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Logitech Pocket Digital
With just three buttons (two control and one shutter) to master, operating the $129.95 (direct) Pocket Digital couldn't be easier. You'll have to do little more than slide it open to expose the lens and optical viewfinder. The fixed focus, fixed focal-length lens is glued directly onto a VGA-resolution CMOS image sensor. The two buttons on the back of the camera navigate around the fingernail-sized control panel, which displays the number of shots left (the camera's 16MB of built-in memory records up to 53 frames), the resolution (640-by-480 native, but you can shoot interpolated 1,024-by-768 frames), frame deletion, battery status, the self-timer, and the sound level. Like the camera itself, the display panel's icons are quite small and may be difficult for some to see.
The Pocket Digital's front and back are made of brushed aluminum, but the sides are white plastic. The 2.2-by 3.5- by 0.5-inch (HWD, closed) device weighs a scant 1.8 ounces, and has the look and feel of a toy rather than a precision instrument. There's no LCD viewfinder or memory card slot, nor does the camera have a built-in flash. The unit is powered by a built-in lithium polymer battery, which is good for 2,769 shots and over 2 hours—by far the longest-lasting we've seen. While not swappable, the battery automatically recharges when the furnished cable is plugged into the camera's USB port and connected to a PC.
Shooting with the Pocket Digital is a no-brainer. It boots up about 2 seconds after you slide open the cover and can shoot at the rate of about one frame every 2 seconds. Although there's no flash, the camera compensates thanks to SMaL Camera Technologies' Autobrite technology, which automatically adjusts to widely varying light levels within the same picture.
Transferring images to a PC is simple: Attach the USB cable and specify the destination folder. Users have the option of erasing or preserving all images in the camera while uploading. Image quality is acceptable, though colors tend to be posterized and outdoor images tend to be slightly overexposed. With XGA interpolation, there's enough data to produce 4- by 6-inch color prints.
The Pocket Digital ships with a camera driver, download software, PhotoSuite 4 SE, and a six-foot USB cable, and is one of only a handful of digital cameras that comes with a two-year warranty.
The Pocket Digital provides great fun, incredible ease of use, and decent image quality in a tiny form factor.
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Olympus Camedia Brio D-100
It is a small, slim, and stylish would most accurately describe the Olympus Camedia Brio D-100 ($250 street). This point-and-shooter has a limited feature set and a resolution of only 1.3 megapixels, but its convenience, price point, ease of use, and nice image quality will appeal to anyone who wants a low maintenance, take-everywhere digital camera. The D-100 ships with an 8MB SmartMedia card, USB and video cables, a strap, pocket-sized documentation, and Olympus's Camedia Master 2.5 utilities and image-editing software.
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Toshiba PDR-M11
The 1.3-megapixel Toshiba PDR-M11 ($180 street), although not a standout product, produces quality images and incorporates some important features.
Easy to handle, the PDR-M11 is a great starter camera for novice shutterbugs. The LCD viewfinder, a flash, and a 4MB SmartMedia card are run-of-the-mill, but advanced features for better image quality, such as manual control and exposure compensation, are welcome advantages.
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