Casio Exilim Card EX-S600D Takes DivX Movies
This is one of the coolest things I have seen lately is the Casio Exilim Card EX-S600D, a digital camera that is pretty average for the the most part, except for the fact that it can take movies in the DivX format.
DivX is a popular and cutting edge video compression technology which delivers high-quality video in reduced file sizes.
Otherwise you are looking at a 3x optical zoom, 2.2 inch LCD and anti-shake technology. So far this camera is only scheduled to be in the European market, but hopefully I will get to see it here in Canada. I feel bad for everyone in the USA that almost can’t get any DivX enabled technology.
Canon Digital IXUS 800 IS Review from LetsGoDigital
Over at LetsGoDigital, they have recently reviewed the Canon Digital IXUS 800 IS a nice compact shooter with stylish looks and a reasonable set of features.
The successful series of digital IXUS cameras brings us the Canon Digital IXUS 800 IS digital camera. This new top model from the Digital IXUS series is equipped with the latest technology, and comes in the trendiest “jacket” of the series. As far as specifications are concerned, the Canon IXUS 800 IS leads Canon’s compact camera range; not only does the camera have the stylish looks that the IXUS line is famed for, it also features a 4x optical zoom and the same optical Image Stabilizer (IS) technology that is used in Canon’s professional EF lenses to reduce blur caused by movement of the photographer’s hand.
They conclude that the Canon Digital IXUS 800 IS deserves nothing but praise. It is a top model in the IXUS series from Canon and features “user-friendly operation and produces first-rate image quality”. It is no surprise that the camera is not for the professional photographer looking for something compact, as it does not give a myriad of choices in aperature and shutter speeds, but that is not the market the IXUS 800 IS is shooting for.
One other note in the article that I totally agree with is the mention of the image stabilization:
And once you have worked with an optical image stabilizer and have experienced the advantages of care-free photography in every imaginable situation, you are not likely to return to a camera that is not equipped with an image stabilization system.
Their final result is that the Canon Digital IXUS 800 IS is worth a rating of 79% as well as a LetsGoDigital Recommended badge.
Read the rest at LetsGoDigital.
Adobe buys RawShooter engine
Adobe Systems Incorporated recently announced that it has acquired Pixmantec ApS’ technology assets which include digital imaging software that can help provide an advanced worflow management and processing capabilities for RAW digital camera files. The acquisition strengthens Adobe’s leadership position in raw processing. The exact terms of the acquisition have not yet been disclosed.
“With high quality digital cameras now within reach of every photographer, customers are gravitating to raw file formats that allow them to get more control over final results,” said John Loiacono, senior vice president of Creative Solutions at Adobe. “By combining Pixmantec’s raw processing technology and expertise with our own, we’re continuing to deliver on the promise that even your existing raw files can be processed with increasing quality as our software technology evolves.”
Adobe plans to integrate Pixmantec raw processing technologies into Lightroom and wherever customers will be working with raw files.
In preparation for this integration, the Pixmantec RawShooter Premium product is being discontinued, though the free RawShooter Essentials product will continue to be available until the Lightroom public beta program is completed.
Acer CP-8660
Acer recently revealed a new 8 megapixel digital camera, the CP-8660. The design is meant to look more like a slightly more classic film camera, but that does not mean it is not an impressive device.
The Acer CP-8660, other than its 8 MP resolution, has a 6x optical zoom, and a 8.5x digital zoom. The camera is also equipped with Anti-shake DSP (Digital Signal Processor) technology which compensates for hand movements. On the back of the camera you will find a 2.8″ LCD with what is called low temperature poly silicon that enhances the overall brightness and contrast of the screen.
Acer put a slim 25 MB of memory onboard, and while that is not enough to take many pictures, it is better than many other cameras on the market that don’t offer any. Of course you can always get an SD card and expand it up to 1GB.
The camera has dimensions of 96 x 61 x 29 mm and weighs about 180 grams without its battery. It also includes a video recording mode at maximum 640 x 480 pixel resolution at 30 fps.
No word on pricing or availability but Acer promises an affordable price tag.
Canon Powershot A700 Review
The Canon Powershot A700 was created to be an easy to use and reasonably priced consumer level digital camera. In most ways it is an average camera, but it has an optical zoom better than most in its class and price range. In this highly competitive digital camera market, can a slightly better zoom push the A700 to the top of its class? bDigitalCameras takes stock of this A-series Powershot.
