A pocket binocular, with a built in digital camera.

Why did I buy it?
I was planning on visiting a friend in upstate New York. He mentioned that his son would soon be celebrating his 11th birthday. I knew that his son enjoyed hunting with his dad, and going camping on long multi day hikes. The DigiBino just seemed like something that would complement his hobbies. After a few months, when he emailed me his first few pictures, I knew I had bought the right gift for him. He now has an exciting new hobby of nature photography. I purchased it for $249 from Datavision.com.

Other similar products currently available are the Meade CaptureView CVB1002, and the Carson Photo Viewer PV-825 (1.3MP camera, expandable memory).

The Layout.
Closest to you are the eyepieces. On top is the LCD screen that flips up to open. Below it is the central focusing wheel. The screen must be opened to use the focus wheel. Just to the right of the LCD are the shutter release, menu and display buttons. There are also 4 directional navigation buttons with an OK/enter button in the center. On the far side are two objective lenses with the camera lens in the middle. Below the camera lens is the slide release lever. On the front right corner is the USB/video out terminal cover, and on the left side is the battery compartment cover. On the bottom is the tripod mount.

What’s included in the box.
- DB100 Camera / Binocular,
- 2 x AA batteries alkaline,
- Neck strap,
- USB cable,
- Video out cable,
- Soft Carry case,
- Application / driver CD-ROM,
- Instruction manual & warranty card.

What’s HOT.

Digital Camera & Picture Quality.
The camera takes the picture thru it’s own lens. It is capable of capturing images at a maximum of 1024x768 pixel resolution. This is sufficient quality to produce good 4x6” and 5x7” prints. Any larger and the prints show pixelation. The camera is capable of capturing images at three different settings. At the ‘GOOD’ resolution setting, (640x480) the camera can take 300 images. At the ‘BETTER’ resolution setting, (1024x768, high compression) the camera can take 150 images. And at the ‘BEST’ resolution setting, (1024x768 low compression) the camera can take 100 images. Images are captured in JPEG format. There is a digital zoom setting that allows you to zoom in by 1.6x or 3.2x magnification. I would not recommend using this as it results in pixelated images. There is a continuous shooting mode that captures 5 frames per second for two seconds total. That’s up to 10 quick shots. This is great for shooting a sporting event or wildlife. After taking the shots, you can keep the good images and discard the rest. Some of the other customizable features I found helpful were TTL metering, white balance and exposure settings. A wide shutter speed range, (1/8000 sec to 1/30 sec) allows for clear shots of distant moving objects, and better images in low light situations.

Viewfinder thru LCD or Binocular.
You have a choice of composing the frame by viewing it either on the LCD screen, or thru the binocular. The LCD screen is however a more accurate representation of the frame, compared to the field of view of the binocular. Also the LCD can be used to replay the captured image immediately after capture. This is good because you can immediately proofread the shot and delete it if unsatisfactory. Images can be played back individually, 9 image thumbnails or a continuous slide show of all captured images. The viewed images can also be viewed at a magnified setting. This helps in determining that the captured image was in correct focus. The binocular focus ring is used for setting focus on the camera. The binocular confirms that camera is in focus with a crosshair.

PC and TV connectivity.
On the front right side is the USB and Video output port. This allows you to use any PC with a USB port, or a TV with a composite video input, as a monitor or for playback of captured images. For PC connectivity, you need to first install the USB drivers and the ACDSee software on the PC. After that the camera shows up in windows explorer and my computer as ‘Removable Disk’. This is very convenient because it allows you to treat the camera storage like a logical drive. You can copy, cut, paste, drag, drop and move files as you normally would on your HDD.

Binocular Functions.
The binocular has a fixed 7x magnification with a 7.1° field of view. People who wear prescription eyeglasses, can individually adjust the left and right diopters. Diopter adjustment range is -5m-1 to 3m-1. The camera and the binocular have a wide focus range of between 6.6 ft to infinity. The width between the eyepieces can also be adjusted within a range of 2.2” - 2.8”. (57mm - 72mm)

Takes standard AA batteries.
The camera is powered by either 2x AA size alkaline or 2x AA size rechargeable NiMH batteries. The date and time functions are maintained by 2x CR-V3 lithium batteries. On a vacation you can pick up extra batteries at any local store.

What’s NOT:

Limited Internal Memory.
The camera only has 16MB of memory which is capable of storing 100 Hi resolution images. This should be fine for most consumer applications. But on a vacation where you are unable to download your pictures, you might run out of space.

No Flash.
At the fixed 7x magnification, a flash would not be that effective any way. But it becomes necessary for closer shots during low light conditions. The longer shutter mode helps correct this problem to a degree. But many of the images had a noise pattern.

The Bottom Line:
This is a 7x pocket binocular with a built in 0.8 Megapixel digital camera. It’s a must own item for people who enjoy hiking, camping, ornithology or the Opera. It makes a great gift for boy/girl scouts and kids 10 and over. But it will never replace the Canon S230 as my main camera.


Recommended: Yes