Nikon Coolpix P90 Review
Nikon’s Coolpix P90 is a camera that can not only make you smile but capture them as well … then shoots people only with their eyes open.
It looks a little like an interchangeable dSLR but it’s far smaller and lighter (500 grams). Then you look at the lens: a 24x Nikkor zoom — just try and find one for a dSLR!
The zoom at the wide end (as a 35 SLR equivalent) is 26mm and racks out to a tele setting of 624mm.
The CCD captures 12.1 megapixels and can seize a maximum image size of 4000×3000 pixels.
Nikon P90 Features
The 7.6cm vari-angle LCD screen rolls through a vertical arc of 135 degrees but does not swivel laterally (bummer!) … The turret finder is also an LCD — not an optical one.
External controls are relatively few, while the viewfinder menu confirms image size, ISO speed etc. The mode dial offers options of auto, Program AE, shutter or aperture priority plus manual. There are two custom positions that can store personal settings like ISO rating, white balance, metering mode etc.
Face detection: The P90 can detect as many as 12 faces in shot, locking in correct focus and exposure. Then there’s the Smile Timer, which releases the shutter only when the subject smiles. A Blink Proof function automatically shoots two sequential frames and saves only the shot with the subject’s eyes wide open.
The P90’s vibration reduction uses an optical system, built into the lens. This works on stills shooting but an electronic method is used to stabilise movie shooting.
Movies? The P90 only captures 640×480 pixel SD quality. A camera at this price level screams out for High Def video.
The ISO range can run up to 6400, but ISO 3200 and 6400 sensitivity can only be used with a smaller image size. At higher ISO levels you may also have to use the P90’s noise reduction feature — supported at shutter speeds of ¼ second or less.
Lens
The lens is well-corrected with only a little barrel distortion at the wide end of the zoom and no sign of any problems at the tele end. The camera as a clever menu ‘fix’ that can remove this problem in-camera: setting the camera to correct distortion gives you a final shot with the barrel distortion removed.
Continuous shooting of full size images can be made at a speed of 1.4 fps but if you’re happy with a smaller image size you can tap into Sports Continuous mode and shoot 45 1920×1080 pixel shots at 15 fps in the 16:9 aspect ratio. This would deliver impressive High Def movie clips of sports action.
A useful cache continuously stores the 10 frames immediately prior to firing the shutter, so you should never miss the peak of the action.
The P90 is close to a dSLR in style yet brings that experience without the penalties of weight and size.
I found in my tests the zoom’s range a whiz! The only thing you may face is that, in tele, over a long distance that atmospheric haze may spoil your shot.
A high quality compact digicam with a magic zoom!
Nikon P90 Specifications
- Image Sensor: 10.9mm. 12.1 million effective pixels.
- Lens: Zoom-Nikkor f2.8-5.0/4.6-110.4mm. 26-624mm (35mm equiv). 4x digital zoom.
- Focus Range: Normal: 50cm-infinity; macro: 1cm-infinity.
- Metering: 256-segment matrix metering, centre-weighted metering, spot, spot AF area.
- Vibration Reduction: Image sensor shift VR.
- Image Sizes (pixels): 4000×3000, 3264×2448, 2592×1944, 2048×1536, 1600×1200, 1280×960, 1024×768, 640×480, 3984×2656, 3968×2232, 2992×2992, 1920×1080.
- Movie Clips: 640×480, 320×240.
- File Formats: JPEG, WAV, AVI movie.
- ISO Sensitivity: Auto, 64 to 6400.
- Flash: Auto, auto with red-eye reduction, forced on and off, slow sync, rear-curtain sync.
- Power: Rechargeable lithium ion battery, AC.
- Dimensions: 114×83×99 WHDmm.
- Weight: Approx. 460 g (minus batteries and memory card).
- Price: Amazon currently has the P90 priced at $359.99.
