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Find out about the latest Nikon, the greatest Sony or whatever camera you have or aspire to have. Be it still camera or video camera or even as the boundaries blur, phone camera!!
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The GE X5 14.1Mpixel bridge camera is aimed at that middle ground
between the digital SLRs and the compact cameras. As it is a very
competitively priced versatile camera it will be a very attractive
proposition for those on a budget who want the additional features
that it offers.
In appearance the GE X5 is just like a very small SLR and weighs under 500gm. As well as a 2.7inch screen it has an electronic viewfinder. The latter enables it to be held close to one’s face and thus more steadily -- so important when the 15X zoom lens is set anywhere near its 405mm (35mm equivalent) maximum telephoto even though the camera incorporates optical image stabilisation. The camera is comfortable to hold and the controls are well laid out.
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.
While the original Flip Ultra camcorder allowed you to capture up to 60 minutes of standard definition video, the latest member of the family increases the capacity to 120 minutes and boosts the quality to 720p high definition.
Now part of the Cisco family, the latest Flip device to enter the ever-growing pocket camcorder market is the Flip Mino HD. As its title suggests, this camcorder is capable of capturing content in 720p high definition mode. The new model, with its brush metal body and reflective black front plate, comes with 8GB of internal memory that will allow you to record up to 120 minutes of video content. With a weight of 4.
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.
This is a small camcorder that has a 64GB of supplied internal memory and 3.3MP stills. 15x optical zoom may not sound huge – by some standards – but try keeping the camcorder still when you have far greater amounts of zoom.
It weights around 330grams, light enough to sit on your fingers for some time without you needing to spend hours in the gym. It is 11.5x6.5x5cm when the TFT is closed add another 8cm to the 6cm width when it is open. The 270 degree of movement now seems to be standard on most camcorders and it can be very useful when taking images in a crowded area. It is easy to take images even when the unit is above your head as the TFT can still picture what you cannot see directly.
Panasonic announced two new innovative DSLR cameras at Focus On Imaging today (the show runs until Wednesday 10th March at the National Exhibition Centre (NEC) Birmingham. Also on show were the developments with Blu-ray and 3D technology; however this was first launched in Munich and was covered by Michael Fereday in his recent pieces.
The G2 and G10 will be on sale in June, a number of other units were also launched at the show but not in scope of this item. I was allowed to take a G2 around the show for an hour; hardly the best test but on first study of the images I took it seems to be a decent unit. These were taken using the Intelligent Auto setting as trying to work out how to do what on a brand new camera in a busy show is certainly ‘shall we say less than’ easy.
This is probably the best mini camcorder I have used, image quality is excellent and the sound is also better than other such devices. It is however not perfect as the camera side could definitely be improved from what is available.
The Veho Kuzo Camcorder measures 2x6x10cm, open the TFT screen and the 2cm width becomes 9cm, the total weight is just less than 100 grams. If this were just a camcorder I would seriously consider recommending it for a 5x5 award, the quality is that good. However as it also has a still camera capability that is less than perfect the total mark will have to be less. The rim of the TFT is 6.5x5.4 with the viewable portion of the screen 5x3.8cm; it can be turned through 270 degrees.
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 a reasonably priced four ink (two cartridge) All In One unit. However it is really designed for light use simply because of the small size of the ink cartridges. Output quality is good the only drawback is the ink cost.
It is 43x32x16cm when closed, with A4 paper stored in the rear vertical tray it adds 20cm to the last figure the height. It is light grey (almost cream) in colour with a single black band around the top of the sides of the unit. On the right side of the top is a lift up panel that hides six buttons and the ubiquitous five position joystick these are the user controls. The back of the panel is the 5x3cm TFT that displays any information for the All In One.
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.
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