Kodak PalmPix Camera - Reviews - Cool Gear - Digital Cameras

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This story was printed from ZDNet Australia.
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Kodak PalmPix Camera

August 30, 2001
URL: http://www.zdnet.com.au/reviews/coolgear/cameras/soa/Kodak-PalmPix-Camera/0,139023377,120105939,00.htm

The Kodak PalmPix Camera clips into the serial connector at the base of a Palm organiser (iii series, vii, or v with a port adaptor) with the lens on the Palm's back. Images are captured in jpeg or bmp format. You can view, name, categorise, delete, secure, and beam photos to other Palms with the PalmPix application.

The PalmPix captures 24-bit colour photos in 320 x 240 or 640 x 480 resolution and comes with an optional 10-second self-timer. Its f2.0 lens has a 6.1-mm focal length, focus distance of 91.4 cms to infinity, and a 2X digital zoom for high-resolution images. With the unit, you also get the PalmPix Palm application, a pc conduit program, NewSoft's Presto! Mr. Photo photo editor, and Rhode Island Soft Systems' Image Carousel.

The PalmPix looks bulky when attached to a Palm device, and its side panel blocks access to the Palm's on/off button slightly. The unit operates on two triple-A alkaline (included) or nickel hydride rechargeable batteries. Unlike the eyemodule, you have to remove the PalmPix before you insert the Palm into its cradle for uploading images via a hot-sync operation. The PalmPix has an option to select individual images for uploading, a better choice than the all-or-none backup with the eyemodule.

To take a photo, you open the PalmPix Palm application, press the Date Book control button, and face the Palm screen towards you to frame your subject. To record the image, you press the Date Book button again. A progress bar clearly displays the save-file operation. The PalmPix beeps when its 10-second self-timer is activated, which is more reassuring than the eyemodule's silent self-timer.

The PalmPix's remaining frame counter is displayed in the lower right corner of the Image View screen but is not labelled. An estimated 100KB is needed to store each high-resolution shot. The camera has no direct image view command. Instead, you have to select any image from the list and then use the scroll button to view all images.

Our Kodak PalmPix Camera test with a Palm iiic produced bright and relatively sharp colour images captured in high-resolution mode both indoors and outdoors, making the device suitable for e-mail, posting to a Web page, or inserting an image into a document.

Kodak PalmPix Camera
Price: AU$349
Rating: 4 Star
Requires: 16MB RAM; 20MB hard drive space; Microsoft Windows 95, 98, or NT 4.0 or later; Palm III series, VII, or V with port adaptor running Palm OS 3.0 or later with 53K free memory.
Company: Kodak Australasia
Ph: 1800 674 831; Fax: 03 9353 2016;