jadison
01-09-2002, 5:27 AM
A solid general-purpose camera for buyers who need to strike a balance between features and price.
http://neotech.8m.net/images/toshiba%20pdrm61.gif
WHAT'S HOT: The PDR-M61 does most things well: pleasing shots, flexible controls, and a design that feels solid in your hand. Its one particularly outstanding attribute is battery life; we took more than 300 shots before the four AA batteries gave up the ghost. Toshiba cut the price by $100 this month.
WHAT'S NOT: The optical viewfinder is relatively dark and small in this model, but what's more irritating is the lens barrel, which intrudes into the lower left-hand corner of the viewfinder. Toshiba should have gone back to the drawing board when it designed the battery compartment latch, too: It's fairly easy to open by pulling a lever on the battery door, but closing the compartment is a pain. You either need to push hard on the plastic door--which makes you feel that something might break--or try to hold the lever up while simultaneously pushing the door down. The documentation warns that the battery compartment may be difficult to open, but does not mention the best way to close it.
And while we're on documentation, though it's complete, it's far from convenient. A small printed quick-reference guide gives you just enough to get started. The main documentation, however, comes on the software CD as an Acrobat file. You can find more information on Toshiba's Web site.
WHAT ELSE: The PDR-M61 produced images that were slightly above average for the sub-$500 cameras we've seen. For the most part, exposures were accurate and images had exceptionally sharp details. On the other hand, colors tended to be a bit flat, and some of our shots with artificial lighting had a strong yellow cast to them, indicating a possible problem with the automatic white-balance circuitry.
Toshiba took the middle road in the balance of buttons, dials, and menus. A large, easy-to-grip dial on the top includes two exposure modes, one fully automatic, the other a manual mode that lets you pick from four preset white-balance settings and change the exposure value. (Neither of these resets to the factory defaults when you turn the camera off.) Three buttons on the top of the camera let you make quick adjustments to frequently used settings: flash mode, resolution, and the self-timer. There are also dedicated buttons for macro and delete operations. Our one gripe is the zoom control, which suffers from a case of style over function. It's a small rocker button that's so flush with the camera's body, it's somewhat hard to control.
A small thumbwheel on the back of the camera lets you scroll up, down, and side to side in the menus; hit the center of the wheel to enter a change. You won't find much in the menus--the camera doesn't have that many settings to change. Pushing the zoom control while in playback mode allows you to zoom in on an image you've taken, and you can scroll around the image by manipulating the thumbwheel.
BEST USE: A solid general-purpose camera for buyers who need to strike a balance between features and price.
OVERVIEW
2.3 megapixels, 1792 by 1200 maximum resolution, 38mm to 114mm focal range (35mm equivalent), f2.8 and f3.2 aperture range, shutter speeds from 3 seconds to 1/500 second, optical and LCD viewfinders, USB connection, bundled 8MB SmartMedia card, four AA batteries, 14.3 ounces with batteries; Sierra Imaging Image Expert v.1.8.9 software. One-year parts and labor warranty, toll-call support for 12 hours on weekdays.
Price:
$299
Purchasing Info.
http://www.dsc.toshiba.com/
800/288-1354
*Courtesy of PCWORLD.COM HERE (http://www.pcworld.com/reviews/article/0,aid,62683,pg,4,00.asp)*
http://neotech.8m.net/images/toshiba%20pdrm61.gif
WHAT'S HOT: The PDR-M61 does most things well: pleasing shots, flexible controls, and a design that feels solid in your hand. Its one particularly outstanding attribute is battery life; we took more than 300 shots before the four AA batteries gave up the ghost. Toshiba cut the price by $100 this month.
WHAT'S NOT: The optical viewfinder is relatively dark and small in this model, but what's more irritating is the lens barrel, which intrudes into the lower left-hand corner of the viewfinder. Toshiba should have gone back to the drawing board when it designed the battery compartment latch, too: It's fairly easy to open by pulling a lever on the battery door, but closing the compartment is a pain. You either need to push hard on the plastic door--which makes you feel that something might break--or try to hold the lever up while simultaneously pushing the door down. The documentation warns that the battery compartment may be difficult to open, but does not mention the best way to close it.
And while we're on documentation, though it's complete, it's far from convenient. A small printed quick-reference guide gives you just enough to get started. The main documentation, however, comes on the software CD as an Acrobat file. You can find more information on Toshiba's Web site.
WHAT ELSE: The PDR-M61 produced images that were slightly above average for the sub-$500 cameras we've seen. For the most part, exposures were accurate and images had exceptionally sharp details. On the other hand, colors tended to be a bit flat, and some of our shots with artificial lighting had a strong yellow cast to them, indicating a possible problem with the automatic white-balance circuitry.
Toshiba took the middle road in the balance of buttons, dials, and menus. A large, easy-to-grip dial on the top includes two exposure modes, one fully automatic, the other a manual mode that lets you pick from four preset white-balance settings and change the exposure value. (Neither of these resets to the factory defaults when you turn the camera off.) Three buttons on the top of the camera let you make quick adjustments to frequently used settings: flash mode, resolution, and the self-timer. There are also dedicated buttons for macro and delete operations. Our one gripe is the zoom control, which suffers from a case of style over function. It's a small rocker button that's so flush with the camera's body, it's somewhat hard to control.
A small thumbwheel on the back of the camera lets you scroll up, down, and side to side in the menus; hit the center of the wheel to enter a change. You won't find much in the menus--the camera doesn't have that many settings to change. Pushing the zoom control while in playback mode allows you to zoom in on an image you've taken, and you can scroll around the image by manipulating the thumbwheel.
BEST USE: A solid general-purpose camera for buyers who need to strike a balance between features and price.
OVERVIEW
2.3 megapixels, 1792 by 1200 maximum resolution, 38mm to 114mm focal range (35mm equivalent), f2.8 and f3.2 aperture range, shutter speeds from 3 seconds to 1/500 second, optical and LCD viewfinders, USB connection, bundled 8MB SmartMedia card, four AA batteries, 14.3 ounces with batteries; Sierra Imaging Image Expert v.1.8.9 software. One-year parts and labor warranty, toll-call support for 12 hours on weekdays.
Price:
$299
Purchasing Info.
http://www.dsc.toshiba.com/
800/288-1354
*Courtesy of PCWORLD.COM HERE (http://www.pcworld.com/reviews/article/0,aid,62683,pg,4,00.asp)*