I was in a local Best Buy last week with my brother in law. I made the comment that I need a new camera. My good old Kodak Easy Share has been a great camera but I broke it last year when we were in Nebraska. Tried to put it under the seat of my Warrior and broke the screen.
My desire is for a rugged camera. I don’t need a lot of features, just something that’s easy to use and will withstand all of my trips to Moab, Walden and other off road destinations.
Amazingly enough, in the very aisle we are in I found the Argus Bean. It has an integrated clip, and a rubberized exterior, marketed as an outdoor camera. This camera appears to be exclusively available at Best Buy, and is reasonably priced at $59.
My question to you, gentle reader, is how good is this camera? Does anyone have one? Any thoughts, reviews, comments? Any other options on a reasonably priced, rugged, outdoor camera that would fit my needs?
If you have any information on this camera, or any others, please feel free to comment.
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49 Comments to 
I picked one up today to use on a construction job-site.
Seems like a good design, somewhat ergonomic, lightweight, screen is recessed/protected, strong flash, 5MP.
Very good controls – though the labels on the buttons are quite small, its intuitive enough to make up for it.
Picture quality is pretty good. The flash recharge is somewhat slow at around 4 seconds between shots.
Not a huge fan of the built-in rechargeable battery – especially for outdoor use, it makes more sense to carry along a few sets of AA batteries. Not sure what the battery life is like yet.
The only thing I think it lacks is water resistance. The Argus Sprout (vga resolution) is like the miniature version of the Bean and it sports water resistance. I imagine the Bean is more water resistant than most cameras, but its not advertised as being water resistant.
Overall – for $59, its a steal.
It says that it is water resistant on the bottom left of the package
I got my son this camera and after less than a week the function light came on and would not go off. I tried the charger and all button combinations but no change. There are no troubleshooting entries in the manual. I would rather have something other than an internal rechargeable battery. This problem could be a fluke.
I submitted the problem via the “Contact Us” online form and will wait for their response. Interestingly, the page references an “Instant Help” icon on the screen but none exists.
I’m a bit disappointed with the problem but other than that, the pictures are decent, but the icons on the screen are too small for these ancient eyes.
LB
Hi, I am intresting with this camera. Do you have the pictures shot by this camera?
I don’t have any pictures show with the camera, in fact, I don’t have one of the cameras yet. I may go pick one up this week and take some pics with it for review.
Hi I was just wondering if you can take pictures underwater such as fish? and how clear are the pictures taken by the argus bean 5.0 mega pixel camera.
I’m headed out to pick this camera up this afternoon and take it rafting with us this weekend. I’ll try to post some pics on Monday and let you all know how it faired in rough conditions!!
Jeff…
I had a similar question to alex’s and this was Argus’ response:
“The camera is water-resistant but not water-proof.
Argus Support”
Not very descriptive, but I’m guessing that it’s not submersible. Not really a deal breaker for me, but good to know it’s limitations.
peace,
Brad
Hey Jeff, if you’ve got some pictures that you’ve taken with the camera and don’t have a place to host them, I could upload a few for you. Just send me an e-mail (not sure if it puts a link the address since I put it in the field above).
peace,
Brad
I want to buy this camera, but I also want to get Wii Fit. Which one should I get first?
Having not owned either (though used digital cameras and played on the Wii), I will probably always say that there is nothing that beats the real thing. If you’re a hiker, climber, or any sort of outdoorsy person that already has a lot of the equipment for that activity, then definitely get a sturdy camera. But if you aren’t too overly into outdoor activities (unless you have the desire to start in which case a camera will definitely encourage you to do more stuff outdoors), then perhaps go with the Wii Fit.
In all other respects that I can think of, the two aren’t too easily comparable, but nothing beats a cool evening while watching a beautiful sunset from a cliff and then reliving that moment when you run across those pictures later in life.
But that’s just my opinion.
peace,
Brad
I purchased one of the Sprouts for my neice for $19. While it says it’s a 0.3MP, the photo pictures are 100x better than my 1.3MP digital camera. When transfered to a PC they are pretty big pictures with a default resolution of 72dpi, but I can’t remember the dimensions in pixels.
Also as an FYI, the sprout is “water resistant” but I can vouch for it being OK submerged in a few inches of water for a few seconds, my neice tried taking pictures of her fish. It worked and took pix underwater, but they were totally distorted but it’s supposdely working fine now.
I’ll see if my sister can send me some pix and I’ll post a link. Considering how cool it was, I was thinking of picking up the Bean to hook on my bike for mountain biking treks figuring it can take a beating. It has to be worth $60, but I’m not expecting anything that rivals a Canon CMOS processor image or anything like that. Just something that can get beat up and get some water and/or mud splashed on it and still be able to take a couple pix out on the trails.
Ooops, just noticed a typo…they’re 100x better than my 1.3 MP CAMERA PHONE. My phone looks like 0.0MP when I email the pix to myself.
If anyone does have pics from either a Sprout or a Bean that they would like me to post here, just let me know. I’d be happy to put them on the site.
