SiPix StyleCam Blink Digital Camera

Other products by SiPix

Product Details

Product Manual [652kb PDF]

• Product Dimensions: 0.6 x 2 x 2 inches ; 1.4 ounces
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds
• Shipping: Currently, item can be shipped only within the U.S.
• ASIN: B0000691LX
• Item model number: D220D0
• Batteries: 1 AAA batteries required. (included)
• Average Customer Review: 2.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (61 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #8,818 in Camera & Photo (See Bestsellers in Camera & Photo)
• Discontinued by manufacturer: Yes
• Date first available at Amazon.com: June 2, 2002

Product Description

Amazon.com Review

Squarely aimed at the family, the SiPix StyleCam Blink is a digital camera that is both compact and easy to use. With its simple point-and-click operation, multiple modes (including two resolutions and continuous shoot), and a stack of bundled software, the Blink sets new standards in digital imaging on a budget.

The StyleCam Blink is a compact digital camera that offers resolutions of 640 x 480 and 320 x 240, allowing for up to 400 images on its internal 8 MB memory when shooting at the lower setting. The installation process is very straightforward: install the drivers, reboot the machine, and then plug the camera into a spare USB port.

The camera itself is very easy to use, with all of the features accessible by the press of a single button. The small LCD window shows the camera mode and options available as well as the number of images taken. The Blink can take still images, of course, and a series of 100 images that can be stitched together to make a short video clip. Also, the camera can be used as a Webcam.

The images produced are sharp and clear and very acceptable considering the size and price of the camera. Our only criticism is the slight shutter lag of about half a second; it becomes annoying if you want to picture moving objects. If you're capturing still life or using the camera as a Webcam, this will be irrelevant.

The manufacturers clearly thought about their target audience when packaging the software with the camera. The unit comes with a range of six software titles, including ArcSoft's PhotoImpression and PhotoFantasy 2000. The software is fun and very easy to use. Simply transfer the images from your camera onto your computer via PhotoImpression and then edit them to your heart's content. For those of you wanting to have a bit of fun with family members, PhotoFantasy 2000 gives you the chance to place someone's head on another body. Again, this is very easy to do and is a lot of fun. Other software included is VideoImpression, a basic video-editing package and some Webcam software.

The Blink won't win any awards for image quality, but for how much it costs, you wouldn't expect it to. It does, however, offer better-quality images than its competitors. The ability to store up to 400 images on the 8 MB memory is a real bonus. It's a great little camera, given how little it costs, and the bundled software will keep kids of all ages amused for a good few hours. --Martin Snelling

Product Description

Ultra-compact and lightweight, the SiPix StyleCam Blink is the go-everywhere digital camera. Use the neck strap to carry the camera around your neck or clip it to your belt-loop or backpack with the included swivel clip. The StyleCam Blink is a digital camera, streaming video camera, USB video camera, and video conferencing camera all in one. Featuring the Streaming Snapshot mode, the StyleCam Blink can rapidly capture up to 100 images. With these streaming snapshots and the included software, you can easily create your own AVI video clips. Share your exciting video clips with family and friends via email or share them on the Web using the included Inetcam iVISTA software. The StyleCam Blink includes a premium software package that makes photo editing, enhancing, and sharing a fun experience. Take the images into ArcSoft PhotoImpression to retouch, add special effects, make calendars, greeting cards, and print your photos with ease. Use PhotoMontage to turn your last family reunion's photo into a "montage" - creating a single image out of thousands of micro-images. Transfer a regular picture of yourself into a superstar photo with PhotoFantasy and create fun projects. Produce and edit video clips with VideoImpression and then share them on the Internet using Inetcam's iVISTA software. You can also stream the continuous snapshots with SiPix AVI Maker to produce home videos, and share them on the Web.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

89 of 98 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Fun Per Dollar is Five Stars PLUS, July 25, 2002

By	A Customer (Washington, DC United States) - See all my reviews

The soda-cracker sized wonder not only fits within my shirt pocket, it leaves room for three pens, an envelope, a folded piece of typing paper and half a dozen 3x5 cards. And the picture quality, even compared to the full range if sub-$1000 digital cameras, is reliable and good at 640x480 resolution.

