Toshiba PDR-M700 3MP Digital Camera with 10x Optical Zoom

Toshiba PDR-M700 3MP Digital Camera with 10x Optical Zoom
Manufacturer: Toshiba
Product Type: Photography

Editorial Review:
Product Description
Toshiba M Series digital cameras take a different perspective on digital photography: yours. They were designed for today's digital photographer with newly developed features that take the guesswork out of digital photography and put fun, excitement and stunning picture quality in.The PDR-M700, a 3.2 megapixel powerhouse have all the features you could ask for, including 10x optical and 4x digital telephoto zoom... faster processing times... and a state-of-the-art lens - all to assure photos with ultra-fine detail and life-like color purity. And of course, M Series cameras offer Toshiba's legendary focus on consumer satisfaction.M Series cameras are designed for users at all levels, including those with experience with full manual and advanced photographic control. In addition to the improved automatic settings, the PDR-M700 has manual control of ISO, exposure control with program AE, aperture priority AE and shutter-priority, aperture selection, shutter speeds up to 16 seconds for extended exposure photography (night scenes, fireworks), multi-mode flash, macro focus, multi-mode white balance, and much more.

Average customer rating:

Great for some frustrating for others
The pros and cons of this camera
Don't buy if you have a Mac
Fair outdoor camera
Versatile super zoom

Toshiba PDR-M700 3MP Digital Camera with 10x Optical Zoom

Manufacturer: Toshiba
ProductGroup: Photography
Binding: Electronics

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Accessories:

Rayovac NM715-8 Rechargeable NiMH AA Batteries, 8-Count Package
SimpleTech 256 MB Secure Digital Card (STI-SD/256)
Ceiva Advanced Digital Photo Receiver
PhotoImpact 6.0
Ceiva Digital Photo Receiver

Product Features:

3-megapixel sensor captures enough detail to create 2,048 x 1,536 images for medium-quality prints up to 11 x 14
10x optical zoom and 4x digital zoom for 40 x total
Continuous shooting mode at 4 frames per second; 2.5-inch LCD; full array of manual controls
Compatible with SD and MMC memory cards
Includes 4 AA alkaline batteries (rechargeables recommended); connects with PCs and Macs compatible with USB 1.1

ASIN: B0000AAASU

Product Description

Toshiba M Series digital cameras take a different perspective on digital photography: yours. They were designed for today's digital photographer with newly developed features that take the guesswork out of digital photography and put fun, excitement and stunning picture quality in.The PDR-M700, a 3.2 megapixel powerhouse have all the features you could ask for, including 10x optical and 4x digital telephoto zoom... faster processing times... and a state-of-the-art lens - all to assure photos with ultra-fine detail and life-like color purity. And of course, M Series cameras offer Toshiba's legendary focus on consumer satisfaction.M Series cameras are designed for users at all levels, including those with experience with full manual and advanced photographic control. In addition to the improved automatic settings, the PDR-M700 has manual control of ISO, exposure control with program AE, aperture priority AE and shutter-priority, aperture selection, shutter speeds up to 16 seconds for extended exposure photography (night scenes, fireworks), multi-mode flash, macro focus, multi-mode white balance, and much more.

Customer Reviews:

Great for some frustrating for others.......2005-11-16

I have owned a PDR-M700 for two years. I have had some problems with it in high temperature, high humidity situations (think Cancun or Cuba, mmmmm). This is a fine camera for the "advanced amateur" but you must work around some of its oddities.

You need to keep this camera steady. It has some stabilization built in, but you will get grainy pictures. I have taken some amazingly clear shots at 10X zoom inside with existing light but using a tripod.

It cannot focus in low light conditions. The 1M preset focus is actually 18" to 37" depending on how much zoom you use. The 3M focus has similar variability. I have a string with marks to help me focus. Now that I use it with the 1M focus, I get crystal clear pictures.

The flash is weak and pictures tend to be out of focus. This is likely because it cannot focus in low light. I'll be using my 3M string for most of my flash pictures.

Through dealing with the oddities of the PDR-M700, I am learning more about photography than if I had bought a simple point and shoot camera. It is not for everyone, but I will not need to upgrade to a DSLR for a long time.

