CHE-EZ! MONI-ME REVIEW
Che-ez! Moni-Me Review
The Che-ez! Moni-Me continues Che-ez! line of inexpensive pocket digital cameras, with a list price of 9980 Japanese Yen (~ USD$82). The .33 megapixel Moni-Me is the first camera from Che-ez! to have an image preview LCD screen, giving Che-ez! its first step towards a more full-featured camera. It's larger than the Che-ez! Spyz, but still compact enough to slip into your pocket so it can be taken pretty much anywhere. The only competitors to the Moni-Me would be other cameras in the Che-ez! line and webcam/camera combo units from vendors such as Creative, and Logitech, but none of them match the compact size of the Moni-Me.
Specifications
| Imaging Device | CMOS sensor |
| Image Resolutions | 640x480 (VGA) 320x240 |
| Image Format | JPEG |
| Storage Size | 4MB 30 images @ 640x480 60 images @ 320x240 |
| Storage Type | Fixed internal flash memory |
| Lens Aperature | F=2.8 |
| Lens Focal Length | f=6.0mm |
| Focal Range | 60cm - Infinity |
| White Balance | Auto |
| Exposure Range | 1/15 - 1/10,000 second (electronic) |
| Viewfinder | None |
| LCD | 35mm (1.45") backlit |
| Built-in Flash | None |
| Self-Timer | Yes, 10 seconds |
| Tripod Mount | Yes, plastic |
| Lens Cover | Sliding plastic cover |
| Webcam Capability | Yes |
| Webcam Resolution | 320x240 |
| Microprocessor | Sunplus SPCA533A |
| Connectivity | USB |
| Battery | 1 x AA alkaline |
| Dimensions | 69 x 19 x 55mm (2.7 x 0.74 x 2.2") LxWxH |
Design
Body
The Moni-Me is a very compact camera that easily fits into the palm of your hand and has about the same weight as a compact cell phone like the Motorola V60 or Nokia 8260, which means that it can be stored in a shirt pocket without any trouble. The camera is fairly easy to hold for people with small hands, but may be awkward for those with larger hands simply because the camera is so small. Additionally, the position of the LCD screen and its diminutive size make it hard to avoid touching the screen when holding the camera. Although there is a row of grip holes directly beneath the screen, they don't provide that much grip -- it's much easier to hold on to the indented frame of the screen.
The all-aluminum body of the camera feels very solid, except for the plastic and rubber parts. The lens cover slides left and right, and has a tendency to slide open on its own. Closing the cover seemed to be harder than opening it. The plastic battery cover stays flush and tight when closed. The rubber USB port cover would not stay in place and generally was everywhere else except covering the port.
Status screen
The LCD screen is very dim and difficult to see in any kind of light. The backlight provides poor illumination, and one has to look very closely when outdoors to see what is shown onscreen (see the screenshot to the right). When the backlight is off, the display is virtually useless. If the camera is left idle in camera mode, the backlight automatically turns off after 60 seconds to conserve battery life. In playback mode, the backlight is always on.
In camera mode, the screen shows two indicators -- the current image resolution shown as an "F" for 640x480 and "N" for 320x240 resolution, and the number of remaining images assuming the current resolution. A low battery indicator will appear when the battery needs replacing.
In playback mode, the screen shows the current image number and the total number of images stored in the camera.
Operation
Camera Mode
Turning on the camera puts you in camera mode, and takes approximately 2 seconds to startup. The camera will show a "busy" message while it's writing. If there is not enough light, the camera will go ahead and record the image, but will display a "low image" message instead of the "busy" message.
While in camera mode, the user is able to toggle between the two image resolutions by pressing the "up" button, and set the 10-second timer by pressing the "down" arrow. The "delete" button allows you to turn the LCD backlight on and off. Since the camera only runs on 1 AA battery, leaving the backlight on will drain the battery very quickly. The "mode" button on top allows you to switch to playback mode to review the images stored in the camera. To return to camera mode, you have to press the mode button again.
Playback Mode
In playback mode, the camera allows you to cycle through the stored images and delete individual images, or all of them at once.
Tethered Mode
When connected to a computer through the supplied USB cable and with the drivers installed, the camera can act as either a mass storage device, or a webcam. The camera defaults to mass storage mode when it's first connected to the computer, and shows up as a removable media drive from which you can read the stored images. The transfer speed is typical of a USB-connected memory device.
Pressing the "mode" button while still connected to the computer puts the camera into webcam mode. Windows will register the removal of the mass storage device and then the presence of the webcam device. It can then be accessed by most video capable applications like NetMeeting or Yahoo Messenger, etc. The webcam appears to only shoot at 320x240 @ ~15fps -- I couldn't find any settings in the driver software to change that.
In order to return to mass storage mode, you have to disconnect and reconnect the USB cable -- pressing the "mode" button while in webcam mode doesn't do anything.
Performance
The camera takes decent pictures considering its small size and VGA resolution. The photos exhibit a slight ring shadow on the edges of the image, which surprisingly bear a slight resemblance to the shadows on photographs from a Lomo. However, the exposure range is limited and isn't well suited for very bright or dim conditions. It suffers from the same lens flare problem as the Spyz, where taking pictures in bright sunlight easily causes blowout. In the sample pictures, a photo of the cable car was taken with the sun behind the camera but there still was significant flare from the sun's reflection off of the white building's exterior. Conversely, because the camera does not have a built-in flash, it also doesn't handle dark situations very well. The "low-light" indicator appears quite frequently during, resulting in very dark pictures.
Battery performance is satisfactory for a pocket camera. The low battery indicator comes on after snapping through 26 pictures over the course of a day, however the camera continues to work for at least two more sets of pictures.
The Moni-Me is a good step towards a more mature camera for Che-ez!, but there are still many areas for improvement. Its small size makes it very convenient for carrying it with you at all times for those "had to be there" moments. However, its average performance and lack of a flash makes the camera more of a gadget-lover's toy than a primary camera.
Sample Images
