If this were a 35mm camera, it would be like the disposable you buy at the drugstore - not a lot of features, but simple to use with an adequate to good quality of photos. Of course, this is not intended to be a disposable camera in that sense, we're talking about quality of image here.
Unlike the book of instructions you get with more sophisticated digitals, the VuPoint has its instructions in small type on one double-sided fold-out page. Once you've gone through them, using the camera is pretty instinctive and it's easy to scroll through the menus to change settings. It's strongest feature is its ease of use, particularly when it's in its waterproof case. Push the on/off button and in a few seconds the camera powers up and is ready to shoot stills. Hit the mode button once, and it's in the video mode, ready to shoot clips at 20 fps in the 640 x 480 size or 30 fps in the 320 x 240 size. With a little practice, it's easy to run all the functions while it's in the case. Like many cameras, it can be difficult to compose a shot on the LCD screen in bright sunlight.
The biggest downer with the camera is the digital zoom. I expected the loss of resolution with a digital-only zoom, but was surprised at the loss of sharpness. At 8x, the resulting image should still have better than VGA resolution, but even a small image on a computer screen looks blurry - and these were images shot outside on a bright day and presumably with a high shutter speed. The sharpness is visibly dropping off even at only a 2x zoom. Both videos and stills lost sharpness by using the zoom.
The VuPoint also offers in-camera interpolation to 8 megapixel and 12 megapixel files. If these make any difference in sharpness or image quality, it eluded my eye.
This will not match the performance of more expensive 5 megapixel cameras. I have a much costlier 5 megapixel Panasonic. When it shoots in the highest quality jpeg format, the resulting files are nearly 2 mb in size. With the VuPoint, those files are only about a quarter that size. That means the VuPoint is using more compression, which in turns costs detail. (On the other hand, you can get four times as many images on a memory card.) To use the 35mm analogy again, if you make an 8x10 print from a high-end SLR and one from the drug store disposable, you're going to see a quality difference. Same thing here.
The automatic exposure on the camera works well, except it missed some images at maximum zoom. Since I'm unlikely to use the maximum zoom again, that's not a serious concern. When shooting video clips, the auto exposure did a good job adjusting as the camera panned from heavy shadows to extreme brightness.
It's main strength is small size and simplicity of use. It will take pictures my Panasonic never will because it will go places I wouldn't dare take the more expensive camera, such as sailing or kayaking on a wet and windy day. It's easy to store the camera in its waterproof case in a pocket or deck storage bag, or the like, and have it handy at an instant - it can live in a rough and tumble environment where unprotected cameras can't. It's a matter of a few seconds to grab the camera, turn it on, shoot a picture or a video clip, turn it off and put it away. I'm not an experienced video person, but I like the video clips it shoots at 640 x 480. Like most still digital cameras, the zoom will not work while used in the video mode, and given the loss of zooming sharpness with this camera, that's a good thing. One small drawback is the waterproof case mutes the sounds when video recording, but you can't have everything. I like that it uses AAA batteries since it will go places where no battery charger will work. With the maximum 2 gig SD card that the camera will accommodate, you can shoot 2 hours and 23 minutes at the 640 x 480 resolution, and a few more minutes at 320 x 240 (where you're shooting at a higher fps rate.)
So far, as long as the zoom isn't used, I'm happy with the stills and videos it has taken on a couple short sailing trips. I loaned it to a friend who took it on a 2-day kayaking trip, and his images look good as well.
Battery life appears okay. The two batteries that came with the camera didn't last long, but I didn't expect they would. I put in a couple NiMH's and shot several minutes of video and several stills without appreciably impacting the charge level of the batteries. I put alkalines in before loaning it to my friend and he shot several pictures and video clips, and those batteries appear to have 2/3 of their life left.
I haven't tried it underwater and don't plan to anytime soon. All I can say is the waterproof case appears well made and with some silicone grease on the O-ring, I wouldn't hesitate to at least try it for snorkeling.
Only a couple pictures have been taken with the flash - it appears okay, nothing special. About what you'd expect from a flash rated for a maximum distance of five feet.
For the price of the camera and my intended uses, I'm satisfied, except for some mild disappointment over the zoom.
See more reviews about: VuPoint DC-ST531TBLK-VP - Digital camera - compact - 5.0 Mpix / 12 Mpix (interpolated) - supported memory: MMC, SD
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