Digital-Camera Reviews

I bought this camera back in July. I liked it, it took pictures just fine, was a good deal for $140.
But it let me down. In Feb. the zoom lens jammed. The first thing this camera does when you turn it on is pop out the zoom, so this turned it into a brick. It is very difficult to get a person on the phone and not voicemail. I sent the camera to Vivitar. They also make you send a check for $5 for return shipping! A month later, I received a replacement. With a bad flash, although I can see how whoever inspecting missed it, because the flash does a weak blink. Now in late April, I'm still waiting for them to send me a mailing label to return the bad replacement, because I've already paid shipping twice and should not have to pay again. I've given up on Vivitar and bought a Nikon Coolpix 2100.

I JUST BOUGHT THIS CAMERA ABOUT TWO WEEKS AGO. I AM VERY
IMPRESSED AT THE IMAGE QUALITY AND THE CAMERA ITSELF. YOU JUST
DON'T FIND THE FEATURES AND THE IMPRESSIVE QUALITY IN SUCH
AN INEXPENSIVE DIGITAL CAMERA. 3X OPTICAL ZOOM WORKS GREAT.
TAKES SUPERB PICTURES INSIDE OR OUT. PLAN TO TAKE IT ON
VACATION. HAS TV OUT AND TAKES SHORT VIDEO CLIPS. GREAT BONUS.
DO NOT HESITATE TO BUY THIS CAMERA, YOU WILL NOT BE
DISSAPOINTED.

What a great new toy for my electronics collection. The Vivitar Vivicam 2.1MP is by no means a toy by nature. From the moment you remove it from the box, this marvel of the modern age will never cease to amaze you. It comes standard with features that cameras twice the cost fumble to compare with. The Vivitar Vivicam 2.1MP is not a camera for the faint hearted but more so for those who live life on the edge. So dont waste anymore of your precious time on the other brand digital cameras but bring the digital world to life with your Vivitar Vivicam 2.1MP digital camera. Cheers.

If you make pictures with this one under direct sun light, or anywhere that is very bright, the color will be just fine.
However, if your environment is a little less than perfect, for example, a cloudy day, or in the room where the flash light is needed, the color will be somehow dimmed and not very "real" anymore. One cloudy day I was making picture of a person with red shirt, and the shirt turned out to be purple!
Maybe because the one I was using is a refurbished. Not sure about that.

set up the camera properly download the manual from there website and you will understand how to use it properly great pix best on 4x6 pix

If you are finding a digital camera for basic using and if you have the budget about $100, this is your answer. It is a very small and light digital camera. And it has all functions for beginner completely. It has color LCD for viewing the pictures, macro lens for shooting close objects, slot for adding external memory (SD memory card), built in flash (you can set it in 3 mode, auto flash, always flash, and no flash), self shooting mode, and internal rechargeable battery ( you can use 2 AA batteries for being power source also). Furthermore, you can shoot the video (movie) with out limit of length per one shoot ( the length will depend on your memory card) but no sound recording, you can use it for being your web camera, and you can add the date in pictures. And the quality of pictures is good. However, what I have used it so far, there are 2 distinct weak points. First, its color LCD is too small, so you can not see pictures clearly. And second, there is no lens cover for protecting lens.

If you are finding the digital camera for basic using and you have the budget for it about [money], this is your answer. This is a very small and light camera. It has all basic functions completely. It has color LCD for viewing the pictures, marco lens for shooting close object, slot for adding the external memory (SD memory card), internal rechargeable battery. Moreover, you can shoot the movie that no limit of length (depends on your memory) but no sound recording or use it for being your web cam and you can add the date in your pictures. The quality of picture is very good. However, what I have used it so far, there are two weak points. First, the color LCD is too small so you can not see your pictures clearly. And second, there is no lens cover for protection lens.

hmmm

pc-cam 750 has it all.. video, audio, webcam, pictures.

and it works fine.. with one exception

lighting!

pictures are either too dark or too bright
donno what is the problem
works ok in daylight but not otherwise
so you have to take care in that regard

also it is a 1.3MP camera.. only interpolated to 2.1MP
it has a good sensor.. still does not perform as well as expected...

i would suggest you better buy a HP model available for $180 with optical zoom, lcd and memory slots than this one at $110

My dad actually got me this thing for Christmas and I was immediately impressed by how simple the operation is for this camera. At 2.1 mega pixels, this camera delivers surprisingly crisp pictures. And not like most webcams, you can take this camera anywhere and take pictures. It runs on 4 AAA batteries (included), and it adjusts to even the darkest of conditions.

When I did a video conference with my dad, the video on his end came in crisp using cable connections on both ends. The video recording feature on the webcam is also great, but I have yet to find a feasible use for it. For the money, this camera is well worth it's weight in gold.

I agree 100% with the previous comment.

I just wanted to add a few pointers:

- This is a nice interim camera at a reasonable price until the higher resolution stuff (2Mb and over) comes down in price.

- After some testing I decided that the highest resolution (1200 x 900, interpolated) looked much better than 800 x 600 so I'm only taking pictures in this highest resolution.

- As the camera doesn't save (all?) the defaults, every time I switch it on I have to press a button 3 times to go to the highest resolution. (Annoying)

- In highst resolution mode the built-in memory can only store up to 12 photos, so I bought a 64Mb CF memory card... that boosts capacity to 128 photos. (64Mb was probably not necessary []but 32Mb cards were only slightly cheaper)

- If you add CF memory you cannot use the video recording feature (I never intended to use it anyway)

- This camera has a solid feel, and fits nicely in the palm of my hand. I take it everywhere, and I take photos I usually wouldn take with a film camera, (thinking about developing, printing, etc.) once at home I download them using the provided USB cable and keep the ones I like. Quality is still short of that of a film photo, but I can place them quickly, and easily, in a web page for my extended family to see them.

