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| Product: WQV-1D-8JR Wrist Camera |
Company: Casio |
| Web: www.casio.com |
Phone: N/A |
Platform: Your wrist
(Win95/98/NT for transfer) |
SRP: US$238
Street Price: same |
Cred Rating: | Special Award: Object Value |
I first heard about the Casio Wrist Camera in January when Casio published a press release about it and their MP3 watch. I was blown away - too cool to be true! I couldn't wait (being a gadget geek hurts sometimes).
I had to wait until July to get the wrist camera directly from a Japanese e-tailer who takes special orders. I got the WQV-1D-8JR model, which lists for 25,000 Yen (around US$238). It features a silver color case and a metal band. It's really awesome -- and it actually works! I had to wait another month to finally get the Wrist Camera PC Link Kit to upload the pictures I have been busy taking to my PC.
The Casio Wrist Camera is a digital watch with a digital camera built into it. The camera stores 100 pictures with a resolution of 120 x 120 pixels in 16 shades of gray. It works basically like any other simple digital camera. In Record mode, the display on the watch shows the live image the lens is viewing. The pictures can be viewed on the watch and transferred via infrared to a PC.
Detailed Specification
| Recording
Format: |
CASIO original (conversion to
BMP or JPEG when uploading to a computer) |
| Recording
Medium: |
Built-in 1MB memory |
| Memory
Capacity: |
100 images |
| Recording
Element: |
1/14-inch monochrome CMOS sensor |
| Total
Pixels: |
28,000; Pixel Yield: 24,334 |
| Lens: |
F2.8 fixed; f =1.1mm |
| Focusing
Distance: |
30cm to ´ |
| Subject
Illumination: |
Approximately 100Lx to 45,000Lx |
| Exposure
Control: |
Light metering system; full
screen average; ALC (Average Luminance Control), exposure compensation |
| Shutter: |
Electronic shutter |
| Shutter
Speed: |
1/11 to 1/1660 second |
| Monitor: |
120x 120 dots (14,400);
monochrome with 16 grayscales); 20 x 20mm screen size |
| Recording
Modes: |
Normal; Art; Merge |
| Data
Bank: |
Up to 24 characters per image
(alpha, numeric, basic symbols) |
| Clock: |
Timekeeping display, five
alarms, timer, stopwatch |
| Other: |
Auto power save system, simple
record |
| Infrared
Communication: |
Casio original system |
| Infrared
Functions: |
Image data exchange with a
computer, data exchange with another Wrist Camera |
| Data
Speed: |
115,200 BPS |
| Communication
Distance: |
10cm maximum |
| Dimensions/Weight: |
40(W) x 52(H) x 16(D) mm / 32g |
| Power
Requirements: |
CR2032 battery |
| Approximate
Battery Life: |
6 months (60 seconds of
cameraoperation per day) |
| Options: |
Wrist Camera Infrared Adapter
& Link Software (Wrist Camera data management application) |
In Camera mode, the watch display works like a little video screen. The screen
shows in real-time what the lens on the side of the watch is picking up. By
pressing the shutter button, a picture is taken. The watch stores 100
images. It is important that there's enough light available when taking pictures. The other important thing is to not move the watch when pressing the shutter button. I found that the best control is gained when placing your pointing finger under the watchband and pressing the shutter button with the thumb. That way, the watch can be held still.
To upload the pictures to the PC, you need the Wrist Camera PC Link Kit. The kit works for Windows 95/98/NT 4.0. The cable with the IR receiver connects to a Serial Port. The installation is very smooth. The images get transferred over the IR interface of the watch. The Casio software lets you organize your pictures and even has a screensaver function where you can display downloaded images.
Imagine always having a camera with you. The possibilities are unlimited. Taking pictures of your loved ones, taking a snapshot of the license plate of a car, photographing a URL in a magazine, taking photos of a car you want to buy so you can show it to the wife, catching a crook red handed, and so on.
   
Pics taken with Luigi's Wrist Camera
There are issues with the camera, light being the main problem. A flash would have been extremely helpful (maybe in the next version). When taking a picture, it is important that the environment is very bright. If you want to take good pictures in a nightclub, for instance, forget it. The other issue is that it takes some practice to be able to make pictures without jiggling the watch while pressing the shutter. As I explained above, putting your pointing
finger under the watch helps. Finally (and perhaps obviously), you shouldn't expect too much from this camera. Watch-based cameras are not going to replace conventional handheld digicams anytime soon.
One interesting observation I made is that nobody notices the Wrist Camera Watch when you're wearing it. I've had a Spoon "Secret Agent Man"
watch for over a year, and I get really annoyed by people asking me
"What does that watch do ?" On the street, in meetings, everywhere,
people kept asking me about that watch. The only answer I could give them:
"The watch displays Chinese cookie fortune messages every ten
minutes."
Now I finally have a watch which does something truly impressive, but nobody seems to notice. This is good in a way - nobody knows that you can snap a picture of them at any moment. Now this is a secret agent watch!
I really love this thing. It gets my vote for the must-have gadget of the year!
- Manfred Luigi Lugmayr [9/10/00]
Note: This review originally appeared on Manfred's I4U Future Technology News site. He was kind enough to let us reprint it here (in exchange for a little banner ad action).
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