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| Toshiba PDR-M70 |
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Hardware Reviews October 2000 • Vol.3 Issue 10 |
Toshiba PDR-M70 | ||
 Toshiba's first attempt at a digital camera with three-megapixel image quality is a good one. The company's PDR-M70 is a notch below three-megapixel models we've seen from Nikon, Olympus, and Kodak in terms of image quality, but it more than holds its own where advanced features and extras are concerned. Constructed in a solid, boxlike aluminum body, the PDR-M70 will probably appeal more to semiprofessional and professional users, but its default point-and-shoot capabilities are definitely suitable for novices looking for an advanced camera to grow into. The camera qualifies as advanced because it can record audio and short movies, and it has such features as diopter adjustment, three ISO settings, a six-mode automatic flash with flash synch, a USB (Universal Serial Bus) connection, multiple recording modes, and manual shutter speed and aperture settings. In addition, the camera's all-glass lens (f2-f2.5, 7mm-21mm focal length) is threaded to accept optional 52mm filters and lenses and has 3X optical zoom and 2x digital zoom. Focus ranges include 4 inches to infinity in macro mode and 35 inches to infinity in normal mode. The PDR-M70's 3.37-million pixel CCD (charge-coupled device) captures images at resolutions of 2,048 x 1,536 pixels and 1,024 x 768 pixels in three quality settings. A bundled 16MB SmartMedia card stores 13 to 165 shots or up to five minutes of video taken at 160 x 120 pixels. We expected the PDR-M70's images to be good, and for the most part we weren't disappointed. Our outdoor images were especially clear and sharp, while colors were less vibrant and rich in indoor shots, although clarity and definition were still good. Overall, the camera's images fall just behind the best we've seen from other three-megapixel cameras. Less pleasing is the omission of TIFF mode to take uncompressed images, a missing attachment for the included lens cap, and the placement of the 1.8-inch LCD (liquid-crystal display) on the extreme left side of the camera's back. With the optical viewfinder directly above the LCD, we were constantly wiping nose and fingerprints off the display. Those are minor complaints, however, that are easily forgivable considering the camera's 24MB of buffered memory and its ability to resize images in the camera. It addition, the PDR-M70 has extremely fast startup and recovery speeds, has a built-in microphone and speaker, is travel friendly, uses an appreciated four-way navigational button and mode dial (which includes a mode for setting audio options we haven't seen in another camera), and features a colorful and intuitive menu that rivals the best we've seen from any other camera. The PDR-M70 bundles with a rechargeable lithium-ion battery (that recharges inside the camera), an A/C adapter, and Image Expert software. At $730, the PDR-M70 isn't cheap, but its image quality, excellent features, and appreciated extras make it an investment worth considering. by Blaine Flamig
$730 Toshiba America (800) 550-8674 (949) 583-3000 http://www.toshiba.com
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