Mustek MDC-5000 Digital Still Camera

Rating:
Summary: Great Still Pictures
Review: I've only had this camera for a couple of days, and I didn't buy it for the video or voice capabilities. I purchased it because it had the best features for lowest price in the 5MP still digital camera category (I have a high-end digital camcorder and only wanted something to take still pictures with). I've taken a number of indoor shots with it and they have come out really nicely. I have not used the zoom feature on it (goes up to 4x) yet. I agree with the other reviewer that the controls are not all that user-friendly and I've had to refer to the manual a few times. It also shuts off very quickly if you aren't using it; I think after 30 seconds of inactivity, but that's fine because it saves the batteries. The flash works really well in low-light conditions but never washes out the subject, which is great. The menu has a redeye-fix feature that I've found works very nicely. The only complaint I have is the delay from clicking the button to take the picture until the picture is actually taken; it's tough to take photographs of anything that might move unexpectedly like animals or children because you either miss the moment or it blurs a bit. Also, so far it seems that it doesn't show you a preview of the picture on the LCD after the picture is taken, but I have to spend some more time looking into the menu features. I might just be missing it. All in all, a really good camera, fantastic for the price.

Rating:
Summary: Good point & shoot features for the $$, however....
Review: This wasn't my top pick by a long shot, but it was my top pick in this price range (strict budget). I chose it for price to feature ratio. I shopped around extensively for the best deal on this camera & Amazon won my vote with price & free shipping.

Features:
-5.0 mega pixels (awesome!)
-Digital Camcorder (limited, but OK)
-up to 4x digital zoom (a bit grainy, needs optical zoom)
-Voice recording (nice bonus feature)
-16Mb internal (20 high quality pix or 45 secs of video)

Other features:
-Self timer (10 sec), red eye flash, SD/MMC card slot, Fine (best) resolution 2560 x 1920(h/w interpolation)

Included accessories:
-2 "AA" batteries, Strap, A/V cable, USB cable, Camera bag (chinsy fabric drawstring bag! Good ONLY for keeping dust off the lens.)

This camera NEEDS a lens cap & optical zoom.

The menu & controls were somewhat awkward. It wasn't as self explanitory as other cameras that I've handled in the past. I had to read the entire instructions (although short) & will most likely have to refer to them until I am more familiar with the camera.

All in all...a good point & shoot digital camera for the money.
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2nd Review...a week later... 3 Stars (Amazon won't let me adj. the star rating)

After messing with it for a week, I'm in the process of returning it. Unfortunatly it didn't meet up to my expectations although there are some very nice features on this camera.

#1 Flash too intense. It washes out all indoor pictures. I've tried putting tape on the flash, no help. I also tried adjusting the white balance, no help. However, the camera does take nice indoor pictures WITHOUT a flash as long as the lighting is very good.

#2 No optical zoom. I quickly learned the diff between opt & digital zoom. The digital zoom is grainy, but probably a nice feature WITH optical zoom.

I'm currently looking for a 2-3MP camera with 2-3x optical zoom.

Good starter camera, but you probably won't be happy with it if you are used to a decent point & shoot 35mm camera.