Pros: Cheap, decent quality pictures for casual use. Easy to use. 1.8" LCD display
Cons: Feels cheap, voracious battery eater! Needs time to "warm up". Greenish pictures in dark settings.
The Bottom Line: There are better options out there. But for casual use and a price under $100, it's a good start. That said, don't pay more than $100 (like I did)!
vara's Full Review: Polaroid PhotoMax PDC 640 Battery Charger
Folks, we have it way too easy. There was a time, you know, when cameras were huge, heavy, took lousy pictures, and you had to stand forever in front of them in order not to get a blurry picture (I think that's why no one smiles in the old pictures). Then, we moved on to smaller 110 film cameras, then 35mm cameras. But nooooo, loading the film was too difficult, also. So Advantix cameras came about. Even then, people still couldn't accept the fact that they had to drop the roll of film off for processing... even for one hour processing! Now everyone wants a friggin' digital camera. What's with you people, anyway?
Well, before you start thinking I'm about to say I put up with all the older technology ("and liked it!"), think again.
Truth be told, I am one of you. I, too, got sick and tired of having to take my film to the developer. Shelling out the dough for pictures that hardly ever turn out as great as I want seems excessive, doesn't it? Well, if you're on a budget like me and are looking for a low-cost entry into the digital world of photography, Polaroid may have the answer for you in its PDC-640.
Note this important point: if you consider yourself a single level above the casual photographer, move on! There are better digital cameras out there! You'll just have to pay more money. I am not too particular about such things as my pictures are mainly of friends and items I'm selling on eBay.
Speaking of eBay, I acquired this camera through an eBay transaction. It cost me $120. Much to my chagrin, I discovered according to some reviewers that Wal-Mart has sold these cameras on clearance for $99 in the past. That may be good news for you. In fact, prices may have dropped even further.
WHAT YOU GET:
The Polaroid PDC-640 comes in a package with a leather case, a 2MB Smart Media memory card, a hand strap, a serial cable for connecting to the computer, an A/C power adapter, some simple photo-editing software, and a video cable that connects the camera to your television set for viewing images (if you run it through your VCR, you can record a slide show or a silent -and choppy- movie).
QUICK TECHNICAL DETAILS:
The first thing you should know is that the maximum resolution on this camera is 640 X 480. You won't hear any mention of "megapixels" when it comes to this camera. What does this mean? Well, this isn't professional quality, if you're wondering. If you want a cheap camera with at least 1-1.5 megapixels, I encourage you to check out the Olympus D-360L. It's a great camera for the price, but was one Benjamin Franklin too many for me.
Another important detail about this camera is that it only comes with a 2MB Smart Media Flash Disk (which is like a teeny tiny floppy disk). You can store a variable number of pictures on this camera depending on what quality setting you choose on this camera (there are four). The first and lowest quality setting is a paltry resolution, but you can store up to 96 images on the memory disk. The second setting is a little better, and allows for 36 images to be stored. The third setting (a favorite of reviewers and mine as well) stores 24 images, like a standard 35mm camera. The fourth and highest quality setting fits only 12 images. This camera accepts memory disks of up to 16MB. There are some reviews here that lament the camera only accepts 8MB. According to my research, these complaints are inaccurate.
A final technical point you should consider is that the camera employs a serial cable for connecting to the computer. More advanced (and expensive) cameras come with a USB cable, which means much faster uploading of images to your computer for storage. The Olympus D-360L I mentioned before has a USB connection. Note, however, that floppy disk adapters have been made for the Smart Media cards. All you have to do is take out the teeny tiny Smart Media disk and insert it into another disk that looks just like a real floppy disk. Insert the big disk into your computer and wa-la! Your images are instantly downloaded. You can find these adapters on eBay around $40. In my opinion, the serial interface isn't that slow, and I make good use of the A/C adapter when making transfers to my computer.
* * * * * WHAT I LIKE ABOUT THE PDC-640: * * * * *
Although a little dated compared to new offerings by other manufacturers, the Polaroid PDC-640 is still a dandy little camera for everyday use, and here's what I like:
Size:
It's no Canon Elph, but the PDC-640 is no bigger than your traditional 35mm camera. It's kinda light-weight, too.
1.8" LCD Screen:
This is easily my favorite part of the camera. The screen allows you to view and selectively delete pictures, right after taking them. Do NOT buy a digital camera without this feature! It simply takes much of the advantage of having a digital camera away if you don't have this capability!
Nice simple features:
I won't go into much detail, but you can do neat things like review your pictures (9 at a time) on the LCD display, lock photos so you don't accidentally delete 'em, and have a "time and date" option for tagging the pictures you take.
