Mustek DV535A 5MP Camcorder Camcorder Best Buys

Good value, but not good - 09 May 2008

1 out of 1 found this review helpful.

Don't expect this camcorder to record good quality video, as you will be sorely disappointed. OK, it's better than your typical mobile phone video, but nothing remotely close to VHS-quality, for instance.

Bearing in mind the very low price of this product, though, the picture quality is acceptable.

However, there is one significant problem - it comes without a mains adaptor and the battery life is spectacularly low. It takes three AAA cells, and it flattened a set of brand new Duracells in less than ten minutes!

You need to carry a bundle of fully charged rechargeables with you, or pay a fortune to keep it running on normal Duracells. Alternatively you could buy a mains adaptor and run it off that, but that restricts you severely.

Note that it doesn't come with an SD card, either. The in-built memory only gives a couple of minutes filming. A 1G card should give 2 to 2.5 hours filming, depending on what quality setting you choose.

In summary, the modest picture quality and lack of included SD card are perfectly acceptable at this low price point. But the sub-10 minute battery life is a complete show-stopper for me, and means I cannot recommend it at all.