...but in the end, I bid on and won an Aiptek PocketCam, boxed and used twice, for £26 including delivery.
Next day, it was in my hands, service faster than a bat up a nightdress. And I'm very impressed; here are the techie speccies...
Features:
1600 x 1200 CMOS sensor
1.5" TFT LCD ... Read review
Advantages: So easy to use, cheap, good quality photos Disadvantages: Slightly fat, rubber inserts somewhat fragile
...bid on and won an Aiptek PocketCam, boxed and used twice, for £26 including delivery.
Next day, it was in my hands, service faster than a bat up a nightdress. And I'm very impressed; here are the techie speccies...
Features:
1600 x 1200 CMOS sensor
1.5" TFT LCD Display
In-built flash with red eye reduction
Compact Flash memory slot
TV out
Auto Exposure and ... ...to use colour menu
Specs:
Sensor Type: (1600 x 1200) CMOS sensor
LCD Display: 1.5" TFT LCD
Flash strobe: anti-red eyes / auto /off
External Slot: CF slot , 16MB card included
Digital Zoom: 4x
Still Image Resolution: Max 2048 x 1536, Normal 1600 x 1200
AVI Movie Format: 320 x 240, 10 fps
Memory: 16MB SDRAM
Image control: Auto Exposure & Auto White - ... more
Digital cameras are everywhere these days, aren't they? Expensive ones, cheap ones, big lensed ones, ones with 6.6 megapixel resolution, some with TFT screens that are bigger than my first flat....where do you start?
I really haven't ever needed a digital camera; I've always made do with disposable Kodaks and been happy enough with the (relatively expensive, after developing) results. However, last weekend I found myself at a polo match (not my usual cup of Pimms, it was a competition prize) and at the ceremony at the end I found myself feet away from Prince Harry and had no camera to hand. Bum! My wife had her Olympus D-390 and was snapping away, wouldn't let me have a go, and so a few days ago I resolved to buy a cheap, small, good enough for the job digital camera for myself.
Being quite mean - they'll probably find me dead at the back of a pay-as-you-leave bus one day - price was an important parameter. The cheapest brand new digital camera in Argos or Comet is/was around the £50 mark, and a 2.1 megapixel spec....having used my wife's small silver curved pleasuregiver (the Olympus....whaddaya think I meant?), I know that 2.1 megapixels is okay but a little limiting at times.
So I hit the well-trodden virtual streets of EBay. For around £60, you can get a 6.6 megapixel non-optical zoom beastie imported from Germany. Oy vey, too expensive. Any second-hand, previously-cherished 3.1 megapixel cameras around? Not many, actually.....but in the end, I bid on and won an Aiptek PocketCam, boxed and used twice, for £26 including delivery.
Next day, it was in my hands, service faster than a bat up a nightdress. And I'm very impressed; here are the techie speccies...
Features:
1600 x 1200 CMOS sensor 1.5" TFT LCD Display In-built flash with red eye reduction Compact Flash memory slot TV out Auto Exposure and Auto White balance Digital Zoom Easy to use colour menu
Specs:
Sensor Type: (1600 x 1200) CMOS sensor LCD Display: 1.5" TFT LCD Flash strobe: anti-red eyes / auto /off External Slot: CF slot , 16MB card included Digital Zoom: 4x Still Image Resolution: Max 2048 x 1536, Normal 1600 x 1200 AVI Movie Format: 320 x 240, 10 fps Memory: 16MB SDRAM Image control: Auto Exposure & Auto White - Balance Self Timer: 10-seconds Power Saving: Auto power off if idle over 60 seconds Battery: 2 x AA Alkaline , included Dimension: 2.3" x 3.86" x 1.9"( 59 x 98 x 47 mm) Software Support: Microsoft Windows 98SE/ME/2000/XP
But here's what you REALLY get;
A smart looking, silver and blue (very Sony) camera than fits neatly in your hand...it's a little fat, like a gutsy robin, but feels good.
A very simple to use switch/button interface - click the knob on the top to the function you want ( WebCam/OFF/Camera/Playback/Video) , and use the zoom and menu buttons to choose the menu item you need.
A really good webcam that's easy to use with the comprehensive and simplistic ULead software enclosed.
A video camera that will record for as long as you've got space on your CF card.
Lots of accessories; a tripod (more useful than you realise), a 16MB CF card, video editing software, a USB cable, a TV out cable for reviewing the pictures on your TV, and a carrying case.
Three resolutions to get plenty of pics on your CF card; the best resolution saves pics sized 700k each, so you can get about 25 of them on the supplied card.
The resolution is no doubt extrapolated, so its better than a 2.1 megapixel shot (certainly better than my wife's Olympus) and just under the quality of a professional 3.1 megapixel CCD sensor.
A very good x4 digital zoom - you really don't lose too much quality and it makes a big difference.
