Digital-Camera Reviews

I have several regrets with this purchase. From the fact that I listened to the sales person who was unknowledgeable about megapixels to the very unpridictable prints from this camera. Some come out ok but for the most part they are pretty bad. Very grainy. Even when printing 4 X 6. And if I can help with the Megapixel confusion, I've done alot of research on the matter since I bought this camera, and have found out a few things. The best place to start is http://electronics.howstu ffworks.com/digital- camera.htm Hope this helps in your digital camera purchase

the Dimage X20 is the little brother of the Dimage Xt. the main differences between the two are resolution (2MP for x20, 3MP for xt), the x20 does not have an optical viewfinder, the x20 uses AA batteries.

pros:
- 2MP resolution, 3x optical zoom.
- about the same size as the xt with dimensions of 3.4 x 2.6 x 0.9 in, weighing in at 4.1oz.
- generally good photo quality, low noise levels.
- automatic white balance performs well.
- AF locks rapidly and decisively in good light.
- short shutter lag in good light.
- fast startup.
- fast shot-to-shot speeds.
- ability to record in movie mode until memory card is full.
- all metal body feels solid.
- 1.6" LCD is bright and fluid.
- uses non-proprietary AA batteries (i highly recommend rechargeables). this means that in a pinch, replacement batteries are as close as the nearest convenience store.

cons:
- some purple fringing.
- corners are soft.
- some vignetting.
- above average barrel distortion.
- some redeye occurrence.
- no manual controls.
- no optical viewfinder - this makes it tough when you use this camera with bright sunlight.
- RAW and TIFF formats not supported.
- no AF illuminator - this would really help shutter lag when using this camera in low light.
- scratches easily.
- 8MB SD card provided is inadequate so add $$ to your budget to buy more memory.
- only 2 AA non-rechargeables included; again, add more $$ for some rechargeables and a fast charger.

the X20 is a great looking ultracompact camera but the quality of the images you take could be better. if you want a pocketable camera for web photos and small prints, consider the X20. if you want larger prints and like the design of the x20, try the DiMAGE Xt. if you want manual controls, you'll have to find another camera altogether, as none of the X-series cameras have them. i would recommend the optio s or casio ex-z3. for even better image quality (in a slightly bigger package), also consider canon's sd100.

i hope this helps you with your buying decision. peace.

I bought:the camera ,a 128mb card and the $9 travel case and i couldnt be happier ! I love my new camera .Literally ,after just opening it and turning it on i was taking pictures .And the same for saving them on my computer.
This camera has everything: A zoom that doesnt show, lens cover, size: Super SMALL even with the carry case, fast start up, Video w Audio,webcam,etc. You can read all the great features above but overall its the best buy i have done in a long time because it is very well built ,SMALL!, and also very stylist so everyone will notice this great gadget.
That little mirror on the front is excellent for pics w friends.
The shutter lag is the only thing i have against it(about a sec tops).But not in a bad way because i still LOVE my new mini cam.And Minolta is a very good company.
The delivery was EXC and the camera 10x more !!
Great Buy !
I researched for about 6 days for the best ,Cheapest and smallest cameras with lens cover and video and etc ...And i really think i found it !
Must have:Rechargable batteries and charger .(also 128mb card and a case!)

There are many things that really make this camera worth buying. These are a few that sold me:

1) Form factor - The 601 has got a really nice upright shape that lends itself to smaller hands.
2) Controls - The basic point-and-shoot controls are very easy to manipulate. Switching between Movie, Auto Control, and Manual Control is a cinch and zooming and focusing is a breeze.
3) Picture quality - The pictures that are produced are almost always true to life. Even at 1 megapixel normal mode, the pictures are sharp and clear.

But since I bought it, there have been a few niggling inconsistencies and drawbacks that take the sheen off the thing.

