Touchy Camera by Panasonic
Posted by bensto in Panasonic on 03 21st, 2008
Many people don’t know about Panasonic’s Lumix DMC-FX500. Panasonic made this model very instinctive with features novices and experts can appreciate. Many beginners are not familiar with their camera’s settings, because let’s face it, not everyone reads the manual or takes special photography classes.
Panasonic LUMIX DMC-FX500 has 3-inch touch screen on the back that permit users to speedily change the settings depending on the condition. For example, by selecting a person on the touchscreen, you activate the auto focus lock feature on the camera that keeps the subject in focus no matter what they do, so you don’t have to worry about readjusting the camera every time. This is great for people who often take photos of moving subjects that won’t keep still, like fidgety children or pets.
You can also tap on a subject and let the camera choose the right mode depending on the subject’s position with using the touch panel. By touching a person’s face, the camera switches to portrait mode or to macro if you want a close-up of a flower instead. Zooming in or out of a photo in playback mode is also possibly by moving sliders left or right on the touch screen.
The additional nice about the 10-megapixel LUMIX DMC-FX500 is it can record video in high-definition at 720p, and take still images in a 16:9 aspect ratio that can be viewed in a widescreen television. Other features include image-stabilization, face detection, automated scene-detection, a 25mm wide-angle lens, and 5X optical zoom.
read comments (0)Nikon Coolpix S51 8.1MP DC
Posted by bensto in Nikon on 02 28th, 2008The Nikon Coolpix S51 is an excellent new compact digital camera.It’s combining between Nikon’s distinctive wave-surface design with advanced features that make it easier to take beautiful photos and to share them with friends and family.
Nikon Coolpix S51 is an effective megapixels of sharp resolution with a new high-performance digital image processing engine and the accuracy optics of the built-in “right-angle” optical lens shift VR (Vibration Reduction) 3x Zoom-Nikkor lens to produce photos with clearness and true-to-life color. Extended light sensitivity as high as ISO 1600 avoids blurred shots when shooting in lower light or when capturing fast-moving subjects.
This DC also includes Pictmotion, which permits users to create audiovisual shows anywhere by simply selecting favorite images and movies and adding music and visual styles.
Offers a bright and large image that eases composition and viewing, even out in the sun with 3.0-inch LCD monitor. Control buttons and the user-friendly rotary multi selector are carefully positioned to provide intuitive operation. The smooth contours and refined finish of the aluminum face panel fit comfortably in the hand–both models feature a metallic finish with ultra-violet coating providing a brilliant outer sheen.
Canon PowerShot SD1000 Digital ELPH
Posted by bensto in Nikon on 02 22nd, 2008
The Canon PowerShot SD1000’s new cosmetic look harkens back to the original Elph with the big black circle around its lens, but drew mixed reactions from the people to whom we showed our sample. Some were turned off by the overall boxy shape, though just as many admired the tiny, simple shape. Likewise, about half felt the look was too retro, while the other half admired the throwback design. If you don’t like the black-on-silver design, Canon also offers a silver-on-silver version.
To date, Canon hasn’t seen fit to include manual exposure controls in any of the cameras in the Digital Elph line, and the SD1000 continues this trend. On one level, it makes sense, since the target audience for these compacts is snapshooters who often don’t know an f-stop from a shutter speed. While we can’t hold this against Canon (its competitors do the same thing), with more and more pros and advanced shooters looking for pocketable back-up cameras, it might be time to broaden the scope of these models. Fourteen scene modes help you tackle specific situations, such as portraits, fireworks, and snowy scenes. Some of these appear in the main function menu, but Canon makes you press the menu button again to see them all. In addition to scene modes, there’s also a full auto mode, as well as a mode marked manual, which lets you choose certain options, such as exposure compensation, white balance, and metering mode (evaluative, center weighted, or spot).
Sony Cyber Shot DSC T70 overview
Posted by bensto in DIGITAL CAMERAS on 02 22nd, 2008
The Sony Cyber-shot DSC-T70 slaps a 3-inch touch screen on the back of a slim, stylish camera body that houses an 8.1-megapixel CCD imaging sensor and a 3x optical, 38mm-114mm f/3.5-f/4.3 Carl Zeiss Vario-Tessar zoom lens with optical image stabilization.
Different with the other small camera body, there’s not a whole lot you can do with design, but Sony has managed to develop the T-series design while keeping the line’s sleek, elegant look. The touch screen doesn’t leave much room for hard buttons, and indeed, the only buttons on the camera are on the top; power and playback buttons sit to the left of the shutter, while a side-to-side zoom slider is on the right of the shutter button. The layout and general organization of the touch-screen controls and menus aren’t bad. Sony uses the corners to give you access to deeper menus, while icons along the sides let you change commonly used settings, such as exposure compensation, metering, focus, or sensitivity (aka ISO). The selections tend to be too small to use your finger on them, unless you have long, well-shaped fingernails (this camera’s for you, fashionistas), though Sony does include a stylus that can clip onto the camera strap.
DSC-T70 includes face detection. The Smile Shutter feature expands on face detection by first locating a face and then waiting for that face to smile before snapping a picture. To use the feature, you have to enter the Smile Shutter scene mode, then press the shutter button, point at a face and wait for it to smile, and the camera will take a picture. The camera will wait for the face to smile again and shoot another, or you can press the shutter button again and it will exit the scene mode. Some people that I showed this feature to found it a little confusing, since the camera typically waits for the face to stop smiling and then smile again before snapping a second picture. If you find the feature unresponsive, there’s a smile level adjustment in the setup menu, though I did fine by leaving it on the medium setting.
There are a handful of in-camera editing features, including red-eye reduction, dynamic-range optimization, and various filters to add effects to your photos.
Olympus E-3 DC
Posted by bensto in DIGITAL CAMERAS on 02 22nd, 2008
In general, the Olympus E-3’s photos seem great. especially, the colors are gorgeous: saturated, yet some of the most precise we’ve tested (at low ISO sensitivities, at least), with impressive automatic white balance. The camera has a slight tendency to underexpose, but you can easily compensate for that. The camera disappointingly maxes out at ISO 3,200, but its noise profile looks pretty good; I printed some 11×15 shots taken at ISO 2,000 inside Grand Central Station and found the noise pretty subtle. Nor do Olympus’ noise suppression algorithms overblur.
With the exception of its somewhat awkward design and interface, the Olympus E-3 stands up quite well to competitors such as the Sony Alpha DSLR-A700 and Nikon D300. But if you’re buying into a system, think carefully: Olympus currently offers only 13 pro-quality lenses, and the gap since the last pro dSLR release was about four years. Will that translate into problems for you down the road? Consider it before