Thanks!
Bob
Hey Bob I have some pics that I would like to put on can you please help?
Ok guys, following up on my previous post.. the Bean rocks! Performed much better than expected and gave me some great photos on the Delaware river. Check out the shots here http://www.flickr.com/photos/themaven/sets/72157605750253124/
As far as waterproof vs. water resistant?? I jumped out of the boat with the Bean clipped to my swimsuit and submerged it by accident for about 10 seconds.. After that the camera would not shut off and the area between the lense and the protective cover fogged up terribly. I took it apart, let it dry out for a day and cleaned the lense… and thankfully it is working once again.
So Water resistant..yes!! Waterproof.. No!!
Anywho, I’m still thrilled with the results and recommend this little gem to anyone. By the way, the image sensor is a Zoran Coach which is used in something like 50 other commercial brand named cameras including Samsung.
Hope this info helps, feel free to email me with any questions.
Not bad. It looks like there’s a little distortion when you were in the boat moving versus on land, but not much.
Overall, I think that I’ll eventually have to get one. At least before my next trip.
Thanks Jeff,
Brad
hey jeff after your argus bean got wet did the flash stop working becaus i droped mine in a deep puddle and when i pushed the joystick right to turn on the flash it would not work.
I would like to know the battery life. I’ll be out in the woods without electricity for 5 days. Has anyone taken this for an extended time without recharging?
That’s a really good question. Anyone?
I too was looking at purchasing, but the reviews on Best Buy’s website seemed mixed. Some said the carmera worked great others said the camera’s joystick broke easy and the flash washed out inside photo’s. Will there be a newer verson soon?
They have green, blue, and red Beans at Amazon for $55 give or take, with free shipping and no tax. I ordered one for my daughter (10) after an even cheaper camera gave up the ghost. I read the reviews on BestBuy.com and went for it anyway based on nothing else in this price range.
BTW, I’m a different Jeff than the one who posted pictures. And thanks for the pictures, Other-Jeff.
hey every one i have seen the question about battery life alot so i tested it and it lasts about 4-5 hours if you leave it on the whole time and if you use flash alot it is shortened.
I recently bought this camera and used it to take pictures while my wife and I went sea kayaking. Knowing it was water resistant and not water proof I kept it in a ziploc baggie, but halfway across La Jolla Cove I realized the baggie had leaked and was filling with sea water. I quickly drained it and it still functioned afterwards. The rubber outside seemed to protect the camera and I continued to use the baggie even though it had a little water inside. The camera took better pictures then the waterproof old fashioned camera provided by the tour guide. I wouldn’t say it was better than my Samsung 8mp camera, but it did the job. Here is one of the pics that the camera took.
http://i304.photobucket.com/albums/nn185/Captain_Chase/Sea%20Kayaking/PICT0010.jpg
My family recently moved to San Diego and we are getting ready to use the camera as a webcam to keep in touch with family back home in Colorado. I like how the camera recharges through the USB port while providing a video feed.
I purchased a 3.2MP bean for each of my children to take on a recent holiday. I thought the sprout was too limiting, no LCD screen and no expandable memory.
My kids are 4 and 6. I had the cameras slung about the kids necks with lanyards mainly to keep them from getting lost and added a 1GB SD card that allowed them to take approx 1500 photo’s each at a resolution 1 level less that the 3.2MB setting. I expected the 4yo’s camera to be inoperable within a day or two purely due to her rough nature. As a testament to the camera it survived the 3 week holiday and still functions. During the holiday the camera was dropped while running onto grass and concrete at least 3 times, had both the USB and SD slots filled with snow on two occasions, dunked into a fishpond, left in the rain once, in addition to being sat on, banged into rocks, dropped etc inumerable numbers of times. Both times when the camera got quite wet it stopped functioning, we dryed the camera in the sun on the car dashboard and in front of a heater and after 5 or 6 hours it worked again. During the drying process it was placed so close to the heater that it became too hot to hold – survived that too
So a big thumbs up for it’s robustness.
The cons for me were that the widest angle setting is not very wide and the photo’s are quite easy to blur especially when the camera is being operated by an excitable 4yo. Out of the 8 or 900 photo’s she took there should be 30 or 40 keepers
. Oh yeah and the kids absolutely loved them!
the target website says that its waterproof but the Argus site doesnt whats up with that? Either it is or it isnt. Anyway my new cell phone from Casio is called the GzOne Type-S and its thru Verizon, its waterproof up to one meter for about 30 minutes and it takes good pictures check it out at: http://www.casiogzone.com/type_s/
Just thought i would share my amazing find with you all
[...] Bean outdoor digital camera by Argus. He found a blog post question about it with lots of comments. Some mixed reviews by people. I’m going to [...]
