camera

A Great Little Camera
This camera has worked better than I ever expected. br / br /Originally, I purchased it (2 and a half years ago) because my wife and I were going to Hawaii and I wanted something that was not too expensive so that it would not break the bank if, by chance, it got wet, lost, or stolen. The C-725 fit the bill. br / br /To my surprise, the pictures it took, although only 3 megapixels, looked great! Whether in auto mode in bright light, in auto or manual mode in the subdued lighting of a shaded waterfall, or in manual mode with an 8-second exposure of the full moon at night, the pictures looked great! And the manual control to capture the nuances of dawn and sunrise as well as sunsets were amazing for the price paid. br / br /One feature that has really impressed me is the panorama function. It works best from a tripod. You can take up to five photos in sequence, either in landscape or portrait, and then stitch them together with the included software. However, I have since discovered that other aftermarket software does work better for this procedure. Anyway, they look great! br / br /Be sure to turn off the digital zoom and just use the 8x optical. Pictures look much better since you will not be over-rezzing. br / br /Note regarding lens adapters: br / br /You can find after-market lens adapters for this model. Get the tube adapter and a circular polarizer and UV filters for even better outdoor shots! Auto-focus cameras MUST use a circular polarizer! The wide angle and focal multipliers that you will also find are worthless. Do NOT bother with them. br / br /I really like the fact that it uses AA batteries. If you buy the rechargable kind (2650mAh Duracells work best), you can take up to 300 photos using the zoom and all on one charge. The rechargable batteries will pay for themselves after about the forth or fifth charge. br / br /If you want to see samples of this camera's handywork, just google "BlueCollar Traveler" and go to the first listing. There you will find some prime examples along with a link to more than a 100+ photos (and some video clips, too) from our last two trips to Hawaii. All were taken with this little C-725 (the daytime outdoor shots had a circular polarizer filter attached). br / br /This camera is now beyond it's sunset. Newer cameras have more and better features. But, for an amateur photo snapper like me, I feel that the current price for what features are offered is unbeatable!

Great Camera
I have owned this digital camera for over 3 years. Since I have not owned any other camera besides this one, you could say that I am a bit jaded. The picture quality is just fantastic. I recently took a trip to Mexico, and every photo was perfect. It is easy to use and even easier to download onto your computer. Overall, I would recommend this product for anyone.

Excellent Quality
I love this Camera! I've owned it for over a year now and have not had ONE problem. It takes clear, sharp, quality photos that are never washed out or unbalanced. I love having the ability to turn the flash down a bit- as the flash IS bright, however I think this is a definite positive quality. Auto mode works great, but if I get daring, the manual controls are fun to play with too! Takes beautiful portraits. I love the "Sports" setting! It freezes the action and works great! I would definitely buy this camera again. It might be overwhelming for a beginner, but for a slightly more advanced, amatuer photographer, this camera is great!

excellent for MOST pictures
Original review: March 2006: I bought this camera in the fall of 2004 and still use it for all my pictures. I'll list the pros and cons of it. br /PROS: nice resolution, good details, good color (got some really nice pictures and cropped close ups). br /pretty good in low light situations. br /flash works fine, most pics came out OK. br /AA batteries are a big plus - use rechargable ones. br /pre-focusing is helpful by gently pressing on shutter br /Camedia software is easy to use. br /Save battery life by turning off LCD screen br /Price was good when I got it, but now there are newer cameras that are better deals. br /CONS: flimsy USB port door - plastic latch broke within a few months. br /expensive XD cards, of course. br /focus not always up to par, esp at max zoom. br /battery life is so-so - the batteries can quit without warning. br /Shutter delay - my main problem here - I would guess about three seconds to focus and shoot when shooting the soccer game while zooming. Missed a lot of shots. Pre-focusing helped, though. br /Note the recommended use temperature. You can't use it if it's below freezing? (32 degrees). br /After owning it for a year, this is the problem I had. It powers on, previews the scene for about 5 seconds, then everything turns black, you can't use the controls, and the red light blinks. Power off, power on again, and the same thing happens with that annoying blinking red light. What does that mean? There's nothing in the manual about it. (See below for an update on this problem). br /If you don't mind the size of the camera, the big plus is the high powered optical zoom. br /*** REVIEW UPDATE - March 2007 *** br /Shortly after the first review, I solved the problem. The camera actually still works fine - the problem was the batteries! Apparently rechargable batteries will fail for good after a while, and there's no way of knowing this except by replacing them with a new set. ALWAYS carry extra batteries as well as an emergency set of non-rechargables so you don't get stuck! Your rechargables also will lose their charge even if they're not in the camera so keep that emergency set on hand In summary, with the exception of close flash pictures (may be washed out) and action shots at MAX zoom (will never pre-focus properly) all other shots are great! Any of the battery problems will, I assume, be common to all cameras. So, now you know! br / br /

Excellent, if you understand what you're getting.
For the price, this camera gives an incredible zoom and an array of options far beyond the simple point-and-shoot. In fact, that's what had damaged its reputation a little -- it's competitively-priced with actual point-and-shoot cameras, and the average camera user suddenly has a camera they don't know how to use. That's not to say the full-auto mode can't give good pictures, but using this camera to its full potential requires a little setup.