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Marketplace:
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Overall Rating:  85%
Abstract: Until fairly recently, digital cameras were often dismissed as mere tech toys that only a few people (such as real estate /insurance agents) would use. This was no surprise, as a $10 disposable camera offered substantially better quality than a digital camera costing over 100 times as much.
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D-Link DSC-350 Digital Camera
Review
Until fairly recently, digital cameras were
often dismissed as mere tech toys that only a few people (such as
real estate /insurance agents) would use. This was no surprise, as a $10 disposable camera offered
substantially better quality than a digital camera costing over 100 times as much.
 With the introduction of ultra high resolution
cameras capable of cramming over 3 million pixels of information, digicams are
beginning to enter the mainstream market. While still expensive, they are slowly
approaching the feature set and price of a top quality 35mm SLR
camera.
With this in mind, it's no
surprise that lower resolution cameras are becoming quite affordable, with some
costing as little as $100. These cameras typically offer resolutions of 640x480
(VGA) and forgo extra features such as zoom, an LCD display for viewing captured
pictures, or removable memory cards.
Due to these limitations, these cameras are
designed not for professional level photographers, but rather for those who wish
to post images to the web.
The latest entry into this emerging market is none other
than D-Link. As has been evident in past reviews here at PCstats, this company
is making a name for themselves in the home consumer market. For the most Their
DSC-350 camera functions not only as a digital still camera, but is also a
webcam and video camera all rolled into one.
Features
& Specifications
| · |
350,000-pixel CMOS Sensor (320x240, 640x480,
1024x768 resolution) |
| · |
8MB internal flash memory
(non-removable) |
| · |
User-adjustable focus ring |
| · |
Ability to store 145 images in high-quality
mode, or up to 4 minutes of video |
| · |
30 fps @ 640x480, 32 fps @ 320x240 in webcam
mode |
| · |
4 fps @ 320x240, 20 fps @ 160x120 in video
camera mode |
| · |
USB Port for connectivity to a desktop or
laptop computer |
| · |
Operates on 2 AAA
batteries |
A few points to note regarding
these specifications: 1) To achieve the claimed 1024x768 resolution, the camera
uses interpolation. While not necessarily a bad thing, it won't produce pictures
as good as a camera that natively supports this resolution. 2) The camera does not have a built-in
flash. This severely limits its usefulness indoors as you will soon
see.
Package
Contents
| · |
DSC-350 Dual Mode Camera |
| · |
Drivers on CD-ROM |
| · |
2 AAA Alkaline Batteries |
| · |
Camera Pouch |
| · |
Cradle |
| · |
USB Cable |
| · |
User's Manual |
| · |
MGI Photosuite III SE CD-ROM |
| · |
MGI Videowave III SE CD-ROM |
| · |
Tilt/Swivel Base |
| · |
Hand Strap |
Upon opening the package, the first thing that shocked me was how small
the actual camera was. At 96mm(W) x 58mm(h) x 31mm(D), it is perhaps one of the
smallest cameras I've ever seen, and makes my Nikon Nuvis A20 APS camera seem
large in comparison (that camera is quite small as far as film-based cameras
go).
The user's guide was concise and to the point, but did manage to go
through all the camera's functions, which is a definite plus. Unlike with some
products I've looked at, I can honestly say that most people should have no
problems using the camera's functions after reading the manual.
The
included MGI Photosuite III and Videowave III SE packages are surprisingly
efficient programs for working with photos and digital video respectively. For
occasional editing tasks, these packages provide reasonable results especially
if you don't want to mess with a ton of settings. Serious photo manipulation
however, would still require more sophisticated options such as the full
versions of these packages, or something like Jasc's Paint Shop Pro (my favorite
editor by far). For the cost of the camera however, D-Link's decision to bundle
the MGI utilities was definitely a good one.
Pg 1.
— D-Link DSC-350 Digital Camera Review
Pg 2.
Installation
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