Reviewed by: funwithmacs
04-03-07
Duration of ownership:
1
Days
Strengths: Clear, crisp, and detailed pictures without red-eye
Weaknesses:Have no complaints. But, if I must complain about something, I would prefer more detailed manuals. And, it would be nice if the extended manuals were on the CD and not a download from the website.
Overall Evaluation: I have been using an old Vivitar 2 Megapixel camera for several years. And, for the last 2 years, it's pictures have been a bit "grainy" looking. So, I've been on the lookout for a replacement. After much research, I originally settled on the Canon a630 8-Megapixel camera. It came highly regarded, and every reviewer had nothing but great things to say about it. But, after a day of use, I found that every single picture I took had terrible red-eye. Even shots from a distance and shots from the side. While the pictures were absolutely beautiful, the red-eye was horrible. So, I returned it. You can read my review of it here on PriceGrabber. It was a terrible buying experience. The store had a restocking fee, and the camera was very expensive (I got it on sale for about $250). So, I have been very reluctant to try another camera. That is until the other day. My sister-in-law came to dinner with her new camera. She's a person who is very particular about her pictures, and has always used the fancy and expensive 35mm cameras with all the fancy attachments and custom lenses and so on. She showed us her new digital camera, and we looked at several of her pictures. They were all beautiful. Well focused and no red-eye. She was impressed with it, and so was I. So, naturally, I flipped it over, and looked to see what the model number was. Well, after discussing it with my wife, we decided to give it a try. And, let me tell you, it absolutely puts that Canon camera we tried to shame. It was only $167. I spent a week thinking about it, and I'm glad I did. By the weekend, the local store had the c743 camera and G600 printer dock on sale for $199 (regularly $249 for the combination package or $300 if purchased separately). So, we got the combo package. The camera is extremely simple to use. I've taken several pictures indoors with it, and several with red-eye mode on and off, and several only a foot away from my kids face. And, I've only had a single picture show any red-eye. And, the red-eye was so minimal that I really, really, really had to look hard to see it. It was just the slightest red tinge in the pupils of the eyes. All the pictures have come out beautiful, and look very well focused and clear. Even when you really Zoom-in on a picture using the computer.The video mode produces video clips that are even better than those from my higher-end Sony Digital Camcorder. Beautiful. I absolutely love this camera, and I am a hard sell. I'll return something for the slightest imperfection. So, if I can't find a complaint with this camera, then it is definitely a good camera. So, with the camera having impressed me, I went ahead and unpacked the G600 printer dock (kept it packed until I made up my mind on the camera in-case I wanted to return it). The printer dock set-up easily. And, I have no idea how something so simple works so beautifully. But, you install cartridge that looks like an old fax machine donor film roll, and load the paper. That's about it. I have no idea how a single film can produce a multi-color picture. But, it does. Without reading the manual, I took a quick picture of my kid, and went to the printer dock. To print, you simply set the camera on the printer dock, choose your picture using the LCD screen on the camera, and press the print button on the printer. It couldn't be easier. After seeing how simple the setup was, I was sure the print quality was going to be poor. How could a single sheet of plastic donor film produce a clear vibrant and multi-color picture? Surely it wouldn't work. But, it did. The photo paper went in once, then back through 3 more times. All by itself. And, each time it passed through (without my interaction) it had a slightly different shade of color to it. The final time it went through, it came out looking like a professionally developed photograph from the local photo center. The special photo paper sheets and the finished photo have a professional feel to them. They feel just like a regular photo, and look like something taken with a standard 35mm camera and developed at the local photo center. The end result is absolutely perfect. It is amazing how much nicer the result was compared to my newer HP DeskJet Photo printer (with the glossy paper and photo ink). The Kodak printer refills come with a new print film/donor cartridge and the paper. They are a matched set, and packed to provide a specific number of prints. The price is very reasonable compared to developing and also compared to Polaroid film. I have a Polaroid camera as well, and it is expensive to use because of the cost of the film. This new camera and printer combo can easily replace the Polaroid camera, and is much cheaper to use. The Polaroid costs me about $1.25 per picture and that's for every picture (even the bad ones which don't turn out). The new Kodak Combo only costs me about $0.29 per picture, and I only print the ones I like.
Today's Most Popular Computer Hardware
