Mustek DV5500 MPEG-4 7-in-1 Multifunctional Digital Camcorder w/2.5-inch LCD and 4x Digital Zoom | 
 enlarge | Brand: Mustek
Category: Photography
List Price: $219.99
Buy New: $134.80
You Save: $85.19 (39%)
New (1) Used (2) from $134.80
Avg. Customer Rating:  27 reviews
Sales Rank: 27979
Media: Electronics
Autographed: No
Memorabilia: No
Display Size: 2.5
Minimum Focal Length: 6.7
Has Red Eye Reduction: Yes
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1.5
Dimensions (in): 7.4 x 5.5 x 4.3
Digital audio player
MPN: DV-5500 MUS
Model: 5500
UPC: 748011400463
EAN: 0748011400463
ASIN: B0002RSP5S
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Condition: Brand New w/Docking Station Factory Sealed and Shrink Wrapped GREAT GIFT.. Ships Immediately w/Delivery Confirmation
|
| Features:
| • | 7-in-1 multi-functional Camera | | • | Works as Digital Camcorder, Digital Still Camera, Digital Voice Recorder, MP3 Player, Video Camera, SD/MMC Card Reader, and PC Cam | | • | Pocket-sized design | | • | Swivel 2.5" TFT LCD screen | | • | Built-in flash |
|
| Accessories:
|
| Editorial Reviews:
Product Description
Mustek brand has been globally well known for its excellent quality, professional support, and extensive service. Mustek has been recognized by many international magazines and professional organizations for its excellent innovation technology, production capability, and product quality.PRODUCT FEATURES:MPEG 4 technology;Pocket-sized design;Swivel 2.5" TFT LCD screen;Built-in flash light;Rechargeable battery.
Amazon.com Review
One gadget that can record video, operate as a web cam, take still pictures, make voice recordings, play MP3s and function as an SD/MMC storage device? Pretty handy.The question, though, is whether or not a single 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 excel at any one thing, but the DV5500's incredible flexibility somewhat compensates for its weaknesses. It's a worthy addition to the gadget lover's arsenal. It's also a utilitarian media device for casual home users. Design
The chassis of the DV 5500 takes design queues from some of the ultra-compact MiniDV camcorders now on the market. The unit easily fits into one hand, and controls are designed for use by the thumb and forefinger. Switching between modes is easy using a small thumbwheel while menu navigation is performed via a multi-directional button placed just below the thumbwheel. Our only gripe here was that the select button at the center of the multi-directional button was difficult to press; it's a bit too easy to make unintended selections with this button. Otherwise, the DV 5500 has a smart, user-friendly button layout. The build quality of the DV 5500 is good and the plastic case feels sturdy in the hand. Both the battery and the memory card are housed in the bottom-rear portion of the unit. It's delightful that Mustek chose to include a good lithium-ion rechargeable battery as cameras like this are notorious for sucking batteries dry quickly, leaving the owner to schlep around a pile of alkalines. Not so with the good rechargeable in this unit, and although battery life only ran about an hour, it was great knowing we could simply recharge and start shooting again. While most MiniDV-format cameras include an internal viewfinder in addition to an external LCD, the DV 5500 relies solely on an external display. Thanks to its relatively bright and clear 2.5" LCD, you probably won't find yourself missing an internal viewfinder, but because external LCDs drink a lot of juice an internal one would have been a nice option when power savings is a priority. Using the LCD, you can navigate through the DV 5500's menu system, which is fairly intuitive, if not a bit rough around the edges. Some menu graphics and text are difficult to read, and you'll need to consult the manual to decipher them. Features
At the heart of the DV 5500 is a microprocessor designed to encode video into a format known as MPEG-4. This compression scheme makes it possible to fit a respectable amount of video on the included 32 MB memory card. We were able to squeeze in six minutes at the highest resolution and quality settings, but this can be easily doubled when shooting at the lower resolution settings. Purchasing an optional memory card with a larger capacity is the ticket to even longer run times. Still images can be captured onto the memory card, as well. At the highest resolution (2048 x 1536), expect to only hold 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 number of software utilities for photo and video organization and editing, we were using a Macintosh computer. Fortunately, our computer's USB port recognized the DV 5500 and we were able to drag and drop video and image files onto the Mac's hard drive. It was also easy to drag a few MP3 tracks to the DV 5500's memory card and listen to them via the unit's MP3 player interface. Similar capabilities are possible on a Windows-based computer with a USB port. Image Quality
In good lighting situations the DV 5500 produced respectable stills with good color accuracy and sharp textures. Video results were good, but not as good as the quality you'll find with the tape-based MiniDV format. The tradeoffs in sharpness, light response and color accuracy are certainly due to the MPEG-4 compression the DV 5500 uses. However, if you can live with lower quality in the video department, you'll appreciate the ease of use, flexibility and convenience the DV 5500's tapeless format offers. --Joshua Gunn Pros - Great "Swiss army knife" media device
- Decent build quality
- Good still image quality
- Rechargeable battery
Cons - MPEG-4 video quality could be better
- Short battery life
- Awkward selection controls
.
|
| Customer Reviews: Read 22 more reviews...
