|
DPInterface February 2006 News Archive
February 25th, 2006
Sony's 4 new cameras
Sony introduced 4 new cameras today, including the DSC-H5 with 7 megapixels - but on a 1/2.5 inch CCD? Isn't pixel stuffing getting out of hand? Anyway, current H1 owners will be disappointed that their camera's replacements use the physically smaller Memory Stick Duo cards.
Sony Cyber-shot H2
- 6 effective megapixels
- 36 - 432 mm (f2.8 - f3.7) 12x optical zoom lens
- 2.0 inch LCD
- Optical image stabilizer
- ISO sensitivity up to ISO 1000
- Full manual controls
- Unlimited VGA 30 FPS movies with sound
- Compatible with conversion lenses
- Takes Memory Stick (PRO) Duo cards
- Uses 2 AA batteries (400 shots)
- Available in April for $399
Sony Cyber-shot H5
- Essentially the H2 with more stuff
- 7 effective megapixels (Same sensor size)
- 3.0 inch high-resolution LCD
- Lower battery life (340 shots)
- Available in May for $499
Sony Cyber-shot W70
- 7 effective megapixels
- 38 - 114 mm (f2.8 - f5.2) 3x optical zoom lens
- 2.5 inch LCD
- ISO sensitivity up to ISO 1000
- No manual controls
- Unlimited VGA 30 FPS movies with sound
- Compatible with conversion lenses
- Takes Memory Stick (PRO) Duo cards
- Uses a lithium-ion battery (360 shots)
- Available in April for $299
Sony Cyber-shot W100
- Essentially the W70 with more stuff
- 8 effective megapixels (Same sensor size)
- ISO sensitivity up to ISO 1250
- Adds full manual mode (No "priority" modes though)
- Available in March for $349
February 24th, 2006
Samsung announces 3 new cameras
Samsung introduced 3 new cameras today, including their rebranded Pentax digital SLR.
Samsung GX-1L
- 6 effective megapixels
- Pentax lens mount (Also compatible with Schneider-Kreuznach "rebranded Pentax" lenses)
- 2.5 inch LCD
- Full manual controls with hot shoe
- 3 FPS continuous shooting up to 8 images
- Takes SD/MMC cards
- Uses 4 AA batteries
- Availability and price currently unknown
Samsung Digimax L85
- 8 effective megapixels
- 38 - 190 mm (f2.8 - f4.4) 5x optical zoom lens
- 2.5 inch LCD
- Full manual controls
- Unlimited VGA 30 FPS movies with sound
- High Definition Multimedia Interface (HDMI) for connection to HDTV
- Takes SD/MMC cards
- Uses a lithium-ion battery
- Available in April for $499
Samsung Digimax L60
- 6 effective megapixels
- 35 - 105 mm (f2.8 - f4.9) 3x optical zoom lens
- 2.4 inch LCD
- Entry level camera; no manual controls
- Unlimited VGA 30 FPS movies with sound
- Takes SD/MMC cards
- Uses a lithium-ion battery
- Available in April for $299
February 21st, 2006
and finally, Canon's insane 10 new cameras...
Canon has introduced the most cameras in a row for 2006 - That's 10 new cameras from Canon today. Sadly, these are probably for people going for major upgrades, not for those who just bought 2005 stuff!
