Why you need an internal zoom lens
Pros:
cheap, small, lightweight, shoots video
Cons:
specialized cable, specialized battery. Lose either and its an expensive replacement.
The Bottom Line:
for the price,size and functionality, this camera is a great deal.
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Overall Rating:
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Author's Review
After dropping not one, but TWO, digital cameras and jamming their external lenses, I decided it was time to buy a camera that at least wouldn't break in that way when I dropped it :) I decided that while I was getting a new camera, I wanted one small enough to fit in my pocket. Of course, it also needed to be cheap, since I break things a lot (to be fair, I'm the mother of two small children, so my hands are often busy). I knew that I also wanted to be able to record short video clips with my camera since children seldom wait for you to switch to the camcorder.
With those parameters (internal lens, video capable, less than $200), I began searching online. I discovered that internal lenses make cameras expensive. I read tons of online reviews and decided that for what I wanted to pay, I was looking at a 5-7 megapixel.
I was really excited when I found this model on sale at Target for $179. It has a 7.0" megapixel CCD, 3x optical zoom, and 5x digital zoom with a 32 MB memory (got to shoot a lot of pics to get a good one of fast moving little kids). It is very light weight (4 ounces) and very small (about 4"x2.5") and crucially, only .7" thick! An added bonus is that it comes with its own rechargeable battery and the charger is provided. `No more expensive rechargeable batteries!
I have no time to read an instruction manual and so far I've been able to figure out everything. Unlike a lot of cameras that sacrifice form (sleekness) to function (ease of use) this camera retains a lot of little buttons on the back next to its decently sized LCD. I don't want to have to scroll through a menu to change the setting I want. I figured out how to do everything I need by just testing out the buttons. Small icons on the LCD indicate pretty much what you've changed.
The camera comes with its own cable. due to its diminutive size, the USB connection is smaller than a normal device, which means the cord isn't interchangeable with my other devices. The cord also has the connections necessary for hooking images and audio up to your television, should you desire.
