*DEAD* CRAWL TO STAPLES!!! Vivitar 3725 3.3MP 4x optical zoom for 130!!! B&M

[Yoshi2000]

Originally posted by: bttjsj
After checking a couple of Staples B&Ms (Venice, Bundy, La Cienega, and Monrovia), a guy at Monrovia told me that the Covina store has some left as this morning.

Dude! You covered a lot of territory in SoCal today! Haha

 

[Poohbee]

I know the battery topic was covered. but I was wondering if there is such a thing as Rechargeable Lithium ION AA batteries like the NiMh ones. I saw from thomas-distributing that they have energizer E2 lithiums but i dunno if they are rechargeable or not.

If you know where i could get some could you let me know please? thank you!

 

[drti]

can anybody buy me one of the 3765 if it not too late, each coast always got suck on high tech deal. will paypal checking. really need the camera. or if you already bought one and don't need it. thanks

lmk, pm or email drti2@yahoo.com

BTW, the store at clawson, michigan is oos on 3665 and they don't have 3675. the store at rochester hills, mi still has plenty of 3665 in stock.

 

[cool2save]

For all of us east coasters that couldn't get the 3 megapixel camera, can someone please tell me how the 3665 is and a review on it would certainly be helpful.

 

[robertw4771]

I would like to buy one on these cameras if somebody has an extra they want to sell. I can pay by Paypal. Would like to get one before next weekend as I am going on vacation.

Thanks
Rob

robertw477@yahoo.com

 

[kandyman78]

Okay, I drove to Covina today and was an hour late to work so that I could buy this camera, but here's the thing. Do I really need/want it? What is so good about a digital camera? I have a pretty nice regular camera and so would like your input on whether or not I should keep this.

 

[Muadib]

Originally posted by: kandyman78
Okay, I drove to Covina today and was an hour late to work so that I could buy this camera, but here's the thing. Do I really need/want it? What is so good about a digital camera? I have a pretty nice regular camera and so would like your input on whether or not I should keep this.

You could sell it to someone.....

 

[carmann]

By regular camera I'm assuming you mean a film camera. So you go to the store, buy some film, take your shots. Go somewhere to have them developed which could take anywhere from an hour to a few days before you even get to see what they look like, not to mention the cost. Then if someone wants a copy or you want to send them to relatives, back to the store and the cycles starts all over again.

Digital camera - take your pics, view them immediately, decide which ones you like/don't like, erase the ones you don't like. If you have a photo printer and photo paper, you can print them yourself. If you want to show them to your friends or relatives, download the pics and email them.

If this is your 1st digicam, you got a pretty darn nice one and you really can't beat the price.

You must have had a heck of a drive from Alabama to Covina and were only an hour late for work

 

[JimmyBoy]

carmann you forgot something.................
Immediately upon looking at the pics, make corrections to them. Take blemishes off faces, take wrinkles off, make teeth whiter, put a tooth where there was none, correct the stain on a shirt, correct an awkward pose, remove somebody in the background that detracts from the focus of the picture, remove that rusty car in the background, remove a very distracting sign nearby. I recall so many times that I've seen a picture where there was someone or something in the picture that would take my focus away from the real subject matter. Well that's no more with digital.( of course you can always scan and correct, but that's not as good. And I doubt there are many people will bother to scan and correct every picture they took with a regular camera)

And don't get me started on "cropping". It's amazing how you can change a photo by cropping it. I was not into photography at all until I got a digital camera and saw what could be done with a reasonable photo software program. Unfortunately most people just haven't been exposed to what can be achieved with digital photography.

Now some people might think it's wrong to manipulate a picture. Well Ansel Adams did. Just like every photographer does in the darkroom.

Well Kandyman78, I think this will be one of those times in your life where you'll say " Why didn't I get into this a long time ago. Why didn't anyone ever tell me how great this was?" ...............It happened to me, it can happen to you.

 

[kandyman78]

Thank you all for your input. I guess I'll keep it. Now, do I need to get more than the 16 MB Compact Flash Card it comes with? If so, where's the best place and do brands matter and is there a speed difference? Damn, this is all too confusing. One last question, is there some kind of docking station that I can just connect my camera to so that I can transfer stuff to my computer. I haven't opened it yet, but I got all Memorial Day to play with it. Thanks again in advance.

 

[carmann]

You'll definitely need a bigger card and if you don't have some rechargeable batteries and a charger, pick those up too, you'll thank yourself later.

Compusa has the Memorex 128mb cf card for 39.99 after $5 IS & $25 rebate for 3 days (started Sunday). I've never used that brand so others will have to chime in on their quality. Yes there are different speeds but I'd think a standard 4X card will be fine. I know the speed/brand questions is gonna start a debate on here. It's not like you'll need to run out tomorrow and get one, somebody always has them on sale. Play around with your cam awhile and decide how many pics you'll take at a time and at what compression (size). Then you can decide how big a card you want. Personally, for that particular cam I'd go with 128mb. However I do suggest you get the batteries/charger pretty quick. Those alkalines are gonna go dead real fast.

No, there isn't a docking station for the Vivitar. It comes with a usb cable so you can plug it directly into your computer. Keep in mind you'll be using the power (batteries) from the camera to transfer the pics unless you buy an ac adapter. The way to go is a usb cf card reader. It also plugs directly into your computer and is powered by your computer. Jokersmoker posted a deal through J & R's to get the Dazzle brand card readers for 50% off. The cf card reader is 9.99 or you can get the 6 in 1 card reader for 29.88 with a $20 rebate that is still good (even though the rebate form shows expired) according to members of the board.

