Editorial Review

Squarely aimed at the family, the SiPix StyleCam Blink is a digital camera that is both compact and easy to use. With its simple point-and-click operation, multiple modes (including two resolutions and continuous shoot), and a stack of bundled software, the Blink sets new standards in digital imaging on a budget.

The StyleCam Blink is a compact digital camera that offers resolutions of 640 x 480 and 320 x 240, allowing for up to 400 images on its internal 8 MB memory when shooting at the lower setting. The installation process is very straightforward: install the drivers, reboot the machine, and then plug the camera into a spare USB port.

The camera itself is very easy to use, with all of the features accessible by the press of a single button. The small LCD window shows the camera mode and options available as well as the number of images taken. The Blink can take still images, of course, and a series of 100 images that can be stitched together to make a short video clip. Also, the camera can be used as a Webcam.

The images produced are sharp and clear and very acceptable considering the size and price of the camera. Our only criticism is the slight shutter lag of about half a second; it becomes annoying if you want to picture moving objects. If you're capturing still life or using the camera as a Webcam, this will be irrelevant.

The manufacturers clearly thought about their target audience when packaging the software with the camera. The unit comes with a range of six software titles, including ArcSoft's PhotoImpression and PhotoFantasy 2000. The software is fun and very easy to use. Simply transfer the images from your camera onto your computer via PhotoImpression and then edit them to your heart's content. For those of you wanting to have a bit of fun with family members, PhotoFantasy 2000 gives you the chance to place someone's head on another body. Again, this is very easy to do and is a lot of fun. Other software included is VideoImpression, a basic video-editing package and some Webcam software.

Editorial Review

The Olympus D-370 boasts a host of excellent features and a compact,clamshell design. Two features that make it stand out are a superbrightviewfinder and a newly developed long-life battery circuit. The battery circuitgreatly extends battery life, allowing you to capture hundreds of images duringnormal operation. This 1.3-megapixel camera produces photo-quality 5-by-7-inchprints at 1,280 x 960 pixel resolution. In addition, the D-370 features a moviemode that lets you capture movie clips in QuickTime.

The Olympus focus-free 4.5mm lens (equivalent to 35mm in film cameras) has anall-glass element and aperture range of f4 to f8. The camera is capable of a 4xdigital telephoto zoom, but like all digital zooms, this increase inmagnification comes at the expense of image quality. The Auto Connect USB portallows for easy connectivity to any PC running Windows Me or newer, or any Macrunning OS 8.6 or newer, without the need to install drivers. Since the camerais recognized as a storage drive, transferring images is as easy as copyingfiles to a floppy disk. The 1.5-inch color LCD displays your pictures for easyviewing and reviewing in-camera. In addition to accepting SmartMedia removablememory, the camera contains 2 MB of internal memory for capturing pictures.

Editorial Review

The Olympus Brio D-100 digital camera weighs less than 6 ounces (without batteries) and sports a clean, ultracompact black-and-gold body reminiscent of the popular Stylus line of film cameras. This 1.3-megapixel camera has a 4.5mm (35mm equivalent) precision autofocus lens with a 2x digital zoom, a fast shutter release (less than half a second), the ability to shoot two frames per second, and a 1.5-inch color LCD monitor that functions as both the viewfinder and as the camera's menu control panel. It can capture images at a maximum resolution of 1,280 x 960 pixels, good enough for quality prints up to 5 by 7 inches.

Features

• Lightweight, sleek design fits perfectly in your pocket.
• 0.33 megapixel sensor creates 640 x 480 images for Web, e-mail and small prints.
• Great photo software lets you create birthday cards and fun photo albums.
• 8 MB internal memory holds 60 photos at highest resolution;CompactFlash slot for additional capacity.
• Connects to PCs via USB port; doubles as a webcam and mini camcorder.

Reviews (26)

Great Camera
This is a fantastic camera for a great price.I Click also has awesome customer service.

Miserable junk that installs spyware
Don't waste your money. This little "jewel" is sold by a Seattle startup called McGowan Tech, run by a youngster named Lon McGowan (any relation to the 5-star posters, I wonder, hmmm?). The installation program tried to install the EVision keystroke logger spyware, and then crashed because my spyware blocking software caught it in the act. I went to their website, only to find that this model has been discontinued, and that there are no drivers available that work with Windows 2K SP4. So into the trashcan it goes....

