Measuring just 2.5 x 1.4 x 0.7 inches, and weighing just 23 grams, it’s hard to believe that the Kenko Tokina Pieni M is still capable of shooting photos and video.
This minute digital camera fits in the palm of your hand and is priced at roughly $50, it’s the perfect stocking filler. The question is – is it a bit of fun –, or will it aggravate photographers and should be given to non-photographers only?
The word ‘Pieni’ means ‘small’ in Finnish, and this newer model which was released in March this year builds on its predecessors, the Pieni and the Pieni 2. The Pieni M has a 0.96” LCD monitor screen, and it comes with a neck strap, so you can wear it like a themed necklace.
The camera itself comes equipped with a 1/9 inch CMOS sensor capable of capturing 1280 x 960 JPG images, and 30fps 1280 x720 AVI videos, with sound, at ISO 100, while its f/2.8 fixed focus lens boasts a 1/100 second shutter speed.
The Pieni M has a shooting distance of 0.3m to infinity, and black and white, blue, green, and orange filters can be applied in post. It also has a USB-C port for charging, which takes about an hour to fully charge its built-in lithium-ion battery.
The camera understandably has no built in memory, and can take either a micro SD card (128MB to 2GB) or a micro SDHC card (4GB to 32GB).
The manufacturers do point out that “the LCD monitor is for checking the subject. The camera has 1.22 million pixels, while the LCD monitor has 12,000 pixels, so the appearance may differ.”
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Designboom describes the look of the photos taken with the Pieni 2 as “similar to watercolor paintings,” saying “it’s not a filter “but an automatic feature that Pieni M makes.
“The components it’s using may be elements to consider for the quality of images and videos it takes, but with the new wave of blurry-effect followers, this may be considered refreshing instead of low definition.
“Speaking of filters, that’s an option too in Kenko Tokina’s Pieni M since the functional miniature digital camera offers around five filters for the images, so the user can apply monochrome, orange, blue, or green filters to their snapshots.”
The Pieni M comes in two colors, black and a sort of periwinkle blue, and as the company says, “the design makes you want to display it in your room as an interior decoration when you're not taking pictures. Also recommended as a gift!.”
It’s important not to take this sort of thing too seriously and it does sound like a bit of fun, so if you’re stumped for small gifts this festive season, you’re welcome.
Buy the Kenko Tokina Pieni M on eBay US or eBay UK
Think this is fun? Why not take a look at our guides to the best retro cameras, the best film cameras, and the best cheap drones.