Kandyman, it's really alot easier than you think. Once you open your camera, stick the batteries and the cf card in, I guarantee you'll be up and running in under 5 mins. You'll see it's not a whole lot different than using your film cam

Keep us posted on your new toy. I know I'm interested in what you think of your 1st digicam

 

[robertw4771]

I am interested in the camera. Email me with info. I can pay by paypal. Need the camera by the end of the week if possible.

rob

 

[unclebud]

what she said. yup
the best CONSTANT ONGOING deal on batts i have seen is energizer 1800 nimh 8 pack with charger @ sam's club for $19.99 (me need to dig up that sku so it can be posted--watch this space)
office depot also has energizer lithium AA 4 pack for $8.99
walgreens has same for $9.99--everybody else's energizer lith AA 4 packs cost more afaict
compusa has pny usb readers for $19-$25 (store brand is the same)
good luck

 

[Paqi2002]

Hello,

Can someone please tell me where I can find a printable coupon? I found the codes but I don't know if that's accepted from Staples. F#twllet just have the codes not an actual printable $40 off $200 coupon.

Thank you.

 

[dc9mm3]

Just so everybody knows the Vivitar 3725 is a rebadged Minolta S304, i emailed Vivitars tech support and they confirmed it. I also did a comparison of the specs and there exactly the same plus I compared pictures of both cameras, there the same camera. I bought one on ebay a couple of days ago for $250 brand new and thats with shipping. I will post a review on it soon. But since its a Minolta S304 there are lots of reveiws on that camera.

 

[puppyfriend]

Paqi, look harder on Fatty. There is a printable $40 and $30 coupon there. I printed it and used it.

David

 

[whazzzzzup]

So is it dead?...I really want one now after reading JimmyBoy's reply

If anyone is willing to sell there's, I'm in SoCal...can pick it up or something...lmk....sounds like a great camera

 

[Rally1]

dc9mm3, thanks if you read the thread you will see we have been there already

 

[carmann]

Sorry whazzzzzup, this deal is dead an buried.

Last week when I did a search on Google for info on the cam, info was pretty much non-existent. It appears a few new items are popping up now. Nothing we don't already know but at least it's getting some attention. Here's an example

Bargain of the Month
With technology changing as fast as it does, it is certainly impossible to say "bargain of the century" or "bargain of the year" in this business. However, "bargain of the month" certainly applies. Vivitar has come out with a "recycled" camera. By that I mean a camera that was previously on the market under another name. Through January, Minolta had on the market their Dimage S304 (see my article in the February issue). Now that camera is available again as the Vivitar ViviCam 3725. It is absolutely identical to the Minolta Dimage S304, with the exception of its $100 lower price tag. This puts the ViviCam 3725 at an incredible $399.

Let's examine why this is such a good deal. First, the camera has a 3.34MegaPixel chip that yields excellent 8x10s and very good 11x14s (if you have a printer that can print that large). Second, it has a 4x optical zoom lens. I still refuse to talk about digital zoom, but with 3.34 million pixels, you have a bit of "room to zoom" on the digital side if you are printing at the 8x10 level or smaller. Most digital cameras have only a 2x or 3x optical zoom lens. Third, it uses the popular CompactFlash type of memory card, which is the most popular in the industry as well as the most flexible. The camera's USB connectivity is simple. Plus, the camera offers advanced features like 60-second digital video recording and many usable camera functions like manual focus and close-up (macro) capability. The Vivicam 3725 has an easy-to-use menu system that ranks it high on the usability scale. The Minolta was ranked as one of the best digital camera buys before Christmas 2001 and the ViviCam 3725 certainly has to be ranked as one of the best buys post-Christmas.

Meanwhile, Minolta has their new version of this camera on the market, the Dimage S404. It is identical to the S304 and 3725 except that it has a 4-MegaPixel CCD. This camera is priced well at $499 - the best priced 4 million pixel camera on the market.

 

[Rally1]

at an incredible $399

i think $150 is more incredible

where did you find that passage ?(ok i'll look on google

)

 

[carmann]

Right here

 

[bolido2000]

I just bought a 128MB CF at Fry's. It works perfectly and is only 39.99. Don't buy Mr. Flash brand...I am having problems with cards of that brand with Vivitar

Originally posted by: kandyman78
Thank you all for your input. I guess I'll keep it. Now, do I need to get more than the 16 MB Compact Flash Card it comes with? If so, where's the best place and do brands matter and is there a speed difference? Damn, this is all too confusing. One last question, is there some kind of docking station that I can just connect my camera to so that I can transfer stuff to my computer. I haven't opened it yet, but I got all Memorial Day to play with it. Thanks again in advance.

 

[Kerouactivist]

all they had were the 36XX model at my location and I even had my buddy check the back to see if they had any of the 3725s

 

[CAunt]

Has anyone else had trouble installing the software that came with the 3725 (I'm particularly interested in the panorama software). I'm thinking I got a bad CD as neither of the MGI titles will install on either of the win98SE machines in the house.

Would anyone consider burning a copy and sending it on? I'd be grateful if someone would do that and pm me.

Thanks

 

[Rally1]

dang, some dude sold one on ebay for $349 this weekend....
(most are only going for $240)

I should have bought extras!

any idea how much these are selling for this week?