I Can't Live Without My DXG-305V Digital Camcorder!

I absolutely love this camera, the DXG-305V Digital Camcorder. I have it in silver. It didn't cost much but has so much to offer. The quality is great, and there are so many features! No one should be without this neat little gadget. Best of all anyone can afford it! It will meet many of your needs, without costing you an arm and a leg.

Price: Right now, the DxG-305V Digital Camcorder is selling for $84.54. I paid $99.99 for mine. This is a wonderful, affordable price for such a great camera. I actually think it should sell for a lot more. Other digital cameras and camcorders sell for over $200, and this one takes pictures and shoots videos for under $100!

Features: The DXG-305V Digital Camcorder takes pictures, shoots videos, plays mp3s, and records and plays back voice memos. It can also function as a webcam. It has a 1.5" LCD screen with amazing clarity and a compact design. It has a 4 x digital zoom, which can blur the pictures a little. The microphone is built-in.

Quality: The pictures taken are 3.3 megapixels, which isn't as high as some cameras on the market but is still very good for a camera of this price. Our old digital camera cost twice as much and only took 3.4 megapixel pictures. The picture and video clarity is great with good lighting, such as during the day. If you use the mp3 or voice playback feature without headphones, the sound quality isn't too impressing, but with them, it is great. The volume doesn't go very high without headphones, but for such a small and inexpensive gadget, playback can actually get pretty loud. The DXG-305V Digital Camcorder delivers more than you'd expect in every area.

Lighting: Unfortunately in dimly lit rooms or even in well-lit rooms in the evening, the pictures come out very dark, and sometimes you can't even see a thing. It is even more difficult to get good enough lighting for a video. This camera works extremely well during the day or in very bright rooms. I wouldn't count on it to take pictures at night. You have the option for these white balance presets: fluorescent, sunlight, tungsten light.

What's Included: DXG-305VS digital camcorder, 4 x AAA alkaline batteries, mini-USB/AV cable, earphones, wrist strap, camera pouch, user's manual, and CD-rom with driver application software and other extras. It comes with an SD card with not a lot of memory; I recommend upgrading to a 512KB SD card. They don't recommend trying a 1GB card with it, but it's worth a shot if you need that much storage.

File Specifications: The videos are recorded in mpeg-4 format, and all files will end in .mpeg. The pictures are all taken in jpeg format, ending in .jpg. The image captures can be 640 x 480 pixels - 15 fps or 320 x 240 - 30 fps.

Ease Of Use: It is extremely easy to use. Push the power switch to turn it on, and open the LDC screen. Set the mode using the dial to which feature you wish to use, then point and click. Hook it up to your computer, and it automatically turns on. It asks if you want to store files or use it as a webcam. Swapping files to and from the SD card is a cinch, as is setting up the webcam feature. It is easy to figure out how to delete files or use special effects. It didn't take me long to learn to use the DXG-305V Digital Camcorder.

Design: It is great. It is very compact, weighing only 2.6oz. It's 1.9" wide, 4.1" high, and the depth is 3.1" in. The casing is plastic. Mine is metallic silver, which makes it look like it's worth more than it is. It doesn't look like it would cost so little. Nothing sticks out to catch on things, and the design of the buttons is very unique. Similar models come in blue, black, and pink.

Special Effects: You can take normal pictures or shaded ones. Your pictures can be sepia, black and white, negative, or even tinted a certain color with just the press of a button. This can be done to videos, too. You can also stamp pictures with the date.

Favorite Feature: I love almost everything about this camera. The compact, attractive design is one of the things I like the best, but I also like playing with the special effects. The greatest thing about it is that you get a camcorder, camera, mp3 player, voice recorder, and webcam for under $100, and it's very decent quality.

Least Favorite Feature: It works so well during the day when I'm recording indoors or outdoors, but once the sun goes down, it is really hard to get the lighting bright enough to get a truly decent picture. Many photos I take in dimly-lit areas come out dark or even tinted slightly red. Nevertheless it's a great device.

Rating: * * * * 4 Stars

Where to Get It: Walmart.com

I have to say it again: I absolutely love the DxG-305V Digital Camcorder. The metallic silver makes it quite attractive, though I'd love to have a pink one. The picture and video quality is great. The special effects and many features make up for the downside, which is that the camera doesn't work too well without good lighting. It's a webcam, an mp3 player, a camera, a camcorder, and a voice recorder all-in-one. It has served so many of my needs very well, and while I do hope to have a better digital camera and camcorder one day, I'm sure I will continue to use it for many years.