Digital-Camera Reviews

have used it frequently for about 10 months. here are some pros and cons:
PROs:
- price/value (mostly the manual functions)
- nice lens (sometimes very little chromatic aberration)
- some pictures are really nice
- not very slow operation (i really have no comparison)
- uses CF - cheap, good and popular

CONs:
- baterry eater
- terrible noise at higher ISOs. 400 is almost useless
- poor and wrongly-located microphone
- needs very good light for movie mode
- no zoom/focus/white balance control in movie mode
- poor auto white balance (not good for flash) - it's not really "auto"-it's fixed
- poor image processing - "auto levels" in photoshop is a must with most shots
- pictures often a bit greenish or yellowish - "auto color" in PS solves it quickly
- hangs up sometimes (but my girlfriend's doesn't) - have to take out the batteries and loses last shot
- not very good flash
- fixed zoom at macro
- macro min. distance is too big
- often indicates good focus in macro mode, although object is too close
- poor low-light focus, no low-light AF assist lamp
- optical viewfinder's view differs much from the lcd
- tripod mount is on the left side, while heavy batteries are on the right
- AC adapter too expencive. it's better to buy 2 sets of good rechargables and a CF card reader (USB 1.1 on the reader is much MUCH faster than on the camera!)

well, in the PROs I could write every useful function, so it would be really 50-50, but you find it in the specs :)
If your not too ambitious, this cam is not bad. I liked it first, than (through it's possibilities) became an ambitious amateur and need to change it for a higher-shelf one...

I bought 3 sets of panasonic rechargeable batteries (1950 mA) from the local warehouse store and they lasted most of a day. They are an affordable alternative to the monster rechargeable batteries mentioned in other reviews and it seems that 2 sets would have been enough. I bought a 256mb compact flash card and a sandisk usb card reader. For all of you new to digital photography (like I am), the camera is pretty much useless until you have purchased all of these.

I can say that the camera compares well to my Canon Z135 35mm. For a digital camera, it is a bit on the large and heavy side, but I'm ok with that.

I've found the 60 seconds of movie quite useful (in daytime outdoors and bright light only) especially when I saw dolphins in the ocean. I couldn't get a still shot because I never knew when the dolphins would go above water, so at least I was able to get a clip.

Also, I was unable to get a shot in medium light (indoor pool) conditions, (using the flash, the subject was fine, but the background wasn't, without the flash, the background was good, but the subject wasn't, using the fill flash was slightly better) but I'm not sure my Canon would have got the picture any better.

I've found the camera to do very well, for indoor portraits and outdoor (bright sun) landscapes.

I'm not happy with the date stamp feature, because it removes part of the picture (maybe there is a setting to change the way it puts the date stamp?)

I also don't like the way it does red eye reduction. It does 3 flashes, and the third is when the picture is actually taken, but after the first (no matter how many times you tell them) the subject believes that the shot was taken and stops posing.

Digital photography is great for beginners because you can immediately see what you are doing wrong and correct it.

I bought this camera because it saved in TIFF format, had 4x optical zoom and uses Compact Flash and the price was reasonable at $200. It came with NiMH batteries and charger which was a surprise. Overall I am very satisfied with this camera and recommend it to all but the very discerning. You get a lot for the buck. There are some drawbacks that are livable to me.
Pros:
1.Saves in TIFF format (I keep the size down, so I get 1 picture per 4MB of card)
2.4x optical zoom (I disabled the digital zoom)
3.Uses inexpensive compact flash
4.Takes quality images in AF and Macro mode.
5.OK batteries useage(I bought 2200mAh which take 80 pictures per charge, more at lower resolution).
Cons:
1.Heavy and bulky.
2.Tripod mount off center.
3.Focus OK indoors, diificult outdoors, resulting in some blurry images in the sun. Shade is not a problemNeeds a focus shade.
4.Overall color OK. could be better.
I use Photoshop to crop and color correct almost every image. I usually don't have to color correct images taken with this camera, like I did with my Kodak 280 so I am very please with that. The Outdoor shots in full sun can be a problem. I bought my daughter a SONY Cyber-shot, 2MP and no zoom. It is a basic camera that is wonderful. Light weight & easy to use, fits in shirt pocket and takes excellent images. It makes a great companion to the Minolta S414.

