ARCHOS AV300
SBD AVCam 300 Review
v1.2
(Written 2004/02/24, updated 2004/05/01)

In Short:

The idea of a camera with a hard-drive was one of the things that attracted me to the JBM20 in the first place. However, the 1.2mpix JBM20 Camera's quality was very poor. Now, in December 2003, about a year later, Archos has come out with a 3.3mpix camera for the AV300 line. The Cam300 is a vast improvement over the Cam20, but it still has some shortcomings. All in all, it does a pretty decent job, but I still want more.

AVCam 300 as a Digital Camera:

The AVCam 300 adds camcorder and camera capabilities to your AV300. Archos took the complaints about the JBM20's camera to heart and designed the AVCam 300 with Ricoh optics, an optical zoom, a flash, a view finder, and a 3.3 megapixel CCD (2048x1536 res max picts).

Close-up of the AVCam 300's optics (click picture for full-sized picture)

The biggest question is quality. Below I'll present my opinion, but please see my three AVCam300-sample-pages and judge for yourself:

• My best AVCam 300 pictures
• Side-by-side comparison with the AVCam 300 and the Canon S20
• Sample pictures and video from other people

After taking 1000+ pictures with the AVCam 300 I feel that the still-picture quality is pretty decent. In my "Best Pictures" you can see that the AVCam 300 can take some breathtaking shots. It can also take some very-near-macro shots even though it doesn't have macro capability.

However, I do have a few complaints:

• Color accuracy: Reds sometimes appear orange in daylight. Some pictures are a tad oversaturated.
• Shutter speed: I often get blurry pictures just because I wasn't holding the camera still enough - even in broad daylight. Forget about getting any freeze-frame action shots, though I have gotten some nice action-in-a-blur shots :).
• Grainy pictures when using flash.
• Noisy and slow focus, zoom and "extended / retract lense" mechanism.
• Unreliable auto-focus: In bright daylight you need to take every picture twice to be sure you get one in focus. In darker situations or when you are using the zoom, you may need to take several pictures and use some tricks to get them in focus. For Example:

  Tip - Taking Macro Shots:

  You can take near macro-shots with the AVCam 300 by using full 3x optical zoom and holding the camera about 2 feet (40-50cm) away from your target. The trick is getting the AVCam 300 to focus. It really hates this and will not focus correctly 4/5ths of the time. The best thing to do is to make sure your target is very well lit. If that doesn't work you may need to find another object that the AVCam 300 will focus on. Place the object the same distance from your AVCam 300. Press and hold the shutter button half-way so it focuses on it. Then move over to the object you really want to take the picture of. Now press the shutter button all the way down. Now repeat a few times to make sure you get at least one in focus.

• The camera is slow. It can be very frustrating trying to take a quick picture. From turned-off it takes forever to get to the point where you can take a picture. Then, once you are in photo mode, you discover the focus is really slow - as is the shutter speed (noted above). And finally, with the unreliable auto-focus, you end up taking twice as many pictures as you would have with a dedicated camera (like the S20 compared above) to get as many in-focus ones.

AVCam 300 as a Digital Camcorder:

The video quality is another story, though. With firmware 2.0.00 it can now record at the same resolution and frame rates as the DVR, but the quality is usually much lower. Outdoor video quality is okay, but anything not in direct sunlight and the quality is almost unwatchable - dark, terrible colors, and blurry motion.

AVCam 300 Ergonomics:

Though better than the JBM20's camera, the Cam300 still has some practical and ergonomic problems:

• To start with, the "take a picture button" is on the module, which is on the left, so, unlike every other camera in the world, with the AV300 you have to use your left finger to take a picture.
• Further, holding the AV300 with Cam300 is rather awkward since there is no place to put your left-hand's fingers.
• The profile of the Cam300 is such that it is very difficult to get the Cam300 + AV300 unit in and out of large pockets or bags because it keeps getting snagged on things.
• Finally, the Cam300 doesn't have a lens cap; its lens remains exposed. This also makes it a very poor candidate for carrying in your pocket (if the sheer size of the thing didn't already).

Cam300's "Take-Picture", "Zoom-In", and "Zoom-Out" buttons

Conclusion:

Overall, the AVCam 300 does a decent job. It isn't a replacement for a dedicated camera, but it comes close. It's still-pictures are pretty good, and I love having a 20gig (or 40, 80, etc...) hard drive as my storage medium. There is no need to dink with flash cards. The quality is just slightly below a dedicated camera (for casual use). The biggest thing a dedicated camera has over the AVCam 300 is speed. The Cam300 takes some patience but you can get pretty decent pictures out of it.

Unfortunately as a Camcorder, the AVCam 300 really doesn't cut it. The video quality is much better than the JBM20 though still not good enough. You might even find the "VideoCorder" feature useful in a pinch, but your better hope your "pinch" is in direct sunlight.

I love my Cam300. It isn't perfect yet, but it is getting close. For $200 there are some decent dedicated digital cameras, so you should shop a bit before deciding on the Cam300. However, you can get the Cam300 for as low as $165 (as of 2004/02/24) and for that price it is a pretty good deal.

Just a few improvements in the next generation and Archos' cameras would really rock:

• A more sensitive CCD for better video, improved indoor / flash pictures, and reduce blurry images.
• A range-sensor for reliable auto-focus.
• Faster and quieter mechanics.
• Firmware improvements including Manual Modes (focus, light balance, etc...) and improved color accuracy
• Reduced physical size. The AV300 is already pretty big, and with the Cam300 it is huge.

Summary:

Camera Strengths:

• Sharpness good
• Color decent

Camera Weaknesses:

• Auto-focus unreliable
• Noisy and slow mechanics (including extend/retract lense, focus, and zoom)
• Motion shots always blurry
• Flash-shots grainy
• Dark shots always blurry
• Color problems: sometimes Red is Orange, some slight over-saturation
• It is physically too bulky and it could use some ergonomic improvements

Camcorder Strengths:

• 304x224@30fps / 320x240@25fps recording (same resolutions@frame rates as DVR)
• Decent quality for brightly sunlit video

Camcorder Weaknesses:

• Poor quality for indoor or poorly lit video
• Only 304x224@30fps / 320x240@25fps recording (640x480@30fps desired)

-Shane Brinkman-Davis