Rating: 9/10
Manufacturer: BenQ
Website: http://www.benq.com/
Author: Patrick Marabeas
It seems that BENQ has made a move into the digital camera industry, so today I thought I would give the run down on my brand new BENQ 5330 digital camera.
Small, compact and awesome for the price tag hanging off it, the BENQ 5330 looks like a sweet piece of work for any onlookers, and the fact that its 3.3 mega pixels, 3x Optical zoom, and 4x digital zoom all for around $300au is even nicer. The fact that I was able to pick this little baby up for only $199au from JB Hi-Fi was even nicer! Coming with all the accessories and items to get you started, it was definitely a plug and play item, coming with a carry case, necessary cables, and a battery recharger (it comes with a nice lithium rechargeable battery).
The BenQ 5330 is a 3.3 mega pixel camera, which produces a max image 2720 x 2040. I must stress before I go any further, that the more mega pixels a camera has, doesn't determine the quality of the photos. All it determines is the size image that will be produced. However, Taking a photo at a large resolution, and then reducing it, to say 800 x 600, there will be a slight quality difference between that photo and a photo taken by a camera whose max size image was 800 x 600. It is also true that a 5 mega pixel camera will produce a better image then a smaller mega pixel camera, due to the fact that the company will put its better lenses and components into the camera.
One of the very nice features of the BenQ 5330 is its macro mode, allowing photos to be taken extremely close to the object, between 15cm to 50cm, allowing some great close-ups to be taken. Generally macro shots don't really give much le-way room for peaking through the view finder, and unlike SLR cameras the view finder doesn't show the focus. Hence, like most digitally cameras these days, it has a 1.6" LCD display. Unfortunately it is mounted into the back, and can't be flipped out, making it hard for those shots that are hard to view within standing range, or unable to get head into position.
If using the LCD screen of the camera to view every shot taken, don't expect the battery to last more then a few hours. If using the camera without the LCD screen to view the shot, and rather aiming the shot up in the conventional manner, and then viewing the taken shot, the battery will easily last the day. The very nice thing about this camera is that it comes with a lithium battery, meaning when it runs out, or you have been using it for a while, pull the battery out, and stick it in the charger. Did I mention this also comes standard with the camera? Well it does! However, this has an unfortunate side as well, meaning, if you are planning to use this camera heavily on a holiday trip, and wont be able to get to a power point, you will soon have a useless camera, unless you buy another battery, and I wouldn't call them cheap.
An empty battery will take around 3 hours to recharge, and the charger will display its status, ie, red: battery charging, green: battery charged, blinking red, green: battery is full. The recharger itself is neither bulky or a heavy unit, and the power cord removes, allowing it to be transported easily.
The camera also comes with a microphone built into the top, and allows movies to be filmed with sound. Movie length is only restricted to the size memory card you have in the camera. Expect around a minutes worth of footage using the internal 16mb memory. With my 256mb card, I am able to get just over 17 minutes. A feature that definitely is lacking in terms of movies is the zoom function whilst recording. The camera is able to zoom in and out while not recording, but once it is, this feature is locked out. A definite disappointment.
If planning on buying this camera, make sure you leave enough dough for a SD memory card, as the camera only comes with a 16mb internal capacity, which won't be enough for those long trips without much access to a computer to keep uploading the few images.
I bought a 256mb SD memory card, as I take excessively large amounts of photos, and don't want to spend time finding the perfect setting, only to have to return to my PC moments later with a full memory card.
Other size SD memory cards can also be bought, ranging from 64mb, 128mb, 256mb, and 512mb. Obviously, the larger size card that you buy, the more photos the camera will be able to store, and also how much movie footage you can take, as it is only limited to the size card.
The amount of photos and movies that you will be able to store on the camera will also depend on the quality settings that you give each photo, with better quality photos taking up more space.
The Camera comes with everything you'll need to get started, except for the small time needed to charge the battery, it will come ready to start shooting.
It comes with:
- a protective soft Velcro case
- Lithium battery
- Battery recharger
- USB cable
- Necessary drivers and programs on CD (drivers required for 98/98SE), ME/2000/XP being plug and play.
And of course necessary manuals for those who don't want any surprises :P