Norcent DCS 760 review

So, the Kodak Easyshare I picked up on Thursday was not resolving the SD card recognition issues. So, I returned it on Friday afternoon and traded "up" for Norcent DCS 760. Normally I would have been very leery of a Norcent anything, as Norcent is a low-end Chinese manufacturer best known for cheap LCD monitors and digital keychains. However, most of the reviews I'd seen in advance were positive, and it seemed to have fewer angry reviews written entirely in lower case.

Alas, the Norcent had an issue with the battery mmeory or power switch that meant that it could be turned on and off... but then would not turn on again until the battery had been removed and replaced. So, off to XScargo again this morning for my third camera in two days.

Lesson:
DO NOT TRUST XSCARGO FOR ANY HARDWARE MORE COMPLICATED THAN A HAT.

Though, I mean, really, with a name like "XScargo", you can't really expect high-end stuff.

That said, this third camera seems to be working fine. Indeed, it takes photos that are generally superior in colour and resolution to my lost Pentax Optio S. The colour is very good, and I got some excellent shots with and without the flash. The following shots were taken in "auto" mode, without a flash. My only concern is that the camera, when used without a flash, requires full outdoor light or the images are slightly blurred. Also, there seems to be an odd "glow" to some of the colours, which is not entirely unpleasant.

I'll see how durable it is over the coming weeks. The following sample shots have been cropped, but are otherwise as is.


Last night at sunset, on the returned camera.


This afternoon. Two features I really like are the quick turn-on time (under a second) and the rapid shot times. A lot of cheap digital cameras have a 5+ second warm up, and take more than a second to respond to the shutter button. Elizabeth threw the paper airplane without warning, and I was able to catch it in the frame every time.




The tossed hair isn't blurred.


Indoor shot from last night - you can see some of the "glow" I mentioned.


And again here, especially around the white paper. It doesn't seem to happen when the flash is in use.


The colours are very true to life.

The Day

In addition to paper plane flying and photography, today involved the succesful second launch and retrieval of our model rocket with the girls, a trip to the hardware store, installation of a coat rack, a visit to the local comic shop (where Elizabeth spent her allowance on Carl Barks Donald Duck reprints), snuggling on the couch with small girls, and a trip to an antique book store in Burlington.

I picked up Witch Wood, a 1927 fantasy/horror novel by former Canadian governor general, John Buchan. Buchan is an author I've always wanted to read, based on a passing reference to his works in the C.S. Lewis SF/fantasy, That Hideous Strength. A similar passing reference in the same book pointed me to George MacDonald's almost forgotten Curdie books, which I enjoyed immensely. The book dealer had a number of Buchan novels, and if I like this one, I'll go back there.

I also picked up a present for velvetpage!


I expected this 1888 reference to be full of hilariously outdated personal advice.
( Images below! )