Time of year nears to sniff out those camera bargains
I want to invest in an affordable but good video camera for my PC. I am not in a particular hurry to buy one, so I'm willing to shop around, or even wait for any new deals that might come on the market. Have you any information on the latter? JOHN DAVIDSON Central You are in a good position if you are not in a hurry. There are several deals on the market right now, but I expect prices to drop - and new products to come out - within the next six weeks. November is, after all, the month of the Comdex computer showcase, at which lots of new gadgets are rolled out.
To promote these new products, vendors usually drop the prices of old stock, so your chances of getting a good deal next month are quite high.
The QuickCam from Connectix is a popular model among computer users, and Connectix does have a good reputation for cameras.
QuickCams are available in all Hong Kong's leading computer shopping centres and are priced at HK$1,000 or less.
Connectix is one firm that has confirmed it will be rolling out new products at Comdex. One of these, the QuickCam VC, will be of interest to you. Expected to cost less than US$100, this is a colour video camera designed to work over the Internet or via a direct modem-to-modem connection.
It will be sold with image and video capture software that will enable users to attach video files with e-mail. The product is aimed at the Windows 95 market.
The camera features common interchange format (352-by-288 pixels) charge coupled device technology from Sharp Corp; a rate of more than 15 frames per second using a Pentium 166 megahertz or faster microprocessor; an adjustable-focus lens and six-foot cable.
The QuickCam VC will with Connectix' VideoPhone 3.0, Microsoft's NetMeeting and Internet Explorer 4.0.
Even if the new QuickCam will not be available in Hong Kong until January, you can rest assured that the price of the existing models will fall before that time.
