Digital-Camera Reviews

This camera has a great concept of a weather proof, compact go anywhere body BUT... Beware that if you buy this, the software that comes with it to download your photos onto your computer will only let you edit and print those photos. In other words, you CANNOT e-mail or even save them to disk without purchasing the upgrade to the software from Olympus.

Also, the camera takes okay photos, but I noticed that 1 out of every 5 or 6 photos is blurred for no apparent reason. I am not a professional photographer, but this is my third Olympus digital camera and it is the most expensive and poorest performer overall. That's not to say that it's a bad camera, but I would have expected better for the price.

Having said that, it does have some useful settings, and I love the compactness and portability of this camera. I'm just very annoyed that they're expecting everyone to pay for the upgrade to the software to make the photos taken with this camera share-able digitally.

This is a snap response after recieving this camera today and playing with it for about an hour or so.

First, THE GOOD:

The first thing you're gonna notice about this camera is it's apearance. It's simply GORGEOUS! It's called the STYLUS for a reason! It's STYLISH! It's hands down the most attractive looking camera I've seen, it just looks cool. You're bound to get compliments any time you whip it out among company. The shiny aluminum case is no just very classy looking, but also makes for a durable and sturdy frame.

The Stylus 300 Digital by Olympus is very well made, and feels firm and durable in the hand. It does'nt feel flimsy at all. You get the feeling that if you dropped it on a sidewalk a few times it would probably survive with little more than a dent (Although I wouldnt try that!). Also, it's supposedly made for all-weather use, so you should be able to take pictures in driving rain if you wanted to. You'l notice that all the ports and connectors are protected by rubber covers and all the little compartments with plastic doors (for example the little cover that you flip up to put in a memory card) covering them are sealed with rubber rims to keep out water. This is a great camera for anyone who tends to be a bit clumbsy or who wants to be able to have take pictures in bad weather.

The camera is also pretty small. It may not be the smallest camera out (when compared to other super-tiny models) but it's pretty damn small! It's about the size of a pack of cigarretts! It's actually smaller than my wallet!

The camera is also very well designed. There is no lens cap to loose or have to remember to put on. Instead a door slides over the lens and protects it. This same door/sleave is used to turn the camera on/off. Turning it on is as simple as flipping the door over. Start up is very quick! I was able to turn the camera on, take a picture, and turn the camera back off and in my pocket in about 10 seconds! It's pretty responsive. It's pretty quick taking pictures too, the wait time between pictures is very short (shorter than my 35mm), not quite as fast as would be wished for though.

Olympus also through in a remote control! This is great for self portraits or when you want to actually be IN the pictures you're taking. The battery life apears to be pretty good, and a lithium Ion battery is included as well as a charger. Also included is a 16 MB memory card. I wish there was a little built in memory or a larger card had been included for the money. The card technology is either a new one I am not familiar with or a proprietary one - it's called "XD picture card". The 'card' is a TINY (about the size of thumbnail).

USB is supported (as expected) and you can ussually plug the camera right in and windows (XP and ME) will automatically recognize it as a removeable drive. This is great as you can even use you're camera's memory to carry around or transfer other types of files as well which might be useful in a pinch. It also supports video out so you can view pictures on your TV.

Finally there is also a movie mode that lets you take 16 second video clips. The down side is that this is in quicktime format (I would much prefer MPEG or AVI). Another thing is that the length is ALWAYS limited to 16 seconds - even if you have a 128 MB card in there, you can only take 16 second clips... that's just dumb. If I have enough memory why cant I take longer clips? Come on Olympus, release a firmware patch to allow us to take longer clips or use a different video format. There is also no sound, which is a feature that IS present in models made by cannon and Kodak (who provde both built in mics, built in speakers, and the time of your movie clips is only limited to memory restraints). This is a significant drawback if this featureset interests you, but isn't enough to weigh down the rest of the quality present.

