CES 2002 Picks and Pans

CES Camera Shots

Vacation Video Memories Without Backaches: It wasn't that long ago when you had to hoist a camcorder onto your shoulder to shoot. Now Sony has digital videocams that fit in the palm of your hand and weigh only 12 ounces. The company's new MicroMV Handycams, the DCR-IP5 and the DCR-IP7BT, provide 500 lines of horizontal resolution, CD-quality sound, and a DVD-like thumbnail picture accessing feature. They use Sony MicroMV cassettes, which are 70 percent smaller than MiniDV tapes. This allows the camcorders to measure 1 7/8 by 4 by 3 1/8 inches. Each cassette is supposed to supply up to 60 minutes of high-quality digital video. The lack of heft comes at a premium, though: The IP5 costs $1299 and the IP7BT, $1699. --Anne B. McDonald]

Biometrics for the Masses: Can't remember passwords? Keep your eye on Panasonic's new Authenticam Iris Recognition Camera. For just $200, the USB device and its software offer state-of-the-art security, plus videoconferencing capabilities to boot. And as the Panasonic representative pointed out, "you aren't going to go blind" using it. --Tom Mainelli

I Am a Camera, Plus: You may never again say, "If only I'd brought my camera!" thanks to companies aiming to plug lenses onto every handheld device. Nexian, for example, introduced a $200 sleeve that fits on the back of Compaq's iPaq pocket PC and adds a 600-by-800 resolution SVGA camera, which is mounted on an arm that flips around to face you for wireless videoconferencing. A camera module will also be available for Sharp's upcoming Linux-based Zaurus handheld. And shutterbug jitterbuggers may like Daisy Technology's new PhotoClip combination MP3 player/digital camera, which comes in a $119 VGA version and a $139 1.3-megapixel version. The PhotoClip has 32MB of built-in memory and a compact flash slot to accommodate up to 512MB more, or you can use it to plug in a modem card and use the device as an Internet surveillance camera. --Sean Captain