A Great Deal
Written: Jan 03 '01
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Price, features
Cons: Picture quality
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| QuickGold's Full Review: Aiptek Pencam Trio Webcam |
I got the Pen Cam Trio for Hannukah and was suprised by it. The Trio is a web cam, camcorder and digital camera in one. I'll review each aspect.
Web cam: The video quality for web cam use isn't as good as Intel or Kodak's web cams, as it tends to be "grainy" in how it comes out. It's not bad, but you get what you pay for. The USB connection works nicely and setup aint bad. My only complaint, besides video quality, is the sizes you can take. There are about 5 or 6 preset sizes you can take pictures with. One is too small and the other is too big for webcams really. I'd like to see more options in the resolution.
Camcorder: There are really two times when this is a camcorder: When its connected to your computer and when its not. If you go sans computer, you can record video(no sound) in either Hi or Lo resolutions. Hi resolution gives you about 11 seconds of video in a 350x250 square(which aint bad). But you cant take any pictures unless you either delete the video or upload it to your computer. Attaching it to your computer and using camcorder mode gives you as much video as your hard drive can handle. It's good, but not too much happens around my computer so that option hardly becomes usable.
Digital Camera: Again, using the Hi or Lo resolutions, you get 80 or 99 pictures respectively. They work good, but there is no flash(and it wont take pictures if there isn't enough light), there is no zoom and the picture quality is garbage when compared to normal stand alone digital cameras. But if you think about it, it really does the job and it's cheap. I'd say its good for letting the kids use when you want to handle the expensive camera.
Other than the three modes, the battery life is pretty average. It uses 2 AAA batteries. The size is really nice. It's the size of a ball point pen and it really does fit in your pocket. Also, it's VERY lightweight(I dont like it, but some do). The stand that it comes with is pretty good, but the USB cable tends to tip it over, so make sure you keep it so it can't fall too far.
The software it comes with is a bit complex. Nothing that can't be figured out, but it should be alot easier.
Overall, if you want a good gift for someone under 20 or just want a cheap webcam, this is for you. Otherwise, save your money and buy a real digital camera.
Recommended:
Yes
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Epinions.com ID:
QuickGold
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Member: Matt H
Location: Madison, CT
Reviews written: 34
Trusted by: 1 member
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