Kodak DVC325 Digital Video Camera

When it comes to photography there are few names as easily recognisable as Kodak. This latest USB camera from the company attempts to improve on its previous offering, the DVC323, by doubling the size of the video image available for capture to a respectable 640 x 480.

The unit comes with a Twain driver for importing images directly into editing packages such as Paint Shop Pro. This driver can be used in conjunction with the snapshot button on the top of the camera. Click the button once, and the camera's software will pop up to allow you to select which image-editing software you want to use. Select this, click the button again and the image will be imported.

The camera looks attractive, having a slimline design, unlike most other bulbous webcams available. The base is detachable and allows the camera to be tilted through 75 degrees. Laptop users will be pleased to find an additional thumbnail-sized base bundled with the unit for docking the camera on top of their LCD screens.

Presto VideoWorks and Presto Mr Photo software are bundled for video and stills editing respectively. However, Kodak is aiming this camera at those interested in internet videoconferencing, which is a tad strange given the fact that the device doesn't have a built-in microphone. It does work with the bundled Netmeeting software from Microsoft, but its performance could hardly be described as flawless.

This was mainly due to the unit's poor drivers. It took us ages to get them working properly, and when they did get going it was hard to convince them to capture smooth video sequences. Added to this, both PCs used to test the camera experienced a severe slow-down when the camera was plugged in. This stopped as soon as the device was unplugged.

At present the DVC325 is a respectable USB camera ruined by a lack of usable drivers. One to avoid.

Contact Kodak 0870 243 0270