The holiday season is coming and we are going to be getting plenty of camera reviews in to help you to do your year-end shopping. This year has been an interesting one with plenty of new digital camera releases, particularly those with high speed capabilities and low light modes. There has also been the introduction of various interchangeable lens cameras, with Nikon and Pentax being the latest newcomers into that category. The camera market is slightly less crowded this year with more midrange to high-end choices while the ‘budget’ category is slowly being taken over by smartphones which continue to sport improving camera modules. Most folks will probably open up their cameras near the new year, just in time for spring-time and vacation photos next year; but some will get their cameras in time to take pictures while going online to create their own Christmas photo cards. Image quality is slowly improving on cameras but there has not been anything too revolutionary lately. Still, various multi-shot modes and automatic panorama features a big timesavers and endlessly useful for many as well as produce clearer photos with less blur than traditional ‘single-shot’ picture taking modes. Look forward to reading about plenty of cameras, about photography and more!
Now here’s something you don’t see every day: a camera with two displays! Read our review of the Samsung ST700, a camera with a big touchscreen on the back and a smaller LCD on its front. Head on to our Samsung ST700 photo gallery to check out sample photos from the camera too!
Keep reading »
Just posted: Samsung ST700 photo gallery which contains photos taken using the camera. Be sure to check out the Samsung ST700 DualView review to read about this ultra-compact camera with two displays.
Keep reading »
Read our full review of the Panasonic Lumix ZS10 (also known as the Lumix TZ20!). The camera has 14 megapixels of resolution, 16X optical zoom, built-in GPS and plenty more stuffed into a compact, easy-to-bring around design. Also head on to the Panasonic Lumix ZS10 photo gallery to view photos taken using the camera. Otherwise, hit the link to start reading the review.
Keep reading »
Panasonic has announced their new 1.1 firmware which updates seven of their Lumix G series lenses with the ‘HD’ designation. The HD update is a software one and promises better lens performance while recording HD movies on your Lumix interchangeable lens camera: autofocus that is silent and better at tracking focus, better exposure control and improved operation of optical image stabilization while recording video.
The 7 Lumix G lenses that will benefit from this update include:
- Lumix G 8 mm f3.5 fisheye
- Lumix G 14 mm f2.5 pancake
- Lumix G 7-14 mm f4.0
- Lumix G 14-42 mm f3.5-5.6 Mega OIS
- Lumix G 14-45 mm f3.5-5.6 Mega OIS
- Lumix G 45-200 mm f4.0-5.6 Mega OIS
- Lumix G 100-300 mm f4.0-5.6 Mega OIS
Canon PowerShot SX40 HS
Canon also made available a new super-zoom digital camera today, which doesn’t give you a ‘prosumer’ experience like the S100 (things like RAW mode and GPS are missing), but still has plenty of manual controls and a very versatile 35X optical zoom lens.
Canon PowerShot SX40 HS
- New DIGIC 5 image processor promises better processing and noise reduction
- 12 effective megapixel (1/2.3 inch CMOS sensor; smaller and different versus the PowerShot S100′s sensor)
- 24 – 840 mm (f2.7 – f5.8) 35X optical zoom lens
- Optical image stabilization (Intelligent IS changes stabilization mode depending on shooting situation)
- 2.7 inch flipout and rotate LCD (230,000 pixels)
Electronic viewfinder EVF (202,000 pixels)
- Smart Auto and scene modes
Full manual controls (but no RAW)
- Zoom Framing Assist button allows quick and temporary zooming out for photo recomposition
- Continuous shooting at 2.4 FPS (unlimited) or 10 FPS (up to 8 shots) at full resolution
- 1080p Full HD (1920 x 1080) 24 FPS movie mode with stereo sound and optical zoom
- Takes SD/SDHC/SDXC memory cards
- Uses a lithium-ion battery
- Available in September for $430
Canon PowerShot S100
Canon just announced a new pocket prosumer digital camera today. The long awaited successor to the PowerShot S90/S95 brings about a brand new sensor, processor, lens, GPS functionality and several software features to the table, as well as an old name, PowerShot S100 (Canon made a PowerShot S100 Digital ELPH something like 11 years ago)
Canon PowerShot S100
- New DIGIC 5 image processor promises better processing and noise reduction
- 12 effective megapixel (1/1.7 inch Canon-made CMOS sensor)
- 24 – 120 mm (f2.0 – f5.9) 5X optical zoom lens
- Optical image stabilization (Intelligent IS changes stabilization mode depending on shooting situation)
- 3 inch LCD (461,000 pixels)
- Smart Auto and scene modes
Full manual controls with RAW
- Built-in GPS functionality
- New HDR mode
- Customizable function ring around lens
- Continuous shooting at 2.3 FPS (unlimited) or 9.6 FPS (up to 8 shots) at full resolution
- 1080p Full HD (1920 x 1080) 24 FPS movie mode with stereo sound and optical zoom
- Takes SD/SDHC/SDXC memory cards
- Uses a lithium-ion battery
- Available in November for $430
- Comes in your choice of silver or black
Here’s the Panasonic Lumix ZS10 AKA Lumiz TZ20 photo gallery filled with photos taken straight out of the camera. Be sure to check out the Panasonic Lumix ZS10 / Lumix TZ20 review to read about this compact travel-zoom camera.
Keep reading »
