Sony Cyber-shot DSC-W100 Review
Digital Camera Resource Page reviewed the DSC-W100 from Sony, a compact digital camera with a 3x optical zoom lesnse and a 2.5 inch LCD display.
The DSC-W100 is a compact (but not tiny) camera with a metal body. The W100 comes in your choice of silver or black. The W100 is a little chunkier than the other W-series cameras, probably to accommodate its different 3X zoom lens (I think). The camera has the same 2.5″ LCD display as the W50 and W70, which is a bit of disappointment. It would’ve been nice to have a larger screen (or at least a higher resolution 2.5″ one) on the flagship W-series model. While the W100 is generally well designed, I’m not a fan of the cheap door over the memory card and battery compartment, or the fact that you can’t swap either of those while the camera is on a tripod.
While you get more resolution and built-in memory in the W100 over the W50 and W70, you lose support for conversion lenses and Sony’s camera dock, as well as a hit in the battery life. They recommend people stick with the W50 if you are a point and shoot user.
Casio Breaks 10 Megapixel Barrier
Casio announced the Exilim EX-Z1000 today, a 10.1 Megapixel compact digital camera, the first manufacturer to break the 10 Megapixel barrier on a fixed-lens camera. While you have to remember that it is no longer about the megapixels anymore, but the quality of the image taken, it looks like it could restart the megapixel wars that manufacturers were going through a while back.
Exilim EX-Z1000 specs:
- 10.1 effective Megapixel 1/1.8″ CCD
- F2.8-5.4, 3X optical zoom lens, equivalent to 38 - 114 mm
- 2.8″ widescreen LCD display
- AF-assist lamp
- High sensitivity can crank the ISO all the way to 3200 (this one I’m going to have to see for myself)
- Anti-shake DSP (digital image stabilization)
- “Zoom Continuous Shutter mode allows the user to compare a wide angle and a telephoto shot in the same display and to take both shots simultaneously with only one press of the shutter button”
- Rapid Flash function enables up to three flash photos in one second
- New digital zoom system, similar to Smart Zoom or Extended Optical Zoom (on Sony/Panasonic cameras, respectively) lets you enlarge the photo at lower resolutions without affecting photo quality
- Point-and-shoot operation with a whopping 37 Best Shot (scene) modes
- Records movies at 640 x 480 (25 fps) with sound
- 8MB onboard memory + SD/MMC card slot
- Uses NP-40 lithium-ion battery; 360 shots per charge
We can expect to see the EX-Z1000 in June for a MSRP of $399 USD.
Kodak EasyShare Z650 Review
Another evolutionary step from Kodak in the form of the EasyShare Z650. Digital Photography Review takes a look at the camera and while they seem to like it, they are not blown away by it in any means.
And so we get to the Z650. Although it offers some real improvements over the Z740 (better picture quality, larger screen), it’s more evolutionary than radical. Like its predecessor it’s actually a very nice camera, and an easy and (usually) enjoyable one to use, and the color is typical Kodak - rich, vivid and generally very accurate. It’s also very compact, has excellent photographic controls and is very easy to use. The results won’t win it any awards for detail or sharpness, but - once you’ve spent a few days with it and learned its foibles - the Z650 is capable of a very high hit rate, and unless you print at sizes above 5×7 inches the output is perfectly tuned for the target market.
In the end it only manages to make it to the above average rating, so if you search around, you can probably find a much better camera.
Mamiya to Sell Digital Camera Business
Mamiya O/P has announced that it’s Optical Equipment Division, manufacturer of the leading medium format cameras and lenses will be transferred to a new company.
The new company, Cosmo Digital Imaging Company, Ltd. was formed by Cosmos Scientific Systems, Inc., a leading company in IT technology. Cosmo Digital Imaging will be able to combine its software expertise with Mamiya’s photographic capabilities to further advance in the digital direction of professional photographic imaging technology.
Building on Mamiya’s reputation and world wide distribution network, the new company will be able to achieve an even higher level of customer satisfaction. Service of Mamiya cameras, lenses and accessories will also be handled by the existing Mamiya distribution network. Coming in the wake of a number of industry changes, this positive development gives Mamiya a new direction and a vision for the future.
Cosmo Digital is planning to execute these changes on September 1, 2006 and will retain a substantial number of present staff and facilities and acquire all the assets including inventory, property, trademarks and patents to assure a smooth transition.
Panasonic LUMIX DMC-FZ7 Review
Imaging Resource also gives a quick review to the Lumix DMC-FZ7 from Panasonic.
Overall, shooting with the Panasonic FZ7 is a slightly odd but not entirely unpleasant experience. The camera suffers from what I would call “in-between-ness.” With the old chunky cameras, the size and heft of the models obviously limited you from sliding it in your pocket. But they were small and light enough to bring with you just about everywhere, with serious features to make you feel like a pro. With the FZ7, it’s hard to tell exactly how to hold or carry it. There’s a nice rubberized handgrip on the right side, but for an average-sized male hand like mine, I felt like I was smothering it. Also, since it’s hard to keep a light camera like this steady, even with the O.I.S. engaged, I was continually switching between using the LCD on the back and the tiny electronic viewfinder in an effort to stabilize the camera.
Another quick review, and another Dave’s pick as the Lumix DMC-FZ7 performs well for the type of digital camera it is.
