I got it as a gift about a year ago and have overall really enjoyed it. I would rate it 4.5 if I could.
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br /Though a lot of people may say it doesn't take good still photos, I have gotten some exceptional near professional results.
br /The quality of the photo depends on the light. Low light and indoor settings can result in grainy or semi grainy photos, but that is mainly because it doesn't have a flash. It is best used outdoors in partially sunny to cloudy days or times that are not blindingly bright such as noon time with full sun. Taking photos in full sunny days in the sunlight can sometimes be overexposed, but that happens to any camera I think.
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br /Macro shots- it doesn't zoom in very far, but if you are clever, you can compensate by using a magnifying lens. I have taken a number of excellent photos of flowers, butterflies, and other insects and plants that way.
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br /Some drawbacks are with it having an auto white balence. Yellow and orange seems to get dulled a little and white can sometimes end up being 255 brightness. Sunsets tend to loose intensity because of this feature. Though I think these can happen with any camera with an auto white balence.
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br /But then again for it being a cheap camera, am quite amazed with the quality.
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br /I've found it to take better pictures than the newer PocketDV 5700. The shutter speed is ok. It is faster than the PocketDV 5700 which made me able to take better shots of moving objects such as my cat than the newer model.
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br /The video and audio feature on this camera are not its main features. Battery life is varryable. Can be very short to fairly long. I've found it helpful to turn off the lcd switch and close the camera door between shots. Sometimes I can prolong the battery life over a week.
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br /If you want something cheap that can take good photos along with some patience and a good editing program such as paintshop pro or photoshop, then this is a good deal.
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br /Eventually though you may want to save up for a higher end camera. But this will do in the mean time.
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I don't know what the others complained about but this is just about the best little camera money can buy. I bought it straight from Aiptek and got a free battery charger and 4 extra AA batteries. I started filming right out of the box. Any one can use this. Even inside with the lights on (and my house is pretty dark) the picture was great!! The sound is kinda grainy but who cares for $99!! I plan to take it everywhere. I filmed outside and the picture is outstanding!! I plan to buy another one maybe the MPEG format next!! You can just throw it in your purse or pocket and you are ready to go!! Don't beleive all the naysayers. Get your $100 and order this little gem today!!
br /The only thing I didn't like is that the cable for the TV output seems to be out of order b/c I can't see the picture clearly on the TV. But on my PC it is great. I plan on emailing Aiptek for a new cable. BEST CAMERA INVENTION!!

When I got this camera I didnt read that it didnt have a flash, BIG MISTAKE. When you take pictures inside they always turn out to dark and are really grainy. We took a trip to Florida and ALL of the pictures turned out blurry! Im 100% I was not moving to. It actually takes pretty good vidos but thats about it. I would not recommend this camera/video camera.

For the money, this tiny camcorder is a bargain! It has so many features packed into its little frame it amazes me, frankly.

I purchased this camera solely for experimentation in shooting video from a moving radio control (R/C) model. So far I have captured several videos and the quality is definitely acceptable at 10 FPS. The sound quality is rather harsh, however. But adding music to the audio, it tones down the harshness.

This camcorder will take a lickin' and keep on tickin' as the famous saying goes. By being attached to my r/c cars, this thing has been beaten, scraped, had the lens hood knocked off, jarred while doing jumps, splashed through water, and various other insults while flipping over at 30 mph! It has never failed. It still works great!

If you are considering this camcorder for the same reasons, using it in r/c models here is a little tip I discovered: the camera is turned off whenever the LCD screen is closed. It has a plunger attached to the LCD door. By snipping off the plunger, you can then close the LCD door and contine to have the video recording. The camera provides several methods for booting up.

I rated the camcorder 5 stars. Not for its video quality so much but more for its use in my desired application. R/C modeling video. For that, it is perfect! It is the size of a pack of Camel cig's and weighs almost nothing. For under $100 bucks you can't go wrong!

i am a skateboarder that bought this camera thinking i could go videotape me and my friends skating, but its such a piece of crap, the still photos are splochy and video recording is really sketchy and u have to get in just the perfect light for it to work at all. the features are pretty cool though, just not of the best quality.the voice recorder on it is the worst part of the whole thing, its just worthless.but, overall, the camera isnt worth the money at all. its probably worth about 20 bucks tops...so dont get this camera and get ripped off like i did!!!

