With the M23, simplicity seems to be the main aim – even the manual only has six pages in English and physical controls are very minimal, limited to a recording, zoom, playback, menu, light and mode button. This makes the M23 ideal for beginners to the world of camcorders, or for those that say are backpackers, who want to travel as light as possible and are not fussed about messing about with settings too much.

The M23 weighs in at only 170g (sans battery) and can easily sit in the palm of your hand. It does feel a tad flimsy I’d have to say, and I don’t think I’d like to drop it onto any hard surface; a good reason to add the supplied wrist strap as soon as possible.

On a side note, I have had a camcorder stolen from my hands by an opportunist crook grabbing the wrist strap while skate boarding past at a million miles an hour. As a consequence, I now have a habit of wrapping the strap in a double loop around my wrist.

One thing that other manufacturers could learn from is that even at this level – and remember, the Benq M23 is retailing for a lowly $179.95 – the camcorder does come with an HDMI cable so the high-res images can be played back on an HD TV.

Also a bonus, and enhancing the low light claims, is the inclusion of a LED light – or torch as Benq calls it. I also like the larger than average LCD screen which also rotates. As is common these days, it is of course touch screen based and simple enough to “drive” without the manual (which is just as well seeing as the manual doesn’t explain any of the menu workings, these instead being on the supplied CD along with the Arcsoft editing software). While the available options are relatively basic (resolution, white balance, effects, metering, backlight, night mode, motion detection, EV compensation and EIS), let’s face it, they are far in advanced of even the best smartphone based camera, and at this price, if this is what you are after, then you would be hard pressed to go wrong with the M23.

Balance in the hand is pretty good too, with only a little tendency to tip to the left with the LCD screen open (there is no viewfinder) and being very narrow, means a good sold grip can be maintained with the right hand curled underneath the body. The 5x zoom is equivalent to around 190mm in 35mm terms and is neither too much nor too little. As we are fond of saying, if you need longer than 5x, get closer to the subject. There is no macro and the closest I could get to an object was around 6 centimetres and still keep it in focus.

The HDMI and USB ports are situated under a reasonable rubber seal on the rear of the body of the camera while the SD card slot is located underneath in the same compartment area as the battery. The USB port triples (?) up as a charging port, a data out port AND an AV port (cable supplied) thus maximising real estate on the body of the camera.

The M23 is designed for a specific market. It is not for the serious shooter, or even as a backup camera for said enthusiast (although it could I suppose stay in the glove box for emergency use). It is a beginner camera in its DNA and / or a camera for someone without the big bucks but wants more than their smartphone can give them.

Vendor: Benq: www.benq.com.au

Price: $179.95

We liked…

• Price
• Ease of use
• Supplied HDMI cable
• LED “torch”

We didn’t like…

• Possible fragility
• No paper manual

By David Hague

David is the owner and publisher of AusCam Online. He has a background in media dating back to 1979 when he first got involved with photojournalism in motorsport, and went from there into technology via a 5 year stint with Tandy Computers. Following that, he ran a software distribution company on the Gold Coast and was one of the first to recognise the potential of Microsoft Windows.

Moving back to WA, David wrote scripts for Computer Television for video training for the just released Windows and Office 95 among others, and was then lured to Sydney to create web sites for the newly commercial Internet in 1995, building hundreds of sites under contract to OzEmail including Coates Hire, Hertz Queensland, John Williamson, the NSW Board of Studies and many, many more.

He went back into full time journalism as the Managing Editor for Channel 7's 'Gadget Guy', Peter Blasina's publications VideoCamera and Pixelmag, before starting Australasian Camcorder magazine when these publications were shelved. He lives at Sydney's Avalon Beaches nearly on the ocean front with dog Budweiser and in his spare time is a nut for motor sport, road safety, fishing, science fiction - especially Dr Who - and technology.

David can be contacted via david@auscamonline.com