1) No picture stabilization - If you have jittery hands, you will end up with lots of fuzzy pictures.
2) A bug in the lens retraction system causes my camera to not stow the zoom lens when I turn it off.
3) Complicated menus - Once you decide to leave the familiar point-and-shoot environment and start fiddling with apertures and f stops, the menus become very complicated.
4) FinePix software - If you can avoid it, just don't install it. It is slow and heavy. I suggest getting another imaging suite like Photoshop Elements or Macromedia Fireworks or Jasc PaintShop Pro.
5) Short battery life - At 1 megapixel normal mode, it is almost impossible to fill up a 128Meg SmartMedia card. The battery in this case lasts about 3 hours. This annoyance is offset by the fact that 128M is enough to fit about 400 pictures. I ran out of battery the other day, which is why I bring this up. If you are used to shooting 30-40 shots a day, then there is plenty of battery.

Still, it is a cool little camera that takes really good pictures and is small enough to take with you on your next outing. The price is a little high and you would do yourself right to compare this to other cameras in its range. The form factor may look cool now, but you should try it out before buying, some people really don't like the shape.

Hello ALL

Can any one guide me on how to reset the camera????

I have been using Finepix F601 Zoom serial number 2ML26749 around a year and have run into a problem. The Camera now doesnot power up anymore. The last working state before the problem occurred was as follows:

1. Connected the camera to the Picture Cradle .
2. Connected the cradle to Windows XP PC (Home edition) via USB
3. Powered on the Camera
4. Windows Task Manager prompts that a digitalk Camera is connected and display avaible options
5. Select Copy pictures from Camera to HDD
6. After Copying the pictures from the camera to HDD, We shut down the XP leaving the Camera Powered on and in "access via USB" State which was indicated by a USB icon on its display.

After the PC was shut down, the camera couldnot be powered off and hence leaving the only option to remove the camera from cradle and remove the battery manually from its compartment. Ever since I am unable to power the camera unit. I tried to replace the memory and battery but of not use.

Please email at rvinukonda@juniper.net

I started with a Fujifilm MX-700 four years ago as my first digital camera, and I waited until now to upgrade to the F601, which is essentially the 4th generation version of the MX-700. It has the same stylish (even better looking and a bit smaller) aluminum housing, and the features are now an order of magnitude better. The F601 image processing is fast--only about 2-3 seconds between pictures (even at hi-res), and the image quality is excellent. I figured out the camera controls in about 5 minutes without reading the manual at all--they are very intuitive. The full-VGA 15 frame-per-second video capture mode is also great for mini-movies, and you are only limited by the size of your smart card on the movie length. Many other cameras only do quarter-VGA (QVGA) videos with a 30-second limit. Plus, like the other reviewer said, the F601 fits inconspicuously into a front pants pocket, so you can take it anywhere. Caveats: I don't like that the file numbering resets to zero each time you clear the smart card. That makes it difficult to download all of your pictures to the same file folder. Even my MX-700 had an option not to reset the file numbering, so I'm not sure what the Fujifilm engineers were thinking. Also, you have to learn how to hold the camera, because it is easy to block the microphone or the flash or the exposure meter with a finger. Finally, you'll want to fork over the money for an extra battery and a 128 MB smartcard. But those are small quibbles. This is a great camera for beginners and experts alike. I love mine.

I bought this (Sandisk 512 MB Secure Digital) in February and gave it to my mom as a gift in May. She used it in her digital camera and took pictures with it for her college reunion. Afterwards, the card displayed "Corrupt Data" and the pictures were lost! Do NOT buy this card, if you do not believe me, do a search for this card and you will see similar testimonials!
The grief and sadness this card has caused me is not worth its cheaper price!
user be warned!

by the way, the one i have is made in china, i have read these ones are the WORST

I purchased the SanDisk 512MB Secure Digital Card for use in my MP3 player (Rio Cali-256). I had never before seen a Secure Digital card and was surprised at how small the card is.

I opened the package, inserted the card into my MP3 player, and presto. Instant recognition. No need to format the card.
I started downloading my music files onto it, and noticed the speed was equivalent to the memory onboard my player. As a result, I now have an additional 120 mp3 files on my player!

I'd give the product five stars, but the memory size did not appear to my MP3 player as 512MB. It was slightly less than this - not too much less, but when I buy 512 MB, I certainly want all 512.

I bought this Sandisk 512MB SD card to play music in my Palm Tungsten E. I have had excellent results transferring music and playing music on this card. I haven't had one problem and would highly recommend it. It looks like I can store about 120 songs with an average encoding of 128kbps. So it's a bit expensive when compared to the capacity of an ipod, but I didn't want to carry around 2 devices, charge them, etc.