I bought this camera for my wife this Christmas, hoping, with fingers crossed, that the good reviews about it were accurate. Well, they were! It works even better than expected! It does need added memory if you want to record for more than just 5-10 minutes, but you can get an Edge 250mb memory card for under $30 on Amazon! The people who say that it can't be used indoors must not open their windows - or they live in a place where the sun doesn't ever come into their home. During daylight hours it records just fine inside! We recorded hours of holiday activity with no problem! It has even worked at night, as long as we have enough lights on in the room! It hooks up really easy to our t.v. set, and we have transferred several hours worth of video to tape. It works great on our computer too. We had no problems with the software! We have been able to download several videos to our hard drive. The next step is burning those to a disk! The camera is so small - easy to take anywhere! It seems durable enough too - just treat it like you should any camera or electronic devise! I heartily recommend this camera to all of you who want to have video of your kids and family, but always thought you'd have to pay hundreds of dollars to do so! It just isn't so - with the Aiptek you can do it all for under $100!

If you are looking to not spend a lot of money for an entry-level digital camera, this wouldn't be a bad choice. My mom has this model and I've used it on several occasions without any problems. Much better than the Aiptek DV4500 which is supposed to have more bells whistles, but just doesn't have the same level of quality as this model.

This is a great camera. It takes excellent pictures and video. I gave this only 4 stars because it does not have a flash. This camera can only be used outdoors or in good indoor lighting. It is about the size of your hand and easy to use. I do recommend though that you not buy this camera from Target. That is where I bought mine and when I tried to exchange it for the 4500 model which has a flash, I was told that I could not return or exchange the camera because it was opened. The store was very rude and now I am stuck with this camera and can not get the one that I really want. I do like the camera and I will keep it but I will not ever buy anything from Target again!!! I should have bought it from Best Buy or Circuit City which both carry the camera and have much better return and exchange policies. I do recommend that if you purchase this camera you go through Best Buy or Circuit City. If you want this camera with a flash I suggest purchasing the DV4500 model.

This is one of the most easy to use cameras I have ever been able to get my hands on! I take it every where! If you are in a dark area, you need to open up the windows, and it is great quality! For all those people that say their pictures are fuzzy, they need to figure out how to use the focus on the lens. It is as simple as that. I have even played the videos made with this camera on a home theater system that is about 10 by 10 feet big and it looks fantastic. If you want a great, conveniant camera, I highly recommend this!!!

Love this little camera. It's so easy to use and loads of fun. Can't beat the price either. I get great still shots using the fine setting, and be sure I have lots of light for my subject. It uses the 3.1 megapixel setting for still shots. I already have an Olympus digital camera so this comes in handy for a second one and my wife can use it. In addition, after I load the pictures onto my computer I can then enhance them with software. The camera come bundled with nice software. Don't hesitate to purchase this camera if you dont expect to get a hi-end camcorder. And if you do want an easy to use 3.1 still camera.

This camera is a lot of fun. Must be really close to target to get good shots. Good starter camera.

First of all many people complain about the memory and the batteries first of all its your fault that you didnt get a bigger memory card in the first place! Bad memory card quality also is not aipteks problem! The batteries can be replaced with Ni-mh If needed and the camera is quite good with 3.1 megapixels playback on that small of a package is nice for the price. Now if you were planning on video taping something important than definetly wait and buy a better Sony camera that uses the mini dv tape. But this is fantastic for what I plan to use it for which is taping my friends and i snowboard so we dont need great quality or sound But want to be able to watch it on the tv which Is the simplest camera to tv I have used Yet! Have not tried the computer software but dont plan to. This is a fantastic Device for the price. I recommend for outdoor use with friends for sports that youll be close as there is no Zoom with the video recording.Four Stars ****

This camera is awesome!!! I bought it just to fool around with making little movies. I doubted it at first because the low price and I had never heard of the brand before but I decided to try it. And boy am I glad I did! Sure the zoom's not that great and there's no flash but other than that it's great. My advice is if you want a little camera with BIG things this is the one to buy. Or even if you don't want a little camera this one still is cool. All my friends are jelous and can't believe the price! So if you're taking time to read this take 5 minutes to buy it!!!!!

