CNET editors' review
- Reviewed on: 12/11/2001
- Updated on: 11/01/2009
Sturdy simplicity
A comfortable and easy-to-use camera, the ClickSmart 510 looks ready to be tossed into a backpack for school or party picture-taking. The rubber accents and rounded plastic body give it a rugged feel, and when the camera is hooked up for Webcam use, its wide base keeps it aimed and steady. With a minimum of controls, taking pictures is pretty simple. The Mode button lets you cycle through icons representing the basic camera functions on a small LCD status screen. You can then change the setting for each function by pressing the Select button until you reach the option you want. It's very straightforward, if a little tedious.
The ClickSmart 510 sports a fixed-focus lens, but you can adjust the focus for nearby and faraway subjects with a simple turn of the ring around the lens. The optical viewfinder is bright and clear, although there's no LCD viewfinder. When using the camera for still shots, you just point and shoot; a loud shutter-release sound effect confirms your shot. Transferring images to your PC is equally easy. The Logitech software is activated by hooking up the ClickSmart 510 with a USB cable and pressing the QuickSync button on the camera, much as you would do with a Palm PDA. You can't miss the button--it flashes blue when the camera is connected to your PC.
Feature flexibility
This dual cam offers more features than your average Webcam but fewer than a full-fledged digital camera. When the camera is untethered, you can choose from three resolution settings for still shots, shoot video with sound, or capture a burst of five frames at a rate of one frame per second. There's a 10-second self-timer, and the built-in flash can be set for automatic, forced, or suppressed operation, although there's unfortunately no red-eye reduction mode. The included 8MB SmartMedia memory card provides more than enough storage for still pictures, though aspiring Spielbergs will want to purchase larger cards for moviemaking.
Once you connect the ClickSmart 510 to your PC, Logitech's software steals the show, with an efficient, task-oriented approach to viewing and editing your pictures and clips and to displaying them on the Web. Video is stored in AVI files but is converted to Windows Media format when you e-mail a movie. An included trial subscription to SpotLife lets you publish timed Webcam stills or streaming audio/video broadcasts if you don't have your own Web site. In our tests with a broadband connection, the live broadcast worked well. The coolest program included is a motion detector, which automatically captures video when movement is detected in the camera's field of view. Also included are MGI PhotoSuite III SE and VideoWave III SE, which provide an array of photo and video editing tools. Continue reading
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