SlashScope

The Fujifilm FinePix S6500fd digital camera features hardware based Face Detection technology that enable the camera to recognize faces and optimize settings to get the best photograph in a” twinkling of an eye”. ‘The S6500 is supposed to be the lower-spec camera, so it lacks a few of the S9500’s features. For starters it has a 6.3-megapixel SuperCCD HR sensor, compared to its older brother’s 9.0-megapixel sensor. Its 2.5in, 235,000 pixel LCD monitor is bigger and sharper, but lacks the S9500’s fold-out ability. It has a much simpler control layout, which unfortunately means that some useful features, such as the self-timer, are relegated to the menu. It also lacks the cable release thread on the shutter button.’

Read: Fujifilm FinePix S6500fd – Trusted Reviews

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Ben Stafford writing over at Digital Camera Review has reviewed the "stylish, ultra-compact/slim" Casio Exilim EX-S770 digital camera. 'The Casio Exilim EX-S770 is the latest model in Casio’s Exilim Card line of ultra-compact/ultra-slim cameras. It features 7.2 megapixel capture resolution, a wide-screen 2.8 inch “Super Bright” LCD and 3x optical zoom. It’s available in three colors (blue, red, and silver) and is only 0.7 inches thick. If you’re looking for a slim camera with a nice LCD and good battery life, the S770 should be considered.'

Read: Casio Exilim EX-S770 Digital Camera Review - Digital Camera Review

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A review of the FinePix S6000fd digital camera from Fujifilm has been posted over at CNET. 'While it might sound gimmicky, face detection actually makes a lot of sense for digital cameras. A dedicated processing chip allows the S6000fd to quickly and effortlessly meter off and focus on your subject's face. The camera can identify up to 10 faces in a scene, and automatically selects the one nearest to the center of the image for focus and metering purposes. We found that the camera's face-detection system works best when subjects are looking at the camera. If they're looking away at an angle of more than 45 degrees, the camera won't likely recognize the face. In bright light, the system worked quickly; in dim light, it slowed slightly but didn't appreciably add to shutter lag. Interestingly, since the system looks for a subject's eyes and the shape of a human face, the camera will even recognize faces from a TV screen.'

Read: Fujifilm FinePix S6000fd - CNET

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Lawrence Carlino, writing over at Astromart, has posted an informative review of the "Rare and different" Vixen VMC200LDG catadioptric telescope. 'Years ago, when I was taking the freshman physics course at the University of Buffalo, I became fascinated with the arcane field of sub-atomic particles, especially the rare variety with questionable, unproven existence. In some ways the Vixen VMC200LDG catadioptric telescope strikes a parallel. The telescope definitely DOES exist, though it is quite rare and more than a bit exotic. But does “rare” translate into “good”? Is this Higgs Boson of telescopes superior to garden variety Schmidt-Cassegrainians of similar aperture?'

Read: Vixen VMC200LDG Catadioptric - Astromart

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Dave Pickstone writing over at Think Camera has posted a review of the Pentax Optio W20 waterproof camera. 'The W20 has a waterproof casing but this doesn't mean you can take the camera to the depths of the ocean because there are limitations due to pressure. The camera is only waterproof to JIS Class 8 which is 30 minutes at a depth of 1.5m. While this doesn't immediately sound too impressive remember your typical compact can't even touch water. This ability is more than OK for using on holiday while you are splashing about in the sea looking at fish or for a little snorkelling - and it is fine for the rain too.'

Read: Pentax Optio W20 - Think Camera

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A review of the Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ50S (silver) 10 megapixel digital camera has been posted over at ZDNet. 'Superzooms are nothing new, but somewhere along the line, a portion of them have evolved into catch-all SLR substitutes, with long, fast zoom lenses, high megapixel counts, manual exposure controls, and in some cases, even hotshoes and raw image capture. Plus, they record video. For now, that's something you can't get from an SLR. Panasonic's Lumix DMC-FZ50 sports a 12X optical, 35mm-to-420mm, f/2.8-to-f/3.7 zoom lens; and a 10.1-megapixel CCD sensor; and it has a body that's as big and heavy as an SLR.'

