Toshiba PDR-3320 Review

The PDR-3320 has an all glass 3X Optical Zoom lens with a range of 6.2mm-18.6mm (equivalent to 38-114mm on a 35mm camera) with a maximum aperture of F2.9 in wide angle and F3.02 in telephoto. It also has 2X Digital zoom.

The Auto-Focus Range in normal mode is 15.7 inches to infinity and Macro mode is 3.15 inches to infinity.

The eyelevel optical real-image zoom viewfinder has a field of view of approx. 85% of the captured image. The "Slow No Wake" photo on the Sample Photos page is shot using the optical viewfinder and framing the sign in the upper left corner of the viewfinder. It shows the additional image the lens actually captured that was never seen through the viewfinder. It has no diopter adjustment. The Power LED to the left is used to indicate focus status, it also indicates that the camera is writing to the memory card.

The built in flash has a working range of 1.3 ft to 8.2 ft and Auto, Red-Eye reduction, Forced (Fill), Slow Sync and Disabled modes of operation.

On the back is a 4-way jog switch used to navigate the menus, the MENU is called up by pressing it down and you push in the center to accept selections. To the right of the 4-way selector is the zoom lens control. The trashcan button is the image Delete button and the power switch is slid to the left to toggle power On / Off.

On top is the shutter release and the Mode Dial with positions for Setup, Playback, Auto Record and Manual Record.

The monochrome data display on the top shows important camera settings at a glance. Icons represent the Flash mode, Image Size(full-2048 x 1536, half-1024 x 768), Smart Media card status, Battery condition, Quality setting, Self Timer, and remaining number of images that can be recorded at present Size and Quality settings.

The buttons let you set the self timer/macro mode, change the flash modes or set the image size and quality without accessing the menus on the color LCD. battery level, image size/quality, selftimer, flash mode, space remaining on SM card and the number of pictures remaining. The data LCD is not illuminated.

The buttons let you set the selftimer/macro mode, change the flash modes or set the image size and quality without accessing the menus on the color LCD.

Image storage is on 3v SmartMedia flash cards, an 8MB card is included and any size up to 128MB can be used. The cards are easily removed as there is a large finger grip area.

The DIGITAL port is for connecting the camera to the computer via USB.

The VIDEO jack is for hooking up to a TV for image playback, the video signal is user selectable for NTSC or PAL.

The DC IN is for the optional 5V AC power supply.

The camera is powered by four AA type batteries, a set of alkalines are included but I was happy to see that Toshiba continued using standard AA type batteries to power the PDR-3320. Too many cameras these dayys use proprietary battery packs which are expensive and often obscure. It's nice to be able to use rechargables or "off the shelf" batteries. There's a multitude of brands of NiMH rechargeable batteries to choose from as well as fast AC or portable chargers. In a pinch you can even use a set of one- use alkalines but they always end up in the local landfill. Battery life when using high- capacity 1800mAH NiMH was very good even when using the color LCD frequently to check the pictures. The NiMH rechargeable type are strongly recommended.