Review 5 of 7
Model Reviewed:
Discovery 312 Summary:
I purchased this camera for $40 on clearance at a Department Store right after Christmas. For a general family camera it is a good value. It has a slow lens (5.6 @ 38mm and 9.9 @ 120mm) but when
loaded with 400 and above film it performs well. The shutter speeds go from 1.2 seconds to 1/250 seconds so it may not be fast enough for sports photography. The flash zooms with the lens and does a pretty good job for a P&S. The zoom is a step zoom type, that is it zooms in about 6-7 discrete steps. Overall for the price I paid for it, I am extremely satisfied with it's performance. It is a good alternative to some of the other name brand models. The camera looks a little funky and chunky but feels good in your hands and operates well. Strengths:
Good sharp and contrasty lens. Has a good set of features including continous shooting, interval timer (10 secs to 60 mins), and up to 3 self timer exposures. The meter is very good and handles most situations well. Weaknesses:
The camera doesn't seem to lock exposure when you lock focus and recompose. This can be a positive sometimes but makes the camera susceptible to backlight situations where the fill flash will not reach. There is no other way to do any exposure compensation.
Occasionally I have problems with autofocus at longer focal lengths. Not sure if this is the camera or my technique. Most active autofocus cameras are good to about 20feet anyway. Similar Products Used:
Olympus P&S
Pentax P&S Customer Service:
Haven't had any problems.
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