The interface is also pretty easy to use and supports plenty of features. It's not QUITE as easy as the Kodak DX4330, but most people will find it pretty simple with a minimal learning curve.

All in all, this is a GREAT camera. While you're probably going to want to buy a bigger memory card, you'll probably be VERY happy with this as a choice. The only cons are the lack of support for video features - the lack of sound and the time restraints are both unexcusable considering the price.

Still I give it a 5 star rating for the quality of construction and the over-all design. Im very happy with this camera, they just need to add sound to the next version. Heck, if they would just release a patch t allow video clips to use MPEG or even just allow us to take longer clips, then I would call this the ONLY CHOICE in digital cameras for the price range.

this camera takes awesome pictures indoors and at night. this is a great camera. it eats up batteries like crazy, though.

I'm an experienced digital photographer with a Nikon 990 for my personal use. I bought two of these for my grandgirls and was amazed at the quality and ease of use.

1 megapixel quality is quite good for prints up to 5x7, and are great for monitor viewing and email. The camera is easy to use, the only problem the 10 year old had was accidentally pressing the "quick time record" button instead of the shutter release. Easy to do since they are close to each other. It doesn't have optical zoom, but hey it cost a hundred bucks. I added 10 meg of flash card memory which was a nice addition, particularly since I use a flash card reader. The included software seemed ok, with editing capability email sizing and easy install and photo downloading.

Including a lens cap would have been useful. It is very easy to scratch the exposed lens surface. The LCD is weak but the camera makes decent pictures. I bought it for my son's second digital camera (he was six at the time) and he loves it. Now we need a CF card to hold more images between shooting and downloading.

Very nice digital camera for the price. Nice image quality (for under a hundred bucks). The user options are easy to use and it's easy to upload images to your computer.

However, like most digital cameras, it eats batteries like no other. Unless you want to buy new batteries every 30 pictures, rechargable batteries (four AAs) and a recharger are very much necessary. i got Quest batteries and a recharger for about fifteen bucks and have recharged them about 5 times already over about 3 months.

The flash is sometimes too bright- make sure you're standing at least arm's length if not more away from the subject or turn the flash off. The self-timer is also very nice for this if you are taking a self-photo with the flash, because simply holding the camera arms length away will wash out your face completely.

A memory card is also highly recommended- at the lowest quality only 54 images fit. Medium fits 19, and high 12.

However, i'm really being picky. This is a great camera for trips (with a recharger and a nearby computer to unload images if you run out of room), a webcam, beginner's photography, and even a family camera. If you're looking for your first digital camera or a webcam for a nice price, this one is what you're looking for.

I really loved this camera- until the screen recently went black and all pictures came out black as well. I wanted to get another Sony because of the ease of use and decent pics I got (don't like my dad's Olympus camera, have to use the manual just to figure out how to turn it on). However, I read the reviews and found out I had the same problem as many other people. I looked up reviews for other Sony models, and they had problems as well. Guess I won't be getting another Sony.

First of all - the information that...is showing is incorrect. I have my Sony Cyber-shot DSC-P51 sitting in front of me - it DOES have a 2x optical zoom as well as a 6x digital zoom.

We bought this camera mostly to take pictures of our kids to e-mail to family overseas. Something it does very well. The pictures look great - the features the camera offers are even better!

The features - (as listed on the box)
2.0 mega pixels
6x digital zoom
2x optical zoom
mpeg movies (without sound)
multi burst

Also in the box are the following -
battery charger
size AA nickel metal hydride rechargable batteries
video cable (to connect and view on TV)
memory stick (16mb)
USB cable
CD-Rom

Overall this is a great camera - at a good price. I would recommend going to a store to look over your options though!

