so-so
Written: Mar 28 '04 (Updated Apr 03 '04)
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Pros: picture can be very sharp. Very affordable optical zoom camera
Cons: White balance is off. Camera misbehaved. Bulky
The Bottom Line: A cheap but can-be-decent camera for non-pro. There are plus and minus, pay more to buy better or compromise.
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| dumbguy's Full Review: Vivitar ViviCam 3745 Digital Camera |
Updated on 3-29-04, per requested :-)
Bought this camera because of the price and optical zoom feature. Bought it on a big sale for 80 bucks.
Tried it a couple of times:
Pictures can be very sharp and well focus. Coloration seems to be off a bit. At the time I have this camera, I also have another cheap 3 Megapixel camera with me. I was considering which one to keep. I took pictures of same objects with same environment. I download the pictures onto the PC and do the comparision between the pictures and the real objects. I found the pictures taken with the vivitar seems to be off, an orange objects appears to be more yellowish. And if the background is light/white, the objects in the center will be darken in color. Since I am not an experts in the photography, all I can compare is the real objects and between the pictures I have taken with another camera.
May be the color the pictures can be adjusted by SW but I did not tried that.
A couple of times, I was playing with the features and menu. The camera acted up and give me lousy focus. After power down and reboot, everything returns to normal.
Took a couple of close range ( 2-3 feet ) night pictures against white background. I can see in the picture bands of white color on the background. I figured out that is the lens on the flashes. That's a bit annoying.
Also, I took a couple of picture of keyboards and desktop at close range in low-lighten environment. I found the light color objects turned out to be too bright in the picture. I expect the white balancing should be better. And I have seen an even cheaper camera do a better job in the white balance.
I also had taken some pictures in door during the day time, with sunlight coming in from the window. The window and the objects under the sunlight were almost whiten out while other objects becomes a bit too dark. Again, I blame it on the "white balancing".
Overall, I am very impressed on the sharpness of the photo. I could live with the software crash. But the white balancing and coloration annoys me.
If I did not have another camera already and compare it against the vivitar, I would very well have kept it.
Recommended:
Yes
Amount Paid (US$): 79.99
This Camera is a Good Choice if You Want Something... Fool-Proof for Absolute Beginners
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Epinions.com ID:
dumbguy
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Reviews written: 4
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