October 2006 | Margaret Brown
A low-priced, pocketable slimline camera with plenty of adjustments for snapshooters.
RRP: $339
Rating (out of 10):
- Build: 8
- Ease of use: 8
- Image quality: 6.5
- OVERALL: 8
Consumer electronics company, Uniden, has entered the digital camera market with two new models, offering 5- and 7-megapixel resolution. The features of both are similar so we elected to review the higher-resolution UDC-7M model, which costs $170 more than its 5-megapixel 'sister'. Both come with 3x optical zoom lenses and 2.5-inch LCD monitors - but no viewfinder is provided.
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Consumer electronics company, Uniden, has entered the digital camera market with two new models, offering 5- and 7-megapixel resolution. The features of both are similar so we elected to review the higher-resolution UDC-7M model, which costs $170 more than its 5-megapixel 'sister'. Both come with 3x optical zoom lenses and 2.5-inch LCD monitors - but no viewfinder is provided.
The UDC-7M's matte silver body is simply designed but well built and the control buttons, though small, are reasonably easy to operate. The menu system is straightforward, although the white on grey lettering is not quite as easy to read as the menus on some rival cameras. Direct access to the drive, focus, flash and Scene modes (14 of them) is provided through the arrow pad. Review and delete buttons complete the rear panel's controls.
The SD card slot shares the battery compartment and the hinged cover is slightly more securely anchored than in some cameras. Uncovered ports are provided for USB and DC-in connections. A plastic tripod mount is located below the 2.5-inch LCD on the camera's base.
Test shots were colourful and punchy but slightly soft and Imatest showed resolution to be well below expectations for a 7-megapixel camera. We noted a gradual loss of resolution as ISO settings were increased. Imatest also showed colour accuracy to be slightly below average, with some shifts in blues and reds. However, lateral chromatic aberration was negligible and no obvious colour fringing was observed in outdoor shots.
The manual ('one touch') white balance setting was the only one that corrected the colour casts of artificial lighting and ISO 400 was required for the flash to illuminate an average-sized room. Close-up performance was excellent, but low-light use is limited to exposures of under two seconds. We measured an average capture lag of 0.6 seconds, which became negligible with pre-focusing.
IMATEST GRAPHS
TEST IMAGES
Close-up performance was impressive.
Digital zoom shots were sharp and relatively artefact-free.
Noise was visible in long exposures at ISO 400 and above.
The auto white balance failed to correct incandescent lighting.
Image sensor: 5.76 x 4.29mm CCD (10.16mm diagonal) with 7.41 million photosites (7.13 megapixels effective)
Lens: 6.3-18.9mm f3.1-5.6 zoom (38-114mm in 35mm format)
Zoom ratio: 3x optical, up to 4x digital
Image formats: Stills – JPEG (Exif 2.2); Movies – QuickTime PhotoJPEG/WAV (VGA @ 30 fps; QVG/QQVGA @ 15 fps)
Image Sizes: 3072x2304, 2592x1944, 2048x1536, 1024x768, 640x480
Shutter speed range:1/2 to 1/2000 second (to 2 seconds in Fireworks mode)
Exposure Compensation: +/- 2 EV in 1/3 EV steps
Focus system/range: 9-point TTL AF; range 10cm to infinity; macro 5-80cm
Exposure metering/control: Multi-section metering plus Program AE and 14 scene pre-sets
White balance: Auto, Sunny, Cloudy, Fluorescent, Incandescent, One-push
Flash modes/range (ISO auto): Auto, forced, off, red-eye reduction; Flash GN = 6; range 0.4 to 3.8m
ISO range: Auto, ISO 50, 100, 200, 400, 800.
Sequence shooting: Six 7M shots at 0.7 seconds intervals
Storage Media: 23MB internal memory plus SD card slot
Viewfinder: n.a.LCD monitor: 2.5-inch TFT colour LCD (115,000 pixels)
Power supply: BT-1003 rechargeable lithium-ion battery
Dimensions (wxhxd): 91 x 55.5 x 21.1mm
Weight: 120g (without battery and card)