DXG 305V Review

Overall Rating

It's small and very portable can fit in hand or purse.

It is not compatable with other digital software you may have (like HP). I loaded the software and it almost crashed my entire computer and tried to delete all my 6 years work of professional JPG's taken with my HP digital camera. What a nightmere! This was not a good purchase! I purchased it at Radio Shack (who will not take it back even with a separate warranty purchased and receipt shown to them because I had malied in the rebate with the UPC they asked for, even though they scanned the UPC in their computer and had it on file along with the serial number printed on my receipt)You have to buy a separate SD card just to record anything (which they also would not take back). Next time I will go to Sears. You also can not hear the recording even on the highest setting or see it very well in certain lighting. I had to replace the batteries as soon as I got it home from the store the ones in the package were dead.

Is -10 a rating? If it was I would give the DXG 305V that. Since it is not I am forced to give it a higher score of 0!

Members' Comments onSMGC's Review

• crato on 16th May 2005

  I had no problem loading the software but never even tried to use the software as the camera acts as a USB disk drive.
  
  Pros: Well, it fits in a shirt pocket, it's cheap and it runs off of AAA battries. And it works pretty well considering the price.
  
  Cons: The video is more along the line of VCD rather than DVD quality. It's about like the old eight millimeter film cameras except in color and with sound. Doesn't work well in low light situations. The photos are sharp, but look like a CMOS sensor (stairstepped on diagonal lines).
  You will probably not want to use this as your primary video or digital camera, but it's perfect for tossing in a pack if you're headed backpacking or just want something that you can slip in your pocket and don't mind if it gets trashed. Not too bad for a hundred dollar camera IMHO.
  
  Somewhere between a really nice toy and a real camcorder.

• jpoiry on 1st Jun 2005

  Umm, you need to update your codecs for it to work with all software. It records in Microsoft MPEG 4... certainly compatible with cheap HP software. it is a VCD unit, not a DVD quality... what did you expect for $100 dollars?

• jpoiry on 1st Jun 2005

  Sorry, one more post and I am done! To comment on the review, I think it is odd that HP does not make any camera that can be ever considered a "professional" camera, also HP does not have any "high-end" photo software. The DXG stores photos in JPEG's which can be used in any photo software using the USB storage. Professionals are not going to use bundled software with a $100 camera or HP for that matter. JPEG's are not even a format that professionals use, they usually use uncompressed TIFF formats for quality. Also, I cannot consider "Sears" to be someplace to go to buy high end electronics. I am going to certainly assume that the reviewer is not a professional photographer. A $100ish camera/video/MP3/voice recorder/webcam is not a subsitute for a good camera... not even a middle/lowline HP model. A $100 camera like the DXG is a wonderful toy. I am also positive that no professionals use HP bundled software for professional photography! In final conclusion, the 305V is an AWESOME toy for the money.