Editorial Review

Following in the footsteps of its predecessor, the almost identical D-450 model, the Olympus D-460L is a user-friendly and budget-friendly digital zoom camera. It offers a maximum resolution of 1,280 x 960 pixels and picks up images with a 0.37-inch, 1.31-megapixel CCD. You can bring objects up to six times closer with the combined 3x optical and 2x digital zoom lens. With programmed exposure control, white balance control, and an automatic through-the-lens contrast-detection system, the Olympus D-460L does all the thinking for just the right exposure and focus. It also features a built-in six-mode flash with red-eye reduction to illuminate a variety of low-light situations.

The Olympus D-460L includes special features such as a 12-second self-timer, date imprinting, and a continuous-shooting mode. While the Olympus D-460L's automatic functions make it easy to take digital images, it also has an assortment of manual options to expand your creative potential. You can manually tweak the white balance, select a film-speed equivalent, or use special settings, such as macro, to achieve precisely the shot you want.

Using SmartMedia memory, the Olympus D-460L comes with an 8 MB card, which is enough memory for 122 normal-quality, 36 high-quality, or 18 superhigh-quality shots. This camera also comes with a software package for photo filing and editing as well as the necessary connectors to hook the camera up to your PC or Macintosh for uploading.

Editorial Review

Toshiba's PDR-M11 pairs a 1.3-megapixel sensor with a simple non-zoom lens, making it a great choice for budget-minded photographers seeking a basic point-and-shoot that will let them share photos by e-mail and create sharp prints at up to 5 by 7 inches.

The camera's operation is designed to be as simple as possible--just turn it on, aim, and shoot. Focus, flash, and exposure are all set automatically. If you're hoping for more creative control, several settings can be adjusted manually, including the flash mode (red-eye reduction, off, on, auto), white balance, black-and-white mode, and exposure compensation. In addition, you'll find a trio of advanced features uncommon in an entry-level camera: shutter priority, aperture priority, and uncompressed TIFF image recording.

For power, the camera uses four AA batteries or an optional AC adapter. The big benefit to using standard AA batteries instead of a custom proprietary battery is that AA batteries are available virtually everywhere in the world, so missing a once-in-a-lifetime shot due to dead batteries won't be an issue. The downside is that a digital camera will kill a set of alkaline batteries extremely quickly, especially if you're using the camera's LCD display. If you're an occasional photographer, you can get by with high-power disposables, but if you plan to take more than a handful of photos a month, a set of rechargeable batteries is a virtual necessity.

To compose your image, either look through the traditional viewfinder or use the 1.8-inch color LCD display on the back of the camera. Pictures are stored on SmartMedia cards. The included 4 MB card holds 10 images at the camera's default setting or 1 image in the highest-quality uncompressed TIFF setting. The card is reusable, but if you're hoping to take more photos before returning to your computer to transfer the images, you'll want a larger SmartMedia card.

The camera also includes a 2x digital zoom. This feature merely crops the edges off your picture and blows up the remaining image, enlarging your picture at the expense of image quality. Most photo-editing software will let you do the same thing to your picture once you've transferred it to your home computer, so it's a camera feature that's not often used. If you're looking for a similar camera with a true optical zoom lens, consider the 2-megapixel Toshiba PDR-M25.

The PDR-M11 comes with Image Expert software, a 4 MB Smartmedia card, hand strap, USB cable, and fjour AA alkaline batteries. The camera is covered by a one-year warranty.

Pros:

• Autofocus lens is superior to fixed-focus lens on many similarly priced cameras
• Advanced features like shutter- and aperture-priority for more advanced photographers
• Uncompressed TIFF mode for the highest-quality photos

Cons:

• No optical zoom
• Included alkaline batteries are only a short-term solution

Features

• 1,600 x 1,200 maximum resolution
• 2x digital zoom
• SmartMedia removable storage
• Built-in flash with red-eye reduction
• 2.14 million-square, 1/2-inch CCD

Reviews (23)

Defective Design. Will Not buy a Toshiba again
I bought this because it was cheap & had many features. However, it was only after the camera's warranty expired that I found out that it was a waste of money & that Toshiba is the most customer unfriendly electronics company out there. I only used the camera maybe a dozen times in a year, however like many have complained, the mode selection knob just came off in my hand while turning it on (while trying to take pictures while on vacation).Toshiba's website is unhelpful & Toshiba is unresponsive. I tried local camera shops, but no one repairs them.

3 years & still clickin'
We purchased this camera 3 years ago just after my first child was born.We bought it refurbished from uBid.That was probably perfect because some other poor soul had to have problems with it first.The point is, it has taken a beating with children dropping it, slobbering on it, playing with it, etc. It still takes great pictures even after all the abuse it's had.

