Digital-Camera Reviews

The Vivicam 5 is the digital equivalent to the 110 film format; nothing more, nothing less. It's small, measuring 2.18" x 2.18" x 0.94" and 1.4 ounces with battery. The neck chain that's included weighs more, LOL. The raw, unedited images you get are comparable in quality to 110, but because it's a digital image, Photoshop and similar imaging software can measurably improve the quality. This is the perfect size camera for situations that won't allow room for a conventional size point & shoot cam. The only thing I don't like about this camera is the LCD. The mode icons are extremely small. Fine art photographers who delve into Holga, pinhole cameras, and Lomography will be surprised with the Vivicam 5's imaging qualities. Are there similarities? It's up to the viewer.

-Easy User Interface. Plug and save for your compact flash card without having to turn the unit on if you are in a hurry.
-Nicely designed exterior and 3.5 inch display.
-The screen resolution in review mode wont allow you to determine sharpness absolutely but definitely will allow you to review pictures and show them to friends.
-There are smaller units out there but this is a nice compromise for size and functionality.
-This unit is a hard drive,so don't expect to take this running when you listen to you MP3 player.
-It has good sound quality when using headphones.
-My only complaint is the "case" is just a felt bag, I was expecting something more durable.

I purchased the Kodak Dx3500 and was immediately struck by its simple and esy to use menus. It is definitely much easier to use than many other camers. However, this particular camera does have a tendancy to take pitures which are dark and frequently need to be adjusted after-the-fact using the software package. Also, the automatic flash rarely makes the right decision (flashes when it shouldn't, does not use a fill flash when it should). It takes some experimentation to learn how to manually set the flash for different indoor lighting conditions. Picture quality was fine, once any darkness was adjusted. The digital zoom creates blurry pictures every time. If zooming is an important feature for you, this is not your camera. The 16 meg card and docking station are definite pluses.

I purchased a DX3500 after a week's ownership of an HP 318 that I returned. The DX3500 is an extremely capable camera that is easy to use for beginners and sophisticated users alike.

Compared to the HP 318, the DX3500 offers superior picture quality. Fine details are not lost in the 'grain' of the image. Colors are well balanced and smooth. Setup and operation are easy with the single function knob and easy to navigate menus displayed on the rear LCD.

One feature that should be mandatory on digital cameras is a lens cap or cover. This model has a lens shutter that turns off the camera when closed. In addition, there are guide lines on the viewfinder that show you where the edges of your picture will be so you don't cut off what you're trying to photograph.

Battery life is okay with alkalines although they aren't recommended for use with this camera because of the high drain. Kodak includes a Lithium Ion battery pack with this camera that provides a lot of use out of the box. Another plus is that this camera only requires two AA batteries as opposed to other units that require four.

The included software installed smoothly on Windows XP and when the camera is attached via the USB port, it shows up as a removable drive under the file manager. You can transfer files with either file manager or the Kodak software. Using the Kodak method is easier and allows you to automatically clear the camera when the pictures are downloaded.

I purchased two NiMH batteries and a charger for less than twenty dollars instead of buying the Kodak camera dock and rechargeable batteries. The dock simplifies image transfer and would be useful if you're doing a lot of picture-taking. It can also charge Kodak batteries when your camera is docked.

At medium resolution, the camera's internal memory stores 48 images. That supports 5x7 inch prints and I find this a very good amount of storage capacity in case you forget your Compact Flash card at home.

The manual is easy to read and gets the first-time digital camera user up to speed quickly. All features of the camera are covered with step-by-step instructions.

The drawbacks? They're nit-picks really.
* I'd prefer a little more heft and size to the camera to make it easier to grasp.
* The construction is not as solid-feeling as the Kodak DC series of cameras although this unit has very good fit and finish.
* Only two picture resolutions: high and medium. A low (640x480) resolution would be nice for web imaging.
* The camera does not support USB-Storage protocols. You must have the Kodak software or a compact flash card reader to transfer images to your computer.
* No provison for an AC adapter for studio use.

I have two SLRs. I fancy manual cameras. But I decided to buy this product so that I could take spontaneous photos when I take my family out to crowded locations and do not have the time to fiddle with the SLR.

I love it. It is well built and takes excellent pictures -- just the right thing for snapshots. The controls are well thought out and so is the menu system. The camera is so easy that my technophobe wife can easily operate it. This camera may not be for someone that wants better control over the pictures they take. This is a good digital equivalent of your basic disposable camera.

