Customer Reviews

Kodak MC3 16 MB Portable 0.08 MP Digital Camera/Camcorder and MP3 Player

5 star:		(12)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

Kodak mc3: Versatile and Inexpensive Gadget

It's small, light, and rugged -- I take it everywhere -- school, the mall, vacation, hiking.

I've used it for: mp3s on a airplane, videos of fish while waist deep in the ocean, videos while sledding/snowboarding -- even duct taped it to a friends model airplane and flew it around -- (cool movie)!

Pictures: they look good if taken outdoors, or with some daylight -- (the lack of a flash is a clue to use mc3 mostly outdoors).

Video: it got two quality settings -- one is great if you've got a lot of motion and detail. The other is if you want small files (for email) or you want LONG (minutes) movies. The length of a movie clip is limited to the amount of free space on the card. Files are QuickTime -- but the software can change them to .avi. (HINT: buy the video cable -- and recorded your videos to VHS tape.)

mp3: has played 8 to 256 kbps mp3s; it has equalizer/repeat/shuffle; it displays title/artist/album info. Comes with a ripper and player software (RealJukebox for PCs; MusicMatch for Mac). Nice that it doesn't encrypt the mp3 file. (Comes w/ earbuds -- but I like the speaker. (Earbuds are nice for mp3s on the pc.))

Software: I've got both mac and pcs -- it was easy to install on both. Was able to get stuff on/off easy -- but I like the explorer window more than the mac. The picture and video editing programs are very cool! Go google search for "allan harris 1180 WHAM" for some videos a radio station has done using the mc3 product.

Three Comments: 1st -- you're going to use this A LOT -- go buy rechargeable batteries (two sets). (Although alkalines are handy when away from the charger.) 2nd -- Compact Flash Cards -- Big cards hold more, but cost more. What I do for a day is carry a 32MB card (w/ music) and three 8MB cards (for videos/pictures). Upload often. Or buy more cards. 3rd -- No light comes from the display, it is just a reflection. The display quality is like a good color display PDA. Pluses -- It's MUCH easier to see the display outdoors in direct sun light vs other camera displays -- and it's MUCH easier on the batteries. Minus -- It's harder to see it indoors -- but I think it is useable. (FYI: I've noticed that indoor pictures look better on the pc, than on the mc3 display.)

Summary: I love it! Simple controls -- my five year old uses it to take pictures and play music ("Sesame Street" on the airplane). I carry with me in a pack or by the wrist strap listening to mp3s all the time. When I want a picture or video, mc3 is there. Expensive cameras and video equipment are for special occasions -- the mc3 is for my every day stuff.

Punch Line: Simple, fun, easy, rugged, versatile, and inexpensive. Simple Elegance.

I bought the mc3 primarily because I needed a video camera. It is excellent. I originally thought that the funtions were going to be so-so but I thought wrong. The mp3 player is excellent. The sound is CD-quality. It is excellent and it is LOUD. It hurts to turn it on full with the earbuds in. They are not the greatest but those are easily replaceable. The display tells you how many songs you have and the artist and album name. There are 5 equalizers. The software was fairly simple to setup and it may be a little difficult for people who are not used to computers to run it. It is very quick to load and easy to change songs. The camera does not have the greatest quality and no flash, but it works if you have lights on indoors. I have a standard 35mm camera for important occasions and most pictures. The digital camera is purely for fun and fast pictures. The video camera is excellent. It records really well. Overall it is excellent. The software is easy to install and use and it does not freeze up the computer. I had mp3's downloaded about 15 mins after I opened the box.(It would have been 10 but I had trouble finding my USB port). When you hook up the camera it automatically searches for new pictures and videos. It is incredibly easy to use and it is small and lightweight, easy to fit in my purse or pocket. The included wriststrap is useful for carrying it while listening to music.There are two pitfalls 1.The memory card included at 16 mbs holds NOTHING so it will be expensive to buy another. I suggest buy a huge one and then you won't have to change it. The other pitfall is no flash. But that is not as big of a deal as I thought. As all other battery-operated products on the market, it sucks the power like nothing. I suggest rechargables. All in all it is a really really portable all-in-one multimedia player.

