Jazz Waterproof 1.3 M camera -- TOTAL CRAP!

Stay away from these cameras sold all over the Internet for dirt-cheap
prices and advertised as 1.3 megapixel!

The advertisement is false because the true resolution of the camera's
CMOS sensor is VGA (640x480), and the additional resolution comes from
software "enhancement" that is either built into the camera itself or
(more likely) into the clunky photo software that comes with it.
Needless to say, the quality of such "enhanced" pictures is just awful.

The camera doesn't register with Windows as a removable flash drive
like most others do. Instead you have to install the crappy software
that comes with the camera in order to copy pictures to your hard
drive. So forget about plugging your camera into any public-access
computer in an Internet cafe at your tropical-paradise resort to
quickly beam up to your online photo album your pictures of exotic fish
and coral reef to make room for more shots. Not gonna happen! You
will be stuck with the measly 26 pictures that the camera's pathetic
(and non-expandable) 8 MB of memory can store.

The geniuses who designed this camera decided to place the flash right
next to the row of bumps that is supposed to serve as the grip, so when
you're holding it by that grip your fingers completely or partially
obscure the flash. Of course you won't know it until you open the
pictures on your computer because the camera lacks a preview screen.

The camera is turned on and off with the same button on the back that
is used to change its modes (resolution, compression, flash, etc.). In
order to get to the desired mode you have to repeatedly press the
button until you see the mode's code appear on the two-letter (!) LCD
panel and then press the shutter button to change it. E.g. to turn on
the flash you have to repeatedly press the button 6-7 times to get to
the code corresponding to the flash mode. And you are expected by the
camera manufacturer to remember by heart what about a dozen of
different two-letter codes stand for.

Also, very annoyingly the camera turns itself off automatically to
conserve battery power after just 30 seconds of inactivity. So forget
about carefully composing your underwater shots or trying to get your
kids to pose for a beach photo in a desired formation -- by the time
you get the desired composition the camera will have shut itself down,
resetting all its modes, including the flash setting.

And last but not least, the unit that I got doesn't record video as it
should according to the manual.

What did you expect, professional equipment?


schrieb im Newsbeitrag
ups.com...
Stay away from these cameras sold all over the Internet for dirt-cheap
prices and advertised as 1.3 megapixel!

The advertisement is false because the true resolution of the camera's
CMOS sensor is VGA (640x480), and the additional resolution comes from
software "enhancement" that is either built into the camera itself or
(more likely) into the clunky photo software that comes with it.
Needless to say, the quality of such "enhanced" pictures is just awful.

The camera doesn't register with Windows as a removable flash drive
like most others do. Instead you have to install the crappy software
that comes with the camera in order to copy pictures to your hard
drive. So forget about plugging your camera into any public-access
computer in an Internet cafe at your tropical-paradise resort to
quickly beam up to your online photo album your pictures of exotic fish
and coral reef to make room for more shots. Not gonna happen! You
will be stuck with the measly 26 pictures that the camera's pathetic
(and non-expandable) 8 MB of memory can store.

The geniuses who designed this camera decided to place the flash right
next to the row of bumps that is supposed to serve as the grip, so when
you're holding it by that grip your fingers completely or partially
obscure the flash. Of course you won't know it until you open the
pictures on your computer because the camera lacks a preview screen.

The camera is turned on and off with the same button on the back that
is used to change its modes (resolution, compression, flash, etc.). In
order to get to the desired mode you have to repeatedly press the
button until you see the mode's code appear on the two-letter (!) LCD
panel and then press the shutter button to change it. E.g. to turn on
the flash you have to repeatedly press the button 6-7 times to get to
the code corresponding to the flash mode. And you are expected by the
camera manufacturer to remember by heart what about a dozen of
different two-letter codes stand for.

Also, very annoyingly the camera turns itself off automatically to
conserve battery power after just 30 seconds of inactivity. So forget
about carefully composing your underwater shots or trying to get your
kids to pose for a beach photo in a desired formation -- by the time
you get the desired composition the camera will have shut itself down,
resetting all its modes, including the flash setting.

And last but not least, the unit that I got doesn't record video as it
should according to the manual.

wrote in message
ups.com...
Stay away from these cameras sold all over the Internet for dirt-cheap
prices and advertised as 1.3 megapixel!

The advertisement is false because the true resolution of the camera's
CMOS sensor is VGA (640x480), and the additional resolution comes from
software "enhancement" that is either built into the camera itself or
(more likely) into the clunky photo software that comes with it.
Needless to say, the quality of such "enhanced" pictures is just awful.

The camera doesn't register with Windows as a removable flash drive
like most others do. Instead you have to install the crappy software
that comes with the camera in order to copy pictures to your hard
drive. So forget about plugging your camera into any public-access
computer in an Internet cafe at your tropical-paradise resort to
quickly beam up to your online photo album your pictures of exotic fish
and coral reef to make room for more shots. Not gonna happen! You
will be stuck with the measly 26 pictures that the camera's pathetic
(and non-expandable) 8 MB of memory can store.

The geniuses who designed this camera decided to place the flash right
next to the row of bumps that is supposed to serve as the grip, so when
you're holding it by that grip your fingers completely or partially
obscure the flash. Of course you won't know it until you open the
pictures on your computer because the camera lacks a preview screen.

The camera is turned on and off with the same button on the back that
is used to change its modes (resolution, compression, flash, etc.). In
order to get to the desired mode you have to repeatedly press the
button until you see the mode's code appear on the two-letter (!) LCD
panel and then press the shutter button to change it. E.g. to turn on
the flash you have to repeatedly press the button 6-7 times to get to
the code corresponding to the flash mode. And you are expected by the
camera manufacturer to remember by heart what about a dozen of
different two-letter codes stand for.

Also, very annoyingly the camera turns itself off automatically to
conserve battery power after just 30 seconds of inactivity. So forget
about carefully composing your underwater shots or trying to get your
kids to pose for a beach photo in a desired formation -- by the time
you get the desired composition the camera will have shut itself down,
resetting all its modes, including the flash setting.

And last but not least, the unit that I got doesn't record video as it
should according to the manual.