Read: Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ50S (silver) - ZDNet

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CNET has reviewed the feature-rich Canon PowerShot G7 digital camera. 'Canon packs its newest features into the G7, including the same 10-megapixel CCD that's in the SD900, its Digic III processor with face-detection focus and a 15fps XGA movie mode, and an f/2.8-to-4.8, 35mm-to-210mm-equivalent (6X) optically stabilized lens. Unfortunately, whoever at Canon decided to jettison raw-format support deserves a whack upside the head. Aside from that, it offers all of the exposure, focus, and shooting controls any enthusiast would want. They include a spot meter, user-selectable focus zones, two custom settings modes, continuous- or shot-only IS settings, manual ISO settings up to 1,600 plus a High mode which reaches up to 3,200, voice annotation, and a hot shoe.'

Read: Canon PowerShot G7 - CNET

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A review of the Panasonic VDR-D200 camcorder has been posted over at Camcorder Info. 'The Panasonic VDR-D200 is one step up from the VDR-D100, Panasonic’s entry-level camcorder. There are a small handful of extra features – centering on still features and bundled software – but the core imaging specs are the same. We certainly weren’t bowled over by the VDR-D100, and there’s little to excite us on this go ‘round. Mediocre DVD performance is one thing but combine that with a helping of poor quality stills and it proved to be more than we can handle.'

Read: Panasonic VDR-D200 Camcorder Review - Camcorder Info

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The Olympus FE-200 digital camera has been reviewed over at CNET. 'The FE-200's biggest selling point is its lens, a nice, wide 28mm-to-140mm (35mm equivalent) zoom lens that gives it the best range of the FE-series. Plus, its digital image stabilization mode (not to be confused with the more effective optical or mechanical image stabilization, found in pricier cameras) helps reduce shaking when zooming in. Aside from its decent 5X lens, however, the FE-200 sports few interesting features and even fewer manual controls. Numerous scene presets help you prepare the camera for different shooting situations, but you can't change specific settings beyond exposure compensation and image size. The camera even sets white balance and ISO automatically.'

Read: Olympus FE-200 - CNET

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The Nikon Coolpix S10 digital camera has been reviewed over at CNET. 'Nikon has been making swivel-body cameras dating back to its successful 900-series of Coolpix cameras in the late 1990s. Lately, in addition to the main benefit of allowing extreme low- and high-angle shooting, the company has taken advantage of the design as a way to build longer zoom lenses into relatively small camera bodies. The latest, called the Nikon Coolpix S10, includes a 10X optical zoom lens that covers a 35mm equivalent of 38mm to 380mm with a fixed maximum aperture of f/3.5, giving it one of the fastest 380mm-equivalent lenses in a compact camera. The camera also sports a 6-megapixel CCD sensor with sensor-shift image stabilization--Nikon refers to this simply as VR--to help keep that long lens steady.'

Read: Nikon Coolpix S10 - CNET

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A review of the Fujifilm Finepix F20 digital camera has been posted over at the Photography Blog. 'The Fujifilm Finepix F20 has a 1/1.7 inch Super CCD HR that delivers 6.3 effective megapixels. There are 2 image quality size settings available (Fine and Normal) and 5 image size settings (2,848 x 2,136 (6.1 million), 3,024 x 2,016 (3:2 format), 2,048 x 1, 536, 1,600 x 1,200 and 640 x 480 pixels), which are recorded as JPEGs. There are no RAW or TIFF formats. The camera's 3x optical zoom lens is equivalent to a 36-108mm lens on a 35mm format camera. There is also a 6.2x digital zoom should you feel the need to use it. The camera has 10Mb of internal memory and is also supplied with a 16Mb xD-Picture Card.'

Read: Fujifilm Finepix F20 Review - Photography Blog

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A review of the Canon Digital IXUS 850 IS camera has been posted over at Trusted Reviews. 'Launched just last month in time for the Photokina camera show, it’s a 7.1 megapixel ultra-compact with a 3.8x optical zoom lens and a 2.5in monitor, which would put it on the same shelf in the camera shop as cameras like the Pentax Optio T7 (£199), the Casio Exilim EX-Z70 (£179), the Sony DSC-W70 (£164) or the Olympus mju 700 (£163). However the IXUS 850 has a list price of a whopping £369.99, and even shopping around on the internet you won’t find it for less than £262.50, making it nearly £100 more expensive than some of its direct competition.'