Many people will find it hard to believe that they're better off with the nearly identical 4 megapixel G3. Reviews by dedicated digital photo sites conclude that the G5 introduces significant noise into images causing the effect of extra resolution to be cancelled out by the degradation in image quality. Canon had to produce this camera because of our obsession with pixel count and in spite of the fact that all of the reviews of the G3 conclude that its combination of a clean sensor and excellent optics give it an edge over most 5 MP camers.
Furthermore, very few people actually need 4 megapixels, much less 5. I had a hard time accepting this myself, until I printed out a couple 8x10s from my G3. 5 megapixels will simply mean that your memory card gets filled sooner, and each image will take longer to write to the compact flash card. Unfortunately, people look at pixel count much the same way as they do processor speed in computers. This is why we see folks buying P4 machines with 15" monitors and 128MB of RAM.
The G3, with its less noisy sensor and lower price is the sensible choice. It's a better camera for less, but most won't see it that way.

The lens seen through the view finder I knew about before purchase so I cant complain about that.

The Selector icons (auto, portrait etc.,)wore off after only a couple of months!! Cannon did replace the selector gratis, and I have now protected the icons on the top of the selector with a two part slow setting resin (72 hrs), this looks good and works perfectly.

Apart from the above this is a great Camera and I have been very happy with it and have taken thousands of great pictures in the year I have had it.

My friends wish they had my Camera and when they pull out their fancy Samsungs, HP's etc., there faces soon drop when they see what mine can do.

If I could give this 4 1/2 stars, I would, but I can't. The G5 is a great digital camera for all kinds of users, however is simply too much camera for most people that will want to take snapshots; many people won't even touch on using or even understanding all of the features the G5 has unless they have some photography experience.

The lens is quite good, it's very sharp no matter the aperature used, the autofocus is of average speed, and the zoom is roughly equivalent to a 35-140mm on a film SLR - you get a pretty good range of focal lengths as long as you don't need wide angle or extreme telephoto shots. Bokeh is okay at wide aperatures, but don't expect it to compare with a good SLR lens, because it won't. Macro shots are very good, with little distortion, sharp focus, and decent bokeh.

Image quality of the pictures is excellent - colors are balanced and realistic, and edges aren't oversharpened at all, 8x10s look fantastic but I have yet to print anything larger (The G5 should be able to make a nice 11x14 print).

Featurewise, the G5 is very well rounded - it has a full auto mode, which works quite well, except the auto exposure for shots using the flash tends to overexpose the picture (This does not bug me since I usually use manual or priority modes), it had a program mode which gives you some control over the camera settings, and various manual modes including full manual, aperature priority, shutter priority, and also several scene modes for taking portraits, night landscapes, and more.

My biggest complaint with the G5 is that it takes very noisy pictures at a given ISO - ISO 400 is utterly useless for taking shots because they are so grainy, ISO 200 is usable but I wouldn't print an 8x10 with it, and ISO 50 and 100 are okay - this camera is great for outdoor shots but if you need something to work with inside without a flash, you are better off with a D-SLR of some sort.

Ergonomically, the G5 is great, it's well built, easy to hold, and all of the controls are easy to reach and intuitive. There are numerous functions however, and it will take most people a while to become accustomed to and comfortable with all of the camera's features. The flip out LCD is a very useful feature, and it has helped me take many shots that I couldn't have made otherwise.

Overall, it is a very good all around digicam, but for some people with specific needs (Long zoom, wide angle, indoor shots without flash), there are better choices. I strongly reccomend this for people with photography experience, but it is complete and total overkill for someone that wants to take snapshots.

When the Coolpix 995 (3 megapixels) came out, everyone was waiting for Nikon to release a 5 MP 'prosumer' digicam. Here it is, but it is lacking, especially when compared to other digicams on Amazon such as Minolta Dimage 7 (excellent 5 MP camera!) or Olympus EN-20 (another 5 MP gem but suffering from memory buffer issues).

