yummy, but plan ahead!

I got my Donvier ice cream maker many years ago as a gift. I never would have purchased it myself because it looks to easy to use and it's kind of a treat item.
It came with a nice recipe booklet and when I ventured into the sorbet area I was pleasantly surprised. I actually made some berry sorbet that was pretty involved for me. It required cooking and straining the seeds out with cheesecloth, etc. I also made recipes from sources other than the included recipe booklet--a kiwi sorbet comes to mind. My husband made some of the more traditional flavors, including a rich chocolate chip ice cream that we all loved.
This ice cream maker was as easy to use as it looks. I thought it might be like the old fashioned crank ice cream makers that my Dad had to crank because he was the only one strong enough to crank it. My job was to sit on top of the maker to keep it steady. The Donvier model was not that way. Once you have made whatever concoction to put into the freezer, you close it up and turn it occassionally to keep the end product from sticking to the sides of the inside cannister. This is easy at first and becomes progressively harder to crank as the contents freeze. But I was able to turn the lever with no problem. The end result is fantastic!
What's really great about this product is that you can easily whip up a variety of frozen treats. If you want to make an "ice" or a "sorbet", that is as easy as ice cream. If you just want to use juice you can use that too.
There is no messy ice and rock salt to continuously pour around the cannister. You don't have to drain the tub of salt water in your yard, killing the grass, etc. That is where the drawback comes in. You cannot spontaneously decide to make a frozen treat. The cannister must be frozen over night or for many hours. This is to allow the cooling agent that lines the cannister to freeze before you use the ice cream maker.
Also, this only makes one quart, which can be good if you're trying to diet and don't want the extra ice cream in your freezer tempting you.