DXG 595V HD Camcorder Review

Is this $200 camcorder that claims to do 1080p too good to be true? We take it for a test drive to find out.

For some people, a good deal is too tantalizing to pass up, even if it seems too good to be true. Camcorders like the DXG 595V appeal to our optimism, our hopefulness that somehow we'll be able to get something for next to nothing. Unfortunately, such hopes are typically misplaced, and consumers who indulge them often wish they had listened to their gut, to their common sense, instead of spending their money on a pipe dream.

The DXG 595V is an attractive, lightweight allegedly high-definition camcorder that's looking to take on the big brand names. It offers "1080p high definition" video recording for only about $200, an extraordinarily low price tag when you consider that camcorders with comparable resolution from Canon, Panasonic, and Sony tend to cost around $1,000. Clearly, the 595V isn't going to be as tricked out as the models from those bigger brands, and DXG doesn't claim that it is: it's a relatively bare bones camera. It lacks the different modes and frame rates you'll find on the Canon HF11 or Panasonic SD100. Still, there's some inclination to hope that, even without all these extra functions and settings, the DXG 595V might be able to simply take unfettered video that looks good in high definition.

Design

Out of the box, one's hopes are certainly encouraged by the stylish and attractive body that DXG has crafted for the 595V. The shiny black and silver color scheme and curvaceous design certain rivals its more expensive peers, and from a distance, it'd be impossible to determine that this is a budget camcorder. There are relatively few buttons on the 595V, and all are within comfortable reach. The four-directional toggle joystick works well, but due to its smallness, can be difficult to properly manipulate with just one's thumb.

Though it's almost entirely plastic, the DXG 595V doesn't feel cheap; only the zoom lever might give one pause, its looseness perhaps causing wear and tear resulting in its failure down the road.

The 3-inch LCD display is bright and easy-to-use, and DXG has made their menus exceedingly simple. As there are relatively few settings that can be adjusted to begin with, those that are available are rendered in large text and bright colors. Everything is easy to read and access.

Performance

The DXG 595V records video in the H.264 codec, using a 5-megapixel CMOS sensor that allows for what it claims is high-definition video at a resolution of 1920 x 1080 pixels, recorded at 30 frames per second. Video clips are saved in the MOV format to a Secure Digital or Secure Digital high capacity flash memory card. The camcorder has a slight bit of internal memory (32MB) not really intended to hold video.

The 595V features only a 5x optical zoom lens, about half as much as other cameras in this class, which tend to offer between 10 and 15x zoom lenses. This is somewhat limiting.

Using the camera is simple and effortless, simply point and shoot. It's a very lightweight camcorder and its small size makes it very portable. Up to this point, there isn't much to complain about with the DXG 595V. Once shooting is finished, however, and the quality of the video can be evaluated, the complaints arise.

It's hard to explain how disappointing the video quality of the DXG 595V is. It simply does not provide what one would consider adequate footage for playback or reviewing. While it may be 1920 x 1080 pixels large, the image is clearly lacking much of the necessary information to make this a truly HD image. Though it's not listed in the instruction manual, based on observation one can assume the bit-rate of the video, which really determines how good a clip will look, is very low. It's definitely much lower than 1080p camcorders from Canon, Sony, and Panasonic which typically offer bit-rates of 17MBps to 24MBps. It is also most likely a variable bit-rate, meaning it will not always be operating at its maximum potential.

In 1080p mode, when in motion, the video clips have an odd, stuttering lag. It appears as if the image is not being refreshed quickly enough to represent the movement smoothly. Electronic image stabilization cannot be used in 1080p mode either, only the 720p mode, meaning your supposedly full HD clips are susceptible to shakes and jitters.

Auto focusing is also something of a problem for the 595V, as the camcorder can take a few seconds to catch up with you should you decided to zoom or move around a room. It's not always able to figure out what exactly it should be focusing on and will vacillate back and forth with indecision.

Conclusion

The bottom line is, while it does provide widescreen, moderately viewable video clips, to call what the DXG 595V outputs high-definition is to use only the most liberal and slightly misleading definition of the term.

Perhaps we must just accept that trying to make an 'economy HD' camcorder just isn't feasible at this point in time. High-definition is meant to be the pinnacle of video, and thus it requires a lot of technology and a substantial investment. If it were possible to low-ball everything, it wouldn't be high-definition. The DXG 595V has the outer appearances of HD, and uses all the right terminology, just narrowly applying the principals of high-definition to its video, but anyone who watches the clips will realize it's not what they had hoped for.