QuickCam - DC50 comparison

Comparing QuickCam and DC50

The Connectix Color QuickCam (there's also a less expensive monochrome version) is mostly a lens, a CCD sensor, and a serial cable to your computer. It doesn't work without a computer, so if you want to take pictures away from your home or office you'll have to have a laptop or other portable system available. The DC50 camera has everything the QuickCam has, and more, so you don't need to lug anything else around with you. In a sense the QuickCam uses the computer you already paid for while the DC50 supplies its own, with a consequent difference in price.

Connectix Color Quick Cam Kodak DC 50

Image size variable up to 640 x480 756 x504

Image capability Single frame or QuickTime movie Single frame only

Storage None: requires a computer to produce images, and storage is on the computer's drive
In-camera: 7 high resolution; 11 medium resolution; 22 low resolution. This is roughly 1 Mb of storage.

Additional storage via flash RAM cards, with the number of images approximately the numbers above for each megabyte of flash RAM-24 high-res for 4Mb.

Focusing Infinity down to about 8 inches. Focusing is very difficult, involving turning a ring around the lens. There is no calibration of the focus, so you have to watch the image on the computer monitor, and focusing is difficult when the monitor is only 256 colours. Infinity down to about 2 1/2 feet on normal settings, and fixed at 18 inches on a macro setting.

Focal length of lens Fixed 3:1 zoom

Image quality I'm not entirely happy about the image quality of either device. For the QuickCam, I don't find the focus to be as sharp as I would like, probably the result of the quality of the lens. For the DC50 the focus may be OK, but the compressed image has edge artifacts which make it difficult to evaluate.

Best Price seen About C$350 (MacWarehouse Canada) About C$650 (Computer City, Toronto)

Overall pick
This is an "on the one hand, on the other hand" decision.

Despite the price, I'm happier with the DC50 for still shots. The QuickCam is simply too unwieldy for field use. On the other hand, I can't take movies with the DC50, so for "studio" based QuickTime movies I have to use the QuickCam. Now, if someone would let me have an MPEG camera.....

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	Connectix Color Quick Cam	Kodak DC 50
Image size	variable up to 640 x480	756 x504
Image capability	Single frame or QuickTime movie	Single frame only
Storage	None: requires a computer to produce images, and storage is on the computer's drive	In-camera: 7 high resolution; 11 medium resolution; 22 low resolution. This is roughly 1 Mb of storage. Additional storage via flash RAM cards, with the number of images approximately the numbers above for each megabyte of flash RAM-24 high-res for 4Mb.
Focusing	Infinity down to about 8 inches. Focusing is very difficult, involving turning a ring around the lens. There is no calibration of the focus, so you have to watch the image on the computer monitor, and focusing is difficult when the monitor is only 256 colours.	Infinity down to about 2 1/2 feet on normal settings, and fixed at 18 inches on a macro setting.
Focal length of lens	Fixed	3:1 zoom
Image quality	I'm not entirely happy about the image quality of either device. For the QuickCam, I don't find the focus to be as sharp as I would like, probably the result of the quality of the lens. For the DC50 the focus may be OK, but the compressed image has edge artifacts which make it difficult to evaluate.
Best Price seen	About C$350 (MacWarehouse Canada)	About C$650 (Computer City, Toronto)
Overall pick	This is an "on the one hand, on the other hand" decision. Despite the price, I'm happier with the DC50 for still shots. The QuickCam is simply too unwieldy for field use. On the other hand, I can't take movies with the DC50, so for "studio" based QuickTime movies I have to use the QuickCam. Now, if someone would let me have an MPEG camera.....