Canon EOS 30D
- 8 effective megapixels
- EF and EF-S lens mount (1.6x crop factor)
- 2.5 inch high-resolution LCD with increased viewing angle
- Shutter and flash both have a 100,000 cycle life
- Full manual controls with hot shoe
- Picture Styles and auto noise reduction (From the 5D)
- New spot metering function
- ISO now adjustable in 1/3 increments
- Larger buffer - Longer continuous shooting
- Selectable 3 FPS option as well as full 5 FPS for continuous shooting
- Marginally faster startup time
- Print/Share button
- Each folder now stores up to 9999 images
- Other aspects are the same as the EOS 20D
- Takes CF cards (Type 1 and 2)
- 10% better battery life than 20D
- Available in March for $1399 (Body only) or $1499 with the EF-S 18-55 mm lens
Canon PowerShot SD700 IS Digital ELPH
- 6 effective megapixels; smaller sensor with less pixels than SD550, so there could be a "real" flagship Elph coming soon
- Slightly redesigned front and back panels
- 35 - 140 mm (f2.8 - f5.5) 4x optical zoom lens
- 2.5 inch LCD with increased viewing angle and resolution
- Optical image stabilizer
- ISO sensitivity up to ISO 800
- No manual controls
- Unlimited VGA 30 FPS movies with sound
- Should I note this: Weaker flash
- Takes SD/MMC cards
- Uses a lithium-ion battery (240 shots using the new NB-5L battery pack)
- Available in April for $499
Canon PowerShot SD600 Digital ELPH
- 6 effective megapixels
- Slightly redesigned front and back panels
- 35 - 105 mm (f2.8 - f4.9) 3x optical zoom lens
- 2.5 inch LCD with increased viewing angle and resolution
- ISO sensitivity up to ISO 800
- No manual controls
- Unlimited VGA 30 FPS movies with sound
- Takes SD/MMC cards
- Uses a lithium-ion battery (160 shots)
- Available in March for $349
Canon PowerShot SD630 Digital ELPH
- Simply the SD600 with these changes:
- Slightly design change with no viewfinder
- Larger 3.0 inch LCD with increased viewing angle and resolution
- Touch control dial on 4 way controller (Something like the S80's rotating 4 way controller)
- Available in April for $399
Canon PowerShot S3 IS
- 6 effective megapixels
- Now in black (Yeah!)
- 36 - 432 mm (f2.7 - f3.5) 12x optical zoom lens
- Rotating 2.0 inch LCD
- Optical image stabilizer
- ISO sensitivity up to ISO 800
- Full manual controls
- Unlimited VGA 30 FPS movies with stereo sound
- Movie Snap: Take stills while recording a movie
- Can take 16:9 photos
- Backlighting compensation
- Compatible with conversion lenses
- Takes SD/MMC cards
- Uses 4 AA batteries (550 shots)
- Available in May for $499
Canon PowerShot A700
- 6 effective megapixels
- 35 - 210 mm (f2.8 - f4.8) 6x optical zoom lens
- 2.5 inch LCD (Non-rotating)
- ISO sensitivity up to ISO 800
- Full manual controls
- Unlimited VGA 30 FPS movies with sound
- Backlighting compensation
- Can take 16:9 photos
- Compatible with conversion lenses
- Takes SD/MMC cards
- Uses 2 AA batteries (400 shots)
- Available in March for $349
Canon PowerShot A530
- 5 effective megapixels
- 35 - 140 mm (f2.6 - f5.5) 4x optical zoom lens
- 1.8 inch LCD
- Full manual controls without "priority" modes
- Unlimited VGA 10 FPS movies with sound
- Takes SD/MMC cards
- Uses 2 AA batteries (360 shots)
- Available in March for $229
Canon PowerShot A540
- Practically an A530 with these extras:
- 6 effective megapixels
- 2.5 inch LCD
- Full manual controls with "priority" modes
- Compatible with conversion lenses
- Available in March for $299
Canon PowerShot A420/A430
- 4 effective megapixels
- 39 - 156 mm (f2.8 - f5.8) 4x optical zoom lens; the A420 has a 3.2x zoom lens
- 1.8 inch LCD
- Entry level camera; No manual controls
- VGA 10 FPS movies with sound
- Takes SD/MMC cards
- Uses 2 AA batteries (360 shots)
- Available in March for $169
Casio's humble 2 new cameras...
This month brings in Casio's latest flagship compact camera and another new ultra-thin camera.
Casio Exilim Z850
- 8 effective megapixels
- 38 - 114 mm (f2.8 - f5.1) 3x optical zoom lens
- 2.5 inch LCD
- 34 Best Shot AKA scene modes
- "Priority" manual controls
- Unlimited MPEG4 VGA 30 FPS movies with sound
- Takes SD/MMC cards
- Uses a lithium-ion battery (440 shots)
- Availability in March for an unknown price
Casio Exilim Z60
- 6 effective megapixels
- 38 - 114 mm (f3.1 - f5.9) 3x optical zoom lens
- 2.5 inch LCD
- 33 Best Shot AKA scene modes
- No manual controls
- Unlimited VGA 30 FPS movies with sound
- Takes SD/MMC cards
- Uses a lithium-ion battery (180 shots)
- Availability in March for an unknown price
Nikon's 7 new cameras...
