written by GARIN LINNINGTON. on 12/11/2001
Good Points
MOVIE (.AVI) CAPTURE UPTO 20SECS, SMARTMEDIA CARDS (E.G. 32MB FOR AROUND £23), MACRO FOCUS FEATURE, DIGITAL ZOOM, GOOD WINDOWS 98/ME/2000 (WORKS WITH XP) SOFTWARE.
Bad Points
ZOOM ONLY WORKS IN 640 X 480 MODE. MOVIE CAPTURE ISN'T VERY LIGHT SENSITIVE, IT NEEDS STRONG LIGHT, AND THE VIDEO CONFERENCING AND PC CAMERA IMAGES ARE SO DARK IT IS UNUSABLE FOR THESE. THIS IS A PITY, IT DOESN'T COMPARE WITH A DEDICATED WEBCAM, EVEN A £30 ONE.
General Comments
A GOOD, USABLE DIGITAL CAMERA FOR THE PRICE (AROUND £158 INC 8mb SMARTMEDIA CARD). IT IS VERY SMALL AND LIGHT, A LITTLE UNDER 4" LONG, 1.5" DEEP, AND 2.5" HIGH, PERHAPS A LITTLE TOO LIGHT A PLASTICKY. THE MOVIE CAPTURE FEATURE MAKES THIS CAMERA STAND OUT FROM THE CROWD, VERY USEFUL FOR SENDING A SHORT MOVIE CLIP TO THE FOLKS BACK HOME. THE ONLY BAD POINTS ARE THE LACK OF ZOOM IN THE HIGHER RESOLUTIONS ABOVE 640 X 480, AND THE VIDEO AND PC CAMERA (WEBCAM) IMAGES ARE SO DARK THEY ARE UNUSABLE.