Epson PhotoPC 800 2.14MP Digital Camera

by Epson

Product Details

Product Manual [11.91mb PDF]

• Product Dimensions: 1.4 x 4.5 x 2.7 inches ; 7.7 ounces
• Shipping Weight: 5 pounds
• Shipping: Currently, item can be shipped only within the U.S. and to APO/FPO addresses. For APO/FPO shipments, please check with the manufacturer regarding warranty and support issues.
• ASIN: B000021YWA
• Item model number: PhotoPC 800
• Batteries: 4 AA batteries required. (included)
• Average Customer Review: 3.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #54,072 in Camera & Photo (See Top 100 in Camera & Photo)
• Discontinued by manufacturer: Yes
• Date first available at Amazon.com: September 4, 1973

Product Description

From MacAddict -- Subscribe now!

The PhotoPC 800, Epson's newest addition to its digicam fleet. is nicely armored in brushed aluminum with charcoal trim, and is small enough to be a true "pocket battleship." Its 2.1-megapixel firepower can take aim at any target you want to blow up to 8 by 10 inches or larger.

But like any ship of the line, it has some vulnerabilities that may prove troublesome. Unlike most digicams, the PhotoPC uses 3.3 volts rather than 6 to power the camera's LCD monitor, internal electronics, and flash. Two AA's just can't cut it, even if they're rechargeable NiMHs (Four batteries plus a charger come standard). As a result, you cannot use the LCD monitor for more than 10 seconds at a time if you want to get more than a couple dozen pictures (with flash) out of a set of batteries. It's possible to set the LCD to stay on for up to 3 minutes (and you may need to if you're using accessory lenses with the optional lens adapter), but your batteries will die quickly, especially if you're also viewing pictures in the playback mode. So get ready to shoot most of your pictures through the PhotoPC 800's optical viewfinder.

Epson has given the PhotoPC 800 multiple personalities that can interact with beginning, intermediate, and advanced photographers. However, the unorthodox menu system is difficult to master. There are seven different buttons on the camera, each of which can perform multiple functions, depending upon the choices that appear on the adjacent screen. Even the well-written 224-page manual demands quite a bit of attention before things start to fall into place.

The beginner's setting turns the camera into an entirely automatic (including focus), typical point-and-shoot. You can set various program modes in the intermediate level depending on the kinds of shots you want: action, landscape, or portrait, Advanced mode allows adjustment of lens openings (either f-2.4 or f-8), shutter speeds and distance presets. Beware, though--setting shutter speeds manually (1/2 to 1/750 seconds) doesn't set the appropriate lens openings, so you should use that feature to deliberately overexpose or underexpose in unusual lighting conditions or for special effects.

The PhotoPC 800's top-mounted dial lets you select seven modes: set-up, printer-direct, playback, off, optical viewfinder only, optical viewfinder and LCD monitor, and continuous (and interval) shooting. The camera's three-button top deck LCD handles critical functions such as resolution, flash, and the self-timer. It'll also give you an instant read-out on the ISO (sensitivity to light), white balance setting, number of pictures left, and battery condition. Holding the camera is a bit awkward because you have to pinch the top and bottom of it with the thumb and forefinger of your left hand to avoid obstructing the lens (an accessory pistol grip would help a lot here). And like most small digicams, it comes with only a wimpy wrist strap.

Despite obvious shortcomings, the PhotoPC 800 has many impressive features that make it a real contender. It can shoot at 1,600-by-1,200-pixel resolution with two compression choices, and it can render the obligatory 640 by 480 for the Web. There's even an interpolated mode called HyPict that ups the resolution to 1,984 by 1,488 pixels inside the camera before the picture is compressed, so that all the captured raw data is used. Of course, you lose a little sharpness, but you can easily correct the image before you print it with an image editing program.

Other good attributes are fast-interval shooting (about a picture per second) at 1,600-by-1,200-pixel resolution, a burst mode that can work in conjunction with the self-timer (so you can analyze your golf swing), and a time-lapse function you can use to shoot pictures at intervals from 10 seconds to 24 hours. You can also set exposure for each shot, operate the camera from your Mac, and use USB to transfer the images. If you make presentations, this may be your dream digicam. You can ad voice comments in 3-, 5-, and 10-second sound bites either as you shoot or afterward, exclude pictures you don't want to show, and rotate pesky verticals. You can also upload existing computer presentations for display on a TV or with an AV projector, or for easy transfer to video-tape. Finally, the PhotoPC 800 prints directly to the Epson StylusPhoto, , 700, 750, 1200, and Stylus Color 740 printers without using the Mac.

Both the PhotoPC 800's 2X digital zoom and its panorama settings cut the camera's effective resolution in half, and the macro settings can only get in to about 6 inches. However, the proof of the pudding is in the output, and after getting comfortable with the camera and printing some large, luscious, almost artifact-free photographs, we found that the PhotoPC 800's somewhat complex mix of elements does indeed produce exquisite pictures. So if you're at ease with button-pushing and have deep pockets for extra batteries, this may be just the camera for you. -- Arthur Bleich

Good News: Images to 11 by 14 inches. Fast interval shooting. Bright optical viewfinder. USB and serial. Video out. Perfect for slide shows and presentations. Direct output to printers. Voice recording.

