UMAX Inc. has announced two new digital cameras under US$100, both of which are compatible with Mac OS X and Mac OS 9.x. Both the AstraPix 430 and the AstraPix 490 come with imaging, video, audio recording, and MP3 features.
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The US$55 AstraPix 430 is a 1.3 megapixel 4-in-1 (still, video, Web cam, and voice recording) device that features 16MB of memory, two flash modes, and a built-in microphone and speaker for recording and listening to voice notes. The 16MB of memory lets you store up to forty-seven 1.3 megapixel images, 150 seconds of video at 320 X 240, and 52 minutes of sound.
The AstraPix 430 can capture five simultaneous images in burst mode, short video clips at 352×288 up to 15 fps (frames per second), and up to 30 fps at VGA and CIF resolutions in Web cam mode. The camera also includes a two-mode flash (auto and off), optical viewfinder, and an SD memory card slot for additional storage of still images, audio and video.
The US$99 AstraPix 490 is also a 1.3 megapixel 4-in-1 digital camera that combines the ability to capture still pictures with up to 30 fps, expandable memory, higher quality audio recording than its less expensive “cousin,” and MP3 playback. The AstraPix 490 features a 1.6-inch LCD and includes features for customizing your shots. You can choose between auto and manual exposure ranging from -3EV to +3EV in 1EV steps, as well as white balance from cloudy to florescent.
The camera offers a focal length of F3.2, 9.2mm with a focus range of 0.9 ~ infinity. There’s also a 10-second self-timer. The AstraPix 490 includes 7MB of onboard memory, but memory can be expanded via an Compact Flash card slot.
The bundled software with the AstraPix 430 includes camera driver, MGI PhotoSuite 4 SE, MGI VideoWave 4 SE, MGI PhotoVista 2.02 and Microsoft NetMeeting. AstraPix 490 software includes PhotoManager 2.0. However, not all the software is Mac compatible.