Included in Box
Camera, wriststrap, basic and advanced user guides, USB cable, AV output cable, 2 AA batteries, 16 MB SD memory card
Major Specs
6.0 megapixel CCD, 6x optical zoom and a 4x digital zoom, 2.5 inch LCD screen, ISO 80-800, 16:9 widescreen mode, VGA movies w/ sound up to 60 FPS, SD card storage
Look and Feel
When I first picked up this camera, the thought came to my mind that I had better never drop it. It feels like a simple drop would make it break in half. It just feels cheap. It is not something that you are going to want to take on rough trips, as it does not seem to be the type of camera that could take a beating. Don’t let that steer you away from this camera though as it has got several nice qualities.
The LCD screen on the back of the camera is a nice big 2.5″ though non-adjustable. This has become the standard for many digital cameras, and I can see why, as it is just a great screen size. Though the size is great, the quality of the screen isn’t as high as I have seen on other cameras.
Picking up the camera and snapping shots with it feels pretty good as the buttons you need are all within reach without straining the fingers to reach. One thing that was a bit annoying is that the A700 doesn’t really seem to balance in my hand the way some other cameras do. It does not feel like it is going to slip out of my hand and drop to the floor by any means but it definitely feels different and thus a little awkward.
Menu System
I was actually quite impressed with the menu system on the Canon Powershot A700. Too many times I will press a menu button on other devices, only to be bombarded with choices. Many times I don’t even know where to begin as the options presented do not seem to be what I am looking for at all. When I pressed the menu button on the A700 though, I was immediately greeted with a few straight forward options like Red-Eye assist, Digital Zoom, the Date stamp, etc. They actually put the options I would be looking for on the main page of the menu.
The Zoom
By far one of my favorite aspects of this camera is the optical zoom. The 6x optical zoom is absolutely wonderful. I don’t even have to approach the digital zoom most of the time with a camera like this. The picture is crystal clear when taken with the optical zoom. If something is still too far away, I’d rather move forward than use the digital zoom, but it is there for me if I really need it, creating a combined zoom of up to 24x. Interestingly enough, the digital zoom was set to off by default.
Cycle Time
The cycle time of taking a picture was kind of annoying if using the flash. Sitting down with my stop watch I recorded a few times that I think you will find interesting.
| W/ Flash | W/out Flash |
| 4.5s | 1.3 |
| 4.3s | 1.2 |
| 4.5s | 1.3 |
| 4.4s | 1.3 |
| 4.4s | 1.3 |
As you can tell from the above series of tests, the time it takes for the camera to get ready for another picture is not very bad without the flash. There was almost no noticeable wait time. However, with the flash, it took approximately 4.4 seconds on average for the camera to get ready for the next picture. This can be very annoying when you want to snap more than just one image in a reasonable amount of time.
Please note that when you first get the camera out of the box, it is automatically set in “2 second review mode”, which means that after you snap the picture, the current snapshot will stay on the screen for at least 2 seconds. When running these tests I turned the review mode off. With the review mode on, you can expect longer delays between shots.
Movie Mode
You have got to love how many new cameras are including a movie mode for shooting home videos. The Powershot A700 includes this feature and the default setting on this camera gives you a 640×480 recording at 30 FPS. It does have the ability to shoot all the way up to 60 FPS for an even smoother video, but you have to chop the resolution down to 320×240. Unfortunately, you can’t move the optical zoom in and out while you’re shooting the video, but it does let you zoom in and out with the digital zoom. The A700 produces .MOV files which are compatible with Apple’s QuickTime. A version of QuickTime is included on the CD that is packaged with the camera.
Captured Image
Crop of captured image, Click image for full resolution image
Conclusion
Overall this is a pretty decent camera. If you don’t mind the long wait after taking a flash picture or the cheap feel to it, then it really does have some great features. The 6x optical zoom, the video mode, and the 2.5 inch LCD are all absolutely wonderful. It seems to get in focus really quickly as I never had one problem with the focus taking a while to pick up. It has 20 different shooting modes including portrait, landscape, night scene, snow, indoor, among others. It does take AA batteries as opposed to a rechargable battery pack, so keep that in consideration.
There was no onboard storage, and the memory that came with the A700 was a 16 MB SD card, so count on dishing out some more money for a card that can hold more than 6 or 7 full resolution pictures. I recommend getting a high speed memory card if you’re interested in using the continuous shooting mode and the movie mode, as it will really open up the camera for you and make it feel just a bit more responsive. You can snap a couple of pictures in a few seconds using the continuous shooting mode, which is great when you don’t want to miss that key moment.
The price of the camera is also very reasonable, coming in at around $300 for a 6 megapixel camera with all these features. I consider this to be a really good deal. This seems to me to be the ideal first camera for a family (not a college or high school student who’s going to give it a beating). It’s well priced and produces great image quality.
