Olympus SP-320 Review
DigitalCameraReview recently reviewed the Olympus SP-320 a reasonably sized digital camera with some powerful features.
The Olympus SP-320 is a member of Olympus’ SP line of cameras that have “Power and Versatility”. With features like RAW image capture and several manual modes, the camera may appeal to someone with a tight budget who wants the advanced features that the camera has. The SP-320 features a 7.1 megapixel sensor, 2.5 inch LCD, and 3x optical zoom. Powered by 2 AA batteries, the SP-320 is a midsized compact camera that is comfortable to hold and takes good pictures.
In the end they liked the advanced features for the price, as well as the image quality, customization, and the comfort when holding the camera. They were worried about the LCD blackout and cycle times get too long when batteries still have plenty of life left, and that it uses xD Picture Cards media.
Photography Tip: Using Fill Flash
Digital Photography School has some great tips, and recently they highlighted on what I consider to be the most important tip yet: use fill flash.
The problem with the shots was that there was so much light coming in the windows that the super little camera that my friend was using in Auto mode thought that the scene had enough light. As a result the window and what you can see through it is reasonably well exposed - but the main subject matter of the picture (the happy couple) are well under exposed. Some of the other shots taken this day were much worse and had the bride and groom as silhouettes.
Obviously the issue with this shot is that there is just not enough light from the front of the subjects to light up the subject with the shutter speed being used.
He then goes over some fixes that would have brightened up the happy couple in the picture. A very good read.
Nikon Coolpix P3 Review
Digital Camera Resource Page reviewed the Nikon Coolpix P3, a compact digital camera that has Wi-Fi connectivity.
The P3 is a compact (but not tiny) metal camera with a 3.5X optical zoom lens and a 2.5″ LCD display. The camera is well put together for the most part, though the plastic door over the memory card and battery compartment is especially flimsy. While having a little extra zoom is nice, the big story here is Nikon’s Vibration Reduction (VR) system, which reduces the effects of camera shake, allowing you to use slower shutter speeds than you could otherwise. The camera’s LCD is big, bright, and sharp — and visible in low light conditions. Nikon unfortunately left out an optical viewfinder on the P3.
In the end they liked, but not loved, the P3, and say that if you don’t need the Wi-Fi abilities to jump over to the Coolpix P4 instead. And as always, they recommend trying any camera before you buy because what they are looking for in a camera may not fit your needs.
Canon EOS 30D Digital Camera Review
Every digital SLR released now has a growing group of competition that makes it even harder for the new release to stand out, but while the EOS 30D does not look like anything special, the review over at DigitalCameraInfo makes the 30D sound pretty special though not as evolutionary as its predecessors.
The Canon EOS 30D has several important refinements over its predecessor, the Canon EOS 20D, and it maintains that camera’s many strengths. Its solid build, excellent image quality, and respectable speed (5 fps at 8.2 megapixels) make it a very attractive camera for a range of users. Weddings, portraits, photojournalism, family pictures, and even landscapes are perfectly within the Canon EOS 30D’s scope, as many thousands of 20D users have proven. Photographers who own other Canon SLRs have a very good option in the 30D: it can be either a step up from the Rebel or Rebel XT or a moderate-cost backup to the 5D or 1D series. The 30D feels very substantial and professional compared to the Rebels, and its interface and build quality look just fine in comparison to Canon’s more expensive cameras.
Most Popular Searched For Digital Camera Brand?
Digital Camera Tracker has Canon coming in first for the most often searched cameras online. Sony makes second place, while Nikon is in third, and Kodak comes in fourth.
They give a one line reason for this and I think it sums it up nicely.
“Canon continues to lead the digital camera market because of innovative and reliable designs.”
Adobe Releases Photoshop CS2 Update
Adobe Systems Incorporated announced an update to Photoshop CS2 yesterday, improving the immensely popular photo editing software. The version 9.0.1 update is available free from the company web site for current CS2 users. It can be downloaded to run on Windows and Macintosh platforms.
The previous version of Adobe Photoshop CS2 had several problems that are fixed in the update. When making quick strokes with painting tools, the old version would pause for a few seconds. The update eliminates the hang time and speeds up other processing times as well. Documents with multiple text layers can be opened faster and toggling layer visibility can be performed faster too.
The upgrade fixes several errors in the original CS2; the problems that come when some TIFF and PSB files larger than 2 GB are opened have been resolved. TIFF files from certain scanners can now be imported and viewed correctly. The run-time error that sometimes appears when using the Brush tool to scroll over a high-resolution document has been fixed.
