Vivitar's ViviCam 3615 uses a 2-megapixel image sensor and an autofocus lens to capture crisp, sharp images at an affordable price.
The camera is targeted at users who like to simply point and shoot. Focus, flash, and exposure are all set automatically. Hoping for more creative control? You have only a few options: the flash has four modes (including red-eye reduction), the white balance can be set to one of four values to compensate for unusual lighting, and the exposure compensation can be adjusted.
For power, the camera uses four AA batteries or an optional AC adapter. The big benefit to using standard AA batteries instead of a custom proprietary battery is that AA batteries are available virtually everywhere in the world, so missing a once-in-a-lifetime shot due to dead batteries won't be an issue. The downside is that a digital camera will kill a set of alkaline batteries extremely quickly, especially if you're using the camera's LCD display. If you're an occasional photographer, you can get by with high-power disposables, but if you plan to take more than a handful of photos a month, a set of rechargeable batteries (scroll up to the Accessories section) is a virtual necessity.
To compose your image, either look through the traditional viewfinder or use the 1.6-inch color LCD display on the back of the camera. Pictures are stored in the camera's internal 8 MB memory, which holds approximately 12 images at the camera's default setting. The memory can be erased and reused repeatedly, but if you're hoping to take more photos before returning to your computer to transfer the images, the camera also accepts CompactFlash memory cards.
A video-out feature makes it easy to show your pictures in big-screen glory. Just connect your camera to your TV with the included cable to give a virtual slide show to friends or family. If you think your photos look impressive as a print or on a computer monitor, just wait until you see them on a 27-inch TV screen.
There is no optical zoom lens on the camera, but the ViviCam does include a 2x digital zoom. This feature crops the edges off your picture and blows up the remaining image, enlarging your picture at the expense of image quality. Most photo-editing software will let you do the same thing to your picture once you've transferred it to your home computer, so it's a camera feature that's not often used. The reason for including a digital zoom is purely financial; it costs almost nothing to add this feature, and a digital-zoom camera will cost you $50 to $100 less than a comparable camera with optical zoom.
The ViviCam 3615 shows just how much digital cameras have improved in the past few years. Even a year ago, a digital camera at this price would have had an inferior fixed-focus lens and substantially lower resolution. Though the 3615 doesn't have many fancy features, its lens and sensor prove that an affordable digital camera can produce quality results.
1 Good camera until it stopped working.
At the time I bought this camera, it was the least expensive 2 MP digital I could find. It took clear crisp pictures and was easy to use until it stopped working exactly one year after I purchased it. The LCD screen went blank and it wouldn't snap any pictures even with fresh batteries. I called the customer service, told them that my 12 month warranty has just expired and they told me to send it to them anyway. I'll wait and see what happens.
2 Good and [reasonable priced] entry-level camera
This is my second digital camera, and it didn't cover my expectations. I'm an advanced amateur on film photography, and the results with this digital camera were just acceptable. If you are planning to do some printing from your pictures, this camera won't be good enough, but if you gonna use it only for digital viewing and emailing, it'll be ok.
Pros: low price (a bit more than a hundred bucks at your local wholesale store), high resolution, macro capability, good flash light, ease of use, nice pictures at daylight, and nice advanced features like 2x digital zoom, EV compensation, whites balancing and red-eye reduction.
Cons: slooow to focus and to be ready for the next shot, lack of an optical zoom (I know, I know, it's only a hundred-bucks-entry-level camera, but it could have been nice to have); only 800x600 and 1600x1200 resolution pictures but nothing else in between, heavy weight, extremelly awful results under flourescent lighting, and definivelly the worst of all, short battery life. It drains the batteries like crazy, and by using the flash, the LCD and 1600x1200 resolution altogether, it will swallow a fresh set of (4) alkaline batteries by making only 40 to 50 shots (ouch). A good set of rechargeable batteries is a must.
3 EXCELLENT PRODUCT WITH VERSATILITY AT A GREAT VALUE!!!
Hello,
I use this camera everyday for work. I am an independent automotive inspector for many aftermarket warranty companies. When they send me on an assignment, they expect lots of photos of all the failed parts of the car and uploaded the same day. I was truly impressed with the ViviCam 3615!!!Being my first digital camera (although not my first Vivitar Product), I really didn't know what to expect. But, I found this camera very easy to use with outstanding photo results. It comes complete with user-friendly software and all the cables (USB and video cables for t.v. viewing) at an awesome price. I take lots of close up shots of vehicle ID's and the smallest print comes out crystal clear (at 1600 x 1200). If lighting is a problem (as is the case in many repair shops I visit), either the built-in flash or the enhance mode on the software can be used for adjustment. Definately invest in the Flash Card for added memory, especially if planning on taking a lot pix before uploading. A 32MB Flash Card increases the capacity up to 347 pix at 600 X 800 "good quality" resolution or 85 pix 1600 x 1200 "good quality" resolution. Other than Vehicle ID #'s, I usually keep the setting at 600 x 800 "best quality" and can easily shoot 60-75 pix with no hassles. My biggest and only gripe-it goes through alkaline batteries like crazy and I am looking to switch to a compatible rechargeable set. Other cameras I shopped were more expensive and did not come with cables or the freedom to use AA batteries. Overall, EXCELLENT PRODUCT AT AN EXCELLENT PRICE...I definately recommend it. ... Good Luck!!!
