Argus-DC5195 Digital Camera

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Digital cameras are everywhere, and only a small minority miss film based photography. With the explosion of the digital camera market segment, prices have dropped like a rock. With digital SLR’s available in the previously unheard of $500 price point, it’s also interesting to see what’s happening at the lower end of the market. We’re talking down quite far, like in the sub-basement: the “el cheapo” below $100 price point. While a few years ago there was virtually nothing, today we’re going to look at the Argus DC-5195 camera and see if this is worth even this paltry amount of green, or if we should just save up more for something better.



At this price point, I wasn’t expecting much. The lens is plastic, and doesn’t move, or have any optical zoom (recalling that the 4x digital zoom is really in camera cropping). Focus is fixed. There is no optical viewfinder. There is no included lens cap, or case. And don’t even think about cutting edge features like WiFi or image stabilization because we won’t find any of that around here. It takes over five seconds to power up, and there is no control over the exposure.
On the other hand, this camera does sport some impressive features at this price. How about a 5 megapixel sensor for starters? The LCD is a large 2”, bigger than most other cameras had five years ago. It includes 32 megs of internal memory, and can use SD cards (which are so cheap now, we can get one that will hold several vacations of images for under $20,and dropping). There is a video mode, a burst mode, and it can record audio files. It has a built in flash, and a tripod attachment. Even more impressively, all these features fit in a package that fits easily in any shirt pocket.



Power is provided by standard AAA cells. There are two alkalines included, but don’t count on them for much more than an initial power up and a handful of shots. Like so many other cameras, they are completely inadequate to power the camera for any reasonable length of time. I could barely get 10 shots before the battery level meter was approaching the “no bars” status even with a premium alkaline cell, the Duracell Digital. I think that the large LCD uses too much power for the little AAA cells, and is the power hog culprit.





With a pair of 700 mA NiMH’s, and a 256 meg SD card installed (the card takes several attempts to get it to sit in the slot properly), I was all set to rediscover digital photography from the bargain end. Also included in the package is a USB cable that uses a proprietary connection, a video cable to send it to a TV, mini CD with a Windows 98 driver and ArcSoft’s Photoimpression, a wrist loop, an instruction manual, and a set of disposable alkalines. Some type of lens cap and a camera pouch are notable omissions.



On the package, it clearly states that the camera can be used as a webcam. I could find no documentation in the manual, nor a specific driver on the CD. Your guess is as good as mine how this can be done, but if you want a webcam, just buy a dedicated one and don’t play around with the DC-5195!



Powering up the camera reveals a screen that allows us to choose the function: video, taking pictures, displaying pictures, recording audio, and adjusting settings. The interface is pretty simple to navigate, but I needed to read the manual as some of the combination buttons are less than intuitively obvious. For example, to enter a choice, we need to hit the shutter button.
The camera does have a built in clock for date and time. While I was never a fan of this, if you so desire, the time and date can be imprinted on the image so that it prints with it. This can be useful down the road to remember when an image was captured, but it also will ruin that beautiful image of the Grand Canyon that you want to submit for a photo competition. Use carefully…





The flash consists of three modes: off, on, and auto on. The only one worth using is off. When it is turned on, it takes 10 seconds to charge up before an image can be captured. Also, the screen goes blank as the capacitators charge up, leaving me to wonder what’s happening. After all this fanfare, the flash is so weak that in a darkened room, that other cameras have no problem with, the image is still extremely dark as seen above. Unless it is at very close range, the flash is simply too anemic, and not worth the power drain and delay. Don’t count on using the DC-5195 for anything other well illuminated situations.





There is a macro mode as seen in the image above. Well, at least there is a macro switch on the side of the camera. Flicking it, even though the lens stays stationary, does cause close objects to become more focused. More is the key word in that statement as they never really get razor sharp focused, just less blurry. Still, at least it is more readable, and it can be used in a pinch for an impromptu screen capture, or an online auction. There is also a fair amount of distortion as we can see the text bending.



The video mode is actually ok. We can choose between 640 x 480, or 320 x 240 resolutions. The audio is a little low, and is captured from a tiny hole in the front of the camera. While we can view the playback from the display mode, unfortunately I couldn’t hear any audio, at least on my camera. I’m not sure if this is a defect, or if this is the design. The audio to the video is present on playback via a computer and WinAmp. The video is captured at 11 frames per second in the standard AVI format which is easy to edit, but not compressed so plan on a larger SD card if you plan to use this feature.





The real performance of a camera is ultimately determined by the still image capture, and not by the extras. There are various white balance modes, and they worked just fine. We can capture images at 2, 3 or 5 megapixels. The field of view is quite wide, a little too wide for a camera with no optical zoom. I could detect no hot or cold pixels on numerous scenes. The colors are a little muted, but nothing too extreme. I didn’t detect any major lens abnormalities either.
So, what’s the bottom line? The Argus DC-5195 is the digital equivalent of a disposable camera. For situations that we wouldn’t want to put a more expensive camera at peril, this is a reasonable alternative. However, if I were to make this my main camera, it would need a much better battery life, an optical zoom, and an optical viewfinder. In my mind, at this price point, we’re probably better off with a disposable film based camera, which we can get with developing for around ten bucks. At least for now, the entry point for a digital camera worth owning is clearly north of $100.





Camera Specifications:



Lens and Image Quality



Megapixels -- 5 Megapixels



Digital Zoom -- 4 X



Image Sensor -- CMOS



Min Focal Length -- 8.25 mm



Maximum Shutter Speed -- 1/6000 sec



Minimum Shutter Speed -- 1/20 sec



Image Format -- JPEG



Exposure Settings -- Automatic



Minimum Focusing Range -- 3.3 ft



Features





LCD Screen Size -- 2 in



Shooting Modes -- Frame movie mode



Self Timer -- Yes



Self Timer Delay -- 10 sec, 15 sec, 20 sec






Memory





Flash Memory Type -- 16 MB flash - integrated (soldered memory - 16 MB )



Recording Method -- Secure Digital (SD) Card






Connectors



Connectors -- 1 x composite video/audio output 1 x USB



Included Cable Types -- USB , Video






Miscellaneous



Included Components -- Carrying pouch



Included Software -- Drivers & Utilities, ArcSoft PhotoImpression



Camera Type -- Digital camera






General Product Info
Weight -- 3 oz

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