In 2004, I lived in Tomsk, Russia, finishing 9th grade, working part-time assembling computers in a basement somewhere, and saving up for a dream: a Digital Camera. We didn’t have much money, so the dream had to be realistic. For around $40, I bought an Aiptek PenCam Plus – essentially a webcam with a battery.
The camera was incredible:
- Photos at 1.4 MP (or 1248×960), with a memory capacity of about 30 shots.
- Soundless videos at 624×480 and a whopping 8 frames per second.
- Separate volatile memory for video (remove the batteries – lose the recordings).
(remember, in 2004, camera phones were still a novelty)
These limitations didn’t stop me; in 2004, I took 1,624 photos. Here are the best from Tomsk, 2004:
