Toshiba Makes A Great Camera

The PDR-M1 from Toshiba is a great consumer camera. It comes with very impressive features and great desktop software. More importantly, it produces high-quality pictures and is inexpensive. If you are looking for a good digital camera, the PDR-M1 makes a super gift and should bring its user years of digital bliss.

You should consider several important factors before buying this camera. The first and most important is 'resolution'. The PDR-M1 boasts a 1.5-million pixel sensor that produces resolutions of 1280X1024 (35mm-quality images) and 640X480 (for the Internet). MegaPixel Digital cameras, such as the PDR-M1, can produce high quality pictures at these resolutions.

The second most important feature on the PDR-M1 or any camera is storage media. How many pictures can the digital PDR-M1 hold? The answer to this question depends on the quality and size of the image you want to store and the of media use. This camera comes with a 4MB SmartMedia(TM) card that can hold anywhere from 5-24 super fine, 11-45 fine or 22-80 standard images. All images are stored as compressed JPEGs (which is a very good thing). These images can be viewed on its built-in 1.8" MIM LCD screen. Any images you don't want or like can easily be deleted making the management of your free space a breeze. You can purchase additional SmartMedia cards in 4 MB, 8MB, and 16MB sizes.

Next, you should consider how you are going to use your digital images. Toshiba ships the PDR-M1 with serial PC/Mac connectors and quality desktop software. The serial connector is pretty fast if you can remember to configure the port for maximum bit transfer (set it to 115K). Image Expert is a well-known image management application that comes bundled with the PDR-M1. The latest version (v2.00) is downloadable from the Sierra's website (www.sierraimaging.com) at a special price for PDR-M1 owners. However, you should be aware that the version of Image Expert that ships with your PDR-M1 contains 3rd-party TWAIN drivers that should kept in you decide you want to upgrade. (Please see their website for a more details.)

The camera has several other features that make the $400 price tag worth it. It features 2X optical zoom and 1X to 4X (100%-400%) playback zoom capabilities. It also boasts a 1/4 - 1/1000 shutter speed, tripod mount, and gives a stunning slideshow (with its built-in video-out adapter), which by the way impressed all my friends! You simply plug into your TV, VCR, etc. and enter 'PLAY' mode. This is a great idea by Toshiba--it's the sole reason I bought this camera--to show off my pictures!

I must tell you that there are a few minor annoyances. The PDR-M1 eats its 4 AA batteries for lunch! You should really consider purchasing rechargeable batteries (which could save you a few dollars) or just remember to turn your LCD off when your snapping pics (but where's the fun it that?) Another annoyance is the delay between snapping photos. The PDR-M1 makes you wait at least 2-5 seconds (depending on quality and size of the photo you are taking) before it will allow you to snap another. Despite these two minor annoyances, the PDR-M1 is a great buy!