Seeing The Bigger Picture
- Article 1 of 3
- Crew, August 2009
What's new? What does it do? Which one is for me? Crew gives its verdict on digital cameras
Panasonic Lumix DMC-FT1/TS1
Rugged cameras usually look like they’ve just escaped the 70s, but the Panasonic’s Lumix DMC-FT1 manages to combine looks with style and power. You can use it underwater at depths of up to ten feet or falls of up to five feet onto a hard surface, making it ideal for a beach, ski resort, hiking trips, festivals and in outdoor situations where no-one would dare use a conventional camera.
Better still, it has all the power you could need: it takes 12.1 megapixel stills and high-def video. ISO goes all the way up to 6400 for night photos when you can’t use a flash, the maximum shutter speed is 1/1300 making it ideal for sports shots and it has a 4.6x optical zoom. It also has a 340-shot battery life, so don’t worry about running out of power.
Polaroid PoGo instant
Remember the Polaroid Instamatic, the camera that printed its own pictures? It was great to be able to hold a picture in your hand without having to take your film down to the chemists to get it developed first.
Meet Son of Instamatic.
Weighing only 10 ounces and measuring 4.7 inches wide by 3 inches tall, the Polaroid PoGo Instant Digital Camera can take up to 5.0 megapixel photos, has a 4x digital zoom, a self-timer and a 3.0" LCD for viewing images.
But it also combines the power of digital technology with a built-in photo printer. Once you’ve taken your pictures, you can review them, crop them, edit them, add a fun border, then print out the shots you want as 2x3-inch photos. It takes just 40 seconds to print a picture and you can print up to 20 shots on a full battery.
Sony Cybershot G3
Just as phones are starting to become computers and cameras, so cameras are learning to do other things, too. The Cybershot G3 is the first camera to include a web browser and WiFi access, so you can upload images and videos to sites like Photobucket and YouTube direct from the camera.
The G3 also has a 10 megapixel sensor with 4x optical zoom, Carl Zeiss lens, 4GB of storage built in, a 3.5” touchscreen and photo browsing software integrated. It automatically picks the best scene setting, has face detection, takes your picture when people smile and can detect when someone’s blinked. Not bad, huh?
Unfortunately, it’s only available in the US at the moment, where it includes free access to AT&T wireless hotspots, but it’s hopefully only a matter of time before it comes to the UK.
Olympus Mju 1040 Crystal
If you love a bit of bling, the Olympus Mju 1040 Crystal is a definite must-have. This special limited edition version of the Mju 1040 includes 98 crystallised Swarovski Elements on the protective midnight black sliding lens barrier.
Like the standard model, this is a 10 megapixel camera so you can make poster-size prints. It has a 3x optical zoom and an extra-large 2.7” screen that lets you view your images in exceptional quality and frame shots easy, even in brilliant sunlight.
The camera’s advanced face detection system detects up to 16 people in the scene for perfectly focused and exposed faces and correct exposure of other image areas. And when there’s less light, the digital image stabilisation system reduces blur. For extra memory, the camera can take xD and microSD cards.
But frankly, it’s all about the look, isn’t it?
Samsung ES-15
On the face of it, the Samsung ES-15 is just a good quality compact camera. But the ES-15 is designed to make taking fantastic pictures as easy as possible – right down to a Beauty Shot function designed to make subjects look great.
For starters, if you run into any trouble, there’s a built-in help guide that provides simple troubleshooting instructions and there’s a self-portrait mode that beeps when everyone’s face is in shot.
To make images look good, there’s a 3x zoom and a 10.2 Megapixel sensor. Digital image stabilisation reduces blur, face detection makes portraits look even better, a red-eye fixer removes red-eye from flash photos and auto contrast balance helps you cope with oddly lit situations.
But best of all is the Beauty Shot function, which retouches skin to appear brighter and gives a smoother skin tone either when you’re shooting the picture or during playback.
Even if you don’t need to use it yourself, everyone else will love you for it.