Read: Canon Digital IXUS 850 IS - Trusted Reviews

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Lori Grunin has penned an insightful review of the Sony Handycam HDR-UX1digital camcorder over at CNET. 'Normally, my product reviews begin with a discussion of, well, the product. In this case, however, the fact that the Sony Handycam HDR-UX1 is quite a nice camcorder seems completely beside the point. What is the point? Let's start with the two warnings on Sony's support site. 1. "DVD discs containing AVCHD-formatted video are not compatible and should not be used with standard- or high-definition DVD players/recorders. The disc may fail to eject or all the contents of the disc may be erased without warning." 2. "DVD discs containing AVCHD-formatted video should not be used in computers with packet-writing software installed. The disc may fail to eject or all the contents of the disc may be erased without warning."

Read: Sony Handycam HDR-UX1 - CNET

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A review of the inexpensive Olympus FE-180 digital camera has been posted over at ZDNet. 'The FE-180's small, curved plastic body is a microcosm of the camera itself; comfortable and simple, but unimpressive and not intimidating. The right half of the camera is fatter than the left half to make room for two included rechargeable AA batteries. The batteries come with a separate charger and even come precharged so that you can start shooting as soon as you take the camera out of the box. The FE-180 has almost no manual controls. Besides macro, flash, and EV compensation, the only way to change the camera's settings is through its various scene presets. It automatically controls aperture, shutter, focus, and even ISO and white balance. Basically, the camera runs almost completely on autopilot. '

Read: Olympus FE-180 - ZDNet

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CNET has reviewed the 10-megapixel Canon PowerShot SD900 digital camera. ‘The 10-megapixel Canon PowerShot SD900 manages to be stylish without being inconvenient or awkward. Its sturdy metal body, an attractive matte-gray with black accents, is smooth and slightly curvy, and at 6.7 ounces and 1.1 inches thick, it's just the right size to fit into a jacket pocket. All the controls are on the camera's right side, so nearly every button is within thumb's reach for comfortable one-handed use. A 2.5-inch LCD screen takes up most of the camera's remaining back panel but leaves enough room for an optical viewfinder. The viewfinder is small and awkward, but it provides a welcome alternative to the LCD. While the SD900 is heavy on style, like most of the SD series, it's pretty light on features. You can adjust the white balance, the exposure compensation, the ISO sensitivity, and the metering settings, but in true point-and-shoot fashion, most shooting happens with the camera in automatic mode or through its handful of scene presets. It offers 30fps VGA movie capture or XGA (1,024x768) movies at 15fps’

Read: Canon PowerShot SD900 – CNET

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The Kodak EasyShare V705 camera features an ultra-wide angle lens which together with its optical zoom lens produces a total 5X optical zoom range. ‘Aside from the colors, the V705's body is almost identical to the V570's, complete with the automatic sliding lens cover emblazoned with Ultrawide and 5X. The 5X part is actually a bit of marketing hype, since it includes the gap between the 23mm lens and the start of the 3X zoom at 39mm. Kodak employs digital zoom to fill the gap, but remember, it'll rob you of a bit of resolution, though not all that much, since it's only about 1.7X worth of digital zoom. Since there are two separate lenses, there is some parallax error when switching between the two, much like when you close one of your eyes, then switch back and forth between your left and right eyes. It is most noticeable when doing close-up and macro photography.’

Read: Kodak EasyShare V705 (black) - CNET

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CNET has reviewed the feature-rich Kodak EasyShare Z710 digital camera. ‘The camera's design is like a cross between the EasyShare Z612 and Z650, with a shiny silver plastic plate atop a rubberized grip. The plate houses the shutter button, along with controls for flash, macro or landscape mode, and drive mode. Since all controls are on the right side of the camera, with the exception of the slider that makes the flash pop up, one-handed shooting is possible. But if you relish the stability offered by two-handed shooting, something we always recommend, the rubber ring around the lens barrel will help you keep your grip. The 2-inch LCD is small for a camera of this class, though it didn't wash out too much when shooting outdoors in our tests. The EVF boasts 201,000 pixels but its images look somewhat coarse compared to others we've seen. The most annoying thing about the Z710's design is that the flash pops up every time you turn the camera on. You'll have to break out the duct tape if you get sick of pushing it back down.’

Read: Kodak EasyShare Z710 – CNET

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Michael Tencza wring over at Astromart has posted a review of the Orion 120mm f/8.3 achromatic reflector telescope. ‘After reading mostly favorable reviews about the Orion 120mm f/8.3 achromatic refractor I decided to purchase one. Reviewer statements like “most bang for the buck” and “I can’t think of a better way to spend $ 300.00” appealed to me. There was also little for me to buy beyond a star diagonal and finder scope. Shortly after I became interested in this model one came up for auction online (OTA and rings only) and I jumped on it. It arrived quickly from the previous owner in its original packaging. Except for a few scratches on the body of the optical tube (described by the seller prior to the sale) it was in very good condition. I read about the use of a very sticky grease used on the focuser in a review and cleaned and replaced the lubricant as recommended. I also noticed some debris (small bits of dry white material) on the inside and outside of the main objective.’

