Customer Reviews

XIAS DCS-860 8.0 Megapixel Digital Camera

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

 

 

This is a camera you want to love. The styling is fantastic and the price is right. I've had this camera for about a day now, and can honestly say that if you simply use the Program (standard) mode for taking outdoor shots, this camera is for you! Pictures are sharp, saturated, and well balanced.

However, once you deviate from the point-and-shoot mode to use its other features (macro mode, Aperture and Shutter Priority, face tracking, etc.), you're going to be disappointed. The camera's firmware in these areas feels like "beta".

Pros:
- Beautiful styling and graphite finish
- Cheap..., er, inexpensive!
- Pentax lens (e.g. it is a brand-named lens!)
- Big 2.5" LCD
- Excellent saturated photos in "point and shoot" mode
- Settings and modes easy to understand and set up (for the most part)
- Mounts as an external hard disk while plugged into your computer (with the provided USB cable)

Cons:
- Quirky (buggy?) exposure in Aperture- and Shutter-priority modes
- "Face tracking" feature only worked sporadically -- don't bother
- Inconsistent results with the image stabilization as well -- don't bother
- Mysterious back panel LED -- it's red, it's green, it's flashing, and no where in the User's Manual are the states of this LED described
- Poor Macro functionality -- sometimes works, but many instances where the camera says it's locked the focus, the resulting photos were blurry. Moral: don't get too close to your subject, even if the camera thinks it has the subject in focus.
- Inconsistent flash coverage
- Back panel buttons hard to press -- found myself using my fingernail a lot

Bottom line: if you're looking for a good 8MP camera for under $100 for simple outdoor point-and-shoot photographs, this is a great camera to consider. But if you want to unleash your creative genius and experiment with manual exposure settings, macro photography, and the like, spend more money and buy yourself a Canon.

This camera is inexpensive and small. I wanted a point-and-shoot to keep in my computer bag. I bought this to take quick and easy pictures, and I have not been disappointed. I took it on Spring Break and it took great pictures and movies of my family. It is easy to use in the auto mode. I have large hands and the buttons to navigate the menus and controls are very small. I own several Canon cameras, and it is no Canon. That said, if you don't buy this expecting too much, you will be fine. So far it is a good camera.

This is a great camera. It fits very easily in my pocket - more easily than my wallet, actually.

In low light, it does work well. I've read some reviews where people complained about this camera's performance in low light situations. For those people, I have some advice: use the flash. I'm serious.

However, I do have to caution you when using the flash; just make sure you don't have the camera too close to the object you're shooting. Also, be wary of reflective objects that the flash might come in contact with, especially mirrors.

The quality is very good, even indoors. I'll admit that I'm a rookie when it comes to white balance (and basically all the other settings). It might help if I didn't have to press a bunch of buttons to scroll through the menu and change some settings, but I guess that's the trade-off with such a small camera.

I like the fact that, with a half-push of the shutter, the camera uses a sensor to figure out what shutter speed to use (so long as ISO is set to Auto).

Outdoors, the pictures are amazing. The quality seems comparable to higher-end cameras.

What do I dislike about the camera? I don't like that the microphone is on the bottom of the camera. If you have it sitting on a tabletop, or another flat surface the audio will be muffled. So if you'd like to record something without having to hold onto the camera, I would suggest buying a tripod for it (it does have a tripod mount), or just being okay with the audio being somewhat distorted.

I don't like that the buttons are a bit small. But I do have big fingers, so I can't blame the camera for that. Even so, the camera is still easy to use. Once in a while, I will hit the wrong button, which is easily reversible.

If you were like me, you're probably wondering what kind of memory the camera takes. It uses SD cards. And no, it doesn't take SDHC. The highest capacity SD card is 2GB. The ones higher than that are SDHC.

So far, I haven't had a problem with the battery. There's a cover on the bottom of the camera that slides forward and opens, while staying attached to the camera. Inside you'll find where the battery goes, as well as the SD card slot. The battery is 820 mAh. I'm not sure if or where you can get a better one that is compatible with this camera. You charge the battery with a charger that plugs into the wall. I actually like that kind of charging process. Maybe I would prefer a camera that used rechargeable AA's, if I'm ever away from an outlet for a long period of time, but so far, this battery has worked fine.

The modes are interesting. "Food" works very well. I've yet to try modes other than Program, Movie, Voice Memo, and Food, though.

Overall, I'm digging this camera. I didn't buy it from Amazon.com, though. Snagged a better deal elsewhere. So I suggest you shop around.

I bought this camera just before the company went under. Got a great deal like $60.00. Unfortunately there is no support but I haven't had any problems either. It's has lots of features most of which I've not used. For what I paid it was a great deal! I see the price has gone up considerably. Guess they've become collectors items. :) Mine is now two years old. Thanks and good luck.

Dr Thom

This camera is small and takes decent pictures if you have good lighting. I tried to get an online copy of the manual for the DCS-860 with no success. I also could not find a website for Norcent Technologies the manufacturer. I would not count on Norcent for any support. In the future I will not buy any electronics unless I can get an online copy of the user's manual before my purchase.

I was given this as a MUCH appreciated surprise gift, so I didn't know anything about it before it arrived.

The Pros:
Nice looking
Lightweight but still feels good in your hand
Easy to remove the battery and change out the memory card
Nice sized screen for reviewing photos
Menu and buttons set-up simple and easy to navigate
Takes pretty decent photos, perfect to keep in your purse, pocket or backpack for unplanned photos. I wouldn't plan on using this camera to do any serious photography or filming.

The Cons:
There are NO replacement parts and no customer support. If you lose or break anything, you're out of luck (unless you can find something on eBay).
When I use the movie mode, it records for a minute or less, the camera may freeze. If it doesn't freeze, it will when you try to playback the stuff you just recorded. Completely freezes (the lens won't retract, you can't turn it off/on, nothing). The only way I've been able to "unfreeze" it is to take the battery out and put it back on the charger until the green light comes on, then put the battery back into the camera. Meanwhile, your lens is open and more likely to get scratched or damaged.
The manual is very basic and doesn't explain what the different settings actually do. Trying to look this info up online just led to numerous websites warning that Norcent had gone bankrupt no so rebates were being honored, no phones for customer service answered, emails to customer service are ignored.

All in all, I wouldn't purchase this camera for myself, but if you find it for under[...]you'll have a good camera for everyday point and shoot type pictures. Just don't lose any of your accessories or you're out of luck.

I bought this camera a year ago. It took some time to figure out how to use it. Unfortunately, the ac adapter that plugs into the wall then into the battery charger (very flimsy and thin wire) severed. I have been on a mission for the past month to find another ac adapter that will charge the battery charger base. Norcent is a lame company- they don't have a website, phone, email or any other way to contact them. Oh not just any old ac adapter will charge this battery, so if anyone out there has a suggestion = please email me caseyknudtsonatyahoodotcom. I've written on a few forums about my problem and nothing has transpired. I will buy another camera soon instead of wasting any more money on this off brand POS camera.

This is a wonderful camera - but you better take real good care of that battery. You won't find a replacement.

Bought this for my 11 yr old dd. She was able to use it easily with little instruction from me. Unfortunately I am on here looking to see what it would cost to replace it because the LCD on the back got shattered. Through "nobodies" fault- or so the children claim. Hmmmm. To bad nobody doesn't have to pay for it...