The BenQ DC-E600's front panel is dominated by a lens mounted off-center in a large circular panel that rotates as the lens extends, affording protection when the camera is powered off, and allowing the lens elements to slide aside from the optical path to give a thinner camera when the lens is retracted. The design is extremely reminiscent of Olympus' D-630 Zoom digital camera which was announced at last year's PMA show (and has since been discontinued). From the front, the arrangement of the components is basically identical, and the only differences are cosmetic. Flip the camera around to look at the back though, and you'll find a slight rearrangement of the controls to accomodate a larger 2.5" LCD, where Olympus' camera had a 2.0" display. One other noteable change is that the D-630Z's five megapixel imager has been boosted to a six megapixel sensor in the DC-E600.

Few specifications are available from BenQ at the current time, and we're not aware or pricing, availability, or plans for sale in other markets. Product photos and those specifications the company has provided follow below.

BenQ DC-E600
General
Camera Type	Compact
Manufacturer	BenQ
Model Number	DC-E600
Dimensions	3.6 x 2.4 x 1.0" 92.0 x 60.0 x 24.5mm
Weight	135.0 g 4.7 oz
Image Capture
Sensor Type	CCD 6.00 megapixels (effective)
Aspect Ratio	4:3
Image Dimensions	2848 x 2144 (6.1 megapixels) 2304 x 1728 (4.0 megapixels) 1600 x 1200 (1.9 megapixels) 1280 x 960 (1.2 megapixels) 640 x 480 (0.3 megapixels)
Image Preview / Review
Viewfinder	No
LCD	2.5"
Lens
Lens Type	3x optical zoom
Image Stabilization	No
Focal Length	5.8 - 17.4mm (actual) 35 - 105mm (35mm equivalent)
Aperture Range	f/2.8 (wide) / f/4.8 (tele) - ???
Focusing Range	Normal: 16" - infinity (40 cm - infinity) Macro: 6.1" - 20" (15 cm - 50 cm)
Exposure
ISO Sensitivity	Auto, 100, 200, 400
Shutter Speed	8 - 1/2000 second
White Balance	Image Sensor - Auto / Daylight / Cloudy / Tungsten / Fluorescent
Internal Flash	Modes: Auto / Red eye reduction / Slow Sync / Forced flash / Flash off Range: 0.3m - 2m
Creative
Digital Zoom	4x
Self Timer	Yes, 2/10/2+10 seconds
Movie Format	AVI (MPEG-4) with audio 640x480 Max. frame-rate: 30 frames per second
Storage
Recording Medium	SD/MMC, Built-in
Connectivity
Computer	USB 2.0 Full (LOW) Speed
Power
Battery Type	Lithium Ion rechargeable
Battery Form Factor	Proprietary
Product Bundle
Flash Memory	24.0MB built-in memory
Other
Internal Microphone	Yes
More Photos