The first two image stabilized compacts look quite good but the rest have nothing quite special. Nikon's naming system can be quite confusing though.
Nikon Coolpix P4
- 8 effective megapixels
- 36 - 126 mm (f2.7 - f5.2) 3.5x optical zoom lens
- 2.5 inch LCD
- Optical image stabilizer (Vibration Reduction)
- Nikon stuff: Redeye fix, face AF, D-Lighting, Best Shot Selector
- Several manual controls
- Unlimited VGA 30 FPS movies with sound
- Takes SD/MMC cards (23 MB built-in)
- Uses a lithium-ion battery (200 shots)
- Available in March for $399
Nikon Coolpix P3
- Simply the P4 with built-in WiFi
- Available in March for $449
Nikon Coolpix S5
- 6 effective megapixels
- 35 - 105 mm (f3.0 - f5.4) 3x internal optical zoom lens
- 2.5 inch LCD
- Nikon stuff: Redeye fix, face AF, D-Lighting, Best Shot Selector
- Improved playback: Slideshow effects, transitions and music
- Point-and-shoot ultra-thin camera
- Unlimited VGA 30 FPS movies with sound
- Takes SD/MMC cards (23 MB built-in)
- Uses a lithium-ion battery (210 shots)
- Available in March for $349
Nikon Coolpix S6
- Simply the S5 with these:
- Built-in WiFi
- Larger 3.0 inch LCD
- Slightly larger in size
- Slightly lower battery life (200 shots)
- Available in March for $449
Nikon Coolpix L4
- 4 effective megapixels
- 38 - 114 mm (f2.8 - f4.8) 3x optical zoom lens
- 2.0 inch LCD
- Nikon stuff: Redeye fix, face AF, D-Lighting, Best Shot Selector
- Entry-level camera; No manual controls
- Unlimited VGA 15 FPS movies without sound
- Takes SD/MMC cards (23 MB built-in)
- Uses 2 AA batteries (450 shots)
- Available in March for $149
Nikon Coolpix L3
- Simply the L4 with these changes:
- 5 effective megapixels
- 38 - 116 mm (f3.2 - f5.3) 3x optical zoom lens
- Adds continuous shooting
- Unlimited VGA 30 FPS movies with sound
- Slightly smaller and lighter
- Lower battery life (330 shots)
- Available now for $199
Nikon Coolpix L2
- Simply the L3 with these changes:
- 6 effective megapixels
- Higher resolution LCD
- Slightly lower battery life (320 shots)
- Available now for $249
February 17th, 2006
Kodak introduces 4 cameras
Kodak released 4 new cameras today. I'll put up photos later as they're not available at this time.
