Digital-Camcorder Reviews

I have an AV340 and this add-on product was one of the main reasons I purchased the Archos over the RCA Lyra A/V jukebox. Sure it takes ok pictures and videos in good light but...
- It is very slow to start up to take any type of picture. You need to boot the Archos, select camera or camcorder and wait for that function to boot - by then the moment may be gone...
- In the camera mode the annoying digital camera delay from when you press the shutter to when the picture is take is longer than on my 3.5 year old Canon Powershot S20. Shot to shot time is slow as it needs to write data to the drive, not to a solid state memory card like on a regular digital camera.
- In the camcorder mode, there doesn't appear to be a pause so each segment take is a separate file name. Again, if you stop and then want to start recording again right away, there is a major lag as the existing video file is closed before you can start recoring again.
- There is no tripod mount or shoe for a light
- There is no super low light mode
- The lens is directly exposed with no way to attach a filter or lens cap to protect it
- 3X optical zoom is adequate for a digital camera but pretty low compared to most camcorders
- The zoom is amazingly loud and will be recorded on your soundtrack unless you use the supplied external mic
- The combination is very large and cumbersome to hold

I thought this combined with the AV340 would be a great all-in-one device... I ended up buying a Kyocera SL300R Camera which boots in less than 1 second and can shoot 2.5 frames per second to the limits of the SD card (get 256MB) and does video to the limits of the card. Better, smaller, faster and not much more expensive.

All in all the Archos AV340 is a very cool device but the AVCam 300 attachment, while a great concept, leaves much to be desired.

The ARCHOS AVCam was a main factor in my purchasing of the base unit the AV340. I just recieved my Cam and I was impressed in some areas and not so impressed in others. First, it is a bit steep in price at around $200.00, but it is a camera and camcorder. I've taken probably 100 pictures already today, and when you hold it steady, and have the right lighting the pictures come out amazingly well. However, you shake the camera little bit or the lighting in the room isn't the greatest the pictures can turn out a little on the mediocre side. I was impressed with the camcorder part of the package though which you can switch to in seconds from the camera. It takes good videos unless it's really dark. You can make it lighter, but for the most part the videos turned out pretty good. A few of the downers besides price are it eats the batteries like crazy. I was actually kinda shocked at how fast the batteries drained. It's not instantaneous but be prepared to recharge the ARCHOS often if your taking alot of pictures or videos. Also, it does make the AV340 heavier, and the whole thing isn't that light anyways. Overall I would reccomend getting this if you have the ARCHOS AV300 series and the money to spend on it. Hopefully with future firmware updates and maybe a battery with a longer life this will become an even better camera than it already is.

I received this tripod as a birthday present. I set it up and used it to take one family photo. My daughter then walked by, slightly bumping one leg of the tripod. I was quite surprised to look at the tripod and find the leg badly bent. Tried to straighten the leg and it snapped right off. "Sturdy steel leg construction" the package says. HA! Straight into the garbage it went after being out of it's package less than 10 minutes. I'll get a different brand next time.

Just a bit confuse by this company product's description. Does NEW mean the package opened and have scratch on it? Although it is works, I totally lost my joy. Anyway, it maybe an "exceptional" case, but I won't buy from this company again.

I love this tripod. I own 2 other much larger tripods but this is the one I take everywhere. Setting up this tripod is very quick - just pull each leg and twist to lock. Taking it down is even faster - twist each leg to unlock and then pound the tripod against the ground to collapse all 3 legs at the same time.

However, make sure you can live with the following limitations before getting this tripod:
1. The extended height is either 10.5" or 40". Any other height in between is very difficult to setup and not as secure.
2. The maximum height of 40" is quite low. There will be times that you wished you brought along a regular tripod.
3. It has only a 2-way head. It can only pan and tilt forward/backward. It cannot rotate clockwise/counterclockwise.
4. The build quality and tolerance are not top notch. When you pan, the head rotates slightly clockwise then counterclockwise. Camcorder and digital photographer using panning or stitch panoramic mode will find this objectionable. For my particular tripod, I have to remember to setup the tripod leg with the Ambico logo to my right in order for my pictures to line up with the true horizon.
5. It looks flimsy (but to be expected for this type of tripod). The plastic head probably will not survive a direct drop to the concrete pavement.

The batteries go dead before you can find out how to run the camera. 4 sets of brand new Duracell batteries and I got I only got a 50a second film and the next set I got 30 pictures. I went to the local target store and the manager could not help me in any way at all. He just said he was sorry that he could do nothing for me. That I should go home and go on-line to see if they could help me. Only when you get the box do you find out that it is a web only return. Target is Target - on-line or not they should not sell items and then not stand behind them and help the customer to be satisfied.

Yes, this is a cheesy cheap little camcorder, digital camera, and voice recorder. But I've been having a lot of fun with it. The image quality is low, but fine for my purposes. It doesn't do well in low light, so don't expect to use it for recitals, graduations, or weddings. Save it for those casual times when you want to toss it in your pocket or purse and use it at a family picnic, zoo or a playground. It's very easy to carry around and use just for a few minutes at a time, no bulky bags or set-up hassles. I'm going to take a lot of short videos of the kids, put them on CDs and send them to the grandparents.
It is very easy to download the photos & videos. I purchased a Sandisk 256mb compact flash card and battery charger from Compuplus (online) to go along with the Aiptek.

I have a much better digital camera that I use for serious occasions or artwork. When I start enjoying watching family videos, I'll go out and buy one of those serious expensive digital camcorders.

Great features/functions for the price. So easy to use! File xfer to PC is simple...camera looks like a removable hard drive to the PC. Copy or cut and paste your pics, videos and audio. USB transfer is FAST!!!

