Cameras

Arriving from our friends at Sandberg is another product designed for working with smartphones and digital cameras.

Without doubt this is a semi-professional unit and it takes images of very high quality. What is perhaps a little more surprising is that in my own bumbling way I enjoyed using it and I certainly enjoyed the results that it gave me.

Almost a bridge unit, just larger than most small point and shoot offerings, certainly a little heavier, however smaller than all DSLR units, this camera has a surprise that I have only seen recently in one other camera it has a fixed focus lens.

Certainly the smallest PowerShot I have ever seen or used. Its small size means that certain features are in different places. It uses a micro SD card and the TFT display takes all of the rear of the unit, yes it is small, small pocket small.

Following on from its Selfie stock product, PNY has developed a lens kit that can be used with various smartphone models.

Home security continues to be a popular area for manufacturers with this latest offering arriving from Samsung Techwin.

This next product from Fujifilm adopts an almost retro style of photography.

It’s been a while since I have been sent a camera that stretches me a little. Providing the amount of stretching is a little I like it as it stops you getting into a rut that allows the camera to make all the choices without you having to think.

As part of its Wireless Smart Home portfolio, Smanos has developed its IP6 HD WiFi camera product. Offering 720HD video of a targeted location, this camera unit can either be used as a free-standing or wall-mounted device. Live video content can be viewed with a free iOS or Android app as you check what is going on in your home when you are away.

Security in one form or another is a big market. Here I am talking about home security in this case an easy to install and setup solution supplied to me with a single camera but the software with it is able to handle many more cameras.

Sometimes a ground based tripod is just not possible especially for those who need to capture both still and moving images as they move. So the solution could be to make your body the tripod especially if your camera is large and or heavy.

While you may not be able to see round corners or over high walls, a smartphone with a Selfie Stick could.

The use of security cameras, of various types, shapes and sizes, is a current hot topic of late. I have checked out a number of these devices for use in either the home or in-car. Generally these devices require little disruption to the location where they will be positioned and can be set up within around five to ten minutes. However this next offering is a different proposition to say the least.

The IXUS range are the nearest thing to a ‘point and shoot’ camera from Canon who are best known for their high end DSLR cameras used by the majority of professional photographers. This is small – fits easily in a pocket – and is very easy to use.

No sooner do I finish checking an in-car dash camera than another example of this product genre comes my way.

Forget about capturing video in HD how about 4K, yes this tiny unit captures nice quality 4K images on micro SD card and you can then play it back on a TV or panel in 4K and of course it can get absolutely stunning images.

A small PowerShot digital camera, for those who do not know a PowerShot can be little larger than an IXUS the smallest of Canons cameras or as large as the small end of Canons DSLR range, so here it is at the IXUS end of the range.

If you have yet to take a Selfie then you are in the minority, while the original idea was to snap yourself with a ‘star’ be it sport, fashion or movie it has now become a thing even for a night out with your friends but how do you get everyone in?

The Ixus is Canon’s pocket size camera range, it does however benefit from all the technology that its larger siblings have in terms of technology so do not reject this unit simply because its small enough to fit inside the smallest pocket.

With digital cameras being able to capture video it’s been a while since I have cast my eye over a Camcorder. This was quite a revelation, it should not have been as digital cameras have evolved so have Camcorders and this one can even capture PIP.

This is quite a small and lightweight offering from Pentax. However this does not mean that the images its takes are anything but excellent in both JPG and RAW. The only unusual thing to me is that both the body and lens are white.

Having recently looked at two DSLR units from Canon it is now time to try something smaller and lighter but the technology is still rife in this latest offering in the Canon PowerShot range, so what wonders does the G7X offer.

A tiny camera in a large box but it is not all packaging as it has numerous ways of connecting it to your body so whatever you do and wherever you go the Actioncam 400 can come to and as there is a wrist (watch type) connection you do not even need to touch the camera to activate it.

Of late I do seem to have been on some sort of security based agenda. First it was the Piper which, true to its name, could emit an almost ear-shattering warning. Next in line came the Swann Pan & Tilt camera which offers a range of remote adjustment features but initially seemed reluctant to download a firmware upgrade. Now it is the turn of D-Link’s HD Wi-Fi camera which forms part of the mydlink Home initiative.

“When the cat is away, so the mice will play” goes the old saying. Although in some instances it might be more appropriate for a slight change so “when you are away, so the cat (or maybe a dog) will play”.

Having just looked at a small DSLR unit, this is a bigger one with a large lens, certainly not something to fit in a pocket and definitely something to attach the neck strap to unless of course you are into a tough fitness regime when it may not seem heavy.

This DSLR is only a little larger than their most powerful PowerShot unit. It is a full featured DSLR capable of capturing very good images and for those that require it also capable of capturing very good video images as well.

I saw a pre-production model of this unit back in the summer. Now finally as winter grips us all the chance to review it arrives. For me a first, a removable lens camera marketed with the ability to take selfies high on its tick list.

Another unit from Canons excellent PowerShot range. Here a small unit with periscopic zoom as this is a waterproof unit and this is essential for those wanting to takes images under water. It also takes excellent dry land images.

This is a PowerShot offering which along with the Ixus brand are Canons two non DSLR offerings. This is one of the larger – small – units as such it is almost as large as some smaller DSLR units and it comes with a neck strap not a wrist strap.