..The Rest of the Story
Written: Dec 23 '99
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Product Rating:
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Pros: No Extras to Buy, Very Flexible, High Quality Images, Good Software
Cons: No Optical Viewfinder, No Carry Case
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| mlaleks's Full Review: Agfa ePhoto 1280 Digital Camera |
I purchased an Agfa Ephoto 1280 about one year ago and have to say I have been quite impressed, enough so that I have taken in excess of 3,200 pictures with this camera and have almost shelved my normal 35mm cameras(including my good old slr).
Prelude: Digital Cameras are not only a lot of fun and trendy (if your into that), but also practical if you like to take pictures but don't like the cost of film and developing. So if you haven't made up your mind about going digital think about this-
- 3 pack of film $15, Prints (double for Grandma of course) $25 = $40 vs.
buy the camera pay for only the prints you want via a printing service.
- No Cost per picture taken- You can "Play" and not "Hold Back" due to
the cost (how many good picture have you missed because you didn't want
to "Waste Film"?
- You can see your pics almost instantly (like a polaroid without it
costing a buck a pic).
- You only pay for the Pics you want printed.
- No more desk drawer with rolls of film from 1987 still waiting to be
developed (smile! most of us to this!)
- You Can take a picture and e-mail it the same day to grandma or the
whole family or your buisiness partners- a picture is still worth a
thousand words especially when it is "real time".
Now for the facts on the Agfa 1280-
The Complete package, Camera, Cables (both for PC and TV display), NiMh Batteries (Nickle Metal Hydride- You Need these and many cameras don't come with them!), Battery Quick Charger (Sweet, can charge in approx. 2 hours, and condition 4 batteries at a time), 4 meg 3.3v Smartmedia card, and a full set of software including one for doing color correction and image enhancement.
The camera has all of the standard features for flash and image size, can do High/Standard quality pics at 640x480, 1024x768, and 1280x1024 (1280 is software interpolated). It has a 3x Optical Zoom (don't be tricked by "Digital Zoom" it sounds better but all it is doing is cropping and resizing a non-zoomed image at the expense of image quality!). If your a photo buff you can manually adjust shutter speed,F-stop, focus range, and overall exposure too. It has a 5 or 10 second self timer, Manually settable "White Point" and can use either the built in or an external flash (synchronized & non mounted- the camera does not have a "Hot Shoe").
DON'T GET SCARED IF YOUR A BEGINNER - In full automatic mode the camera does just fine and is quite easy to use, all of the options can be easily accessed by a combination thumbwheel/pushbutton that makes changing options on the fly a snap (I was skeptical on this one at first, but it functions very naturally). An additional feature that is very nice is the fact that the lens and flash swivel from the camera body/LCD viewfinder so that you have incredible flexibility to get the picture you want while still seeing what your photographing (like those over the head full room views or around the corner shots). The Camera Operates on 4x AA Batteries and will run for about 30-45 minutes on the included NiMh batteries depending on how many pictures you take and weather or not you are using the flash. You can get extra batteries to extend your run-time (don't even mess with Alkaline's - they only last about 15 minutes, even the "Renewal" rechargable alkalines), and they can be found at a bargain price of about $2-3 on line, The camera also uses standard 4 and 8 meg Smartmedia cards with the standard 4 meg card holding approx. 35 1024x768 images. The cards can also be swapped out without losing data and re-used so if you want to use the camera for going on vacation you can bring along the charger and get a couple of extra 8 meg cards (approx. $20 ea. on-line) and be able to take over 150 high quality images without having to download. Oh, and the camera does have a tripod mount and accepts 46mm lens filters although I haven't found many filters in that size.
I hope that this information has given you the information you desire to make a well informed purchase, weather it is this camera or a different one. I have found that the Agfa 1280 (and probable the 1680 which is very similar- newer model) is easy enough to use for a beginner but has the flexibility and advanced features that allow it to be more like a 35mm slr than a digital camera.
Extra- Points to Ponder for digital camera buying:
- Does the package include NiMh batteries and charger? (add $50+ if not!)
- Does the Camera use Removable media? (if not your # of pics is limited)
- Can it display pics on a TV direct? (if not you can't show on the road)
- Does it have an Optical Zoom? (if not zoomed pics will lose quality)
- Can you Grow with it? (ease of use and optional advanced features)
- Does the Camera have a Manufacturers Rebate? (Check their Website!)
- Check Surplus or Auction Sites (I got mine as a factory refurbished
with warranty at an auction for $315 with a $100 manufacturer rebate
for a total of $215 when the going price was $550)
Extra- Resources (if I'm allowed to put this in here?) These are just example resources I've found, there may be better out there so look around!
- NiMh Batteries & Chargers- Thomas Distributing at:
www.thomas-distributing.com
- Getting Prints Made- Shutterfly at:
www.shutterfly.com
- Camera's and Anything for a computer on-line!
PriceWatch (do not sell, reference site)
www.pricewatch.com
Thanks for taking the time to Read this.... Aleks
Recommended:
Yes
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Epinions.com ID:
mlaleks
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Member: Aleks
Location: Virginia Beach, Virginia
Reviews written: 11
Trusted by: 1 member
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