Digital Camera Fiend - A Camera Review

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?

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lens (blows the 12x threshold away), face identification (if your camera doesn’t have this technology, chances are it’s outdated), a 3-inch flip-up LCD screen, a 1/4000 shutter speed, movie mode with sound, and high-definition outputs.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.

Here’s some serious camera equipment for the scubadiving photographer.

Ikelite has created a heavy-duty underwater housing system for the new Sony A100, Popular Photography magazine’s 2006 Camera of the Year.

The waterproof DSLR housing system operates safely to 200 feet. It’s simple to install the camera and use, with controls right at the diver’s fingertips. A magnifier on the back of the housing enhances the diver’s view while wearing a diving mask.

The removable handle and tray allow for superb handling. The ports accommodate most macro, wide angle and zoom lenses. Creative control over strobe and flash light is easy too–just rotate a dial on the housing back and choose one of seven manual power settings in half-stop increments.

Quite a contraption–and an investment too. This underwater housing system costs $1,500, which is $650 more than the Sony A100 itself.

Two years ago Sony paired with struggling camera manufacturer Minolta to create a new product. The Sony A100 digital camera is the fruit of their efforts, and although Minolta has since bowed out of the camera business, its influence reverbiates through Sony’s digital SLR camera products.

The design of the A100 is patterned after Minolta’s Maxxum 5D camera, with stylized updates and battery improvements by Sony. The A100 was good enough to be namd Popphoto Magazine’s 2006 camera of the year despite many who claim it is only an average camera.

“It doesn’t make my cut as something I’d use personally,” photographer Ken Rockwell said, when explaining on his website why he WON’T be reviewing the Sony A100.

Rockwell dislikes the Sony camera’s interface and believes Sony’s forray into the DSLR field will be a short one. He suggests buying the Nikon D50 or a cheaper Canon Digital Rebel instead, two DSLR companies that will definitely be around for years to come.
But supporters of the A100, like Popphoto, say the A100 has put Nikon and Canon on notice. A Popphoto reviewer said the Sony A100 successfully combines many elements to create sharp pictures. In a Popphoto lab test, only the Nikon D80 beat out the A100 for image quality (for DSLRs $1000 or less).

Priced at $850, Popphoto believes that the Sony A100 set a new standard for how much camera you can get for under $1000.