Digital Camera Fiend - A Camera Review

My trusty old Canon Powershot A85 wasn’t functioning the way it used to, so I knew it was time to buy a new point and shoot. I wanted to stay within the Canon family and after some research, I decided to buy the SD850.

What a great purchase! The camera was listed at $308 online at Circuit City. The sticker price at the store was about $50 more so I was glad I checked online first. The store clerk matched the online price.

At 8 megapixels, the SD850 packs as much wallop as the average user will need. It delivers clear and crisp pictures. I was happy with the amount of manual control the camera offers as well–play with the ISO in instances of low light and you’ll get pleasant results. I’ve found the Macro feature to be useful as well.
Probably the biggest selling point for me was the fact that the SD850 is one of the few cameras that offers a view finder window as well as an LCD screen. It’s one of my annoyances that new point and shoot digital cameras have gotten rid of the viewfinder to expand the LCD screen. Do we really need the extra LCD space? What happens in bright light when you can’t see the LCD screen? I also find it easier to frame shots when I do it the old fashioned way through the viewfinder.

The SD850 is light-weight, slim and sleek. It’s one of the better camera purchases I’ve made, and it has my highest recommendations.

Samsung is coming out with a new camera. Called the S85, this compact digital camera boasts 8.2 mega-pixel capabilities, a shutter speed of up to 1/2000 of a second, intelligent face recognition technology, 20 megabytes of internal memory, a 2.5-inch LCD screen, and 13 scene modes.

But the feature that really caught my eye is the built-in microphone that records a 10-second voice memo to be appended to any picture. That way, you’ll never forget the story behind a photo.

The Samsun S85 will be on store shelves at the end of August and will retail for around $300.

A few months ago Sony released the Cyber-shot H7 and H9 — two “big zoom” company digital cameras that updated their popular  H2 and H5 Cybershot models from a year earlier.

DP Review just came out with a review on the H7, and their conclusion: spring for the extra $75 and get the H9.

“The H7 is what it is - a budget model that, unfortunately, performs like one,” according to DP Review. “It’s hard to see why anyone wouldn’t pay the extra for the H9 unless they were on a seriously tight budget.”

Neither camera is groundbreakingly cool, but the H9 has a bigger, brighter LCD screen, and night shot modes, which the H7 lacks.

You can find the H7 online for as cheap as $350, but why not invest a little more and get a camera that’s more enjoyable to use?

The Canon Powershot S2 IS is a powerhouse in its field of competition. Released in April 2005, this compact digital camera improved every aspect of its predecessor, the Powershot S1.

It’s got a 12x optical zoom, 5-megapixel resoltuion, and a solid optical image stabilizer. If that’s not enough to sell you on this gem, check out its stellar movie mode–one of the best among digital cameras. Even the movie mode’s stereo sound is high-quality, and you can use the image stabilizer when shooting in this mode.

Sure, the swivel LCD monitor can be a bit difficult to see in bright conditions and pictures shot above ISO200 won’t be ideal, but the Powershot S2 is well-priced, versatile, and will produce quality photos.

Another win for Canon.

It’s amazing how quickly the king of the mountain can become also-rans in the digital camera industry.

Two and a half years ago, Panasonic came out with the DMC-FZ20. At the time, it was the company’s flagship model for super-zoom cameras, boasting a 12x optical range and five megapixel resoltuion. It was the closest a compact digital camera had ever come to resembling a digital SLR camera.

Today, many compact cameras are mimicking the functionality of DSLRs. And if you still have the FZ20, be happy…it’s still a solid camera. It has a Leica branded DC vario-Elmarit zoom lens with an impressive optical image stabilization technology.

The stabilization allows you to hand-hold at the 12x end of the zoom range at speeds as low as 1/30th of a second.

Steves digicams called the FZ20 “incredibly responsive,” noting that it captures consecutive shots nearly as quick as a motor-driven film camera. The MEGA BURST feature enables consecutive rapid-fire shooting at three frame per second.

Of course, technology has passed the FZ20 by in other regards. Its use is basically restricted to ISO 200–anything else is very noisy.

But as DP Review summed up in a review when the camera first came out at the end of 2004, the Panasonic FZ20 is highly recommended and was worth its $500 price tag at the time.

“A small price to pay for such an impressive camera,” the reviewer stated.

I decided to look into the new Nikon P5000 after seeing that it won a TIPA award for best compact digital camera. (TIPA is a European association of photography and imaging professionals).

It seems the acclaim for the P5000 is not universal. Reviewers from dpreview.com gave it a tepid recommendation and stated that the Canon Powershot G7 is a better camera in this field.

Among the writer’s criticisms, the P5000 has a very slow focus and slightly sluggish performance overall. Say no more! Nobody wants a sluggish digital camera. The writer also noted that anything above ISO 400 is noisy and the ISO 3200 function is “totally pointless,” and that the sound cuts out before the end of movie clips in video mode.

“The P5000 is a product that…has an achilles heel that we feel is important enough to reduce its rating,” the reviewer stated, referring to its sluggish performance. “[This] has a serious effect on the overall usability of an otherwise excellent camera.”

On the other hand, if you plan to use this camera for landscape shots, it will perform beautifully. Just stay away from fast action or point and shoot social snapping in low light.