This camera is the best in its class. Sony includes many features that set it apart from other brands, including easy to use menus, power saving feature, and size. The battery life is excellent; I was able to take just under 200 pictures on one charge. Normal batties can be used, but won't last longer than 15 or 20 minutes. At highest quality, you can get 30 pictures on the supplied 16MB memory stick. Pictures come out very well, although a macro setting would be nice to have. Multi burst and video are also handy features to have. Overall, this camera is a very good value for the money. You can get by with the included accessories, but other camera accessories can be expensive.

Pros:
* Comes with battery
* Comes with charger
* Comes with 16 MB memory stick
* Menus are simple and easy to use
* Includes USB cable
* Effects and camera settings (shutter time, white balance, etc) should satisfy the average person

Cons:
* Batteries must be charged to retrieve data from camera with USB cable
* 13 hour charge time with included battery charger
* NiMH batterys, while cheaper than LiIon batteries, have memory effect (They're only $...though and are supposed to last at least a year under normal conditions)

Note: Don't leave the the batteries in below freezing temperatures, as it will shorten the battery life.

I bought this product from Amazon which at the time still adverticed video capability as well, which this product is really lacking. As I was only visiting US soil at the time, the offering from Amazon to return the product was not applicable.

Otherwise the product has proven to be handy - but this lack of camcorder feature is really a handicap.

I've had the camera about 1 week now and love it. So many features /and controls you've got to read the manual to use/understand them all! I doubt anyone will use them all but it's nice to know they are there. The camera is very easy to personalize if you like. Takes GREAT pictures (digital zoom is basically worthless although it is on most cameras). Most liked features: Small size, large 2"sreen, very versital. Dislikes: only one so far... it is too easy to "format" your memory card by accident(which erases all pictures on the card even if they are protected). It should require more than one push of a button to do this. I wrote to Casio suggesting a prompt "Are You Sure?". This has happened twice... once by me learning the camera and once by someone familar with digitals checking out the camera. So be careful! Oh and it should come with a case! Not having movie capability was not important to me. Only improvement I'd like to see is ability to direct connect to TV for viewing of pictures on-screen (my daughters Olympus has that feature!)

PROS - Digital convenience, 'pocket' size, battery life, 4.0 MP, 2" LCD, Movie Feature, great macro

CONS - problematic color reproduction, lag, intense flash, cradle

BOTTOM LINE - I recommend this camera to all who want a very compact digital for convenience, don't mind correcting color & are willing to pay the price.

I'm writing this review in March 2004 on my first digital camera, the EX-Z4 purchased in December 2003. I bought the gray market non-USA (not Z4U) version on eBay because I wanted the 1-minute movie feature. The 1-minute movies with sound are excellent. They look clear and natural at 14-fps only limited by the 320x240 pixel size. You can shoot as many 1-minute clips as you have room on the memory card. The manual says you can have longer movies with a larger SD card but I haven't seen that with my 256MB card.

I use a 256MB SimpleTech ProXTM Secure Digital (SD) Flash Memory Card, with write speeds up to 10 megabytes per second. I was hoping the fast write speed would reduce the lag between shots. Not sure if it has but I sometimes miss shots in quick situations. This is usually due to auto focus lag and write speed lag for 2nd shot. I read that it's fast but is it fast enough? IMHO, Yes for the casual user, no for more serious needs.

The color reproduction is not always very accurate. I was a professional photo developer for 5+ years and acquired a very good eye for color balance. (A tip for noticing correct color balance is to look at shadows. They don't reflect as much color as white and usually should be colorless.) Most always noticeable as blue in flash situations the color in normal daytime use is also inconsistent. It's nothing that Photoshop or Paint Shop Pro can't correct with ease. Although not convenient when you want to run over to the local drug store and print a few right off the SD card. I think you might be able to correct the color at the print kiosk.
I also just downloaded the firmware update on the Casio web site in hopes to fix the poor color reproduction. I will update this review when I have a chance. Also the flash is very strong sometimes causing people to blink or have red eye.

