Product Reviews

At first glance, the DVC-202 looks like a 4-megapixel video camera. Unfortunately, the camera only has a 2 million pixel light sensor. Those other 2 million pixels are added in by 'interpolation' - using software to take an educated guess at where extra detail should be.

The video facility - this camera's main selling point - fails to impress. Even in 'fine' mode, video capture is slightly jerky, very grainy and accompanied by a low-pitched hum. In average lighting conditions colours are muddy. In low light, little or no detail is captured. The only way to get watchable results is to shoot in bright daylight. The webcam facility suffers similar problems.

Still shots were dogged by digital 'noise' - brightly coloured speckles, which were especially apparent in darker areas. To achieve its highest, 4-million pixel resolution, the camera uses interpolation. This smooths out some of the graininess - particularly if pictures are shot outdoors

Indoor shots in both video and still mode frequently contain wide bands running across the image, and many images suffered from either slight 'vignetting' (when the corners of the image are dark), or a magenta tint at the edges due to underexposure.

Because the DVC uses a CMOS light sensor, rather than a more power-hungry (and pricier) CCD, it requires less power and offers reasonable life even with AA batteries. Its size and weight also make it ideal for carrying everywhere. Don't think this means you can use it to capture unexpected moments, though: there's a long lag between pressing the button and taking a shot, and the camera is slow to recover between shots. Its flash also takes a long time to charge up, and is either 'on' or 'off', rather than being graduated to suit the exposure. Scenes that require some flash to brighten them up or balance colours are at the mercy of the meter, which often decides that flash is not required.

And you'll have a tricky time telling if your shots have come out - the tiny LCD makes it difficult to preview anything. Images are only viewable from a narrow range of angles, and the highly reflective screen makes it impossible to see things under bright sunlight - not good when most adjustments have to be made via on-screen menus.

The DVC-202 is intended as a 'fun' camera, and it looks and performs like a toy. There is, however, nothing amusing about its frustrating operation and its hit-and-miss exposure metering.