I've lopped off one star for the fixed-focus lens. It would have been better to have autofocus. However as far as I can see the pictures (without zoom) are quite sharp even when blown up to 8x10. I did not buy the dock. Uploading via the little connector from the camera to the PC worked fine and I did not know what benefit an additional docking station brought.

I purchased the Kodak Dx3500 and was immediately struck by its simple and esy to use menus. It is definitely much easier to use than many other camers. However, this particular camera does have a tendancy to take pitures which are dark and frequently need to be adjusted after-the-fact using the software package. Also, the automatic flash rarely makes the right decision (flashes when it shouldn't, does not use a fill flash when it should). It takes some experimentation to learn how to manually set the flash for different indoor lighting conditions. Picture quality was fine, once any darkness was adjusted. The digital zoom creates blurry pictures every time. If zooming is an important feature for you, this is not your camera. The 16 meg card and docking station are definite pluses.

I purchased a DX3500 after a week's ownership of an HP 318 that I returned. The DX3500 is an extremely capable camera that is easy to use for beginners and sophisticated users alike.

Compared to the HP 318, the DX3500 offers superior picture quality. Fine details are not lost in the 'grain' of the image. Colors are well balanced and smooth. Setup and operation are easy with the single function knob and easy to navigate menus displayed on the rear LCD.

One feature that should be mandatory on digital cameras is a lens cap or cover. This model has a lens shutter that turns off the camera when closed. In addition, there are guide lines on the viewfinder that show you where the edges of your picture will be so you don't cut off what you're trying to photograph.

Battery life is okay with alkalines although they aren't recommended for use with this camera because of the high drain. Kodak includes a Lithium Ion battery pack with this camera that provides a lot of use out of the box. Another plus is that this camera only requires two AA batteries as opposed to other units that require four.

The included software installed smoothly on Windows XP and when the camera is attached via the USB port, it shows up as a removable drive under the file manager. You can transfer files with either file manager or the Kodak software. Using the Kodak method is easier and allows you to automatically clear the camera when the pictures are downloaded.

I purchased two NiMH batteries and a charger for less than twenty dollars instead of buying the Kodak camera dock and rechargeable batteries. The dock simplifies image transfer and would be useful if you're doing a lot of picture-taking. It can also charge Kodak batteries when your camera is docked.

At medium resolution, the camera's internal memory stores 48 images. That supports 5x7 inch prints and I find this a very good amount of storage capacity in case you forget your Compact Flash card at home.

The manual is easy to read and gets the first-time digital camera user up to speed quickly. All features of the camera are covered with step-by-step instructions.

The drawbacks? They're nit-picks really.
* I'd prefer a little more heft and size to the camera to make it easier to grasp.
* The construction is not as solid-feeling as the Kodak DC series of cameras although this unit has very good fit and finish.
* Only two picture resolutions: high and medium. A low (640x480) resolution would be nice for web imaging.
* The camera does not support USB-Storage protocols. You must have the Kodak software or a compact flash card reader to transfer images to your computer.
* No provison for an AC adapter for studio use.

I have two SLRs. I fancy manual cameras. But I decided to buy this product so that I could take spontaneous photos when I take my family out to crowded locations and do not have the time to fiddle with the SLR.

I love it. It is well built and takes excellent pictures -- just the right thing for snapshots. The controls are well thought out and so is the menu system. The camera is so easy that my technophobe wife can easily operate it. This camera may not be for someone that wants better control over the pictures they take. This is a good digital equivalent of your basic disposable camera.

I've lopped off one star for the fixed-focus lens. It would have been better to have autofocus. However as far as I can see the pictures (without zoom) are quite sharp even when blown up to 8x10. I did not buy the dock. Uploading via the little connector from the camera to the PC worked fine and I did not know what benefit an additional docking station brought.

i've just spent the last 30 min. reading other peoples reviews and am astonished that i am not the only one who has been experiencing problems with my kodak ls443 soon after its 1 year anniversary of purchase.

i was taking pictures easily one minute- and NO the camera was NOT DROPPED OR MISTREATED- and the next minute the screen goes completely blank. i can still see the menu startup so i am thinking it is a software issue. tried to download the latest firmware and still the camera refuses to cooperate. kodak customer service is just intolerable.

any advice on others who found a way around this- please contact me missvalones@hotmail.com

This was a surprise gift from the wife and kids, so I've only had one day to play with it. But relative to the reviewer who had trouble with the EasyShare software and Win XP, I will offer a different (very positive) experience. Kodak indicates that you must install the software before connecting the docking base to your computer or EasyShare will not install properly. They even put a paper cover on the end of the USB connector with this warning on it. (Bravo!)