Kodak EasyShare Z612
- 6 effective megapixels
- 35 - 420 mm (f2.8 - f4.8) 12x optical zoom lens
- 2.5 inch high-resolution LCD
- Optical image stabilizer
- Full manual controls
- Unlimited VGA 30 FPS movies with sound
- Takes SD/MMC cards
- Uses a lithium-ion battery
- Available in April for $399
Kodak EasyShare V603
- 6 effective megapixels
- 36 - 108 mm (f2.8 - f4.8) 3x optical zoom lens
- 2.5 inch high-resolution LCD
- No manual controls
- Unlimited VGA 30 FPS movies with sound
- Takes SD/MMC cards
- Uses a lithium-ion battery
- Comes in your choice of silver or black
- Available in April for $299
Kodak EasyShare C643
- 6 effective megapixels
- 36 - 108 mm (f2.7 - f4.8) 3x optical zoom lens
- 2.4 inch high-resolution LCD
- Entry-level camera; No manual controls
- Unlimited VGA 30 FPS movies with sound
- Takes SD/MMC cards
- Uses 2 AA batteries
- Available in April for $249
Kodak EasyShare C533
- 5 effective megapixels
- 36 - 108 mm (f2.8 - f4.8) 3x optical zoom lens
- 1.8 inch high-resolution LCD
- Entry-level camera; No manual controls
- Unlimited VGA 11 FPS movies with sound
- Takes SD/MMC cards
- Uses 2 AA batteries
- Available in June for $199
February 15th, 2006
3 more Pentax cameras
Pentax released 3 new cameras today, each with a unique feature:
Pentax Optio T10
- 6 effective megapixels
- 38 - 113 mm (f2.7 - f5.2) 3x optical zoom lens
- 3.0 inch high-resolution touch-screen LCD
- "My Drawing" allows you to draw on photos you've taken (Sounds gimmicky to me)
- No manual controls
- Unlimited VGA 30 FPS movies with sound
- Takes SD/MMC cards
- Uses a lithium-ion battery
- Available in March for $349
Pentax Optio W10
- 6 effective megapixels
- 38 - 114 mm (f3.3 - f4.0) 3x internal zoom lens
- 2.5 inch LCD
- Waterproof body; can go 1.5 m underwater
- Face Recognition auto-focus
- ISO sensitivity up to ISO 800
- No manual controls
- Unlimited VGA 30 FPS movies with sound
- Takes SD/MMC cards
- Uses a lithium-ion battery
- Available in March for $299
Pentax Optio M10
- 6 effective megapixels
- 35 - 105 mm (f2.8 - f4.9) 3x optical zoom lens
- 2.5 inch LCD
- No manual controls
- Unlimited QVGA 30 FPS movies with sound
- Takes SD/MMC cards
- Uses 2 AA batteries (900 shots with AA lithium units)
- Available in March for $229
February 14th, 2006
Another 2 cameras from Panasonic!
Panasonic announced two new cameras today, with optical image stabilization as usual. These look just as exciting as the new Fujifilm cameras today, except I don't like the idea of an ultra-zoom with no manual controls.
Panasonic Lumix TZ1
- 5 effective megapixels
- 35 - 350 mm (f2.8 - f4.2) 10x optical zoom lens
- 2.5 inch LCD with increased viewing angle
- Optical image stabilizer
- Currently the world's smallest ultra-zoom (~4 cm thick)
- New Linear AF system for high-speed auto focusing
- ISO sensitivity up to ISO 1600
- NO manual controls
- Unlimited movies with sound; VGA 30 FPS and a wide 848 x 480 30 FPS option
- Takes SD/MMC cards
- Uses a lithium-ion battery (250 shots)
- Comes in your choice of silver or black
- Available in March for $349
Panasonic Lumix FX01
- 6 effective megapixels
- 28 - 102 mm (f2.8 - f5.6) 3.6x optical zoom lens
- 2.5 inch LCD with increased viewing angle
- Optical image stabilizer
- Currently the world's smallest wide-angle camera (28 mm); still the same size as the FX9 though
- ISO sensitivity up to ISO 1600
- No manual controls
- Unlimited movies with sound; VGA 30 FPS and a wide 848 x 480 30 FPS option
- Takes SD/MMC cards
- Uses a lithium-ion battery (320 shots)
- Comes in your choice of silver or black
- Available in March for $349
3 new Fujifilm cameras
Now, these new cameras from Fujifilm look really exciting - really (I mean the first two). I put the F30 at the top since I know many will be drooling over it...
and the F650, though not having a SuperCCD (means no high ISO, low noise), has some big features worthy of note. Anyway, here are Fujifilm's 3 new cameras:
Fujfilm FinePix F30
- 6 effective megapixels
- 36 - 108 mm (f2.8 - f5.0) 3x optical zoom lens
- 2.5 inch anti-glare/reflection LCD
- If I may add this: More stylish design compared to the previous F10/F11
- ISO sensitivity up to ISO 3200 at full resolution, too!
