Concord Eye-Q 5062 AF

July 19, 2004

The marketplace for digital cameras is loaded with choices that make it especially difficult for novices looking for a camera that features ease of use, good quality and a reasonable price. A camera we’ve recently tried fits those requirements nicely. Let’s take a closer look:

The Concord Eye-Q 5062 AF (Concord, $229.99, www.concord-camera.com) is a solid, compact, soap bar-size digital camera that sports a satin black finish with chrome accents. Although it’s point-and-shoot ready to go and easy to use, the camera has many menu and button selectable features that allow you to experiment further in digital photography. The five-megapixel sensor and all-glass lens system provide sharp, clear pictures for prints from snapshot size to 11 x 14 inch enlargements. A macro mode focuses to six inches.

A single slide switch on the back selects picture, video or playback modes. The power on/off switch is on top of the camera next to the shutter button and the camera boots up in seven seconds. Use the optical viewfinder or the LCD screen to compose your pictures, and then just point, focus (steady green light) and shoot. There’s a short time lag from when you press the shutter button until the picture is actually taken, a quirk of many digital cameras. After a three-second processing time a preview picture appears on the camera’s 1.8 inch LCD screen for one, three or five seconds, or not at all – your choice.

A convenient "Trash" button lets you delete the picture at this time if needed. The camera has 16MB of internal memory, which will hold from eight to 248 pictures (depending which of the five resolution and three compression settings you choose). At the factory default settings the internal memory holds about 19 pictures and can use SD type memory cards with capacities to 512MB for up to 150 pictures at default settings. A self-timer button makes it quick and easy for you to get into the picture.

There are a wealth of menu items that can be selected to optimize your picture taking or used for fun effects. These include ISO settings from Auto, 100, 200 or 400; EV compensation settings from plus 2 to minus 2 at 0.3 increments; spot or matrix metering; spot or multi-area focusing; various single or multiple picture capture modes; white balance; B&W, solarize and sepia picture effects in addition to seven preset scene modes such as fireworks, night landscape, beach or sunset. Selecting resolution and compression lets you tailor your picture to your use: highest resolution and least compression for those big enlargements, or lesser resolution and more compression for Web or e-mail use. Both resolution and compression settings affect file size. At the highest resolution and least compression, the file size will vary between 1.4 and 2.0 MB per picture.

The camera has a 6X digital zoom. Digital zoom will degrade the quality of the photo, since at the full 6X zoom you’ll be using only about two megapixels (out of the five) at the central part of the CCD sensor to produce the magnification. A companion Concord camera in the Eye-Q line, the five megapixel Concord Eye-Q 5345 (Concord, $349.99), uses an optical 3X zoom that preserves full resolution at any zoom setting.

The video mode takes videos at 30 fps for smooth action, includes sound and saves the video in avi format. The 16MB internal memory will save about one minute of video. The video can be played back on the camera’s LCD screen or, using the A/V cable, on your TV set.

In playback mode you can review your pictures one at a time, use the nine-up thumbnail display or run a slide show. You can also delete pictures or copy pictures from the internal memory to the SD memory card. If you connect the camera to your computer via the USB cable, Windows XP systems (and Mac systems) will automatically recognize the camera’s memory (internal or SD card) as a removable hard drive, and you can then copy picture files to or from the camera’s memory or card, delete, rename and the like. If you use Windows 98 you’ll need to install the included drivers.

The camera comes complete with two AA alkaline batteries (or can use AA lithium or Ni-MH rechargeable batteries), USB and A/V out cables, a multi-lingual user’s guide, quick start guide, convenient belt pouch and wrist strap. Also included is a CD with drivers for your computer, Arcsoft PhotoImpressions 2000 and some utility programs. The included program, ArcSoft PhotoImpressions 2000, is a photo editor that’s easy to use and allows you to organize your photos into albums and make common adjustments for brightness, color, red-eye and size. Some fun effects are included, and you can print photos or send them attached to an e-mail.

The Concord Eye-Q 5062 AF digital camera is capable of producing high quality photos with point-and-shoot ease, yet has many advanced features to allow you to grow in digital photography.

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