I was able to take my first pictures after spending about 2 minutes with the Quick Start manual (and charging the battery a bit.) It only took another 5 minutes to get the software installed. A+ for clear, simple instructions and ease of use for the novice. And the same thing for transferring pictures to my computer. Plug the base into a USB port, put the camera in the base, push the button on the base, and the software launches. Then you click on the transfer button, and in a few seconds your pictures are on your computer.

I can't compare optical quality or other attributes with other digital cameras, but I will say that my pictures came out great, even some I took outdoors in fairly low light early this morning. Haven't tried the video capability yet.

The one thing I would recommend is getting a memory upgrade. It comes with 16MB internal, which is enough for 11 pictures at the highest resolution--more at lower resolutions. But then you don't buy a 4 megapixel camera to take pictures at lower resolutions... (16MB is also about 1 minute of video according to the manual.) The 128MB memory card should provide enough memory for over 100 hi-res pictures or 10 minutes of video (again, according to the manual.)

The Kodak camera is really great,beacuse for four hundred dollars (approx) it's a low price for a 4 megapixel camera.You can take photos in different modes(7).The software on it is not relly good beacuse the photos go directly to a folder called "LS 443 CAMERA" so the dock is not good.i suggest you buy a SD Card Reader or you can just pop your card to your printer and just transfer your pictures from the card to the computer.The quality on the camera is really good,and it has an auto turn off feature that is great,beacuse sometimes i leave the camera on and it turns off by itself.The 4x zoom is great,but the rest (6x) are digital and it ruins the quality of the pictures.each photo is 2 mb,which takes a little space.The kodak review says that you can view pictures in the outdoors,but the brightness on the LCD is not to good in the sun.

I bought the quickcam pro 4000 so I could set up a web page camera that would upload hi-res 1 megapixel stills to my web server. Upon installation of the software I discovered that the only way to use this camera for web video and still publishing is to sign up for a service called spotlife even though early versions of logitech software had automatic ftp upload capabilities.

The spotlife service makes you fill out a bunch of personal information and agree to share that information with logitech's "partners." The service only allows you to record low-res stills and video instead of the higher resolutions that the camera is perfectly capable of shooting. Its plainly obvious that instead of providing software to benefit the user, logitech has decided to force the user to use it's service.

Although the software is pretty "mickey mouse" for a "PRO product," shooting video and stills to your hard drive works well, but most people buy these cameras for use as webcams. If you need a webcam, do not buy this product!

Well after contemplating for a while on which web cam to buy I ended up buying the Logitech Pro 4000. Main reason I brought this camera was because of the features that it has and the fact that it has a CCD lens over the standard CMOS lens that other webcams use. Prior to purchasing this cam I was using a Creative Webcam 3 which I guess did the job for most of the time. But it was always a problem under low lighting and also suffered from very grainy images or videos. However none of these problems occur with the Logitech Pro 4000 even under very low lighting! I am completly happy with this webcam and I have to say that it is one of the best things I have ever brought for my computer. I highly recommend this webcam to anyone who is contemplating on which cam to buy. It was so easy to setup right out of the box! The zoom, pan and tilt functions of the camera is such a nice bonus as well. But what made it best of the best in my book was its ability to out perform my Webcam 3 and no doubt others under very low lighting. In fact even under the very lowest of lighting conditions the Logitech Pro 4000 still out performed my Webcam 3 under the best lighting conditions possible in my computer room. This camera is worth every penny and I cannot say enough good things about it. So as I said before if you want the best webcam on the market in my opinion look no further than the Logitech Pro 4000 and I wish to say a Big Thank You to Logitech for creating such a fantastic webcam!

The Logitech 4000 is a great value and is very easy to hookup and use.The picture was very good when I contected a friend in the midwest (Ohio).She said that it was much better then other wedcams that she has used.

I got a good deal on a used Kodak DX4900 on Ebay and the first day of using it I thought I really got a good deal. Motion shots were lacking, but I thought I could live with it because inside low-light shots were good and that is what I needed.
But then the problems started on day 2, the little shutter lens wont open all the way most of the time now, so the pictures are all dark or black. Every once in a while it will work okay and I can get in a fairly good picture although a little grainy, but it is too frustrating to fight with. I wish I had read the reviews before buying!
I like the features if they worked right, and this could just be an individual camera thing since it was used, but I really believe durability is a key factor.
I have a Vivitar 1.2mp I have had for 3 years that works better than this piece of junk. Will try to get the shutter fixed at a camera place,but probably will end up taking the loss and buying the camera I really wanted in the first place..the Cannon Powershot A75.
However I will say that my brother has a Kodak Easyshare 3.1mp and his camera has been great for him for a year now. Maybe the issues are with the DX4900 only.

