Gateway DC-M50 Digital Camera

Average User Rating

21 reviews

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CNET Editors' Take

Review: Five megapixels don't come much cheaper. This budget-priced entry in Gateway's new digital camera line puts high resolution in a basic point-and-shoot, appealing to photographers who like easy camera operation and big prints.

Upside: While it doesn't offer a very advanced feature set, the M50 covers the basics well, with a 3X zoom lens, four automatic exposure modes and exposure compensation, white-balance presets, and a relatively large 1.8-inch LCD. You can shoot 320x240 video clips with sound and record voice memos with this model too.

Downside: It's cheap, but it ain't pretty. In case ... Expand full review
Five megapixels don't come much cheaper. This budget-priced entry in Gateway's new digital camera line puts high resolution in a basic point-and-shoot, appealing to photographers who like easy camera operation and big prints.

Upside: While it doesn't offer a very advanced feature set, the M50 covers the basics well, with a 3X zoom lens, four automatic exposure modes and exposure compensation, white-balance presets, and a relatively large 1.8-inch LCD. You can shoot 320x240 video clips with sound and record voice memos with this model too.

Downside: It's cheap, but it ain't pretty. In case you forget you're buying a budget camera, the M50's bulky design and lack of rechargeable batteries in the box will remind you. Its somewhat slow lens, single center-weighted metering mode, and limited light-sensitivity selections (ISO 200 and 400) may have a negative effect on the camera's performance.

Outlook: We couldn't help but notice the striking resemblance between this camera and the Argus DC3810, which didn't fare so well in our tests and sells for $70 less. We'll keep an open mind until we find out whether Gateway spent the difference on firmware improvements to make the M50 a higher-quality option. It's available now for a list price of $300. Hide Review

Average User Rating

1.5 stars out of 21 user reviews

Rating Breakdown

  • 5 star: 2
  • 4 star: 2
  • 3 star: 2
  • 2 star: 5
  • 1 star: 10

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Most recent user reviews

Showing 3 of 21 reviews

1.0 stars

"More Gateway junk" By thegeorgebush

Pros: Can take high quality pictures

Cons: Slow, battery case pops out, takes AA bateries, falls apart quickly, needs duct tape, pauses a while before taking picture

Summary: This CAN work--sometimes--but even then you have to wrestle with it.

This is official. I now will never buy from Gateway again. A few years ago I bought a Gateway computer, and it crashed within a week. Then I replaced it with an HP, which is still working to this

... Expand full review

0.5 stars

"This is a warning to all" By bassman12593

Pros: only the price and the resolution.

Cons: the size of the camera. the size of the LCD. The battery level indicator does not work. uses 4 aa batteries. uses compact flash. Very slow menus and shutter delay.

Summary: this is a horrible camera. save your money for a nice 4 gig high speed SD card. The amount of pressure that the batteries put on the door made it break off. Operation time is very slow. weighs 5.7 pounds (yes i did weigh it) video time limit is ... Expand full review

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