Aiptek DV4500 4MP MPEG4 Pocket Digital Camcorder

I gave it 5 stars not because it's a great camera, but because it's great & handy for the price.

My new pocket Digital video camera (DVD quality) I just got for Father's day (a week early) I take everywhere. The camera has headphone jacks & a built in speaker. It doubles as an mp3 player & is a great little still camera too. It can also play the role as an external disk drive to hold or transfer any type of files.

The camera is about the size of a pack of U.S. cigarettes which easily fits in any pocket. It encodes video into MPEG4 compression format, the same format used in HDTV broadcasts. So with a 512MB card (not included) if I don't have any stills or music loaded in it, I get 90 minutes of DVD quality recording time on it. The catch is it's only 10fps at DVD resolution. But still looks very good. It has several lower resolutions too, including VHS resolution at 30fps for smoother motion. But at that resolution it still looks better than standard VHS tape. No tape noise, grain, jitter, saturation, sync or color dot problems. It has no moving parts except for the buttons & the swing out screen. Everything is recorded digitally onto a memory chip.

Of course most computers are much higher resolution than most TVs. So the slightest flaws or artifacts will be more noticable on the computer than on most TVs. Burn them onto VCD, SVCD, or DVD to play them on your TV. If your graphics card has s-video output or better, just plug that into your TV.

On the lowest video resolution, also 30fps, it looks like those small low bandwidth online streaming videos you can watch on the net, not good at all but usable. If you're planning on sending video on limited bandwidth or file sizes the lowest resolution will be handy.

On that low a setting it'll record for hours or until the batteries die, making it great as a hidden spycam or nanny cam. It also is a net cam too.

It takes only 2 AA batteries so you won't have to keep running to the charger with expensive short-lived battery packs. I'm using Sony 2600mha newer rechargables I already owned. They lasted till the memory was full with a readout of 80% of battery life still left. So I have no experience on how long ordinary cheap AA batteries would last. The specs say 60 minutes with ordinary AA alkalines. I threw in a pair of 2000mah rechargables I got cheap in a 20 pack from Amazon. It recorded 90 minutes of video with plenty of power left over. When plugged into the USB port, it'll use the USB power, not the batteries, averaging a current draw of about 300ma.

The included video editing software is better than software that I already had that cost almost as much as the camera... & it's easier to use. It will work for editing any video, not just the ones made by the camera.

The camera & software are specifically designed for XP. But because without the software, if you plug it into the USB port, any computer will recognize it as an external drive. You can tranfer your files off or onto the camera as easy as you can move files from 1 disk, folder, or drive to another. Doing it that way, without the included software you can watch or burn your videos & pix on any computer, even a mac or linux machine. I tried it, it does work. Your computer will need an MPEG4 player to play the video. It will list video as AVI files, but if you ever had MPEG4 files before, it usually lists them as AVIs.

If you have the memory card, the computer will recognize it as 2 drives, the card & the internal memory.

Oh, it also includes jacks to plug it in to your TV, VCR, external burner, or stereo, & play your images, movies, or music without a computer.

Digital cameras need a lot more light than their analog tape or film sisters... this one too. It has a flash for still pictures, which works well, but no built in light for video. For indoors video you'll need all your ordinary house lights turned on their highest setting, or be near a good window in the daytime. Outdoors, there was plenty of light even on the cloudiest days even after sunset at dusk. Shortly after that, there won't be enough light.

It also comes with a mini pocket tripod, cheap but useful.

I experimented by duct taping a fairly bright 7-LED flashlight to it to video in a dark nightclub. I still had to get within 3 feet of my subject to get a fairly lit image. In the future I may build an infrared LED illuminator for it & video in Black & white in the dark... yes it has a B&W setting.

No optical zoom, digital zoom only, so any more than a tad of digital zoom,

& your images will look like the lowest resolution settings.

Bottom line, this is not a great camera. It's a cheapie. But for ease, portablity, flexibility, you can't beat it for the price... very handy, you can take it anywhere, & I never leave home without it.

I've had my DV4500 for 2 months now, and I continue to enjoy using it. It's big pluses are it's portability and ease of use. The controls are well designed, and it's a quite versatile little gizmo. I bought it because I wanted an inexpensive still and video camera, but I find I am using it just as much as an mp3 player and voice recorder. The pictures it takes are very good, and there is a built in flash for indoor and low light shooting. The biggest downside (for me) is that it is not compatible with mac computers, only pcs. Also, the video quality drops under low light conditions. I hope Aiptek corrects these deficiencies in future models. It uses standard AA batteries, but consumes them very quickly, so get some rechargeables. But for less than $150, you can have a wonderful camera that you can always have on you, and capture spontaneous moments as you please.

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I've read through the reviews and am surprised by people that are expecting to use the DV4500 to get their entry into Sundance. It's an ENTRY level digital camcorder. That's all. You would have to spend at least 4 times as much on a digital camcorder to get rid of some of the things you are all complaining about (poor sensitivity in low light...graininess, etc). That being said...I've found it to be a solid piece of gear. Will it replace my miniDV camcorder? No. But for carrying with me...for quick little clips, and for taking places that I won't take my pro gear--it's fine. It's handy and easy to use. And I don't have to worry when the kids or friends want to borrow the camera. Here's something else to consider: it's better outdoors or with lots of light. The lens is small...you should expect this (Photography 101...the bigger lens=more light=better picture). It IS fixed focus. Get over it (sorry to be blunt, but what did you want for the price?). Sure, there's minor tweaking you can do (normal to macro),but all the same, it's pretty much fixed. All in all it's not a bad camera, if you go into with realistic expectations. And...to be honest, it's a great one to learn on. It's much better to develop your eye and technique on something without a lot of bells or whistles. Hope that helps.

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I am a medium level photographer and this product (a generic piece of photographic equiptment) is my entry level digital camera.In list form I am writing the pros and cons.Starting with the pros:

Pro's-

1:)This camera has a handy menu setup that's easy to operate and alot of interesting filtration types.As with all digital camera's it's good for bracketing

2:)It's very lightweight and generally stores in much the same way as an old 110 film camera

3:)It is very easy to download pictures through the USB chord using this camera and the download itself is very quick.

4:)The setting wheel is a convenient operational feature

Cons-

1:)In addition to being light this camera is also flimsily built.I have no troubles with the shutter button but the battery door (which also contains the SD card slot ??????)

is only attached with a couple pieces of cheap plastic and is now broken.I have to hold the back on mine together with tape.

2:)The flash unit is usless.It is not much bigger then this computer's keys and once you've used it about four times the batteries drain out.

3:)The focusing system is totally distestable.Not only doesn't this have auto or manual focusing but some silly middle ground.The lens either takes close ups or landscapes.It's very easy for pictures to be out of focus.So image quality suffers sometimes as a result.

4:)This is more a swiss army knife then a camera.It is a digital camcorder,an MP3 player,a voice recorder and all but the kitchen sink.The more you overtalk the plumbing the easier it is to stuff up the drain.

As of this writing I have replaced this camera,which I know realize is little more then a silly toy with a professional model.But as a first digital camera for a young child....well this would work good for that a few years ago for a budget minded.They're are far better models made today but this is alright.

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I have had my Aiptek DV4500 for about a year. It is handy and does well for a $100 digital camera. Occasionally I find myself disappointed in the poor quality of a photo despite high resolution. But you get what you pay for, and most of my photos are fine for family, hobby, and amateur purposes. It's a nice little audio and video recorder too, but be sure to provide your own lighting when recording video! This is my first digital camera and I am not a gadgets buff, so take my comments for what they are worth.