The only other inconvenience is that you need the cradle to charge the camera as well as transfer via USB. Not that big of a deal to me. This camera gets used a lot because it's so small it fits in the front pocket of my jeans. It starts up quickly and is ready to shoot on a whim. You can put a lot of pictures on a 256MB card and you can quickly erase ones you don't want. The battery seems to last so long that I don't even realize it uses a rechargeable. So basically the camera is very convenient and therefore a good value for most of your point and shoot needs.

The 4.0 MP picture quality is sharp and with the highest setting 2304x1728 on fine you can print even larger than 20"x 30". You get good creative ability with the zoom which is 3X optical (35-105mm) and 4X digital for 12X combined zoom ability. I notice the digital zoom requires a solid tripod or lots of light to maintain sharp clarity and focus. There is even a limited form of depth of field (aperture) control with the custom shots settings. The macro feature allows you to focus as close as 6cm and has awesome clarity. I also wouldn't want to have a smaller LCD viewer than the 2" on this camera, which does a very nice job. You also get a self timer, audio recorder, alarm clock, nice calendar sorting feature and a bunch of programmable custom shot settings.

I couldn't hold out for the Sony DCS-T1 5.0 MP at the time I got the EX-Z4. I would guess the Sony is better, because of the resolution, a Carl Zeiss Vario compact optical zoom lens, 2.5" LCD viewer and superior movies. Hopefully better color reproduction too.

I purchased the mc3 as a Christmas present for my 12 year old daughter. It didn't take her long to get the hang of taking pictures or video and she had a lot of fun doing so. Downloading them to our PC (uses Windows XP) was pretty easy. But I do have a few complaints so far. The first is that the mc3 is now shutting itself off even though it says the batteries are OK. A change of batteries may remedy this. The biggest complaint is that we cannot download mp3 files to the mc3. The users guide is really poor with regard to this. And the fact that it is on CD makes it hard to flip back & forth. Kodak's website says to look at the users guide (big help!) The guide says to use Real Jukebox(included) to download but Real Jukebox doesn't offer the mc3 as a storage device. Very frustrating!! Somebody more familiar with mp3's may know what to do but the mc3 is supposed to be a toy, not a job. My last complaint makes me wonder how much thought went into the design and did Kodak even try it out. You cannot close the flash card door - it causes the card to pop out of the connector!! 9/25/02 Just found out from a friend that you need to push the lever up to get it out of the way so you can close the door. He found out by accident. How hard would it have been for Kodak to let me know? BTW, anyone else notice how badly AMC has gone downhill lately?

The emphasis here is that the MC3 is a toy - it's a lot of fun to play with, but it's not the sort of tool to use if you're planning on doing any serious publishing (online or on paper) or video work.

That said, this camera is fine for taking lots of fair quality VGA-resolution photos for e-mailing or sticking on your webpage (for what it's worth, the photo quality is notably better than other bottom-of-the-line dedicated digital cameras). The quality of the videos is at least comparable (if not slightly better) than the first generation Sony Cybershot cameras, although the MC3 doesn't limit the length of the video clips to 15 seconds like the Sony (a definite plus). The MP3 player component seems to handle various CBR-encoded MP3 files (I've tried 64, 128, 160, and 192Kbps with success), although it doesn't seem to support WMA. Finally, the USB cable allows for surprisingly fast file transfer, slightly slower than a dedicated card reader.

For $200 (which is how much this camera costs if you supply your own CF card), the MC3 is a fine gadget. If you want a good digital camera, video camera, or digital music player, you'll probably have to resort to getting three separate devices.

I have had this for over 2 years now and I still love it. The camera part is great fun, though low resolution is noticable in prints, prints look good. I upgraded to a 128 mb card which holds about 1.5 hours of music or 900 photos or 45 minutes of video. The best thing about this is it's TOUGH. I have dropped it numerous times, it has gone flying off of my desk. Sometimes the card pops out and the batteries always scatter, but it is always fine. It works just like the day I got it. Although there is one thing that I did not like. When Realplayer updated Jukebox, they did not upgrade the drivers for MC3. I eventually was not able to transfer files to the unit, so I bought a CF card reader. It works amazingly fast and lets me transfer my files through Windows Media Player. It now works like a charm, I would recommend this for anyone who uses Windows XP. If you can get a card reader, don't install the included software!