It is always with me. Remember that face you saw on the subway that was like an epic novel, or that serendipitous combination of advertising sign and pedestrian, and wished you had a camera? Now you can.

One important suggestion: the latency period between pressing the shutter release and hearing the beep to indicate the picture has taken is the better part of a second and, because the lens is tiny, the exposure time is long. So hold the camera very, very steady. Then shout your surprise when you first see on your computer screen how well [this]camera serves you.

Rating: Quality per dollar and fun per dollar are both five star-plus.

28 of 28 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Not Quite the perfect Take along, October 22, 2002

By	Keith Aspinall (Newton, MA United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This is a fascinating little product - carry it in your pocket without any weight. I love carrying it along to kids games, and the kids want ones of their own.

It has a few drawbacks, however. Some expected, some that need fixing in the next generation.

The expected (but still a little disappointing)
- limited focal length lens means that elements outside the very center of the picture are blurred (barrel distortion)
- No flash for low light situtions

The real problem:
- it loses your pictures when the battery drains down, i.e. its memory is volatile. Flash memory is so cheap, why did the designers make this choice?
- There is no early warning, actually no warning at all when the battery is too low. In fact if the battery gets low it will still take pictures as normal, then it freezes up, and all your pictures are gone.

Caveat emptor here - a great product in so many ways, but make sure you replace the batteries early i.e. Every 50 shots or so. Its not a cost issue, but you will lose your pictures beyond hope for recovery, even though the camera seems to continue to act normally.

22 of 22 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Great little camera with two acceptable flaws, August 9, 2002

By	Nobleman "nobleman" (Gulfport, MS) - See all my reviews

As a Minox fan and owner since 1969 and gadget lover, I was eager to see how this much-touted little gem worked. I first did a lot of research reading data and reviews. BOTTOM LINE PREPURCHASE INFO: No other beginners camera even comes close to the quality of photograph and accompanying software. Having bought two fancy digital cameras for family and friends and a Panasonic Palmcorder with good digital camera inside it, I am well aware of imaging software. ...P>PERFORMANCE: The little camera performed as expected. Operation was simple with two buttons and good menu and LCD menu indicator, photos reasonably sharp given the tiny size, and the accompanaying software superbly usable. It even came with a Duracell AAA battery, a detail no other review noted, but to me connoting a note of quality and not tyring to cheap out every which way. As a webcam, I looked at the images produced, and they were typically sub-mediocre but also in line with webcams of this price. Indoor shots are a bit fuzzy, but my son took a great panorama shot in a seminar room of me giving a seminar, which I easily stitched into a broad panorama with the included software. By the way, one review I read was dead wrong: The delayed beep does not indicate when the photo exposure starts; rather, the delayed beep indicates when the photo exposure stops, which inside in dim light is a couple seconds.

TWO FLAWS: First, I almost sent the camera back, because the image gets a bit blurred around all the edges. Then I looked up photos posted on the British Amazon site and elsewhere, and they were the same way. This I can live with. Second and more serious, the battery drains disturbingly rapidly when you're storing a lot of pictures. For two weeks I had no trouble, but last weekend I went on a trip, took perhaps 30 pictures, and the battery drained in less than two days, leaving me with three photos only. This problem has been noted in other reviews, but I can live with it also. However, if you take a lot of photos, download soon. I have yet to experiment systematically with it, but I changed the battery quickly with those three pictures, and they were still there after changing the battery, whereas the instructions say you will lose pictures when you change batteries. There may be some mechanism that allows you a socond to change batteries and not lose your photos.

...P>CONCLUSION: The SiPix Blink is the first camera ever that allows the general public to experience what (subminiature camera) Minox owners have enjoyed for decades: A camera you can and ACTUALLY WILL take anywhere that takes decent pictures. SiPix is currently a price performance breakthrough, throughly fun, and a great affordable way to get into digital. Not bad for insurance purposes too. As for me, I'll use mine a lot, but I'll still carry my Minox B, the last of the Minox cameras needing no batteries.

Jim