Vectis 3000
Written: Jul 22 '02 (Updated Jul 22 '02)
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Pros: Compact design, Quality of Photos, Durability
Cons: Zoom not very powerful
The Bottom Line: This is an excellent camera and I highly recommend it to anyone seeking a well-designed compact APS camera that will take great photos.
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| biere's Full Review: Konica Minolta Vectis 3000 APS Film Camera |
I bought this camera for my girlfriend to take with us on trips that we take. I spent quite a bit of time researching cameras before purchasing the Minolta Vectis 3000 Camera Kit with the case, strap, roll of film, extended warranty, and battery. We wanted a small, compact camera that would fit easily into a pocket or purse. We decided on APS format because my girlfriend wanted to take panoramic shots and the smaller film size means a smaller camera. So I researched many compact APS cameras. I read many reviews about Cannon Elphs and other compact APS point and shoot cameras and they all seemed to have a lot of negative points. There is not much information available about the Vectis 3000 and it was hard to find to purchase once I made my decision.
The primary reason I chose the Vectis 3000 is the superior design. I love the "slide out" design because unlike the Elph and many other compacts, once this camera is open it is much larger to hold and handle like a normal 35mm camera. It very uncomfortable and hard to handle other compact APS cameras like the Elph. In addition, I found the zoom controls on other compact cameras very difficult to use while looking through the viewfinder. The zoom is great and easy to use on the Vectis 3000, especially for left-handed people such as myself who have problems looking through the viewfinder and using zoom controls on "right-handed only" designed cameras. The only design fault is that if you accidentally push the sides together before taking a picture, the camera lens will retract and turn off to be closed. However, this is not a big issue as it is very easy to avoid this when you know how the camera works. It only happens when I give the camera to somebody else to take a picture who has never used the camera before. And even then it is a rare occurrence.
Photo Quality? Many people have complained about photo quality with APS cameras, especially compacts. Although it is true that APS film is has slightly less quality that 35mm, all of my photos have turned out excellent. I have shot almost 300 pictures now and almost all are exceptional quality. In addition, I am still on the first battery! Also, the flash on this camera is excellent. The red eye reduction works great, and the auto lens focus is excellent. The nighttime portrait flash selection works great for taking photos at night. The only problem with the auto-flash is that it will not flash sometimes during twilight hours and the pictures may come out a little dark. But it is simple to select the flash "on" during such times and the pictures come out great.
Lastly, much too my surprise, this little camera is quite durable; although it feels a little fragile when held in the hand. Despite my many warnings to be careful, my girlfriend dropped the camera onto the sidewalk and then it bounced onto a sandy beach. To my complete amazement, the camera continued to operate perfectly with only a little scratch on the plastic casing.
My only thing I would change on this camera is the zoom. It has a 3X zoom and sometimes I wish it was quite a bit more powerful. However, it is extremely hard and much more expensive to find a more powerful zoom on such a compact camera. 3X is actually much more powerful than many other compact APS cameras.
Recommended:
Yes
Amount Paid (US$): 239
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Epinions.com ID:
biere
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Reviews written: 1
Trusted by: 0 members
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