Fall Tech Guide: Digital Camera Roundup
Fall Tech Guide: Digital Camera Roundup
PC World Canada, Canada
As the holidays approach, one of the key pieces of gear people look to splurge on are digital cameras. And as always, there’s a new crop of models on the market that would be worth a look
Nikon Coolpix S51c (Retail price: $430)
The truly unique feature in the Coolpix S51c is that it’s got built-in Wi-Fi. That means you can take photos you just shot and email them over to friends directly from the camera, so long as you’re in a Wi-Fi hotspot. Alternatively, you can upload them to a Nikon-hosted Web site called myPicturetown (with 2GB of storage for you) where friends and family can go to download those same images
It’s the second Wi-Fi-enabled digicam from Nikon, and a pretty novel idea in its implementation, albeit with some limitations. Many public Wi-Fi hotspots out there require activation by either paying a fee or agreeing to access terms – both of which you can’t do with the S51c. Without a built-in Web browser, it becomes difficult to go through the motions. However, this does mean that open hotspots are fair game for doing your business in sharing photos. You can also access private routers where you can enter a security code to get access.
When you move past the Wi-Fi feature, there is a good camera to be had here. The three-inch screen is nice, the form factor is slim and thin and it’s user-friendly. But from a more technical standpoint, the S51c takes better photos in lower-light (up to 1600 ISO) because of an improved image sensor. The range of the lens is pretty low because it doesn’t protrude, though that may not matter if you’re shooting mostly generic group and landscape shots at the full 8.1-megapixel resolution.
Canon PowerShot SD870 IS (Retail price: $500)
It’s no surprise that one of the first things that sticks out at you about Canon’s new SD870 IS is the price point. At $500, it’s one of the more expensive compact digicams out on the market, and part of the reason for that is the special wide-angle lens that comes with it. In paraphrasing what many a consumer might say about that: so what?
But a wider-angle lens is actually a big deal when you consider how much more you can cram into the average photo. Those big landmarks or large group photos would be easier to shoot, instead of having to take steps back to squeeze everything in. It’s easy to see this illustrated in front of you when you’re staring at a three-inch screen. And if you’re shooting at the full 8.3-megapixel resolution, it’s likely that you’ll have more options when cropping a photo.
The IS at the end of the name means “image stabilization”, and is probably the key overall feature of this camera. With optical image stabilization, it makes it easier to take great shots in lower-light settings because the lens compensates for any shakiness in your hands. Now, that doesn’t mean shooting sporting events or fast movement is just as easy because you would need a higher ISO to help with that. And at 1600 ISO, the SD870 IS doesn’t perform extremely well. You also won’t get much in manual controls, and dedicated shooting modes are pretty basic, too. But all in all, this is one of the best compact digicams out on the market.
Fuji Finepix F50fd (Retail price: $350)
Using a flash all the time is not a great way to take photos, as all those washed out faces and darkened backgrounds will prove to you time and time again. Fuji’s F series cameras are among the best out there for shooting under natural light, mainly because the image sensor is good at capturing higher levels of detail with minimal noise.
Fuji introduced a cool mode in last year’s F30 that allows you to shoot two photos at the same time – one with flash, and one without. The F50fd carries this as well, and improves on it by cutting the amount of time in between capturing both shots. The two are then displayed side-by-side on the 2.5-inch LCD screen so you can see the difference. This feature actually tends to work better than the standalone natural light option, which seems to capture images with a little more noise. There’s also a small image stabilization button at the top next to the shutter to help steady your hands.
Face detection, a feature that first made waves last year, is back in the F50fd with improved execution. There’s also a unique feature in the F50fd that allows you to share photos with other compatible Fuji camera owners via infrared (it’s found on the other side of the shutter). If you took a great shot that a friend wants, you can send it over to them by facing the infrared slots directly toward each other like a remote control to a TV. No need to wait till getting home to email them over.
Sony CyberShot DSC-T70 (Retail price: $380)
The traditional knock against Sony’s compact digicams is that they’re not robust enough, usually sacrificing substance to go with a sense of style and brand name. In the last couple of years, that seems to be changing. In the CyberShot DSC-T70 8.1-megapixel, Sony is finally showing that they can try some new things.
Face detection isn’t a new feature, but the “smile shutter” that works in tandem with it is one of Sony’s innovations. The idea behind it is pretty simple: the T70 would recognize a smile on a subject’s face and snap the photo on its own. It comes across as a gimmick (much like face detection does), and still needs some refinement, but it’s also the sort of feature the average digicam owner could appreciate. Part of the problem is that the smile shutter can jump the gun when only one person is showing teeth in a group photo of three people. It also tends to have trouble identifying a smile where no teeth are being shown at all.
Another unique innovation is the wide angle three-inch touchscreen in the back. Having a fully-functional menu based on touch has been done with a few other digicams as well, but there is a cool factor here. You can touch the screen on a certain subject in order to have the lens focus on it before shooting. It takes some getting used to but it works well enough to keep using it. The T70 also comes in silver, black and pink.
Olympus Stylus 790 SW (Retail price: $350)
The Stylus SW series from Olympus is arguably the most rugged and durable of any digicam line out on the market. Not only can the 790 SW survive a drop of up to five feet but it can also handle a plunge in depths of up to 10 feet underwater. The bonus is that you can also take underwater shots with a dedicated shooting mode specifically for it. And for those cold winter months here in Canada, the 790 SW can keep on clicking in temperatures as low as -25 celsius.
Despite its rugged resolve and the fact that it comes in multiple colours with a 7.1-megapixel image sensor, the 790 SW does take a small step back in one area. It’s predecessor, the 770 SW, was able to handle water depths of 33 feet and was also crushproof, meaning it can handle up to 220 lbs. of weight on it. But that may not matter to some consumers, especially those who couldn’t envision themselves sitting on the 790 SW for any particular reason.
In its feature set, the 790 SW has face detection and over 20 dedicated shooting modes. But its one key drawback is that it doesn’t shoot very well in lower-light conditions. When shooting at anything above 200 ISO in low light, the image captures a little noise (or a lot of noise at 1600 ISO) and appears to have a yellowish haze all over. You can fix the hazy part using image-editing software, but the noise is another story. The 790 SW isn’t the best camera for your average shooting needs, but is your best option for those beach-filled vacations and skiing trips.
Next page of the Fall Tech Guide: So You Wanna Buy a Smartphone?
Add comment October 25th, 2007