Customer Reviews

Eyemodule Digital Camera Springboard Module for Handspring Visor

5 star:		(24)
4 star:		(21)
3 star:		(8)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

The maximum resolution on this piece is 320x240 w/color, which is adequate for small web photos. The main qualm I have with this camera is that you cannot zoom at all. So for close up shots, you have to literally move close up. Not the ideal situation if you subject is far away. What the eyemodule has over other cameras is its size. You can carry it in your shirt pocket, and whip it out when you want to snap a picture. I like to carry a pair of AA batteries in the eyemodule pouch, since this sucker drains batteries pretty quickly. Email me if you want to see some real photographs using this thing (as opposed to the fluff on the eyemodule website)

320x240 is about the quality of the instant Polaroid cameras - not great, but more than adequate for quick snaps. The eyemodule is so small you can take it with you everywhere and take some photos you would otherwise miss. My 2-1/2 year old daughter loves it because she can see the pictures right away on the Visor screen. I print them out 6 or 8 to an 8.5x11 page and they look fine at that size. It's really a fun challenge to try to create a good photograph with that few pixels. I'm planning to create an online gallery of images soon. The time-lapse feature is a lot of fun - set it up and the camera will capture images at intervals you have set. Snapped into the Visor, it doesn't look like a camera, so you can take candid shots and no one even knows you are taking photos. Color images are about 190 KBytes each, so you will want the 8 MB version of the Visor. I can imagine real estate agents, insurance adjusters, salespeople, househunters, and anyone with kids will enjoy this cool little camera. My other digital camera is a Kodak DC260 with 1536x1024 resolution. The eyemodule is clearly no competition for it, but they both have a place and a purpose. The eyemodule is a fraction of the price, much smaller in size, and can grab a shot within a second of turning it on. Think of the eyemodule as a very small, more flexible digital alternative to Polaroids and you won't be disappointed. At over $1 a shot for Polaroids, the eyemodule will quickly pay for itself too.

I received my eyemodule last week and was really impressed with its small size and weight. I took a load of test pictures in Seattle over the weekend, but was not able to review them because the PC software that came with the unit would not install on my PC. I kept on getting "Conduit not found" errors part way through the install process.

I was finally able to get through to eyemodule technical support this evening and the support person had me uninstall all the Palm Desktop software from my PC and soft reset the Visor. After I reinstalled everything, the conduit worked and I was able to view my pictures on my PC.

My, what a disappointment! Even photos taken a few feet away were dark and indistinct unless the subject was in bright sun. Now I know the camera's limitations I can use it effectively: get as close as you can to subjects in bright light - then you'll get photos just about good enough to e-mail.

The eyemodule is great for candid photogbraphy - no one thinks you're taking a snapshot, just fiddling with a handheld. If only the quality were better.

I bought the Eyemodule right when it first came out. I was hoping for somewhat better quality than what was delivered. But after using it for a while, and seeing how handy the product is, I began to soften. Don't expect 3 megapixel quality. It's a springboard module, for goodness sake. It does EXACTLY what is says it will do. I've used it to take pictures of people I've just met at business meetings. I've take pictures of scribblings on white boards. All spur of the moment when no one has a bulky digital camera at the ready. For all those who hate the Eyemodule, I say: If you want super-duper quality, but a 3 megapixel digital camera. If you want spontaneous photography and fun, go for the Eyemodule. Enjoy. It's worth it.

Got the Eyemodule last week, and I do not work for the company, I simply thought it would be fun. It is FANTASTIC! Smaller than I had anticipated, it just clicks onto the Springboard slot, adding 0.5 cm to the end of the Visor and nearly no weight. I have read many of the review on here before buying, and they tend to make it sound only "so-so". It is great! On the hi res black and white setting, the pictures are wonderful quality, and when easily synched by the cradle into my full size PC (just like synching anything else on your Visor), taking only about 2 minutes for 10 pictures, they are 4 inches by 6 inches, bigger than any Polaroid, with truly nice quality! Grainy? A bit, but not much. The synching process is so easy. And I then can print them out on glossy photo printer paper, and cut em out and put them in a frame... they are that good!

Admittedly better for photos from 2-8 feet away, and in better light (ie. NOT good for panoramic views and vistas), the color photos are every bit worthy for sending by email to family and friends. I have sent many to show my son doing odd things, my new convertible car, my African Violets... you name it!

Bottom line: I was literally scared by some of the reviews below mentioning the picture quality being poor. But I do not at all think they are poor (makes me wonder if some of these reviewers had not set the camera on hi-resolution... on low res they are small and poor quality, that would be used more for documenting items, such as at an auction). On lo-res, it will hold 100s of photos. On color, it will hold 25 photos with 5kbs free, and that is plenty (as much as one long roll of film).

I have no complaints, the Visor with the Eyemodule still fits in my carrying case (I slide it in Eyemodule end first to protect the lens, which frankly should have had a lens cap), and I now have it wherever I go for instant pictures. And it is very discrete.. my wife wants to see photos of my new office staff, so... she will now get her wish!

Although ... pricey, it is a fun camera with much daily use! Think of it this way: 24 roll film, $3. Developing double prints, $7 = $10. Throw out all the bad shots (for me about 50% are bad lighting etc), which you will never have with the Eyemodule since you delete the bad ones immediately, and you have spent about 15% of the price of this camera to make one set of good prints the traditional way!

Carry it with you at all times, and enjoy! (Not at all a company endorsement).

The Eyemodule is exactly what the Amazon reviewer said: a toy. I have been looking for a good application for this device since I got it, and the most success I have had is in attracting people to gawk at it and say "cool." That's not a bad thing, but it gives you some idea about the quality of the photos it produces.