Upon recommendation from friends and reading reviews at the time, we purchased the Kodak DX4900. The camera takes pretty good pictures and the software is fun to use to edit pictures. We have been disappointed in the battery life/or whatever is causing "dead camera" problem. Recently, after communicating with Kodak, we found out that you are not suppose to keep your camera on the dock unless you shoot pictures every day. "It decreases the life of the battery". Nice to find this out over 1 year later. We cannot take more than 6-10 pictures then the camera shuts down; sometimes you can tweak 2-3 pictures out by popping the battery out and putting back in. We have done all the correct battery charges, bought several rechargable batteries and still continue to have problems. It is very frustrating to have spent $500.00+ on the camera, batteries, dock and memory cards to have these kind of problems. And the solution is to have them fix it for $150-200.00, trade it in for a comparible model--DX6340 (for $216.00 plus the cost of a new dock and memory cards) or to get rid of the Kodak brand (eat all the money invested) and get something better. After the many negative reviews, especially about the battery problems and the service issue with Kodak...we probably will go with the latter. If you decide to buy this camera...advice...get the extended warranty...or you may be sorry.

I've had this camera for two weeks now and I feel very justified in saying...stop looking and buy this one. What an amazing deal! This camera is easy to use, has tons of great features (the dock that keeps your battery charged is a must, as is a 128mb card) and takes beautiful pictures. I waited to write my review until I got some hard copies back from the kodak print center and they look even better than my 35mm. I can honestly say that I will never need more camera than this. I use it for the kids sporting events and have tried it indoors and out. There simply isn't a reason not to go with this camera. Some of the 2 megapixel cameras are going for the same price. Definitely won't disappoint.

Like most Nikon digitals, this camera offers excellent image quality. A good zoom, excellent macro mode, and pretty good ease of use. However, I think the design is awful.

For starters, the swiveling lens. Due to the design, people have a tendency to put their fingers all over the lens while swiveling it. Also, tilt it up too far and you'll be taking a picture of the plastic housing of the camera--oops! Perhaps the biggest design flaw in this camera is lack of a viewfinder. I guess depending on your situation it may not matter, however if you live where I live (bright, SUNNY Florida) and you take pictures outside, that LCD screen is virtually useless. It gets washed out, you're not going to be able to see what you're doing, and you'll wish you had bought a camera that has an optical viewfinder. I don't understand how Nikon could have omitted that from a camera.

The only real advantage this camera has over competing manufacturers' cameras is the macro mode. Nikon is tough to beat in that respect. That aside, look at a Canon Elph if you're looking for a small camera. The image quality is just as good, you still get a zoom, and you get an optical viewfinder.

Nikon Coolpix 2500 is a great compact camera. I wanted to buy a camera that can work in an easy to use automatic mode for point & click situations like parties, casual travel; and also provides manual mode for experimenting & control. My choice was mainly between Coolpix 2500, Coolpix 995 & Canon Elph Series. I just fell for the cool styling of 2500 and the ability to carry it in my shirt pocket.

I just took it out to Australia for a week long trip. It has performed well under different lighting conditions. All I needed to do was change the "SCENE".The camera allows me to identify the type of scene I am going to photograph. It has a bunch of "SCENE" that I can select from. Some of them are - Beach, Landscape, Party, Portrait, Night Landscape, Backlight to name a few. I was also able to take night shots of the Opera house & the Harbor Bridge in the "night landscape" mode. They came out pretty well. I was happy to see the result in about 2 seconds - the duration of the exposure. Pictures taken in bright daylight like that on a beach also came of well. What disappointed was the photgraphs that I took at a night Bar-be-Q party. In most photographs, the people close to the camera looked bright and those away by more than 7-8 feet away from the camera looked dark. Another "scene" that I found useful was "Close Up". I wanted to note down a recepie from a local magazine. Instead of taking notes I just photographed the page in the "Close Up" mode. Now, I do not have to write them down ! I just read the recepie off the picture stored on my computer. It is not much of a "Manual" camera. So if you want to control everything, I recommend look else where.