Tags: Digital Camera Reviews, Nikon Cameras
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Sony Cyber-shot W300
The Sony Cyber-shot W300 is one of the best looking compact digital camera we have reviewed recently. It offers great performance and is very easy to operate although as with any electronic products there are a few minor flaws.
The one thing that really stands out with this camera is its handsome looks, the camera is finished in a metalic dark grey with a black and silver flash. Of all the digital cameras we have reviewed recently this camera really stands out.
The cameras controls can take a bit of getting use to but are pretty simple to use. The controls consist of a D-pad, four buttons and a forward facing rocker. The two buttons are difficult to use with your right hand but a good feature is the ‘home button’, which allows you to quickly navigate to the start of the menu.
The photo quality from the camera is of a high standard, and the W300’s 13.6 megapixel sensor produces some great images with great depth and colour. Another great feature of the camera is its ‘SuperSteadyShot stabilization system which is great for those of us with shakey hands.
The W300 offers you the chance to take images in ‘manual mode’ which can help take great images, although there are no aperture or shutter controls, although if you are interested in this type of functionality you really should be looking for a slr digital camera.
The main downside with this camera is the fact that it does’nt use SD Card Media for storage but instead uses its own version, which are more expensive.
Pros - amazing looks and style, good picture output, good value for money
Cons - does’nt use the industry standard SD Card for storage
For more digital slr reviews and information view our parent site
Fujifilm Finepix S100FS Review
Fujifilm has a long-established fan base for its interchangeable lens digital SLRs, based on a Nikon body, but in recent years has tended to concentrate on its fixed lens digicams. The Fujifilm FinePix S100FS confirms this situation spectacularly.
The camera captures 11.1 megapixel images onto a 17 mm CCD, via a substantial Fujinon 14.3x optical zoom lens, stabilized with a lens-shift arrangement. Viewing is via a turret-mounted LCD or a rear 6.4 LCD screen; the former is particularly sharp and useful for focus determination when ambient light is too bright for the rear screen, although the latter gains from an angular movement that swings 90 degrees up and 45 degrees down.
The camera captures in RAW or JPEG but cannot store an image in both simultaneously. Weighing nearly a kilo, this is serious near-DSLR territory.
Fujifilm Finepix S100FS Features
In case you were wondering, the FS in the model name stands for ‘Film Simulation’ and there’s a heap of features to substantiate this claim.
The S100FS is the first fixed lens digital to have an extended Dynamic Range feature similar to that of film. Three shots in a row can be shot with 100/200/400 per cent variation. To explain: this suppresses white flaring and black patches in scenes with high contrast, while also delivering good levels of contrast in flat indoor or overcast exterior pictures where a wide dynamic range is not needed.
Another attraction is the camera’s ability to take three shots in sequence — with a novel twist. Called FSB (Film Simulation Bracketting), as you press the button the camera takes three shots in sequence with characteristics that simulate Fuji’s well-regarded Provia and Velvia transparency films plus a final one with a ‘soft’ look.
Naturally, this bracketing feature extends to a three shot run with exposure variations of an f stop each.
Straightforward continuous shooting is also well served: you can bang off seven shots at a speed of 3 fps or (with reduced resolution) 50 shots at 7 fps.
With a fixed lens of enormous zoom power, one of the DSLR’s bugbears — dust intrusion — is removed, thanks to the composite body and lens structure.
Aside from the accepted auto, Program AE, shutter and aperture priority modes, there are manual and 14 different scene settings. Plus two custom modes.
Auto focus can be handled in single AF, continuous AF, manual focus and one-push manual AF.
If you need it, the camera has a face detection system that sets optimal focusing and exposure for faces, with the camera held vertically or horizontally.
Startup time
Not bad. Three seconds from power up to first shot; subsequent shots about two seconds apart.
Distortion
The bad news is that pronounced barrel distortion occurs with the zoom set to the wide end and some pincushion distortion is evident at the tele end. But don’t forget: this is a hell of a zoom!
The Verdict
This is possibly the ideal camera for those who want a DSLR but without the hassle and expense of additional lenses to make it sing and dance.