Users who have been frustrated with the palettes will be happy to know the issues have been resolved. Consumers complained about slow performance and the program crashing, but this shouldn’t happen with the Photoshop CS2 version 9.0.1 upgrade. The annoying repositioning of an image after touching it up in Adobe Acrobat with CS’s tools has been fixed. Adobe also announced that the Merge to HDR command now works when high-ASCII characters are used in the login process.
Other changes include keeping the XMP metadata from AI and PDF files in the Photoshop software program, and displaying and updating informational palette numbers when moving within the Curves tool.
Canon PowerShot SD430 Firmware Upgrade
Canon has announced it has improved its SD430’s connectivity with a new firmware upgrade version 1.1.0.0.
May 17, 2005 Canon announced a firmware update to the wireless-enabled Canon PowerShot SD430. The 5-megapixel digital camera’s connectivity will only improve with the upgrade. Changes include wireless compatibility between the SD430 and Macintosh systems and wireless transfer of images between multiple SD430 digital cameras. The version 1.1.0.0 firmware is available free from the Canon web site.
The PowerShot SD430 was introduced in October 2005, just weeks after the release of the first wave of wireless cameras including the Kodak EasyShare-one and the Nikon Coolpix P1 and P2. The Canon model comes with an adaptor so printers can wirelessly receive images to print.
The Canon PowerShot SD430 has a 3x optical zoom lens and a 2-inch LCD screen with 118,000 pixels. It has 14 recording modes along with the enjoyable My Colors mode, which is featured on several Digital Elph cameras. The PowerShot SD430 retails for $499.
Fujifilm FinePix S5600 Review
TrustedReviews reviews the FinePix S5600, the SLR-style ultra zoom digital camera from Fujifilm.
As you may recall, I was very enthusiastic in my praise for the superb Fujifilm FinePix S9500 back in October. Well it’s been a while, but I’ve finally got around to taking a look at its kid brother, the S5600. The S9500 is a tough act to follow, so can junior keep up?
Launched in July 2005, The S5600 (also known as the S5200 for the US market) is based on the successful S5500 launched the previous year. It is available from a number of online retailers for under £200, which is remarkably cheap considering the specification. It is a five megapixel camera featuring Fujifilm’s advanced SuperCCD HR sensor and acclaimed Real Photo image processing engine, coupled with a powerful 38-380mm equivalent (10x ) optical zoom lens, and the promise of top quality pictures even at high ISO speeds.
It gets a ten out of ten in value, but still only manages to walk away with a eight out of ten as a final rating as the image quality gets a seven out of ten on TrustedReviews rating scale.
Kodak EasyShare V610 Review
Pocket-lint has reviewed the Kodak EasyShare V610, a dual lensed digital camera in one compact body.
The dual lensed V610 follows on from Kodak’s wide-angle lensed V570, which provided an ultra-wide-angle dual zoom optic; here the V610 provides two lenses in a single, slim line body that together provide a 38-380mm, 10x optical zoom range (and I’ve included two images at both extremes of the two lenses range; a distant tree and one very close up, to illustrate what the focal range can achieve).
In the end the camera gets a nine out of ten and a hot product sticker next to it, as they found it easy to use, and having great image quality. Some of the negatives they listed though include noticing noise at higher sensitivities, lens flare and softness evident on the longer zoom lens, and that camera shake can be a problem.
Canon PowerShot S3 IS Review
LetsGoDigital has a review up of the Canon PowerShot S3 IS, a 12x optical zoom, 6 megapixel digital camera with image stabilization.
The Canon PowerShot S3 IS is the successor of the popular PowerShot S2 IS camera, which was subjected to an array of tests in one of our previous in-depth digital camera reviews. Digital cameras such as the Canon S3 IS enjoy a considerable popularity, which arises from the fact that they have so much to offer for a relatively low price.
The Canon PowerShot S3 IS features, for instance, an impressive 12x optical zoom, equipped with an image stabiliser, which enables hand-held shots even when working with long focal lengths. The rotating and tilting monitor allows you to capture your images from virtually every imaginable position and angle. The resolution of 6 Megapixels is more than sufficient to produce a beautiful A4, or even A3, print.
In the end they give the PowerShot S3 IS a recommended rating and say that it would not be suprising if it rises to be the worldwide bestseller. I personally have been a fan of the PowerShot series, owning the PowerShot S1 IS, but I don’t know if I would jump all the way to the S3, unless you can get a great deal on it, as the PowerShot S2 IS, is also a very capable camera.
Categories
- No categories
Recent Posts
- Kodak EasyShare C743
- HP Photosmart M437
- NIKON Coolpix S200 silver
- Canon Digital Ixus 70
- SONY Cyber-shot DSC-W35
Related Blogs
E-mail Subscription
