Customer Reviews

Casio QV3000EX 3.34-Megapixel Digital Camera with 340 MB MicroDrive

5 star:		(43)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(6)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

I don't agree with the person who said it's too heavy. Compared to a 35mm camera it's very light. Besides, what other digital camera offers 3x optical zoom, a microdrive bundle that lets it store ~250 highest quality pictures (or thousands at lower res/quality), great controls, good battery life, breathtaking images, and fast upload (USB) to the computer, at this price? Nikon? Sorry, can't use a microdrive. Canon? Lots of complaints about image quality. Kodak? Great color, but no 3 megapixel model yet and slooow operation - plus the DC290 is bigger than this Casio.

Casio is not a respected name in cameras (yet) but this model is an aggressively priced state of the art entry.

I scouted the market a long time before choosing the Casio and it was well worth the investment in time and money. There's little to complain about in this camera and much to love. I love:

* The stunning image quality.

* The IBM MicroDrive. I didn't want to have to worry about downloading images while on a trip, and with its 245-picture storage (at the highest resolution), the Casio solves this for me. Given the MicroDrive's hefty price tag, its inclusion makes the camera very good value. It even slips into my Win CE handheld computer and does double duty there.

* The choice between full automatic and manual control.

* The panorama and movie modes.

* The look and the feel. It's not an ultra-light, but it's no heavyweight and it looks handsome. The design is somewhat right-handed, but even as a leftie I found it comfortable to use, holding it in my right hand while adjusting menu controls with my left. Now, I'd just like to know how you avoid smudging the display screen when using the viewfinder! (A problem I'm sure many digicams share.)

* The good documentation. It'd be nice if it had an index, but it's well written.

What I don't like:

* The lack of inclusion of an AC adapter. Save yourself time and order one when you order your camera. I've found battery life not too bad using NiMH rechargeables, but the AC adapter makes all the difference when downloading images and when you're just playing about learning how to use the camera.

* The off-centre tripod mount.

* The lack of an 800x600 resolution mode.

This is by far the easiest digital camera to set up and use. Load the media, put in the batteries and point and shoot. Pictures that take your breath away. Pure color, excellent detail. The IBM Microdrive can let you take pictures until your shutter finger hurts. The camera package is a steal with the microdrive. The only downside is alkaline batteries and no AC adapter included. Works for a very long time with rechargable NiMH AA's. I had also bought a Canon EOS film camera I took it back and kept the Casio. It's that good.

This is truly a great camera. Excellent picture quality. With the 340MB Microdrive, you can take 250 pictures at the highest resolution setting.

Pluses: * default modes for those who want simple * detailed controls for those who don't * panoramic view (up to 9 images lined up to create this view) * red-eye reduction, and auto flash modes * timed pictures so you can be in them too * AVI movie - 30 seconds (ok, not great) * USB download, looks like a removeable HD * adjustable manual viewfinder * the ability to discard a poor shot before it gets saved * the ability to preview the last shot while in record mode * Works on normal AA batteries (NIMH rechargeables a must - the more powerful the better - I've been using Kodak 1600 mAh Ni-MH rechargeables and they last many times normal Duracells, especially with flash. Without flash, these batteries have lasted through more than 150 shots) * 340 MB Microdrive was the primary reason I bought this camera (along with the fact that it is a 3 mega-pixel camera)

Minuses: * wish it were a little smaller (but it is pretty light) * wish there were sound on the movies and the ability to take longer movies * this version does not include the A/C adapter - The QV3000 Propak does, which is the one I bought - a must have * wish the LCD screen was a bit bigger

Other comments: Pictures print really well on the HP Photosmart 1000 or 1100 printer using the premium glossy photo 4x6 or 8x10 paper. Looks like the pictures came from a regular photo developer, even at 8x10 size when using the higher camera photo resolutions.

When I started research 3.x gigapixel digital cameras, the short list came down to this: Casio QV 3000 EX, Sony DSC-S70 and MVC-FD95, Nikon 990, Kodak CD4800 and Canon Powershot S20 and G1.

After tallying all the features and costs of each, the Casio emerged as the the clear winner. I'm sure you've read all the specs from other reviews, so I'll just comment on a few things.

- The 340mb IBM microdrive is a must-have in a digital camera. Go on a long vacation, take 240 or so 2048x1536 pics in FINE resolution and don't think twice about running out of space or having to buy more memory.

- The USB connection downloads these pics very quickly, plus, you can set it up so your computer sees it as another HD, viewable via Netscape or IE.

- Casio packed this camera with a lot of features that I'm not sure it needs, like B/W and Sepia modes, for example. These effects can be done in software on your PC.

-Memory buffer. I was pleased to find out that this camera has enough for a short "burst mode". Some of the cameras above don't.

- Biggest complaint: No A/C adapter in the unit I bought, though I knew this before I bought it. I wound up paying around $52 on Casio's website for one to be delivered UPS 2nd day. But, I also got a $100 rebate on the camera, and the more recent EX Plus version includes the adapter, so, just make a note.

- No jack for an external trigger. This is kind of amazing. What you can do with this camera is limited only by your imagination. And, yes, many functions and features are dependent upon a half-press of the shutter button. BUT, I don't see any reason why Casio couldn't come up with an external shutter button that works the same way as the one on the camera. The reason for the external shutter trigger is that you don't touch the camera when you take the shot. IE, you don't move it by accident when using very slow shutter speeds or night shots, etc. I did not know this before I bought it.

