In 1999 Greg traded a 1981 Honda Silverwing 500cc motorcycle for an Agfa ePhoto 1280 digital camera and a Fujitsi Lifebook 500 Laptop.
Since then he has taken over 3000 photos with it, and become quite familiar with the strengths and weaknesses of this new medium.
The ePhoto 1280 captures JPEG images at 1024 x 768 pixels, and stiores
them on 8MB flashmedia cards. These are then transferred to a computer
with a USB reader. An 8MB card will hold about 35 images, and the camera
came with 5 8MB cards. There's no viewfinder; the image to be captured
is displayed on the 2" screen, which can also be used to review pictures
and delete unwanted images. The camera has a 3:1 optical zoom, a built-in
flash, a self-timer and a tripod mount.
| The Plus Side:
No processing or film purchases required No scanning required, either. Email and internet ready. 3000 pictures can be stored on 1 CD-ROM |
The Minus Side:
Images may be too low-res for some applications The flash is too weak for long distance work It eats batteries like candy. 1/2 second delay on shutter release before image is captured. |