I'M A SECRET FLASHER......
 Feb 11th, 2002
(Feb 12th, 2002)
Advantages:
Reasonably priced, excellent quality of images, good range of features .
Disadvantages:
Software did not auto run, no case or lens cover .
Recommendable:
Yes
Detailed rating:
Picture Quality
Range & Quality of Features
Ease of Use
Durability
Overall Look & Design
Value for Money
more
  Broksababie
About me:
07/08/06....
Just to say am back!!, I am also having a baby in several weeks so expect lots of ba...
Member since:27.07.2001
Reviews:79
Members who trust:223
Review rated by 89 Ciao members on average: very helpful 
This review received a counterstatement by a party concerned
Read Comment
I have always wanted a digital camera but always thought that they were far too pricey and it wasn’t until I actually looked into them that I realised how wrong I was.
The particular camera I decided on was the Goodman’s 1388.
FEATURES
¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤ USB port ~ this allows you to connect your camera to the computer via a usb connector cable
Flash ~ this camera comes with it’s own built in flash Macro Select ~ Use this when taking a photo at close range of 20-30cm,otherwise keep it on normal setting
Lens Range ~ 20cm- infinity Self-Timer ~ this gives you 10 seconds and it will flash when counting down
LCD information display ~ this is found on the back of the camera and below it there are 3 buttons, the first is to set the resolution Fine (1280 x 860), High (1024 x 768), low (640 x 480) The amount of pictures available is also displayed depending on whether you choose, fine, high or low resolution, these are the following
• Fine 40 images
• High 60 images
• Low 120 images The second button is to set up the self-timer and flash in the following:
• Flash off
• Flash on
• Automatic Flash
• Self-timer and flash off
• Self-timer and flash on
• Self-timer and automatic flash
The third is for delete, a choice of deleting the last image or all of them.
These are all clearly displayed in the LCD window in the form of icons for ease of use.
USING THE CAMERA
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This
is a doddle even for me, you simply insert 2 AA batteries, I would suggest Duracell ultra, the reason being later on in the opinion.
Compose your chosen image, gently press the shutter until you hear a beep, the image counter will decrease by one for every picture you take.
The green power light will then flash for a few seconds, so you must wait till it stops before taking any more shots.
VIEWING YOUR PICTURES
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Now you have taken your masterpieces you will want to see them, the camera comes complete with its own software which must be firstly installed before you can plug it into the computer, the CD contains the following:
ULEAD PHOTO EXPLORER
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This is a handy viewer not just for your digital pictures but lists the contents of your computer on the left and will automatically show any folder you click on containing pictures of any kind as thumbnails, you can also print out the thumbnails or as a larger size.
This can also be set up to import your digital pictures directly but I prefer to use the included viewer.
The usual additions such as altering your image, but only basic alterations here nothing flash, you can make your piccys into a slide show, windows wallpaper or drop them onto the Internet by signing up with www.imira, you can store them and share them online.
This is excellent for viewing all your images and at the top of the page you can hit switch to go to the next software included on the CD.
ULEAD PHOTO EXPRESS
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Yet again you can directly import your pictures straight from the camera into this one, this is more of a photo editing software of course and allows you to make alterations to your pictures, by special effects, remove read eye, crop and add frames and text to your pictures to name a few.
You can also store your images in albums and give each a unique name, and again the option to share them online.
ACROBAT READER
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The default reader for the imaging system files.
CAMERA DRIVER
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This is the twain device that will enable your camera to upload pictures to the computer.
VIEWER SOFTWARE
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Ah the good old viewer, now this may not apply to everyone but I will tell you of my experience just in case, all the software auto runs from the included CD for installation, it then tells you that all you need then do to upload your pictures is plug the USB lead into the camera and the other end into the computer USB port and the viewer will automatically load up and load your images, this was not the case. I plugged it in and switched the camera on (whilst connected to the computer it takes it’s power from there and not the batteries).
And I waited and nothing happened, so where was my viewer? It took me about 2 hours of looking on my programs and racking my brain, yes I had the 2 above but I knew they weren’t the main viewer as it was shown in the instruction book.