See the list of PROs and CONs to see why you should skip this Coolpix.

PROs
- 5.24 Megapixels
- Digital zoom: 4x, Optical zoom: 3x
- Built-in flash (no fumbling for pop-up buttons)
- Accepts CompactFlashType I and Type II, and IBM microdrive
- Sharp Nikon quality lens
- Aperture range f2.8 - f4.8
- Superior macro abilities
- Comes with rechargeable battery
- Lightweight (.79 lbs)

CONs
- Bad red eye potential due to flash proximity to lens
- Comes with a small memory card (32 MB). These days one needs at LEAST 64 MB card for the large MP cameras
- Limited lens potential. The 35mm equivalent lens 28 - 85 mm is good, but almost guarantees you'll need to buy an accessory lens to get telephoto capabilities.
- OK battery life (approx 100 min.), could be MUCH better.
- Camera feels a little cheap due to its very light weight

Overall, the camera is GOOD, but not great. There are superior 5 MP cameras on Amazon that deliver just as good or better pics, and give the user much more creativity and control at ease.

I have been using the Coolpix 5000 for the past few weeks, just enough time to shoot 1,000+ photos. My 3rd Nikon and 1st digital, it's lived up to my expectations: I've been more than pleased with the quality of the images, my ultimate criterion. While you'll hear a lot of wasted drivel on feature A,B,C and comparisons with model X,Y,Z, you need to decide what you're trying to achieve before investing this much on a new gadget. If you want to capture quality digital images for selected printing in 8x10 sizes or larger - and are willing to invest the time in learning how to make that happen - then this could be the camera for you.

This is no simple point-and-shoot, which explains why some users have been apprehensive. Personally, I prefer the multitude of options it offers, including these (all of which I have used so far):
- Ability to manually override nearly every automatic setting, including: exposure mode (S,A,P,M), focus distance, AF focus areas (5), flash level compensation, sharpening, white-balance, etc.
- ISO sensitivity from 100 to 800, manual or auto, enabling hand-held shooting indoors
- Spot, center-weighted, and matrix (256 segment) metering
- Hot shoe to connect external flash for more lighting options
- Wide angle lens (28mm equivalent) is wider than most 'standard' lenses on similar cameras
- 3 User Set configurations let you adjust quickly to different shooting situations/styles
- Shutter speeds short (up to 1/2000s) or long (8 sec)

If you do like novel features, then don't worry, you'll also get red-eye reduction, self-timer, movie mode (QuickTime up to 60sec @ 15fps, 320x240) and "best shot selector". Rumor has it BSS is a cool feature that rattles off 3 frames and stores only the 'best' - the one with the most information, i.e., sharpest & best exposed (but I haven't used it). I did like discovering after I played back the first movie that the camera even has a built-in speaker for audio during playback. I also like the ability to zoom into images up to 6.0x during viewing to examine carefully whether you captured what you wanted. The buttons and menu settings, while overwhelming at first, really are intuitively designed - once you've figured out a feature, you don't have to keep returning to the manual.

I've been really pleased with the images I've captured so far. Fleshtones are realistic, sharpness of images is pleasing (not excessively sharp, or 'digital'), and metering is accurate. There's plenty of data to work with in the 5 megapixel images, which I shoot in FINE .jpg mode yielding a 1.5-2.0 MB image at 2560x1920 pixels. The lens glass on the CP5000 is the largest of the Coolpix's so far, which probably explains the higher image quality.

The typical 'knocks' on the CP5000, and my opinion:
-"85mm is too short!": so is 200mm. If you want to shoot models on South Beach, get an SLR and a 400mm lens instead.
-"32mb CF card is too small!": if you rely on only one CF card, you shouldn't be spending this much on a digital camera.
-"images are soft!": I prefer mine stirred, not sharpened, and do the rest in Photoshop. If you let the camera over-do it for you, there's no getting back the lost/interpolated data.
-"battery life's too short!": you'll run out of card space first (I use 128mb CF). You just spent a grand - stop whining and buy a 2nd battery.

