Che-ez! Snap

By Reuben Lee
Nov 26, 2002

The Che-ez! Snap adds new meaning to the term miniaturization. The tiniest Che-ez! to date (and probably one of the smallest in the world), the 37g digicam has a footprint that's only slightly bigger than a CompactFlash card. Amazingly, the design folks have managed to halve the size of its popular predecessor, the SPYZ, while packing in enhancements such as video recording and charging of the built-in batteries via USB.

A Truly Tiny Camera
Measuring just 51 x 40.5 x 22mm, the Snap is so small that it can be carried in a pocket, worn round the neck using the supplied strap, or clipped to the bag with the bundled carabiner, an oblong metal ring with a spring clip —and you'll forget that it's even there. In fact, thanks to its light aluminum casing, we reckon the Snap can even be used on a keychain or attached to a phone as a decorative accessory.

Don't be fooled by its miniature size. At the heart of this pint-sized device is a 320,000-pixel CMOS sensor which can capture images up to 640 x 480 in resolution; good enough for decent card-sized prints. Picture-taking is simply a matter of point-and-shoot, with automatic shutter speed and white balance settings. However, you won't find any zoom options or manual features onboard, although there's a 10-second self-timer mode.

Decent Image Captures

CompactFlash versus Che-ez! Snap (click to enlarge)

In our tests, the Snap took surprisingly good pictures for a camera of its category. Although you will not get the image quality of higher-end cameras, the pictures we snapped were clear and well-exposed. The colors were slightly oversaturated in some of the images, but generally most images, especially outdoor ones, turned out fine. However, as the unit does not come with flash, it was rather impossible for us to shoot any pictures in low-light conditions.

As expected of cameras with no moving lens elements or built-in flash, camera operations are fast on the Snap. It is also relatively easy to operate the camera since it comes with only two buttons: One for scrolling through the various options and a shutter release button to confirm.

However, its size also worked against it as camera grip was difficult and some images turned out blur as we couldn't keep the unit steady. Fortunately, this was easily rectified using the supplied cradle (for Webcam functions) or simply by employing an adhesive like Blue-Tac to hold the camera in place.

Other Features
The Snap sports an 8MB SDRAM that's good for capturing up to 104 images in 320 x 240 pixels (or 26 in 640 x 480 pixels). Movie recording length varies from 10 seconds at 10 frames per second (fps) to 3 seconds at 30fps.

As with most digital cameras these days, the Snap hooks up to a PC via the supplied USB cable, but images can only be accessed by installing the Che-ez! Snap Manager software. The USB connectivity also serves to charge the built-in battery on the Snap which, during our Lab tests, gave slightly more than 1 hour of continuous use on each full 2-hour charge.

Verdict
Those with a penchant for miniature gadgets will love the Che-ez! Snap, but if you intend to develop your interest in digital photography further, other ultra-compact yet affordable offerings such as the Casio Exilim EX-S1 and Sony Cyber-shot DSC-U10 may be better buys with their higher-resolution sensors and onboard features.

Editor's note: The Che-ez! Snap is expected to be available in Singapore from end Dec 2002.