bmcnichol's Full Review: Polaroid PhotoMax PDC 640 Battery Charger
Six months ago, this mommy went on the search for a digital camera. I wasn’t sure what I wanted or even needed so I first came to Epinions. I wasn’t looking to spend a lot of money but wanted a quality camera that took decent pictures. With my research I decided on the Polaroid PDC-640. Next step was to find the best price. Amazon.com was running a sale and I had gift certificates I had earned through rewards programs. So mommy got her new toy.
Everything you need comes in the box, including the batteries. Yes you heard me right- even the batteries. The box contains the Polaroid Flash 640 camera, PhotoMax Image Maker Software, AC adapter, 4 AA batteries, computer to camera cable, camera to TV cable, soft camera case, wrist strap, and instructions.
I took my new camera out of the box and within minutes I was taking pictures. No kidding, this camera is that easy to operate.
The camera has 640 X 480 pixel resolution and 320 X 240 pixel resolution. The resolution determines how many pictures you can put on your camera. If you choose low resolution, it allows 96 images to be taken. Medium resolution 36 images, high resolution 24 images and super high resolution will hold 12 images.
The camera also has a 1.8" color LCD display monitor, 2MB internal memory, focal range of 20" to infinity, self timer, Auto flash, flash and flash-off modes, JPEG compression, and is tripod mountable.
Installing the PhotoMax software on your computer is easy. The minimum system requirements are a Pentium Class PC, Windows 95 or 98, 32 MB RAM, 85 MB available hard drive space, available COMM port, high color (16-bit) display settings at 800 X 600 pixels recommended, 2X or faster CD-ROM drive, color monitor, mouse, and a sound card.
Downloading the pictures to your computer is just as easy. I read the instructions once and was able to do it without any problems.
The PhotoMax software allows you to manipulate your pictures. The software gives you options to crop, rotate, add special effects, touch up photos, allows you make posters, t-shirts, stickers, allows you to place your photo on top of sports heroes and such, you can email your pictures, make wallpaper for your computer or set up a webpage. All these features (and more) come with the PhotoMax software.
Now that we got through the technical stuff, let’s take some pictures. Get your PDC-640, open the lens, set the distance button on the back, pick the resolution and choose flash or not. I leave the auto flash on at all times and the resolution set, so I don’t have to worry about those two items.
You took some pictures now let’s view them. Beside the LCD window are four buttons. There’s a menu button that allows you to choose how many pictures to view at one time, a delete button, a lock button, date/time stamp and up and down buttons. So you are looking through the photos you just took- Oh you cut off little Johnny’s head. Easy enough, delete that photo and try again. No more wasted film. You can shoot and reshoot until you get it right.
Now that we are done taking pictures, lets upload them to our pc. Plug the camera into your computer, start the PhotoMax software and it will walk you through uploading the pictures. Now that they are uploaded, do with them what you want. You can print them, email them, or manipulate them. It’s that simple.
The PhotoMax 640 is compact and lightweight. I have stored in my diaper bag, pocketbook and have carried it around.
The 640 comes with a one year limited warranty which I have not had any reason to use.
There are a few things I would like to see changed on the PhotoMax 640. One, the way it eats up batteries. I guess this is to be expected with the amount of pictures I take but I wish there was something they would run on other then batteries. It requires 4 AA batteries so when possible I recommend you use the AC adapter. I use the adapter when downloading to my pc but never when taking pictures.
I also have experienced problems with taking more then one consecutive picture. There is a “waiting” period between pictures and when you first turn the camera on, which I am not happy about. You snap a picture and must wait maybe 20 seconds before shooting another. Most times this isn’t a problem but I have missed some shots due to this. I have also missed a few shots because of the delay when turning the camera on. You know what I mean; you get the camera out to only miss Johnny making the winning basket of the championship game. This is obviously the biggest complaint I have with this camera.
There is one feature that comes with the 640 that I haven’t used and that is an adapter to view your pictures on your TV. This would be nice to use at family gatherings.
I am not a professional photographer by any means but I am a mommy that likes to take lots of pictures of her children. And for this mommy I think the Polaroid PDC-640 was a great find. It gives me everything I need in a digital camera and more. I love the fact that everything is included. I didn’t have to go out and buy this and that to get my camera to work. It’s easy to use, inexpensive and gives me quality photos.
310,000-pixel sensor creates 640 x 480 images for posting on the Web Fixed-focus lens for simple point-and-shoot operation Included 8 MB CompactFlash ...More at Amazon Marketplace
Epinions.com periodically updates pricing and product information from third-party sources, so some information may be slightly out-of-date. You should confirm all information before relying on it.
- Add to My Yahoo!: 
- Add to Google Homepage: 
© 1999-2009 Shopping.com, Inc.