So, what are its real "issues"?
- No way to screw in a UV/protection filter. For some reason, Nikon opted not to put threads over the glass. You have to buy the lens attachment mount (UR-E5) and attach filters to it. An inconvenience, since you can't replace the lens and really should protect it with a clear filter.
-It's slow to autofocus, especially in low-light situations, as there is no AF-assist illumination. I generally use manual focus or set the Single AF mode in such situations, and it seems to work just fine.
-My indoor pictures using the built-in flash sometimes over-saturate the reds in fleshtones. I suspect this is because the bulb is a bit blue/green, and the white-balance logic on the camera over-compensates. I have kept the WB setting on "Auto", but I may fiddle with this a bit to see if another manual setting produces better results. When this has happened, I just tweaked the Saturation of Reds in Photoshop and they look fine.
- It feels smaller than it looks in the promo photograph. If you have big hands, you need to break the habit of groping the camera with your right hand. Otherwise, you'll cover the flash sensor and over- or under-expose your flash shots.

Should you buy one? Qualified YES! It's not for everyone. You can pull it out of the box and start 'snapping photos', but you might end up with snapshots that you could have made with a cheaper alternative. If you give it a little time and really learn how - and when - to use its many features, then I think you will produce even better images than you'd imagined.

You'll really like the CP5000 if:
-you like the convenience of Auto-Everything features, but want the creativity that only comes with Manual settings;
-you like the idea of plugging your CF memory card into an Epson/HP photo printer and spitting out snapshots, but you'd prefer to 'tweak' them yourself in an image editor like Photoshop.
-you can't afford a digital SLR right now, but you can't wait to start experimenting with digital photography

I like it, and I think you will, too. Make an informed decision, and be sure that whatever you buy is the right tool for the job.

with a better zoom. I have been very positive when reviewing Nikon's digital cameras, and I consider their optics the best. However, the 5000 disappoints me a bit; it's a very good camera and if someone were to just give you one, you'd have to be very, very pleased. But if you're laying out the cash, you might want to make some changes based on your priorities. The 5000 carries such a high price tag, in great measure, as a result of its spectacular 5.2 megapixel resolution. This offers, in short, is the ability to enlarge photos taken on the Nikon 5000 to poster size without their losing clarity. Basically, that's it; your standard 4" x 6" or even 5" x 7" enlargements aren't going to look any better than they would on a 3 megapixel camera with similar optics. However, on the negative side, images recorded in 5 meg mode take longer to write (i.e. the camera is 'busy' longer btwn shots), use far more battery power, occupy ungodly amts of space on memory cards, and make files so large that they can only feasibly be sent via email if both parties have exceptionally fast connections and can only be posted to websites if the webpage viewer has a very fast connection to open it. Now, what I cannot justify is that kind of resolution coupled with a pretty anemic 3x optical zoom. For most digital camera users, a good optical zoom will trump sky-high resolution every day. One more complaint: I don't like proprietary batteries and that's all the 5000 offers. It's a fine camera, but most users will be dialing down its resolution and wishing for a better zoom. For my money, I'd take the Minolta Dimage 7 any time over the Nikon 5000, and use the change to buy that 128 meg memory card you'll need.

Have had this service for a year now and have yet to see any advancement in their product. There are so many things that need adjusting to make this service and product a much better experience for the user, but I don't think anyone is home. My mom had to send in her frame - still have to pay the monthly charges - and they said it would take a couple of months to replace it. A couple of months? What, is there only one person out there who puts these little frames together. They need help.<br /> <br /> Frustrated in Dallas.