Only downsides:

1.) LCD uses up batteries. Get 1800mAh (or higher) rechargeables. You can save battery power by keeping LCD screen off. When camera is on, you can still kind of see the outline of what you are shooting, and menu is visible via backlight.
2.) Power on/off not instant.
3.) Camera powers down too fast after inactivity.
4.) Power-on always uses default settings, hence, resolution set to "normal". Can get annoying.

5.) Can only shoot with full light.

6.) Don't buy at Target (boycott French). Aiptek offers this camera direct on theie web site for $60 (refurbed), go check it out!

Overall, this is a great little camera. The menu is so simple to use!

I am trading mine in for a higher-end 4 Megapixel model...but for the price, I don't think you can even come close to matching this one!

I'm a sucker for cost-effective gadgets, and by those standards, this nifty little 4-in-1 camera is up there with the best of them. First and foremost, you get a 3.1 megapixel digital still camera for a third of the cost of most other products in that category. If it stopped right there, this would still be an amazing deal. However, you also get a palm-sized digital video camera, a digital voice recorder, a USB webcam, and a removable USB storage device. All for $$$ . Now that's a deal I just couldn't pass up.

However, approach this product with eyes wide open, and don't expect it to be the greatest performer in each of its distinct capabilities. For example, as a digital still camera it isn't very tolerant of low light situations. Adequately-lit photos come out fine, but indoor lighting or overcast outdoor shots tend to produce muddy, red-tinged tones. A built-in flash would have overcome this problem, but alas, there is none. So take your shots in well-lit areas and situations, and you'll be fine. Also, the fact that its native image format is lossy JPEG rather than a lossless format such as TIFF is of concern, but probably only to gearheads like me. Most casual digital auteurs won't really care. You can shoot and store roughly 60 digital photos at full quality (2048x1536, Fine Quality) on a 64Mb CompactFlash card (not included, purchased separately. On-board storage is 16Mb.)

Next, as a digital video camera: don't expect it to fulfill all of your home movie needs. At 10 frames-per-second and 320x240 video resolution, it's hardly broadcast quality. However, I find this limited quality just right for shooting, editing, and posting quickie, low-bandwidth web movies. The camera saves movies natively in .AVI format, so usually no conversion or extra steps are required to get your movies out of camera and on the web. As a Mac user, I prefer QuickTime to .AVI, but I found that conversion to .MOV format was quick and easy. You can shoot about 20 minutes of compressed video on a 64Mb CompactFlash card (not included, purchased separately -- internal storage is 16Mb only). The length of your videos is limited only by your available storage space and supply of batteries.

As a digital voice recorder, it features no Cue or Review buttons, so going back and forth over the day's notes can be a pain. The workaround is to keep your notes short; the camera creates a new audio file for each new note you record.

As a webcam, it works quite as most low-end USB webcams do. No real complaints in that department.

The 1.5-inch LCD screen does its job well enough. The fact that it's present at all in a product this low-end is a pleasant surprise. However, it does drain the two AA batteries rather quickly. You can sidestep this issue by using rechargeables, as I do.

PROS: Small, light, handy, packs an amazing amount of features and value for an unbelievably low price.

CONS: Picture quality suffers in low-light situations, no flash, digital video is web-quality only, digital voice recorder has no Cue/Review buttons.

BOTTOM LINE: This nifty litttle gadget is a jack-of-all-digital trades, but master of none. However, the whole is greater than the sum of its parts -- having one device that does all these things makes it a great little toy for the big boys in your family. It won't replace your main digital still camera or digital camcorder, but it makes a great backup unit to either, in situations that don't warrant lugging around the first team. Buy it -- you know you want it.

This camera is by far the best camera I've ever spent around $100 on. I use it as a webcam (which can have very high quality -- 30fps at 640x480 [but it hurts harddrive space], a microphone which picks up every sound in my room very well, and an all around camcorder. The quality when it's not hooked up to your computer isn't very good, but what can you expect for something that fits in your hand and costs $100? There is nothing on the market quite like this, and I would recommend it for anyone that wants to make movies, but not professionally. I would reccomend buying a bigger compact flash card, because you don't get very many still photos (for still photos, get good lighting or a nice editing program to make it brigter... no flash) or movie with the internal memory.
Pros:
Price
Size
Overall handyness
Cons:
Little internal memory
No flash

My verdict -- if you're an amateur movie maker, buy this camera.

This camera is perhaps one of the best investments I've ever made. Born to a society of instant gratification, it gives me just that and more, showing me what pictures I took, and allowing me to easily delete bad shots and keep only the ones i want. I never really was much of a shutter bug, but when I bought this (along with a 256mb CF memory card), I've suddenly found myself just that, bringing it with me everywhere from boating on the Hudson River, to trips to fairs and those god awful family occations where it's handy to have the excuse of being "camera guy" to keep from socializing with inebriated relations.

Don't get me wrong, it's not a technological miracle in itself, but like others have said, if you're in good lighting and have a semi-steady arm it can work wonders. The pictures it takes are phenominal, and though the initial memory it comes with isn't that much, for a mere fifty dollars more you can boost it up dramatically (and the same goes for its speed). The only real drawbacks are the light levels required and the battery life, which while it isn't long, can be readily rectified with either a good set of energizer rechargables or a nifty 12 pack of AA's from the dollar store.

As far as the service from Target goes, I went with the standard free shipping package, and not only did they deliver on time, UPS managed to get it to me a day early. The US Post office that handled my CF Card on the other hand...Well, let's just say my post man will not be getting a fruit basket this holiday season, but that's really beside the point eh? I really loved that to order it you didn't even need to give out your credit card number, but could merely pick up a nifty little gift card from one of their stores. (Good for those of us who fear identity theft, or perhaps even our own credit rating.)