The downsides are not really about this card at all. They are:

1. The Palm MP3 kit that comes with the fast transfer USB device doesn't work with the RealOne 10 sync function. It uses the slow USB cable that's used for HotSync.

2. The RealOne 10 doesn't transfer playlists from the desktop to the Palm. I downloaded the new Real Player 1.1 to my Palm but it doesn't have many new features.

3. The in-your-ear headphones that come with the Palm MP3 kit suck. They don't fit in my ear (I'm an average size 5'11" male), they fall out so the music doesn't sound great. I went to the Metreon and got the Sony foldable MDR-G72 headphones and I'm enjoying the music much, much more.

This review is about more than just the Sandisk SD card, but I'll reiterate, the Sandisk card has worked flawlessly for me.

yeah the cam was a cheap price and buying something cheap u cant expect 100% quality. well the so called "mic" thats installed doesnt work at all and the lighting and pixel are terrible. no matter how much light u have in a room it still seems to dark! so if your looking for something cheap with not so great quality this is a great pick!

I received this cam as a birthday gift and I love it. In fact I bought a friend one for her birthday. She agrees, we both think that the quality of the picture as amazing for the price. I highly recommend this product.

i recently bought this cam with in the last week. since my previous cam had broke, i was pleasantly surprised by the wide range of motion you can do with the cam as well as with the hi resolution picture it produces. my friends agree that for such a low price it is really user friendly as well a great buy. all in all, this cam is a great buy.

The camera is lightweight and comes with the USB/serial port attachments, but unfortunately it's not compatible with WinXP. Going to the Polaroid website is no help. After emailing and searching the site, I found the appropriate drivers for XP.

Taking pictures is a snap, the instructions are very easy to follow, the pictures are so-so, best to take pics during daylight. It's a good entry into digi-cam if you're not familiar with uploading pics to the computer.

I bought this camera because it was an inexpensive way to try out digital photography. I prefer regular cameras because I don't have a great printer yet, but I just wanted to have this type of camera around in case I wanted to take pictures I want to see right away. It takes very nice pictures that print out great on my old printer. It was extremely easy to use and the pictures download very fast. The software was fun to use.

Since I had my fun with it, and it's so easy to use,I am going to give it to my 5 year old son to introduce him to photography. He already took some great pictures and enjoys seeing the pictures pop up on the computer. He can take as many as he wants becuase I don't have to pay for film and processing.

I have been in the computer business for a long time (worked for Microsoft and Intel) and decided to buy this digital camera to get my feet wet. I just resigned from the workforce due to the arrival of my second child and wanted to buy a camera that had at least 640 x 480 and was reasonably priced. When I saw the special price on this, I grabbed it and have not been disappointed at all. It is an amazing camera for the price. I have found that I don't need the flash at all - even in low lights indoors. As far as people reporting "fuzziness", you have to keep the camera still and take pictures within the borders of the viewfinder which can be a bit deceptive until you pay attention to the gold borders. It's been a lot of fun!

Make sure you test this first. The image quality was so poor and dark even after I turned on all the lights in my room and adjusted out the brightnes settings. I bought a Logitech instead and this performed a LOT better.

The GE EasyCam Pro is one of the most underrated web cams on the market. With a 640X480 resolution and 300k pixels this little guy will keep you entertained for days. The setup and installation couldn't be simpler and it's wonderfully compatible with Windows Messenger and Yahoo! Messenger. Don't be fooled into buying more expensive "name brand" cameras. The EasyCam Pro is one of the best in its class and easily outperforms comparably priced Logitech cams.

One of the included programs, VideoImpression 1.6, continually crashes with Windows XP after loading it (perhaps the only fault with the package) but Windows Movie Maker seems like a better program anyway. Overall this is a great camera and if you're using it for instant messaging it's by far the best bang for your buck!