The pros and cons of this camera.......2005-09-03

I have owned the PDR-M70 and after several years when that camera broke, I went ahead and purchased its successor: the PDR-M700. I've enjoyed Toshiba cameras because of their ease of use, you can adjust the camera settings manually and take a lot of very clean shots.

The issues with the camera have always been focus related, but I think this applies to just about every camera out there. STEADY HAND, this is needed, especially when taking night shots -- isnt this common sense? If you cant keep a steady hand, then get a tripod.

My biggest complaint with this model, is, indeed, it has problems with focusing in low light situations. I've gotten so fustrated that I've banged on the camera a few times trying to get it to focus, its very sporadic.. it wants to focus whenever it wants to focus. Sometimes adjusting the zoom will help it focus better, but its just retarded. Thank god there is a manual setting, but the screen isnt so clear and getting a GOOD focus is still rather difficult. Not impossible, just difficult. You really have to send the files back and fourth to your PC to verify that the picture was taken properly, if you're publishing stuff on the web or taking professional photos.

Anyway, besides that just pickup a set of high miliamp recharcheable batteries and a big storage card, this camera will do you well.

The other problem that i had with this camera, which I've read some people have as well -- is that it no longer turns on. Yes, I admit.. I did have this problem after maybe 1 year of use. Being a techy, I went ahead and took apart the camera figuring I had nothing to lose.. might as take a look inside. Well, the one wire that connects to the "ON/OFF" slider switch, the ribbon connector had disconnected from the circuit board. I just reconnected it and added a bit of glue to make sure that doesnt happen again. Yeah, it hasnt happened since.. (6 months now).

I guess that sounds kinda discourageable, but like all electronic gadgetry -- they're all bound to have problems. The good thing is, this camera is fairly easy to use. ANd if you need it to take it apart, its not impossible should you want to try to clean it or repair it.

Best of luck

Don't buy if you have a Mac.......2004-05-26

We bought this camera about six months ago, attracted by the 10x zoom and the impressive range of features.

Sadly, we have been rather disappointed by it. Although the zoom is impressive, the focus problems mentioned by other reviewers are apparent in ours as well- the camera just seems to focus on whatever it wants -usually the background rather than the middle of the picture.

Also, despite following the manufacturer's information about setting it up to work with Mac computers, we have so far been unable to make the camera and the computer talk to each other.

We were fobbed off with a series of poor customer service responses and were on the verge of returning it to the store when something terrrible happened to it. The verdict from the Toshiba, after they had had it in their possession for over a month, was that it had sustained a severe trauma. We are not disputing that: since we have three children, we think it possible that one of them may have accidentally knocked it to the ground and not told us. What we are annoyed about is the poor response from Toshiba to our earlier problems, which might have had us take the camera back to the store long before it was so badly damaged. As it is, we are faced with a 246$CAN bill to make usable a camera that has so far proved itself incompatible with our computer- ie not much use.

I would not advise anyone to buy this camera unless they have a direct line to Toshiba. There is a far better Canon out, for very little more money.

Fair outdoor camera.......2004-04-24

Pros -- Nice lens easy setup

Cons -- Low light focus

This camera takes pretty good pictures in good light. It won't focus in low light. By low light I mean normal night-time in your house lighting. With outdoor lighting, I haven't had a problem. There is a work-around for focusing indoors, that works pretty good. You can fix the focus for 1 or 3 meters, or there is a manual focus setting. The manual focus setting is cumbersome, in that you have to set the zoom then switch to manual focusing. So it is pretty slow.

I wouldn't buy this camera again knowing what I know, but I can get some pretty good pictures with it working around its quirks.

Versatile super zoom.......2004-04-20

Most striking feature of this camera is of course its lens - a Canon 10x zoom. Even at 10x, its aperture is f/3.1, faster than most such lenses. It has a couple of other nifty features: a remote control which takes the place of a cable release for long telephoto shots, and an auto-bracketing shutter which can be set to take a few shots over and under the nominal settings, to make sure you get exactly the best exposure. Apart from the lens, it is a versatile general purpose, high-end digital camera.

Weak points are the measly 16mb SD card supplied, and its tendency to gobble alkaline batteries. You will probably want to buy a larger memory card and rechargeable batteries and charger if you plan on taking many pictures.

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