Creative PC-CAM 300

A compact and sleek web camera that doubles up as a portable digital camera. You can record mini videos with audio or even do voice recording. It connects to your PC’s USB port and has drivers for Windows 9x/Me/2000. It’s powered by four 1.5 V AAA batteries and has 8 MB of built-in memory that can store up to 255 snapshots at 320x240 resolution or 128 snapshots at 640x 480. You can record 75 sec of video with audio or 34 min of audio. Its LCD panel keeps a count of pictures taken.

It ships with software for videoconferencing, Web publishing, and photo editing. Its video quality was very good giving a frame rate of 12 fps at 640x480 resolution, against the claimed 15 fps. It also has a focus-free lens, flash that is auto adjustable, and a self-timer that takes a snapshot after 10 sec. The picture quality of photos taken with the camera was excellent with clear and sharp images. Images can be printed or e-mailed. Given the performance and host of features, it’s worth a buy.

Neelima Vaid