Cameras

While I have been concentrating on children others need gifts and those who have a hobby – in this case photography – can be an older child, a parent or grandparent, so here are a couple of suggestions from Manfrotto.

Since PowerShots went to solid batteries their size can get nearer that of their other range of pocket cameras the Ixus. However they still form a bridge between the tiny Ixus and Canons high end range DSLR offerings.

A small – very small – digital camera from one of the best camera manufacturers. In fact if you are well built you may find some of the controls a little fiddly this is as a direct relation to the small – even by modern standards – size.

Anyone who has seen wildlife shows on the TV will have seen larger versions of something like this. What has made that hole, who has done that, where has this come from, all things that this still and movie offering may solve.

Another tiny (in size) PowerShot - the Canon PowerShot A3200is from Canon. Since going to the solid battery offering for PowerShots they have managed to fit everything into a body that means the whole unit slips easily into a pocket.

If you enjoyed the Wallace & Gromit Claymation shorts then you might like to try your hand at creating your own videos using stop-motion captures.

By the time you read this you will be able to buy this rather nice DSLR unit in a range of colours as well as the more normal black. To me – providing it’s not pink – I could not care what colour it is providing I get decent images.

The first item for those who like to record what they are doing even with still images or video while out and about. The second is a lead that is always not where it should be or just not long enough to connect without movement.

A company perhaps better known for photocopiers and large printers but they have produced digital cameras for a while. However this is the first of their units to have come my way, but all decent recent units have similar features.

While most other small digital camera manufacturers use SD cards for image storage, Samsung have always used the micro SD, a little fiddly to get in and out and of course the other problem is they are always more expensive.

If I keep saying it long enough I might believe it, it’s not pink, it’s not pink it’s purple. Here I am looking at one of Canons latest Ixus cameras, the 115HS. Its purple but I am very pleased to say that is only one of the colours it comes in.

The name Nikon to anyone who knows anything about cameras means quality. Does this quality extend to pocket cameras? Here I am looking at one of their latest that is little more than an oblong black shape how does it perform?

Often not being the first to market is a plus as is the case here. The ‘Flip’ has long been the best pocket camcorder around; many have tried to copy or improve. Here with the best bits from several is this offering from GE.

This is another from the range of small pocket cameras produced by Canon. The Ixus range normally has solid batteries and the PowerShot range – as with this – normally are controlled by ‘AA’ batteries to power the unit.

This is one of a long range of cameras with the ‘PowerShot’ name produced by Canon. It is also a contender for one of the best; it allows both the novice and those more advanced to get the best from it as well as from themselves.

Panasonic do two ranges of cameras the ones that could even be called professional and can be seen being used by keen amateurs, they also do a Lumix range that look like ‘point and shoot’ but have far more functionality.

While many pocket camcorders have been designed for general purpose use, the Kodak Playsport is aimed more at the more adventurous members of society. To this end the Playsport combines electronic image stabilising technology, to assist when capturing sporting events, with the ability to be waterproof up to a depth of 10 feet for recording aquatic expeditions.

This is very slightly larger than a small ‘point and shoot’ digital camera but a good deal smaller than most DSLR however in reality it is neither, it has good points and bad, two that stick out are no optical zoom and a poor inbuilt flash.

It hardly seems like yesterday when I took a look at the Ricoh CX3 compact digital camera. Actually it was more like four months ago but that hardly gives the company enough time to develop and manufacture a new model. Yet here we are with the latest offering from Ricoh. Not surprisingly this new product is entitles CX4.

The Samsung ST100 Digital Camera is small enough to fit into almost any pocket but it also has one of the largest TFT screens around. It is totally touchscreen in operation so those who have been brought up on touch will certainly enjoy using this camera.

It was not until I started checking out this next product that I realised that my computer system box had a face.

A pre-Christmas evening of magical card manipulation introduced me to a new camera from the Panasonic range. This was a pocket camcorder device.

I have owned a Flip since the very first model, to me anyway, it is the best pocket camcorder, the latest software release has improved the compression algorithm when sending items to other people, making it even better.

Some of the pocket camcorders can also take still images. This unit from Aiptek can take still and movies in 2D and it can also do the same in 3D. It has built in software to allow an interface on the PC, all fine in theory.

As most will know Canon produce two ranges of small cameras the PowerShot and the Ixus. Having reviewed some tiny Ixus this seems quite large. The main difference is that PowerShot use ‘AA’ batteries and the Ixus a solid battery.

Maybe James Bond would consider it beneath him but others might find this next product useful for covert photography

While not the first name you may think of regarding digital cameras, Ricoh has some interesting products such as the CX3 model.

Canon has two ranges of small cameras, the Ixus very much a pocket offering and the PowerShot slightly larger and using ‘AA’ batteries rather than the solid rechargable type. This in itself makes the overall camera larger and heavier.

This is a small solid and good quality digital camera that can also take excellent quality video. It has good optical zoom at 7x and can take 14MP still images, perhaps best of all it is almost totally touchscreen for ease of use.

This type of small camcorder has become very popular. The first I came across was the Flip with several incarnations. Then Kodak produced one and now Panasonic who are better known for high end cameras and camcorders. Panasonic call theirs a mobile camera.