Digital cameras small enough to smuggle in a shirt pocket have been a reality for years. But tiny digicams that actually take good pictures -- and provide decent control over how you take them -- are a recent development.
We tested four of them, all measuring roughly 3 1/4 by 2 1/4 by 1 inch and weighing between five and seven ounces.
Sony's Cybershot DSC-T1
(Courtesy Manufacturer)
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Canon's PowerShot SD110 ($280) is more compact than other Canon Elph digicams, although this 3.2-megapixel model was still a bit chunkier than the other models reviewed. It turns on and cycles quickly, taking about two seconds to go from shot to shot. A nine-point autofocus system and Canon's impressive image-processing technology produced sharp, saturated pictures. On the downside, the zoom is only 2x, we didn't like the feel of the shutter button, and its 1.5-inch color display felt small.
Unlike other Canon digicams, the SD110 uses SD Cards instead of cheaper, but physically larger, CompactFlash Cards; only a 16-megabyte card is included, so budget for extra storage. A second battery wouldn't hurt either (the SD110's lithium-ion battery can be recharged with a small, one-piece plug-in charger).
The Casio Exilim EX-Z40 ($400), the smallest and lightest of the four cameras, weighed just 5.2 ounces while still accommodating four megapixels of resolution, a 3x optical zoom and a two-inch LCD. The price is a tad steep, but it includes a small docking station that transfers photos to a computer and recharges the lithium-ion battery.
The EX-Z40 was easy to hold and use, with key controls falling under your right thumb or index finger. Icons at the edge of the display show the camera's settings; you have quite a few to adjust, including 21 program modes. These controls can also combine multiple shots into one image, record video or audio, and even create Web pages of photos to upload later.
Casio's Exilim EX-Z40 (Courtesy Manufacturer)
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What you can't do is shoot very quickly, since the EX-Z40 takes about seven seconds to recycle. And with only 9.7 MB of internal memory (no SD Card comes in the box), you can't take many pictures either.
The Pentax Optio S40 ($300) shares the same resolution and zoom capability as the Casio Exilim. It's slightly thicker and weighs slightly more, at 6.1 ounces, but takes regular AA batteries (buy a set of rechargeables) and includes slightly more internal storage (11 MB, plus an empty SD Card slot).
The S40 lacks a docking cradle, doesn't sit quite as comfortably in the hand and has a noticeably smaller, 1.5-inch display. It recycles more quickly, in three to four seconds.
Like all Pentaxes, it frees the user from slow-to-use on-screen controls by moving many picture-taking options to a dial. If you do get lost, a help menu is built into the camera. Ten program modes are available, plus double-exposure photos, multi-frame panoramas and a continuous-shooting option.
Sony's Cybershot DSC-T1 ($500) shows this company's design at its idiosyncratic best. Its 6.3-ounce, brushed-aluminum body is the shape of a pack of cards, just 3/4-inch thick (its 3x Carl Zeiss Tessar lens never extends from the camera body). It turns on and recycles in about two seconds and produces sharp images.
Canon's PowerShot SD110 (Courtesy Manufacturer)
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A comparatively huge 2.5-inch display takes up two-thirds of the camera's back; an optical viewfinder is missing, as is a tripod socket.
Naturally, and unfortunately, the DSC-T1 stores images on Sony's proprietary Memory Stick, in this case the shrunken, Duo version of it. A 32 MB card is included, but plan on buying a bigger one. The proprietary battery recharges in a separate charger or, more clumsily, while still in the camera.
Any of these four will meet your image-taking needs, if not perfectly. Put head to head, the Casio came out marginally ahead for its combination of price, convenience and features. But it's very much a personal choice: Decide how much resolution you need, compare the matching cameras on feel, image quality and cost, and see which one best fits your own sense of style.
