“Can your compact digital camera do this?” In some marketing videos showcasing its new compact digital cameras, Nikon challenges the audience with this question. To quite a few, this is going to be nerve-touching (enticing).
Over the years, compact digital cameras have become ever sophisticated although it doesn’t mean they are more difficult to use. On the contrary, technology made modern point-and-shoot compact digital cameras easier to use and produce better images. Not only 10+ mega pixel sensors become the norm, we also see image stabilization, face detection, smile shutter, dynamic lighting, creative filters, and other features becoming prevalent. Bringing out a “me-too” product is not going to help much in the current economic situation. As a matter of fact, Nikon just post significant loss for the 1st quarter of fiscal year 2010. Nikon has vowed to “concentration on development of new products exceeding customers expectation” and obviously didn’t disappoint us with the recent announcements.
The Nikon Coolpix S70 has what appears to be Muititouch-like screen on the back. You can zoom with two fingers and you can also select focus point by touching on the screen. For iPhone users, these are familiar features.
The Nikon Coolpix S1000pj has a built-in projector that can show your images up to 40 inches across on a surface such as wall or ceiling.
Both compact digital cameras feature 12.1 mega pixel sensor and 5X optical zoom lens with vibration reduction (VR). The S70 has a 3.5 inch OLED touch screen at the back while the S1000pj has a 2.7 inch TFT LCD with anti-reflective coating.
People who like the convenience of digital compact cameras are often disappointed by the dismal battery life that is only good for a couple of hundred shots. Now Casio just released a new compact wide angle super zoom digital camera that is the world’s thinnest and lightest in its class but can take a thousand shots on a single charge. Other than that, the nice-looking photography gadget takes 720P HD videos, shots up to 10 frames per second at 1280 x 960 resolution (Up to 20 shots), and does whatever else you’d expect from a compact digital camera. Check out the product images and press releases below.
As a testament on how far digital imaging technology has advanced over the years, Ben was surprised by the noise performance of the $200 12 megapixel compact digital camera.
One of the most surprising things about the A1100 is its low noise. Shooting up to ISO 400 is surprisingly clean, and even higher speeds, such as 800 and 1600, are very usable, even in low light. Certainly there are cameras that perform better at these speeds, but they’re also much more expensive.
To be certain, different people may have different standards on what are acceptable or usable. One of the users reviews on Amazon for the camera complained about grainy pictures even in bright sunny situations. The Canon PowerShot A1100IS only received two user reviews so far that are not all that glorious. However, its older sibling Canon Powershot A1000IS (10MP, released last year) have received overall very positive acceptance from users.
When it comes to buying digital camera, or anything, people are paying attention to reviews. There are reviews by professionals, which tend to be more objective, accurate and trust worthy. However these are typically not the people who are going to use them as often as the typical consumers will do. They may not have covered all aspects of the product or every possible ways people will be using it. So it is equally important to seek consumer reviews or experiences. Consumer reviews tends to be a little less accurate, incomplete, more subjective, and more noisy. Use good judgment and examine what is said against fact and common sense.
Spring is here. People’s spirit may be getting better despite the bad economic news. In a recent email newsletter, Nikon introduces 8 new Coolpix models in hope of freshing up their businesses. No, these are not completely new, some have been on sale since February.
The new models are in Nikon COOLPIX P (Performance), S (Style), and L (Life) series. The Coolpix P90 is a 24x super-zoom (most expensive) while the Coolpix L19 is the most economic compact new model you can get with a Nikon brand.
One of the S (Style) series model is the Coolpix S230 with 10 megapixel sensor, 3x Zoom-NIKKOR lens, and a huge bright 3.0-inch high resolution touch panel LCD. It comes with 5 elegant colors, which look great even thought they are not as sensational as the colors of Canon PowerShot SD780.
Multiple gadget blogs (Engadget, CrunchGear) are reporting the Kodak 24x megazoom point-and-shoot digital camera Z980 that will be officially introduced at 2009 CES. The camera features a 12 megapixel sensor, 24x (26mm – 624mm?) stabilized optical zoom lens, detachable vertical grip with shutter release, and HD video recording capability.
Sony has taken the face detection technology to a new height with the launch of its compact DSC-T200 with a smile shutter mode. Are you always too slow to to press the shutter release button when someone smiles? Try this camera. It can actively identify human faces and takes the photo when someone smiles. Check out the video below. It is amazing!
This is an amazing macro photo. What strikes me most is that the photographer (nutmeg66) has taken many amazing close-up photos with a cheap point and shoot camera (Canon PowerShot A640). One of the testimonials by another Flickr user sums it up well:
“I’m amazed with the results you get in your photos. Your nature shots are incredible. Many users of expensive DSLR’s must be hanging their heads in shame. I hope you continue to inspire.”
The equipment is certainly quite important for good macro photography but it is only as good as the photographer. The photographer needs to have patience, skills, and some luck.
This may surprise some: the cheap P&S cameras have a great advantage compared to DSLR cameras for macro photography: greater depth of field (DOF) at the same aperture and same equivalent focal length. In general, the DOF becomes narrow as you get closer to the subject at given aperture. It becomes difficult to record the entire subject of interest in sharp focus when you try to get as close as possible to capture the details (at highest possible magnification). The reason for enhanced DOF is mainly due to the smaller sensor sizes in P&S cameras compared to DSLR cameras. For an in-depth discussion of this subject, please read these excellent articles:
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