(INDEPENDENT REVIEW)

This is a review of the Aiptek Pencam I bought a few months ago and part of this review was taken from E-Pinions web site and other sites describing this camera. I'd been thinking of buying a good digital camera but found this cool little INEXPENSIVE camera just for fun. It seems the little pocket sized Aiptek Pencam Trio digital camera had been quite a popular Christmas present for 2000, having burst onto the international market with widespread distribution in the last six months or so.

I first saw the Pencam Trio a few months ago when one of my co-workers came in with it. Then someone else bought one and someone after him. So I figured this was worth having so I took a quick trip to Wal-Mart and grabbed on before it sold out. Then I found out that after I bought mine a few other people in my office did too and they sold out.

Choosing a cheapie digital camera can be as hard as choosing a more expensive one - there's quite alot of them on the market now and they vary widely with capacity and value for money. The Pencam in my opinion is great value for money and an excellent introduction to digital photography. And it can serve as a handy quick-shot reference tool that you can use to take photos of makeups or projects you're working on. It isn't the greatest but for the $69.00 bucks it cost (I think it's even less expensive now) it's hard to beat. Even does short MPG "camcorder" shooting though that is a little bit limited.

The advertising claims are a little misleading - the "Trio" of still camera, camcorder and webcam is true enough for still camera and webcam, but the amount of memory available and image quality really doesn't qualify this camera to be called a "camcorder" by any stretch of the imagination. You can't take more than a minute of "video" footage when the camera is in camcorder mode - but it's nice to have the option anyways. You CAN shoot longer "video" footage if it's plugged into your computer and as long as you have memory and hard disk space you can shoot much longer video. Though the quality isn't "camcorder" quality but more like MPG or AVI type files - a bit choppy and irregular but it still works.

The Pencam is reasonably intuitive to use and the software was easy to install on my computer. Note: Your computer must have Windows 98 and powered USB support to use this camera. Batteries are AAA and will last for 2 hours of actual picture taking, with about 2 weeks on standby. TIP: Take the batteries out of the camera when you aren't using it or are downloading to your PC or using it as a webcam (it is powered by the USB port when connected to your computer).

The Aiptek Pencam is actually available in two editions, the only difference being the amount of memory offered. The lower memory model has 16Mbit of SDRAM memory, the higher one has 64Mbit. Check the side of the box or ask before buying to find out which one you are getting - you may be getting a better or worse deal! Now, the use of the term "Mbit" (Megabit) can be a bit misleading, as most RAM is described in MB (MegaByte) terms. 1 byte is 8 bits of data (a bit is either a 0 or 1, the very basic binary root) therefore 1 Megabyte = 8 Megabits. So when you read 64Mbit, you might be thinking it's quite alot - but actually, it's not. It's only 8MB. However, as this is a low end camera we are talking about, it's actually enough to store 80 images at high resolution (a whopping 352x288 pixels) or 320 images at low resolution (176x144 pixels, or 1/4 the high res size). This camera does not employ removable memory, the SDRAM is internal and cannot be upgraded or exchanged like Flash or Memory Stick utilizing cameras. Internal memory is standard for most cameras in this price range though - in fact, it's even standard for cameras in much hugher price ranges, and the Pencam should be quite acceptable at 80 high res pictures for the high memory model! Unfortunately, only the low memory model has been available in my city, so I have had to make do with taking 20 pictures at a time before downloading.

Having seen pictures of the camera online, I found the real thing to be cheaper in construction than it had appeared in 2D. Silver plastic looks okay from a distance, but it's quite obvious when inspecting and using the 2 buttons and wobbly pocket clip that this camera has been made on the cheap. About the size of a wide highlighter pen, the camera really is pocket sized and the most conveniently sized & shaped digital camera on the market. Yeah it's a gimmick, but I really like it! SEE THE PHOTOS OF THE CAMERA BELOW.

The LCD on the back of the camera displays two numerals or letters, overly large, but obviously very readable, and is used to display either the number of frames remaining or several options for different modes the camera can operate in (ie high/low res, camcorder or still mode) with one button just above the display to change modes. Tee shutter release is on the top of the camera, with a small viewfinder beside it and the recessed lens just below. I recommend investing in some kindof pouch to store the camera in (it doesn't come with one) as it may be subject to damage. The lens is very small and recessed, but, better safe than sorry!

