Aiptek Mini PenCam 1.3 Digital Camera

Pros: 1.3MP digital camera, webcam, extremely small size, simple to use.
Cons: Poor low light performance, drains batteries, no flash.

What is it and why did I buy it?
My two sisters and my parents live in India. In order to cut down on some of the LD costs, we started to use Yahoo Messenger to keep in touch. As soon as Yahoo started...

Pros: tiny size, sturdy, longevity
Cons: overall poor picture quality, battery life, noisy

Ahhhhh, the Aiptek. *grin* This will be a long term use review also, as I have had this little camera for about three years now. And yes, it still works. I have even carried it in my pocket riding motorcycles on hundreds of miles of back country trails! ...

Pros: Surprisingly good pictures and video from this inexpensive tiny camera.
Cons: It likes a lot of light, but for the money I have no complaints.

I was at Best Buy looking at other digital cameras when I saw this and bought it for $89.00. I've seen other pen-cams before, but was impressed that this boasted a 1.3 megapixel CCD. It can hold in it's internal memory (if I remember correctly)40...

Pros: "Spy camera" size. Can go anywhere. Good quality images.
Cons: Takes getting used to because of small size. Some trouble installing due to missing files.

This is the digital camera I have been waiting for ... ultra small (around the size of my old Minox) and at least 1 Megapixals. I have only had it for a few days now, but do have some opinions on it.

In getting a camera this size, you have to...

Pros: Superb Quality Pictures, LOW LOW PRICE, TRUE 1.3megapixel, super portable
Cons: no flash, annoying beep when buttons pressed, shutter button in an uncomfortable spot

This cam does it all! Webcam, Digicam, and even has a videocapture function. I think calling it a videocapture device is a bit misleading. It only captures maximum of 120seconds of video (no audio). But the real deal with this cam is that it can take...

Pros: small, light, good resolution, well priced
Cons: poor image quality, no display

I've been looking for a cheap digital camera to keep in my car, and take when I'm not comfortable lugging a full sized SLR, or my Nikon Coolpix 885. When I saw this one at Best Buy, I just had to have it. This really fits in the palm of your hand, and...

Pros: Tiny Size, Inexpensive, Picture and Video Capture, Over 1 mp, Easy to use Software
Cons: Short battery life, low end picture quality, no flash, beeping noise

I dont know about you, but lugging around a huge digital camera with me during everyday life and even when I have a specific reason to bring it somewhere is not extremely appealing to me. When I saw this tiny camera I couldnt beleive how cool it was. It w ...

Pros: Great for email, short videos & conference calling
Cons: Software does not allow conversion from bitmap to jpeg formatting. Fragile. Low light problems

Extremely versatile and affordable compact digital. I'm a REALTOR and was looking for a camera that was easy to carry, yet had enough resolution for my marketing needs. I upload pix to my different advertisers who then print them out, and also to my...

Pros: very small uncomplicated and very nice portable tool for graphics students
Cons: Resolution ... 1.2 mp is the base for most graphic work... but ..just enough

I have been using various aiptek pencams and have always found them reliable and easy to use and download from, the software that comes with them is usually all the newbie graphics student would need.. the price is coming down and is a bargain anywhere...

Pros: Small and very light.
Cons: Poor low light/indoor picture quality.

This camera is compact and light enough to throw in your pocket and take anywhere. Picture quality is ok for snapshots. PC software is acceptable but the download of pictures to your computer is a little slow.
There is no flash, so indoor...

Pros: Tiny, decent photos, easy to use.
Cons: No flash, bad as a webcam, no customer support.

The Good:
I got this nifty little camera for Christmas this year. Great! I was dying to get a camera to take pictures for my business, without the fuss of developing film. I was also hopeful I could use it to capture frames for "primitive"...

Pros: Great quality photos.
Cons: Needs a lot of light.

I purchased this camera at Best Buy. I actually got it at a reduced price because I am an employee, but the normal price as of Sept. 2002 is $89.00. I am very happy with it. I bring it a lot of places, and take pictures of video whenever I want. It has a...

Pros: Lightweight Good value Ultra fun
Cons: Cheap plastic hardware No flash

I made my purchase the day this went on the market for $99 at Bestbuy.com. When I opened the box, I was disappointed by the cheap plastic..."$100 for this??" After 2 hours I was hooked. I can get 200+ low-res (e-mail quality) images on fresh...

Pros: \/ see below
Cons: \/ see below

For it's intended use, it's simply a fantastic multi function all around device, a quality feature filled 1.3 mega pixel printable camera this is not. First off battery life, really good (150-300 outdoor shots) but it also draws a small current ...

Pros: Good, for pocket cameras, very good for the price, rugged.
Cons: Battery life is just barely adequate, software gave me trouble, dynamic light range poor

I paid $9.99 for a refurbished camera to use as a test bed for camera hacking.

The picture quality ain't "knock-your-socks-off" great, but easily outshines some of the $25 cameras Walmart stocks (I know because I bought and subsequently returned several). The rangefinder is adequate, the display is good in all lighting conditions the camera is suited for (daylight only, or bright indoor scenes). Battery life is nothing to brag about but a set will outlast the 60 pictures the memory holds and then some.

Hack-ability is great and very easy - only two screws to get inside the case. Mine is in a homemade water proof case and sits on my motorcycle or kayak. It is sensitive to movement so picture quality does suffer when it gets banged around, but on the dash of a car it is OK.

It would make an ideal first kite or weather balloon camera. Would be a good child's camera.

I had a lot of trouble with the software and ended up reinstalling it a few times before I could use it - and the software was necessary to download pictures.