When it comes to touch screen cameras, there are complaints sometimes about the display responsiveness but I was glad to see that the Nikon Coolpix S4000 doesn’t have any. The touch controls are quite responsive both through the stylus and fingertips. I really liked the way Nikon made the screen useful; the buttons are not just put up there as physical key’s substitutes. I had two problems with this camera – first is the autofocus system which was inconsistent and the general shooting speeds too were unimpressive. The photo quality of the Nikon Coolpix S4000 in dim lighting or indoors is not that great. But you won’t complaint much if you just want to upload the photos to the Web or take small prints. I would recommend this camcorder if you are looking for an inexpensive touch screen camera for taking portraits that are well lit. Such types of photographers are really rare though  [...]

A lot manufacturers have brought in two compact megazoom cameras for the 2010 line up, one is feature rich while the other is just barebones system. Panasonic has done the same – they have got Lumix DMC-ZS5 and DMC-ZS7. The former is the lower end version while the ZS7 has all the bells and whistles. The step down model doesn’t have GPS, the screen resolution is low and the high definition video is recorded in Motion JPEG and not AVCD Lite. There are some more differences too but they don’t have much impact on the shooting performance or photo quality. If you want a reason to buy this device, I have to say it is the flexibility of wide angle lens along with 12x zoom and manual/semimanual shooting modes and also the reliable auto mode. Design of this device isn’t much different from its predecessor. The weight and size is about the same, and  [...]

We initially thought the Sony Cyber-shot DSC-H55 was a step down model of the more expensive HX5v. Both have the same lens, body and display but other than that, there no other similarities. Sony has dropped the H55's recommended retail price by $100 and you can get on for even less than that on the streets. The camera does have a few shortcomings but they are forgivable for this price point. The biggest issue here is the shooting performance which is a bit slow, slower than even the HX5V. But if you are OK with the slow speed, this is a good mega-zoom camera. We got hang of the Sony Cyber-shot DSC-H55's controls really fast. On the top, you have shooting mode dial, zoom ring, shutter release and power button. The latter is flush with the body and hence you will have to look at it while pressing. We would recommend you to be a bit careful with this, or else you might cover the flash  [...]

Thin seems to be in and hence there are a lot of manufacturer trying to put a long zoom in a compact body for camera. This model is a similar type of camera which has a 28mm equivalent wide angle lens along with 14x zoom. This is a follow up to the SX210 IS which we had in 2009. Both the zoom range and resolution has been increased and the body has been slimmed down to make the device more pocket friendly. Controls have been improved a bit but there are still some issues with the design. The shooting speed performance too could have been faster. On the flip side, the photo quality is nice and we liked the set of semimanual as well as manual options for shooting that the camera had to offer. We will recommend you this camera if you don’t care much about speed and are in the market for a compact megazoom camera. Just like the previous iteration, the Canon PowerShot SX210 too has a  [...]

The Kodak EasyShare Z950 is a straight forward digital camera. Its design is quite similar to that of the EasyShare Z915. It features 35mm equivalent lens with 10x zoom in a compact body. This lens is not a wide-angle one used by the other companies and there are no complicated shooting options. However, you will get semi-manual and manual controls. $249.99 priced the EasyShare Z950 has 12-megapixel CCD optical sensor and provides good photo quality as per its price tag. The main attraction of the Kodak EasyShare Z950 is 10x zoom lens at the upside front. This lens has enough range to get closer to the subject. The zoom ring, shutter release button, drive/timer button, dedicated flash button, tiny power button, and the Mode dial are located on the top. The icons of Mode, timer and flash are backlit for using easily in the dark. The HD marking highlights in red color. The LCD display,  [...]

Sony Alpha DSLR-A550 comes in two different kits: body only version for $949.99 and another with 18mm-55mm lens for $1049.99. The DSLR-A550 has larger sensor resolution and faster burst option than its sibling, the A500. However, its resolution is similar to that of the A900 and the A700. While testing, we felt that Smart Teleconverter feature of digital zoom was useless. Sony Alpha DSLR-A550 seems to be designed only for LCD based shooting instead of viewfinder shooting. The viewfinder exhibits the image stabilization status bar to show the closeness of objects and also indicates the manual focus mode of lens. In addition, it also shows the focus indicators like large boxes instead of tiny dots by some viewfinders of dSLR cameras. On the dark side, the viewfinder does not display the basic settings like ISO sensitivity levels. It has small size and low magnification. The LCD glass  [...]

Sony is one of the most famous manufacturers of digital cameras and camcorders. Now, the company has launched new Sony Cyber-shot DSC-W330, which costs around $169.99. When you see and use the camera, you will notice what Sony has done to reduce the cost. As compared to $199.99 priced W350, the W330 has only VGA video mode without optical zoom. The features like Sweep Panorama mode, optical image stabilization, un-sharp masking while Playback, manual white-balance, child and adult priority for face-detection, best quality noise reduction and auto focus illuminator light have not been included in the Cyber-shot DSC-W330. Not only this, but the DSC-W330 also has less internal memory. Sony has also not included its Bionz processing engine in the W330. This new model, the W330, has only large display and wide-angle lens. Instead of the W330, Sony’s W350 is obviously the best deal that provides  [...]

Casio Exilim EX-Z33 is not a compromising device like other cameras in the same range. It is an automatic one and provides more controls than other manufacturers give. The maximum video resolution is 640×480 and the Exilim EX-Z33 has one touch button to start/stop video recording. Its long shutter lags in bright conditions. If the objects are not moving, then the resulting photo quality will be better. We recommend the Casio Exilim EX-Z33 for the users who need a low price range camera for basic photo and video shoot in portraits and landscape modes. The Casio Exilim EX-Z33 has a big LCD screen to view and frame your shots easily. Your thumb naturally rests between the right edge of LCD and Movie mode button. You can capture a still picture in the middle of recording video. The playback, camera mode, Best Shot (BS), Menu, a Set button and circular pad button are located beneath the  [...]

This camera is a trimmed down version of the more expensive W290 which was also high on features. The latter camera had a wider longer lens, larger screen, HD movie capture mode and few other goodies put in. If you are a light photographer we would recommend you to go for this one rather than the W290 because we think it is worth sacrificing the features for the money that you save. For its price, the W220 gives good performance and photo quality. However, if you are photo enthusiast, then go for W290. The mode dial is crowded with options and it sinks in to the body to prevent any accidental changing. The zoom button is located above the dial. There is a four way navigation circular button for navigation through the menus. You also get settings for timer, display, macro, and flash on the dial. Sony still hasn’t got rid of those Menu and Home buttons which are quite confusing.  [...]

Sigma DP2 is a pocketable and compact camera which is made for fine art photographers and enthusiasts. These type of cameras are really rare, it belongs to the class of devices like Panasonic Lumix DMC-LX3 and Canon PowerShot G10 and hence it is a bit difficult to make a review for such cameras. The DP2 gives you filmlike smooth photos, with attractive noise features for shooting in black and white. Also there is a broad tonal range. However, on the downside, the device is slow, the autofocus system is occasionally ineffective, battery life is short, colors look inconsistent and delineated and there are also issues of occasional freeze up. On the top of the camera, there is a typical mode dial which lets you switch between semimanual and manual exposure modes, sound recording and movie capture. The sound recording is only limited by the memory space  [...]