Reviews Written by tom c
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March 11, 2007
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August 18, 2006
One of the best compact digital camera
Pros: small compact, smooth finish, docking station, friendly to use.
Cons: no other expansion card beside XDs, no burst mode, only 3 picture mode, b&w, chrome, and standard.
Before I bought the Fuji Z1, I did much research and read a lot of post from many people from all kinds of website. I finally decide to get this little camera. I currently have an Olympus C5050 digital camera. The reason I bought the Fuji Z1 is because I wanted a small compact digital camera where I can just slip it in my normal shirt pocket and the way I go. My Olympus was a great digital camera but it was not very compact.
I just wanted to get to the point on this little camera. It is very compact alright. It is the size of a credit card and about 1 inch thick. I like the port, it connects to the computer and all you have to do is place the camera on the port, press the button and you can get the photos on your computer in 3 seconds. To disconnect from the computer, just press the button on the port again and you are disconnect from the computer. Keep in mind the camera must be place on the port to charge, there’s no other way around it. I like the camera from the start, very friendly to use. Movie mod is good too and the sounds are good. One thing I like the most is that it played in Window Media right off the bat.
The picture quality at 5MP fine mode (highest mode) is great, but not excellent. When compared to my Olympus C5050 at the same shot, the Olympus is better in term of fine line/clear quality. I did this by zooming in both pictures on PhotoShop and after several zoom, the Olympus still has the better/clearer pictures. Also one thing I like about the Olympus that the Fuji doesn’t have is the Olympus has two memory slots for XD card and CF card. Also I love the burst mode on the Olympus. It’s takes frame by frame shots of a person by holding down on the shooting button and it goes up to about 40 shots burst mode. The Fuji doesn’t have this mode. It also does not have a panorama mode that the XD card supports.
I like the camera a lot, but the picture quality could be better. However, the camera is very good for people on the go, vacationing, camping, or just wants a compact digital camera. I got this baby from eBay for $165, display/like new model. The battery life is comparable to your average rechargeable digital camera, up to 3-4 hours. However, it varies when using the flash a lot. I guess it really depends on your use. I almost bought the Casio EX-S600 which cost about $275-$300. However, the price was good on this find and I bought the Fuji Z1 instead. Because every camera has its PROS AND CONS, I think this is a winner in its own ways. My next one is a Digital SLR Professional line.
Good Luck Folks ...
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Must Read if you are looking a GPS unit
13 of 15 Yahoo! Users found this review helpfulPros: Everything
Cons: None
After lots of reading and research from Garmin C330 and TomTom One, I decided to get the Garmin C340. I bought it at Bestbuy, MN for $500 out the door. I figure these thing use to run $800-$1000 a couple years ago, so $500 is still a great deal and now more improve.
It comes with your normal stuff like suction mount, usb cords for connection to the computer, preloaded with the most up to date version of North American NT Map, software CD, car 12-24 volt adapter. Support: Garmin will allow one FREE map download per year for map updates.
This is what I like about the C340 over the rest:
One, the C340 is out of the box and working in just 5 minutes. Touch screen operation is fantastic.
Two, it has a SD card slot so you can save all your routes or/and preplan your routes then save them on to the card and not have to use the unit’s internal hard drive at all.
Three, the display screen has been improve and is way brighter than the C330 or the C320. It also has a night mode for night driving.
Four, text to voice feature. Example the C340 will say, “turn left .5 miles on University Ave SE.” where as the TomTom One and the brother C330/C320 will only say, “turn left .5 miles” It will not say the street name. It will also say, “keep left on Way Park Ave and turn left 3 miles on Jackson Ave N”. This thing tells you what side you need to be on even before the turn comes up.
Five, finding gas, food, lodging, etc. is a breeze. Example, you can be anywhere in the US and press the gas button and it will give you a listing of about 10-20 closes gas station by miles and then you can choose which one you want to go to and then will take you there. It also allow you to spell a name of a place like “Subway Restruant” and it will take you tot the closes one. You don’t even have to know how to spell the entire name, just spell “Sub” and it will do a search and list them for you.
Six, the 3D map is the best, even when you turn the volume down for the voice, you can still periodically glance at the unit as you drive along and see where you need to go. Just follow the highlighted arrows. The 3D map moves along as you drive.
Seven, I purposely miss a turn and the unit recalculate in about 2-5 seconds, then it take me back on track. YOU CAN NEVER GET LOST WITH THIS UNIT.
Eight, it has optional traffic alerts where it tells you where high traffic or accidents is at the it will re-route you around it if you want to.
This unit dose not has blue tooth or mp3 compatibility. It is a GPS unit and it work like wonders.
tfw ...