Rating: 
Summary: Not bad for a second camera, but...
Review: This was the second digital camera I picked up, to replace an early one that was fine for the time, but...The PDC640 takes decent pictures "for the web," as others have said. If that, and simple needs, are all you want, great. Do yourself a favor, though, and pick up a USB media card reader. The software and serial cable are not supported under WinXP, or on a Mac - but the images are stored on the card as .jpg files, readable anywhere. The USB reader will be *many* times faster than the serial cable, as well, and no special software is needed. If you print the pictures (full page) you'll notice some problems - but if you're to the point of printing pictures, you'll want a higher resoution camera anyway. It also takes a LONG time to charge, and several seconds between shots to recharge. Battery life really depends on what batteries you buy - cheap ones, it'll eat like a kid with candy. Buy decent batteries (or rechargables) and they'll last a long, long time. When the batteries are ready to go, though (1/4 left in the indicator) the pictures get awfully dark - you can see them get darker and darker. The viewscreen will, of course, eat them faster. If you need high resolution, zoom, etc. this isn't the camera for you. For quick family pics, though, it's fine.
Rating:
Summary: This camera is good for starters
Review: If your intention is just to take quick shots and send your friends and relatives pictures through e-mail, or even to post "not-so-sophisticated" images on your web page, then this camera is for you. These were the steps I took to begin taking great pictures: (1) Take the stuff out of the box. (2) Put the batteries in the camera and set the date. (3) Install the PhotoMAX software in the PC. (4) Take pictures. (5) Load pictures into PC using software and save images as .jpg files. (6) Send friends and family pictures through e-mail. It's that simple! The only downside I see with this product is the annoying green indicator light in the viewfinder. And this camera doesn't really do well with close-up shots. You have to be at least three feet away. Also only use the video screen when you are using the AC adapter. If you don't, then your batteries will drain fast. Bottomline is I am happy with this product and I got my money's worth.
Rating: 
Summary: THE BEST LITTLE DIGITAL CAMERA IN THE WORLD !
Review: I BOUGHT MY CAMERA TWO YEARS AGO IN A WALL MART STORE . AT THAT TIME I PAID [money] FOR IT ; I HAVE USED THIS CAM. ALOT I TAKE ALL KINDS OF PICTURES WITH IT . I LOVE IT ; I HAVE TWO FRIENDS THAT BOUGHT THE SAME CAM. AFTER THEY SEEN PICTURES I HAD TOOK WITH IT; NOW I AM E-MAILING YOUR ADD. TO ANOTHER FRIEND WHO IS GOING TO BUY ONE. (I SHOULD BE A SALES LADY FOR YOU )LOL
I HAVE THREE MEMORY CARDS AND I KEEP ONE IN MY CAM. ALL OF THE TIME; A VERY GOOD CAM. AT A VERY LOW PRICE;
KATHY
Rating:
Summary: Very versatile. Good photos. Great macro!
Review: This thing is hard on batteries. Use High capacity (1100mah or higher) nicads or Nimh. Carry extra sets. But...pictures are excellent. It has three distance settings close up, portrait, and distance. The macro close up is wonderful. As close a six inches! And the exposure is perfect. You have to get used to distances, especially with flash, when changing the distance feature. I would swear this is an Agfa. Looks EXACTLY like it. Same price. For the price, it is a great deal. You can "frame" your picture with the viewfinder, or the LCD display in back. You can display pictures on the TV (video in, not RF in), and load into a computer using any RS232 COMM port. The Camera's software is ok. The "TWAIN" driver (connection between camera and photo software) attaches to all photo software in the computer, not just the Photomax program that comes with it. Just select the source in your program. It resembles a 35mm "Point and Shoot" camera in many respects. It has a nice cover that slips over the lens and turns the camera on and off. If you can use a P&S, you can use this. Resolution using the 12exposure mode (high resolution, just 12 pictures) is just about as good as 100ISO or 200ISO camera print film. Looks tolerable on a 32" TV! I have many GOOD 35mm SLR's, and am happy with this little jewel. No more stacks of negatives stored away. Just a few recordable CD's, and I can put the images on a floppy to give to family, or email the pictures. It' won't, of course, replace the SLR's, but for many uses it's great.
