I've had my Kodak MC3 for about 2 weeks now, and I've got mixed opinions. On the positive side:1) Music performace: The MC3 does an excellent job of playing MP3's, especially if you upgrade to a 128 MB card so you can store lots of 'em!
2) Video Quality: When set on best (30 fps) quality, the video is greatvery smooth and clear, provided you have good lighting (more on this in a minute). While it does take up a large amount of memory, it's worth it.
3) Outdoor Daylight Pictures: The picture quality in excellent lighting (ie outdoors on a sunny day, etc) is fantastic 4) Ease of Use: The MC3 is idiot proofvery simple to use, install, etc...
But the negatives:
1) Pictures in less than perfect light: If you want to take pictures indoors without bright lights, at night, or in any other situation where the lighting is a bit dim, get another camera. This is my biggest dissapointment with the camera. There's no flash, so trying to capture anything that's a bit dark or unevenly lit is an exercise in futility.
2) LCD Screen: While it is often sufficient, the screen can be difficult to see alot of the time.
Overall, this is a great little toy for taking outdoor pictures while listening to music, and even making the occaisional video clips. Just make sure you can live with the limitations caused by the lack of a flash.
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.
Buy Kodak MC3 64 MB Portable Digital Camera/Camcorder and MP3 Player Now
I was shoppping around for an mp3 player when i stumbled on this item. It was pretty much a no-brainer. For pretty much the same price as a higher-end mp3 player, you also get a video recorder and a camera.It's real easy to set up on the computer and to transfer files. just put in the cd rom and install the mc3 software. once you plug in the usb connector (which comes with it), your computer should automatically read the mc3 player. to transfer files, load up windows explorer and copy and paste files into the mc3 drive (it will have its own letter, like the c drive, itll probably be labeled the E or F drive)
The mc3 actually plays mp3 files, unlike the sony players that require you to convert mp3 files into sony's own format. and the sound quality is pretty good. The camera and video recorder are cool, but its pretty hard to see what youre recording if you're indoors. but once you transfer the file to the computer, it looks better.
Another good thing is the size of the player. it's smaller than i thought it would be.
this product would be perfect if it came with a lithium ion battery. but i guess just spend the extra money and buy rechargeables, especially if you're going to be recording videos a lot.
Read Best Reviews of Kodak MC3 64 MB Portable Digital Camera/Camcorder and MP3 Player Here
I just bought the camera and I realize that it has no flash. The opportunity cost of having mp3, video and pictures at 300 hundred bucks is that the camera just work in daylight so if you are planning to take pictures at night forget about it.Want Kodak MC3 64 MB Portable Digital Camera/Camcorder and MP3 Player Discount?
And I am absolutely in love with the versatility found in Kodak's MC3 pocket multimedia device. The fact that it's an mp3 player, and a camera, and a camcorder all rolled into one device, and one that can actually fit in your pocket sounds outlandish and so very cool all at the same time. That's why I found it so unfortunate that too many reviewers didn't read the camera's spec sheet (i.e. limitations) closely enough before they purchased and therefore may have been bowled over by the hype.Keep in mind that a decent, middle-of-the-pack digital camera is going to cost at least $200. A decent, middle-of-the-pack DV camcorder is going to cost at least $500 and an mp3 player is going to set you back at least another $100. So, to think that the MC3 at under $300 would be able to perform the functions of the previously mentioned items in an all-in-one device is asking a lot.
But what is amazing about the MC3 is how well it does perform given its limitations. This is a device designed with internet communications truly in mind. It's a lifestyle toy, not a serious tool. However, with the right expectations, it will be very enjoyable.
Here are some additional pointers:
It seems as though a number of reviewers have had problems with Me and XP. Consider not installing any of the bundled software except for QuickTime (since it's the only way you will be able to view your video clips).
Instead consider a compact flash card reader or if you are a laptop owner, a compact flash adapter. This will allow you the ability to drag and drop music, pictures and video. All the images are in JPEG format and can be edited using other 3rd party software such as Adobe PhotoShop or PhotoDeluxe. There are also a number of free photo touching software packages out there.
The same holds true for mp3 creation. There are a number of solutions for creating mp3 files, many of which can be found for free. You might already have mp3 creation software on your computer right now.
Many of you non-Macintosh owners might even have QuickTime already installed on your computers while not realizing it. Search your drive for QuickTime and see what you find. And while on the subject of videos, consider a download of Real Media's Real Producer. You will be able to take your QuickTime encoded video and shrink the file size even more for better distribution across the Internet.
Finally, while I have not done so myself, consider a tiny Maglite or equivalent flashlight for indoor picture taking. I know it sounds hokey, but considering that the light from emitted from these devices is quite intense, you might find that the light is almost equivalent to a camera's flash. Like the compact flash reader, these are added costs, but since they both have other uses outside of the MC3, they might be wise investments.
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