| Product: |
Trust Spacec@m 120 |
| Date: |
01.07.08 (249 review reads) |
| Rating: |
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Advantages: Does what it says initially although the light sensitive lens may annoy. Many editing and crops
Disadvantages: Availability; slightly cheap plastic feel, No use for Apple Mac, too many user manuals
The Trust Spacecam 120 has been on the market for several years now offering consumers a cheap but easy colour web cam outfit for very little money. This product appears to have got an award from PCHome, giving it a silver award of 5 stars and claiming that its an ideal first time purchase. ** This is a long review! **
** Nar's Quick Skip Review Specification List **
* Power LED indicator
* CMOS sensor
* Adjustable focus for clearer picture
* Screw in Camera stand
* Video ArcImpression Software included
* Photo ArcImpression Software included
* USB cable provided
* Suitable for Windows 98, 2000, ME & XP
* Maximum video speed of 30 frames per minute
* 352 X 288 (100k) pixel resolution
* 24 Bit colour
* Auto white & balance control
* Powered by PC
* Multi Language Manuals included
* Easy CD Rom Installation
Three years ago I paid £14-97 on the Price Rewind banner at an Asda large store although it is even cheaper to purchase on the internet now; EBay seems to be about the only place nowadays as this camera is very old, so you're looking at around £5 tops! This camera is housed in a white plastic tray and then packaged in a tight cardboard packaging which is colourful, detailed and informative not just in English but in six further languages. Installation is quite easy to do: by means of slipping the CD ROM into your CD player or in my case my CD burner (my CD drawer isn't working at the moment!) install the CD ROM and a main menu comes up displaying a range of downloads including an MSN Messenger download as well as a virtual tour - but you must be connected to the internet for this to occur.
The main installation menu appears to me as being a bog standard menu but it is highly coloured in gold with bright red lettering, and with my poor eye sight these days I get all the help I need. Sub titles are therefore very clear to see on this installation page. Offline, or without internet connection you can install the product. There are 2 drivers that you need to install for this product and once this has been achieved, fit the camera together by screwing the stand into the base of the camera and plug the USB cable in. Unlike other cams I have seen in use before, the USB cable is permanently connected to the camera. I found that I didn't for example have to reboot the system for the installation to take effect - you really can just plug and "play" the moment you install the product. Once you have installed the product there is a menu helper which helps you around this package. You can turn this option off once you have become more experienced with the web cam and its additional effects and specs;
VideoImpression - one of the main software applications is really just a short basic movie maker which allows you to record and edit your own videos. I doubt whether I will make a feature of this facility unless I demonstrate how to take apart a Sebo vacuum cleaner and put it back together again! The software is basic but includes 20 colour templates, 4 Audio templates (which sound a bit suspect to me, particularly a dog that growls which sounds to my ears like a human trying to copy a dog rather than the real thing!) 5 Video templates and 20 Still Image templates.
VideoImpression is a good starter of kit. It doesn't embarrass itself and neither does it sparsely introduce the user to using these images available on this programme. However since I won't be using it at the moment all I can say is that the main recording page that comes up IS basic looking and is void of lots of controls. Obviously for the more experienced user of video software, this version may appear to be too basic, but you can use other installed programmes of video and photo imaging software if you wish. Thankfully it is easy to use though and it has been engineered to be as less confusing to use as possible. The webcam can handle 30 images per minute and you can make as long as any video is possible as any memory stored is totally dependent on your hard driver/PC memory.
PhotoImpression is really the main application programme you can use if you want to take still images. Having one of those micro "Mini Breeze" web cams that I was given last year as a stocking filler, that particular product also came with the same software, so it's good to have the same again software which is instantly recognisable.
A series of bullet points in the left hand side of the main page clearly identifies what the user can do. For example there are a few lists of main menu choices, such as "Get Photo," which allows you to capture images from the camera itself or any other programme you have installed such as a scanner. To actually start taking pictures itself you need to click on the bottom sub heading menu "Camera/Scanner." Effectively this is the starter button if you want to start taking images. Click on the second icon, which effectively means "Capture" and another window pops up to start the camera "rolling" in live mode.
