Viva Vivitar (Vivitar Vivicam 5385)

Member Name: Donf18

Product:	Vivitar Vivicam 5385
Date:	10/02/09 (199 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Now cheap and good quality

Disadvantages: none

My old digital camera had served its purpose well, but being only a 3 Mega pixel was now somewhat out dated. So I was on the lookout for a cheap good camera. I had planned on getting at least 5 mega pixels because I do feel that is this techno age a 5 Mega pixel is the least you need. For those uneducated in the terminology let me simplify it for you. Basically the higher the mega pixel value of the camera the better quality of picture you will get. A 3 mega pixel will produce 3 million dots to get the picture whilst a 5 mega pixels will produce........................yep you got it 5 million dots in the same area therefore there will be far more detail.
I'm reasonably techno minded but no over so so I did require a camera which would be simplicity in itself to operate, and low and behold I found it. The Vivitar 5385 met all the criteria I had set for the camera I wanted and more.

The camera comes with a CD which has the necessary drivers should you be using an older version of windows. It also has some basic photo software to get you started on your digital photography.
So what did I get for my £69.99 from Superdrug..........................a very good deal as far as I was concerned at the time. It is now available on the net for around £30. The box in which the camera and extras come in has as you might expect a picture of the camera on the front and a list of specs. Inside the box is

1. The 5 Mega Pixel Camera
2. A nice little case to protect you purchase
3. A USB cable for connection to a PC
4. The software and driver CD
5. An AV lead for connection to a TV
6. 2 Duracell batteries of the AA variety
7. An instruction manual in various languages
8. A warranty card
9. A quick reference guide for the know it alls
The camera is a silver colour and very nice to look at cosmetically. It has a 1.7 inch TFT screen to help you frame your masterpieces. The 3X optical zoom lets you get those nice close up shots and the 4X digital zoom enhances this even further. Using both zooms does deter the quality slightly so I would recommend only using the optical zoom to optimise the quality of your pictures.

On the top of the camera is a circular switch which lets you switch between the different modes available. There is the
A automatic mode where the camera does all the thinking for you

P program mode where you can change the settings for each picture taken
The rest of the modes are indicated by little symbols

A Running man symbolises the setting for fast moving objects
A mountain symbolises distance pictures

A Head and shoulders symbolises close up mode
A head with crescent moon symbolises night time mode although the camera does have a built in flash.

A spanner indicates the settings mode
A video camera symbolises video shooting

There are three buttons on the back of the camera for selecting options and entering the menus whilst in any of the above modes except for "A" where all settings are selected by the camera.
Under these three buttons is a directional button which is used to scroll through the easy to use menu system. The left and right indicators on this switch are also used to set up the flash mode and the self timer.

The instruction manual is very easy to understand as indeed is the actual operation of the camera. The menu system used to select options and settings is very easy to navigate and it wasn't very long before I was quite familiar with the operations of the camera. There are three settings for picture quality and even on the low setting the picture quality is very good There are 4 levels of picture size the lowest being a resolution of 640 by 480 which gives a reasonable quality print. The next size is 1024 x 768 which gives good quality print. The penultimate size is 2048 x 1536 the quality here is very good. The final and largest setting is 2560 x 1920 and the quality here is superb. Apart from the lowest setting all others need to be reduced in a viewer for purposes of viewing on a PC since the normal resolution of a PC is 800 x 600 this gives you a good indication of the quality of the pictures.Once they are reduced in a viewer the quality can bee seen as top notch. The sizes of the pictures is quite large this means that when reduced for viewing or printing the pictures become so much sharper and clearer.
Taking pictures in the "A" mode is just a case of point and shoot and setting the flash of or on or onto auto. This also applies for taking video shots but in this instance no flash can be used. In the "P" mode you can use the buttons on the rear of the camera to set exposure, ISO and other photo technical stuff. I just wanted to get good pictures in the easiest way. I have experimented in this mode and found it to be fun. There is also the option to take your pictures in sepia mode or black and white.

Once a picture has been taken its properties can be easily changed using the rear buttons and the easy menu system. deleting a picture is also done this way. On highest setting I can get 90 pictures on the SD card which is required. There is an internal memory but it only stores a few pictures.
The software supplied with the camera is basic but lets you get your pictures organised and into some form of order. It also lets you do minimal edits to your masterpieces should you find there is something in a picture you wish to remove of or sort.
All in all this is a great piece of kit and takes really great pictures which is obviously most important. The zoom helps you get these superb close ups. If you do intend to print your pictures a decent printer is required and quality paper makes all the difference. As with all cameras there is a short learning curve, my first pictures were not so hot but now they are very good.

Summary: A great little camera I have come to trust

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