Make no mistake: this is a serious shooter and one that I and many others would be keen to use on all our photo projects.
Quality: fine, sharp and naturally coloured images.
Get a Price on the Fujifilm Finepix S100fs at Amazon
FUJIFILM FINEPIX S100FS VITAL STATISTICS
FUJIFILM FINEPIX S100FS
Type: Fully automatic, fixed lens digital compact camera.
Lens: Fujinon f/2.8-5.3/7.1-101.5 mm (28-400 mm as 35 mm equivalent). 2x digital zoom.
Focusing Range: W/T 50 cm/2.5 m to infinity; macro W/T 10/90 cm to 2.5/3.0 m. Shutter Speeds: 30-1/4000 second, Bulb.
Metering: Multi zone (256), averaging, spot.
Exposure Control: Auto, Program AE, shutter and aperture priority, manual.
Sensitivity: Auto, ISO 100/200/400/800/1600/3200/6400/10000.
Sensor: 17 mm CCD, 11.1 million pixels.
Image Size: 4032×2688, 3840×2880, 2816×2112, 2048×1536, 1600×1200, 640×480.
Continuous Shooting: 7 shots at 3 fps; 50 fps at 7 fps (2048×1536 pixels). Movies: 640×480, 320×240 at 30 fps.
Formats: JPEG, RAW, WAV, Motion JPEG. DPOF and PictBridge compatible. Flash range = Auto, red-eye reduction, forced off and on, slow synchronisation.
Flash Range (ISO 800): W/T 60 cm/2.5 m to 2.5 m/90 cm, macro W/T 30/90 cm to 80 cm/1.3 m.
Viewfinders: Turret 5 cm LCD (200,000 pixels) plus 6.4 cm LCD (230,000 pixels).
Storage: Removable SD/SDHC/xD-Picture Card memory card (none supplied).
Interface: USB 2.0, PAL/NTSC AV output, DC input.
Power: Rechargeable lithium ion battery, AC adapter.
Dimensions (WHD): 133.4×93.6×150.4 mm.
Weight: 918 grams (without card, battery).
Price: $699.95 USD.
Tags: Camera Reviews, Digital Camera Reviews, Fujifilm Cameras
Fujifilm Finepix S2000HD Review
The Fujifilm Finepix S2000HD one is a big surprise, with many attractive features — not least being the reasonable asking price of $399.
Basically, it’s a mini DSLR look-alike, nearly pocketable, with a 15x zoom lens, imaging to a CCD capable of acquiring 10.0 million pixels. In stills shooting, the camera uses an optical stabiliser; when shooting movies, a less desirable digital stabiliser is used.
Fujifilm Finepix S2000HD Features
Ten megapixels gives you access to a maximum image size of 3648×2736 pixels as well as 1920×1080 pixels for an HD ratio image; print sizes at these resolutions are, respectively, 41×31 cm and 22×12 cm at 225 dpi.
Then it gets really interesting, because this is the first Fujifilm camera with 16:9 HD video capability. Note: the video image is 1280×720 pixels at 30 fps, so it’s not Full High Def, but it’s still pretty impressive all the same to shoot big stills and HD video with the same stills camera. The only flaw in the picture is that the camera’s HD terminal is a proprietary one, so you have to buy an optional camera to component video cable to connect the TV set’s input.
The S2000HD has a continuous speed of up to 13.3 fps for a maximum run of 33 shots but only at the 2048×1536 pixel size; if you want 3648×2736 pictures, the burst rate falls to 1.1 fps for three images.
Like every camera on the market, or so it seems, the FinePix has a face detection mode which can detect up to 10 faces in the frame, adjusting focus and exposure, regardless of the background. The automatic red-eye removal feature then checks each detected face for red-eye and routinely corrects it.
There’s a new mode called zoom framing that should make the framing of a shot less of a nerve-racked challenge for the digital newbies. Tap the four way rocker and you’re presented with a series of cropping shapes; choose one and, when you fire the shot, the zoom automatically frames tighter. Just great!
