Fun With Miniature Video Devices By Ron Eggers There's a new category of miniature devices reaching the market with video capabilities that go beyond those found in digital still cameras but still can't be categorized as full-fledged video cameras. One such device is the Panasonic SV-AV100, which is billed as the world's smallest DVD-quality MPEG2 video camera. It's a super-small video unit that weighs just 156 grams (without battery or memory card). It comes equipped with a 10X optical zoom lens with image stabilization and can capture both MPEG4 and low-res (340,000-pixel) still images. While not high enough for printing, the resolution is good enough for Web pages and e-mail. The unit comes equipped with a 2.5-inch adjustable LCD that rotates 180° for fun shooting, including the ability to shoot self-portraits. It's even possible to watch TV programs recorded onto SD memory cards with the Panasonic DMR-E100H DVD Recorder. Street price is $1199.99. Another fun unit is the Pocket DV4 Digital Video camera from Nisis. It's a miniature camcorder than can capture VGA-resolution video, a digital still camera, a digital voice recorder and an MP3 player. That makes it a very effective, multi-functional tool. Its fold out 1.5-inch LCD is smaller than the Panasonic's, but the image resolution is higher. It can capture 2-megapixel images that can be interpolated to 4 MP in the camera. Unlike most MP3 players, whose built in speakers sound tinny, the audio quality of the DV4 is surprisingly good. The digital voice recorder and MP3 music capabilities alone make it worth the $200 price tag. It's so small and so easy to carry along that there really isn't any excuse anymore not to have digital still and video capabilities along, wherever you go. Cell phones with built-in or detachable cameras have been around for a while, but they were limited to shooting stills. Some models make it possible to attach audio files to any transmitted pictures. The next generation of photo-enabled phones will have streaming video capabilities built into them. Again, the quality of videos captured with cell phones will be limited, but both the resolution and the image quality are expected to continue to improve. Devices like the SV-AV100, the DV4 and photo-enabled cell phones aren't going to replace either a video camera or a digital still camera for serious applications, but they're ideal for those quick video clips and snapshots that might be missed otherwise. And they can be lots of fun.