This was my first experience with a digital camera. I had heard great things about digital cameras and thought that I would invest in a good camera. I was dead wrong.
I totally soured on digital after using this camera. I have invested countless dollors in batteries, sd cards, and other accesories.
Can only use this camera for 2-3 pictures even without a flash before batteries go dead.
The recharger does not work, we cannot use it at all. It takes 1-2 minutes of warm up time before it even turns on. Then is only good for 2-3 pictures.
I THINK THAT IT MUST EAT BATTERIES OR SOMETHING.
WORTHLESS PIECE OF JUNK.

First let me say I read all the poor reviews (mostly because of battery life) and I haven't had any of these problems myself. I am not sure if HP 935's had a defect which they have since fixed? Anyway, I acknowledge the problem, but have not expierenced it myself. I was able to take 70-100 pictures before charging my batterys.

I bought the HP 935 just a few weeks ago and I love it. It is simple to use, but at the same time takes great pics! I also bought the docking bay and it makes it very easy to upload / print / edit pics.

The only complaint I have is the fact that you can only take pictures in 1mp or 5mp. There is no way to take 2mp,3mp or 4mp pictures. That doesn't really bother me, but it is a small disadvantage.

For the money this is a great buy.

As far as accessorys go get some NiMH batterys, some extra SD cards, the camera dock and plenty of ink and photo paper! You are going to be printing beautiful photos right away!

This camera performs excellently and is an amazing value. I have read many complaints about the battery life, and I haven't had a problem at all with mine. I think it is quite easy on the batteries compared to many cameras I have dealt with. I have never used alkaline batteries with the HP935, so I don't know how it would do with them. I use rechargeable NiMH batteries, because they save you so much $$$.
The other thing people complain about is that it takes 5 seconds from the point when you touch the power button to the time it is ready to take a picture. I can't believe that anyone would actually be upset about a measley 5 seconds. I have an Olympus SLR camera and it takes that long for the flash to power up and the lens to extend and everything to be ready on it as well. Why is 5 seconds so horrible?
I love the feel of the camera in your hands, it is substantial enough that you can feel it there and hold it still, but lightweight enough that it doesn't tire your arms when taking many shots.
The optical zoom is really great, but the digital zoom is only okay. The screen tells you the MP size you are lowering it to when you use the digital zoom, which is nice. All in all, digital zoom isn't very good on any camera, so don't expect much out of it!
I love the video function and the fact it records sound, too. The speaker for playback sounds a little scratchy, but when you play it back on the computer it sounds fine.
You can turn off the LCD display to save batteries if you want, and it will automatically show you a quick preview of the shot you just took. I love that! Also, the optical viewfinder is big enough that it is easy to see out of, a feature that I have a problem with on many other digital cameras.
I think that the optional dock is a waste of money, because you can easily upload your pictures onto the computer using the USB cord that came with the camera. As far as the advantage of the dock charging batteries, you can get a great battery charger with 4 batteries for around 15 bucks and you can have extra batteries always charged and ready to go, and that is a lot cheaper than the 80 or so dollars that HP wants for the dock which only comes with 2 batteries anyway. Skip the dock and save some $$$$! Use the money you save to buy a bigger memory card, you will need one! The 32 MB card it comes with fills quickly, about 23 pictures on the medium compression 5 MB picture quality setting. You will want another card if you like to take lots of pictures. I have a 256 MB card and that works great for me.
The quality of the pictures the HP935 takes is superb. I am just thrilled with it. It is easy to use and a wonderful value. I got mine on buydig.com and they were really nice to me, and everything came as promised. They have the best price I have seen online, even after you add shipping and handling. I definitely recommend this camera!

