Page 1 of Cheap camera

Possibly not my first choice (see earlier threads for long discussions about why cameras from `real` camera makers are usually better) but still a steal at the price.

Camera is a Lumicron LDC-618z3 and is available from Somerfield (!) for under £50.

Not bad for a 6Mpix camera with optical zoom (is there any other sort?) with a good range of controls (not just auto) and a proper viewfinder. Usual `unbranded` drawbacks of short battery life and shutter lag, but all comments read suggest that it takes decent pictures. The CCD is not too small, and the lens is made by Sanyo, apparently.


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"Either this guy`s dead, or my watch has stopped."

Originally spotted this one over at the MSE forums.

Picked up one of these today in Somerfield as I was passing.
Not used it yet as it for the local pre-school to use, just taken it out of the box to look it over. First impressions are that for £50 it isn`t too bad, the only thing that seems to be suspect so far is the mode selection dial which seems to be a bit loose (easy to rotate, and it does so when putting into or taking out of the case ) and a possible casualty if it takes a hit :/ .

In the box:
The camera (6.36 Mp, x3 optical, 2" LCD)
A slip case
Wrist strap
2x AA Ni-mh 1800mA
Battery charger for above (will also charge AAA and Ni-cads as well as Ni-mh)
VERY brief instruction manual
Driver/software disk
Combined USB+A/V lead
2yr. Guarantee
Everything you`d need EXCEPT for a SD memory card :)

Check it out HERE at ARGOS (and check the price....... :o )

LB2


Have you tried switching it on........?

Also mentioned earlier on this thread

LOOK HERE

Linebacker2 Snap!
I have done exactly same as you, purchased it for my kids local school who were looking to replace their Sony (floppy disk) Digital cameras. For £49.99 and 2 years warranty not bad (also battery charger). Only concern it might be a bit too small and fiddly for them to use(especially the viewfinder) and only 3x Optical Zoom . Shame they didn`t include the SD card. Mind you 7day shop had some on offer a while back, so will check them out too. Mind you the Head was interested in a small point and shoot jobbie for her kid who was taking gap year travelling and thinks this would fit the bill. :)

Niteowl

This item was edited on Friday, 20th January 2006, 20:45

LB2,

Just to add to the list - plastic lens. Maybe made by Sanyo but not made of quality glass.

Update:
Just charged up the batteries (charger indicates fully charged) and popped them into the camera. The camera indicated a partially charged set of batteries, took a couple of pictures and had a quick look around the menus and the camera powered down with low batteries :/ .
Tried the batteries in another 2 cameras and they reported a fully charged set and seemed to work OK. :(
This maybe going back for a exchange/refund.

Also, a bitter experience bit here, I bought the camera to replace a faulty older camera. If you took a picture with the camera it would lock up and you had to take the batteries out. Tried the memory card in another camera without any problems, so condemned the old camera (hp fixed focus point and shoot) and bought this one. Found that this camera also wouldn`t read the memory card so had a look at the SD card on the PC and found a load of corrupted folders and files. I formatted the card on the camera that would read the SD card and now the old "faulty" camera works fine "DOH!"

LB2

Have you tried switching it on........?

That camera is £50 for a reason, no matter what price it was previously selling for which trying to compete with better quality brands with much better optics. It is a common ploy by lesser known manufacturers to give an impression of value for money. A lot of them introduce equipment at similar prices to better models then quickly reduce the price to give the notion that a bargain can be had, when in fact the reduced price enables them to operate at a similar profit margin to more superior models by other brands. The bonus for them is if they manage to sell at the original rip off price then they`ve done even better. It`s a win-win situation for them.

By the way, software to capture 6 mega pixels is easy to achieve and very cheap, although the optical zoom can cost money but pricing depends on the quality of the motor. The cost cutting is mainly in the optics by the use of plastic that does not diffucse light as well as glass (imagine a square metre of transparent plastic compared to a square metre of quality glass - light passes through the glass much easier).

The issue with the memory cards is common and it uses a file system similar to your PC (FAT16 or FAT32) so files can become corrupted like on a hard disc and even worse is that sometimes important space seems to be lost in which case it becomes write protected and cannot be formatted so a tip for all users of these cards is that if this happens there is a utility called Flash Format that can reset the memory card and reclaim all the lost space.

mine came with a 32mb sd card. at least its something. if you look at the spec on the lumicron website, they claim it is a samsung lens. also the lens on mine appears to be glass.

Borobaz, if you`re happy with the camera that`s fine but you cannot tell what the lens is made out of without opening the camera. It is plastic and the quality of pictures is an absolute disgrace (if you know what to look for). Fringing, noise, slow shutter speed, blue hues when flash is used (possibly over powered flash, etc is a problem. I wanted to buy one as a second camera (as my current one is quite large) but at £50 I didn`t think I had much to lose. Upon testing it, it turned out to be a complete waste and true bargains are very hard to obtain. It is £50 for a reason. My current 4 megapixel Minolta completely puts this one to shame even at 6 mega pixels, which I suspect is interpolated because it seems to perform better in 4 mega pixel mode. I have since bought a second hand HP 2.1 megapixel camera which completely outclasses the Lumicron.

As I said, if you are happy with it then stick with it but for anybody who is planning to buy one, compare the quality of pictures from others first.

Mike, as I said in my original post Quote:
First impressions are that for £50 it isn`t too bad and whilst I agree with what you said, if you`re looking for a cheap camera, and assuming it works OK, you could do worse, even with some of the "branded" cameras.
I do have a couple reservations about this camera, mainly the batteries. I have a couple of sets on charge to try and if they don`t work out, back it will go.
Thanks for the link for the software, I`ve just downloaded a trial and will give it a go.

LB2

EDIT: Mike, you just beat me to it with your last post, at the end of the day, if you can stretch you budget by another £30-£40 and find a 3 Mp or better with optical zoom on sale, then that would probably be better (but nearly twice the price ;) ).

This item was edited on Saturday, 21st January 2006, 11:47

Oh I have seen worse alright! Just pop in to Tescos and try out their budget 6 megapixel cameras! A 5 year old could draw a better picture than what those cameras can take! OK an exaggeration but yes there are worse cameras around. I normally stay away from cheap equipment but I had the intention of buying something for a secondary purpose and didn`t mind if the quality wasn`t up to scratch. However, even at £50 I didn`t imagine that it would be so poor and decided to buy a cheap second hand one instead.

LB2, I bet your HP camera completely makes a mockery of that Lumicron one!

This item was edited on Saturday, 21st January 2006, 11:49