Bad News: Fingers can easily obstruct the lens. Moderately difficult learning curve. Short battery life. Nonintuitive menus. Digital soom. Plastic tripod socket. Too many function buttons.

©1999 MacAddict

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

55 of 56 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars How the camera REALLY is, April 14, 2000

By 

Alex Alexzander (San Francisco) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Epson PhotoPC 800 2.14MP Digital Camera (Electronics)

I rate the PhotoPC 800 a little different. Let me give you a tiny bit of background. I searched for the perfect camera for over a year. I finally got it down to the Epson PhotoPC 800. When I got mine, I quickly threw some Duracell batteries into it to get started. The camera lasted about 4 seconds and died. I went to another store to get another set of batteries. Those died in about 1 second. I tested the batteries in other devices and they were fine. I finally charged the Epson batteries and those finally let me see the menu the camera opens when you turn it on. I took about 4 - 7 pictures with the 1.8" TFT color screen and the camera said the batteries were dead.

Bottom line is, this camera with the best of battery charges doesn't yield more than 20 pictures when used with the Flash and LCD.

So why rate this camera high? I tried a series of tests on the camera without the use of the LCD screen when taking pictures. The camera allowed me to take well over 200 pictures in 1600x1200 super fine mode on one charge. In fact, I am sure it would have gone on longer but after 200 pictures over 36 hours I got bored and ran out of pictures to take.

I really like the sharp images this camera takes. I have printed photos on mto my Epson 1270 printer. There are simply outstanding! I also transferred JPG files from my hard disk to the camera with the included software and watched them on my 27" television. I transferred the image to 640x480 24bit images into the camera. On television they were also outstanding.

If you want a camera with 24 bit image capability and 2.1 mega pixel display and are willing to give up using the LCD screen to take snaps this is quit a camera. It is small, I mean very small! I like how tiny it is. It has USB support for both Mac and PC. Uploading and downloading pictures to and from the camera is fast! No need to buy a PCMCIA or other adapters. Just hook it right up to the computer and go!

Things to do if you buy this camera.

1. Charge the batteries they give you 3 times in a row. The first timer when they are done charging remove them from the charger then re-insert them. After the red charging light goes off, charge them yet a 3rd time. 2. Never use ANYTHING but the included batteries. Buy more to carry around and you will be able to take at least 200 or more 1600x1200 super fine pictures with a 64 MB Flash Card per charge 2 battery set. 3. Use the LCD screen only once in a while to check and create settings. Most point and shoot setting do not require the LCD at all. The flash, picture resolution, snap and timer are all easy to use buttons on top. 4. Get an Epson printer like the 750 or better and print your photos. They really do come out looking just like real photos! 5. Buy the optional AC power supply. When transferring photos to and from the camera, you will avoid a lot of issues regarding power when you use the AC to perform these functions.

It all came down to this for me. Get past the LCD use for taking pictures, and use it only for reviewing images. Do that, and this is one outstanding camera!

88 of 93 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A DIGITAL CAMERA WHOSE RESULTS RIVAL FILM, December 12, 1999

By 

Leon Wilde - See all my reviews

This review is from: Epson PhotoPC 800 2.14MP Digital Camera (Electronics)

Here finally is a camera that rivals film photography. It is easy to use as a "point and shoot" model as well as being able to use manual settings for the advanced photographer.

I have printed pictures up to 8" x 10" which rival film enlargments.

I admire the ease of printing directly from the camera to an Epson printer without use of a pc. The results are awesome. I highly recommend this camera to anyone seriously interested in high resolution megapixil photography.

38 of 38 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Extremely satisfied with my Epson PhotoPC 800, January 17, 2000

By 

Ralph Quinones (Grapevine, Texas) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Epson PhotoPC 800 2.14MP Digital Camera (Electronics)

I purchased my PhotoPC 800 last fall, before leaving for Argentina on a one month business trip. I wanted a digital camera that was small (fit in my pocket), provided 2 megapixel resolution, and was under $600. The 800 was the right choice and I am very happy with it.

Colors are bright and detail is very sharp. I have printed 8x10 pictures on my Epson Color 800 printer, framed them, hang them in my office and people cannot believe what they see! The results are outstanding.

The camera is simple to use in automatic mode, but allows changes to fullfill the most demanding user (lens opening, shutter speed, b/w mode, spot metering, etc). A quick shot mode allows about 1 picture a second. The camera even has a microphone to add up to 10 seconds of sound to a picture!

The one suggestion I have is to buy a bigger compact flash card. The provided 8Mb card only stores 20 photos in 1600x1200 compressed JPEG format. I purchased a Viking 64Mb card and can store almost 250 at the same resolution, a little over 100 in low compression and 90+ pictures in high-res interpolated mode (1984 x 1488 pixels).

I have heard some people complain about battery life. The 800 comes with 4 rechargeable NiMH batteries and charger but only uses 2, so you can always carry a charged set with you. One Sunday I shot nearly 250 pictures on one set of batteries, even using the LCD on a few occasions to check the how a picture came out.

The camera comes with all the cables you need, and though the USB conx is fast, I prefer using the PCMCIA adapter that came with my mem card. The software provided with the camera (Image Expert) detects when I insert the memory card in the laptop and flawlessly copies the pictures from the card to the local hard drive. VERY FAST!

If you can live without a zoom, and you want something very small, but with superb digital quality, I strongly recommend you look at the Epson PhotoPC 800 digital camera!