Mustek goes mainstream with its latest camera, but is it already too dear?
A sub-£200 five megapixel digicam with a 3x optical zoom is the latest addition to the Mustek stable. Better known for scanners, Mustek has featured a line up of mainly budget-priced sub-£100 digital still cameras and MPEG4 digital video cameras. But Mustek's new MDC6500Z looks like a mainstream compact digital still camera, indeed resembling the Fujifilm FinePix F440/450 at a glance.
According to Mustek, "The MDC6500Z is a multifunctional digital camera available for £198 including VAT on www.redstore.com. With up to 6.5 Mega picture resolution (Fine: 2912 x 2208 pixel) the camera has 6 Built-in scene modes (portrait, landscape, sports, night landscape, night portrait and sunset), and Digital effects (b & w, Sepia) and auto image rotation. The MDC6500Z isnt only a Digital Still Camera but can also be used as a Digital Video Camera, Voice Recorder, PC Cam, USB portable disk and a SD/MMC card reader. All this in a pocket sized device with a 32MB internal memory, build-in microphone and speaker and a 1.5 TFT LCD display.
Mustek is guilty of marketing the MDC6500Z as a 6.5MP resolution camera, but its native resolution is actually 'only' 5MP. Until last week, we'd have been impressed with the price and specification of the MDC6500Z, but Acer now has a 5MP contender, the CS-5530, which sports and enormous 2.5 inch LCD monitor and for just £30 more you can opt for the 6MP CR-6530. Anyone who reckoned there wasn't anything left to be squeezed out digital cameras after a year of dramatic price reductions, might want to rethink!
Specifications
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DSC Type | Multi-function Camera (Digital Still Camera, Digital Camcorder, Web Cam, MP3 player,Digital Voice Recorder, Video Camera, USB Portable Disk)
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| Image Sensor: | 5.0 M CCD sensor
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| Resolution: | Fine: 2912 x 2208 (H/W enhancement)
High: 2560 x 1920
Normal: 2048 x 1536
Economy: 640 x 480
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| Display: | 1.5" TFT LCD
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| Internal Memory: | 32MB Flash
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| Memory Slot: | SD / MMC Card slot
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| File Format: | JPEG/ASF (MPEG4 Compatible)/WAV/MP3
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| Flashlight: | IGBT Type ; Auto/On/Red-eye/Off
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| Microphone: | Built-in
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| Speaker : | Built-in
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| Focus Assist Light : | Built-in
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| Lens/ Focus Length: | Zoom lens/7.3 ~ 21.9 mm
equivalent 35 ~ 105mm for 135 camera
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| F. No. Wide: | F2.8/F8.0 ; Telephoto: F3.5/F10
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| Focus Range | 8 ~ 22 (Macro)
22 to Infinity (Normal)
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| Zoom Ability : | 12X (3X Optical ; 4X Digital)
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| Interface: | USB/AV OUT/DC-IN
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| Optical View Finder : | Yes (Real image 3X zoom finder)
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| Self-timer: | 10-second delay
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| Shutter Speed : | 30~1/1000 sec
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| Television System : | NTSC/PAL
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| Power: | Li-ion Rechargeable Battery
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| Power Source : | Built-in Charger
(through USB or Power Adapter)
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| Dimensions / Weight: | 3.819 X 2.717 X 2.441 (L x W x H) / 0.463 lb
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