Customer Reviews

SiPix StyleCam DV100 Digital Video Camera

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(10)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

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.

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.

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!

Overall I was dissapointed in this camera. The description is not thorough enough. 1.3 Megapixels is for STILL images, and the images are decent but there is no flash so limited when lighting is bad. Video modes are 640x480, 320x240, and 160x120. Probably my biggest dissapointment was that the best video mode, 640x480, only shoots at 8 frames per second, which is very choppy and fuzzy. The other two modes shoot at 15 frames per second, which is a little better but they are small screen sizes. Audio is pretty good. If this was my first digital camera ever I would probably think its ok, but I was looking for an upgrade to the video capabilities of my current digital still camera, and this was not it. I will probably give it to some 10 year old as a gift or to a friend who has never had a digital camera.

When I started my family, I bought an 8mm camera. I can probably count the number of times I used it on one hand in the five years I've owned it. It was bulky, needed frequent recharging, and frankly, after a while, I would forget to bring it out. I was looking for something small, digital, and of course inexepensive. I gave the SiPix a shot. I love this little camera. I can take it everywhere and it's very simple to use. The software is also simple, but it doesn't have alot of features. If buying this camera, it is a MUST to purchase a memory stick, at LEAST 256 MB or you can't record video for more than a couple of minutes. Also, there is no flash, so only outside or in lit areas. I was dissapointed that there was no flash or lighting options, and battery life (2 AAs) doesn't last as long as I like (but longer than the 8mm NiMH, how sad). Overall, this camera had performed how I expected it to for the cost. The quality is not the best, but decent, and it works great to record little moments on family trips and the kid's activities. If you are looking for portable, digital, and an inexpensive camera to start with; and can live with "ok" quality, this is the camera to buy. Especially since it's a great starter camera if you're not sure you want to upgrade to digital camcorders because of price. The money you spend on this camera is worth "experimenting" in the digital world, before you upgrade to the "big dogs"

My 8 year old wanted a digital camera/camcorder and i didn't like her using mine and I wasn't going to spend hundreds of dollars for one for a child. So this was a great and welcome alternative. It works great, she is thrilled to bits. I love the fact that you can hook it straight up to the vcr and playback and record her creations without having to upload to a computer.
She and her siblings played with it all day long. I purchased the 128mb card for ours and it's enough for us. I agree with the other review in that I wish it had a power supply. But I guess rechargeable batteries will be the best way to go. Overall extremely pleased with the product for the price.

This camera is really cool. It takes decent videos and pictures and is still inexpensive and small. The only drawback to this camera is the fact that it has a small internal memory. Without a card you get a max of 3 min. recording time. However with a card there is no limit to how much you can do. It is also very easy to use and comes with good software. I live in minnesota and it arrived in about 5 days. I would highly recomend this product.

This Camera/Camcorder Is Great! It Is Really Small, Portable, And Lightweight. I Like To Hide It In Plants Or Bushes, Then Go Inside My House For 10 MIN And Then I Finnally Get To Know Which Dogs [Relieve Themselves] On My Lawn. I Would Strongly Recomend Buying With A Secure Digital Memory Card Preferably 256 Or Highers. Its Really Cool. I Recently Brought It On My Vacaton And I Got Zillions OF Stuff On There. Then I Just Uploaded It On To My Computer And Using THe Great Software It Came With, Make A Movie Out Of It! I Would Recomend Buying It Strongly!

Oh Yeah And All My Friends Love It Including Steve. I Bet You Didnt Understand That Line But He Wanted To Be In My Review.

I am a very avid filmaker. My parents bought this for me more than a year ago. It's really small and useful. The lighting is really pretty bad, but this is a great camera for a beginner. I have good cameras that I can use for other, more important things, but if you're going out you can just put it in your pocket, and take it with you.

My son is an avid skater and has been begging for a video camera to film their antics. Got him this last Christmas, for about $100 after rebate, and more than a year later it's still holding up. He hasn't broken any part of it and continues to blaze through the AA batteries. Can't get much better than that. I wouldn't give it to a child younger than about 12 years old because it's not a Fisher Price - it's a little more delicate than that - but 12 and over for sure! The only drawback is that it's only good in bright sunlight. He can't shoot anything in the evening and he would like to.