Aplux Reviews

This calculator is as good or better than my TI 83 plus for much less money. Full price this calculator is only 49.99. I found for even less elsewhere. The graphical icon menu makes it very user friendly without having to study the thick manual.

I have enjoyed this camera more than any other "high tech" thing I have ever bought! The 340 MB MicroDrive is wonderful!! The battery life is very good if you conserve power by using it like a regular camera with the display turned off. Also, I don't review shots on the display either because you have so much room on the 340 MB MicroDrive, I just take a lot of pictures and edit after the fact on my computer. The most shots I have taken with one set of batteries, using the conservation mode described above, is 83. I get very clear crisp pictures even in less than optimum light conditions, such as my grandson's after-dark football games. I have never had one technical problem with it since I bought it exactly one year ago this month. The only negative thing I can say is that I still get double shots some times, but with the 340 MB MicroDrive that has never been a problem, just confounding. I love pictures; I take a LOT of pictures; and I have been more than satisfied with the Casio QV300EX camera. I would highly recommend it to anyone; and I do not understand why it is not on the best seller list! You definitely get a lot for your money.

When I started research 3.x gigapixel digital cameras, the short list came down to this: Casio QV 3000 EX, Sony DSC-S70 and MVC-FD95, Nikon 990, Kodak CD4800 and Canon Powershot S20 and G1.

After tallying all the features and costs of each, the Casio emerged as the the clear winner. I'm sure you've read all the specs from other reviews, so I'll just comment on a few things.

- The 340mb IBM microdrive is a must-have in a digital camera. Go on a long vacation, take 240 or so 2048x1536 pics in FINE resolution and don't think twice about running out of space or having to buy more memory.

- The USB connection downloads these pics very quickly, plus, you can set it up so your computer sees it as another HD, viewable via Netscape or IE.

- Casio packed this camera with a lot of features that I'm not sure it needs, like B/W and Sepia modes, for example. These effects can be done in software on your PC.

-Memory buffer. I was pleased to find out that this camera has enough for a short "burst mode". Some of the cameras above don't.

- Biggest complaint: No A/C adapter in the unit I bought, though I knew this before I bought it. I wound up paying around $52 on Casio's website for one to be delivered UPS 2nd day. But, I also got a $100 rebate on the camera, and the more recent EX Plus version includes the adapter, so, just make a note.

- No jack for an external trigger. This is kind of amazing. What you can do with this camera is limited only by your imagination. And, yes, many functions and features are dependent upon a half-press of the shutter button. BUT, I don't see any reason why Casio couldn't come up with an external shutter button that works the same way as the one on the camera. The reason for the external shutter trigger is that you don't touch the camera when you take the shot. IE, you don't move it by accident when using very slow shutter speeds or night shots, etc. I did not know this before I bought it.

-You must have at least two sets of four NiMH rechargable batteries for a day of shooting. Three is even better. And get a charger that charges them in under 5 hours. They're cheap and plentiful. Regular alkaline Duracells, for example, will last, well, I've never seen batteries go so dead so fast in my life. The NiMH batteries, on the other hand, last a very long time. Longer than any other rechargable battery available.

Overall, this is an outstanding camera. I feel that I would have spent more money on any of the others I mentioned in memory cards, for starters. IBM has also released a 1 gigabyet version of its Microdrive. And the camera will accept memory cards of the CompactFlash type I and II as well. This is both the ultimate vacation camera, as well as an excellent tool for the serious photographer, minus my comments above. I've only touched on a very few of the many, many features the QV 3000 EX comes with. I've been through the manual, used the camera, and it exceeded my expectations.

This camera easy to use, has great quality pictures with 3.34 MP. Long battery live.

I'm on my 4th digital camera. I read countless reviews of Canon G2, Nikons, Kodaks, and Sonys before I bought the Casio. I owned it for 5 months now. I am thrilled with every aspect: picture quality, lens, features, and speed of processing each photo. My criteria was: 1. AA batteries. This camera came with great rechargeables. Even in while traveling where I cannot easily recharge I can get replacements at any local store. 2. CompactFlash card. I had already invested in three for previous Kodak DC210 and DC290 cameras, all work great with this Casio camera. 3. I wanted a camera that is ready to shoot another shot in a couple of seconds. This one, even with 200 photos already on the memory card, does it every time. VERY fast timing. The DC290 took great shots but I often had to wait 20 or 30 sceconds between shots. 4. This camera has an external flash jack so I can use my existing studio flash outfit. 5. Photos taken in low light come out spectacular. 6. Canon lens is great and Sony sensor is spot on for colors. 7. Build quality has proven excellent. On the minus side: A. This camera, while still smaller than many, is a little brickish and larger than some may want. B. Flash range is only about 11-12 ft. Often need to take a flash photo then shut flash off and picture usually comes out better if there is ANY light available.

I have been using this camera for a year and I'm very pleased with it. Pictures are great, it's easy to use but if you want to do more advanced setup, it's possible. The only dark side is that it takes about 3sec to turn the camera on.

I took my QV-4000 to Rome for 10 days and there was nothing it could not do for me.

I wanted a camera small enough to be unobtrusive, yet powerful enough to offer me a myriad of options for picture taking. The automatic and manual options did not disappoint. The dark interiors of churches turned out light enough to see because I could manually set the aperture or speed to cover the situation. Yet when I wanted fast shots the auto features functioned well.