 Cheap Build & Poor Video April 29, 2008
It has been almost 15 months since I received one of these as part of a large conference promotional give away. I can honestly say this camera is terrible in every aspect.
At the conference, about 650 of these cameras were distributed to attendees. The new out of box failure rate was over 10%. Those units had to be returned for a new one and a few of those had to be returned.
The camera has a cheap feel throughout with a noticeable poor build quality. From the buttons to the plastic door covering access to the battery and SD card to the lens and LCD screen.
Video quality compares to my camera phone which is unusable in poor light and mediocre in bright sunlight. About the only good thing you can say would be the ease of making small clips and then uploading them from the SD card to the web. They are recorded in a ready to use mpeg format. Audio is ok but there is no option for an external microphone.
The battery life is also poor and it doesn't hold a charge over several weeks between uses. Any use must be planned in 12 hours advance to allow for charging.
Honestly, you can find true video cameras such as Canon MiniDV - Canon ZR800 MiniDV Camcorder with 35x Optical Zoom
- models on Amazon for a few pennies more and feature rich models for about double. Look for them and skip the Mustek. (If the price point was about 29.95 then I would give it 5 stars. Instead it gets one.)
 Good for the price September 8, 2006
1 out of 2 found this review helpful
I bought this camera 2 years ago and I have had no functionality problems. The reason I give it a 4 is because of the price.
Granted, it has no optical zoom (but my limited knowledge at the time that I bought it kept that from disturbing me), so if you want to zoom in, it's better just to try to get close to whatever you're taking a picture of. Despite it being a somewhat low MP, the quality of the pictures are quite nice. I've been pleased with it. However, it is not so good with action pictures. It does better when you have it in the action setting, but it still has issues sometimes. Great for portraits. No need to worry about dark pictures, the flash is crazy strong. Sometimes it's better not to use the flash, even when in slightly dim light.
The video quality is so-so, but works for the sake of taking small segments of whatever you need to record (though I think the microphone being on top of the camera is a slight design flaw). I have a number of videos that are worth keeping.
The voice recording has proved useful. My husband used to take recordings of my orchestra concerts from quite far away in the auditorium, and the quality came out pretty decently. You need to make sure that you aren't tapping the camera or shifting around too much when doing so, but setting the camera down on something and recording works well.
If you have a large enough memory card, the mp3 player is useful. I think it's a fun little feature.
I used it as a webcam a couple of times. The only real flaw with that is that when the USB cord is plugged into the front, it pulls the camera down, so you have to be careful and position it effectively on the tripod while using that function.
I like that it comes with AV cords to hook up to the tv. And the rechargable battery is one feature that I will look for in future cameras because I hate replacing batteries and it lasts longer than regular rechargable AAs or AAAs (whatever the camera might take). The buttons on it are a little tough to deal with sometimes because the arrows are sensitive and the buttons on the inside of the screen aren't quite sensitive enough. But once you get the hang of it, it's fine.
Basically, after two years of owning it and using it thoroughly, I would like something with newer technology (more MP, nice optical zoom, that sort of thing), but I would still keep this camera as a secondary. When I bought it, it was $175, and I think it was well worth it.
 Great Camera! August 21, 2006
I am really impressed with the quality of both the still images and the Video that this camera is capable of producing. It's like I bought the Sony DCR DVD505 for half the price! I definitely think that it's worth the money. It also looks very stylish and I love the docking function.
MUSTEK GARBAGE August 14, 2006
3 out of 5 found this review helpful
The DV5500 is a piece of garbage _ the day I got it it wouldn't focus right and I called for help and they told me I was shaking and that's why pictures weren't clear, I used the tripod and took a video and it did improve somewhat, I put the camera in it's docking station and about 5 months later tried to use it again and found out it WAS NOT FOCUSING AT ALL so I called them again, the FIRST thing they asked was WHEN I bought it and since it was over a year, they said it was OUT OF WARRANTY and they DID NOT FIX any out of warrantry cameras, in other words THROW it AWAY because no one else does either. I wouldn't buy another MUSTEK product if they gave it away
Not worth the headache July 28, 2005
6 out of 8 found this review helpful
I've had this camera for 6 days and I have already had to return it. It wouldn't stay on.....just kept shutting off. Mustek kept giving me the run around when I tried to return it, and then had the nerve to ask for 3 copies of my receipt. I can't tell ya how well the camera performs cause I haven't had the chancec to use it, but so far its a big fat Zero.
|
|
|