ok first of all i think everyone reading these reviews now knows that the DV3100 doesnt take good still pics and video w/ limited or no light (its in about every review ive read). but isnt it obvious that if there isnt any light that pictures wouldnt show up anyway?? i mean if u were in a room w/ no light would you be able to see much? no, you wouldnt, neither would the camera second, i have no idea why u people are complaining about not having a flash, it never said it came w/ one so why is it so surprizing that it doesnt have one?? and whos complaining about haveing to go through more menu options to get to the voice recording. wut r u to lazy to press 4 more buttons then the usual 1 button for video and pics? lets see, step 1. turn on the camera 2. press menu 3. scroll down twice 4 press the ok button and start taking away. but anyway. now that thats out of the way.
i bought this camera while i was on vacation about 2 weeks ago. i have to say it is the best camera/camcorder i have ever bought. i originally bought it for the video recording option cuz i wanted to make clips of my friends and me skateing. but i also found out that it is a great still picture camera also. here are the things i found out and liked about the camera:

- easy to use
- mostly self explainitory
- small so you can take it anywhere
- records 10fps (frames per second) which is just perfect 4 me
- takes still pictures @ 3.1 mp
- and you can change the resolution
- the 2x digital zoom works well when taking still pics
- comes w/ everything you need, software, connections to USB to show on your computer and a cord to connect to your tv, it even comes w/ batteries and a little carring case.

some drawbacks (yes everything has drawbacks)are:

- the zoom doesnt work while recording .avi videos
- makes a wierd screeching noise when u cover up the mic while recording eather videos or voice (solution - make sure your fingers aret touchin the mic)
- the internal memory of only 16MB isnt enough (also said in to many reviews)

i bought a 128MB CF card and it works just fine, but after you copy all the pics and movies to your computer (or burn to cd) you can erase what u have on your memory card.

oh, and some poiters for writing reviews, dont write in all capital letters IT MAKES IT SOUND LIKE YOUR YELLING! see what i mean?

I think this camera is very nice. You can store up to 12 pictures without the CF card, but I still love it. If you buy this camera don't expect to be filming a lot of things, that doesn't work very well unless you buy a CF card. I don't enjoy the voice recorder because it makes your voice very crackly, so if you want to voice record don't stand right next to it. It is GREAT!!

I really wanted a digital video camera. I already had a digital camera, but it was only 1MP. The Aiptek gave me both and upgraded my stills! I also always wanted a digital voice recorder. It's not the best quality, but it's good enough for me. A few drawbacks are no flash, the video playback is choppy, and you can't zoom while recording. I like that it is small and light and it's simple to use. I've had a lot of fun with it!!

I love it!, I love it!, I love it!, I bought this camera a year ago. I lost it not to long ago and my heart is broken. But it's so cool. My 15 daughter used it for her online teenage magazine. She records her interview, take photos and feature live shows with it. Plus she also uses it for school. She records her class with it. I had to buy another one. I purchased an upgraded one with the MP3 Player. Talk about alien technology. It has arrived!!!!

I got this Cam. to take With me to see WWE Live In Bossier City,LA then to Dallas and All My Video's and pics. Came out GREAT So If you Have Someone On your Christmas List that you have NO Iead what to get them Get Them One of These Cams. They will LOVE It and They are REALLY Easy to use!

I just got this. It's awesome! Its very easy to use and it looks pretty good. I have a nicer one that cost $400 and this is only a little less quality. A good tip is use alot of lighting. Get a big flash light. You could spend a lot more for only a little bit better...!!! Great Value!!!! Great Price!!!!

Ease of use, portability, 3 MP image output, 10fps video w/ sound (which is fine over USB & most email), decent close-up mode, pouch, straps, cables & batteries included. Add the shirt pocket size, point and shoot (image or video) and higher quality video through the pc, and you've got something with broad utility and broad market base at less than $150 w/ shipping. Realtors, Assesors, clients, students, kids on vacation, and guys who want a picture of their dog will find this camera very valuble, more so w/ a 128M+ memory card.

The camera works fine, but I cannot get the software to work. I have contacted tech support by e-mail twice to help with this, but have not received anything back. I have needed to send some pictures to friends since Labor Day weekend, but have been unable to. The website is good, but the tech support apparantly is non-existent. Glad it did not cost me much for the camera since it does not work with the computer!

