A pocket digital camera for your Webcam

A pocket digital camera for your Webcam

Zatni Arbi, Columnist, Jakarta

What is it? Is it a cigarette lighter? A business card holder?
No, it is a tiny pocket digital camera.

Upon closer inspection, you will see the new Acer logo on it.
Actually, since Acer announced the establishment of its Benq
brand last December, the digital camera should have been called
the Benq DC300. It is small enough to slip easily into your shirt
pocket. There is no LCD screen that you can use to preview your
shots or to display the images that you have already taken.

The only way you can aim the camera is by using the
viewfinder. The lens cannot be adjusted, as it is a fixed-focus
camera, but you can use its macro mode for objects as close as 20
centimeters. It has a tiny flash. It even has a built-in timer,
so you can easily take a picture of yourself.

The small LCD panel at the back displays the status. It shows
you how many pictures you have taken, the setting for the flash,
etc. Two indicators are found at the back, one to show that the
unit is busy storing the image and the other to tell you whether
you have selected the macro mode.

If you want to erase the stored images, you can use the tiny
rubber buttons underneath the LCD panel. There are three of these
buttons, one for turning the camera on and off, another for
selecting the mode and another for executing the selected mode.

The power for this digital camera comes from two AAA
batteries. To conserve battery power, the unit will automatically
shut itself off after several minutes of inactivity.

Actually, the feature set is not so bad for this pocket
camera. To download pictures to your PC, you use the supplied USB
cable. There is no way you can expand the memory, of course, but
Benq claims that you can store 95 to 128 images. There is no
direct-to-printer facility, either. The resolution is 640x480.

The good thing about this pocket digital camera is that it can
also function as a Webcam. You can attach it to its cradle, which
is also supplied by Benq, and then place both of them on top of
your monitor or somewhere else, connect the USB cable and run the
application, and you can perform video conferencing through
Microsoft NetMeeting. When used as a Webcam, the device draws
power from the PC through the USB cable.

So, on the market there are dedicated Webcams, which sit
permanently on top of your monitor, and there are digital cameras
that can also function as Webcams. Benq is certainly not the only
vendor to offer this dual-purpose gadget, of course. Intel has
for some time been selling its Pocket PC camera, which can also
capture short video clips and let you make video phone calls over
the Internet. It is also a 1.3 megapixel camera, which gives you
a better image resolution.

There are other companies that also offer fairly versatile
pocket digital cameras that can also function as Webcams,
including the Singapore-based Creative Labs. However, as in the
case of most sophisticated products, you cannot really expect
these cameras to be really great at both. If you are a serious
digital camera user, you will want features such as expandable
storage, flashcards or memory sticks. You will also want a far
better resolution. On the other hand, for a Webcam you will want
a faster data transfer rate. A higher frame-per-second (fps) rate
means smoother video.

So, the conclusion is, if you want a toy to enable you to do
these two things and you do not need quality results, these
pocket digital cameras are for you. But if you want better
results, you should invest in two separate gadgets.