Logitech Credit Card-Sized Camera and Jason Buys a Camera

[Jason Dunn]

<a href="http://www.pcworld.com/news/article/0,aid,94623,tk,dn041702X,00.asp">http://www.pcworld.com/news/article/0,aid,94623,tk,dn041702X,00.asp</a><br /><br />This camera sounds quite neat - I keep waiting for a "cheap" camera that offers decent quality because several people I know want to dip their toe in the soothing waters of digital photography, but the entry cost is still quite high. If the quality is decent, a 1.3 megapixel camera for $129 US will rock.<br /><br /><img src="http://www.pocketpcthoughts.com/images/logitech-minicam.gif" /><br /><br />"The Pocket Digital is small enough to fit into your wallet and it might even be mistaken for a credit card, but this newest gadget from Logitech won't buy you anything but memories because it's a camera. One of the leading makers of computer mice is stretching its selection of peripherals again. Making its debut this week, and scheduled for release in mid-May, is this diminutive camera with a small price for a digicam: $129.95.<br /><br />The Pocket Digital measures just one-half inch thick, and it is only 2.25 inches wide and 3.5 inches long. However, Logitech representatives say the device will still hold as many as 52 images at up to 1.3-megapixel resolution. The unit is powered by an onboard lithium polymer battery that is automatically recharged during every download through the included USB cable. You can also connect the camera to your PC through USB."<br /><br /><img src="http://images.amazon.com/images/P/B00005Q5U5.01.MZZZZZZZ.jpg" /><br /><br />And in other digital camera news, I took the plunge and finally bought a new digital camera: I chose <a href="http://www.ssdonline.com/detail_page.cfm?ProductID=7099A001&affid=T99&urlid=7099A001">the Canon Powershot G2</a> (affiliate link). I've been fanatically researching every camera that has come out in the past year, waiting for the perfect blend of performance, quality, and price. Every single camera that came out had a significant disadvantage that I wasn't willing to live with, and being convinced that the future of digital photography is <a href="http://www.dpreview.com/news/0202/02021103foveonx3preview.asp">going to be based on the X3 sensor</a> I knew that geting a high-end prosumer camera without that sensor would be a waste. The image quality of the X3 sensor is simply mind-numbing, and nothing on the market comes close. <br /><br />So I settled for a more "normal" camera that still gave me excellent quality, decent resolution, and <a href="http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/canong2/page20.asp">got great reviews</a>. So far I'm very pleased with the G2, and feel it will last me until 2003/2004 when we'll see if the <a href="http://www.dpreview.com/news/0202/02021102foveonx3tech.asp">X3 sensor</a> is picked up by other OEMs.

[Registered]

http://www.pcworld.com/news/article/0,aid,94623,tk,dn041702X,00.asp

Although there are no photos of what it looks like, this camera sounds quite neat


http://www.logitech.com/cf/about/pressRelease.cfm/4446

:D

[Jason Dunn]

Aha! Photo added - thanks.

Any other G2 owners out there? Any tips for me?

[carlosgp]

Good choice, Jason. I've been using a G2 for some months and I'm very satisfied with it. Excellent photos and it doesn't appear to be an expensive digital camera, so is somewhat thief-proof ;).

[butch]

Any other G2 owners out there? Any tips for me?
I've a G2 for 1 month now, I'm not an expert, but play with it a lot and you will always discover new things.

Also read the review at dpreview.com it has a lot of little tips http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/canong2/
alos check the G2 forums here : http://www.dpreview.com/forums/forum.asp?forum=1010

Then play with it for a few weeks and go back re-read the review, you will catch even more.

Another tip... I use Pocket Quick View from www.hanaho.com to play back movies from the G2 on my E-115 :-)

Hey! Didn't you finally get you cash back from the guy in Quebec?

[Jason Dunn]

Hey! Didn't you finally get you cash back from the guy in Quebec?


Nope. :evil: I'm waiting on a letter from my lawyer, and if that doesn't work, I'm going to send a collections agency after him. Vengence will be mine. :twisted:

For those that are interested in the whole tale:

http://www.jasonsego.com/fraud

[Mr. Anonymous]

Great choice on the G2, it's a terrific camera. I myself went with the Powershot S30 as I wanted something a little more portable.

I'm glad you finally got a digital camera Jason after all that runaround. Let the healing begin :)

[gmelfissg]

hi jason,

sorry to hear about the camera fraud, it hapeens the same thing to me when i sold my laptop to somebody in florida who paid me with a no fund personal check that ups send to me because i forgot to put cash only to my package slip for my laptop. i lost 1800$US !!!! so your not alone.

by the way you should have gottent the c-2100 uz, you'll miss the 10x optical zoom and with the extra tou would have save you have added a 5x multipler plus another 1.5x from eagles webs ite and get yourself a 75x zoom optical camera !!! not bad !!!

