The DC-T50 employs a high-quality F2.8-F4.7, 7 elements in 5 groups, f=7.2 to 21.6mm (equivalent to 35-105mm on a 35mm camera), all glass lens Zoom 3X Optical, 4X Digital zoom.

The auto-focus range is: Normal mode from 0.8 m to infinity, Macro mode: 9 cm (wide) to infinity, 30cm to infinity (tele). There is also fixed focus at 1 m, 3 m and infinity.

Real-image optical viewfinder with dioptric adjustment. The LED indicates focus and flash status by changing color (red and green) and blinking or staying on steady. It also turns yellow during any SD card activity and green while battery is charging.

The built in flash has a working range of 0.5 m to 2.9 m (Wide, ISO 200) and Auto, Red-Eye reduction Forced (Fill), Forced, and disabled modes of operation.

On the back is a 1.5-inch color monitor, it's coated with a non-glare finish and is quite useable in brightly lit environments. The controls include: the zoom lens switch on the top right, the SEARCH DIAL on the side is used to adjust shutter speeds and aperture values, the MENU button calls up the onscreen menu system in record or playback modes. The "trash can" button is used to delete image(s), the 4-way buttons with the SET button in the center to navigate menus and accept selections. Use the "Up" button to enable macro focus or manually select 1m, 3m or infinity distances. The "Right" button selects the Flash modes. Press "Down" to enable the self-timer or interval recording modes. Press "Left" to enable exposure compensation. The DISP button controls the color LCD and the amount of information displayed on it.

On top is the shutter release, power button and the Mode Dial with positions for Setup, Connect to PC, Playback, Auto Record, Program AE, Shutter speed AE, Aperture priority AE, Manual, Portrait, Sports, Night Portrait and Movie Record. The microphone is also located on the top.

SecureDigital (SD) flash cards are used for image storage, a 32MB card is included and any size up to 512MB can be used. The cards are located in the battery compartment and can easily removed by a "push in and pop out" type of ejector.

Image Storage Capacity

On the left side is the 5V DC IN jack for connecting the AC power supply / battery charger. The PC / Video-Audio port connects either the USB cable for downloading to the computer or the video-audio output cable. The video signal is switchable for NTSC or PAL standards.

The camera is powered by a 3.7v 1035mAh Li-ion rechargeable type battery. Also included is a small AC charger / power supply. There is no reference in the Gateway's user manual as to how many shots can be taken on a full charge. (The Gateway DC-T50 is an OEM model of the Toshiba PDR-5300. Toshiba claims that the PDR-5300 can take 130 shots with the flash used 100% and continuous playback is 90 minutes.)

Shown here is the optional DC-T50 Accessory Kit. It includes a second Li-ion rechargeable battery (we noticed that the battery in our accessory kit was only 950mAh capacity whereas the stock battery is rated at 1035mAh), AC power supply, soft carrying case, and a handy table top tripod good for taking self-portraits and macro pictures.

The accessory kit costs $50, however there is a rebate available currently from Gateway that makes this Free. You'll also see a 128MB Sandisk SD memory card shown above, it costs $65. Thanks to yet another Gateway rebate this card is Free when purchased with the camera and the accessory kit. The invoice total was $454.97 and after our mail-in rebate checks come back the whole package will cost just $339.97.