January 16th, 2008
Think the MacBook Air is thin? Check out the thinnest 8-megapixel digital camera.
[Updated: January 17, 2006 @ 2:29 pm] All the world is abuzz about Steve Job’s pulling an Apple MacBook Air out of an interoffice envelope at MacWorld 2008 this week, but for digital camera fans the Air isn’t the only new skinny in town. BenQ’s new DSC X800 claims to be the world’s thinnest 8-megapixel digital camera (and I certainly haven’t seen any others this thin). At 100 x 63.7 x 14 mm (or 9.8mm on it’s slimmest side), it’s a touch too large to fit into an Altoids tin as the Pentax Optio S famously did, but it’s so thin you could stack two and not be much thicker than an Altoids tin. And as Jobs proves, large is just fine as long as you’re thin.
Despite the super-slim profile of the DSC X800, the camera includes a 3x optical zoom lens (38-114mm, f/3.5-4.5) which, like many other (non-Canon) ultracompact cameras, operates internally using a prism mechanism. BenQ isn’t known for great optics or anything (okay, so that’s an understatement), but it’s pulled out all the stops to improve your chances of getting a good shot by including image stabilization (they call it SSF, or Super Shake Free), face-tracking autofocus for up to nine faces, and high sensitivity up to ISO 4000, among other features. Other perks include a 3-inch LTPS LCD and a portable media player function that lets you watch video and listen to MP3s, though there’s only 12MB of internal memory, so you’ll have to pack some extra SD cards if you want to use it that way. Available in Q1 2008, the camera will come in black or red steel and pricing is yet to be set. Fashion accessory more than serious camera for sure, but hey, thin is in these days.
[Update: Just fixed the broken Pentax Optio S link and added a link to BenQ's info page on the DSC X800.] 
Janice Chen has been covering technology for almost two decades. She got her hands on a Nikon Coolpix 900 back in 1998 and has been a digital camera enthusiast ever since. See her full profile and disclosure of her industry affiliations.
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| 01/17/08
