My 3800 is equally impressive in its simplicity and basic but strong features. My only nits are an overly tight aperature ring at the 3.5 f-stop position, like it wants to slip out of position (but it hasn't) and a very slightly crooked hot shoe.

This camera doesn't compare to my main units in terms of total creative control and overall "coolness", but that is perfectly fine because that is not why I bought it. Knowing what you need and want is usually the key to a happy purchase, and I am very happy!


dont waste your money   June 21, 2002
 7 out of 10 found this review helpful

The camera itself is ok. The lens that it comes with is worthless, a maximum apeture of 3.5 is not very big at all. Pictures will be crap unless you are in a lot of light, especially if you like to use slow speed film. If you really like the camera, I would recommend buying the body and lens seprately.


Vivitar   July 31, 2002
 7 out of 17 found this review helpful

I have "done" photography for a few years,and Vivitar,while not
Nikon,does a Good job with the production of their product.Now I
saw a review 'bout the lens'f-stop,and the rated f-stop of the lens,is the Speed that it allows in light.An f-stop of f.3-f.x IS
a heckuva lot faster than say,another Brand w/an f-stop of f.4.
The "other brand" with the f.4 lens Will be a S-L-O-W-E-R lens than the Vivitar w/an f-stop of f.3. Now rhe "older" cameras,ie,
Pentax K-1000 SLR has an lens-speed(how fast the lens gathers-in
light) of f.1.8! That was thee Fastest lens on the market,at that time.And w/ TTL(thru the lens(metering))it was a "killer"
camera!Amen. 'nuf said.


Great camera, poor lens   March 7, 2004
 7 out of 8 found this review helpful

I purchased this camera as my first SLR to start learning photography.

The Good: The camera body is excellent. It has all the features one needs for manual photography including metering, depth of field preview, and multiple exposure.

The Bad: The lens is slow (f3.4). Unless the scene is very well lit, you'll find yourself shooting at f3.4 with a slow shutter speed almost all the time at ISO 100, even with a tripod. Also, I have never been able to achieve a sharp photograph with this lens, even at mid-range apertures (f8 and f11). At first, I attributed this to inexperience and poor technique. But as soon as I started shooting with a used Sigma lens, the difference was astonishing. I finally know what a sharp photograph looks like.

Overall, I would not recommend this camera package. The camera body is excellent, and is worth buying separately. However, the poor quality lens is not worth it. You will be much better off purchasing a used lens. The lens that comes with this camera can be very discouraging for beginning photographers.