The Coby Snapp Cam3000 is a handy and very inexpensive digital camcorder and camera with a 1.3 megapixel sensor that delivers adequate picture and video at a great price.
Ease of Use, Performance: 20/25
Look & Feel: 20/25
Features 20/25
How much I enjoy 20/25
Total: 80/100
The Coby Snapp Cam3000 is a great little camcorder that only costs about $30 for a full camcorder with 32 megabytes of internal memory and a 1.3 megapixel sensor. The camera has a 1.5 inch TFT LCD screen and uses four AAA batteries to power the camera that can be used for video, still digital pictures and as a web cam.
The Coby Snapp Cam3000 is a small camcorder but does have some pretty good features for that $30 price including the three modes, USB and AV connections, SD card slot and an LED light for low light situations. The Coby Snapp Cam3000 comes with the camera, four AAA batteries, a wrist strap, USB and Audio Visual cables, a manual and quick start guide with drivers and ArcSoft MediaImpression 2 program on a CD.
The camera can output video and pictures directly to your TV to view over the AV connection and included cable on a TV that accepts the usual video RCA input. You can also output video the same way and directly view it right from the camcorder using the simple controls on the camera.
The Snapp Cam3000 can be used in one of three modes as a digital camcorder, digital camera and as a web cam using the included USB cable and drivers. The camera comes with the AMCAP webcam program but the camera also works with other web cam programs such as Yawcam.
The web cam function is very easy to use and works just like any other webcam with the simple USB connection to a PC and use it as a web cam. The Cam3000 does have a lower pixel sized sensor at 1.3 megapixels but this is good enough for casual web use or use as a camcorder or still camera for decent pictures and video.
The video image at 640 x 480 resolution is pretty good for such an inexpensive camera and you can deliver the video in one of several ways to your intended audience. The camera has a YouTube setup and video upload program that will install on your computer if clicked on from the cameras memory.
The program installs a simple uploading system using MediaImpression 2 from ArcSoft to upload videos directly to YouTube straight through the camera and your computer. Once you log into your YouTube account simply tag the video how you like and upload it to your YouTube account.
The Cam3000 also works pretty well as a digital still camera to use for simple and decent pictures using the digital sensor but I found the one thing this camera is missing is a tripod mount. A small 1/4 inch threaded hole in the bottom of the camera would have been really nice to hold the camera on your desk using a simple tripod or camera holder.
The Cam3000 has a 4X zoom but when getting close to subjects and using it more for close up work it does not make for a clear picture. Getting closer to subjects with this small a sensor makes objects start to become pixilated and less clear but for a $30 camera what can you expect.
However to use the zoom to bring things closer that are far away, say 100 feet it works fairly well, actually all the functions on the camera work well for the price, even voice. The main thing here is not that it is a lower pixel size or that the camera does not perform well, it’s that it performs pretty well for the price of $30.
The camcorder function also works well and for daylight and regular light situations I am pretty impressed, I am going to include the video so you can see just how good this works. I have uploaded one video from my office straight to YouTube using the program and another is also on YouTube and my website at JeffsReviews.com to see how well the camcorder function works.
You can take stills and video that are decent but not much above that, you can judge for yourself by the included pictures and video and audio. At Associated Content I am limited to five pictures but at my website at Jeffs Reviews I will include more than I can post at AC.
The camcorder works well as a web cam and a camcorder with voice that is really good as you can hear on my website or at YouTube but the camcorder does not work well in lower light situations. The camcorder works well in daylight or lighted rooms but in lower light situations it does not pick up enough light to take decent enough pictures.
The LED does a half decent job of adding some light close up but not very much beyond a foot or two so in lower light situations the LED light does not help all that much. If you have something closer to the camera it does help some but not all that much for night time or low light indoor shots so this camera works pretty well for the most part.
The LED does not brighten up the pictures much for anything beyond a foot or two but it does help at least a little but this camera is probably better for daylight pictures and video. The camera also works very well at uploading directly to YouTube so the camera can easily get your video up to the internet in a hurry, so to speak.
I was able to easily get video and upload it to my site as well as work with the video in editing programs so the video works well for what it is. This is a low quality video and not really all that impressive but for a $30 camera it does work well and would make a great camcorder for a simple gift, webcam or even a child’s first camcorder.
The camera is light weight and has a plastic body but is tough enough to withstand some drops if you did happen to give it to a child but the screen is flush with the area around it so may scratch a bit too easily. It is easy enough to place a screen protector on the TFT display and I had no problems with scratches or anything else on the body of the camera or the screen with some protection.
The camera itself has the two doors for the AV and USB connections and the SD card both connected with a plastic type hinge that is pretty tough. The SD slot also does take the newer high capacity secure digital cards so there is no worry about the card type and compatibility.
I have used an 8 GB micro SD card inserted into an SD card adapter that is the newest high capacity type from SanDisk in the Snap Cam3000 without problems as well as a couple of 4 GB SDHC cards. All the cards worked without a hitch and I had no problems transferring video or pictures from the camera or cards out of the camera to my computer and to YouTube.
The Coby Snapp Cam3000 is a great little camcorder and camera as well as a web cam that works very well for the low cost of only about $30. I highly recommend the Coby Snapp Cam3000 if you need a nice webcam or camcorder for simple jobs at a very low cost, you can’t beat all this camera can do for the price.