I used the panorama mode often and even when handheld (not recommended) the results were excellent. Even 360 degrees in the Pantheon (handheld) was good enough to impress family and friends.

Close-up, portraits, and scenics were easily managed by the Best Shot modes.

I like the large capacity (I also purchased the IBM Microdrive) so that I could take as many pictures as I wanted without worrying about running out of storage space or downloading. (I had no access to a computer to do so.) And I could instantly view the shots and delete any that did not measure up.

The only slight disappointment was the view screen was nearly impossible to see in the bright sunlight, but I could always use the viewfinder instead.

All in all, an excellent choice and very dependable. I recommend it highly.

I've had this camera now for going on 2 years and I must say, it a great camera for the money. It's small and doesn't really take up too much storage. I must recommend that you get a real good case for it. You don't really want this camera exposed too much to elements..or children in my situation. I've had my three year old pull the camera off a kitchen table and drop it (no noticable change in performance.) I use this camera for work and for family events. It's just been great to have all that storage capacity. There have been a few times, however, that I've been less than happy with it's performance. For example, at my nephews graduation, the dark ambient light caused the camera to lose track of the subject. It gets confused in dark settings, even with the Best shot feature set properly. I also don't like how it takes sometimes up to 30 seconds to fully get powered up and ready to shoot. In most cases where it takes that long, you've missed a great shot. But seconds after it's ready, it takes really good pictures. I've never been dissapointed with the image quality. It captures very good details. So, I highly recommend this camera for the everyday user.

I had taken lots of shots. The pictures are very good.

I am not a professional photographer, but I wanted top end image quality. This may not be the camera for the serious photography professional, but an excellent camera for the rest of us. The image quality may not be the ultimate best, but it is very, very good and the camera does not cost $5000+. A major reason for purchase was the bundled 340MB IBM Microdrive which is a must for shooting a lot of images at the fine setting. I recently went on a vacation/college visiting trip. I fired off over 200 images at fine setting and came home after two weeks on road with 80-90 images to spare on the drive-excellent, excellent feature for the price. This camera eats batteries, the included AA batteries are a joke, they were gone in 5 minutes. Advise buying two sets of NiMH and/or a set of Lithium Ion batteries and keep one set charged to alternate with-that gives you all the battery capacity you need (until fuel cells are available). Also a must is the AC adapter. Two minor complaints: 1)If you turn the camera on with the lens cap on, it shuts off automatically and the manual warns this can cause damage to the camera. Guess how many times this tends to happen?! 2) The camera should have a watch battery to keep the time and date current, it doesn't. If it goes without power it loses that info which has to re-entered at each shooting session if there are long time lapses between sessions. All in all I am very satisfied with the performance, features and storage capacity of the camera. Great value for your money!

I think I have to somewhat disagree with what the other customer is complaining about this camera. I think this camera produces at least pictures of average quality. And if I am more lenient, I would say it is only a conservative estimate and that it could be "slightly above average". At least you can't VERY EASILY detect the difference between pictures taken by this camera or other famous name brands. So I wouldn't put it in the "poor" category. I wouldn't regret buying the camera because it has a powerful 8x optical zoom lens, 2.1 megapixels, swivel lens, "best shot mode library" plus a bundled 16M CF card (usually you only get 8M for others) for within (a dollar amount), and this is the only one that gives me such exceptional optical zoom power with this low price in the current digital cam market (Yes, I have done a lot of web research already.) Plus it also supports IBM microdrive with large storage capacity, which I am already thinking of getting one myself. However, I also have my own complaints about the camera. First, there is no optical viewfinder, which makes it very hard to see the view clearly under bright sunlight outdoors. Second, the LCD screen is quite grainy (not clear). Third, the "RESIZE" function doesn't give much convenience because the resized images, diminished in size, are deteriorated in the pictures with objects having "jagged edges". I would rather do the resizing myself in software. But since I don't use "RESIZE" function, it doesn't matter to me.

All in all, I am at least satisfied with this camera and that its advantages and value more than offset its shortcomings. I simply believe you could not ask for more with only 400 bucks. But I would only recommend this camera for beginners with a limited budget. If you are going professional, this one may not be for you.

I have lost the bundled CD of my QV2900UX and I need 64 best shot library included in it. Can anyone help me indicating where can I download them.

This is an exceptional all around digital camera. It stands out from the competition in the extra features that Casio has put into the camera. The camera has 32 pre-programed viewing settings and an additional 32 more that can be downloaded to the camera via the memory card for a total of 64 picture settings. The range of scenes is from night settings to actions shots.
I have even tested the camera in almost total darkness settings pointing the camera at the desires image, and with the flash set on obtained a crisp image of the subject taken. The zoom feature
is unmatched by any manufacturer in this price range. I would challenge anyone to find a higher zoom. The quality of the pictures is outstanding. I recently took the camera on vacation with me using a 128 mb flash card. I was able to take 143 1600 X 1200 resolution images on fine setting. Under 800 x 600 fine well lets say I could have taken over 400 pictures. The camera comes with a 16 mb flash card. Other people that have seen the camera have decided that this would be the perfect camera for their needs. This is a great digital camera by any standard. Reading the manual helps take me the owner to the limits of what the camera can do.