The Argus DC 3300 packs quite a lot into a tiny digital camera

Most spy-size cameras offer a lot of laughs in social settings. They're not much of a pain to carry around, and the snapshots they produce, while not high quality enough for enlargements, make for good computer viewing.

Enter the Argus DC 3300 Digital Camera ($199) with digital voice recorder, a little 1.3 megapixel wonder that takes photographs that make decent 3-by- 5-inch prints.

Straightforward in operation, the DC 3300 allows you to record four hours of digital audio and five minutes of video at 320-by- 240-pixels with four AAA batteries. While an expansion slot exists for using a SmartMedia card, the camera works off of 32 megabytes of internal memory, which will hold up to 250 1,280-by- 1024-pixel photographs.

Image quality on the still pictures and video isn't too shabby with a 3X digital zoom. As with any camera with such a tiny lens, it is suitable for casual snapshots - not for capturing important events. A 1.5-inch color LCD screen on the back lets you review pictures you've shot.

On the other hand, the digital voice recording was surprisingly clear for a novelty device.

Playback, via a Universal Serial Bus cable on your computer, is smooth and easy once you install Argus' software, which requires Windows 98 Second Edition or later. Or you can use a TV cable to hook up the DC 3300 to your television or videocassette recorder.

Information: 888-552-7487 or www.arguscamera.com.