If your looking for a webcam that does everything without much hassle this is a great pick.<br /> <br /> Pros<br /> 1) Cheap, the price is very affordable and it's worth it.<br /> 2) Semi-sturdy stand, won't fall off randomly unless monitor is shaken.<br /> 3) Button the top is easy for quick still photos.<br /> 4) All the programs you need are there ready to install when you get the CD.<br /> 5) Installation takes only a few minutes.<br /> <br /> Con<br /> 1) Only one, but it didn't affect me much because I had a lamp. You need more lighting with this webcam otherwise you'll probably turn out black. I use a lamp about 2 feet away from me and that works perfectly.<br /> <br /> Great buy, easy to use, worth the price.

True video conferencing - the type that has been promised for years now really exists and is affordable for the common man (and woman). All you need is a firewire Mac (all new Macs for the past 4 years have shipped w/ firewire, but you can always install an after-market firewire PCI card if needed) running OS 10.2 or better, iChat/AV (Apple's software that comes free with OS 10.3 - "Panther"), and a broadband connection.

There are many iChat related Web sites that contain databases of other iSight owners, so you can always find someone to chat with, even if none of your friends have Macs or broadband connections.

The camera can also be used for Yahoo Chat, but Yahoo's software limits your video to snapshot slide shows. iChat/AV allows you to to have live streaming video and audio with full duplexing, so it's like you're on the phone.

If you have a bad hair day, you can use the microphone only so you don't have to share the video. The lens cap is built-in, and with a simple twist of the lens, your camera is turned off.

The camera is an elegant addition to your Mac goodies, although the mounting has much to be desired. Some third-party companies have come out with some excellent alternatives for mounting the iSight, however, if you don't have a laptop to clip it to and you don't want to "stick" it on your monitor.

The camera is in full color and will automatically focus from about 1" to infinity. My less than perfect rating is for two reasons - 1 being the aforementioned mounting options - tacky "stick-on" mounting isn't the choice for most and the laptop clip can be broken easily during transport. My biggest gripe is the white balancing of the camera. This might be eventually corrected w/ a new version of the iChat software, but for now, the color you see is not necessarily reflecting reality. I have my computer next to a window, so in the middle of a sunny day with my overhead light on, the color looks great. At night (no ambient sunlight) with an overhead light, the colors are grainy and flat.

If you hold a white piece of paper next to your face while you look at yourself on the camera, the color suddenly corrects, but goes back to awful the minute you put the paper down.

Traditional cameras with built-in light meters have an ability to "spot meter" and lock a light meter reading - Apple needs to put this option in with their next incarnation of iChat/AV. For now, I have 2 halogen desk lamps on either side of my monitor. When I chat w/ someone in the evening, I will turn on the hot white lights to illuminate my face so the other person doesn't think they're talking to Darth Vader or the Grim Reaper.

I used it a couple of times for audio-only chats - the microphone quality is superb. I have chatted to people in Canada, Israel and Australia without a noticable delay or degredation in quality. If the other user is using a built-in microphone in lieu of an iSight, however, they will probably hear you well, but you may have a hard time hearing them.

I have also used the camera for some video/audio chats with people from around the globe. There is a noticable 1 second time difference delay, but it is acceptable all things considered.

As with all things Apple, this camera is quite an innovation. Beforehand, there was only one other firewire camera on the market and it did not allow for live streaming video. Thanks to Apple's iChat software, however, you can use some other cameras, but I would not recommend it. With the few failings of iSight, it is still the best there is - and considering what it does, it's well worth the price.

What a terrific web cam! Talk about easy to set up. First make sure you've downloaded Apple's chat software, iChat AV. After that all you do is pulg the included FireWire cable into the iSight, mount it on your mac and plug the other end into a FireWire port and you're ready to start audio and/or video chats with your AIM buddies. The one caveat being that you need a high speed connection for video.

I love the simplicity and elegance of the iSight. When I don't want to use the web cam, I don't have to disconnect it, only close the shutter. But honestly the image and sound quality is such that I never close it down. I've used several web cams in the past and this one offers by far the best image quality I've seen. Another small but welcome feature is the iSight's ability to tilt and swivel while mounted to your mac. Now you can position your web cam just right without a lot of fuss.

My only complaint is the need to stick the iSIght mount on you mac. The mount for notebooks is much better as it just slips over the edge of the screen and doesn't require you to stick anything to your beautiful mac.