Street Price
I found this camera to be normally priced in the $300 region. However, you can find the Canon Powershot A700 priced between $281 and $350
FujiFilm FinePix F470 Review
Bytesector has a review up on the FinePix F470 from FujiFilm. A pretty average point and shoot camera, with a 6 megapixel sensor, 3x optical zoom and a 2.5″ LCD.
The Fuji Finepix F470 is a fairly solid point-and-shoot digital camera and fares well for most situations. The camera isn’t without weaknesses in that it has a relatively low battery life at 150 shots, and it doesn’t always produce flesh tones as accurately as some of the other cameras on the market.
However, if you plan on working mostly outdoors, or with bright lighting, this camera is worth its cost for image quality alone.
I am not a big fan of proprietary batteries especially ones that don’t last for a long time, and that is what Fujifilm uses for the FinePix F470. They also talk about how slow the camera is to respond. So image quality is great, but just about everything else is not. Maybe this is one you’d want to skip, as a balance is better than a camera that only does one thing well, and what use is a camera that can take a great picture, but is always running out of battery life, or missing the good shots?
DALSA 111 Megapixel CCD Sensor
Getting to the 10 megapixel mark was a big deal to many consumers and companies alike, but it has been greatly overshadowed by DALSA Corp. They are the first company to break the 100 megapixel barrier, with a new CCS sensor that offers 111.5 megapixels in a sensor around 4 inches on each side.
The chip was made for the Astrometry Department of the U.S. Naval Observatory. The device will assist USNO in the determination of the positions and motions of stars, solar system objects and the establishment of celestial reference frames.
“As with past custom image sensor projects, I’m very satisfied with the versatility and capability of DALSA Semiconductor’s foundry to collaborate on new process enhancements and to manufacture challenging custom CCD image sensor products such as this,” commented STA President, Richard Bredthauer.
“I’m very pleased that we were able to deliver, ahead of schedule, this custom CCD image sensor to our long time DALSA foundry customer, STA,” added Ralf Brooks, President of DALSA Semiconductor. “Completing this challenging, yet successful, project once again illustrates our strong process technology portfolio and our ability to work closely with our customers to create truly unique products.”
Fuji cuts FinePix A400, A500 pricing
Fujifilm is making more price cuts today, dropping the A400, and A500 by 13% and 17% repectively. Announced at C.E.S. this year, the Fujifilm FinePix A400 and A500 are both based around SuperCCD HR imagers which increase the maximum detail in pictures.
The A400 features a four megapixel sensor, and the A500 bumps this to five megapixels. Both cameras also include a 3x optical zoom lens, as well as both a 1.8″ LCD display with 77,000 pixels, and a real-image optical viewfinder.
When they first hit the market, the FinePix A400 was priced at $149, while the A500 was $179. After today’s price adjustment, the cameras can be had for $129 or $149 respectively.
Sony DSC W70 Review
Cameras.co.uk has reviewed the Sony DSC W70, a recent release from Sony that is small, and yet still has a seven megapixel sensor. Will the size effect image quality?
Here is what the review says:
The quality of the photos taken with the DSC W70 was very impressive. My general findings were that the photos were sharp and the colours strong. The camera coped well with both lowlight situations and also sunny settings.
The sharpness of the photos remains up to the edges. Detail is brought out in the darker areas of the photos too. All in all the outdoor scenic shots are very good.
Other than it not being the greatest with red eye, like most compact digital cameras, the Sony DSC W70 comes out being a great little compact thanks to its image quality and ease of use.
Canon PowerShot SD600 Digital ELPH Review
PopPhoto has a review up on the Canon PowerShot SD600, a point and shoot camera that is pretty average, though does not have the best battery life.
On the other hand, the camera has a slew of scene modes, including continuous shooting mode, which can keep shooting pictures at about 2 frames/second until the memory card is completely full. The movie mode is also very slick, though a 1GB file size generally fills up in about 8-10 minutes. Alas, the SD600 only comes with a 16MB card.
The one area in which the SD600 lacked in performance was its battery life. You will probably need to purchase an extra battery if you are at an event where you plan to take a significant amount of images, or to shoot movies. CIPA estimates the battery will take up to 160 photos with the LCD on when fully charged.
They loved the photo quality, and the large 2.5 inch LCD that is easy to view in low light. The movie mode and continuous shooting modes also impressed them. What was lacking with the SD600 is the battery life, and the plastic memory card/battery compartment cover. Still a great little camera for those on the go.
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