Since I’m training for a marathon and blogging as I go, I was in the market for a light camera to carry with me, so I can take pictures to enhance my online content.  I went to Best Buy and bought the Argus Bean 5 Megapixel Carabiner Outdoor Digital Camera on sale for $33.99, originally priced $57.99.

Features and specifications:

• 5 megapixel camera with video
• Very lightweight
• Uses SD Card
• USB port (cable included)
• Has built-in flash
• Zoom
• Li-Ion Rechargeable
• 1.5″ LCD Display
• Latch for belt loops or gym bags
• Comes with video cable for TV
• Water resistant

After I plugged it in overnight for a full charge, I turned it on, pressed the MODE button, and it locked up with a blue screen and a big play icon.  I couldn’t figure out how to turn it off. The directions never mentioned a hard reset button, but I found it inside the SD Card slot.

Again, I can only review based on my experience of using this as a runner this evening.  I tried a variety of typical shots, and here are my results.

On the 4th floor inside my work lobby. I took this picture while standing still. Not as clear as I had hoped. You can tell it’s a bit fuzzy when you look along the beams and window frames.

Inside the car while waiting for a green light.  Picture is  somewhat blurry, but you can make out the words on the radio display.

Picture shot of a restaurant patio from inside the car while waiting for a green light. Looks nice.

Same place as the picture before this one, but using the crappy zoom feature on the customers out on the patio. Obviously the quality is not what I expected.

Taken while walking the trail nearing sundown.  I took the picture with both flash and without, and they looked the same.  Blurry.

Photo taken while running. This was shot to my left, instead of a straight forward. Items in picture are barely recognizable. That brown post is the mile marker sign.

Photo taken while running. Wanted to see how clear it looked with a runner in front of me. She was about 15 feet ahead.  The camera can’t compensate for the pounding on the pavement.  But wow what weird effects!

Just after sundown, using flash.  I held the camera normal distance for a self-shot.  I was sitting on a park bench after  my 4-mile run.  The flash washes out horribly.

I took a picture of a combo “Give Warning” sign and a “Speed Limit 15″ sign with flash, and the reflection from the speed limit sign left a major wash out!

Took this picture of a parking meter, standing still using flash.  You can still see in the background how it trails the lights.

Summary:

Since the camera was so light, I hardly noticed it in my pocket while running. the surface is rubbery and built very solid.  The ergonomic handling made it super easy to take pictures on the fly.  The display kept turning off after 5 seconds of inactivity, so I had to act like I was taking a picture to turn on the display again.  It takes about 2-3 seconds for the photo to process and become available for the next shot again.  The belt clip was convenient, but if you bump it too hard, the camera could fall off since there’s no safety to the latch.

I need a camera that can do the basics even if I’m not running (or walking).  The zoom is a joke, and I can’t tell if it’s real zoom or digital zoom.  Taking good shots at night is impossible.  It would have been better for Argus to concentrate on the quality of the pics instead of putting a big “5 MEGAPIXEL” stamp on the packaging to sell more product and make people believe the quality of the photos are good.

It’s all about the end result: quality.  This camera had a lot of potential, but I’m returning it and finding a real camera.

Popularity: 23%