When you accept this li'l DV camcorder for what it is, just above being a toy, it's excellent. It won't give you award winning pics, but... so what?br /
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I already have a Sony D8 camcorder and a Minolta Dimage7 5MP digicam, but I wanted something that I could easily put in my pocket. This li'l gadget did the trick and I keep it with me all the time now.br /
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For most digicam novices, this is what you need. It also makes for a nice 2nd digicam for the bigshot photographers. It's highly recommended by mois!

Very good quality pictures although it could really use a flash or light. I was never able to get the web cam driver to work properly but it was a good camera for regular pictures.

Battery life could be better but just get rechargeable AA batteries always carrying a spare and you'll be set.

My 8 year old son has taken beautiful still shots and videos. This is a daytime camera exclusively. Indoor low light just doesn't work. OK crybabies, so it doesn't have a flash and it doesn't work with 1 meg compact flash cards - what do you want for $80? Keep your expectations tiny and you won't go through life being so whiny.

This little camera is great!it video tapes (if that's what you want to call it since it's tapless)it take medium quality digital pics and sorta voice records. it's not to good at that so if that is the only reason you'd buy it then don't.it feels kinda cheap and you feel like your gonna break it but i've dropped a ton and it's still going steady.Also it only has a 2x zoom so don't get used to 20ft close-ups.you will need to buy a cf card if you want to film more than 5 minutes i recommend a 256 mb card so you can film a little longer than 30 minutes.so if you want a reliable little camera/camcorder or just cam this is the one for you.By the way it's really tiny.

All I can say is WOW! I saw this little camera in the Father's Day circular from Target. I bought it with the intent of giving it to my husband who needed a small digital camera for work. When I got it home and started using the camera, I couldn't believe how simple it was to operate, how great the software that comes with it is, how easy it was to download still digital pictures and video and what great pictures the camera takes. 3 mp pictures and decent video for $92.00, what a bargain!!! Immediately, I started taking pictures and video of my kids. My only problem now is I have to find a new present for my husband for Father's Day because I'm keeping the camera :)

Batteries run out FAST and it basicly has no memory. Wish I would have looked around somemore before getting this for my stepson.

I returned this camcorder. sound quailty was poor and picture lighting was very poor. Camera body itself is made cheaply (all plastic).
br / You would be better off spending a little more.

I recieved this camera three years ago for my trip to New York.
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br /-I bought it for $100 from Target and was amazed by its qaulity. Granted you only can take pictures in the sunlight, (it doesn't have flash and inside it turns grainy) but nonetheless it's very detailed photos and ability to capture color (and with a little photoshop brings it out more) made me love this camera.
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br /-You also need to understand that it's built in lens are there to be used other wise your photos will be blurry. It's also very durable. I must have droppen it a million times and it's taken several beatings and it still worked wonderfully.
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br /-Also you might want to buy a memory card as well.
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br /But overall this camera has been cheap, reliable (except for the no flash thing) and has also gotten me backstage to see my favorite band when a manager confiscated it from me. Naturally I got it back. I highly recommend this if your interested in photography and cheap deals.

This camera is definatley worth $100. the zoom may not be that good and it has no flash but on a nice good sunny day you can get really nice footage. i already made 5 movies from this camera! If you want to see them you can e-mail me about them. Kyle11757@yahoo.com . It has easy delete, nice effects, and is really small and perfect for traveling. I recommend this camera to everyone!

Great price. It is a camera size my daughter loves it.

I got it as a birthday preante and i love it. the only bad thing is that the tripode breaks easlybr /

I was excided about this item. At first it was ok because I was outside, but once you got inside it took forever to get the lighting right and even then it was to dark. Its ok for maybe young kids that want to explore but not for professional use.#60;br /#62;br /
thanx

the Aiptek DV3100 is astounding for the price.
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br /I love it. Will probably get a second one or get the Aiptek 4500.

