Post by manmikey on May 18, 2005 11:27:48 GMT -5
Hi Forum, this site is a gem, loads of useful stuff which is hard to find elsewhere as our camera are not exactly mainstream in this country is it? ;D
I thought i would share my findings on the C5.
I choose the C5 over the C4 due to its smaller dimensions and larger LCD. The extra Mpix on the camera over the C4 was not enough in its self for the type of snaps I take.
I bought the camera of Ebay for £279 + about £33 fedex and £10 insurance. Delivery took about 10days and I could track it on-line. I did not have to pay extra customs charges
The camera is a beauty, the aluminum case feels great and the buttons and menu systems are a cinch to learn and operate.
Quality of stills is excellent for my purposes, I don't use use the 10mp interpolation setting just the 5mp. There are ample adjustments for light, flash, manual focus, exposure compensation etc. But for 99% auto is fine.
The video is good but not great, It is fine when played back direct to the TV via the supplied leads but getting it on to a DVD is trickier. It seems important to burn the movie file to DVD in NTSC format (which most DVD players can handle automatically) rather than PAL. With PAL frames (XACTI=30, NTSC=30, PAL=25) are dropped and panning shots have a noticeable jerkiness.
I use the fully registered and updated "NERO Reload" for this and all editing and DVD production, it handles the files directly from the Xacti without problems.
I do basic editing on the camera its self! It is so easy to delete sections and splice separate recordings into on file. I have to repeat that the operating software on this camera is some of the best I have used on any device of any description.
I have also found that Nero Showtime plays the MP4 files directly from the cameras memory (or once dragged onto the PC) alot better than Quicktime. I haven't loaded any of the supplied Ulead software.
Overall I am really pleased with the camera, while it is a "jack of all trades" this is not a problem for me as that is the very reason I bought it. My only hesitation to recommend would be if video quality is very important to you then maybe you would be disappointed. Other wise there is nothing to fault.
The battery will last an hour during video recording and mine was supplied with a spare in the purchase price. I have just bought a second 1Gb SD card too.
The camera causes a great reaction where ever it goes as people can not believe what it can do for its minuscule size!
Mike
I thought i would share my findings on the C5.
I choose the C5 over the C4 due to its smaller dimensions and larger LCD. The extra Mpix on the camera over the C4 was not enough in its self for the type of snaps I take.
I bought the camera of Ebay for £279 + about £33 fedex and £10 insurance. Delivery took about 10days and I could track it on-line. I did not have to pay extra customs charges
The camera is a beauty, the aluminum case feels great and the buttons and menu systems are a cinch to learn and operate.
Quality of stills is excellent for my purposes, I don't use use the 10mp interpolation setting just the 5mp. There are ample adjustments for light, flash, manual focus, exposure compensation etc. But for 99% auto is fine.
The video is good but not great, It is fine when played back direct to the TV via the supplied leads but getting it on to a DVD is trickier. It seems important to burn the movie file to DVD in NTSC format (which most DVD players can handle automatically) rather than PAL. With PAL frames (XACTI=30, NTSC=30, PAL=25) are dropped and panning shots have a noticeable jerkiness.
I use the fully registered and updated "NERO Reload" for this and all editing and DVD production, it handles the files directly from the Xacti without problems.
I do basic editing on the camera its self! It is so easy to delete sections and splice separate recordings into on file. I have to repeat that the operating software on this camera is some of the best I have used on any device of any description.
I have also found that Nero Showtime plays the MP4 files directly from the cameras memory (or once dragged onto the PC) alot better than Quicktime. I haven't loaded any of the supplied Ulead software.
Overall I am really pleased with the camera, while it is a "jack of all trades" this is not a problem for me as that is the very reason I bought it. My only hesitation to recommend would be if video quality is very important to you then maybe you would be disappointed. Other wise there is nothing to fault.
The battery will last an hour during video recording and mine was supplied with a spare in the purchase price. I have just bought a second 1Gb SD card too.
The camera causes a great reaction where ever it goes as people can not believe what it can do for its minuscule size!
Mike