This is a very good camera for its price. The CMOS sensor has 0.5 million pixels and is NOT a true megapixel camera as the name suggests. However you can shoot megapixel images (which it does by interpolating the pixels) and print them in 8x6 size. I haven't tried it yet and there might be pixels visible. The prints come out good in 5x3 (postcard) size though. So if you want an inexpensive digital camera and want prints from that too then this one is the best.

About the quirks.... the camera shuts itself down after 60 sec of inactivity and all the settings are reset to default. After switching it on, the settings have to done all over again. Not to mention the 3 second self-check that it does everytime you switch it on. Big pain!

The viewfinder is bright and has framing guides. But there is no macro mode for close pictures and they all turn out blurred. When using this camera as a webcam make sure you place it at least a meter away.

The picture quality is good considering that it is a CMOS sensor. Use flash liberally to avoid dark pictures. I got best results outdoors.

The bundled software is easy to setup and I got it working in a single attempt. If you have Paint Shop Pro or any other image editing tool that supports TWAIN you need to install only the camera drivers. The camera gets listed in the list of TWAIN sources and you can use your existing software to acquire the pictures.

Overall a good buy. This camera may not replace your regular film camera but is a great accessory when on field trips and to places where you might risk damaging your expensive SLR.

I bought this digital camera to use for a project at school -- I needed something cheap and easy to use. I didn't want to spend more than $and after looking around on the net concluded that this one was the way to go.
I received it a few days ago and have been trying it out ever since. It took the first useable picture just an hour ago!
While this camera is cute and compact, it seems to me that it takes pictures two ways: far too dark (haven't tested it out in broad daylight as it's raining here) or far too bright. The flash bounces off objects harshly and while there is supposed to be a varibale exposure value that can be set, I found that it basically doesn't make a difference. The menu display is digital but THERE IS NO ON-BOARD PICTURE DISPLAY! I was very disappointed about this!
I will say that for $ it seems to be a good value. It comes in a family-friendly package with extremely simple directions and very few cables or wires. It runs on two AA batteries (included) and stores between 60 (in Fine mode) and 120 (in normal mode -- a bit grainy usually) pictures at once. It doesn't take any discs or cartriges, which can be a good thing or a bad one, depending on your computer-savvy or computer-sloppy nature. The shutter is generally as fast as a 35mm (sometimes there is a little delay).
Included in the package is a TWAIN program to transfer pictures from the camera to your PC and a photo-editing program (and something for making 360 degree photos). I don't know how good they are -- I'm a Photoshop girl myself -- but judging from the TWAIN interface they seem to be quite user-friendly. Also packaged with this camera is a mini-tripod (to use when in the 10-second-delayed-self-timer mode?!). Oh, and while it functions as a webcam you're supposed to use your own software (apparently packaged with Microsoft Netmeeting or something -- I'm not sure, as I have no need for this feature).
All in all, I definitely stick by my statement -- you get what you pay for. It's not a great camera, but a child could use it and that is a plus for anyone who isn't very comfortable with computers. It's about the size of one of those cool APS camperas (with the drop-in film); smaller than a normal 35mm. It comes with a case (with belt loops) and hand strap, so it's portable. Don't expect to take spectacular pictures on it, but if you play around with different lights and angles you should get the hang of it. It is easy to use and definitely is in the "cute" category. Again, be warned that you can't see your pictures before transferring them to the PC, so if there is any doubt, take multiple shots!!!

If you want an inexpensive digital camera and own a PC, this model is for you. No preview of photo until you load on your PC. Then, it's just as functional as the more expensive models. WEBCAM is TONS of fun, especially for the kids. Use with USB port (included), CD-ROM (included), Windows 98/98SE/Me/2000. Worked on Compaq Presario laptop. Self-timer.

When i ordered this online, it said nothing about being a mini camera. Well, when I recieved this one via ups, and opened the box, it measured 2 inches by 1.5 inches. Not very functional. My husband cant even use it because he has such big hands. I can hardly use it. We actually exchanged it for another that is about the size of a reg. camera!

Nice cool little camera + camcorder! Best price!!!!!!!!!Camcorder is great outside!

Pros:
Fits the camera.
Small for compact cameras
Handles fast charge

Cons:
ONLY fits the specific charger for it -- you have to buy the charger too.

Try to find a car charger for a trip.

Not interchangable with your other cameras, even other Nikons use other different batteries.

Hard to find locally

It is a battery. It is rechargable. If fits in your CoolPix 2500. It is somewhat expensive, for a battery. You should probably have an extra one so you will always have a charged battery ready.

Oh, and it is black and says "Nikon" on it. Usually things that fit that description cost much more.

I may be a little naive, but I was expecting an actual battery with my battery charger. Other than that, it's fine. It works and it charges the battery in the stated time.

They offer a battery charger, then you receive that. The product is good, it's little, you could carry it wherever you go. It charges the battery in only two hours.

There isn't a lot of information on this. Olympus advises caution on the type of Power Supply you use on the Camedia E-10. This PS is designed to use with all Olympus cameras, but when you get the package, it explaines that it's for all Olympus cameras that use 2AA type batteries. And even that is an afterthought. The original blister pack has 4AA batteries, but it's been taped over with the 2AA label. I'm sure it's a good unit, but not for the E-10. That's the only reason for the 3 stars.

This is a item that do what is suposed to in no fuzzy way, easy instalation, ritgh to bussiness!