And they are SO Right, it has so many whistles and horns, I cant figure out how to use it. The instruction book is as long as a novel. I have never used a digital camera, so I can guarantee that this one is HARD to understand.
Once you figure out the important needs of the camera, the one part that is easy is getting the pictures on the computer. That is camera/computer friendly, and easy to understand.
I noticed that all pictures have red eyes, and what I don't like the most, is I love taking pictures spontaneously, you can not take moving pictures at all, and that is a big downfall when you have kids and cats or dogs. Anything moving comes out blurry every-time. It is not the camera for those that like to be on the go, or like to take pictures as they happen. Its more for the mountain and tree type families, that take pictures of still objects.

I own this camera and am very pleased with it. I have some photography experience but this is my first digital camera, so in choosing a camera my goals were to find one that is as close to a traditional 35 mm film camera, but digital. This camera acheives that goal. The main drawback to this camera is that it is difficult to take action photos. I'll get to that, but first a few pros:

- Of course, the powerful optical zoom and optical lens, (combined with digital zoom gives you almost 30x zoom).
- For having an optical lens, this camera is really compact! It is easily held in one hand.
- Full automatic controls of shutter speed and aperture, but also the option of full manual (as well as shutter speed priority or aperture priority) should you want to do something creative. Though it does not have unlimited exposure time; you can't go past about one minute.

And a few cons:

- The necessary accessories will drive the price up. It only comes with a 4 MB memory card, and much more is needed (I recommend at least 64 MB, probably 128 MB). Also, rechargeable batteries are recommended, as well as a carrying case.
- Though it uses double-A's, most rechargeable double-A's don't last long. I often end up buying regular double-A's in the end anyway.
- Like other digital cameras, the camera must be powered up before taking photos but you don't want to leave it on at all times in order to save batteries. However, if you have a sudden photo opportunity it does take a minute for the camera to power up. The camera will go into sleep mode to save batteries and it "wakes up" a little faster, but still somewhat slowly. This is a minor drawback.
- And the biggest drawback, for me, is the difficulty in taking action shots. It is difficult for two reasons:

1) The auto-focus is slow. By the time the camera focuses and shoots, your photo opportunity easily may have passed. It does have manual focus but it is much slower! You have to use the up/down and left/right arrows on the back of the camera to focus. First, this is an inconvenient location especially if you are using the viewfinder instead of the viewscreen. And, the buttons are digitally controlled; each press of the button requires a short processing time. If you think you can manually focus on the fly with this camera while shooting sports photography, forget it! So, unless you are in a situation where you can focus manually once and take all of your photos at that focal length, you will have to rely on the moderately slow auto-focus.

2) After each photo, the image freezes to show you the picture you just took. This is a nice feature on most any digital camera nowadays, but since you can't turn it off it can really interfere if you are trying to take several photos back-to-back. The viewscreen does this, but so does the viewfinder, so there is no avoiding it. The only option, if you want to take quick back to back photos, is to turn on the "rapid-shooting" which will take 2 or more photos every time you press the button. Fortunately it's digital so you aren't wasting film!

All of that said, I will mention that I have managed to take some decent sports photographs. The drawbacks are a nuisance but can be worked around in ways like those that I have mentioned.

I recommend this camera to anyone that is looking for a digital camera at a very affordable price that will provide many of the benefits of a traditional 35 mm film-based camera. It is good for beginners as well as amateur photographers, but if you're planning to do action photography I recommend sticking to the 35 mm, or finding a different (though surely more expensive) digital camera.

Bottom line: it is hard, if not impossible, to beat this camera for this price.

I got this camera for Christmas just a few days ago. This is my first digital camera, and I'll tell straight out that it is excellent. The first picture I took (An ornament on my tree) came out perfect, literally. I showed a few of my relatives, who were all incredibly impressed, and rightly so - the picture is beautiful.