The camera comes with a USB cable (sturdy) a small stand (heavy enough to hold the camera upright, I haven't had any problems), a software CD, manual & quick user guide (single b&w A5 sheet) and 2 AAA batteries included in the box, which was a pleasant surprise.

If you've seen or read anything about this camera, you'll know it's a toy on the low end of the digital camera market. This is entirely true. But the Pencam does manage to take surprisingly good photographs under the right conditions, especially close ups - long distance shots however emphasise the circular "blurring" effect around the edges which is an inherent effect of the cheap CMOS censor which processes the images. You can set the camera for either high or low res image mode, a self timer is included which is a nice bonus, and using the camcorder mode is straightforward.

TIP: The camera will beep if there is insufficient light - but sometimes you can still take recognizable photos with low light. You can invoke the continuous mode of the camera and just press the shutter for a few frames - continuous ("camcorder") mode overrides the light sensor (it doens't beep when disabled, by the way). Also, if in webcam mode in an indoor environment, be prepared to have a reasonably bright light shining on yourself if you want to be at all visible!

More than anything, it reminds me of the pinhole camera experiments I did in high school photography - only in colour instead of black and white! I've always been of the school that you don't need a fancy camera to get good results - the real talent of taking good photographs is in the eye of the photographer, not the equipment. So I actually would highly recommend the Pencam if you're interested in experimenting with a new medium or just want a cheap camera to take cheezy holiday snaps, as it is quite adequate for that purpose. The images produced by the Pencam are not really appropriate for print though - the resolution is really only suited to screen display - great for websites and sending email attachments to friends & family.

Note: you can only remove images from the memory by clearing all images at once, you can't take them off one at a time. Bit annoying for the low memory edition as 20 pics get used up fast.

Here's one area that the Pencam really does shine. The software included with the camera is really quite exceptional for such a cheap package! The basic camera manager installs easily and is all you need to get images from your Pencam to your hard drive. My only complaints are that the software installs directly into the C:\ drive and does not allow you to install it where you want to, or even in the standard "Program Files" folder as most software does by default. Also it seems to interfere with my TV Tuner Card settings and that is frustrating to change back and forth when I want to use one or the other. The other bundled software includes Video eMail (which streamlines the process of recording and sending video via email), Microsoft NetMeeting (for online video conferencing) Ulead Cool 360 (makes panoramas from successive panoramic frames, and works incredibly well - this is a great piece of software and I can see myself using it alot. It can create executable files for others to view the panoramas, much like Quicktime VR), Ulead Photo Explorer (a visual file management system) and Ulead Photo Express 3.0 (an image editing tool - don't bother installing if you already have something like Photoshop of Paint Shop Pro.). There's also a .pdf version of the manual on the CD if you'd rather see the manual in full blazing colour on your PC. What a great bundle!

At $70 US, this camera is among the cheapest available on the market, and certainly has the most features for the price. Other countries don't seem to get all models available in the USA, so there may be some others worth looking at if you're not here.

USB Interface - quick downloads of images & power from PC whilst in use
Excellent Software Bundle
Adequate image quality - interesting to try and get unusual results.
Reasonably good battery life

Cheap construction
Only works with Windows 98
All images must be erased to clear memory, not just one at a time.
No preview window (but at this price, there aren't any digicams with this feature, and remember even the most expensive traditional cameras don't have this option either!)
Low resolution.
No flash, works only in good light.

I think this camera is a bundle of fun. It's a great conversation piece and for the price, it's a great deal. If you are looking for something a little more expensive, the recommendation is to go for a Polaroid Fun Flash. But for the under $70 US market, the Pencam really is a nice little camera and is certainly a good choice for a handy tool. There has to be thousands of uses for this camera by makeup artists who just want a quick record of the work they do in digital photo format. It's not the greatest but for we financially challenged individuals it's the next best thing until you can afford the higher priced digital cameras that give film quality photos. I use it all the time in general. Wish I had it for Pasadena last summer. But it's limited to 27 photos before you can offload them onto the computer. Means I'd have to have a laptop computer to travel with too. Oh, the spending never ends!! :o)