Ugh! But, hey, it's good!
Written: Nov 21 '00
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Amazing quality, tech support, everything.
Cons: Outdated software bundle. My girlfriend needs one.
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| chemfet's Full Review: 3Com HomeConnect PC Digital Camera |
I bought a 3Com HomeConnect PC Digital Camera a year ago. Well, a little less than a year ago. Shortly after Christmas I ran out and bought a webcam in a fit of urgency. I don't know why, either, because I had about zero self confidence and was sure I'd break the camera by just pointing it in my general direction. Hey, weirder things have happened, right?
So, I picked one up. Mostly because at $150, it was the most expensive thing I could blow, uh, $150 on. I took it hope, plugged it in, and got a grey image from the camera. Uh, wait, I was sure I hadn't pointed the camera at me yet, hmm. I tried a few more times, and still didn't get an image from the silly thing. Well, ok.
I took it back, and got a new one. It works! Oh glorious day! It works! It worked for a while, I took about two pictures with it, and then for a month I ran it pointed at my guinea pig, Verve. Oddly enough, the VerveCam was highly popular, and was always watched by losts of sick people.
There was a problem though. The camera worked sporadically. I'd turn it on sometimes and get a gray image. Then I'd turn it off, let it rest for an hour, and the image would come back. Finally, after about two months, it just stopped working. I went through a ton of customer support with the wonderful people at 3com, and it never worked.
That's a good thing to cover. No matter what, 3com will simply replace your camera, as long as you pay for shipping, if they determine it to be broken. Which mine was. They're very helpful and quite nice in email support, even as angry as I was, they kept a smiley face. A face I couldn't see, sure, but anyway...
So I was going to send my camera in, but, for eight months, I never got around to it. A month ago, I finally sent it in.
They sent me back a whole new camera, box, cords, shrink wrap and all. If you need a new USB cable, a 3com CD, and instruction booklets, just email me. Wonderful people, 3com are.
I unwrapped the box, opened it up, stuck in the CD, and a sudden paralyzing fear swept over me. "What if it doesn't work?" my mind screamed. Then, a smaller part of me said, "Hey, so what?"
I plugged it in, and the camera worked and gave me a clearer picture than the previous one (two) had before. I was stunned. In smaller sizes, the camera gives off a nearly picture perfect image in good lighting conditions. I nearly fell over. Never has anything been so amazing to me in my entire life.
Did I mention the picture quality was astounding? Oh, yes, it was. It can take photos at up to 640x480 but the imperfections in the focus come through very well in that size, so it's not really worth it.
The software bundle is nice. They give you a bunch of cheap video imaging software I will never use, that is probably incredibly out of date. (Webcam32 is version 4, where they're up to version 6. But in my humble opinion, version 4 is much better than 6. So it's ok.) But, despite those faults in the software, it's nice. All you use your computer camera for is Netmeeting and Webcam32, right? Right?
Either way, to summarize: Don't buy one from Best Buy. The software bundle sucks if you care about new software. 3com Tech Support is just amazing. Great warranty. Stunning image quality, but maybe not worth the price.
Examples of Photos:
http://chemfet.digitalrice.com/cam
http://chemfet.digitalrice.com/sexybrad
http://www.electricbiscuit.com/brad/capture
Recommended:
Yes
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Epinions.com ID:
chemfet
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Member: Brad Root
Location: Whittier, CA
Reviews written: 8
Trusted by: 3 members
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