Amazon.com Product Description

The JamCam 3.0 from KB Gear is a great way to take pictures of yourself and friends. It can capture images at resolutions of 800 x 600 or 640 x 480, either of which is great for e-mailing to friends or posting on a Web site. The built-in flash helps illuminate shots in low-light situations, and a 10-second self-timer lets you become part of the fun. The JamCam 3.0 comes with enough built-in memory to store up to eight pictures at a resolution of 640 x 480, and also accepts MMC-format memory cards for additional storage capacity. Transferring images to a computer is accomplished by using either the serial port (PC only) or USB port (Mac and PC). The JamCam 3.0 comes with software to edit and manipulate your photos. ... Read more

Features

• Captures images at a resolution of 640 x 480 pixels (interpolated to 800 x 600)
• Focus-free lens for simple operation
• Built-in memory stores up to 8 images; MMC card slot for additional capacity
• Connects with Macs and PCs using USB port
• Uses a 9-volt battery for power

Reviews (140)

It really works
Three days ago I received this camera. Initially I had some problems when I tried to make the software work with my Windows XP Hewlett Packard PC but the website (whose URL is written in the documents but I cannot write it here) offered me all the necessary new drivers, programs, updates, and also some very relevant information and the reason of the error messages was fixed soon. Don't expect miracles; the main miracle is that a (Chinese) machine for this miniscule price like that works at all. You can impress the people who have bought a single camera for the price of 34 JamCams, e.g. my roommate.

The resolution is 640x480 but I have to reduce the size to 400x300 or so if the picture should look smooth. But the resulting 20kB JPEG pictures are appropriate for fast websites and you can do a lot of them. For example, you can try to search for "hyupsing qong" at Google and you might find some pictures prepared by JamCam quickly. The flash recharges every time you turn the camera on and it is probably the main killer of the (9V) battery. But don't give it up: the battery is sometimes down only for a while and then it gains the lost power again. I believe that one battery could be enough for 100 pictures or so. The timer works, too. Colors can be "washed out" if you use the flash from less than 6 feet. But without the flash, you can sometimes see a strange pixelization of some nearby objects. I recommend to take mostly outside pictures during the day but the camera is good for many other practical purposes.

Not a bad little camera
After reading the mixed reviews here, I wasn't sure what to expect. This is a simple, no frills, camera. I had no trouble loading the software. I did, however, have to go to the website to download a driver. Quick and easy. There were some reviews here stating the software wouldn't work with a Compaq, but that's what I have and there were no problems.

The first thing I did was try the camera in different settings. It does best outside. The flash is a little bright and tends to wash out subjects that are too close. I actually got decent indoor pictures without the flash. However, DO NOT try to take pics outside at night. Even though I used the flash on close-up objects, the pics came out looking like a field of Christmas lights. I don't anticipate that will be much of a problem, since I plan to use the camera just for on-line auctions, e-mail, and website pictures.

For those worried about battery usage, universal ac adapters are available with a 9 volt connection. That is what I used to download, saving the battery for picture taking.

It's not a perfect camera, but with the manufacturer's rebate, it costs next to nothing. I wouldn't recommend it to take your vacation pictures or to immortalize an important event, but it's great to have around for quick pics or to keep in the car.

Here help for jamcam 3.0 Win XP .
Go to www.thejamcam.com. Register, you receive a email, return to the site, log in.
1st: In main menu click Forums. there on top click Forums FAQ, then go to the bottom you see "Jump to: click on "Most Common Jamcam Queries" click GO. Click on Download requires to run the 3.0 win xp, follow the instruction. I made a copy of the instruction it's easyer to follow. Now I could download pictures with no problem. Hope this help!

Problems with windows XP
The camera is easy to use, especially for kids (bought it for my daughter). But when I tried to upgrade it for windows XP it was and upgrade nightmare. I found a website with the stuff I needed, but even they said it was going to be rough and may not work, luckily it did. Total time for finding and upgrading was almost 2 hours. The website was thejamcam.com.

Very Simple and Unique Obsolete Digital Camera
After a lot of reasearch, I picked up this camera, used, for $18. I knew that it was a very simple model, initially aimed at youth, but oddly containing an expansion port. And with that expansion port, I added an additional 32 megs of memory. So at high quality, which is only 640x480 on this unit, I can take 130 pictures at a time.

