Customer Reviews

Vivitar Vivicam 3745 3.3MP Digital Camera w/ 3x Optical Zoom

5 star:		(1)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(5)

 

 

I researched this camera and couldn't find any reviews, but it had all of the options that I was looking for so I figured that for the price, it would be a good deal. (I was wrong.) This was my first digital camera and I was looking for something to supplement my 5-year old automatic Canon 35mm camera. I'm not a photography expert, so I just wanted something that was simple to use and took pictures that would be somewhat comparable to my Canon 35mm. (For the last 4 years I have been paying to have all of my 35mm pictures put on disks when I get them developed. My goal with going to a digital camera was to save money on developing by putting the pictures on a disk myself and only having the best pictures printed.)
Included in the package were digital photo editing software, the camera, a camera case, a lens cap, a wrist strap, a cord to connect the camera to your PC via a USB port, a cord to connect the camera to your TV via a RCA connection, and 4-AA alkaline batteries.
When you first turn on the camera, you have to enter the date and time, which was easy to do, but unfortunately, this had to be done every time that you changed the batteries (and I had to change the batteries often). The menus on the camera were easy to use and I liked the fact that in addition to the picture preview LCD screen on the back of the camera, the top of the camera had a small screen which displayed the image resolution, the number of remaining pictures that could be taken at that resolution, and the remaining battery life. If the indicator was correct, you could take around 140 pictures at the highest quality resolution on a 128 MB card. In addition to taking still photos, the camera also allows you to take video without sound in the Quicktime format (a 128 MB SD card will hold about five and a half minutes worth of video).
I owned this camera for a week and took about 150 different still pictures in various settings (inside, outside, and in various lighting) and about 12 different short videos.
All of the still pictures, regardless of the lighting, were dark and pixelated looking. The videos were somewhat pixelated, but they seemed to be of better quality than the still pictures. (I expected a degree of pixelization on the videos. After all, this is a still camera and the ability to shoot video is a nice bonus, but not the real purpose of the camera.)
When my first few pictures came out somewhat pixelated, I thought that maybe I was using the wrong image resolution setting, but that wasn't the case and no matter which image resolution setting I used, my pictures were dark and pixelated.
The camera's built in flash didn't seem to make any difference in the picture quality. I took a number of pictures at night in my living room (a room that is around 15 X 20 feet). Regardless of whether the flash was used or not, my pictures were dark and pixelated.
I thought that maybe the pictures would be better once I downloaded them onto my PC. I hooked the camera up to my PC via a USB port. Downloading pictures from the camera to the PC was quick and didn't require any special software (my operating system is Windows ME). But the picture quality only appeared worse on my PC.
The included photo editing software was adequate (very similar to most of the other photo editing software out there), but nothing to get excited about. I tried editing and improving my photos using the included software, Microsoft Picture It, and Kodak Easyshare. No matter which program I used, my pictures were dark and pixelated and nothing seemed to improve them.
Hooking the camera up to my 32-inch TV's RCA connector in order to view pictures on the TV was easy to accomplish, but something seemed to cause interference and in addition to being dark and pixelated, the pictures when viewed on the TV also looked "fuzzy" and would fade in and out.
The 4-AA alkaline batteries that came with the camera lasted about 20 pictures. I changed to rechargeable Ni-MH batteries and could take about 30 pictures prior to having to change batteries (and thus having to re-enter the date and time with each battery change).
The shutter button was very unresponsive at times. I sometimes had trouble knowing whether or not I had taken a picture and had to stop and use the review function in order to see if I had gotten the shot. When taking video, you use the shutter button to start and stop the video, but sometimes I had to push the button 5 or 6 times before I could get it to start or stop the video. Other times the camera would lock up when switching between video and still picture modes and the only way I could get the camera to work again was to take out the batteries (and then I had to re-enter the date and time).
After a week I had had enough and returned this camera. I learned an important lesson about buying a cheap camera (you usually get what you pay for). The sad thing about the Vivitar 3745 is that I really liked the layout of the camera. The functions were very intuitive. Less than a minute after taking it out of the box, I was taking pictures and I quickly figured out the majority of the functions before opening the manual latter that night. Unfortunately, all of the pictures that I took using the Vivitar 3745 weren't very good and nothing I did seemed to improve their quality.
To replace this camera, I bought a Kodak 6340, and I couldn't be happier with it.

I bought this camera because it was marked down as an open-box item. This is my first digital camera. After I got home with my new purchase, I read the previous user reviews and my heart sunk.

This camera works best with a set of high capacity Ni-MH batteries. This is clearly stated in the Vivitar web site. So equipped, the camera takes fine pictures. The controls are simple to learn and use. The delay from power-on to "ready" is about 3 seconds, it takes about a second to focus and process a scene; both are short by digital camera standards. The software is easy to install and performed flawlessly on my Windows ME machine. When the batteries are low, the camera may hehave sluggishly or turn itself off unexpectedly. With good batteries, it performed flawlessly.