4 EXCELLENT PRODUCT WITH LOTS OF VERSATILITY AND VALUE!!!
Hello,
I use this camera everyday for work. I am an independent automotive inspector for many aftermarket warranty companies. When they send me on an assignment, they expect lots of photos of all the failed parts of the car and uploaded the same day. I was truly impressed with the ViviCam 3615!!!Being my first digital camera (although not my first Vivitar Product), I really didn't know what to expect. But, I found this camera very easy to use with outstanding photo results. It comes complete with user-friendly software and all the cables (USB and video cables for t.v. viewing) at an awesome price. I take lots of close up shots of vehicle ID's and the smallest print comes out crystal clear (at 1600 x 1200). If lighting is a problem (as is the case in many repair shops I visit), either the built-in flash or the enhance mode on the software can be used for adjustment. Definately invest in the Flash Card for added memory, especially if planning on taking a lot pix before uploading. A 32MB Flash Card increases the capacity up to 347 pix at 600 X 800 "good quality" resolution or 85 pix 1600 x 1200 "good quality" resolution. Except when shooting Vehicle ID #'s, I usually keep the setting at 600 x 800 "best quality" and can easily shoot 60-75 pix with no hassles. My biggest and only gripe-it goes through alkaline batteries like crazy and I am looking to switch to a compatible rechargeable set. Other cameras I shopped were more expensive and did not come with cables or the freedom to use AA batteries. Overall, EXCELLENT PRODUCT AT AN EXCELLENT PRICE...I definately recommend it. If anyone wants to see samples of pix I take on a daily basis, ...Good Luck!!!
5 Um produto Que nao Tem nada de Mais
N‹o Ž uma Sony mas Tira bem as fotos.
Mas quem puder comprar um Sony, por favor que compre.
Filipe
6 House Hunter
I took this camera on a house hunting trip and was very happy with the result. I bought the camera for about [$$$] and did not expect the resolution to be so good. I was able to send about 40 800X600 pictures home each night for my wife to review. The only problem I had was that sometimes the camera would stop responding when the batteries got low but other than that it was easy to use and took good pictures. It will however chew up batteries like a fat man in a burger joint so carry a good supply. It would be nice if they would have a C cell external pack for long photo shoots.
7 Easy to use, Excellent picture quality
My first experience with digital cameras was an Olympus that was rather awkward. This model by Vivitar makes digital photography about as easy as it can get. In about 5 minutes I figured out the basics of taking, reviewing, and downloading pictures. I bought it in a kit that included all of the necessary cables. Despite complaints of poor picture quality by one reviewer, I found them to be sharp and clear. I would reccomend this without qualification to anyone as an excellent entry-level digital camera.
8 Great for the price
My husband and I were looking for a digital camara for the best price.The picture quality is really good (2.1 MP) but at varying light situations the pix fluctuate. Weve taken shots at the house with quite a bit of light and they look good, but at a school gym (with the gyms lights all on, not in the dark) for our childs show the pix were horrible. There was enough light in the pix but blurry and very grainy. Weve taken shots outdoors during the day and it works great. Computers treat it as another hard drive using the included USB cable (plugs into USB port) so it is very easy to download and send pix to whomever (there is also included software to look at and edit the pix plus it will cut the pix size in half when saved through the software). It came with the internal 8mb flashcard but you really have to upgrade to collect any of the best format pix. we bought a 64 MB flash card and it holds about 78 highest quality pix. All in all, great camara for the price but you might want to upgrade (you get what you pay for) for better reliability in varying light conditions. Plus, this will burn through standard batteries like a wildfire. Rechargeable batteries helped alot! They were the Quest rechargeables (comes with a charger).
9 Can't reccomend it
Had the camera for about a week.Charged the batts. to make sure the camera was getting plenty of power.Took about 60 pics with various resolution settings but always when I looked at them on a tv monitor (via video out) they looked blurred or grainy, and they always would good on the camera's LCD. I'm not unfamiliar with Vivitar's products. In fact, I have a model 2750 that I've used for the last two years without any trouble, and the pics from THAT one look very clear. The res. for the 2750 is 640 x 480, so I expected the pics from the 3615 would be MUCH clearer (2 MP) , but they weren't. I tried different light settings, focus settings, but nothing changed. I even tried putting the 3615 on a tri-pod and using the timer. Pics still looked grainy, especially if I tried using the digital zoom. Trying to magnify the finished photos made matters much worse (lots of pixelation). I kept thinking I was doing something wrong, so I even tried different flash cards. Same results (grainy, sometimes out of focus pics). When I showed the pics to some of my friends (and compared it with pics from the 2750) they couldn't believe the difference.Needless to say the camera went back. Vivitar, you have disappointed me. Either you missed the boat, or I missed something in the manual. (I think it's the former, not the latter).
10 Easy for those who want to point & shoot
With 2.11 megapixels this camera is a good value for the money. At the highest resolution you should be able to blow a print up to 8x10. Camera is easy to use, basically just point & shoot. Push shutter button halfway for auto focus. Altho with default setting you can only get about 10-12 pictures on the 8MB internal memory, if you change the setting to 800 x 600 you can get 40 pictures instead, which I prefer because these pics won't take up as much room on your hard drive. (and this size looks great when I blow up the picture to use as a background on my computer!) With a 32 MB CF card you can get up to 180!! The red eye works very well. I've found with other cameras I always had a problem with red eye when taking pictures of my dog, but with this one I haven't had that problem. The software that comes with this camera is very user friendly. The closeup function works pretty well, you just have to watch the lighting with that to get good quality pics. The camera uses up batteries fast, but all of them do when you use the LCD display alot, which I do.
