disgo dv3 video camera review
pjmattf asked:
I just bought a small and very cheap (£30) video camera, so here’s a quick review I produced with it.
According to PC World’s website, it’s the “Disgo DV3 1GB SD Camcorder”, according to the packaging it’s just “Disgo Video”. What appears to be almost exactly the same thing (except it’s got a white front, not black) is sold by Maplin as the “Busbi Digital Video Camcorder”.
It shoots 320×240 video (30fps), fixed-focus, no zoom, very minimal controls. Comes with a 1gb SD card which will fit just over an hour. The video files produced are AVI files using MJPEG compression, audio is mono 12kHz ADPCM.
Editing was done with the included ArcSoft VideoImpression software.
Ireland
Tags: Digital Camcorder, Maplin
December 31st, 2008 at 10:14 am
can you hook it up to the tv and record on the tv like a capture card?
January 3rd, 2009 at 11:55 am
when you record a video is the sound quality alright
January 4th, 2009 at 5:58 am
i connected three aa baterys to it and it works for 1 hour
January 6th, 2009 at 10:05 am
Not offhand but I’m pretty sure it’s a lot better – have a search around, I think there’s some video reviews of it on youtube, plus google should find some info too.
It’s not that the DV3 drains batteries quickly, just that it’s very quick to say “empty!” and turn off as soon as the voltage drops off even a tiny bit.
January 9th, 2009 at 2:02 am
do u know what the battery is like on the video plus?
January 10th, 2009 at 12:57 am
As mentioned above, pretty awful. 25 minutes on “good-generic” AAs, you might get 30 out of expensive branded ones (energizer/duracell).
Go for the higher-quality Disgo Video Plus instead, I’ve heard it’s way better.
I’m probably going to have to engineer some sort of external battery pack arrangement to get decent runtime out of the DV3.
January 12th, 2009 at 3:54 am
hows the battery life?
January 15th, 2009 at 9:44 pm
Okay, thanks for the help and adive!
January 17th, 2009 at 4:46 pm
Update: Get the Disgo Video Plus instead. It’s much better, £50 from Currys.
January 18th, 2009 at 6:53 pm
Yeah, the Plus product seems to have a much better set of features and produce better video quality than the DV3 – if you can afford the Plus, it definitely looks like a better option.
January 21st, 2009 at 2:39 pm
If it’s all you can afford then it’s definitely better than going without, but it is extremely limited when compared to even the cheapest “normal” camcorder. (No zoom, relatively poor image quality and really bad battery life, are the main drawbacks)
If you’re after a toy which is cheap enough to risk it getting lost/broken then consider it, but if you can afford to spend more then you will get much better results than the DV3 offers.
January 22nd, 2009 at 7:39 pm
Hi, thanx for your reveiw i am looking 4 a new camcorder cheap one and i think the
DISGO video plus is much better quility
from the reveiws i have watched compared to this one
January 24th, 2009 at 10:55 am
Hey. I have some questions, I’m planning on getting this camera for taping my cosplay day in school. Do you think that it’s good enough to record the day? Does it like catch all of the sound? Anyway thanks for the review, I’m pretty certain that this is what I want
January 25th, 2009 at 8:47 am
Excellent review, helped me make my mind up. I think I will go for a more expensive option.
January 25th, 2009 at 8:55 pm
ok
thx!
hmmm what is it like on moving things? such as animals?
it really does seem a bargain!
January 28th, 2009 at 4:14 pm
Follow-up, a pair of brand-new Maxell alkaline AAs lasted for 25 minutes before it first auto-stopped.
They started out at 1.6v each and were measured at 1.4v when it first stopped.
Conclusion: Even when the DV3 craps out and moans about flat batteries, the cells have plenty of life left in them for other applications!
January 31st, 2009 at 3:08 am
It’s kinda hard to judge, as I haven’t yet formally tested it. It’s not great – I suspect it might drain batteries relatively badly even when turned off, but I’ve not tested that.
If you stick some fresh cells in it, it might have enough juice to fill the 1gb card (roughly an hour of footage).
I recently bought a big batch of cheap-but-reasonable alkaline AAs. I’ll do some SCIENCE! and follow up with some numbers.
February 1st, 2009 at 11:40 am
roughly how long is the battery life if it is constantly filming? not bad 4 a cheap camcorder
February 3rd, 2009 at 12:40 pm
It does pretty well in daylight, in common with most cheap+nasty digital cameras.
The big down-side I have discovered though is that the battery life is absolutely appalling. It’s extremely sensitive to what it thinks are flat batteries, cutting out and turning itself off after not very much continuous usage. It is also exceptionally unsuited to rechargeable cells (I suspect because those start at a slightly lower voltage to begin with).
February 6th, 2009 at 11:02 pm
Heres a “stupid bloody comment”. Well done
