Digital cameras forum: SVP consumer evaluation w/ pics from 2 models!

The point of my posting was not to promote SVP cameras, or buying on ebay at all. In fact, I do not suggest either. You are correct, there is probably a name brand camera that takes equivalent or better pictures for a similar price. My point is that the SVP DC12V-LE is a total piece of crap, however the SVP CDC-7580 which I was using all day today is impressive to me(a total amateur)and I think that it is worth every cent of the $110 I payed for it. I love the camera and still feel angry that this company's products are so inconsistent that the DC12V model line is completely crap and the other model is so nice. Please don't call this a shill because I repeat my stance that for the same price there are equivalent and probably better brand name cameras with reliable customer support. For those people that are thinking of purchasing an SVP camera, this may be a useful thread that does not need to be crowded with flames. Again from my amateur experience, the SVP DC12V-LE is a total piece of crap and I do not suggest anyone buys one, but the SVP CDC-7580 is in fact a quality camera and it takes very nice pictures in all conditions as I found out today running through the differing light conditions of the woods.

of a product or service. Everything he or she says is motivated by a desire to earn money. I think the term comes from carnivals and/or strip shows where people in the crowd would praise the product or service to back up the claims of the seller.

If you are seeing a lot of negative comments about a product, you are wise to stay away from it. The SVP product has been examined on several occasions and shown to be of low quality, and to use misleading advertising.

Thanks for posting the sample photos.

I looked at all of the photos, expanded to full size.

As for the DC-12V camera.
The reason all of the photos are dark is that the camera's highest ISO setting is 200. And I doubt that it was actually functioning at 200.
Most of these phots were tinged with purple.
The camera should only be used on very bright sunny days. The 12V is not a serious camera at all....I would classify it as a toy.

The CDC-7580 photos were disappointing to me.
About half of the photos were clearly out of focus.
For the closeup shots, it appears that the camera is ''back focusing'' or failing to achieve focus lock before the photo is taken.

Back Focus is when the camera focuses behind the target instead of on the target. This is usually caused by improper adjustment at the factory.

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After dealing with the 12V camera. The 7580 provides better performance.

But I think you are just seeing the difference and are being too lenient on the 7580.

The 7580 does not even come close to the photo quality of the Canon A410.
The A410 can be bought at newegg.com for $107 including shipping.
It is 3 megapixel and 3X optical zoom.

It clearly outperforms the SVP 7580 camera.

Take a good look at some sample photos from the A410.

http://www.steves-digicams.com/2005_reviews/a410_samples.html

Click on the photos, and while they are downloading, they are shown at full size.
When the downloading is complete they reduce in size.
Place your mouse cursor on the reduced photo for 3 seconds and an icon will appear in the lower right corner.
Click that icon and the photo will return to full size.
Now examine that photo and look at the detail.

I suggest you start with the 2 1/2 story red brick building photo.
Look at the street and traffic signs.
Look at the bricks on the building and the leaves on the trees and bushes.
Look at the white numbers on the green dumpster.
Look at the grass in the lower right corner.

Now look at one of your best photos from the 7580 at full size and check the details.

See if it compares well with the Canon A410 shots.

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when you fill out the Profile.

I think I about said it there...btw if you read before putting in your two cents, I evaluated both cameras, and gave my honest opinion of them, of which i said that I like my SVP CDC7580 and think that its a quality product.

You are absolutely correct, although i would like to add that I am not a very good photographer and was using the multi metering option where I probably should have tried using spot metering. The fact that there are brand name cameras at the exact same price that are proven to perform better than these SVP cameras should tell people that the SVP brand is just not worth the risk and there are better options than buying something off Ebay that is way over hyped by other complete amateurs. I definately have had an expensive learning experience and hope that anyone thinking about buying an SVP camera from Ebay will reconsider their options.

Thanks, I will try taking a few more pics and post them to see what u think. I am sending back the DC12V-LE and paying a 20% restocking fee to get a total of $72 back out of the $120 I ended up paying with shipping. Its better than nothing, and at least I learned. I do still like my CDC-7580 either way, even if there are better cameras for the same price.

Can anybody tell me who manufactures the SVP cameras?

My, so much bad mouthing of SVP products! While I experienced some difficulties in purchasing my SVP CDC 7515 on eBay, I have been quite happy with the camera.

As an architect, I take quite a few pictures of buildings both exterior and interior. My camera has done quite well for me in this respect. For interior shots, I carry around either a tiny tripod, or a larger, but still very compact Targus tripod which I keep in my car, or pack in my bag when I travel. When I take interior shots without flash - which is quite often - I use the self timer and usually get superb results.

My SVP CDC 7515 lets me select among: 3, 4, 5 & 7megapixel images. I confess to not being sure if I am really getting that kind of resolution, but the images I have gotten out of this camera have generally been superior to the ones I got out of a Nikon Koolpix. Plus, the size of the 7MP images is considerably larger than the 3MP images my older Koolpix was capable of. The ability to make video-clips with sound is an added bonus that my family appreciates.

These small digital cameras are great and I love them, but I have no illusions that they are as good as the much larger (and greater light-grabbing) digital cameras. The truth is, I refuse to carry the larger ones around as I no longer want to be a slave to my camera. I have the whole nine yards and then some in a film based Pentax camera, and while I love that camera, the SVP 7515 gives me plenty of versality without the pain and the cost of film is zero.

Don't expect the impossible. For example, ''action'' shots with a small digital are usually pretty bad and is a function of the physics of light and the quantity of it hitting the CCD sensor. So don't expect to be able to catch a ballerina in mid-flight, 'cause it ain't gonna happen.

But you can take great pictures with a small digital camera if you just understand the limitations of it.

Just to correct a mistake in your post.

The SVP 7515 is not a 7 megapixel camera.
It has a 5 megapixel sensor.
It can produce a 7 megapixel image by interpolation.
Which means it just enlarges a 5 megapixel image to the size of 7 megapixels.
This always results in a degraded image.

If the seller or maker of this camera calls it a 7 megapixel camera, they are misleading the customer.
Shame on them.

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how to make the
dc12v-le into the
webcam?