Our family shops regularly at Amazon, but this is the first time we are taking the time to submit a product review. That's because no product has ever made such a profound impact in our lives as the Ceiva Digital Photo Receiver. We have had our Ceiva Receiver for over a year now and have thoroughly enjoyed receiving pictures from our distant family, and friends that have moved away over the years. It may sound silly to write about the emotional impact an electronic item has had in our lives, but it's true. This year we gave two new Ceiva 2 Receivers as gifts, and they have been a huge hit again! Ceiva has really given us the ability to stay close and involved in the lives of people that really matter to us. I've read other reviews here about difficulty with set up and connection costs, but to be honest, it has been pretty easy to get a handle on using the product and website, and the costs are very minimal, especially given the emotional value to our family. Our cell phone costs 5X that of our Ceiva and is nowhere the value to us. We're looking forward to seeing what's next from Ceiva......and seeing pictures from our family and friends for a long time. Thanks for making such a wonderful product!

I've always been into the coolest and latest gadgets to hit the market. Lately I've slowed down on my purchases as the world of electronics seems to change daily, but last year I happen to run across Ceiva and thought the idea was pretty cool and fun to use. I gave it as a Christmas gift to my brother (who just recently was married) as he now lives over 1,000 miles away from home, and my grandmother whom I see once or twice a year due to distance as well. Never have I ever given a gift to anyone that has meant as much as this Ceiva product. It has kept us close as brothers and as a family. It's really hard to explain how much this product has changed our lives, but it has. I purchased a Ceiva for myself sometime in August, and have enjoyed the same wonderfully emotional experience. This year Ceiva has a new version of their product out (Ceiva 2) which as a family we have decided to give as Christmas gifts to several family memebers and friends! It will be so amazing to stay in touch with the lives of our own family and lifelong friends.

Other reviews on the Internet talk down the fact that Ceiva requires a subscription, but I have to tell you, it's the connection that makes this product as my grandmother would say "a magic show". I looked at other products (the most recent one made by a company called Pacific Digital) which I wasn't impressed with at all. It doesn't require a subscription, but I can tell you the quality of the product is very poor, and in the end I wasn't interested in looking at my own digital photo's at home. Ceiva allows me to share my digital pictures with my family in a way I was never able to before.

Note that someone in the family does need to have a computer to send pictures to the Ceiva Receivers in-box, but it really is fast and easy to do. The endless "thank you's" from my family has been worth every penny!

Have had this service for a year now and have yet to see any advancement in their product. There are so many things that need adjusting to make this service and product a much better experience for the user, but I don't think anyone is home. My mom had to send in her frame - still have to pay the monthly charges - and they said it would take a couple of months to replace it. A couple of months? What, is there only one person out there who puts these little frames together. They need help.<br /> <br /> Frustrated in Dallas.

Our family shops regularly at Amazon, but this is the first time we are taking the time to submit a product review. That's because no product has ever made such a profound impact in our lives as the Ceiva Digital Photo Receiver. We have had our Ceiva Receiver for over a year now and have thoroughly enjoyed receiving pictures from our distant family, and friends that have moved away over the years. It may sound silly to write about the emotional impact an electronic item has had in our lives, but it's true. This year we gave two new Ceiva 2 Receivers as gifts, and they have been a huge hit again! Ceiva has really given us the ability to stay close and involved in the lives of people that really matter to us. I've read other reviews here about difficulty with set up and connection costs, but to be honest, it has been pretty easy to get a handle on using the product and website, and the costs are very minimal, especially given the emotional value to our family. Our cell phone costs 5X that of our Ceiva and is nowhere the value to us. We're looking forward to seeing what's next from Ceiva......and seeing pictures from our family and friends for a long time. Thanks for making such a wonderful product!

I've always been into the coolest and latest gadgets to hit the market. Lately I've slowed down on my purchases as the world of electronics seems to change daily, but last year I happen to run across Ceiva and thought the idea was pretty cool and fun to use. I gave it as a Christmas gift to my brother (who just recently was married) as he now lives over 1,000 miles away from home, and my grandmother whom I see once or twice a year due to distance as well. Never have I ever given a gift to anyone that has meant as much as this Ceiva product. It has kept us close as brothers and as a family. It's really hard to explain how much this product has changed our lives, but it has. I purchased a Ceiva for myself sometime in August, and have enjoyed the same wonderfully emotional experience. This year Ceiva has a new version of their product out (Ceiva 2) which as a family we have decided to give as Christmas gifts to several family memebers and friends! It will be so amazing to stay in touch with the lives of our own family and lifelong friends.

