Tiny digital cameras that can do it

Have you ever watched a doctor performing an upper endoscopy on a patient? It is really amazing and it is a minimally invasive procedure.

The endoscope, with its optical fibers and powerful lenses, is inserted into the patient's mouth and pushed gently down into his esophagus, stomach and duodenum. The doctor can then visually check the lining of the inner tube of the patient's digestive track. The image comes up very clear on the monitor and images can be printed as necessary.

A friend -- a doctor of internal medicine -- recently told me that looking inside a patient's body today can be done in a totally noninvasive manner. All you have to do is swallow a capsule that contains some electronics. While the capsule travels down your stomach, it takes photos of the inside of your intestine, colon and so on. The next morning, the capsule will be picked out of your stool and the stored photos can be printed.

The world of electronic imaging, whether digital or analog, has progressed so much that we now have gadgets that used to be available only to agent 007. These tiny cameras do not really cost a lot of money, either. That is why a lot of perverted people place them in locations where they can take pictures that may satisfy their sick minds. That is the peril of advanced technology. But we are more interested in the use of digital cameras for decent purposes.

In addition to pocket cameras from Canon, Hewlett-Packard, Nikon, Olympus and many other gadget makers, we also have very small and thin cameras that, surprisingly, can capture high- resolution images.

First, you must be familiar with Canon's Ixus i cameras by now. They are not cheap, but they are serious cameras with the ability to capture images at up to four megapixels of resolution.

The cameras are only the size of a credit card, only thicker. These sleek ultra-compact digital cameras cost as much as US$365.

Now we will have a look at some other cameras that cost about one-tenth the Ixus i. The capabilities of these cameras are, of course, no match for the Ixus i, but if they get snatched by a pickpocket you will not feel so bad. Needless to say, many of these cheap cameras have obscure names.

Several of the smaller cameras, for example, are sold by Synerpro and can be purchased on eBay. They can capture and store 26 still images at 1280 x 960 resolution or 124 still images at 640 x 480 resolution. These are very low resolutions by today's standard, but the cameras can still be fun to have.

A Hong Kong-based company named Fairchild33, which offers similarly designed credit card-sized cameras, also has even smaller cameras, including a pinhole spy camera that costs $33.

Another interesting gadget is the binocular and digital camera combo. There must have been moments in your life that simply passed as you frantically tried to focus your digital camera. With this combo, you will no longer miss memorable moments. The $120 camera has a slot for a SecureDigital card, giving you more storage capacity. Like the credit card cameras from Synerpro and Fairchild33, it can also record video in AVI format, and a USB cord connects it to your PC or Mac for file downloading.

Now, if the very thin, credit card-sized digital cameras are still too large for your palm, what about a matchbox-sized camera? Also called a "key chain" camera, it delivers less resolution -- 352 x 288 pixels or 176 x 144 pixels.

Most of the tiny digital cameras can be used as Web cameras as well. Some come with a lithium battery that gets charged through the USB connection, others use an AAA battery. However, at this price range, you cannot really be picky. About the only thing you can insist on, if at all possible, is that the lens is made of glass instead of plastic. At least a glass lens does not get scratched as easily.

By the way, even if your credit card is honored by PayPall or eBay, keep in mind that you will still have to pay a hefty shipping charge. --Zatni Arbi