Sounds like a dud of a camera, not an award-winner, to me. I thought TIPA’s other picks (the Nikon D40x and the Nikon 55-200mm VR lens) were brilliant. But if the reviewer from dpreview.com is right, they missed the boat on the P5000.

Sony’s new Cybershot DSC H9 might not be a bad choice for families with budding athletes. The 8-megapixel digital camera was certainly built with the legions of soccer moms and dads in mind.

Sony debuts its new advanced sports shooting mode in the H9, and its other new Cybershot offering, the H7 (same camera, just a smaller LCD screen).

“This mode combines high shutter speed shooting and intelligent continuous auto-focusing,” according to a Sony rep.

The coolest part about this feature is that the camera can predict and focus in on where fast-moving subjects will be in the frame. That means you’ll see a lot less blur in your photos of junior racing towards the ball.

The H9 follows in some heady footsteps of earlier models of the Cybershot H-series–the Cybershot H2 and Cybershot H5.

Sony has improved on these earlier classics. The H9 has an amazing 15x optical zoom lens (blows the 12x threshold away), face identification (if your camera doesn’t have this technology, chances are it’s outdated), a 3-inch flip-up LCD screen, a 1/4000 shutter speed, movie mode with sound, and high-definition outputs.

That means you can view and share your photos or videos on an HDTV set and get the full high-definition effect. The Sony VMC-MHC1 HD component cable, which retails for about $40.
The Sony Cybershot DSC-H9 is no small camera, even though it technically falls under the category of “compact digital camera,” so you might not enjoy lugging it around. But if you’re not quite ready for the DSLRs yet still want impressive zoom and other capabilities, it won’t disappoint.

The Sony Cyber-shot DSC H5 is “the rarest of beasts,” says dpreview. “[It’s] a compact camera with handling and control close to a DSLR.” It’s recommended to both beginners and experienced photographers.

Why? It’s fun and easy to use and even left in it’s fully automated “idiot-proof” mode, it will consistently product quality photos. And there’s enough manual control to keep an experienced photographer interested.
The H5 was released in July 2006 and updates Sony’s very popular H2 model. The two cameras are nearly identical but the H5 costs about $100 more because of some of the fancy extras like an increased LCD screen (3 inches!) and seven megapixel resolution (compared to the H2’s six megapixel resolution).

The Good Stuff The Cybershot H5 has a 12x zoom which produces excellent 36-432mm shots, an accurate and fast focus (in bright light), excellent resolution and detail, a powerful flash, and a large, bright, contrasty screen that can even be seen in bright light.

Not so Good The camera has a bit of trouble focusing at the long end of the zoom especially in low light. The viewfinder is quite small (no doubt to make room for that 3-inch LCD screen), and it could maybe do with a bit of a higher top shutter speed.

But overall this camera comes highly recommended by many reviewers.

Update Sony just announced that it will be introducing a few new Cybershot H-models  in the coming months: the Cybershot H7 and the Cybershot H9. These big boys top the H5 with 15x stabilized zoom, eight megapixel resoltuion, and a few other goodies.

Set for a release in late April, the Olympus Stylus 780 is a rugged weatherproof compact digital camera with 7.1 megapixels and a 5x optical zoom.

Beginners will find the Stylus 780 easy to use. Choose from 20 scene modes including Candle, Available Light, and several underwater modes, for settings best suited to the conditions you’re in. Shadow Adjustment Technology optimizes the exposure of scenes with dark areas.

Like many new compact digital cameras, the Stylus 780 has a large 2.5-inch LCD screen which leaves no room for the traditional viewfinder. Those who prefer to shoot through a viewfinder may dislike this feature.

One thing everyone will like is the sturdy, stylish build of the camera. Its metal body comes in either silver (pictured) or black. The weatherproof build will protect the camera from unexpected raindrops and other light moisture.

The all-weather aspect and 5x zoom sets this camera apart from others in its class, but if these are secondary concerns for you, you may want to take a look at other compact digital cameras, like the new Nikon Coolpix S200 which is thinner and about $100 less expensive.
The Stylus 780 is priced at $350.

Nikon has revamped its family of Coolpix digital cameras just in time for the 10-year anniversary of the industry-leading product line.

Consumers are going to love the ultra-slim Nikon Coolpix S200, a 7.1 megapixel point-and-shoot camera with a 3x zoom-Nikkor lens. This entry-level camera has a sleek, aluminum body measuring just 18.5 milimeters at its thinnest portion.

Released just this spring, the camera retails for less than $250.

Nikon constructed the camera with its VR (vibration reduction) technology to reduce camera shake. Use it automatically in conjunction with optimal ISO settings and BSS (Best Shot Selector).

The Nikon Coolpix S200 has an ISO 1000 capability to aid in low light settings, although I personally haven’t yet had an opportunity to test its effectiveness.

Another feature manufacturers like Nikon and Canon have started putting into their compact digital cameras is in-camera correction. If you’re not pleased with your shots, you can always employ the built-in correction features like Face-Priority (finds and sharpens focus on faces), In-Camera Red-Eye fix, and D-lighting (improves underexposed images).

Or pay a little more for the Nikon Coolpix S500, which has slightly better features like a stainless steel body, ISO 2000 capabilities, and a lightning fast power-up time: .6 seconds.

Both are beautiful cameras that follow a tradition of quality cameras in the Coolpix family.