Other reviews on the Internet talk down the fact that Ceiva requires a subscription, but I have to tell you, it's the connection that makes this product as my grandmother would say "a magic show". I looked at other products (the most recent one made by a company called Pacific Digital) which I wasn't impressed with at all. It doesn't require a subscription, but I can tell you the quality of the product is very poor, and in the end I wasn't interested in looking at my own digital photo's at home. Ceiva allows me to share my digital pictures with my family in a way I was never able to before.

Note that someone in the family does need to have a computer to send pictures to the Ceiva Receivers in-box, but it really is fast and easy to do. The endless "thank you's" from my family has been worth every penny!

don't waste your money on this! i haven't even heard of this company, but they really should consider improving this camera. the quality is bad, and dark. just looking at the lcd screen makes my eyes hurt. when hooked up to the computer, however bright your light is in your room, it's really dark and you have to toggle with the controls on a photoshop software in order to make the picture decent. i don't think that's worth it. and sometimes it doesn't even work, even if you do try to fix it in a photoshop program. and it has an annoying beeping sound when you turn it on and take pictures. you should seriously reconsider, if you're thinking of buying this item. unless you're extremely careful with it, and you don't mind the bad quality, then i guess it's okay if you buy it. but i wouldn't suggest taking professional pictures with it.

by the way, it broke by the second week that i had bought it. it must've gotten jostled in my purse or something, but it refused to turn on after a while, and when it did, it kept taking pictures by itself.

This camera is cute, tiny, and not too usefull. I got this camera as a christmas present and tried to use it on new years eve, bad idea. You can only take pictures in broad day light. If you're indoors and you dont have the very bright lighting then you get a black picture with a few shadows. It's wonderful for out side use, although the batteris do drain fast. Also, if you plan on buying this, please make sure you get a CF card as well, the camera it self hold few pictures. The CF card cost me an extra $40, just to find out the camera isnt even worth it. Think before you buy!

This camera is great for people who are looking for a digital camera with an LCD screen, but don't have the money to buy a high end one. There were initial problems, such as having too little light for the camera. But, we got a flash card, and it works great. GET A FLASH CARD, OR USE IN A WELL LIT AREA. Also, the LCD screen is able to be turned off and on, so when I turned it off and my wife went to use it, she thought the screen was broke, so make sure you let the other person know. The battery drain sux, but we got rechargeable batteries, and it only cost us 15.00 dollars. You may have to invest a little more than the initial price, but, for a camera that records live action, and is a web-cam to boot, its wonderful!

If your intention is just to take quick shots and send your friends and relatives pictures through e-mail, or even to post "not-so-sophisticated" images on your web page, then this camera is for you. These were the steps I took to begin taking great pictures: (1) Take the stuff out of the box. (2) Put the batteries in the camera and set the date. (3) Install the PhotoMAX software in the PC. (4) Take pictures. (5) Load pictures into PC using software and save images as .jpg files. (6) Send friends and family pictures through e-mail. It's that simple!

The only downside I see with this product is the annoying green indicator light in the viewfinder. And this camera doesn't really do well with close-up shots. You have to be at least three feet away. Also only use the video screen when you are using the AC adapter. If you don't, then your batteries will drain fast.

Bottomline is I am happy with this product and I got my money's worth.

This was the second digital camera I picked up, to replace an early one that was fine for the time, but...

The PDC640 takes decent pictures "for the web," as others have said. If that, and simple needs, are all you want, great. Do yourself a favor, though, and pick up a USB media card reader. The software and serial cable are not supported under WinXP, or on a Mac - but the images are stored on the card as .jpg files, readable anywhere. The USB reader will be *many* times faster than the serial cable, as well, and no special software is needed.

