RCA Small Wonder EZ101

Last year, when the drugstore chain CVS started selling a $30 single-use digital camcorder, we thought it was a pretty dubious idea. We're not sure how it did, but Pure Digital Technologies, the company behind the product, has removed the disposable label and added a hideaway USB connector and built-in viewer software to make a simple plug-and-play model that it calls the Point & Shoot Video Camcorder. RCA has licensed the technology from Pure Digital and is marketing the same model under the name RCA Small Wonder EZ101 for the same price ($130).

The lightweight, 5-ounce camera stores up to 30 minutes of VGA-quality video on 512MB of internal flash memory (sorry, there's no expansion slot). It has a 1.4-inch LCD screen on back for instant review, so you can delete any undesirable clips right away, and it has a video output, so you can view clips on any TV with a composite-video input. The unit is powered by two AA batteries and comes with a felt protective carrying case.

Currently, there are several inexpensive cameras on the market whose sole purpose is to capture MPEG-4 video, which is more compressed--and, thus, lower in quality--than the MPEG-2 video recorded by MiniDV camcorders. Video quality is steadily improving with these sorts of cameras, but it's really designed to be viewed in small windows (read: not at full screen) or on portable devices with small screens. Though the video is generally smooth, it's usually a little grainy and sometimes pixelated. In other words, it's a step up from the video quality of a camera phone, but it's on a par with what you'd record on a basic digital camera's Movie mode.