It’s not uncommon these days for different manufacturers to bring out products based on a standard chassis made by a third party company. For instance, I’ve come across notebooks that lookidentical apart from the respective company logos stuck on the lid. Indeed, the same can be said of cars too, like the SEAT Marbella which is based on Fiat’s Panda.
So why am I talking about this? Well, the same thing also happens in the world of digital cameras. Here I have BenQ’s DC C50 5megapixel digital camera. Look familiar? Well its strikes me as very similar to Toshiba’s PDR-5300, and Centon’s DC5 – a design that is over two years old. Now of course this isn’t necessarily a bad thing and as always I’ll concentrate on the DC C50 as a standalone product and focus on image quality, design and features, and overall value.
On the face of it, the £163 DC C50 is attractively designed with a mirrored plate mounted to the front giving it an overall “retro†appearance. The body is constructed from metal and the build quality feels sturdy. In the hand, the DC C50 feels well-balanced and your thumb falls nicely over the rocker switch which controls the 3x optical (and 4x digital) zoom. Instead of a going for a bulky grip BenQ has added a bobbled surface to the front to help you keep a firm purchase, while keeping the DC C50 at a suitable size for your a pocket.