- Full manual controls
- Intelligent Flash system adjusts flash power according to situations, while another feature takes 2 photos; one with flash and another without
- Unlimited VGA 30 FPS movies with sound
- Takes xD Picture cards
- Uses a lithium-ion battery (500 shots) - This one's different from the battery used on the F10/F11
- Available in May for $399
Fujifilm FinePix F650
- 6 effective megapixels
- 36 - 180 mm (f2.8 - f4.7) 5x optical zoom lens
- 3.0 inch LCD
- Basic manual controls; including aperture/shutter priority modes
- Unlimited VGA 30 FPS movies with sound
- Takes xD Picture cards
- Uses a lithium-ion battery (150 shots)
- Available in June (Sigh!) for $349
Fujifilm FinePix A600
- 6 effective megapixels (SuperCCD)
- 36 - 108 mm (f2.8 - f5.2) 3x optical zoom lens
- 2.4 inch anti-glare LCD
- Entry-level camera; no manual controls
- Unlimited QVGA 10 FPS movies with sound
- Takes xD Picture cards
- Uses 2 AA batteries
- Available in June for $249
February 13th, 2006
Sony announces another 2 cameras
A month after Sony last introduced new cameras, comes another two new Sony cameras and look more like "fit between" cameras for the current W5 and W7. Take a look:
Sony Cyber-shot W30
- 6 effective megapixels
- 38 - 114 mm (f2.8 - f5.2) 3x optical zoom lens
- 2.0 inch LCD
- Smaller in size compared to W5/W7 with a new design; kind of reminds me about Canon's Ixus/ELPH cameras
- ISO sensitivity up to ISO 1000
- Lots of scene modes and some control
- Compatible with conversion lenses
- Unlimited VGA 30 FPS movies with sound
- Takes Memory Stick (PRO) Duo cards; physically smaller than Memory Stick (Opposed to the conventional Memory Stick on the W5/W7)
- Uses a lithium-ion battery; 400 shots CIPA Standard (Opposed to 2 AA batteries on the W5/W7)
- Available this month for $230
Sony Cyber-shot W50
- Simply the W30 with a larger 2.5 inch LCD; everything else is the same (Even the size of the buttons)
- Comes in your choice of silver or black
- Available in March for $250
February 11th, 2006
23 mm super wide-angle
Today, I realized again how useful a super wide-angle compact camera, such as the Kodak EasyShare V570, is.
Back to reviews... The last camera I reviewed was about a week ago - the Canon SD450 review. It's not stopping there; I posting more reviews soon. Inside these reviews, as with all my recent 2006 camera reviews, I will include test photos taken by those cameras. Speaking of which, I've prepared a "subject" for my test photo shooting.
February 4th, 2006
DPI Forums are online
I've just set up a forums system for the website. Since the forums are quite bare right now (It's new), let's get posting! Visit the DPI Forums or register now and post right away.
February 3rd, 2006
Hmph!
Just a few minutes ago, I was taking some photos with my SD550 Digital ELPH. When I turned it off, the lens detracted out of position and beep-beep: E18!
This is my first ever E18 I've experienced over the last 6 years with the Canon cameras I've owned.
UPDATES:
1: The warranty covers E18s not caused by the camera's owner. Mine is getting repaired for free. But it's going to take 2 weeks (Apparently a lot of other cameras need to be repaired too); and they didn't even loan me a temporary camera!
2: I also sent in my other camera for repair - It cost $100. The Canon guy offered me a trade-in for another camera: $200 for A520, $300 for A620/SD450, $450 for S80 or $400 for another SD550 (No, thank you! Why do I need two of the same thing?). I turned down his offer because I could easily get one of those some place else for 50 bucks less; without trading in anything (Hmph!).
February 2nd, 2006
Canon SD450 - Long and in-depth
One of the longest reviews I've written so far is on the Canon PowerShot SD450 Digital ELPH. See how it fares in a place stiff with competition - the ultra-thin category!
Lots of reviews
Over the past week, I've been working hard moving reviews from the old site design to this new one. So here are some revised reviews:
Canon PowerShot SD30 Digital ELPH Review
Canon PowerShot SD400 Digital ELPH Review
Sony Cyber-shot S40 Review
Sony Cyber-shot T5 Review
Sony Cyber-shot W5 Review
Sony Cyber-shot W7 Review
And let's not forget my new review of the SanDisk Ultra II Secure Digital memory card.
|
