Toshiba PDR-M71 3MP Digital Camera w/ 2.8x Optical Zoom

by Toshiba

Product Details

Product Manual [4.49mb PDF]

• Product Dimensions: 1.8 x 4.2 x 2.8 inches ; 8.5 ounces
• Shipping Weight: 2 pounds
• Shipping: This item is also available for shipping to select countries outside the U.S.
• ASIN: B000060JYU
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #58,491 in Camera & Photo (See Top 100 in Camera & Photo)
• Discontinued by manufacturer: Yes
• Date first available at Amazon.com: February 18, 2002

Product Description

Amazon.com Product Description

Toshiba's high-peformance PDR-M71 digital camera combines 3-megapixel clarity with an optical zoom lens and a full complement of features, making it a great choice for both beginners and advanced amateur photographers.

For photographers who want to do more than just point and shoot, the camera offers numerous advanced settings, including aperture- and shutter-priority modes, shutter speeds as slow as 15 seconds, a multimode flash, adjustable white balance, exposure compensation, and macro (for objects as little as four inches from the lens). Shots can be captured in black and white, sepia, vivid color, or standard color.

For power, the camera uses four AA batteries or an optional AC adapter. The big benefit to using standard AA batteries instead of a custom proprietary battery is that AA batteries are available virtually everywhere in the world, so missing a once-in-a-lifetime shot due to dead batteries won't be an issue. The downside is that a digital camera will kill a set of alkaline batteries extremely quickly, especially if you're using the camera's LCD display. If you're an occasional photographer, you can get by with high-power disposables, but if you plan to take more than a handful of photos a month, a set of rechargeable batteries (scroll up to the Accessories section) is a virtual necessity.

To compose your image, either look through the traditional viewfinder or use the 1.5-inch color LCD display on the back of the camera. Pictures are stored on SmartMedia cards. The included 8 MB card holds nine images at the camera's default setting or six images in the highest-quality (least compressed) setting. The card is reusable, but if you're hoping to take more photos before returning to your computer to transfer the images, you'll want a larger SmartMedia card.

In addition to its 2.8x optical zoom, the camera includes an additional 2.2x digital zoom. This feature merely crops the edges off your picture and blows up the remaining image, enlarging your picture at the expense of image quality. Most photo-editing software will let you do the same thing to your picture once you've transferred it to your home computer, so it's a camera feature that's not often used.

Movie mode captures movie clips at resolutions of 320 x 240 or 160 x 120 pixels. This feature won't replace your camcorder, but it's perfect for when you just want to capture a quick movie and e-mail it to a friend or relative.

A video-out feature makes it easy to show your pictures in big-screen glory. Just connect your camera to your TV with the included cable to give a virtual slide show to friends or family. If you think your photos look impressive on a 17-inch computer monitor, just wait until you see them on a 27-inch TV screen.

The camera's 3-megapixel sensor captures enough detail for sharp prints, even at 11 by 14 inches. If you frequently use the digital zoom, print 11-by-14-inch prints, or crop your photos, you may want the even-higher resolution of the 4-megapixel (but otherwise very similar) Toshiba PDR-M81.

The PDR-M71 comes with Image Expert software, an 8 MB SmartMedia card, video and USB cables, shoulder strap, camera case, lens cap, and 4 AA alkaline batteries. The camera is covered by a one-year warranty.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Easy to use, February 28, 2002

By 

"jleno" (Alabama, United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Toshiba PDR-M71 3MP Digital Camera w/ 2.8x Optical Zoom (Electronics)

This is my first digital camera and not sure if I want to give up my 35mm yet. This camera's body is cheaper than most of the cameras I researched. I bought an Olympus 3020 and took it back because no hook up to TV, no sound on movie mode, and it cost too much to not have those things on it. The Olympus actually took clearer pictures and really good color. The Toshiba M71 is okay with pictures. It has a little pink tinting and not exactly right on pictures I have taken so far. The video is with sound and pretty good quality.I've only had it a couple of weeks. I am also using it at the highest resolution so I don't think I will be happy at the lower settings for picture taking. Remember also to take the lens cover off before turning on for picture taking or the lens will not come out. Easy hookup for downloading pictures to computer!
Bottom Line-You get what you pay for! I saved... by buying Toshiba.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Unforgivable support and service policies, January 2, 2004

By A Customer

This review is from: Toshiba PDR-M71 3MP Digital Camera w/ 2.8x Optical Zoom (Electronics)

I've had this camera for almost 2 years. Although it has never really perfomed as well as I'd hoped, the biggest complaint is in their support.

My camera was working just fine (besides a complaint of poor auto-focus since day one). Following Toshiba's recomendations and instructions posted on their website I downloaded and attempted to install a firmware upgrade (1.06A).

The "upgrade" managed to WIPE out all of my camera's operating system. So now I have an useless camera, and because the warranty expired after 12 months, Toshiba won't give me any help except to tell me to send my camera to Bensonville Illinois. ... A good consumer aware company should provide some sort of consideration for the fact that their recomended update is what damaged my camera.

Before this fiasco, I have always had issue with the quality of "auto-focused" shots. Bottom line is: even when making absolutely sure that the object that you want in focus is in the center of the viewfinder when pressing the button down half way before taking the shot-- it is a miracle if the shot comes out focused properly. I have borrowed other camers (specifically elf and minolta) and they are MUCH more likely to return sharper images.)

I have a Toshiba TV and DVD which work fine, but Toshiba has managed to squash my goodwill with this incident. In my opinion it is a very short-sided business strategy.

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Good Value, March 11, 2002

By A Customer

This review is from: Toshiba PDR-M71 3MP Digital Camera w/ 2.8x Optical Zoom (Electronics)

The Good: 2.8 Optical lens, 3.1 Mpixels, plenty of manual controls, good price point, 3 jpeg compression options.

The bad: I would prefer compact flash over smartmedia. The manual lens cover is a little annoying. The battery door seems flimsy. The battery life is mediocre compared to other brands. It would be nice to have more resolution options (like a 1024x1200 and 1200x1600 option).

I give it five stars for solid overall value, no major drawbacks.