If you print the pictures (full page) you'll notice some problems - but if you're to the point of printing pictures, you'll want a higher resoution camera anyway. It also takes a LONG time to charge, and several seconds between shots to recharge. Battery life really depends on what batteries you buy - cheap ones, it'll eat like a kid with candy. Buy decent batteries (or rechargables) and they'll last a long, long time.

When the batteries are ready to go, though (1/4 left in the indicator) the pictures get awfully dark - you can see them get darker and darker. The viewscreen will, of course, eat them faster.

If you need high resolution, zoom, etc. this isn't the camera for you. For quick family pics, though, it's fine.

This is a great camera for the money. Very easy to use. After taking it out of the package, within an hour, I had pictures on my auction pages. I use the 24 images - just what I need for auctions. I took some great scenic shots last weekend and viewed them through my television like a slideshow. The pictures were bright and beautiful. Close-ups are a little blurry. Pics are fine with the other settings. Batteries go dead real fast if you use without the adaptor, so don't use the lcd screen while you are taking pictures. I took about 50 pictures over the weekend with the same batteries.

Other people who have seen my camera, can't believe I paid less than $200. They have ones they paid over $400 for, that aren't any different than this one. In fact, they said they liked mine better and offered to trade. So far, so good. If I have any problems at a later date, I will let you know. I would like to know also how to get extra memory cards. Thanks for listening. I don't think you will be disappointed in this camera.

I purchased this SanDisk 128 MB Secure Digital Card for my Toshiba PRD-3300 digital camera. The first time I received the SD card from Amazon.com, I plugged it into my camera, formatted the card per the specification in the instruction manual and started taking pictures. The pictures came out scrambled on the replay option. I tried reformatting the card but then I got the message "card error". I thought that the card was defective and I returned it for replacement to Amazon.com. In approximately 4-5 days I received my second SanDisk 128 MB Secure Digital Card. I repeated the same procedure of formatting, picture taking and so on but I was getting the same result and the error message. I was ready to send the card back again, but before I did I thought I'd check around the web to see if there is any compatibility issue of this card with my camera. I went on Toshiba web site to see if I can find any compatibility issue with this card. Sure enough when I checked for new Firmware it had this:
"Latest Firmware Upgrade Features:
Improved compatibility with SanDisk brand SD Cards manufactured after May 2002, specifically for high capacity SD Cards -
128MB SanDisk SD Cards
256MB SanDisk SD Cards
Upgrade your PDR-3300 for use with these cards."

I followed the instructions, upgraded my firmware to the latest revision 1.04A and now my camera recognizes the 128MB SanDisk SD Card and it is working great.

The other two reviewers with a Toshiba PDR-3300 camera are having problems. I wonder if they took the time to visit the Toshiba website. There you can download and install a firmware upgrade to the camera that takes it from 1.02 to 1.04. This update fixes problems with the large capacity Sandisk cards. I could take 8 pictures with the included 8 meg memory card. With this 128 meg card I can take over 150 at full size. The transfer rate is incredible. I see no reason to go with a more expensive brand. Recommended for this camera after the upgrade.

I bought it for use on the Toshiba e755 six months ago. I did not find any problem. It runs surprisingly fast, so I put a lot mp3s in it and my pda can be used as a small size ipod :)

I got Quickcam Pro 3000 a few weeks ago. First, what I don't like about it:
- The stand is not very adjustable. The stiff and heavy cable tends to pull the camera out of adjustment unless the cable is carefully positioned. You can't adjust the tension of the stand. It would be nice to have the ability to disconnect the cam from its stand and attach it to a standard tripod.
- The webcam software is worthless, allowing you to only upload images to a particular webcam hosting site (spotlife.com). I recommend Webcam32 if you are going to work with your own web site.
- When installing, I had to have my OS CD (Win98 SE, in my case) on hand, probably for certain drivers. I didn't have the option to install from anything other than the Win98 CD (e.g., from a win98 directory or from the internet).

What I like about it:
- Picture quality is pretty good.
- Small.
- USB.

Be aware that you have to have a powered USB hub if you are going to plug in the cam to that hub.

