Digital-Camera 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.

The Aquapaq is a great idea, but in reality there are several issues one must keep in mind. 1- There is no written docs to tell you how deep you can go. 2- For pool use, the thing is tough to keep down in the water. I recommend draining as much air out of it as possible so you can control the buoyancy. 3- In lakes and oceans, make sure it floats so you can retrieve it if it gets away from you. 4- The plastic is not exactly optical quality. It is worse out of the water, because folds created by extending the lens (such as the Kodak camera in the pictures) create distortions. 5- It is VERY difficult to frame. You can't really use the LCD in bright light and looking throught the viewfinder with goggles is almost impossible. Shoot from the hip and hope for the best.

After all these points, I was able to get ONE PERFECT PICTURE of my son underwater. Made it all worthwile, but be patient.

I used this bag to protect a digital video camera while snorkeling. It worked pretty good. Only problems I had were the bag wrinkling in front of the lens and trying to keep the bag from fogging up from being in the sun.

Overall, it served its purpose and was worth the cost.

No water got in and the video was pretty decent.

This remarkable bag protects my digital camera. I am more confident taking the camera with me on our boat, to the beach or anywhere that it might be subjected to dampness. As suggested, I gave it the underwater test (sans camera) and the bag did not allow any moisture to enter the compartment. As for taking pictures from inside the bag.... aside from the lense being slightly restricted from full extension, the pictures it took were almost as good as the camera without the bag. An excellent investment for those who want to take their camera with them everywhere in safety.

I love using my new digital camera, but hated the long wait downloading images. The photochute is the fastest way I found to download digital images. It also allows the flexibility of Mac or PC use.

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!