Large viewfinder:
Although you can use the LCD screen to position the camera for taking pics, the view finder is plenty large to take pictures the more traditional way. It saves batteries...
Ease of use:
I read a professional review about the PDC-640 on CNET shortly after winning the auction on eBay for the camera. The folks at CNET slammed this camera, giving it a rating of 3 out of 10. One of their main complaints was their "difficulty" to operate the camera. Well, either I'm a genius or those guys are mentally slow, because this camera is a breeze to operate. I've consulted the manual only once!
The only exception deals with the "photography mode" settings. Basically, you can set your camera to take very close, moderate, and distant photos. All it does (from my observations) is change the shutter speed. Choose the closest setting, and less light will come in. This is good if you're taking one of those "arm's length" pics with a loved one, because your faces won't be white from the flash reflection. If you don't have it set correctly, however, you'll come out as an albino. Until you get the hang of it, you might find yourself fumbling with the controls.
A/C Adapter Included!
Digital cameras go through batteries quickly, and this camera is no exception. Luckily, Polaroid threw in an A/C adapter so you could plug your camera into the wall without worrying about draining the batteries. This is great for indoor pictures as well as for uploading pictures to your computer, which can take time.
Decent picture quality outdoors and up close:
Although "decent" doesn't sound too flattering, remember that this is one of the cheaper cameras out there. In reality, this camera takes pretty nice pictures, especially outdoors.
If you want an example of a picture taken with this camera, go to this address: http://members.home.net/woodchip/images/panorama.jpg This is a URL listed by consumer who wrote a rebuttal to CNET's scathing review of the PDC-640. The picture is actually five pictures pasted together for a panoramic effect. Many of the consumer reviews, by the way, were quite angered by the low rating by CNET.
* * * * * WHAT'S NOT TO LIKE? * * * * *
Feels (and sounds) cheap: The plastic on this camera is hard and cheap-feeling. Press a button and you get a cheap "click", kinda like a woman drumming her fake fingernails on a table. That's no biggie for me, though. The camera makes an annoying BEEP! when you take a picture, but this can be shut off.
Poor quality in dark and far-away situations:
Again... overall, this camera has performed well for me in various settings. But, things photographed in the dark or from far away will not come out too well. One thing that really ticks me off is that indoor pictures with little light come out with an annoying green hue. It can be doctored later, but only so much. There usually has to be a good deal of light if you plan on getting a successful photograph.
Batteries don't stand a chance: As I mentioned before, this camera is like many other digital cameras in that it goes through batteries like you wouldn't believe! It takes 4 AA batteries, in case you're wondering. If you use the view finder only, you can take upt to 100 pictures before having to change the batteries. Use the LCD display however, and things change drastically. Luckily, there is a battery meter so you know how much juice you have left. Also, when you take pictures they are burned onto the memory disk, so you don't have to worry about losing your pictures even if the batteries die. Finally, there's always that A/C power adapter. Use it when you can!
Not very powerful software: If I could put a label on the CD-ROM that comes with this camera, it would say "fun for the whole family... not professionals." This is not Adobe Photoshop by any stretch, and is more on the "cute-sy, put my face on the Mona Lisa" kind of thing. There are a few features like gamma correction, smudging, sharpness, and other effects, but nothing too fancy.
Camera takes time to "wake up": I have read about this on other reviews, so I'm not alone. Essentially, what happens is that you turn the camera on, and it takes a good 20 seconds to "wake up". At around 10 seconds, you can take a picture with the view finder, but you'll have to wait the full 20 seconds (or more, as reported by other reviewers) before using the LCD display. This is a bummer if you need to whip out your camera quickly to take a picture of your dog balancing a ball on his nose, or your daughter successfully riding her bike for a few seconds. You get the idea... At any rate, I've found this to be quite annoying, and it's my biggest complaint about this camera.
VERDICT: WHEN THE CHIPS ARE DOWN, THE PDC-640 IS A GOOD STARTER CAMERA AND A GOOD VALUE
In case you're thinking I have nothing to compare this camera to, you're mistaken. My girlfriend uses the Nikon Coolpix 950 for work. I have played with this camera extensively, and it's a good camera, but at a price of over $500. My father owns a Canon Sureshot S-10, another strong contender, but at a price over $450.
I'll be honest... if I had just a little more money in my pocket I would have bought the Olympus D-360L... I really didn't want to get stuck with a 640 X 480 resolution. Sadly, this was not the case. However, this little Polaroid turned out to be a nice choice for me in the end. If you're on a budget like I was, then consider the PDC-640 one choice for entering the era of digital photo technology.
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
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