Navigation
Reviews related to : Digital Cameras
In the space of a few short years digital camera technology has decimated the traditional camera market. From what started as a low quality product, expensive and with reliability problems, digital photography rapidly evolved to reduce cost and improve quality to the point where the best digital cameras can match their 35mm SLR counterparts.
If you've not taken the jump to digital photography yet, or you got there first and now want to upgrade your camera, take a look at hte GadgetSpeak reviews down below:
Canon has two styles of cameras in their pocket range the really small Ixus range and the slightly larger Power Shots. Here the latest Power Shot that is still small and sleek while offering more in optical zoom and other features.
The front and back of my unit were gold in colour while the top, bottom and sides were silver. It is 10x6x3cm and the latter figure the width can increase to 8.5cm when fully zoomed. It weights a tad over 200grams. The top has an oval on/off button beside this a rod style wide angle/telephoto rocker and finally a circular shutter release, the flash automatically opens on the left top edge.
With the E1480W GE has packed everything that the majority of users will want in a digital camera. Despite having a resolution of 14.1Mpixels, a 3 inch LCD screen and a X8 zoom they have still managed to fit it into a package, at a competitive price, that is small enough and light enough to be carried around at all times.
If my memory is correct this is the third year of GE being involved in the production and marketing of digital cameras. This is a fairly standard shape of pocket camera that seems to have all the modern bells and whistles and it is totally touchscreen.
The GE E1486TW digital camera measures 9.5x5.5x2.5cm and weights 150grams, the lens expands another 3.5cm when fully zoomed. My review unit is silver with chrome trim but other colours are available. As always one thing dominates the back the TFT screen which is 6x4.5cm (termed at 3inch), a very easy to use unit as the screen displays all the options and you just need to touch to change a setting, absolutely ideal for the novice.
A small, easy to use and reasonably priced camera from a maker who does lots of more expensive units both pocket and DSLR unit. Every maker has to have something at the lower end of the market both in price and functionality.
It is 9x6x3cm and weights 173grams with the two ‘AA’ batteries inserted. With the lens fully zoomed it adds close to 3cm to the 3cm width. The flash is almost above the lens (actually very slightly to the right) and is never nearer than 2.4cm to the lens. The top of the camera has an oblong on/off button and a larger round shutter release to its right, the latter has a very fine trigger mechanism so the normal half way down to focus before capture can need practice to achieve.
In April I told you about a nice Nikon unit just under the DSLR level. Here I will tell you about something from Nikon above the point and shoot level but below that of the April offering. Thus helping those not yet ready to progress.
The Nikon Coolpix L22 digital camera measures 9.5cm long, 6cm tall and between 2 and 2.5cm thick. The unit I was sent was silver grey with chrome on the face and sides and matt black on the rear. The TFT screen is also matt in finish making it easier to read in strong sunlight. The sides are clear of sockets except for the wrist strap anchor point on the right side. The base has the solid battery door where you also place any SD card you might use.
As a mere man this camera has a distinct disadvantage, so much so that the PR lady who sent it to me apologised you see its p i n k, quite a nice subtle shade but its still pink. However if you are a man I am assured they do other colours.
The Casio Exilim EX-Z550 compact digital camera measures 10.5x5.5x2cm, with the lens fully zoomed it adds another 2cm to the 2cm width. The unit weights 130grams. The camera is fitted with a 14.1mega pixel sensor, with 4x optical zoom and 26mm wide angle lens that takes rather nice images. The face has the lens with the flash above and to its right at least 2cm away.
Once regarded as a luxury item, camcorders are now often looked on as a must-have companion for even the occasional traveller.
With the appearance and popularity of various basic camcorders, such as the and , manufacturers of more mainstream kit have needed to look to their laurels especially with regards to any additional features offered by their products. One interesting approach, adopted by Sanyo, can be seen with the company’s camcorder. This is sometimes referred to as a dual camera because of its capability to capture both movie clips and still images in a single session.
Having recently looked at a dual TFT screen from Samsung this modern looking (mine was bright red) digital camera looks near normal. But not that long ago a 28mm wide angle lens and 5x optical zoom would not be normal.
The Samsung PL80 digital camera measures 10.5x5.5x2cm and weights 138grams. While the red colour is rather too bright for my liking it does of course not affect the images it takes! The top bottom and left side have a chromed band as well as the lens surround on the front, as the legends are written in white on the chromed area they can be difficult to see what they say in certain lighting conditions. The face has the lens that can extend by up to 3.
From a company that makes professional and semi professional DSLR unit, they also have entry level models in the compact market. The Nikon Coolpix L110 is neither and sits above the compact and below the DSLR.
The Nikon L110 measures 11x7x9cm and add another centimetre to the last figure the width with the lens fully extended. It weights 415grams. To me this is a real crossover unit. For anyone who mastered the compact digital camera but is a little unsure about the jump to a DSLR, here you are approaching the weight and of course you get a neck strap (as opposed to a wrist strap) and the whole feel and some of the look of a unit with interchangeable lenses without the need to do so.
Yes this camera has a TFT at the front and the back. Not as daft as it sounds if you either want to catch a shot with the image taker in or if you are trying to keep the attention of a young child their own image works wonders.
The Samsung ST550 digital camera measures 9.8x6x2cm and weights 135grams. Mine was black with a chrome ring around the lens and a thin purple line along the top and left edge with a larger area on the right edge, sounds weird but to my non stylish eye it looks smart. It is a 12.2MP offering with 4.6x optical zoom and is almost totally touchscreen. Looking at the front of the unit you see the 1.5x.4cm flash unit just to the left of centre at the top and the chrome ring around the varioplan 4.