A second window pops up to reveal the "Live" camera in action, showing off what you intend to capture. Now the speed of which this camera runs at could best be described as working in "slow motion," and this can be off putting, particularly if for example it's yourself that is trying to capture yourself on memory. Of this second live window though, hit Preferences and you'll find the contrast, brightness, hue and gamma settings which can be set to your own preference. You can of course hit reset or default at any time, but it is a lot of fun playing about with the settings. According to what you play around with, the picture will change unless you reset the system. "Edit" obviously allows you to edit the image(s) that you have taken. You can crop the picture, add you own pixel height and width size as well as a host of other detailed features such as the usual paint box; pen, airbrush, red eye, sharpen, lighten, brush and colour palette, pattern and gradient fill, Intensity of Tool amongst other options. "Create" is the next sub heading you can click on. This in effect means that you can Create an edge, or a series of edges that come with the programme. 24 edges are available and 45 frames are also available to use. You can additionally download more from the website. "Save" allows you then to transfer saved photos and images to your hard disk. What I admire about this installation programme is that I didn't have to manually specify the images I save to go directly to My Pictures programme on my PC. The software obviously directs pictures that belong with other pictures on your computer. Additionally you can also "send" the images to an email address or to your desktop direct from this main page. "Print" allows you to print your chosen images. You just need to specify the paper source and the size. Of the specified choices given, you have options such as "Standard Printing," "Greeting Card Printing" and "Thumbnail Printing."
I'd say that this camera is highly light sensitive. Even with contrast settings and capture details muddled about with, the lens is largely dependent on any light source that you have around you at the time. The quality can be patchy depending on what you are shooting the camera at, but then again this I feel is down to the overall resolution quality this camera can handle and not the quality of lens or overall product failing to satisfy. Sometimes the images can also be blurry and you have to mess about with the settings on the screen as well as adjust the purple dial on the lens itself on the camera. So far I haven't had that many complaints about my blurring image!! However to consumers who are looking for a top quality camera, you should really shop elsewhere - this product has been chopped down in price for a reason - I feel that reason alone is simply for the limited resolution capacity this camera can handle.
Now depending on what kind of PC you have, I have a PC which has in total four to five USB hubs. I found that putting the USB cable through the front of the Tower unit didn't work, so the cable had to be reinstalled around the back of the Tower before initial installation could be met. This may not be applicable to your system but I thought I would mention it as it was an initial problem with my PC.
The stand for this camera is curvy, organic looking and coloured in dark grey and white. Watch as you connect the camera screw into the stand as threads of plastic come away the moment the two connect together. Taking the camera and the stand into consideration, the build quality is not worth mentioning other than the fact that it looks at times to be quite garish and cheap. If you screw the camera anymore into the stand you may split the centre seam which runs around the whole camera pod - so be careful!! The stand for this camera is cheap and light, but at least you can adjust the angle, forwards and backwards on this camera stand. I guess you can flick the whole unit left and right manually though if you want the camera to turn.
So what are the cons? There is no microphone added to this camera, but then given the price I would be highly suspect if there was. There are other rivals out there, particularly at Argos at the moment which has microphones added, but at times the resolution quality isn't outstanding there is still some case for the Trust Cam 120 to be considered if you have an older computer with built in microphones. For 2008 the prices for this formidable but slightly cheaper quality plastic bodied camera is still worth considering if the prices are cheap!
The manual points that you cannot use this camera with an Apple Mac. Other problems may surface if you have Windows 98 and need additional support which must be done online once you have registered the product. Once you have registered (this product comes supplied with a registration card for this purpose) you can download any updates for this software and have alerts sent to your email address.
Incidentally, there are two manuals supplied, both in different languages, the first manual thankfully displaying all you need to know first and foremost in English depending on whichever manual comes to hand first. The pages are small on this booklet and so is the information - Trust could well have done with making the lettering bigger. Photos are largely absent save for the look of the Photo & Video Impression main pages and bizarrely what your Install Shield Programme window looks likes when you first come to install the product onto your PC. Information on the installation and the overall use of the camera is fair to good I'd say but grab a magnifier if you have poor eyesight. Further information is available online and you can download manuals and driver support if you lose the manual that comes supplied.
* Minimum Requirements *
* Pentium 166 Mhz MMX CPU
* One free USB port
* 32 MB of system memory
* 100 MB free of disk space
* CD-Rom Drive
* Windows 98, 2000, ME & XP
* For full function facility you will need internet connection.
If I had seen this product priced more than £20-00 for example, I wouldn't have bothered but if I'm completely honest it was the price that I was looking for rather than the latest of specifications. Despite the official award that came with this product I've given it 3 out of 5. İNar2 2008.
www.trust.com
Summary: One to consider if you have an older PC or systems up to Windows XP.
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