SiPix StyleCam DV100 Digital Video Camera
by SIPIX

List Price: $129.99
Our Price: $55.95
You Save: $74.04 (57%)
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Category: Digital Camera
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Digital Photo Product Details

• A versatile pocket-sized DV camera about the size of a bar of soap
• Combines in one unit a digital video recorder, digital still camera, and audio recorder
• 1.3 Mega Pixel resolution for crisp details and vibrant colors
• Built-in 8 MB flash memory with SD/MMC card slot
• TV output feature for easy playback

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Digital Cameras Photo Reviews of SiPix StyleCam DV100 Digital Video Camera

Customer Review: GadgetCollector
Summary: 4 Stars

In my testing I got these results when using only internal memory (on average):
640x480 at 5.45 fps
320x240 at 7.12 fps
160x120 at 12.12 fps

However, if you do use SD/MMC card then the frame rates stated in the manual do match (and are even slightly surpassed in some cases). Keep in mind though that there seem to be speed differences between various card brands out there. I didn't personally try different cards, but too many people seem to agree on this. SanDisk are said to be just about the slowest out
there and Lexar one of the faster ones. So I bought Lexar 256mb and got the expected frame rates.

When you have SD/MMC card inside the camera it tries to use the SD/MMC card first and internal memory after the card's full (good thinking). Otherwise I'd have to always keep it full.

Settings are not forgotten on power down or even if you remove the batteries (since it's solid state memory) So, for example if all you want to do is, turn it on and start taking video with
highest resolution setting, just do it once and you don't have to select it every time.

To make a video you have to only press 3 buttons: "power", "ok", "capture".

You can make many little movies, or you can just make a single big one.

Beeps are useful when you're trying to save batteries and don't use LCD. When the camera turns on and ready to take pictures it makes a distinct sound, and when it powers off it makes different sound. When the memory is full and you press capture, you hear the same beep as you would get if it were capturing a movie. Double-beep or something like that would be preferable.

Quality:
At 640x480 / 8fps the movie quality is not bad. But at lower frame rates it becomes too blurry.

Design:
Camera body fells well made, not like it's going to fall apart if you put it into your backpack. USB Connection appears to be secured -- important because you have to plug/unplug it all the time. The lens itself is about 3mm in diameter.

By the way:
When u connect the camera to PC via USB port it shows up in Explorer as an extra hard drive, and besides copying things from the camera you can also copy any files *to* it, so it'll act as a portable hard drive. I copied some mp3s there and camera doesn't have any problems with them just captures things as usual.

I give it 4/5 would be 5 if camera was smaller and had an error-like beep when max capacity is reached. Of course if it captured 640x480 at 25fps with better image quality it would be even better ;)

You might also want to check out Mustek DV3000. Its max video resolution is 320x240 but it looks better than SiPix DV100 at the same resolution. DV100 at 640x480 wins out though, there is just more detail.

Description of SiPix StyleCam DV100 Digital Video Camera

So what?s the catch? The big one is that without a memory card (and it does have a slot for either a MMC or SD card), the camera will be maxed out before you?ve even really started. How many photos and how much video the camera can hold depends on the level of quality you choose. At the lowest resolution (640x480), you can take a respectable 80 still shots, but at a more standard resolution level (1280x1024) that number is less than half, and if you take even two minutes of video, you won?t get more than ten or so shots off before the dreaded "Memory Full" message. Purely as a camcorder, it is not very useful without external memory since you won?t get much more than about ten minutes of footage. And the fidelity of the video, at 8-15 frames per second, is not exactly HDTV-ready (although we are actually kind of fond of the low-budget indie film look).

Another minor drawback that should be mentioned is that the shutter button is awkwardly positioned just to the right of the viewfinder so your index finger must bend nearly in half in order to reach it. A quick word about the software that comes with in the package, PhotoImpression and VideoImpression: It?s not junk (call us cynical, but we?ve come to expect this). The software?s big, friendly graphic interface let you do quickly and easily do all the basics: crop, adjust contrast, re-size, etc. Unlikely to be mistaken for Adobe PhotoShop, but perfectly usable nevertheless.

Sure, this camera has its limitations, but these must be weighed against its combination of price and size, which is nothing less than astonishing. --David Stoesz

Pros

• Easy to use
• Ultra compact
• Great value

Cons

• You are liable to get a cramp in your finger trying to reach the shutter
• Limited built-in memory
• Video fidelity likely to remind you of The Blair Witch Project

Camcorders

• Camera & Photo > Camcorders
• Digital Cameras