A rather nice small digital camera that I have had a chance to review for slightly longer than the normal two weeks which means I can delve more fully into the various styles available with it while taking out and about with me.
It is 10x6x3cm; with the lens fully extended the 3cm width becomes 7.5cm. The camera is quite weighty for a pocket portable at a tad over 200grams. This weight gives it a very solid feel and also helps with the overall balance. The solid battery is stated to last 1000 shots between charges and while I never managed that many images I never charged it after the initial charge. 10x optical zoom is a decent figure that can still be held still without a tripod. 12.
This is quite a squat offering and it looks almost child like with large buttons and rather garish colouring, very unlike recent PowerShot offerings, there is however a rather good reason for the PowerShot D10 strange appearance.
This digital camera is usable under water and I assume this is the reason for the electric blue front. The shape is also probably for the same reason. I am afraid taking it out in heavy rain and putting it a bath is the nearest I got to 10 metres under water, but in this weather the thought of swimming is not really top of my hit list of things to do in the UK in winter, not even in an indoor pool and I doubt if ‘health and safety’ rules would allow a camera anyway.
Not a writing instrument as you may think from the title, but a DSLR camera, this designed to look like an SLR of a long time ago. It takes brilliant images in daylight; alas I cannot tell you about night time shots as no flash was supplied.
The Olympus Pen E-P1 measures 12x7x11cm with the supplied 14-42mm lens fully extended. It weights 550grams including the supplied neck strap. It is supplied as standard without a flash, a hot-shoe socket is on the top and almost any flash can be fitted. A small rectangular module is mentioned but at the time of my review one was not available to be sent to me so all my tests were in daylight.
While most recent camcorders can take still images and almost all digital cameras have a movie mode this offering from Sanyo really does combine the two items in one casing, so is the camcorder/camera the way to go.
The Sanyo Xacti is designed to be gripped in the fingers with the thumb pressing the shutter and joy of joys – for the left handed – it can be used in either hand. It is 12x7x4cm and weights 187grams. When shooting with the side mounted wide screen display fully open this adds 9cm to the 4cm width. The base has a joint USB&A/V socket as well as the tripod screw. All other controls are on the back of the unit near the top and able to be reached by either thumb.
Another in the range from Canon of their superb Ixus Digital Cameras. If anything I think this one is even smaller, but, this does not mean the image quality suffers in any way. This unit is an amazing 12.1MP and gives superb images.
The Canon IXUS 120IS measures 8.5x5.5x1.5cm but it still manages a TFT of 5.5x4cm. It weights 135grams. My unit was two tone gun metal grey. The face has only the lens and the flash, the later cuts into the side of the lens surround but it is never closer than 3cm from the lens when in use. The optical zoom is 4x and it can take images up to 12.1MP. The right side has an almost invisible wrist strap anchor point. The left side has nothing.
This is very close to what a professional photographer will use. In fact from my very amateur status it was rather frightening to review, mainly because most of the time I was hitting – if not passing – my knowledge levels.
The Nikon D300s Digital SLR (DSLR) camera measures 14x11cm, the thickness is 8cm to the front of the built in flash the most exposed bit of the camera body. The lens I was sent a 16-85mm offering can extend this by up to another 12cm and the total weight is 1.45kilos. I am not going to mention the thirty odd buttons and dials that surround the camera as while they all have letters of illustrations their use can vary according to the mode you are in, something that I am just about grasping.
Unless you are quite young you (or your parents) will remember the Polaroid camera. Take an image and it was printed on rather yucky paper and the image that soon faded if left in sunlight. This is something rather different.
It is 12x7.5x3.5cm and weights 315grams. It is predominately matt black with the tops and side silver grey. It is a conventional digital camera with the Polaroid Zinc printer built in. However unlike the earlier offerings you do not have to print everything. In fact should you wish take ten or twenty images and then only print what you want as it has a TFT screen where you can review everything you take.
This is the latest digital camera from GE a name that entered the digital camera market at the beginning of 2008. This is therefore the second generation of their ‘E’ range. It is a camera that on the face of it offers a lot.
This is a 12.2mega pixel offering with 5x optical zoom. The matt black colouring together with chrome highlights make it look very smart as well as practical as it shows less fingermarks. It is 9x5.5x2cm and weights only 156grams but still has a very positive feel. The base has tripod screw and a door that covers any SD card you use as well as the solid battery.
Another in a superb range of small digital cameras from Canon. This is the forth one I have looked at in the last three years. This one has three subtle tones from silver to grey and it looks are pleasing even to a style dunce like me.
The Canon Ixus 990IS Digital Camera measures 9x5.5x2.5cm and weights 180grams. The last figure, the width, can extend up to 4cm more when on full zoom. The rear is dominated by a huge 6x4.5cm TFT display and it is reasonable in all but the strongest sunlight. To the right of this are four triangular buttons two above and two below the ubiquitous five position joystick. I suspect all but the real camera novice will know what these do from their illustrations.
The CX1 is the latest in the Ricoh line-up of compact digital cameras aimed at personal use.
The Ricoh CX1 measures approximately 102x58x28mm (WxHxD), almost identical to it's stable mate the . The dimensions are not the only similarity with that model and the CX1 can in many ways be seen as a logical successor.
The YellowHawk e-Publishing Platform
© YellowHawk Ltd 2003 - 2010, All rights reserved
© YellowHawk Ltd 2003 - 2010, All rights reserved