I've heard a few people complain about problems with the screen, but I really haven't had any. It looks fine to me, and makes no difference whether it's in light or dark. I actually really like it.

The picture software isn't slow on my computer, which is two years old. I'll say that it isn't the easiest to load, but it really isn't a hassle.

And finally, picture qualities. They're really sharp and beautiful. Focusing is easy, and for me, it hasn't been as long as some people have said.

Highly reccomended, especially for a first time user like myself.

A nice camera, but that is all, very basic, great outdoor day shots, very poor inside or night shots, where a flash is required. Recommend spend more (wish I had) and get something that can take more acceptable photographs inside where light is not as good as outside.

I purchased the Kodak DX3215 Digital Camera with the USB dock and I have been very impressed with it so far. This is a starter camera and doesn't have a lot of frills. The construction of the camera, the buttons, etc. tells you that this is a relatively cheap camera but there are no functional issues with it. This is a great camera that's capable of 1.3 megapixel and has a 2X digital zoom lens. The camera comes with 8MB of internal RAM which will store about 20 pictures at 1024x768. There is an expansion slot of additional memory and I picked up the SanDisk 32 MB card for that slot which stores about 100 pictures at 1024x768.

In a nutshell, this is a really good starter Digital camera without a lot of frills. Great for someone who wants a good Digital camera but doesn't want to pay $500 for it. If you want a really good Digital camera, my choice would be the Canon Powershot G2 Digital Camera. Very nice..

I bought this camera about a year and a half ago when it just came out. At the time, it was the cheapest offering an optical zoom, which is what I was looking for. The optical zoom works out nicely - it makes the camera have an effective 30-60mm lense, which is nice for distance shots. This camera does take some time to get to know and use properly, but once you have enough experience with it, you can get some good pictures (like through a microscope eyepiece - it was amazing). The outdoor shots are amazing, especially in terms of color reproduction. Indoor shots are variable, but it does take good low-light photos with the flash off, but the flash OK, just gets some colors a little wrong sometimes. The battery life is short, so you will need rechargeable batteries (these were well worth the investment, as acceptable batteries are $... a pair, while rechargeables+charger=$...). As for the camera dock, I think it is the stupidest thing ever and invented just to get more money out of people - YOU DO NOT NEED THE CAMERA DOCK (I avoided purchasing it). I don't even use the included software, I just copy pictures over. The LCD screen is a bit hard to see sometimes, and MMC cards are finally getting more common (I have ~160 megs of cards now, and took pictures for a month in europe on them). Overall, definitely worth the money, especially after I got used to it. And again, it is very very good at outdoor photos.

This HP 320 2.1 MP camera is rock solid and takes great pictures. 2 MP is totally adequate for typical picture taking. Very few people blow up there photos beyond 8.5" X 11". An optical zoom (digital zoom decreases resolution) would be nice, but more than doubles/triples the price. Instead, the operator just needs to move forward or backwards to get the proper framing.

I purchased this camera on sale with the free accessory kit (case, NiMH batteries and charger) for fewer than 100 clams here on Amazon. I also picked up a new HP 8881 docking station on ebay for 30 clams and a 128MB-memory card for 35 clams (after rebate) at Dell. So, you can get into great digital for not a lot of money.

This camera is an outstanding value and a rock solid performer. I highly recommend it for people who want to take great pictures without the added cost of advanced features. All you need is the camera initially to get started. From there you can decide if you want to add more accessories.

PS TAKE ADVANTAGE OF THE FREE ACCESSORY KIT OFFER, YOU WILL NOT FIND ANYTHING CLOSE TO THIS VALUE AT THE TIME OF THIS POSTING! THIS IS A HIGH QUALITY HP PRODUCT!