I have to agree with the fellow from PA; it feels cheap and , it is. I got it as a father's day present from my son. I was very excited at first, but after trying it, I got discouraged and dissatisfied. But, I have to bite the bullet. Otherwise, it would be back on the store. In my opinion, to high of a price for what you are getting. I think the manufacturers could have done better.

i need a disk to download the dv 3100,i broke my disk
can any one please help me????
if so please send it to (bemug@aol.com)
thank you

I bought this with anxiety in using the movie maker software on my computer, only to be disappointed. Installed all the software, read the book, and still can't figure it out. When the camera was operational, it would not connect to the computer and I only ever got error messages. Then, after some use, it would only stay 'on' for about 10 secs, then would shut off. Changed the batteries, not the problem (the first set had only been in the camera for about 1/2 hour of use, which is useless if they only last for that long but youre wanting to shot an hour of continuous footage). I choose this camera mainly because I don't have $500 to spend on a more expensive one, yet I would be better off to spend $500 and go broke with a camera that works as opposed to spending $100 on one that doesn't work. When the camera did work, it took OK pictures and I did manage to get about one 4 min video to shoot and was OK. Overall, I took this camera back within 24hrs because I was soooo mad.

This camera takes the worst pictures, it takes really bad videos, and don't even bother trying to use it as a webcam. If you are looking for a much better product that does all of the same things, and does them well, check out the line of Mustek cameras available on Target's website. Mustek cameras have gotten rave reviews on numerous digital camera review sites. But be advised, NONE of them are available in their stores. Which baffles me to no end. Why would they have this cheap camera in the store, and not any of the superior Mustek brand? Unless they are worried that customers would buy the Mustek cameras, and not the other much more expensive digital cameras that Target sells. Just my 2 cents.

i am a citizen of india. i wanna know do you ship this product here. and i want it in five days. what about the warranty. please mail me back soon

La cámara me conquistó. El precio, las especificaciones, su forma, lo compacta, ligera, sus accesorios y sus funciones, me dije Guauuuu!.... Cuando la preferí ante otras opciones de su mismo precio lo único que me molestaba eran las pilas desechables, pero se trata de un aparato realmente coqueto. Nunca me percaté que no dice nada por ninguna parte sobre el FLASH, me di cuenta ya tarde. ¿A QUIÉN SE LE OCURRE PONER EN EL MERCADO UNA CÁMARA DIGITAL SIN FLASH? Fue realmente una gran decepción, porque la compré para regalo y ahora su dueña no puede tomar fotos de sus reuniones bajo techo a menos que sean debajo de un bombillo. Triste, me sentí como estafada, tiene mil funciones pero no trae flash!

We are quite unsatisfied with this camera's performance. It runs on 2 double A batteries and so therefore dies after about 8-15 minutes or so on new batteries. This includes playback, where the batteries seem to die even quicker. Installation of software for playback on a PC or playback on a TV is difficult, frustrating, and requires a lot of patience. This camera is not good at taking digital still photos (turn out blury, lighting bad indoors), and can only hold a few on the 128 MB card. This card also holds about 15 minutes of video and nothing else. The camera is low quality and the cards are also lacking. Please, Please do not do what we did. We are stuck with this camera because it passed the 90 day return policy. Don't put yourself in that situation, do NOT buy this camera. (How can you use it if it won't run for more than 15 minutes tops!!)

WHo would ever thought that i would get such a HORRIBLE camera! i cant belive i forgot the basics that whenever i get ANY camera, always get one with a flash w/good clear pictures. This camera gives u one of the most horrible pictures if ur in a lighted room, and it Still seems dark. Also as a webcam its EXTREMLY dark like im not ever there, its OK when taking pictures outside when its sunny, but outside and no sun means no good decent photos. PLZ dont make the same mistake i made and get this most horrible camera ever

I have this camera. It is fine, for the $89 I paid for it, I didn't expect anything else. How can any reasonable person pay $89 for something like this and then complain about it? Give me a break. You gotta be a serious idiot to think that you are getting anything more than what you paid for. Either an idiot or someone who has never spent more than $50 at a time in their whole life thinking that at $89 they would be getting a top of the line camera comparable to an XL-1 or something. If you complain, or have complained about this camera, you are most likely a cheap, miserly, greedy, foolish and simple person. Bottom line: If you want a nice piece of equipment, then SPEND MORE MONEY. Then go to this curious place where everything is sick and red and black and wrong and you can discuss satanism and christianity without capitalizing the words god or satan.