Review on 📹 Aiptek DV5100M 5 Megapixel Pocket Digital Camcorder (No Longer Produced by Manufacturer) by Matt Louis

I have had this camera since 2006 and it fits me very well. It's not a $200 camcorder, it's an entry-level fixed focus camcorder that can also work as a very acceptable webcam. It's light and strong enough (don't drop it multiple times on concrete, it's not indestructible). Audio recording could be better, but when the subject is more than 5 feet away, no camera can pick up a child's voice with great clarity. I found this aspect of the camera acceptable and for most parties or other gatherings this is not a problem. The pivoting display/viewfinder will have some issues on a bright day, but can be manually dimmed if you need to look at the screen (my much more expensive professional camcorders also have the same issue). to get a smooth video (I think this is a plus for teaching beginners the importance of controlling their camera). Tripods can really help in this regard (the camera has a tripod thread mount on the base). The digital zoom works, but the image also degrades a bit and controlling the zoomed image with your free hand takes practice (again, image stability). Zoom is a nice feature, but I don't use it very often. Since this camera only has digital zoom, using the zoom results in an instant transition to the enlarged image (not a smooth zoom). At home I plug the camera into a USB port and have no problem putting the camera in disk mode and uploading video files. Once I put it in live mode, I can use it as a webcam and microphone with no problem. The camera works well with Skype and I can also record locally on my computer. I use a small tabletop tripod (not included with the camera) and have found it to be a very good rig for my system. I definitely recommend using a memory card if you want to record more than a few minutes of video (away from your computer). You can shoot for several hours with one memory card. Always keep a set of spare batteries on hand and do not leave batteries in the camera when you are no longer using it. While I could record for hours with fresh batteries, you won't be able to record as long as you'd like with low batteries, and old batteries left in a device will eventually leak (this is just common sense advice and not specific to this camera) . has apparently dropped support for this product line and I am very disappointed with this decision. It works fine for my WinXp systems and possibly Win7 (haven't tried it) but I'm having trouble with Win8.1 or Win10 OS. My Win 8.1 system doesn't recognize this as a camera, but it does see it as a microphone (strange). There may be a way to set this as the video source that I don't know about (if you know a way post here). The CD that came with the camera contains some fairly basic editing and adjustment programs. Bottom line, the product is good for entry-level users on a budget who have an old laptop to work with. Combine this with editing software like VideoPad Video Editor (a free non-commercial version is available from NCH Software) and you can have a budding Steven Spielberg exploring the wonderful world of home video. I have a video I took with this camera in [.]. The film isn't big cinema, but you can see what a handheld camera does in typical use and what some of the zoom settings look like.