Toshiba PDR M11

The Toshiba PDR-M11 is a good starter camera

Technical Information
1.3 million Square pixel
2x digital zoom
Resolution 1280/960 or 640/480 pixels
File Format TIFF/JPEG
SIZE 4.5WIDTHx2.8highx2.0wide (inches0
115X70X50(MM)
WEIGHT 7.7 OZ/220gmms (excluding battery)
Storage Smart Media 2MB-128MB
Power 4xAA alkaline batteries
LCD 1.8 in Colour
Supplied with manual ...
...A slim silver and black finished body of a hard
coated plastic.
On the front of the camera at the top is the flash,
to the left is the viewfinder window.
Below this is the Lens.
To the right are the Self time indicator and
the photo sensor.

Upon the top
To the right is a large Mode dial which has 5
settings.
Immediately in front is the shutter button.
In the centre ... more

The Toshiba PDR-M11 is a good starter camera

Technical Information
1.3 million Square pixel
2x digital zoom
Resolution 1280/960 or 640/480 pixels
File Format TIFF/JPEG
SIZE 4.5WIDTHx2.8highx2.0wide (inches0
115X70X50(MM)
WEIGHT 7.7 OZ/220gmms (excluding battery)
Storage Smart Media 2MB-128MB
Power 4xAA alkaline batteries
LCD 1.8 in Colour
Supplied with manual in English, French and German

Description.
A slim silver and black finished body of a hard
coated plastic.
On the front of the camera at the top is the flash,
to the left is the viewfinder window.
Below this is the Lens.
To the right are the Self time indicator and
the photo sensor.

Upon the top
To the right is a large Mode dial which has 5
settings.
Immediately in front is the shutter button.
In the centre top are the three buttons,
image control, Flash and Self time buttons.
Alongside is an lcd screen to display status
information.

On the back top left is the viewfinder.
Centre is the large lcd display.
Right is the 4 stage enter button
Erase button and Menu buttons are just below.

The bottom contains the slotted cover to
the battery compartment and Smart Media slot.
There is also a tripod mount screw.
A cover on the lower right hand side leads to an
inlet port for USB connector and AC adaptor.

The manual contains detailed step by step
instructions, with pictures, on all aspects.
From how to load batteries and smart media
card, to setting date and time stamps for
each shot.
It takes you through the various functions
to enable you to get the best use out of
this camera.
Also covered in the manual are details of
getting the software onto the computer.

The Smart media card can of course be read
by a card reader attached to the computer
and by some types of printer direct.

The package that I bought included a 4MB
card. Under normal default settings of full
size and middle compression this will take
10 pictures. The settings can be changed
from Fine (low compression) to Normal
(middle compression) to Basic (High
compression) The Pixels can be Full Size
or Half Size. By changing the picture size
you can increase the storage to 38 pictures
with some loss of quality.
The higher the quality the image, the more
memory used.
Thus my first task was to install the maximum
card I could i.e. 128MB.

As with all cameras that use alkaline batteries
I have found it prudent to invest in 2 sets
of rechargeable batteries and a good recharger.
One that charges the batteries and then keeps
them on a trickle charge until use.

Sand and sandy dust is to be avoided at all costs
as this could put an end to the camera and render
it useless.

I have also found that the Mode switch can go to
the ON setting when putting the camera into a
waist pouch. As there is an auto power down this
may not be a major problem. Just be careful and
have your spare charged batteries to hand.
There is nothing worse than to be in the middle
of a shoot and have the camera shut down for
low power because you did not check the power
status.

All in all this is a good first step in Digital
cameras. Not too big. Not too complicated. And
not too expensive.
Like all cameras that use Smart Media or Compact
Flash or now other types of storage media, you
no longer have the costs of developing and
printing your photographs. There are companies
that will print photos for you, either on line
or by a visit to a shop. This is your choice.

For somebody who wants to get started with a
Digital Camera, I would recommend this one.
After all I bought one for my wife.

 

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