Thought everyone would like to take a look at this demo of the product. If anyone is looking for a real good deal they can find it at: http://www.walmart.com/catalog/product.do?product_id=10216835
If you have any questions about the product you can email me at pbelanger@arguscamera.com
Purchased a camera last week at best buy. It works fine and students were impressed. My only problem was that my package did not have a usb connecting cable and thus I cannot download pictures in the camera’s memory. None of the usb cables I commonly use with digital cameras have an end suitable to plug into the camera. Does anyone know what type of usb cable has an end small enough to connect to the camera?
does anyone know what type of usb cable
I bought the 3.2 mp camera for my son and wondering how clear the lcd screen was? I have not received it yet. Some of the other inexpensive cameras have such a poor quality it’s hard to see what you’re taking a picture of.
Hi,
Just wondering if anyone knows if this is compatible with Windows Vista??
@jhaddix117
Since it can use a removable memory card, it should be compatible with any operating system that you can plug in a card reader. I’m going to get two of these for Christmas for my kids and used removable SD cards and a card reader to move the images into their iPhoto accounts on our Mac. By not using the internal camera memory you do not need to hook up the camera with a cable and drain the batteries while downloading images. Using a memory card is much easier.
-Dan
Thanks for the info. didn’t think of that! I keep reading mixed reviews on this product on the fragile joystick, not sure if I want to purchase or not. Probably will though!!
I have bought 2 for my kids. They work great outdoors with good light. Indoors the flash is MUCH to bright for any close pics 1-4 feet. I have not found a way to adjust for this except to cover most of the flash bulb area with tape or my finger. That is very hit or miss. My son uses it on out door camping and canoeing trips no problems, but has not dunked in in the river.
I bought a 5mp BEAN for my son but after using it once, the function light has come on and won’t turn off, the LCD is blank and none of the controls work. It is not possible to take out the battery to reset it and there is no reset button. I never even got the chance to download the first batch of photos taken with it. I am NOT happy with this camera at all
I am having the same issue as Lessthansatisfied…bought for my daughter, barely used, camera has frozen and there is no way to reset it.
Can someone tell me if the AC adapter is rated 110-240V for use in Europe too? I am thinking of taking one back to Germany and want to make sure I can charge it with a simple plug conversion. Thx
I just purchased this for my daughter 6 yrs old to take on our trip.
How does one charge this camera if on a road trip.
I only got a USB cable to connect to a computer.
Is there an AC Adapter???
i just got this camera, how long did it take for the original charge to work ? it has charged overnight and the light is still red. it won’t turn on if it is not on the charger. this is the 2nd one i get, the first one never charged, it kept blinking for 28 hours, they changed it at the store and now this one takes forever to get a charge. let me know how you made that thing work, i am so frustrated with it. thanks, celine
There is a reset button, actually, if yours is frozen – look next to the slot for the memory card, and you can see a little recessed button you can press with the end of a paperclip. The LCD on mine has just gotten wonky, unfortunately, displaying a flickering, doubled image. It does still take photos and movies, but being unable to use the LCD makes it pretty useless. Impossible to get in touch with Argus, as well, so that’s troubling.
Hey, I just bought the 3.5 mega pix bean at sears for 5.97 on clearance. Not sure if other sears have this deal or not but I was pretty excited! it’ll be nice for snowboarding! =)
We had nothing but problems with our Bean. The battery would not stay charged and the skin started to peel off. When I sent Argus a request for a Return Authorization, I got no reply. I finally, after some months, got in touch with Peter Belanger (he posted above). He told me he would refund my $59.99. That was in July. It’s now October.
Don’t try calling them for support, the telephone number goes no where. Don’t email them, they don’t respond. Last of all DONT BUY ANY ARGUS CAMERA and expect it to be supported.
Cute camera, ZERO DURABILITY, NO CUSTOMER SUPPORT_ NONE!
Do not waste your money, for the same price you can get a Vivitar 8mp.
I bought the bean sproat ($8 on Woot.com) but the pictures are super grainy. Anyone have one that has figured out how to get nice pictures? I can change the resolution and all that but I still don’t seem to get anything worth keeping.
Mark, I don’t see any reset button next to the memory card slot, have also looked inside the slot for one. I have the 5 mega pixel one. Any other suggestions?
Just got one and it only works when it hook up to the pc as a web cam,cannot take a picture with it soon as you unplug from pc it is dead.sendint it back today.piece of crap.
bought the bean 5.0 meagapixel and it sucks, the cord they gave with the camera never properly fit the usb port in the camera end and have tried to get someone from the Argus Co to respond, and still no response. Unfortunately I am past my warrenty through the store I bought it in, so my only option is to try to get someone at Argus, but I may be in my old age before I receive a response. Not a happy camper!!
This camera was at a local drug store for 69.99. And no one bought it. I was always thinking of buying but never did. And so I went to the store a few days ago and they were having their sidewalk sale, well, on the table lay this argus bean camera, and the price, $5!! I got this for $5! It’s so compact and cute. And the pictures aren’t that bad. My mom wanted to go back and buy more but within 30 mins they were sold out. And the cool thing is you can use them as a webcam too! The disk manual tells you how to! Great buy.