Insignia digital camcorder (short review)
Product: Insignia 5-megapixel high-definition digital camcorder (model: NS-DCC5HB09).
Features: Has 8x digital zoom and records video in 720p high definition. Also takes still photos, records audio and plays MP3s. Has a three-inch LCD swivel screen. Comes with USB, A/V and HDMI cables, as well as a wall charger, wrist strap and carrying pouch.
Price: List price is $149.99. On sale at Best Buy for $127.49
Ups: Real simple to take video and photos with it, and the quality was pretty good. Has plenty of options for creative effects, like shooting in black and white, sepia, or putting a cartoon border around a photo. I had no problem connecting it to my computer and saving the videos.
Downs: It says it has 64 megabytes of internal memory. After taking four really short videos and eight photos, the camera said there wasn't enough internal memory to take any more video. When I got home and added up the size of the files, I had used only about 33 megabytes. But that bummer can be easily fixed if you throw in an SD card to expand the memory.
I also had a hard time figuring out what button to press to get to the menu options screen to change settings or delete a file. The quick start booklet was no help. It wasn't intuitive and I had to pop in the CD and read the digital instructions to figure it out.
Bottom line: Overall I really liked it. It's obviously not going to be the most amazing HD camera, but it's a pretty good one to buy if you're on a budget.
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