Then there’s zoom bracketing: each time you hit the shutter the camera fires three shots at three differing image sizes. Should save you some image editing later.
And then the FinePix goes even further: it shoots two images in rapid succession — one with flash and one without — then saves both.
Surprisingly for such a camera in this price range, it shoots auto, Program AE, shutter priority as well as manual. There are also 13 scene modes, ranging from sport to fireworks to snow/beach.
Startup Time
In four seconds after power-up I was shooting my first shot, then follow-up shots were taken at about a second apart.
Distortion
There was noticeable barrel distortion at the wide end of the zoom but minimal pincushion distortion at the tele end. An excellent performance for a camera at this price level.
Comment
The camera takes SD or SDHC cards … is Fujifilm’s support for the xD-Picture card faltering?
Quality: I felt the camera recorded colours quite naturally and with an appreciable lack of noise.
In so many respects this is a phenomenal camera — image size, lens power and HD video capability.
Order the Fujifilm Finepix S2000HD at Amazon.
FUJIFILM FINEPIX S2000HD Specifications
- Type: Fully automatic, fixed lens digital compact camera.
- Lens: Fujinon f/3.5-5.4/5-15 mm (28-414 mm as 35 mm equivalent). 5.7x/3.0x digital zoom (stills/movies).
- Focusing Range: W/T 70/250 cm to infinity; macro 10 cm to 100 cm; super macro 1 cm to 30 cm.
- Shutter Speeds: 4-1/1000 second.
- Metering: Multi zone (256 segments), averaging, spot.
- Exposure Control: Auto, Program AE, shutter priority, manual.
- Sensitivity: ISO 100/200/400/800/1600/3200.
- Sensor: 11 mm CCD, 10.0 million pixels.
- Image Size: 3648×2736, 3648×2432, 3648×2056, 2592×1944, 2048×1536, 1920×1080, 1600×1200, 640×480.
- Continuous mode: 3 shots at 1.1 fps; other rates at smaller image sizes. Movies: 1280×720, 640×480, 320×240 at 30 fps.
- Formats: JPEG, WAV, MPEG4. PictBridge and DPOF compatible.
- Flash: Auto, red-eye reduction, forced off and on, slow synchronisation. Flash range (ISO Auto): W/T 50/ cm to 6.4/4.1 m, macro 70 cm to 3.0 m.
- Viewfinders: EVF (200,000 pixels) plus 6.9 cm colour LCD (230,000 pixels).
- Storage: Removable SD/SDHC memory card (none supplied), 55 MB internal memory.
- Interface: USB 2.0, PAL/NTSC AV, HD output, DC input.
- Power: 4 AA alkaline, lithium or NiMH batteries, optional AC adapter.
- Dimensions (WHD): 111×78.9×75.7 mm.
- Weight: 390 grams (without card, batteries).
- Price: $279.95 at Amazon.
Tags: Camera Reviews, Digital Camera Reviews, Fujifilm Cameras
Leica C-Lux 3 Review
The arrival on my desk of a beautiful, petite, glossy, black, metal-bodied snapper is something of an event … even though virtually the same camera is on retail shelves in the form of Panasonic’s FX37 (also known as the FX38 in some parts of the world) at significantly less price.
The Leica C-Lux 3 is palm-sized, dressed in black and satin chrome with the distinctive red dot signifying it’s top of the class. You can also buy the little Leica in gloss white but, for my money, the red Leica badge on black comes in trumps.
The CCD captures 10.1 million effective pixels, imaged by a Leica DC Vario-Elmarit 5x optical zoom lens that equals a range of 25-125mm in SLR-speak. I have one carp about this lens: it has a maximum aperture of f2.8 at wide angle but this closes to a tiny f5.9 at the zooms tele end … that’s more than two stops lost.
