Part 1: I went out to buy an mp3 player, but ended up with this as its got an mp3 player built into it, along with a webcam, voice recorder and video recorder. Unfortunately the mp3 player function is awful, must have only had a 10mW or less output, way too quiet. Batteries don’t last very ... Read review
Advantages: Two megapixle camera packed with features Disadvantages: Onboard mp3 player lets the camera down
...These come directly from the UMAX website.
CAPTURE SENSOR - CMOS
RESOLUTION - 2.0 MegaPixel
INTERNAL MEMORY: 7MB
EEXTERNAL MEMORY: Compact Flash slot (Type 1)
INTERFACE: USB
COLOUR LCD: (1.6" TFT (80k Pixels))
STATUS LCD: (Black and White)
FLASH: Auto/Off/Fill
SELF TIMER: 10 Seconds
Auto White Balance
Auto Exposure
ZOOM - 12 Levels (digital, ... ...Aperture f3.2 Closest Focusing 90cm)
TV OUTPUT: NTSC / PAL
OPERATING SYSTEMS : Windows 98/ME/2000/XP & MacOS
WEIGHT: 210g without batteries
POWER: 4 x AA Batteries & DC Power Adapter (optional)
DIMENSIONS: 114 x 65x 40mm (wxhxd)
SOFTWARE: Camera Driver & Photo Manager 2.0
The general feel of the camera is pretty good, it seems quite solid. There are a few metal pieces which help the ... more
Part 1: I went out to buy an mp3 player, but ended up with this as its got an mp3 player built into it, along with a webcam, voice recorder and video recorder. Unfortunately the mp3 player function is awful, must have only had a 10mW or less output, way too quiet. Batteries don’t last very long either. Unfortunately in the end I took it back to the shop and traded it for an mp3 player instead. A 2Megapixle camera for under £100 is stunning value for money; I was really surprised at the picture quality too, after all pixels aren't everything. There are a few bad bits to the camera function though. It takes a long time to take a picture. Shaky hand people stay away! The flash was too powerful and without a flash indoors was very dark. Outdoors however was excellent. I didn't bother trying the webcam or the video camera, because generally these options are pretty poor on all cameras.
Part 2: Lots of people have asked me for more information about this camera, so I thought I should update my opinion/review. As I've said above, its 2Megapixles, and comes with 7MBs of internal memory. To you and me that’s around 30 pictures on low quality, 16 on Medium quality and 7 on high quality. The medium quality comes out roughly the same size as a 6x4" print, the high quality comes out roughly the same as a 7x5". I have 5 pictures on my computer, which I will print out on my AGFA D.Lab 3 soon and post my findings on here. The camera has a compact flash memory slot, allowing for up to additional 128MBs of memory (allows for more pictures/mp3/videos). That’s a whopping 500 odd pictures on low quality. Compact Flash cards are pretty cheap if you shop around. I work in a photo-processing lab and we sell 128MB cards for £79.99 which is the normal high street price. I've seen 128MB CF cards going for as little as £21 on the internet so do shop around if you are going to buy one. Battery drain is pretty normal for a digital camera, If your buying a digital camera make sure u buy rechargeable batteries. Digital cameras do not use power in the same way as old analogue devices do. For example a portable radio where when the batteries begin to run out, it just gets quieter and quieter until it eventually stops. Digital cameras need a steady supply of power from the batteries. Some cameras will only use around 40% of the power in the batteries before it needs new ones. Hama 'quickcharge' rechargeable batteries come highly recommended. The astrapix takes 4 x AA batteries, you can conserve them pretty well if you don't use the LCD screen. The batteries that are supplied with the camera are your standard cheapo style batteries, so don’t expect them to last too long. There is a battery power status display on the top screen. The camera specifications are as follows. These come directly from the UMAX website.
CAPTURE SENSOR - CMOS RESOLUTION - 2.0 MegaPixel INTERNAL MEMORY: 7MB EEXTERNAL MEMORY: Compact Flash slot (Type 1) INTERFACE: USB COLOUR LCD: (1.6" TFT (80k Pixels)) STATUS LCD: (Black and White) FLASH: Auto/Off/Fill SELF TIMER: 10 Seconds Auto White Balance Auto Exposure ZOOM - 12 Levels (digital, not optical) LENS: (9.2mm (35mm equivalent 46.7mm) Effective Aperture f3.2 Closest Focusing 90cm) TV OUTPUT: NTSC / PAL OPERATING SYSTEMS : Windows 98/ME/2000/XP & MacOS WEIGHT: 210g without batteries POWER: 4 x AA Batteries & DC Power Adapter (optional) DIMENSIONS: 114 x 65x 40mm (wxhxd) SOFTWARE: Camera Driver & Photo Manager 2.0
The general feel of the camera is pretty good, it seems quite solid. There are a few metal pieces which help the ergonomics. The dial is a bit too loose and looks a bit flimsy. The buttons on the back are tricky to press; they have been tapered slightly so they fit the cameras design. The Lens of the camera is very off centred to the left. Which is a bit of a pain because it can be very easy to obstruct the lens with your finger. I had a problem with the camera when connecting it to my PC, when removing the camera from the computer, the camera power stays on and won’t turn off at all, just had to whip out the batteries. My conclusion with this camera is its pretty good value for money, and it has all the features you would expect to see on a £200 camera. Perhaps it would not be very good for digital camera beginner, the instructions are not the best, and like I said before, the CCD takes a long time to take the picture (arround 2.5 seconds) which means you have to hold the camera completely still, or your pictures will appear blurred or bent. Nor would I recommend the camera for indoor use due to the flash not being perfect. However it would be ideal for outdoors/holiday pictures, its only £90 as well so it won’t be the end of the world if it gets broken or nicked. Just don’t expect too much from it like I did.