All in all, a fun little cam. I'd give it 3.5 stars if Amazon would let me. ;-)

ps: Works w/Win2000, too.

I don't know much about webcams so I can't give you a professional opinion. This is the first webcam I got and I wanted something that wasn't too expensive, but still high quality. I went to [stores] and had the people working there give me some recommendations and opinions. I had also researched a little online on different webcams, prices, quality, and video resolution. I finally came and decided to buy this one. It was a little more expensive than what I was originally willing to spend on, but I have to admit, the quality and picture is crisp and clean. It even fixes difficult lightening situations and automatically corrects. It also comes with a lot of software for you to edit your pictures, or create a card and send to family and friends. It took me about 5 minutes to set up as well. All I had to do was install the software, plug in the USB cord, and the program box popped up and I was ready to go. I give it 5 stars for good quality, easy installation, and useful software. I'm actually glad I spent a little extra money. I don't want to waste my time by getting a bad quality, cheap webcam and being disappointed and eventually going out and spending even more money to get a good one. If you have the cash, GET THIS ONE!!

I upgraded to this cam from my IBM PC Camera Pro Max. I was having trouble getting my other cam to work with chat programs (namely Yahoo! IM) and I wasn't too impressed with my other cam's washed out picture, so I felt it was time to upgrade. I went with this cam even though some people weren't happy with it (i.e. Amazon reviews). I am fully satisfied with this camera. It has the best picture you'll find in this price range and the software that comes with it is both powerful and user friendly. The Logitech IM Video Companion is for MSN and AOL IM cam support. The motion detector is great for spying on others in the house, or a security cam our your window. Logitech still makes the best cams bar-none. I took a tip from a previous reviewer and bought my own Ambico tripod at [local store]. If you're looking for one, it's about 4 inches in length and comes in a small package that hangs on a wall in the camera department. Don't look for a big box, you'll not find it. It's well worth the investment. Why struggle with the flawed stand that comes with it? I had my tripod ready and waiting when my cam arrived---works great! I went with the refurbished one which has worked flawlessly so far. If you're looking for a cam with great picture quality and a nice software package look no further. Sure, there are lesser cams, but you get what you pay for.

First off, as already said, the size is amazing - It really is about the size of a credit card. This is part of my reason for buying this particular unit, so that I could easily store it on my motorcycle for trips. The Camcorder looks nice, but feels cheaply made. The features are nice (especially when compared to the competition) and over all it performs satisfactory. The video and the still shot mode works well, but the quality seems to lack at times. The biggest downfall I have found is it could greatly benifit from a flash / light as if there is not sufficient light indoors, the video's and pics are very dark. The camera functions are pretty simple to use, well laid out, and offer many options that are only found on higher priced multi-function digital cameras.

The software included is not very user friendly, I had to load it twice to even get it to work right, however, the extra bonus accesories included in the package are nice, and you do not need to instantly go and buy anything else to start using it. I would reccomend upgrading to a bigger memory card for greater storage of pics and video.

Overall for my day to day use it is fine, but if you want to take serious video or digital pics you will need to move into a higher price range.

i bought this camera around the end of july 2004,it shipped 6 days before they said it would, and it was delivered in time for me to take it on vacation with me. i made videos and took pictures with it they turn out great,one of my favorite things about it is that when you are in a moving car and take a picture it comes out clear as crystle, and you can't tell that you were moving.i have a few problems with it though,there isn't a light on it so you can't take pix or videos when it's dark or too light out.i also don't like the 32mb SD memory card it comes with. i need to purchase one with more space on it.another thing is it doesn't really tell you the size of it when u look at it online. it is 3 and 8/16 inches long and 2 and 6/16 wide.the lense is almost a 1/2 an inch across.the playback screen is 14/16 of an inch long. ANOTHER THING U MIGHT WANT TO KNOW IS thhis video camera fells like a childs toy right out of the box,so when u get it use it for about 3 days and then u will see hoew amazing this piece of equiptment is, I LOVE IT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

To save you a bunch of time trying to find this item in the store, this item is available online only.