Olympus SP-310 Review
Imaging Resource performs one of its signature quick reviews on the Olympus SP-310, and while they thought they would be completely unimpressed, the camera surprised them.
When you first see the product shots of the Olympus SP-310, it’s not impressive. Its big grip on the right really looks silly, especially in the front shot. Holding and using the camera, however, gives a very different impression.
The big grip gives you a far better hold on the camera than other small cameras in this class, yet the camera still travels well.
One other factor immediately changed our opinion of the Olympus SP-310 though: the printed image quality. We’d reviewed the Olympus SP-350 a bit before the SP-310, and were quite a bit more impressed with it than we expected to be when we first set eyes on it. The Olympus SP-310 produced a similar experience, but we really missed the hot shoe feature from the 350.
In the end they gave the camera a Dave’s pick rating, due to how the camera performed in image quality, which really is the key thing for digital cameras these days.
Kodak EasyShare V610
Eastman Kodak Company today introduced the Kodak EASYSHARE V610 dual lens digital camera, the world’s smallest 10X (38 – 380 mm equiv.) optical zoom camera at less than an inch thick. Using the Kodak Retina Dual Lens technology, the sleek, pocket-size V610 camera precisely combines two SCHNEIDER-KREUZNACH C-VARIOGON all-glass, non-protruding prism lenses to deliver such a long zoom range.
The 6-megapixel EASYSHARE V610 camera, with anti-blur technology, can be carried where bigger, bulkier high-zoom digital cameras cannot — in a pocket while skiing, in a small purse during a day on the town, or on a wrist while hiking. The result is the ability to get extremely close, high quality pictures of distant subjects without the obtrusiveness of a larger camera.
Kodak now has the world’s smallest digital cameras at both ends of the consumer photography spectrum — the EASYSHARE V570 model for ultra-wide-angle needs (23 mm equiv.) and the EASYSHARE V610 model for long-zoom needs.
In addition, the EASYSHARE V610 model is one of the first digital cameras to incorporate Bluethooth® wireless technology, making it easier to instantly share pictures with people nearby. EASYSHARE V610 camera owners can effortlessly send their pictures to other Bluetooth technology enabled devices up to 30 feet away —e.g., mobile phones, PDAs, computers, KODAK Picture Kiosks, and even other V610 cameras — as well as receive and view pictures on the huge 2.8-inch, high-resolution (230,000 pixels) LCD screen.
“Kodak innovation continues to make it easier for people to take and share better, sharper pictures. We’re creating cameras for the digital age, breaking traditional constraints by using multiple light paths, lenses and sensors; by incorporating wireless technologies; and by taking advantage of advanced digital processing algorithms,” said Carolyn Walsh, Product Sales Director Digital, Eastman Kodak Company. “The EASYSHARE V610 camera joins the acclaimed dual-lens V570 model in showing what’s possible when innovative engineering is melded with innovative design.”
The Kodak EASYSHARE V610 zoom digital camera will be available in the UK in May 2006 (UK£349.99 RRP).
Casio Exilim EX-Z850 Review
Digital Photography Review took a look at the Casio Exilim EX-Z850 today, and found it filled with features.
Like the EX-Z750 before it, the EX-Z850 has much to commend it to the more serious photographer wanting a truly pocket-sized camera with real photographic control - in fact more so, given that the default settings produce images that lack the over-processed Technicolor look of its predecessor. It’s also got a much better screen, much better flash and a few genuinely useful new tricks up its sleeve to boot.
Although we haven’t had room here to cover in full the immense range of features on offer (there are, after all 34 ‘Best Shot’ modes) I hope you’ve got an idea of just how much functionality Casio has shoehorned into the EX-Z850’s slim, compact all-metal body.
In the end they recommend the camera thanks to the numerous features that it has in comparision to its compact competitors.
Panasonic DMC-TZ1 Review
Megapixel.net reviews the Panasonic DMC-TZ1, a five megapixel digital camera.
The DMC-TZ1 is the first camera to integrate a retractive lens — the lens type that extends from the body as the zoom is used — with folded optics technology — the technology that uses a prism to fold the light path into the camera, allowing lens movements to take place internally. The result is a 10X stabilized zoom that at maximum magnification barely extends less past the front of the camera than some 3X zooms.
They loved the photographic qualities and gave it a 9.2 out of 10, and liked the functionality giving it 8.4 out of 10. Some of the negatives they attribute to the camera include the built-in flash is a bit weak, there are no manual modes, and no uncompressed formats.
Panasonic Lumix DMC FZ7 Review
Lets Go Digital reviews the Lumix DMC F27 from Panasonic.
Panasonic are putting in some serious effort. They are known to take the digital camera market very seriously, and although the brand is not typically photo industry related, you’d never be able to tell from their final products. On the contrary; Panasonic have embraced the Leica brand and equip a large amount of their products with a lens manufactured by Leica. When we look at the camera we see an impressive zoom range of 12x optical zoom, which is the equivalent of 36 - 432mm with a 35mm camera. To top it all off, the Panasonic FZ7 features an optical image stabiliser.
Considered an transition step between a normal digital camera and a digital SLR, the DMC FZ7 is considered high quality by Lets Go Digital, and they truly recommend the Panasonic Lumiz F7 with an exclamation point even!
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