My Cute Little PC Camera
Written: Dec 05 '00
|
Product Rating:
|
|
|
Pros: Does What I Need It To Do, Many Features, Easy To Use And Set Up
Cons: Video Sometimes Jumpy And Pictures Sometimes Fuzzy
|
|
|
| HITZfann's Full Review: Intel PC Camera Pack |
Last Christmas I'd been begging for a web-cam. Any web-cam. Luckily my Grandfather gave in to my pleas and bought me the Intel PC Camera Pack, and I've been using it ever since.
Upon opening the box I found the camera, the cable, and the software. I'm not very good with installing software, I always seem to mess something up, but installing this was quick and easy. In a few minutes I was up and running, so I followed the simple instructions, plugged in my camera to my laptop, took the quick tour, and was ready to go. In minutes I was e-mailing my friends videos of myself wishing them a Merry Christmas.
The many features include:
*Auto Snapshot. You can arrange your camera so that it takes pictures every x amount of minutes. This is great if you have a webpage and would like to have live updated pictures of yourself or whatever's in front of your camera. The picture quality isn't anything special; it's about average. Sometimes the picture turns out a little fuzzy, but if you're in the right light it'll look great.
*E-mail Postcards. The software allows you to create custom-made e-mail postcards that you can send to anyone who has an e-mail address. You can choose different backgrounds and styles, as well as pictures from your main picture gallery. These are really fun and quite easy to make.
*PC Camera Games. These games are a little fun, but actually really stupid. You sit in front of your camera, and choose which game you'd like to play. Some games you pop bubbles with your hand, head, whatever is in front of the camera, and in another game you try to bounce basketballs in a hoop.
*Build A Movie. Using your own pictures, text, and audio, you can create slide shows and movies. These are fun to make, and a good idea to store pictures and add commentary to them.
*Video Phone. You can hook up with other Intel users, or use another video phone service and talk and see the person on the other line. I personally have never used this option (because I don't know anyone to talk to who has a web-cam!), but the instructions seem simple enough.
*Record Audio And Video. For some reason my computer used to not let me record audio, but after I got this camera I could. The audio is usually pretty clear, and understandable. The video on the other hand, isn't. Although I do use the video recording option, it isn't up to my standards. The quality is okay, but kind of "jumpy". Sometimes the audio doesn't match up to the video, and it looks really funny. And also the movements in the video are usually quite jerky and not as smooth as they should be.
Now on to the actual camera. It's quite small, and has a flat, round base with sticky adhesive (if you choose to take the sticker off) on the bottom. This would be great to stick on my computer if I had one, but I have a laptop, so I just place the camera on a shelf. On top of the camera is the focus dial and snapshot button (for taking individual pictures). Coming out of the back is the cable that you hook up to your computer, and there is also a video-in plug where you can import video from your VCR or camcorder. In front of the camera's lens is a shutter cover you can shut for privacy if, for example, you have your auto snapshot on.
Overall, I'm happy with my little camera. The picture quality isn't superb, but it's just what I need for casual use. I wouldn't recommend this to people who need it for high-tech use, but I would recommend it to people who are looking for a relatively inexpensive, easy-to-use, everyday web-cam that you can use for fun. With it's many features and uses, it'll keep you using it all the time!
Recommended:
Yes
|
|
|
|
Epinions.com ID:
HITZfann
|
|
Member: Erin K.
Location: Gaithersburg, Maryland
Reviews written: 129
Trusted by: 65 members
About Me:
I love music, animals, and of course writing! Thanks for reading :o)
|
|
|
- Add to My Yahoo!: 
- Add to Google Homepage: 
© 1999-2009 Shopping.com, Inc.