OOTBE (out-of-the-box experience):
Started using it right away, without reading the manual (at first), and found it very easy to use and understand.
The user manual is too short for my taste and doesn't explain much - don't know if Vivitar's target are beginners or more advanced users who won't need much explaining.

My wife is a big fan and uses it every day. We like the fact that you can hook it up to a TV screen and watch the pics you took as a slideshow for the whole family without fussle.

The pics are of very good quality, and the colors are crisp. The digital zoom works quite well. One minor gripe is that sometimes the flash is too strong and the subject is over-exposed.

On the plus side:
1. The price, for a 2MP that also serves as a web camera and video capture
2. It's very small, enough to fit in a pocket
3. Good software package, suitable even for non-techies
4. Not fragile. I've dropped it a couple of times already
5. Wide image display LCD
6. 16MB internal memory. 60 pics or so at 980x1200 (more than enough for 5x7 prints, in my opinion)
7. Point and shoot - good for beginners, user-friendly
8. Tripod friendly

The negative:
1. My one big gripe is that the LCD visor is useless in a non-lighted environment (theater, disco, dark room). You have to "guess" and shoot. The flash works fine but you won't see your subject. As a webcam, it has the same shortcoming - if the room is dark.
2. The camera sometimes "crashes" as if it were imitating a computer operating system (does it have Windows installed? I have to check that one...). This happens mostly when I try to delete a picture. I found a workaround for this - if you delete it when hooked up to your PC, it refreshes the data on the camera instantly.
3. If your soubject is more than 10 feet away, the flash won't do its work. Not a big issue for me but thought I'd mention it. I haven't compared the 3695 with other devices in its price range so maybe this is normal.

On the computer side:
We use Windows XP and it recognized the camera without a glitch. The driver package is very easy to install and XP assigned a drive letter after you hook it up it with the USB cable (provided).

I tried it also with Windows 2000, but prefer the more friendly and wizard-driven environment of XP.

All in all the 3695 is recommended for people who don't have the time (or inclination, or are digital camera first-timers as myself) to learn advanced techie features you won't get to use much in your every day life.


Like it for being the first one   September 30, 2003
 3 out of 3 found this review helpful

It is the first digital camera I've ever bought. The softwares that come with the camera are useful and great. I liked these. Another thing I love about this camera is that it is small, but has many functions. The prize is also great, because you can get horrible cameras for more than this prize. If you get to know this camera reeeaally well, you will always get beautiful pictures.
The 2.0 mp is good, but i don't like the images when you zoom in your camera to take a closer shot. Another thing that has to improve is the light captation. Without flash, some pictures look darker than they should. And if you are in a dark place,you can put the flash but on the LCD display you won't see anything because it's dark. This was not a problem to me, though.
Life will teach you to know when to use the flash and where to take pictures so that you don't get dissapointed. I don't know if this is a problem with all digital cameras, but it sure is a problem with this one.
Why buy it then? for the prize, it is amazingly great!!! When you get to learn how it works with lights,outside and inside, you will always get great pictures. Meanwhile, the first shots are for learning purposes. My recomendation is: buy it to begin knowing the digital camera world from a high standard and take really good care of it, and when you have more money, give it as part of the payment and buy another one. I will do that the day before the warranty expires :-)