Maximum image size is 3648×2736 pixels; from this you could make a sharp 41×31 cm print. There are options so you can shoot 16:9 wider screen ratio stills and run them on the home tele as a slide show. HD movies with sound can also be shot at the 1280×720 pixel size at 30 fps and played to a High Def TV via a component output.
Leica C-Lux 3 Features
The metering options are basic: just Program AE and metering is multi zone. However, a mountain of scene modes can take care of out-of-the-ordinary situations. These include night portraits, night scenery, shots of food, party scenes, babies, pets and a high sensitivity setting that ramps the ISO figure up to 6400!
Then there are attractive, experimental settings to enable you to replicate shots made with a pinhole camera or induce exaggerated grain (as when fast film is used).
The colour of images at the point of shooting can be tweaked to capture in standard, natural or vivid colour saturation or in B&W and sepia.
Panasonic/Leica’s well-regarded optical stabiliser can be used in either of two settings: mode 1 is always on; mode 2 is active only when the shutter button is pressed.
The face detection mode can determine correct exposure and focus on a number of faces in the shot.
Differences between the Leica C-Lux 3 and Panasonic FX37
So is the Leica C-Lux 3 superior to the Panasonic FX37 in the picture taking stakes? Hard to confirm, but there are some stories out there that suggest Leica lenses on Panasonic cameras are manufactured by Panasonic under license from Leitz, while those on Leica cameras are manufactured directly by Leitz.
Another rumour is that the chips in the Leica camera are programmed to match Leica parameters and that Leica’s camera has slightly better JPEG compression.
Want to research more? Go to http://forums.photographyreview.com/showthread.php?t=27483#
Startup Time
A moderately good set of figures: it took the camera three seconds from power on to first shot; following shots could be taken at intervals of two seconds.
Distortion
As with the Panasonic camera, the Leica showed negligible distortion of any kind at any zoom setting. A very good performance.
Comment
The pictures I took with the Leica were crisp and fully colour saturated.
If you’ve always wanted a Leica but lacked the courage — and the financial wherewithal — to pay the kilo-dollar price … this is your chance. You’ll be well ahead in the style stakes.
Get the Leica C-Lux 3 at Amazon
Leica C-Lux 3 Specs
- Type: Fully automatic, fixed lens digital compact camera.
- Lens: Leica DC Vario-Elmarit f/2.8-5.9/4.4-22 mm (25-125mm as 35mm equivalent). 4x digital zoom.
- Focusing Range: W/T 50 cm/1.0 m to infinity; macro W/T 5 cm/1.0 m cm to infinity.
- Shutter Speeds: 60, 30, 15, 8-1/2000 second.
- Metering: Multi zone.
- Exposure Control: Program AE.
- Sensitivity: Auto, ISO 100/200/400/800/1600/6400.
- Sensor: 11 mm CCD, 10.1 million pixels.
- Image Size: 3648×2736, 3648×2432, 3648×2056, 3072×2304, 3072×2048, 3072×1728, 2560×1920, 2560×1712, 2048×1536, 2048×1360, 1920×1080, 1600×1200, 640×480. Continuous mode: three full, size shots at 2.5 fps or unlimited shots at 2 fps.
- Movies: 1280×720, 848×480, 640×480, 320×240 at 30/10 fps.
- Formats: JPEG, Motion JPEG. PictBridge and DPOF compatible.
- Flash: Auto, red-eye reduction, forced off and on, slow synchronisation. Flash range (ISO Auto): 60 cm to 6.9 m.
- Viewfinder: 6.4 cm colour LCD (230,000 pixels).
- Storage: Removable SD/SDHC/MMC memory card (none supplied), 50 MB internal memory.
- Interface: USB 2.0, PAL/NTSC AV, DC input.
- Power: Rechargeable lithium battery, optional AC adapter.
- Dimensions (WHD): 95.8×51.9×22 mm.
- Weight: 126 grams (without card, battery).
- Price: $549 USD at Amazon.
Tags: Camera Reviews, Digital Camera Reviews, Leica Cameras