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| 6th June 2008 | REVIEW - TECHNIKA JA550 DIGITAL CAMERA |
Fred Crouch |
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Have you been tempted to part with £25 at Mr. Tesco's checkout recently? Is this camera worth £25 or is it rubbish? I decided to part with the £25 and find out. What do you get for £25 at Mr. Tesco? You get the camera, a USB connecting cable, a mini-jack plug lead to connect to TV, a CD, an imitation leather pouch and a carrying strap, all for less than £25. Too good to be true? Read on... The CD has "Photo Impression5" and "Video Impression2". You can use the camera to take still pictures and videos (without sound), or you can use it as a web cam. You cannot take still pictures or videos when you have connected the camera as a web cam. The software works under Windows Vista, I have tested it. The Video impression software allows you to connect the camera and make a little video suitable for uploading to "Utube" etc. The quality of the video is quite good enough for this purpose. There is a mounting point on the camera for a tripod. Keep the camera on the tripod for best results. The camera has a mic but there is no sound input in web cam mode. You can make a short video with sound by unplugging the camera, and setting it to "Disk Drive" mode. You can make a web cam video by plugging a mic into your computer. I found that doing this made a video that was slightly out of sync. This would not matter if you were doing a voice over. The camera takes up to a 2GB SD card. The manual implies that you cannot use the camera without purchasing an SD card but this is not so. The camera has built-in memory (16MB), which is sufficient for stills - you only need the SD card if you want to make videos. The video and photo "impression" software can be used to edit any video footage or pictures you happen to have. You can make a DVD. The camera has a built-in flash, which is not very bright. You can take flash photos in a very small area. Are pictures taken with this camera any good? Yes, surprisingly good considering the price. The lens is fixed focus, but there is a switch for close ups. Best results are obtained with a tripod, but good results can be achieved by holding the camera very still, leaning against a wall for example. The imitation lens mounting fell out, as you might expect for £25, but this is easily prevented by a small drop of superglue! The camera takes two ordinary AAA sized batteries (supplied). When you use the camera as a web cam it draws power from the computer. Here are some sample photos using the camera: 
Ed: Further technical details culled from the Tesco Direct site:
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