I've had mine for a few weeks a now and haven't had a single glitch to deal with. Simple, elegant and high quality. What more can you ask for? Did I hear you say a lower price? Well, you can't have everything right? : )

I don't know if the review from EL was wrote by a Anti-Mac Nazi but, most of the information stated in his review was incorrect. First iMovie is easily used with the iSight. Second iSight is made for mac, If you have a mac that supports iSight, you should not have to instal any software, iChat AV Comes with the OS. Third iChat AV does now work with the latest PC version of AOL instant messenger, not the old ones. Fourth not only can you take still amazingly good quality still pictures, you can download programs off the internet that lets you add effects to the pictures you take. iSight self adjusted the brightness and contrast, so manual adjustment is unnecessary. EL has made it sound you cannot use iSight unless you are computer illiterate, it is very easy to use I have never had any problem with mine, and I've saved money on long distance calls. Plus it's a lot of fun I rated this excellent product with 5 stars. Online Video Conferencing is the future and apples firewire technology makes video Conferencing amazing with no skipping or lag the quality is superb. Hats off to Apple with the great product

We liked this camera at first, when it seemed we were only taking daytime outdoor shots. Once you move indoors and start using the flash, the quality is pretty bad, the red eye problem is terrible, and the battery life is ridiculously short. One night of indoor photos, and you wake up the next day to find your battery is dying and it takes about a minute for the flash to recharge after each shot. So if you don't mind hauling your special Nikon battery charger on every trip, or if you plan to mainly use it outdoors, then it's an okay choice. Positive aspects are good design, easy to use, and good software package for uploading pics.

I'd actually give the Nikon Coolpix 3500 3.5 stars if I could. It has many features and is capable of producing very good images, but I'm beginning to expect more from a camera in this price point range (~$400 retail). This is a decent option if you plan to use the camera indoors often - the flash white balance and close-range flash exposure accuracy are excellent, as is the Nikon tradition. Outdoors, in difficult light, the 3500 suffers compared to the competition, with poor color rendition and mediocre exposure accuracy. In recent tests in our work group, the 3500 was rated below average overall in comparison to other optical zoom / 3 MP cameras in the same price range. I think the problems with poor color on outdoor shots with significant contrast were its undoing (green tints to a blue sky stick out like a sore thumb). Right now, I'm leaning towards the Sony and Olympus models as the best overall choice.

We have had this camera about a year now and have been through the highs/lows, flash and red eye situations. I wanted a digital camera I could put in my pocket. That I got --and have taken 2,000+ pictures inside/outside, snow/rain forest and have been satisfied with this camera. I have had problems with red eye, but that was easily fixed using the portrait setting where there are flashes before the photo is taken to get eyes prepared. The only thing that continues to be a problem for me is trying to find my subjects in the LCD especially in bright sun. Overall we have been quite satisfied with this camera.

Hope this helps

just let me name four things that make this camera the WORST in the world: 1.you would miss most of the great photographic opportunities because the flash has to recharge, and it takes FOREVER!!!! 2.how do you get, say, a natural history photograph at the zoo if it doesn't have a zoom lens!? don't be fooled by what ebay says about the lens, they are just trying to make money off you! 3.the SUPER fast shutter speed doesn't allow ANY dim light, whatsoever into the camera, if you even tried to take a picture in dim light the picture would just turn out BLACK! 4.the software is totally screwy (with some things) like the brightness system, you set it to a certain brightness, but you dont like it, so you keep tweaking the brightness and before long it is all white!

that is the end, but just remember one thing, this is the one camera that you don't want to buy!

