I have an Epson PhotoPC 800 digital camera. I bought it in 1999. Back then, of course, it was state of the art. (And I paid a pretty penny for it, too.) And while the camera has been key in capturing some of life’s most important events over the last eight years, I’m considering selling it on eBay. My new cell phone (a Sony-Ericsson w810i) has a surprisingly good two megapixel camera, and at least in terms of pixels, it rivals the PhotoPC’s 2.1 megapixels. The PhotoPC outperforms the w810i only when photos need serious adjusting. Specifically, low-light photos taken with the camphone tend to look pixelated, even with the camera’s “night mode” turned on. And while the PhotoPC is no champ at taking low-light pictures, at least the pictures it does take can be improved through image editing software with decent results. Overall, the PhotoPC’s biggest drawback is that it works off AA batteries (it prefers rechargeables), and it tends to drain them rather quickly. And the w810i’s biggest problem is simply that it’s not a camera. That means that it takes a few moments to get the camphone into picture mode, which can spoil the opportunity to take spontaneous shots.
And when it comes down to it, the PhotoPC isn’t going to fetch a ton of money. I suppose it won’t hurt to just keep it around for now. But, I don’t know. I hate to have excess things. I’ve got the PhotoPC boxed up and all ready to be listed. Maybe I should hang onto it for just a little longer. At least long enough to see if the w810i can handle all of my photography needs.
