Digital cameras are getting cheaper but are still an aspirational purchase for many PC owners. So if you want to dabble with digital images but can't afford the kit, the Creative PC-CAM 600 may be the answer to your prayers.

Webcams that double as digital cameras aren't a new idea but almost without exception, their resolution is limited to 640 x 480, which is fine for web pages but not much else. The PC-CAM 600 has a resolution of 1024 x 768. While this is still well below the resolution of a dedicated digital camera, it's sufficient to produce reasonable photo-size prints.

Creative changes the design of its webcams with almost each new model and this time round, it's gone for a fat, spiral shape that's suggestive of a large, squashed snail shell. It sits comfortably in the right hand and the long shutter release falls naturally under the forefinger.

There's a large power button on the back, with a button each for the image and flash modes, plus a small screen showing the selected mode and number of images taken. There's no other display, which means you'll only see your snaps once you've connected the camera to a PC via the USB lead.

The PC-CAM 600 also comes with a large, weighty base which we thought might be a docking station for the PC. Alas, it's merely a stand and the USB lead plugs straight into the side of the camera.

The PC-CAM Centre application automatically uploads any still or moving images as soon as the camera is connected and displays them as thumbnails. They can then be organised into albums and tweaked, emailed or saved for editing elsewhere.

Image quality with the fixed-focus lens is acceptable enough and the camera can boost the resolution to 1280 x 960 with a bit of mathematical guesswork. Up to 20 images can be stored using the 16MB of built-in memory at the highest resolution and 85 at the next highest (using JPEG compression) but unwanted pictures can't be deleted until the camera is plugged into the PC.

Contact

Creative: No UK number
www.europe.creative.com

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