Being new to the digital camera world, I was looking for something that was basic, and relatively inexpensive. This looked like a good deal; it didn't require a lot of extras to read the picture, and the price was right. The camera does have a lot of great features, such as the view screen and the ease in attaching it to the computer. The picture quality, when using the highest resolution, is good, but the card will only hold 12 pictures on that setting. If you take pictures on the lowest resolution, you can get 96 pics on the card, but the quality is just ok.
The card is easy to remove and load into the included 3.5" floppy to load into the computer, and the photo software is pretty easy to install. The software allows you to edit and send the photos, and to add special effects to your pics.
The biggest drawback to this camera is the fact Poloroid doesn't sell additional picture cards that can be loaded into the camera.The website wasn't much help and when I wrote to Customer Service to find out if there was any way to buy extras, I never received an answer. The other problem with the picture card is that every time you transfer pictures to the computer, you lose a little more space on the card, and aren't able to "clean" the card using a wiping program.
If you aren't going to be able to download the pictures for some time (such as on a long trip), you will need to set the camera on the lowest resolution in order to get more than 12 pictures on the card. The other alternative is to bring the old standby film camera so that if the card is full, you can still get the pictures.
It is great to be able to see the photos before you print them, and choose the ones to keep. I loved the fact it it is really easy to get started using it, and it doesn't require a card reader to load the pictures from the camera to the computer. It does eat batteries, though, and you may want to buy a battery recharger so that you always have fresh ones.
For the casual user, this is a good way to get started in the "digital" world; it's fine for folks who just want to send photos to Mom over the Internet. If you like taking pictures or want to use this when traveling, you may want to spend a few more bucks to find a digital camera that has replaceable picture cards, so you can carry extras. Many of the more expensive cameras have cabling that will allow you to directly attach the camera to the computer, so you may not need to have a card reader.

Overall, this camera is easy and fun. But do your homework before buying it. For sending pictures to Mom, this is great. If you want to get into some serious photography, spend more money.

Updates to the below: After several weeks and taking shots both inside and out, I'm finding that my inside shots *sometimes* (maybe 1 in 5) come out too dark. It seems that the automatic setting for the flash sometimes incorrectly adjusts the flash to the light level. I might need to set the flash to "on" instead of "auto". Otherwise, the camera is doing great.

I got this camera yesterday so this review will be my first impressions.

1. I was a little confused by the description on Amazon as to whether I would get a 2 MB or 8 MB SmartMedia card. I still don't know but the product description is correct in saying that in the highest resolution you can get 12 pictures. Due to the compression used, I'm just not sure what amount of space that means I have.

2. This package (PDC-640 FL Digital Camera Kit) has everything you might need - AC adapter, TV cable, serial cable, batteries, FlashPath reader, case, wrist strap, PhotoMAX software. It would make a great gift for anyone not a photo expert.

3. The FlashPath reader and PhotoMAX software in particular make it very easy to move your pictures from the camera to a PC. The PhotoMAX software is not a full-fledged image editing application but it can add text, rotate, change contrast or brightness or hue, and organize into photo albums. The software seems to be designed for non-experts.

4. The camera is mostly automatic. Just point and shoot. My first few attempts inside came out very dark but it is possible I didn't have the flash set correctly. After some tinkering of the settings, the pictures came out fine. So it does take a little getting used to all the buttons and settings and how you maneuver through the menus. Still, I hardly looked at the quick start card and after a bit I was doing fine.

5. I got this camera partly because I don't really need anything fancy or with super high resolution. I will mainly take shots and send them to my relatives via email. And for email you don't want to send a really big file like you get with the megapixel cameras. This camera's resolution is plenty fine for my purposes.

So my first impression is... this is great! Just what I need. Quick and easy to use! And at a good price!

This is the best unit I've tested of digital photo frames. The picture quality is great (800x600) and it's a TFT LCD sceen- VERY IMPORTANT. I didn't know it had sound also, but that makes it fun and interactive. Real easy to use and I connected a USB card reader to it to read my pictures (instead of connecting to a camera or PC). Good holiday gift for a non-technical person and I was really impressed.

The Memory Frame was exactly what the manufacturer said it would be. The included software is easy to use. Within 30 minutes of opening the box, I had downloaded my slideshow onto the frame and was watching my family pictures display. The one issue I had, was when I first turned the frame on, the display had a bit of a flicker. I downloaded the updated software, driver, and firmware from the Pacific Digital website, and after loading the new firmware onto the frame, the display was much crisper & the flicker was gone. In summary, once I inatalled the firmware update, the Memory Frame was worth every penny.

I have had a digital frame for a year now, and I have had nothing but rave reviews about it from my Customers, if you are tight with money, then this is not the product for you, but if you have limited space and want to show off your family and friends then this is for you, yes it does seem like a slide show but that is the point of this product, it is a digital picture frame that allows you to view several pictures without the clutter of 50 frames.<br /> <br /> Product is awesome, I wish I invented it.