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 I've
bought a (very) cheap digital camera. A Vivitar Vivicam20.
I still think a camcorder and capture card is the best solution for producing
small images (less than 500 pixels wide) for a web page. And with the bonus that
you can publish video clips too...
But, the fact is, my camcorder is half broken, doesn't record, can't be used outside
and I can't afford a new one right now.
And I still love my Acer Scanwit film scanner and the superb results I get from
scanning negative or slide film and I like being able to carry around an inexpensive
35mm camera (Olympus Trip) that gives professional-quality results.
I love film. But the downside is the cost and time spent processing, scanning
and manipulating. Particularly colour negative, which always needs work on the
colour (I'm fussy). I needed something that would give me instant pics for these
pages.
I know many people will dismiss a camera that takes 640x480 resolution pics. Certainly
no good if you want good quality print outs or to be able to enlarge a small area
of the final pic. But perfect for quick,well-framed snaps that won't appear on
these pages any larger than 384 pixels wide. Cheap and light enough to carry everywhere
with me on the mean streets of Manchester and I can still take along my 35mm camera
when I need better results.
And, having used a camcorder in the past to generate images for my Journal, and
having borrowed a friend's VGA camera during the Commonwealth Games, I know this
camera is going to meet my needs perfectly... In fact, already I love it! It's
so small and light.
I'll admit, I was nervous... a couple of years ago I wrote a review of an Agfa
CL18 VGA resolution camera for a magazine and wasn't impressed with the nasty,
over-sharpened pictures it produced. It made people look hideous! At the time,
that camera cost £100...
Firstly, I investigated the 'JamCam', which another store had on offer. I searched
Google for some images taken with the JamCam and wasn't impressed...
So, next up, was the Vivitar Vivicam 2.0 at Maplins. I found two personal reviews
of this camera on Google and the images I came across on the 'net (some on the
Vivitar site) looked better. Though I noted some blur down one side of some pics.
Off to Maplins I went... The first Vivicam they gave me had a real poor quality
lens -- distant objects were blurred and focus wasn't even across the whole frame.
Plus the body was coming apart at the point where the wrist strap attaches. I
took the camera back to Maplins and they replaced it.
Focus on the replacement was much better, however this one stopped working within
two hours! Luckily, the third unit provided by the store is working perfectly
so far... (fingers crossed!).
Even taking into account the apparent problems with Vivtar's quality control,
I can recommend this camera so far. Anyway, you get a one year guarantee (in the
UK) and what do you get for £50 these days?
I'll write a review when I've had the camera a bit
longer. Look out for some pics taken with it, coming in the next few days.
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