way. We found that moving the screen was smooth and it never gave us the impression that it was going to snap off, a common problem with cheaper camcorders at this size.
The quality of the video this camera produces was pretty astounding. You can also use it for still pictures, and while these aren’t the best, they are better than most camcorders in this price range. The 5 megapixels do come in handy and even though this is not a 3CCD camera, we still found that the colors were pretty true.
The onboard mic is really only good for the person holding the camera. If you’re trying to pick up audio from someone in front of you, you’ll notice a lot of noise and unless they’ve got a loud voice, you’ll barely be able to pick them up. It’s obvious that this mic is really meant for narration of what you’re watching and not for on-camera interviews.
The wind screen wasn’t the best, but again, when you’re dealing with something at this price point, you really can’t expect much when it comes to onboard mics. The quality of the sound was decent, and if you’ve got a good video editing suite, you can take out a lot of the background noise.
For capturing a cute moment or saving a family memory, this camera is well suited to the job. It’s not something Fellini would use, but then again, it’s not really meant for that type of work. While there are a few drawbacks, the key is going in with the right expectations. This is not a camera to shoot a film on, but it’s great for those quick moments you want to capture forever.
The format of your videos is MPEG-4 which is readable by most computers. If you are using a Mac however, you may need to get a free converter to put it into MOV format before you edit the file. The company offers a downloadable driver that can help offload videos on to your computer, but you should be able to stick the flash card in to your reader slot and pull them off manually.
We were a little disappointed that the camera can only use SD cards up to 512 megs in size. Given the average size of a video file, that really doesn’t leave you a lot of room. Again, this is a camera for quick moments, not a long speech or shot. The onboard memory of 16 megs is negligible and we’re really not sure why they bothered with it. It might work for a few stills, but that is about it.
The best part is that you can also use the camera as a webcam, or to store your media files (up to 512 megs) as well as a voice recorder. This extends the use of the camera and makes it a lot more useful. While the quality of sound files isn’t the best, it’s great for a few quick notes to self.
The camera will need a few AAA batteries and you may want to buy a bunch now. It blows through them like nothing and you’ll need to have plenty on hand if you will be taping anything longer than a few seconds. We were a little disappointed by the lack of battery life, but given that this is a 5 megapixel video camera, we weren’t surprised.
For the money, this is a great entry-level camera. It has a limited amount of uses, but for the occasional user or someone that just wants to have a little camera on hand for special moments, it’s the perfect buy. There are a few downsides, but overall the quality was good and we were impressed with the features it did have. If you plan on videotaping a long event, we recommend buying a few SD cards so that you can just change them out as you go. There is room for improvement with this camera, but for the money, it’s a solid buy.
If you’re looking for a camera to shoot your independent documentary, you’ll need to go a little higher, but for the average, ever day user, this type of camera is well suited to the job and affordable. How does this one stack up to the competition? We’ll test it thoroughly and see if it is worth the money.
First Impression
Weighing just a few ounces and coming in at a little under 4 inches tall, the size of this camera is one of its most remarkable features. It’s perfect for stuffing in your pocket or purse if you want to make sure that you’ll never miss that crazy moment or UFO again. While this market has had its competition cut out for it with cellphones, the overall quality of the finished product does give these cameras the edge.
The LCD is actually quite big considering the overall size of the unit and features bright colors. There is a lot of distortion however, especially if you are looking at it from the wrong angle. This is worse in sunlight, but to be expected. Few cameras have managed to rise above this problem and since the screen does tilt, it’s a relatively small complaint. To this day we have never found a display that is distortion free, so we really can’t fault Aiptek for this.
The screen folds back onto the camera itself, completely out of the way. We found that moving the screen was smooth and it never gave us the impression that it was going to snap off, a common problem with cheaper camcorders at this size.
Out in the Field
The quality of the video this camera produces was pretty astounding. You can also use it for still pictures, and while these aren’t the best, they are better than most camcorders in this price range. The 5 megapixels do come in handy and even though this is not a 3CCD camera, we still found that the colors were pretty true.
The onboard mic is really only good for the person holding the camera. If you’re trying to pick up audio from someone in front of you, you’ll notice a lot of noise and unless they’ve got a loud voice, you’ll barely be able to pick them up. It’s obvious that this mic is really meant for narration of what you’re watching and not for on-camera interviews.
The wind screen wasn’t the best, but again, when you’re dealing with something at this price point, you really can’t expect much when it comes to onboard mics. The quality of the sound was decent, and if you’ve got a good video editing suite, you can take out a lot of the background noise.
For capturing a cute moment or saving a family memory, this camera is well suited to the job. It’s not something Fellini would use, but then again, it’s not really meant for that type of work. While there are a few drawbacks, the key is going in with the right expectations. This is not a camera to shoot a film on, but it’s great for those quick moments you want to capture forever.
Features
The format of your videos is MPEG-4 which is readable by most computers. If you are using a Mac however, you may need to get a free converter to put it into MOV format before you edit the file. The company offers a downloadable driver that can help offload videos on to your computer, but you should be able to stick the flash card in to your reader slot and pull them off manually.
We were a little disappointed that the camera can only use SD cards up to 512 megs in size. Given the average size of a video file, that really doesn’t leave you a lot of room. Again, this is a camera for quick moments, not a long speech or shot. The onboard memory of 16 megs is negligible and we’re really not sure why they bothered with it. It might work for a few stills, but that is about it.
The best part is that you can also use the camera as a webcam, or to store your media files (up to 512 megs) as well as a voice recorder. This extends the use of the camera and makes it a lot more useful. While the quality of sound files isn’t the best, it’s great for a few quick notes to self.
The camera will need a few AAA batteries and you may want to buy a bunch now. It blows through them like nothing and you’ll need to have plenty on hand if you will be taping anything longer than a few seconds. We were a little disappointed by the lack of battery life, but given that this is a 5 megapixel video camera, we weren’t surprised.
Overall Impression
For the money, this is a great entry-level camera. It has a limited amount of uses, but for the occasional user or someone that just wants to have a little camera on hand for special moments, it’s the perfect buy. There are a few downsides, but overall the quality was good and we were impressed with the features it did have. If you plan on videotaping a long event, we recommend buying a few SD cards so that you can just change them out as you go. There is room for improvement with this camera, but for the money, it’s a solid buy.
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