-You must have at least two sets of four NiMH rechargable batteries for a day of shooting. Three is even better. And get a charger that charges them in under 5 hours. They're cheap and plentiful. Regular alkaline Duracells, for example, will last, well, I've never seen batteries go so dead so fast in my life. The NiMH batteries, on the other hand, last a very long time. Longer than any other rechargable battery available.

Overall, this is an outstanding camera. I feel that I would have spent more money on any of the others I mentioned in memory cards, for starters. IBM has also released a 1 gigabyet version of its Microdrive. And the camera will accept memory cards of the CompactFlash type I and II as well. This is both the ultimate vacation camera, as well as an excellent tool for the serious photographer, minus my comments above. I've only touched on a very few of the many, many features the QV 3000 EX comes with. I've been through the manual, used the camera, and it exceeded my expectations.

Pros: +Pic Quality is Super. +Downloading to PC is Automatic and very very easy. + Library on PC is super. +through the lens viewing +on camera menus are easy to use. +Storage Capacity is the best of the best +flash is fast and versatile (red eye, etc..) Pro Summary: One of my favorite gadgets. I finally am using a digital camera as the family camera due to ease of docking and PC library system, and high quality

Cons: -Using off the shelf batteries is impossible. They are out off juice with 5-10 pictures. Forget it, it does not work. You MUST use rechareables (get Olympus Ni-MH recharger with 4 Olympus CAMEDIA B-01E AAa Ni-MH batteries). They are super. They last 100s of pictures. After 20-30 pics you may want to turn it off for a couple of minutes. It seems to fully recharge again for reasons I can't explain. -Buy a FlashMem card if battery life is bothering you. They use less juice that 340MB microdrive. (I use 80MB flash card) Any of them should work -The PC Library software does not allow you to delete pictures? You can do so from Windows Explorer but still, why they left that basic function out is a mystery. -If you forget (and you will) to remove the lens cap before you turn the camera on, it burns the battery down fast. Freaks the camera out. You will want to turn it off and back on again. Summary: I love it after I figured out the battery and lens cap issues. Wish I could delete pictures on PC from PCLoader User Interface.

I recently bought this digital camera primarily because of the 3.34 megapixel pictures and the 340 mb microdrive. The camera also has a small profile which is good on trips, no larger than a SLR camera. My primary concern with the other digital cameras was storage capacity. No problem here. I recently took this camera to China for 14 days. It performed great,landscape, panoramic, movie mode, closeups, and nightmode (you really have to be still). I took over 251 pictures at high resolution with the counter still showing 19 shots left. The camera numbers each photo so that on long trips one can take notes regarding each photo by referring to a number. Using rechargeable LiMH batteries is the ticket, I used 3 sets (4xAA), for the 250 or so shots, which included movies also. Turning the camera off quickly when not in use helps on battery life. Uploading the pictures (>250) via a USB to my computer took only minutes....getting them on line is another matter because at 3.34megapixel each pictures takes forever. The quality of the prints are great.

I waited and watched digital cameras evolve over the past few years and was ready to buy a 2 Megapixel Casio last March when this 3.0 Megapixel camera was released. I had high expectations after reading the specs on this camera and my high expectations have been greatly exceeded. With this camera, and the built in IBM Microdrive, you can photgraph virtually anything you can with a conventional camera and it is better in many ways. I have done close-up portraits that are breathtakingly realistic and better than any camera I have ever seen, digital or otherwise. I took wedding pictures of a neighbor that were better than those they had made by a professional photographer. My wife is an avid gardener and I have taken extreme closeups of her flowers using the macro feature that are absolutely dazzling! I can shoot virtually all day and not worry about running out of film thanks to the microdrive (245 picture capacity). I would recommend getting some Ni-Cad batteries and a charger for it; I bought an extra set to have on hand when I am out for the day shooting. These pictures look spectacular on my conputer and with my HP-932c deskjet printer I can print very high quality photgraphs that are the best I've ever seen. If you haven't already guessed, I love this camera! I have taken great family portraits and I can keep them up to date as the grandchildren grow. I have never endorsed or recommended any product before but I am excited about this one and can't rate it high enough!

We just had our 1st baby and this camera has been worth the money. The Microdrive saves you from ever having a problem with disk space (250 high res pics). So you can take pictures non-stop and not worry. It was easy to load the pics to my PC with the USB adapter and the software was pretty easy to use. Also, it includes a video adapter so you can play the pictures in a slideshow on a TV one minute after taking your picture(s). There are internet services for printing your pictures (mailed to you on high quality paper) and I could e-mail and post the pics to a free web site...so it was easy for us to share our news the same day.The other great thing about digital cameras is that you can preview the pic right away, so you know if you need to retake the picture...really important on my daughters first day of life.

The only downside is that this camera , like all digital cameras, eats up batteries at a ridiculous pace. I went through 20 AA batteries in a week! I recommend buying 8 rechargeable AA batteries...the camera only needs 4,but an extra 4 keeps you going. (Good luck trying to buy the AC Adapter anywhere). 8 rechrgeable batts will run you about $40 with the charger, but you'll spend more than that on batteries anyway...

The 340 MByte hardrive is almost worth the price of thecameraalone. (...) The picture quality is the state-of-the-art. Thecamera is sold-out everywhere.

After seeing the other review on how heavy the camera was I had to tell you that it is very light (Less than a pound) lighter than the Kodac DC-290.