I bought this camera primarily for its mp3 and video capabilities. I already had a digital camera and its a good thing. The picture quality of the MC3 is very poor, so I use my other camera for photos. However, the movie capability is fun, though of relatively poor quality. I found that it's not worth using the mp3 player because, in order to download songs onto the camera, you have to use a complicated program. In addition, sufficient memory is too expensive to deal with. It would have been worth the extra money if Kodak had offered a flash--the camera is worthless inside or in low light. Two good points of the MC3 are its ease of use and its small size. But, that's about it. If you are considering purchasing the MC3 to take photos or play mp3's, don't waste your money. If you want a cheap digital video camera that just so happens to play mp3's and take pictures, you might want to purchase the MC3. But, I would look into other cameras before I would make the purchase.

I just received the product, and it is GREAT. There are a few drawbacks, like no flash, and no low light quality, but it is more than adequate if used for what it is designed.

If you want professional quality photographs, this is not the camera for you, you need a mega-pixel camera that looks like an SLR. However, if you are someone who would use a Kodak 110 camera, or an old 8mm Brownie camera, with their small format film, and don't want to lug around a ton of equipment, this is the camera for you. I never thought I could have a camera that fits in my shirt pocket, yet take movies with it. It takes much better pictures than I thought it would when I ordered it.

We needed a camera to take on offroad Jeep adventures (Tellico, Windrock ATV, and others), and this little camera exactly fits that bill. You will need to order a new compact flash card, as the 16 meg does not hold much. I would suggest getting the largest you can afford. I already had a 128MB one.

I have not tried using it as an MP3 player, but if it is as good as it is a movie and still camera, I am sure I will be pleased.

I actually wanted a camcorder, MP3 player, and a digital camera. When I found this camera at about the same price as just a regular MP3 player, I figured I would try it and even if I only used it for MP3s it would be worth the price. But I'm extremely glad I bought it! The imaging isn't that great in low-light, but video seems to do better than stills. I love to record all the stuff I do, and the videos make for great personal memories that I can easily store on a CD. This camera is just plain FUN!

It's not for anything professional, it's for day to day use. If that's what you're looking for this device should live up to your expectations.

Good price for a MP3 player, and a quick time movie maker.

I got one for playing with Internet. It's so good so far. Not only it's so easy to handle to make a quick time movie, but also a good MP3.

For sure, this toy give you lots of fun.

One thing you may consider that is not so good for shoot a pic, but your pic is for computer using only, it's still OK.

Just bought this dynamic digi cam few days ago. I love it. I take it everywhere for either taking pics or shooting movies. Its compact design and fresh looks makes me love it even more. The best part is with the price you pay, you get the entire digi cam, digi movie cam, mp3 player and LCD screen functions in one. Can't beat it. Although the resolution is not that good, but it fits perfectly for me since I send pics to my friends all the time via e-mail. The cons - it's impossible to take the pic in dark since mc3 doesn't include the flash light. However, I am still able to take pics if I turn lights on in my room. Well, about the file transfer from your mc3 to the pc, it's faster then I expected. Download all 16 MB of information via USB cable only within 30 sec. (I didn't count it but it seems less then that) In conclution; this is something you defiantly needed if you are looking for FUN. I recommend that you buy a larger CF card if you plan to take a long vacation.

I've owned a Kodak mc3 for 2 years. It is easy to use and perfect for someone with a small budget. It is compact, durable, and multifunctional. The picture quality is terrible, but if you dont plan on printing high quality photos (like me) you will find that this leads to smaller file sizes. I use this camera extensively for my websites. dont buy it if you olan on printing a lot of pictures.

Pros:
inexpensive
small file size
small
durable

Cons:
poor resolution

if your looking for an inexpensive, reliable camera for online or screen viewing, this is the camera for you.

They should call this the MC1 because it's only useful as a camcorder. As a camcorder that is $120, it gets 5 stars. Everything else out there that is <$200 are ALL 10 frames per second. They claim to be cool but are extremely choppy and look like web cams. A TV is 30fps, movie theaters are 24fps and the MC3 is 20fps. Not perfect buy light years ahead of everything else. Yes it has other problems but nothing that the exact other brands don't have too. Face it; this is the best camcorder you are going to get for <$200. If you like choppy web cam action it will record in 10fps and give you 4X more recording. A 16mb card (included) will give you 1:17min @ 20fps, and a 256mb card will give you 20:06min @20fps. You should buy a 256mb card ($60 ebay) and at least 6 rechargeable AAA batteries + recharger ($25) I've spent days trying to find something better than this and still can't. This is the best of a the junk that is out there. If that means anything.

The only reason I got this little gadget was it's ability to do motion captures at 20fps. Unfortunately, it really only works in well-lit areas, even though the audio capture is surprisingly good. MP3 works well and image capture is mediocre to bad. But for all these features at under [money], it's actually quite a bargain.