Trust SpyCam 300XS

A webcam that doubles up as pocket-sized digital camera.

Detachable webcams that double up as pocket-sized digital cameras are a clever idea, but their image quality is never good enough for anything other than the odd snap for website or email purposes.

So, if you're going to buy one, it makes sense to look for some neat features to compensate. That's just where Trust has started with the SpyCam 300XS.

The device looks like no other camera you've seen and bears an uncanny resemblance to a grey antibiotic capsule, albeit one so large that it's not intended to be taken orally.

As a webcam though, it slips easily and unobtrusively into the palm of the hand, thereby making covert photography a breeze; you can pop it into a pocket and barely know it's there.

Connection to a PC is via USB and the supplied lead is a metre and a half long, which is enough for just about anything. There is also a weighted base for desktop use, a clip for mounting the SpyCam on a notebook screen plus separate wrist and neck straps.

You don't get a battery in the box but that's because the SpyCam has a built-in rechargeable battery that draws power from the PC whenever the camera is connected with the USB lead. This is a really clever touch and we're surprised that other manufacturers haven't thought of it before.

At the highest 640 x 480 resolution, the SpyCam can store 26 images in its 8Mb of internal memory; drop this to 320 x 240 and it can store 107, and the shots remaining are shown on a small screen on the camera's back.

There's also a 'video' mode that can capture eight stills a second and a self-timer. As far as image quality is concerned, the SpyCam is probably best described as acceptable but, with a little spit and polish in the supplied Ulead PhotoExpress application, images are fine for web use or printing at smallish sizes.

Price: £70 (inc. VAT)

Contact: Trust 0800 328 0261
www.trust.com

Also consider: Logitech Clicksmart 310
Cheap and easy to use. £70. Worth it.