Agfa ePhoto CL18

If you thought digital cameras were complicated to use and expensive to buy, think again. Agfa's latest ePhoto CL18 is neither complex nor costly, and while it won't produce the highest-quality photos ever seen, it could be an ideal introduction to digital photography.

When you spend just over a hundred quid on a digital camera you can't expect state-of-the-art performance. So it will probably come as no surprise that the CL18 can only take pictures at the rather low resolution of 640 x 480. This is good enough for sharing with friends via email or putting up on your website, but don't bother trying to print out your snaps on a swanky colour printer.

You choose from two levels of quality: go for 'standard' and you'll get 32 images on the 2Mb CompactFlash card inside the camera, while 'high' will reduce the number of images you can store by half. The CompactFlash card is a permanent fixture - you can't replace it with a higher capacity one. You get images off the CL18 by connecting it to a PC using its built-in USB socket and downloading images to a hard disk.

There are other compromises in bringing the camera in at this price.

It does not have an image viewer for looking at photos that you have taken. Instead, there is a simple LED display for setting up the 10-second self timer, flash and for choosing image quality. This cuts costs but you can't preview shots and retake any that don't look right. You can delete images but won't know what you are deleting.

On the plus side, the CL18 is small (the size of a disposable camera), has its own leather carrying case, and as well as being a stills camera is useful for videoconferencing. A tripod is supplied to support the camera at the right angle and there is videoconferencing software included in the shape of Microsoft's NetMeeting.

You also get software for capturing video sequences from the camera via your PC, and Corel Print House and Corel Photo House for editing images - so you can use all the features of the camera without spending any more cash.

Contact Agfa 020 8231 4903

See also:

WWL Cool-iCam

£80 for a cool looking combo digital camera and Webcam - sounds too good to be true. So is it?  04 Sep 2000

Consortium pushes easier image exchange

The Digital Imaging Group (DIG) has launched an initiative to accelerate the adoption of wireless technology in digital imaging devices and to make it easier for consumers to use them.  07 Apr 2000

Smile please! First cordless digital camera arrives

The latest in digital camera technology kicks off a generation of video transfer that does not require cabling.  24 Feb 2000

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