UPDATE- I did have to upgrade my camera's firmware to support the 128MB SD-RAM cards. HP sent me a free 16MB SD-RAM card for the upgrade process (you need a SD-RAM card to facilitate the procedure). The process worked well and I'm now enjoying my fully functional 128MB card!

This is an Awesome camera. I tried the equivalent Vivitar Camera, it was horibble! This little camera blows it away. I also bought rechargable batteris(a must have), a 64 MB SD Card (also must have)and I bought a HP Photosmart 435 photoprinter. The printer is awesome and together it prints out beautiful pixs! I would highly recommend this to anybody!! :)

I recently received this camera with the HP printer bundle for my birthay. Both work wonderfully. They are so easy to use and are great for taking just basic pictures. The price was very affordable as well.

It's a great little camera with all kinds of functions. And the pictures it takes are clear and crisp, never blurry or fuzzy. It's 3.3 megapixels will not disappoint! It's easy to use, a very simple interface.

Pros: PRICE, picture quality, style of the camera itself, large LCD screen, red eye reduction flash works great, holds 96 pictures at once, expandable with flash cards

Cons: Loves to eat batteries (must have a charger), time and date reset each time batteries are changed, preferences also reset to factory default each time batteries are changed.

I won't rehash what's already been said about this camera but add what I've just learned. I used it for a while with regular AA batteries which it ate with gusto! I purchased the ... Digital Camera Power Pack (4 1500 mA NiMH AA batteries and charger) from Radio Shack and gave it a new test. First I shot with the flash and LCD both OFF and filled the camera's 16 MB and the 128 MB CF card with no trouble. I then turned on the flash AND LCD and again was able to fill the camera and card to capacity using the same batteries without a recharge (80 pictures each time on full resolution). The batteries finally gave out after another 12 pictures with flash and LCD ON.
I can't recommend this camera highly enough as a first step into the digital realm as long as you use the rechargable NiMH batteries.

You can get this camera with a rebate for under $100. At that price, it's a steal. Of course, if you want to get any more than limited use out of it, you have to buy rechargeable batteries and memory. Yes, it eats batteries. Invest in a 4-pack of AA NiMH batteries and a charger and you'll be able to keep 2 batteries in the camera and 2 in your pocket. The 16mb on-board memory will only allow you to take 9 photos on the "super fine" setting. Invest in a 128mb compact flash card and suddenly you're up to 79 pictures.

As to the quality of the pictures, they are superb outdoors. Incredible detail and dazzling color. I avoid taking photos indoors with a flash because it turns the subject into a deer in the headlights and obliterates the background. This is true, though, of most point and shoot cameras. With proper lighting and using the camera's tripod mount, you might be able to achieve good indoor shots without the flash. Otherwise, the indoor shots are just okay.

I don't love the bundled software and recommend after you download the photos to your computer -- saving in a non-degrading TIFF format -- that you use DCEnhancer, a fantastic piece of freeware from www.mediachance.com, to bring out the colors and texture of your photos. It even rescues some of the over- and under-exposed indoor shots.

Some have complained about the camera's lack of analog zoom or the crummy quality of the digital zoom. Even on my old film SLR, I never use a zoom lens. The best zoom is your feet! Get closer or farther away to frame your subject properly.

Others have complained that the camera is a little bulky. True, it's not a micro-mini camera, but it's smaller and much lighter than my old 35mm p&s, so I could hardly be happier. It lives in my briefcase so I can take a photo whenever the mood strikes. Sure, it's also little flimsy and there's a lot of plastic around, but I didn't pay a Leica-type price either. Frankly, this allows me to take more risks with the camera -- using it at the beach or near ground level because I'm not too worried if it gets a little dusty or beat up.

This is my first digital camera and having paid so little for a 3.3 megapixel camera, I'm very happy with it. In a year or so when digital SLR's come within my price range, I will upgrade, but I have a feeling the SiPix will happily spend the next few years living in my backpack or coat pocket so it's at the ready.