I found the controls easy to use. There are a bunch of on-screen menu items, buttons & knobs. They are well layed out and are intitutive to use. Let me add - I am a techie. I can handle complexity. I had my first picture in about 10 minutes opening the box and charging the batteries. It took me about 1 hour to understand all the controls & install the software.

You got to buy a memory card unless you intend to save your pictures in a very basic picture format (like 640 X??). I bought a 128 MB card. It stores about 140 pictures in best quality mode (called "FINE"). The camera can be put on a tripod. That is a big plus for night photography. It is very easy to put my fingers on the lens. So I have to worry about it all the time, specially while opening or closing the lens. A price for this cool design!

In a nutshell I find Nikon Coolpix 2500 a fun, easy to use camera for easy going photography.

I absolutely adored this camera! It was my first digital camera, and I took over 2,000 picures with it during the time it lasted, however it has now died completely (won't turn on most of the time and when it does the screen reads "Error") and I have only had it for about a year and a half. So, now I have to look for a new camera.

This is one of the cheaper SD cards I had seen. I have had this card for about two years and it has never given me a problem to this day. I recommend this product

I have two of these cards. One for my PDA and a 128MB one for my camera. They work as advertised and the transfer rate seems decent.

I bought this card for my KODAK CX6330 3.1MP digital camera. On this camera, at best resolution, I can take 306 pictures and/or 16 minutes of video. After a lot of use, it hasn't failed or gave me any problems. In fact, it's at least 3x faster than the internal memory when taking, deleting and viewing/thumbing through pictures. Video taking is very nice and fast as well, no problems there, it looks great when watched on TV with friends/family. Approximate download times through cable provided with my camera are about 3 minutes for 50megs of data. Mine is manufactured in China. I would recommend it for use in digital cameras. I'm considering buying another card of 256 or 512meg for making longer videos and to have even more shots when on vacation.

I was in the market for a new cell phone, preferably with a new provider. After reading positive and negative reviews of this phone, I was finally swayed into purchasing this phone due to the hefty rebates offered at Amazon.

After about 6 hours out of the box (four of those hours charging), the phone's operating system locked up, and the screen is now blacked out (probably permanently). The phone only responds with a pleasant chime as it starts up, but sadly, nothing else.

I sincerely thought that some of the negative reviews for this product were from purchasers with gripes against the manufacturer or service provider. At worst, maybe these bad reviews were isolated incidents, and I could beat the odds. However, in the end, I must sadly concede and admit that this is a terrible product and should be avoided at all costs. Hopefully, Amazon will allow me to exchange this for a different model and manufacturer.

I bought the Sony Ericsson T610 in December 2003 because I was disatisfied with the customer service of my current carrier and wanted a bluetooth capable phone. The results have been mixed. On the plus side, T-Mobile did an excellent job transferring my existing cell number and their customer service has so far been good. The T610's bluetooth capability also works as promised, as does the very cool Jabra wireless headset that Amazon packaged with the phone.

Unfortunately, the phone has a very poorly designed interface that is difficult to use and often requires multiple steps to perform simple functions that my Sprint-Samsung A500 did easily. The T610's voice recognition and voice dialing functions are almost completely unusable (a feature I truly miss from Sprint), and there is also no plain vanilla ring tone appropriate for business use. From a service standpoint, T-Mobile's coverage in the South Florida area seems to have just as many holes as Sprint's -- they're just in different locations -- and dropped calls are still a problem.

In short, while number portability is a great convenience, all cellular providers have shortcomings, so don't expect a change in phones or carriers to be a quick fix for the problems you may be experiencing with your current service.

I got this phone over Nokia 3650 after reading all reviews (some negative, most positive). I just love this phone!! Its sleek, compact and packed with features.
Pros:
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1) Great looks, small size.
2) Powerful battery, needs charging once in 3-4 days.
3) Bluetooth and Infrared work like a charm.
4) WAP support is neat to have.
5) Tons of downloads from the web - themes, ringtones, games etc.
6) Great reception - no problems with T-Mobile service. Never drops a call.
7) Organizer is a good feature.
8) Screen resolution of 64K makes a lot of difference - it shows!!
Cons:
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1) Camera resolution is not good.
2) Need to keep wiping the screen, since its black when sleeping and shows anything deposited on it immediately.

Overall comments:
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I would recommend this phone over any Nokia phone any day! Its a piece of art. SonyEricsson has done a great job of not only designing this phone, but also packing it with so many cool features. Go for it!!!!!!!!!