One member brought in a very small digital camera to show off: A Casio EX-S2 Exilim "wearable card camera". You could wear it, I suppose: it has a wrist strap. But you wouldn't want to count on it to cover up your unmentionables: it's only the size of a credit card, and is about 3/8" thick. It's made of metal, though you wouldn't want to abuse it; much of its rear panel is taken up by its color LCD display. It has a tiny little 4-way rocker switch to navigate the menu system; but mostly, you don't have to fuss with it -- you just turn it on, point, and shoot. If the picture didn't turn out, you just try again! No film expenses; at 1600x1200, the pictures look just fine when printed out on a modern inkjet printer. There are lower resolutions possible, and different levels of image compression.

It's a beautiful little camera, with many nice features. You can add a memory card to hold more pictures; it has a USB docking/recharging cradle; a built-in flash; a fixed focus lens (no optical zoom); a rechargeable, replaceable battery; several preset settings for portraits, landscapes, sepia tints, short movies, etc.; and a 2.0 Megapixel CCD. An advanced version of the camera, the EX-M2, has a built-in microphone and can play MP3 music files.

Perhaps the best part about the camera is its convenience: You can easily stick it in a pocket and always have a camera handy. It doesn't come with a carrying case, but our member made a simple leather case out of a suede wallet craft kit.

After gawking at the tiny marvel, we discussed a few other items of interest, and answered questions from some guests. We used Ralph Reid's equipment to hunt down some of the answers on the Web: Thanks, Ralph!

In all, it was another pleasant evening among friends. If you would like to join in, you're welcome. Our next meeting will be held as usual: on the fourth Wednesday of the month, at 7:00 p.m., in the large meeting room at the Davis Public Library. See you there!