I will say that the indoor photo quality isn't as great as outdoor, a little noisy.Also, I've opted not to use the zoom feature at all as the picture quality is cut in half when the 2x zoom is used.We put a 128MB memory card in it, so now it runs out of battery before memory.But it came with a charger, and will charge up in about 4 hours, and can be used while charging.

This is the perfect camera for what we needed it for... capturing moments & memories.As long as the subjects are close enough, & you get your timing down with the shutter speed which is adjustable, it'll take great shots.

The software is okay, it had a flaw with the "rotate right" shortcut, supposed to be "Ctrl R", but that actually rotates left as does "Ctrl L". Also, there is no red-eye removal on the software which is needed for some of the indoor pictures.But the print options are great, I've had a lot of fun with it.

Overall, I would rate the Toshiba PDR-M4 with 4.5 stars.It was an excellent value, a great purchase we don't regret!

Do not buy this camera
The mode dial (the round dial on the top right of the camera) falls off after a year or so of gentle, infrequent use.Many consumers have purchased this camera and found themselves writing reviews on the web after the dial fell off.

Toshiba charges the price of a new camera to repair it.

Features

• 2-megapixel sensor creates 1,600 x 1,200 images for sharp prints at sizes up to 8 x 10 inches
• 10x optical plus 2.7x digital (27x total) autofocus zoom lens
• Included 8 MB SmartMedia card holds 24 images at default resolution
• Connects with Macs and PCs via USB port
• Uses 2 CR-V3 lithium batteries (included) or 4 AA batteries

Reviews (106)

Still enjoy it!
I've owned this camera for several years now and although the resolution is starting to get low by todays standards, I still greatly enjoy this camera.I absolutely love the 10x zoom, and the pictures taken are much better than if you would have a cheapy low-end 3-4 megapixel camera.For anyone on a budget, this camera now offers alot of quality for an affordable price.

review for Dennis Curtin's book for c700 Olympus camera
This is the book that should have come with the camera. Text is written in plain language. I learned more in one weekend about my camera than I learned in two years. You may miss some of the wonderful features this camera has to offer. A must have how to book for the Olympus c 700 zoom.
FCR

10x great for viewing or calendar size prints
I have used the C-700 for a wide variety of shots.From taking pictures from high-altitude.It shows the glaciers, dams and bridges on highways, even buildings and individual trees changing color in the Rockies.I took a picture at maximum 10x x 2.7x (27x) zoom from a cruise ship in Alaska of Orcas on the beach rubbing barnacles off.I couldn't see the result in the view finder or see the orcas with binoculars, but got good quality full screen images cropping out half of the picture where the orcas were.I've taken close-ups of orchids in Singapore, Bald Eagles, in Arkansas, Geysers at Yellowstone and am very happy most of the time.I carry 5 sets of spare rechargeable batteries and use a recharger that hooks up to the car.With the recharger, I never really have to use more that 2 sets when I have the car.It recharges at home in less than 1 hour, and I seldom need more than 3 sets in a full day of photo taking.I keep about 1100MB of memory cards for a full two-week vacation and read them in with a USB reader.I organize and edit using PhotoParade and save my best ones into Webshots.These work very well for my purposes (viewing on my computer).Shutterfly prints calendars for me and the pictures are amazing.

I haven't had any trouble with the lens cap.Maybe that was an earlier model.The cord attaching it must be facing the side it attaches, but it will open with it on in this position.

I have had a problem early on with purple halo's on zoomed pictures around bright portions of the picture.This turned out to be me moving the camera.I found you can brace your hand against a tree, rock, or anything and get sharp pictures.Also, I don't hesitate to take dozens of pictures of something I really want.Animals and birds aren't very cooperative, but by taking many pictures, I've gotten some great shots.With film, I never would have tried.It is also easy to delete unwanted pictures.For landscape, I normally shot in HQ mode which is still better quality than my 1.3 MP camera gave.The main difference there is it still has the 10x zoom which if nothing else can crop a picture like you want.The 2.7x digital is mostly only good for focusing on something tiny like a small bird.

Editorial Review

The Polaroid PDC 640 Plus digital camera makes digital photography easyand affordable while delivering outstanding image quality with improvedresolution for crisper, more professional-looking photographs. With point-and-shootsimplicity and with all of the features normally associated with much moreexpensive cameras, the PDC 640 features a 1.8-inch LCD monitor/viewfinder,built-in flash, and self-timer. It has memory storage capacity in 640 x 480 modefor 12 images in superfine quality, 24 images in high resolution, and 36 imagesin standard resolution. In 320 x 240 mode, the PDC 640 will hold 96images.