Suddenly a brainstorm told me to check the twain, so a trip into my hard drive, windows, system files and into the twain folder and lo and behold there it was a little picture icon for my viewer. Sigh, so I made a shortcut for it on desktop, it still however will not load when I plug my camera in but at least I can open it manually now and it instantly loads my pictures!
THE VIEWER
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This displays all the thumbnails of your taken images, you simply click on the one you want and hit the transfer button, this will save your image to a chosen folder on your computer, If you don’t like any then don’t transfer them, once you have saved the ones you want, hit delete, this also shows you how many images you have used and the quality and size in MB.
This viewer is very straight forward, no frills but perfect for transferring your images into folders.
USING YOUR CAMERA AS A PC
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This camera is compatible with Microsoft’s Directshow, you can use it with net meeting to show live video or have a video chat with friends or family, the software for this function is not included on the CD, so you must find your own PC camera software if you wish to use this feature.
ANA’S VERDICT
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As I said this is my first digital camera, and I must admit that I am very pleased with it indeed.
It is very simple to use indeed, and as you may have read I actually took my own Ciao picture with this camera myself, for this I used the timer set it and threw myself on the settee and that was it, as you can see by my picture the quality is excellent, that was taken on the highest setting of 1280 x 960.
It also comes with a strap and you could attach a tripod to it should you wish.
There are a couple of moans one being the battle with the software but once I found it, it does work so I cant really complain, the next one is no case, I find it extremely annoying that it comes with nothing to protect it at all, the lens does not even have a shutter to close over it, so be very careful or get yourself some kind of case to fit it, as it will soon get damaged or scratched. The other warning is the batteries as I stated buy a good brand like Duracell ultra, It did come with 2 of these, however I was really shocked when it went flat after taking 14, yes 14 pictures, these were all mainly flash though, so you would get more outdoors.
Now here is the best bit the price, can any of you say that my Ciao picture is distorted or poor quality? No its not, so it might shock you when I tell you this camera is a mere £63.99, well it is if you reserve or order online from Argos, should you buy it in the shop it is £79.99, very odd but I have just checked and it is still at that price on the online site ( www.argos.co.uk)
So what have you got to lose an excellent digital camera at a fraction of the cost of most other brands, well worth it? I certainly would recommend it to any potential buyer, its not all singing and dancing like the more expensive Digital camera's but as you can see from the picture quality it's certainly good enough quality wise for most peoples needs.
The BORING BITS
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• Flash Memory ~ 8mb
• Resolution ~ 1280 x 960, 1024 x 768 , 640 x 480
• Image Sensor ~ 1/3 “ 850kPixels CCD
• Lens ~ Fixed (macro, normal) f= 7.1mm
• Focus Range~ Normal 65cm- infinity, macro 20 cm
• Aperture ~ F3.5
• Exposure ~ Auto
• Interface ~ USB
• White Balance ~ Auto
• Shutter Speed ~ 1/30 – 1/2500 second
• Resident Memory ~ 8MB Internal Flash Memory
• Flash Mode ~ Auto/On/Off
• Self-Timer ~10 seconds
• Image File Format ~ JPEG
• Video Frame Rate 15 fps (VGA), 640 x 480
30 fps (QVGA), 320 x 240
• Dimensions ~ 100mm x 35 mm x 64mm
• Weight ~ 126 g (without batteries)
• Guarantee ~ 12 months
I even included the picture link for it as well so you can see what it looks like If this opinion has tempted you. SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS
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• Pentium 166 MHz or higher
• Microsoft Windows 98/ME/2000
• Super VGA card and colour monitor
• 32 MB RAM (64 Recommended)
• Available USB port
• 200 MB available hard disc space for software. It will also run on a MAC with Mac driver support 8.5 OS or later.
© Ana 2002
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Related tags for Goodmans GDC 1388
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31.08.2003 21:20
It is easy to use however I agree that the software is tricky to locate especially if you've recently changed to XP and need a driver!!
31.12.2002 20:44
My 1388 (second user) arrived yesterday and your comments were extremely helpful and saved me a lot of time. Thanks!!
08.10.2002 00:19
Got to say I agree wholeheartedly with this opinion apart from with my Goodman's digi camera (yes same model etc) I have had no hassles with the software! Yes my camera's batteries go flat quickly with the flash mode, but with good batteries you can get at least 2x the 60 pics from it :-)