SiPix StyleCam DV100 Digital Video Camera

by SiPix

Product Details

Product Manual [796kb PDF]

• Product Dimensions: 3.9 x 2.9 x 1.4 inches ; 5 ounces
• Shipping Weight: 2 pounds
• Shipping: Currently, item can be shipped only within the U.S.
• ASIN: B00009RA3H
• Item model number: Stylecam DV 100
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (15 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #26,629 in Camera & Photo (See Top 100 in Camera & Photo)
• Discontinued by manufacturer: Yes
• Date first available at Amazon.com: May 20, 2003

Product Description

Amazon.com Review

There are two things that stand out immediately about the about the StyleCam DV100--size and price. A digital still camera, digital camcorder, and audio recorder in one, the DV100 is about the size of a bar of soap and is priced at a fraction of the cost of next cheapest digital camcorder. Too good to be true? Not at all. The camera is everything it claims to be, is easy enough to be used right out of the box, and overall makes a decent entry-level digital camcorder.

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

From the Manufacturer

Compact and Lightweight
The SiPix StyleCam DV100 is a multi-functional pocket-sized DV camera that captures motion pictures, still images and voice annotation. The StyleCam DV100 is comparable to the size of a soap bar, so that you can take it anywhere, anytime to capture clean, crisp digital video with sound. The StyleCam DV100 also performs as a point-and-shoot digital camera. Take outstanding still images at 1.3 Mega Pixel resolution and playback both digital video and pictures using the 1.6" color LCD monitor. The StyleCam DV100 comes with 8MB built-in flash memory that stores up to 80 still images or 180 seconds of digital video. To expand storage capacity, the StyleCam DV100 accepts a Secure Digital memory card up to 256MB. Featuring 2X ultra smooth digital zoom, you can zoom in on your subject at the precise magnification and get the perfect picture. The StyleCam DV100 has a TV output feature that allows you to playback your video clips, pictures, and audio recordings on a TV screen with the supplied A/V cable. Sit back, relax, and share your fun moments with friends and family.

Premium Software
The StyleCam DV100 bundles the award-winning ArcSoft PhotoImpression and VideoImpression software. The ArcSoft PhotoImpression is a fun and easy-to-use photo editing software. Use the PhotoImpression to edit, retouch, enhance, and create fun projects with your pictures. It includes numerous templates to create photo fantasies, greeting cards, calendars and much more. The ArcSoft VideoImpression allows you to edit and organize your digital videos. You can add text and cool transitions to make mini home movies.

Features:

• Multi-functional camera captures motion pictures, still images and audio
• Records AVI digital video with audio up to 15 fps
• Compact and lightweight design for versatility
• 1.3 Mega Pixel resolution delivers outstanding still images
• Easy to view TFT color LCD provides quick preview and playback
• Built-in 8MB flash memory with SD/MMC card slot to expand memory capacity
• 10-second self-timer gets you in the video

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

41 of 41 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Great Entry-Level All-Digital Camcorder, November 1, 2003

By A Customer

This review is from: SiPix StyleCam DV100 Digital Video Camera (Electronics)

I wanted an entirely digital (i.e. no tape) camcorder in order to try out the technology. We're not "camcorder people," so the idea of dropping several hundred dollars on a video camera (Mini-DV, Hi-8, Digital-8, or what have you) wasn't attractive. Surprisingly, there are not a lot of straight-to-memory-card camcorders out there! I thought the Sipix DV100 was exactly what we were looking for.

The other reviews are right. It's sturdy, very small, and it does just what it advertises. It's true that the shutter button is a bit awkwardly located, but a) you only hit it once to start recording, and b) you can brace your thumb against the left side of the camera to make reaching the button easier. The lack of any type of flash makes recording a challenge. The AUTO white balance feature, while a plus, doesn't always compensate, particularly indoors. Outdoors, though, I have no complaints. Resolution is exactly what I expected: 15fps (with a 256Mb SanDisk SD card) at 320x240, and 8fps at 640x480. The microphone does a decent job of picking up sound, most especially for the camera operator (not so much for the subjects). The ability to connect to a TV is great for immediately sharing the results of your recordings, and the USB connection is as fast as I expected. Finally, battery life is tremendous! Whereas my Sony Cybershot still camera drains batteries like there's no tomorrow, this little camcorder is still running on its original batteries after at least 20 minutes of recording, several downloads, and several TV "productions." I realize that this is due in large part to the lack of a flash, but it's still a nice bonus.

The only reason I'd give it 4 rather than 5 stars is the lack of an AC power source. Battery life is great, but it'd be nice to not have to run on batteries every single time you use the camera.

Oh, yeah...you get about 35 minutes of recording at 320x240 on a 256Mb SanDisk SD card.

81 of 87 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars GadgetCollector, July 30, 2003

By A Customer

This review is from: SiPix StyleCam DV100 Digital Video Camera (Electronics)

Specs:
The specs on the sipixdigital site/manual state that camera captures 640x480 at 8fps, 320x240 and 160x120 at 15fps. However, these specs hold only if you buy external memory. If you are one of the people who don't want to buy a memory card then expect different frame rates.

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.

14 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Great camera for the price, November 4, 2003

By A Customer

This review is from: SiPix StyleCam DV100 Digital Video Camera (Electronics)

I bought this for my 10year old son. I wanted an inexpensive recording device so he could "make movies" and he loves it. It took some practice learning to hold the camera still when taking photos, but he does a prettyl good job. And the camera takes nice photos. It has a little zoom, you can buy a memory card for it and it takes still photos or video. It also has built in memory. Not bad for the price!