Intel Pocket PC Camera, CS-630

I wasn't ready to take the leap and get a mega-pixel camera because of the cost and the fact that 90% of the time I would just shrink the pictures down to post on the web anyway.

For what it is, it's pretty good. It's a nice webcam for connecting directly to your PC. It's a convenient camera to carry around with you and take lots of reasonably good pictures. The software that comes with it is nice and works from within my image editing software so I can download, edit, and save very easily. The size is just right for slipping in a pocket and it's survived a number of minor drops intact. This is definitely not a high-end camera, but if you just want something to take pictures to post on the web and work as a direct-connect webcam it's a good deal. Battery life is good and it uses Alkaline batteries. I'd rather have the option of rechargable batteries charged via the USB cable, but that isn't available. The one thing that really bothers me is the button. It's kind of hard to push down and when it finally gives, it tends to jerk the camera a little. If I'm not careful to keep it steady, this results in a blurred shot.

Pros: Good battery life. Enough memory for 128 pictures. Adjustable focus for close-up objects. Shoots 10-second video clips away from PC. Shoots nice higher-res videos when connected to a PC. USB interface with slick software. Timer mode so you can set it down, click the button, and get into the shot

Cons: Cannot upgrade memory. No screen to view/delete pictures. Not Windows 2000 compatible a beta driver is available to download pictures, but it cannot clear pictures from the camera's memory! Video limited to low-res 10 second clips. Low-light pictures do not come out well and it doesn't have a flash. Can only adjust focus when it's connected to a computer

Keep your eye out for rebates. CompUSA recently had a MAJOR price break on these things.

My roommate and I bought this camera about six months ago, and it is one of the most-used and most-enjoyed items in our apartment. It doesn't use up any film, so we never think twice about grabbing the camera when we go somewhere with friends.

Though it has no flash or zoom capabilities, it takes large, clear pictures even when used portably. The video it takes when it is not connected to the computer is a bit lacking because it comes out so small, but it is still useful for some things -I took it on a roller coaster last week and videotaped the ride at 60 miles per hour!

As for the video taken while the camera is hooked up to the computer, it is sharp and good quality when there is plenty of natural light, but at night, even with all the lights on, it has a lot of trouble detecting motion and the video tends to be slow and choppy.

The cute little camera is very durable--we know because we have dropped it countless times and it has never malfunctioned. battery compartment does accidentally come open sometimes, causing the batteries to scatter all over the ground, but the pictures already taken still remain in its memory, so it is really more of a nuisance than a problem.

It comes with its own software which works well for organizing and editing the pictures, but its movie making software doesn't have many features, so it's better to use the movie maker that comes with Windows or a professional one. The pictures it takes come in .jpg format, and the videos come in .avi format, so they're perfectly compatible with other viewing and editing programs.

All things considered, we are very happy we have this little camera; I would recommend it to anyone who wishes to have fun with unlimited pictures and video, though those with concerns about very high-quality video might do better to seek out more expensive digital equipment.

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best value for your money? probably. i've had it for about 3 months now and have not had any problems. the camera is advertised as being able to take 128 pictures at 640x480 but having have taken it on vacation, it took a good 165 before being full. the remote video at 320x240 is okay, light permitting, but for 129 bucks, i'm not really asking for all that much. attatched video and macro lens are REALLY impressive and the software is really consumer friendly. If people are having all of these problems with it, i'm assuming that they are running an OS that is not compatible (ie W2000). I'm running it on 98 and am having no problems whatsoever. Only drawbacks are that it has no flash and no remote audio, but if you know that going into it, its really not a dissapointment. Great pocket cam. Takes really good pictures and has a great supplementary software package.

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I found the packaging for this camera very misleading. The "2 minutes" of video can only be used in 10-second clips. The video does not have sound. The quality of the video is less than expected (even for the price of the camera).

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this camera is good for the price i paid. it serves both purposes reasonably well, though to get good picture quality we need to take pictures in bright light. no flash is a major disadvatage to this camera. software that comes with this is easy to install and easy to use. i could get 120 pictures of good quality out of this camera at a stretch. looks cute and fits easily in the pocket.