You do not -- repeat: NOT -- have to re-enter the date & time each time you change batteries. I don't know what the previous reviewer is talking about. The pictures are fine. There is a web site which has test shots from nearly every camera ever made. Go there and check out this camera's pictures. I don't want to keep harping on the previous reviews, but he/she definitely left erroneous impressions. Not only that, he/she also gave the same (erroneous) reviews at other sites, making me suspect a personal agenda.

Check out this camera for yourself. Vivitar has made decent and affordable cameras for decades. Vivitar may not have the cachet generated by expensive advertisements and endorsements, but its products are solid. This is a good camera for the money.

I purchased this camera on Fry's Electronics. For $99 .
Pros: Cheap. Easy to use.
1) 16 MB SD card included ;
2) USB port and software for easy transfer pictures to your PC ; 3) 3.5mm jack to RCA video out for you to view direct Camera Picture to your TV .
4) Camera with full Auto focus came with 3X digital, 2X analog zoom.
5) 1.5 LCD screen on the back of the camera for easy monitor your picture .
6) Auto Flash for eliminate red eyes .
7) The camera also allows you to take 1 minute video without sound in with the Internal 16 MB SD Card in Quicktime format.
8) If you don't want to spend money for the Battery eating Camera , this 6 Volt Input is easy to use with Power supply adapter for Indoor use (easy to find this kind of 6 Volt Adapter 1000mA in the Market compare to other Camera jack only 3 Volt . This 6 Volt Adapter is very useful , For OutDoor use, I bought the Input Jack at the Radioshack store and connect to the 6 Volt lantern battery 10 Ah (cost $2.5 at WalMart) thru 2 small wires, You could take up to 100 Pictures , this could save your $$$ for the 4 AA Battery that won't last for 20 pictures . You could find an 6 Volt rechargeable Battery to use as your Camera's power source is the best . Remember all Digital Cameras are Battery Eating .
9) Picture is ok, about 85%-90% compares to other expensive Camera at 3.3MP.

Cons:
1) 4 AA Batteries won't last for 20 Still Pictures if you use the LCD , with the LCD turn off you could take up to 85 Pictures.
2) The Video movie look fuzzily like an old-time 8 millimeter Camera ( This only extra Bonus for still Camera ).
3) Picture little darken compare to expensive camera but it OK for me , I could fix this (Brighter) in 3 seconds with VuePro software or other software that included with the ViVitar 3745 Package .

with trepidation i took the step going from a 35mm cannon eos with multiple lenses to this.

the lcd screen washes out in bright daylight and the optical viewer is not totally accurate. you need to practice using it to establish the picture zone. holding such a small camera takes some getting use to. only a few times would the shutter not release and this may be to my inexperience and the camera's need to recycle for the next shot. so far, these are the only negatives i have.

battery life is excellent using 2300ma metal hydride rechargeables. at the highest resolution a 256mg sd card holds over 250 pictures. picture quality at the automatic setting has surprised me as being excellent. this is basically a point and shoot unit.although manual settings are available i have not even bothered to try them.

overall, this is a very good unity and will be handed down to a family member. this has convinced me digital photography is here to stay & now i want to get a camera with a 10x optical zoom lens.

This is my 1st digital camera. After trying and using several at work, Cannon, Sony, Olympus, I thought I was a genius for getting similar specifications at a discount price. oooops!!
At times the camera is fine, turn on, let it buzz, point, wait, shoot. Other times, forget it. No picture. No way, nothing will let the shutter snap. In broad daylight. Useless for action pics. Useless for important shots, as you never know when it will function properly. Also, it will not recognize some media cards, and it randomly stores images on the built in or the card memeory. Again, no logic. I say pay a few more $ and get a Fuji, Olympus or Sony.

My daughter just turned 10 but has always expressed an interest in photography. I have a very good digital camera and have let her take a few pictures with it in the past, and although she takes a great picture, I always worry about her dropping my camera and smashining it to peices. I decided to buy her a digital camera for her 10th birthday because she is very responsible, but I didn't want to pay a lot of money because after all she is only 10. I was suprised at how good the quailty of the pictures were, plus it is so easy to use...in fact, my daughter read the instructions by herself and actually set it up with no help. I also like the fact that it takes regular batteries, because with kids they never tell you something needs recharging until it is too late. The 3.3 mp is great because at the age of 10 I don't think we will blow up pictures larger than 8x10, and the quailty is still great. One downside is it is a little heavier than I thought it would be, but on the plus side, at least it won't be easy to lose. (It's not really heavy, but in today's world where everything is downsized, it is not the size of a micro-chip either). I was annoyed with 35mm cameras where I spent so much money on developing pictures, and not even knowing what I was in for until after I paid for developing. Sometimes my daughter would find a pretty rock she liked and she would snap away. With a digital camera, not only do I have the option to download only the pictures we like, but I also have the option to delete pictures that didn't turn out well. Overall, this is a great 1st camera and I would even buy it to have as a spare 2nd camera.

I was never able to use it. It was brand new when I bought. The dawn thing just turned on/off when it wanted to. I quest this was a bad experience. Good luck to who bought this same model camera.

I didn't get the results that I expected that why I am returing.

the card works great. Good quality for the price.

I am not happy at all with my new camera. Easy to use but the quality of the image is quite low. Sometimes the commands are not responding at the first push button.

Add more money and try something else.