Sony DSLR-A300
Sitting between the DSLR-A200 and DSLR-A350 models (both of which have been reviewed on this website), Sony’s DSLR-A300 offers the resolution of the A200 model plus the Live View system of the A350.
Initially the company had no plans to release the A300 in Australia but it obviously saw a need to compete with other manufacturers that offered live viewing in their entry-level models.
Nikon Coolpix P80 digital camera review
Nikon’s Coolpix P80 combines a 10-megapixel sensor with an 18x ‘superzoom’ lens that offers wide-angle shooting at the equivalent of 27mm in 35mm format. The overall zoom range (which extends to the equivalent of 486mm) provides a useful span of focal lengths with relatively wide maximum apertures. The camera body is compact and well designed with a comfortable rubber-coated grip and thumb rest. Weighing just over 390 grams with battery and card, it provides a useful suite of manual controls.
Samsung L110 Digital Camera Review
The Samsung L110 is an 8.2 mega pixel point and shoot camera that certainly rivals other digital compacts of its size and price range. The unit itself is of a simple yet stylish design available in black, silver or red and comes complete with a long list of features all packed into a 114g aluminium metal body, including 3x optical zoom and auto red-eye fix.
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Casio Exilim EX-Z200 digital camera review
Apart from its new IS technology the Exilim EX-Z200 looks very much like a typical Casio ultra-compact. In outward appearance it closely resembles the successful EX-Z700, and in terms of its specification it is almost identical to the Z100, with a 1/2.3-inch 10.1-megapixel CCD sensor, 2.7-inch 230k widescreen monitor and 4x zoom lens with a wide-angle end equivalent to 28mm.
Samsung GX-20
The Samsung GX-20 is a 14.6 megapixel, mid-range DSLR camera, which temporarily led the megapixel race when it was first announced back in January. Since then Sony have also unveiled a 14 megapixel camera, the A350, so Samsung no longer have everything to themselves in terms of headline resolution. The original GX-10 model offered a compelling mix of innovative features and excellent image quality, and the new GX-20 adds a number of subtle refinements that expand on this winning blueprint.
Canon EOS 450D digital SLR camera review
“Since the EOS 450D is significantly more expensive than its main market rivals, as one might expect it offers a significant advantage in picture quality, although this is not achieved without some effort. In default JPEG mode I found that the camera under-exposes by about a stop, especially in bright sunshine, which while preserving highlights tends to make shadows very murky. However thanks to 14-bit image processing shooting in Raw mode allows a wide range of exposure correction during post-processing, so colour and detail can emerge from shots that look hopeless as JPEGs.”
Panasonic Lumix DMC-TZ50 Review
Panasonic has added yet another model to their award-winning TZ-family of digital cameras, the Panasonic LUMIX DMC-TZ50. This compact “super-zoom” comes complete with Wi-Fi capabilities, standard 802.11b/g wireless LAN connectivity and access to T-Mobile HotSpot service. This will allow users to upload digital photos taken with the TZ50 directly to Picasa Web Albums’, a free online photo-sharing service from Google. The 9.1 megapixel TZ50 is packed with a 28mm wide-angle lens, 10x optical zoom and the ability to record HD (1280×720) video.
Fujifilm FinePix S100FS Camera Review
“The Fuji FinePix S100fs is a very intriguing camera. It has an SLR-like design, a larger-than-average CCD, a heck of a zoom range, image stabilization, and an articulating LCD display. Image quality is better (in most respects) than your typical super zoom camera, though it’s not quite as good as what a D-SLR can produce. The S100fs has its share of negatives, including purple fringing and poor battery life, but if you can stomach its hefty $699 price tag, it’s definitely worth a look.”
Samsung i8 Review
Without doubt, the Samsung i8 is the lightest digital compact camera I have ever held, weighing in at around 120 grams including the battery and memory card. It is literally the size of a deck of cards, inclusive of curved edges, and I would guess it to be of a similar weight, if not lighter.
Sony Cyber-shot DSC-H50
The most obvious of these is the large 3-inch LCD monitor set on a tilting hinge to allow waist level or overhead shooting. For those that prefer eye-level shooting the camera also features an electronic viewfinder (EVF). The camera’s autofocus system uses a 9-point flexible spot system with single and continuous focus modes. Sony has also included face detection and smile detection, which fires the shutter when the camera recognises the curve of the mouth.
Panasonic Lumix DMC-FX35 Review
Our indoor quality was very similar to that of the outdoor images. The exposures and colors are good, but we still see the same problem with the noise in the dark areas. It even seems to show up a little more in our indoor samples. The built in flash has a range of up to approx. 18 feet when shooting in ISO. In order to accomplish this distance the camera raises the ISO incredibly high, greatly increasing the amount of noise in your photographs. Our sample shows how much the ISO was increased from just 6’-8’ away, upping it to ISO 400 and giving you more noise than you want to see in a portrait shot.
Panasonic Lumix DMC-FS20 Digital Camera Review
“The Panasonic Lumix FS20 is an incredibly easy to use and stylish 10-megapixel model. The wide 4x optical zoom and iA shooting mode, gives anyone the ability to take great pictures. The only drawback to this camera is the noise that seems to be present in the dark areas of all the photographs. With a MSRP of US$300, this is a nice camera with excellent features.”
Canon A590 IS Review
The Canon Powershot A590 IS proved to be an excellent compact digital camera. With a well-rounded feature set including full-manual controls, image stabilization and unlimited continuous shooting, plus use of readily available AA batteries and chear SD (and SDHC) memory, the A590 is one of the best digital camera values currently available. In terms of quality, there is very little to complain about. The Canon A590 produces well-exposed images with low purple fringing, good image colors and good sharpness. Noise levels are also quite low until ISO 200, although they rise rapidly after that. This camera is well built and easy to use as well.
Olympus mju 1030 SW Review
How one rates the Olympus Stylus 1030SW depends on how you view it. If you view it as an ultra-compact camera, it’s average, at best. However, your typical ultra-compact can’t take nearly the beating that the 1030SW can. It can be dropped, dunked in water, stepped on, and frozen, without missing a beat. If you need a camera that can handle those sort of things, then you’ll have to be willing to accept the 1030SW’s tradeoffs—namely, mediocre image quality.
Pentax K200D Review
So while the K200D may be missing out in some respects, it does boast by far the best build quality of any entry-level DSLR. Couple that with the upper screen and unique RAW options, along with plenty of control over processing and customisation, and you have a DSLR which really stands out from the crowd and one we can Highly Recommend. Ultimately if you want a tough DSLR with weather-proofing, but can’t stretch to a semi-pro model, then the K200D really is your only choice.