Rating: 
Summary: Very Good For Beginners But Needs More Resolution
Review: I won a Polaroid PDC 640 Creative Kit in a contest. Given its current MSRP, I would not have purchased it due to the limited resolution (640 x 480 pixels). The market is full of digital cameras with better resolution (1-1.5 megapixels) for about the same price. As ease of use goes, it doesn't get much better than this. You simply put in the batteries, install the SmartMedia card, turn it on, and start clicking away. In order to download the pictures you've taken the software must be installed to your computer. In response to the one reviewer who complained about the software not being compatible with certain editions of Windows, you need merely to go to Polaroids's website and download the patch for Windows 2000 or in my case, Windows XP. It took only a few minutes to download and I was soon up and running. This camera is fairly intuitive if you have at least a working knowledge of digital cameras. I found myself only having to review the user's manual once, and it is fairly straightforward. The green flash indicator in the viewfinder makes it difficult to frame your shot as one previous reviewer noted, and aside from the limited resolution this is about the only other negative thing I can say about the camera. Although it interfaces with the computer via serial cable as opposed to the much faster USB, I haven't found this to be a major problem. I downloaded 14 pictures to my PC in only about 2-3 minutes just the night before writing this review. Picture quality is fair in the high resolution mode, good in super high resolution mode. I don't recommend using either the medium or low resolution settings. Lastly, regarding battery life complaints I haven't found the PDC 640 to be any worse than any other digital camera. The kit includes an AC adapter which I highly recommend be used for downloads, which accounts for considerably more battery drain than actual picture taking. The resolution mode you use will also make a difference (higher resolution = more battery use). If you're looking for an easy to use digital camera the PDC 640 is a very good choice. If you want the highest quality that digital photography has to offer, look elsewhere...but you'll have a slightly more complicated camera.
Rating:
Summary: Polaroid PDC-640 Digital Camera
Review: This is a great camera for the money. Very easy to use. After taking it out of the package, within an hour, I had pictures on my auction pages. I use the 24 images - just what I need for auctions. I took some great scenic shots last weekend and viewed them through my television like a slideshow. The pictures were bright and beautiful. Close-ups are a little blurry. Pics are fine with the other settings. Batteries go dead real fast if you use without the adaptor, so don't use the lcd screen while you are taking pictures. I took about 50 pictures over the weekend with the same batteries. Other people who have seen my camera, can't believe I paid less than $200. They have ones they paid over $400 for, that aren't any different than this one. In fact, they said they liked mine better and offered to trade. So far, so good. If I have any problems at a later date, I will let you know. I would like to know also how to get extra memory cards. Thanks for listening. I don't think you will be disappointed in this camera.
Rating:
Summary: Not bad for a second camera, but...
Review: This was the second digital camera I picked up, to replace an early one that was fine for the time, but... The PDC640 takes decent pictures "for the web," as others have said. If that, and simple needs, are all you want, great. Do yourself a favor, though, and pick up a USB media card reader. The software and serial cable are not supported under WinXP, or on a Mac - but the images are stored on the card as .jpg files, readable anywhere. The USB reader will be *many* times faster than the serial cable, as well, and no special software is needed. If you print the pictures (full page) you'll notice some problems - but if you're to the point of printing pictures, you'll want a higher resoution camera anyway. It also takes a LONG time to charge, and several seconds between shots to recharge. Battery life really depends on what batteries you buy - cheap ones, it'll eat like a kid with candy. Buy decent batteries (or rechargables) and they'll last a long, long time. When the batteries are ready to go, though (1/4 left in the indicator) the pictures get awfully dark - you can see them get darker and darker. The viewscreen will, of course, eat them faster. If you need high resolution, zoom, etc. this isn't the camera for you. For quick family pics, though, it's fine.
Rating:
Summary: Great first time camera
Review: I bought this camera a few months ago and love it. It takes great pictures and loads to the PC easily. Only draw back is theres no zoom lens. Take a look at the pictures taken with it in my webshots pages: [website]
Rating: 
Summary: Bad battery life, poor driver support, serial only...
Review: I got this for Christmas a couple years ago. The first thing I disliked was the battery life -- I'd run out by the New Year. Plus, Polaroid didn't keep up on writing drivers when Windows 2000 came out (though there is Linux/FreeBSD support via gPhoto), and the green view-finder light is annoying. Now I have a white iBook and there's basically no hope for compatibility, as my camera only came with a serial cable (not a USB cable). Polaroid's recent Chapter 11 filing probably means I won't get Mac OS X drivers any time soon (though Apple may come through in the next versions of iPhoto). If you work only work on a supported platform and like giving Energizer money, this still isn't the camera for you!
Rating:
Summary: Don't waste your money
Review: The batteries go out after about 20 pictures.
It's not worth it..
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