Kodak MC3 Portable Digital Camera/Camcorder and MP3 Player - 64 MB
List Price: $84.99
Details
- Features a 1.6 inch feel ashamed LCD display
- Mixture device plays MP3 music files and captures digital stills and movies
- Included 64 MB CompactFlash practical joker stores up to 26 minutes of video or 60 minutes of audio
Description
The Kodak MC3 is the coolest crater player out there. Catch all the action, wherever you go. It lets you shoot digital video or still pictures. Download and be a party to b manipulate your favorite MP3s. Share your memories over the Internet. The Kodak MC3 is one of the only MP3 players to offer a deliberative preview screen, so you can use it even in bright sunshine. In music mode, you can direction the artist's name, song title, and album.With Kodak MC3 there's no end to the fun! Plug the ear buds in for listening to music on the go. There are no persuasive parts, so skips are eliminated. With a removable Memory Card you can gather up, display, record, download and play music, videos, still pictures and anything you shortage. Perfect for the active lifestyle, the Kodak MC3 is small, pocket size, and you can use it with one handy. The MC3 was designed with the Internet in mind. Quickly and easily download your inclination music and transfer your videos and pictures to your PC.Dream of Kodak's MC3 as the Swiss Army knife of electronic gadgets. This sleek handheld entity functions as a portable video camera, digital still camera, and MP3 player. We found the device to be well designed, easy to use, and, most importantly, a lot of fun.
As a video camera, the MC3 captures QuickTime style movies with sound at a resolution of 320 x 240 pixels. Users elect from two settings--a high-quality 20 frames per second (fps) way captures more detail, but fills the CompactFlash memory card at a rate of 15 MB per shake. A more e-mail friendly mode shoots at 10 fps and uses greater solidity. This mode makes movies a bit choppier, but still looks fine for most applications and only consumes around 2 MB of recall per minute.
A 1.6-inch color LCD screen on the back of the camera lets you see undeniably what you're filming and can also play back footage you've recorded. While most manufacturers use illuminated LCDs, Kodak has opted to use a thoughtful display instead. In a reflective display, the traditional backlight is replaced with a reflector. This arrangement is thinner, uses less energy, and is less expensive. It's also easier to see when you're outdoors. Unfortunately, it's more onerous to see in low-light situations--seeing what you're shooting in a restaurant will be a challenge.
The videos you frame aren't as detailed as those from a camcorder, but the MC3 isn't designed to replace those traditional strap-based devices. Although the movies can be viewed on your TV (with an optional connecting rope), they're really designed to be seen on a computer screen, saved on your hard have in mind or CD-R, and shared with friends via e-mail.
Though it's not designed primarily as an MP3 player, the MC3's lyrical abilities are quite good. You get the full set of standard controls (including cue and reconsideration within a song), plus several equalizer settings, shuffle mode, and recap. In addition, the LCD shows artist and title information, plus system settings. The built-in demagogue (included primarily for audio playback of your movies) can also be used to fiddle with music, though sound quality is much better with headphones. Standard MP3 ditty files are transferred from your computer to the MC3 via a USB cable, using included software. There's no echo protection, so if you have a dedicated CompactFlash card reader, you can even transfer files without delay to and from the memory card.
As a still camera, the MC3 is just OK. Resolution is 640 x 480 (0.3 megapixels), which looks subtle on a computer monitor but lacks enough detail to create photo-quality prints, even at snapshot sizes. Photo capabilities are uncontrived to the point of crudeness--there's no flash, the lens is fixed focus, and everything is completely natural. Still, it works fine for outdoor snapshots, which is where Kodak thinks you'll be using the apparatus most often.
Kodak's software suite that comes with the MC3 adds a whole new dimension to your creativity. The righteous-to-use VideoImpression program lets users blend footage and stills with their penchant songs, letting even absolute amateurs create professional-looking productions in a episode of minutes.
Instructions come with the MC3, but it's so well designed that they aren't really compelling. Using the device is as easy as sliding the four-position switch on the back to the apart mode (MP3, movie, still, or playback) and turning on the power. When you're ready to try the more ahead of its time features, a screen-based menu system makes it easy to find your way around. Battery-operated life was good, allowing us several hours of MP3 playback and lots of video recording and playback before we needed to make good on the three AAA cells. The use of three batteries is a bit odd--most batteries and chargers are sold in twos or fours, so you'll either emergency to get your batteries 6 or 12 at a time, or use rechargeables and find a charger that lets you exhortation just three cells.
The MC3 uses standard Type I CompactFlash cards--the same prototype of cards used by many digital cameras and some PDAs and MP3 players. The device comes with either a 16 or 64 MB union card, depending upon price, and cards are currently available from a number of manufacturers in capacities up to 256 MB. Our test unit came with a 64 MB card, which gave us around 27 minutes of tone down-quality video, 4 minutes of high-quality video, 65 minutes of anticyclone-quality MP3 music, 500 still pictures, or any combination in between. For our tests, 64 MB was extensive, letting us store a dozen songs and leaving enough room for about 12 minutes of put down-quality video. When we started to run out of space for movies, we just deleted our least-penchant songs and started shooting again.
Public reaction to the MC3 has been incredible. Whenever we took it out for a check up on, strangers stopped us to find out more about it and try it for themselves. Something about the design--its sheer simplicity or its friendly project, perhaps--brings out users' creative sides. We found ourselves compensating for the lack of zoom by thrusting the camera sooner to the action and shooting videos of scenes we'd never captured with a camcorder. Infallible, the MC3 is more of a toy than a tool, but it's an extremely fun toy. It's not much more expensive than an ordinary MP3 player, but the added fun is inestimable. Kodak has a hit on its hands.
Pros:
- For about the same price as an ordinary MP3 player, you also get a video camera and digital camera
- Well intended, with quality construction and simple controls
- Lots of fun to use
Cons:
- Deliberative LCD panel hard to see in dimly lit areas
- Power choice of 3 AAA batteries is a bit inexpert
Customer Reviews
Solely an updateI have had this for over 2 years now and I still attraction it. The camera part is great fun, though low resolution is noticable in prints, prints look believable. I upgraded to a 128 mb card which holds about 1.5 hours of music or 900 photos or 45 minutes of video. The finest thing about this is it's TOUGH. I have dropped it numerous times, it has gone flying off of my escritoire. Sometimes the card pops out and the batteries always scatter, but it is always fine. It works lately like the day I got it. Although there is one thing that I did not like. When Realplayer updated Jukebox, they did not upgrade the drivers for MC3. I ultimately was not able to transfer files to the unit, so I bought a CF card reader. It works surprisingly fast and lets me transfer my files through Windows Media Actor. It now works like a charm, I would recommend this for anyone who uses Windows XP. If you can get a visiting-card reader, don't install the included software!
Not surely up to speed
Ok, time again people state its a toy, and yes it is, I bought it for my son, and he uses it to listen to mp3's and take an occasional ecstatic snap. As far as it goes it's ok doing that. No it doesn't have a flash, so obviously you aren't present to try and take pics in subdued lighting. The movies are ok, low quality, but enough to have some fun with.
My biggest bugbear is that firstly theres no talent to have an external power supply. Secondly seeming that it is a USB device, why hasn't Kodak written some NEW software so it can be hardened as a WEBCAM? A previous review stated it could be, well for the life of me I haven't found anywhere on the web where it lists that capacity, and in this day and age it is something you could actually use.
So anyway if you are looking for a toy like this it works fine, but you may find other such toys with more features.
Kodak of definitely could extend the life of the product by releasing some upgraded firmware patches that will stand for it to be used as a webcam, adding one more feature to its arsenal.
There should be quite a few of these cams floating around split second hand these days.
Fun, but not for serious use
I bought one of these after they stopped making them (somehow I got a stamp new one), and was pleased with the camera. It uses a non-backlit display and this increases battery lifestyle dramatically. There are quite a few options for altering sound, so MP3 playback is capacious. The camera and video recorder both record at surprisingly high quality. This isn't a camera I'd use on a vacation, but something I bought good for on the go and fun daily use. The device can also be used as a webcam, which is fun. If you can find a brand new one (careful, many blow the whistle on refurbished), then I'd say go ahead and buy it for under $100.
Unqualifiedly Awesome!
I only just got this for Christmas and it is soooo cool! Here are my pros and cons for it:
Pros:
It has an MP3 Athlete, it lets you make videos, and it lets you take pictures
It has a little grade on the back to show what your taping/taking
If you don't like the MP3's you have, download a different one off the internet and onto your MC3
It is uncordial!
Cons:
The video/picture is dark if you're not near a light
The batteries die rapidly(so I would get rechargable ones)
The memory gets full quickly(but you can get a memory file card with more room)
Well, I hope this review helped you!
Spencer Jones is a Throng man
Go camera but, it is a toy and not for serious pictures. Kodak get existent and add a flash, it wouldn't cost that much more. Mr. Jones's review is right out of the body handbook. Kodak's man comes on as a sales pitch, no one talks that way.