Digital cameras 101

[Jellyroll]

I recently decided to purchase a digital camera.Since I am new to this and never owned one before I decided to go with a lower end starter model.
So I bought a Nova DC-2L camera.
It seems to me that it is terribley hard on batteries.For example I put new ones in today and took 3 pictures without the flash and the batteries were dead.
I use the rechargeable cells.Does this make a difference??Or does it make a difference if the camera is set to the highest resolution??
Is this normal or did I buy a piece of garbage??

[admin]

It seems to me that it is terribley hard on batteries.For example I put new ones in today and took 3 pictures without the flash and the batteries were dead.
I use the rechargeable cells.Does this make a difference??Or does it make a difference if the camera is set to the highest resolution??
Is this normal or did I buy a piece of garbage??

Hi and welcome!

I'm not familiar with the Nova DC-2L. I did a search on the web and could not get much information. But it is not normal for you to take three photos, with our without flash, and have the batteries go dead...even if you have the camera set at it's hightest resolution.

I'm assuming your batteries were fully charged. If so, they should last longer. The only thing I'm wondering is if your camera takes rechargeable batteries. If so, make sure they are compatible with your camera as there are several types of rechargeables. You should check in the manual. Also, some cameras only take AA standard or alkaline batteries.

I did find out that this camera is a combination webcam, video recorder and digital camera. Sometimes these combo-cameras, which can be purchased rather inexpensively, are not the best if you wish to take high quality images. The may not have a quality lens or sensor.

Other than that, the only thing you could try is turning off the LCD monitor. Monitors can drain certain batteries rather quickly. Then turn the LCD on when you're ready to shoot.

Again, I can't find specs for the DC-2L, so I'm just sort of thinking outloud here.

If your camera is still on warranty, you should call the manufacturer and see what they recommend. If the camera is faulty, you should get a replacement, repair or refund. Just make sure the battery drain is not a common problem with this model camera.

[Jaylene]

Just before Christmas, I purchased the Nova DC-2L Digital Camera.  I have no complaints about it's web camera function (a little dark but not bad).  However as you said, it is terrible on batteries.  I have been trying to use the rechargable and thought for the longest time that my rechargeables had problems.

Like you say, it's impossible almost to find any information about this camera.  I don' think I could even find a phone number in my user's manual.

I am going to try to switch to high quality standard batteries and hope for the best.

Now I need to figure out what to do with 6 rechargeable triple A batteries!  

[ShutterbugGail]

I am going to try to switch to high quality standard batteries and hope for the best.  

I am not sure standard, high quality batteries will do any better but it sure is worth a try. I don't know if lithium batteries come in the AAA size, but they would be your best bet if available.

If the way your camera keeps "eating" batteries continues, you should consider getting a new digital camera, as the cost of constantly feeding it batteries will be high. There are so many sales on decent digital camera. With Photokina (a photography trade show where a lot of new digicams will be announced) only about a month away, there should be even better sales on current models as new products come on the market.

[matt]

hey i just got a novac dc-2l camera and i recomend that you purchase the rayovac  I-C 3 15 minute rechargable batteries... they last much longer then other batteries i've tried like 3-4 times longer....  

[ArtGuy2112]

Hi JellyRoll,

I am testing this camera, which I purchased on sale. On Duracell akaline batteries it seems to be holding up. I haven't tried recharchables yet.

My camera came without software, and it doesn't seem to be available online. I am wondering if you'd consider emailing the installer software?

I'm also interested in knowing your opinion on the camera.

[ShutterbugGail]

My camera came without software, and it doesn't seem to be available online. I am wondering if you'd consider emailing the installer software?

Hi ArtGuy,

I'm not familiar with this camera. I'm surprised they don't have a site where you can download drivers at least.

Until JellyRoll gets back to you, what type of software are you looking for? Let us know and perhaps we can recommend something which meets your needs. There is a lot of free stuff out there that is very capable and probably equal to what comes with the camera.

If you need a driver to download images to your computer, I highly recommend you purchase a memory card reader if the camera uses removable media. You can get some very good ones for under $20.00 U.S. and they save a considerable amount of drain on batteries if you're downloading directly from the camera.

[kytten98]

my husband purchased the nova dc-2l for me for christmas and i have lost the installation disk can anyone help me find it

[ShutterbugGail]

Hi Kytten,

Welcome to the Q&A Board.

Unfortunately, after extensive searching, we're having trouble finding any information about the Nova DC-2L camera. Did you try contacting the place where your husband purchased the camera? Or did you try getting it from an online auction such as eBay?

Do you recall what software was on the disk? Maybe we can recommend some free software that you can use instead.

As indicated in a previous response, if you don't have the driver to transfer images from camera to computer, an inexpensive option is to purchase a memory card reader. For example, I don't have the driver for my digital camera installed on my computer. I use a card reader instead. If you have Windows XP, you may not need a driver at all.

Let us know.

[ShutterbugGail]

We received an email last night, which gives more insight into the problems some of you are running into with the DC-2L camera. The person wrote:

I recently received a digital camera, NOVA DC-2L which is a combo of digital camera. webcamera and videocamera. I received it without the instalation CD, but it has the USB cable.

WinXP can retreive the pictures from the internal memory, but it wont be able to find it's drivers as a web camera. Also i need the video codec for the short movies it records, which should be also at the instalation CD I guess. I would appreciate your help if you could tell me where i can download these drivers, or if you can email them to me.

After hours of researching this product online, including searches in other digital photography forums and in digital camera databases, none of us can find information about the NOVA DC-2L.

If any Q&A Board member or visitor has information about where to get the installation disk, knows where to download the components or knows how to contact the manufacturer, kindly post it in this thread. Thanks.

[Deb]

Hello there, I'm at a loss for being able to find technical or spec info on the Nova DC-2L as well. Hmmmmm, is there any address (or better yet, contact info) given on the box that this camera came in? If it came with any documentation, is there any contact or address info found there? Perhaps manufacturer info is included?

[machoflux]

i have purchased a nova dc2l digital camera from future shop i had the driver disc too but it get lost so i m in the same trouble with you guys try to find the driver but no chance sims to be a common problem for dc 2l draining the batteries and the reason is the display  i had a another nova dc 1 before and works fine batteries last very long because has no display i used pure energy rechargeable alkaline batteries
i will be thankful if somebady can tell me were i can find the driver (on the cd is photo exress too but it work without )mail mediasflux@yahoo.de

[roata de rezerva]

sorry i forgot the driver is less than 4 Mb and can be found on the CD when you explore the disk the folder is named driver