This month saw the introduction of the Nikon S1000PJ projector camera. However, if you want to stick with your camera for solely capture, or are worried about the drain a projector would have on your camera’s battery, then maybe Aiptek’s Pocket Cinema V10 is the solution for you.

The PocketCinema V10 boasts genuinely pocketable dimensions of 125 x 55 x 23mm and weighs around 100g. The unit offers brightness of 10 lumens, which results in an image size of between 15 and 127cm, correlating with the projection distance between 21 and 80cm. The projector doesn’t just deal with still images – the PocketCinema V10, as the name suggests, also supports MPEG-4 video.

The PocketCinema 10 is a mixed bag in use. There’s no doubting that the model’s size is almost unparalleled, however the limitations imposed by such a compact build are more than evident. For example, brightness is an issue – it’s important to operate in almost pitch-black conditions for a clear image to be displayed, and even then the quality isn’t fantastic.

Also, the model’s menu system is accessed and displayed through the model’s projections, meaning that if you want to change brightness or contrast you have to exit your slideshow, if in one, and delve deep into the menu to find the controls.

The build quality feels a touch poor and plasticky, while the brightness of the projector leaves a little to be desired. With the emergence of projectors in phones and compact cameras, you wonder if this incarnation of the mobile projector has a limited life span, especially at that price.