[CoffeeKid]

What, you didn't wait for the Nikon D100??!! Come on, Jason, you're a mega rich guy.... :lol:

That's the camera I'm waiting for. I have a Nikon F80 system, and while $3300 Cdn is a LOT of money... a lot of it ($2k USD), I've been a life long Nikon SLR user (except for a brief interlude with Maxxum 7000i systems), and the D100 looks to be a near perfect camera (though I'll wait for Phil Askey's full review) and all my current Nikon lenses and speedlights will work with it.

Still the G2 looks pretty damned good.

So that dillweed in Quebec that took you for a ride on the E10 is still on the loose, huh Jason? The bastich.

[Jason Dunn]

by the way you should have gottent the c-2100 uz, you'll miss the 10x optical zoom and with the extra tou would have save you have added a 5x multipler plus another 1.5x from eagles webs ite and get yourself a 75x zoom optical camera !!! not bad !!!


I appreciate you sharing your opinion with me, but there's a reason why I didn't even consider this model: SmartMedia. Anything that used SmartMedia or Sony Memory Sticks was off the list. I have too much invested in CompactFlash and SD/MMC, and I refuse to support extending the life of those other lame proprietary formats. :twisted:

That, and I already have a 2 megapixel camera - I wanted something with more resolution. :D

[butch]

Nope. I'm waiting on a letter from my lawyer, and if that doesn't work, I'm going to send a collections agency after him. Vengence will be mine.

It's a 2h30 hour ride for me, next time I pass near Beauport I could kick is ass :D

Anyway! I hope you will have a lot of fun with your G2...

[kagayaki1]

About time we got a US distributor for the SmaLCamera technologies. This technology was announced in January 2001 (I believe), and they just got the product out in Japan with the Axia Eyeplate www.axia.co.jp (a division of Fujifilm) Dynamism.com offers the eyeplate camera, and I got confirmation that the software is in English, but the manual is in Japanese.

But, the Eyeplate and this Logitech are different. The Logitech is a little bigger (1mm or so) and has a "cover" on it. However, it looks like it takes bigger pictures and more of them. Notice they don't list the largest resolution for the Logitechon the press release, but if you search on their site, it does say VGA or QVGA for resolution. The Eyeplate has the same specs, which is great for snapshots and web posts. Also, the Logitech is $50 less, which is GREAT! One other point of interest, the Logitech has a TWO year warranty. Yay!

Here's my biggest beef: for the last year and a half, the prototypes on SmaL's site www.smalcamera.com have shown it with a SD slot. However, neither the Eyeplate, nor this new logitech, have the slot

I can't wait!!!! Yes, yes, yes

[eosd30]

Any other G2 owners out there? Any tips for me?


If you find yourself using the onboard flash a lot, you should pick up a Canon 420EX flash. I used one on my old camera (Canon Pro90IS) and still use it on my current camera, the D30. It's a great little unit, much smaller than the big-ass 550EX but almost as powerful, and once you start getting the hang of bouncing flash off the ceiling or walls instead of firing straight into your subject's eyes, you'll be really pleased with the results. No more red-eyed subjects :evil:

And if there aren't any white surfaces around for you to bounce the flash off, you can just pop on a Sto-fen flash diffuser.

Vic
www.pbase.com/piranha

[dmcostello]

You should take a look at a Lensmate. It allows you to use 49mm filters and it does a nice job protecting your lens.

http://www.lensmateonline.com/G2start.html

[wilboy]

:D Jason, glad to hear you've jumped on the G2 wagon. I've had mine for a few weeks now and I'm so happy I went w/ the G2. I've used several higher end digitals ie. Olympus 4040, Nikon 5000, Fujifilm 6900, Sony S85- and the G2 is my all around favorite. Also picked it up for a great price while I was travelling in Tokyo- $580 (includes everything the US model has- even English application software and internal menus).

If you are interested in zoom, I'd recommend going with the Hakuba lens adapter 43mm and telephoto (the also have a wideangle too). Or get the Hakuba lens adapter and attach Tiffen lenses to it directly (also 43mm).

http://210.166.236.176/~kazutoku/G1andG2/adapter/index.htm
http://www.hakubaphoto.co.jp/camera/pc/itemMENU.html

The Hakuba adapter sells for around $20 and the lenses will run about $90 each. I have the contact # of the US distrib if interested.

[eosd30]

Here's another tip.

If you use Photoshop, go to

http://www.fredmiranda.com/Action_profilesPage/index.html

and start by downloading his free EdgeSharpen, Stair Interpolation and Redeye actions. If you're willing to spare a few bucks, go for the G2 ISO Noise Reduction action as well. It does a good job of cleaning up the noise brought about by shooting in low light at high ISOs.

I use his ISO NR (for the D30) and EdgeSharpen actions on pretty much every photo, and recommend them wholeheartedly. Not only does he write great actions, Fred's a heckuva photographer too!

Vic

[medic]

And if there aren't any white surfaces around for you to bounce the flash off, you can just pop on a Sto-fen flash diffuser.


[/quote]

You could also try rubberbanding a white index card to the flash. set the flash at an angle and bend the index card a bit. Works pretty well in a pinch. 8)