Now, before you start thinking this is the best thing you ever saw, it is very simple. If you're used to your Olympus Stylus not letting you take lousy pictures, this one will let you take those lousy pictures. It's greatest weakness is backlighting, but if you can alter the gamma with your software (and the stuff that comes with it is that standard dumbed down garbage) you'll be able to compensate.

Great for playing with, taking pictures of the cats, cars, and sunsets. But don't do the wedding photos with this one. But by adding a $10 32 meg expansion, you have much more capacity than many of the low end ilk. And if you want smaller, look up the Philips Key007. ... Read more

Amazon.com Product Description

The JamCam 3.0 from KB Gear is a great way to take pictures of yourself and friends. It can capture images at resolutions of 800 x 600 or 640 x 480, either of which is great for e-mailing to friends or posting on a Web site. The built-in flash helps illuminate shots in low-light situations, and a 10-second self-timer lets you become part of the fun. The JamCam 3.0 comes with enough built-in memory to store up to eight pictures at a resolution of 640 x 480, and also accepts MMC-format memory cards for additional storage capacity. Transferring images to a computer is accomplished by using either the serial port (PC only) or USB port (Mac and PC). The JamCam 3.0 comes with software to edit and manipulate your photos. ... Read more

Features

• Captures images at a resolution of up to 640 x 480 pixels (interpolated to 800 x 600)
• Focus-free lens for simple operation
• Built-in memory stores up to 8 images; MMC card slot for additional capacity
• Connects with Macs and PCs using USB port
• Uses a 9-volt battery for power

Reviews (88)

MMC card readers DO NOT work with this camera!
For a sufficiently low price, this is a pretty decent 640x480 camera, especially with a cheap MMC card added. With the driver updates listed in other reviews, it works tolerably with WinXP as well, though it's much smoother going with Win98SE. The flash works tolerably well at night, though it's rather overpowering if you're too close to the subject. Its TWAIN driver is also annoying, as it apparently gives no way to download raw images (all are pre-processed before download).

One suggestion made in another review, though, is completely off-track: an MMC card reader CANNOT BE USED with this camera! (Has the reviewer who suggested it ever actually used this camera...?) Photos are saved to the card in an annoying proprietary format, which means that it cannot be read other than with the camera. I'd strongly suggest use of a 9V battery eliminator for downloading, or you'll find yourself going through batteries at quite a clip!

Another shopping site also states clearly that MMC cards >16M in size do not work properly with this camera. There's a lot of misinformation present about this camera in the reviews and links here - caveat emptor!

WHAT do you EXPECT??
I bought one of these when they first came out almost two years ago - bought it strictly for auction sale pics. I have dropped it several times, it still works. I added an extra 28 MB memory card, and it made a world of difference in the capacity, BUT it totally messed up the LCD screen - my USB connection is loose, so I have to jiggle it sometimes to get it to work - BUT!!! I have been less than nice to it, and it has been great to me for what I paid for it. Close ups are non exisitant (meaning don't even try) flash pictures are always washed out. I believe there is no longer a web site for the company - check that out too. You DO NOT need ANY extra software to download or alter the pics - Jam Cam includes that with the Cam. I WOULD recommend this (with a 28 MB memory card) for a younger person just learning photography, or someone like me that 2 years ago could not afford anything else!!!

love the camera but help!
i was given this camera as a xmas present and love it.it is so easy to use and is great for the computer......i have one problem now......plse could someone tell me what is going wrong.when i am downloading my pictures onto the computing i keep getting the error code 5er.....the pictures will not download now...plse could somebody help i miss my camera!!!

patches
why don't you have a patch so jamcam can be used with xp i can't use mine

disappointed user
I have had this jamcam camera for approx 6 months, having bourght it on price alone. It has cost me nearly £75 to have the software put onto my computer by a proffessional company as I could not get it to accept material by myself. It has only worked on 3 occassions when I have tried to download any photo's. i now wish I had sved my money and bourght a recognised man i.e kodac. I am on windows XP. Yours Sincerely Chris Boswell ... Read more