vivitar vivicam 3705 > Reviews > Great digicam if you know how to use it!!!!!

Author's product rating:   

Picture Quality	Good
Range & Quality of Features	Excellent
Ease of Use	Very Awkward And Confusing
Overall Look & Design	Good
Value for Money	Good

Advantages:	zoom lens, red eye reduction, movie clip  .  .  .  .  .
Disadvantages:	Instruction manual hard to follow .

Recommend to potential buyers:

yes

Full review

I bought this handy little digital camera approximately 12 months ago and as i was a total beginner i was looking for something basic and easy to use.
The sales man gave me the lowdown { snore. snore], on all of the different types of cameras and the functions they were capable of. I just wanted one that really would take a picture on its own but they have yet to be invented. HA THERES AN IDEA??????
The camera i excitedly left the shop with was the one i had big plans for now after the big talk i had been given regarding its specs.
I paid £79.99 for my joy, the Vivitar Vivicam 3705.
For the next few days that little camera , 105 x 55 x 41 mm in size was rarely put down and i think i had annoyed my husband so much with pointing this camera at him saying " just one more time please, smile ", he considered moving to his mums to get away! Now that is really the end of his tether when it gets to that stage.
With this in mind i moved onto the dog and as he wasnt really enjoying the stardom i had the chance to try the video mode, and maybe move on to more serious videoing in future?????????
The instructions were just so hard to follow, and considering i had wanted an easy to use camera you would have to have an engineering degree to decipher this.
To take a picture you need to consider and setup, white balance,image resolution, lcd landscape -portrait-macro, operating humidity, exposure and compensation, and finally zoom. Phew.
By the time all these had been set the object for the picture would have been miles away.
If i had more enthusiasm over the camera now and really studied the instructions i am sure it would be a fantastic little camera however i very rarely use it now and thats mainly because wherever i take it i have to remember to take the instructions.
Maybe when i have more time on my hands or my husband is willing to participate in the video i am willing to try!, [just to confirm whether the video mode works you understand], i will be able to understand how useful it is????
However a little more info for those who understand the specs:
3.3 megapixels, 4 zoom capability, 1.5 inch colour monitor, 8mb internal memory but capable of accepting 256mb memory card, 5 different settings for lighting, pre-flash setting to reduce red eye, slide show, thumbnail viewing, lock option for chosen snaps to protect from accidental deleting, and 10second self timer.
The camera accepts two AA size batteries but be prepared to have to change for new after approx 20 pictures taken without using the flash. The zinc after 6 months eroded on my camera stopping disposable batteries being used, so have bought re-chargeable which does make more sense in reality, but it does accept an adapter at an extra cost.