This device is not useful for recording any sort of detail whatsoever, as its images are grainy and very susceptable to motion blurring...so, no recording accident scenes or license plate numbers or UFOs that might be overhead. You'll be capable of making passable shots of persons in fun situations, but avoid close-ups and low-light circumstances; you'll see the grain of the images, and may pick up some interesting CCD flashes that mar your pics. A photo-retouching app will be necessary to make any of your images attactive enough for web display.

Oh, and kiss your battery life good-bye.

Overall, a neat thing, but one that could be implemented even better.

I really wanted this digital camera. I imagined myself taking pictures of friends indoors and always having a camera at my disposal. I suppose I was lost in the idea of having my handspring take pictures and overlooked the below. I should have known better.

Before you purchase beware:

1) Pictures are black and white. Pre-purchase, this seemed Ok because b/w pictures are classy. A digital black and white is not so suave - pictures look dark and are pixelated. Picture how the picture would LOOK on your Handspring LCD, that is how the pics look on the computer. not good. If it were color, it would be much better.

2) Poor quality pictures. This is the poorest quality digital camera I have ever used (I have used 4) It is "etch-a-sketch quality" - very low resolution. Feel like I am on receiving pictures from space. Exciting, but rediculous quality.

3) This thing eats batteries. Munch Munch Munch. 10 minutes of use tops and your batteries are gone. Drat. Remember, no rechargable batteries on our handsprings.

4) No flash. Digital cameras need a flash and lots of light. Indoor pics are horrible. Outdoor pictures turn out much better, but who brings their handspring on nature walks? I should have known better. For some reason, I assumed there was a flash.

So, with that said. I do still like the idea of having my digital camera take pictures. The idea is enough to win it a second star. But those desiring indoor pictures... do yourself a favor and wait until some improvements are made.

I got the Eyemodule for Xmas, and have had a blast with it... SO cool, and TINY. Talk about a SPY cam! You look as though you're looking up an address, or checking your calendar, while in reality, you're snapping away (the mind reels...)!

I have had little complaint with the image quality, but had no expectations due to the other reviews on here. I have done fine both outdoors and indoors, keeping things simple, well lit, and not closer than 2 feet. There are some jpeg artifacts and grainyness, but I have found that these are EASILY corrected in Photoshop, in one step, by applying the default blur filter (I have to do this with pics from my megapixel, too...). The images are small in size, and only 72dpi, so I feel they're only suitable for web/screen/email use (but isn't that where we're headed anyway?)

MAC users- despite what the Amazon review says, the CD now contains the software, without a download.

"Non-Deluxe" Visor users- if you have something large like Vindigo on board, there will be little memory left for pictures in a standard Visor. Each color shot takes up about 80k. I can only fit 4 in mine at a time. Time to upgrade to a Deluxe Visor, I guess!

My only complaint is that you can't put the protective face plate on the Visor with the Camera in place, and there doesn't seem to be a case that fits either, as they all utilize the locking "holes" to attach, which are obstructed by the Camera attachment, when it is in place. It's alot of off-and-on with the camera piece, which does come in a small protective pouch... but sort of defeats the spontineity factor.

I think this sort of add-on "coolness" is why we chose the rather bland Visor over the Palm family, in the first place. I recommend the Eyemodule highly, as it lives up to everything Palm computing is about: ease of use, simplicity, functionality... and it's just so darn cool!

I got the first EyeModule camera. It had bad reviews here but I still got it. It was junk. Now I have the new EyeModule2 from Block Products. It is excellent. I use it on my Handspring Platinum, the EyeModule2 does make me wish that I had the color Handspring Prism now. You plug in the camera and your ready to take photos and even make movies. It works better in low light than the other camera but it is not great in low light. With normal light it is a great camera. I got down low and took some color photos of ducks in 640 by 480 pixels size. Excellent images. I made a black and white mini-movie in 160 by 120 pixels size and posted it on my web site. People can view it with QuickTime. It has three image formats 640x480, 160x120 and mini-movies 160x120. I do wish it had 320x240 since I use that size on my web site all the time. But I just have a program, like ChillCam, resize the photos. So the size is not a problem. With my Handspring Platinum I can take 50 full size color images or 660 160x120 B&W images or 85 seconds of B&W movies. I did about a 25 second movie and the file size was very large. Not a problem if your just going to view it on your computer but if your doing it for a web site it will be a large download for people. The software that comes with the camera is excellent. I did not need to install the version of ACDSee (v1.0) that came with it since I already had 3.1 on my computer. I also did not install the EyeContact software that came with it. It will let you attach images to your address book. I can see were it could be a useful program. I wish I had it when I was working as a hospital security officer, I would have added a photo of all the people that I arrested and keep a record of all those that I gave trespassing notice. I take my Handspring with me all the time. Now I will have a camera with me at all times. It is super simple to get the photos from the Handpring to the computer. I just push the HotSyni button and it moves the images over as .jpg files and the movie as a QuickTime file. I love the EyeModule2 digital camera. I wish they had put this one out first. This should be a great summer. I should get some great photos now that I have a small camera with me all the time. Thanks HandSpring, thanks Blocks Products and thank you to Amazon.Com for great service.

Having the first Eyemodule was fun, but the pictures certainly couldn't be used for anything meaningful. Now along comes the Eyemodule2, and it is worth every penny! Using new compression techniques, you gain three major improvements over the original module: (1) You can store more photos than before; (2) the resolution (true 640x480) is 400% better than before; (3) the camera is also a mini-camcorder, recording a few minutes of digital motion (no sound)! Taking mini-movies and displaying them immediately after recording amazes people! When you sync up, the photos emerge as JPEG files, and the movies as Quicktime movies. The quality of the photos is great. Congratulations, Eyemodule2!