Plenty of battery life; I've used it for hours and it still has juice in them thar Duracells. Like most TFT equipped cameras, there's a button that lets you turn off the screen and use the optical viewfinder instead.
I've only got one small niggle with it; the small rubber inserts that protect the TV out sockets, USB hole and power in socket do stick out and may fall off with use - be gentle with them.
The overall quality of the camera is good, but not great; the body and TFT screen may scratch easily if you don't use the carrying case.
My final surmision is that this camera (£20 odd !!) is perfect as a starter camera, use it for a year or so before you spend some slightly more serious dosh and get a camera with an optical zoom lens.
Thanks for looking - and happy bidding on EBay for an Aiptek!
Advantages: Very reasonably priced, quality photos, comes with tripod and case. Disadvantages: Slow shutter speed, the flash reflects white if using indoors.
I bought my PocketCam for £79.99, I was blinded by the 3 mega pixels, the tripod and the price. I somewhat regret the purchase now though. It was intended to be an upgrade from my 1 mega pixel Kodak digital camera, which was great but the picture quality was not up to scratch so I purchased this one and proceeded to take photos, it was during the day and they all came out great with no problems. The next time I used it was indoors in the evening ... ...pictures where terrible, after much adjustment with the settings I managed to take a few good ones but these varied as to how much light was in the room. And whether the flash was set to auto or not. The other thing I found was that the delay the camera took to take the actual photo was about 2 seconds therefore any photos of moving objects would be out of the question.
On the plus side it takes good still photographs in daylight. The quality of ...
chez301 17.12.2003
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of Aiptek PocketCam 3M
Advantages: Easy to use, real value for money Disadvantages: only 3M
This is our first digital camera purchase and we found it really easy to use. Also, the price is excellent for a 3M camera. Perfect for my daughter to use at college with her photography course. Also great for any non-professional use, as good quality results for a 3M camera.
We had no problems setting the camera up for the first use and no problems finding out what the different functions were.
Only disadvantage is the fact that it is only 3M, ...
crosstronic 13.09.2004
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: helpful Review of Aiptek PocketCam 3M
Advantages: Ease of use. Disadvantages: Difficulty in editing pictures + printing from software
I bought this camera for under £80 including free rechargable batteries + charger.For that price i think this camera is a real bargain.It is simple to use and has all the features you would usually find on a far more expensive camera + 3 mega pixels to boot.Great pics inside + out.
The downside for me is the software.Almost every time i try to access the e-manual through acrobat 4 it restarts windows for some reason.[If anyone knows why can they ...
ormeite 09.06.2003
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: somewhat helpful Review of Aiptek PocketCam 3M
Advantages: Cheap, came with goodies, doubles as webcam and data storage medium Disadvantages: Image quality not good
Bought camera from Lidls's for around £80. The package included quite a few goodies such as batteries, charger, plastic table tripod and some image editting software but I was disappointed in the quality of pictures produced.
Maybe it is because of the size of the aperture or the quality of the lens but pictures taken in good light are slightly fuzzy and those taken in poorish light, even with flash, are just not acceptable. The flash "whites out" ... ...and robustness seem to be OK but it looks rather cheap. Well, it was cheap, i guess.
Before this camera I had an Agfa e307 for several years. Even now, although it only produces images of 640x480 pixels, it knocks spots of the Mega3 for picture quality. Sorry, Aiptek.
On the plus side, it doubles as a webcam, a data storage medium and a small movie camera. ...
pfcsoton 01.11.2005
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: somewhat helpful Review of Aiptek PocketCam 3M
Advantages: compact multi-purpose easy to use Disadvantages: no sound to video footage
we bought this camera has we where fed up with forgetting to process films. we find it brilliant we paid 79 pounds and it was worth every penny the memory card which was included with mine took 27 pictures which is quite enough for the average day out. the picture screen display is clear and concise the only thing to remember is to check the flash is activated every time you switch batteries. this camera has saved me a fortune on film processing ...
rae1202 29.12.2003
· Read full review
Ciao members have rated this review on average: somewhat helpful Review of Aiptek PocketCam 3M
aiptek 200
DigitalZoom: 8 x -OpticalZoom: 3 x -SupportedMedia Type:SD ...
Product Information for "Aiptek PocketCam 3M" »
Connections
Connector Type
1 x USB
1 x composite video output
1 x DC power input
Expansion Slot(s)
1 x CompactFlash Card
Manufacturer's product description
The stylish and compact PocketCam 3M is the latest of an increasingly diverse range of Digital/Video cameras and Internet peripheral devices from AIPTEK. Not only delivering digital images and video at stunningly high resolution (Up to 3 Mp by interpolation) the PocketCam 3M also supports Flash Flight, 4X Digital Zoom, has a 1.5" full-color TFT LCD display screen, a 15Mb CF card, and in fact includes all of the features you would expect from its larger full-function brothers. With TV-out, and a 16Mb CF (Compact Flash) card slot built-in, the memory capacity may be further enhanced by adding CF card capacity.
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