Read: Orion 120mm f/8.3 Refractor OTA – Astromart.

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A review of the Canon HV10 HD video camcorder has been posted over at CNET. 'On the inside of the HV10, a 3-megapixel 1/2.7-inch CMOS sensor captures 1,920 horizontal and 1,080 vertical pixels for 1080i HD, or wide-screen SD, video. It down-samples the horizontal resolution to 1,440 when capturing 480i standard-def video. When capturing stills, it uses 2.76 megapixels (1,920x1,440) in 4:3 mode and 2.07 megapixels (1,920x1,080)in 16:9 mode. The HV10 couples the sensor with a 10X Canon HD video lens, a scaled-down version of the 20X lens in the XH series, which shares the optical characteristics of Canon's professional L series of lenses. In fact, the HV10 has quite a bit in common with its more expensive relatives. Like the XH series, it implements the Super-Range Optical Image Stabilizer, a hybrid optical-electronic system in which the processor provides feedback to the optical stabilizer in order to fine-tune its corrections. Canon also adds Instant AF--the focusing system calculates the distance to the subject before attempting to lock--to improve autofocus performance. Unfortunately, Instant AF can do little to improve focusing in low-light situations; the range finder still needs enough contrast to locate the subject'

Read: Canon HV10 - CNET

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The Samsung GX-1S SLR has among its features a Schneider D-XENON 18-55mm Lens, 2.5 inch LCD Screen, PictBridge, 6 Megapixels and high-Speed USB 2.0. 'With the Samsung GX-1S digital SLR camera, Samsung take their first steps into the lowest segment of this strongly growing market. A logical step, especially as the range of professional models is generally hard to enter, and the battle is fought between Canon and Nikon. (Professional) Photographers are often more conservative than one would perhaps imagine. The Samsung GX-1S is a pleasantly small and light-weight digital SLR camera, one that isn't likely to be left at home, which makes the GX-1S an excellent alternative for those that are interested in taking the step from a compact camera to a digital SLR camera, without having to compromise on ease and convenience.'

Read: Samsung GX-1S Digital Camera Review = Lets Go Digital

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A review of the Canon PowerShot SD800 IS point-and-shoot digital camera has been posted over at CNET. 'Last spring, Canon impressed us with its stylish high-end shooter, the 6-megapixel PowerShot SD700 IS. It had a great lens and produced great images, all in an attractive, pocketable, metal body. With the follow-up Canon PowerShot SD800 IS, the company improves upon its previous design by squeezing in a wider lens and a higher resolution sensor. The 7-megapixel camera's tiny body is shiny, curvy, and very attractive. But it may be just a bit too stylish for its own good. For instance, the power button is a tiny, illuminated half-oval built flush into the top panel; without actually pressing it, you might easily mistake it for an indicator light or a design flaw.

Read: Canon PowerShot SD800 IS - CNET

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CNET has reviewed the "small and stylish" Canon PowerShot SD40 (noble blue) digital camera. 'The camera is small and stylish, using the same body as its predecessor, the SD30. Its candy bar-size form is all metal and comes in a variety of oddly named colors, such as Olive Grey and Precious Rose. At less than an inch thick and weighing only 4.3 ounces, the SD40 fits easily into almost any pocket. Alas, small size means small features in the SD40's case. The viewfinderless camera has only a 1.8-inch LCD, and it uses a relatively narrow angle of view for the 38mm-to-90mm-equivalent lens, the same as the SD30. Beyond the higher resolution, the SD40's most notable improvement over the SD30 is its new Digic III image processor. Canon claims the Digic III processor increases image quality, performance, and battery life, but we didn't notice any significant improvement over the SD30. If anything, performance was a bit sluggish, though that might be simply because of the camera's higher resolution. The SD40's sensor can also bump up its sensitivity to ISO 1,600, a fair improvement over the SD30's ISO 400 ceiling. Finally, the camera features SDHD support, allowing the use of 4GB and larger SD memory cards.'

Read: Canon PowerShot SD40 (noble blue) Digital Camera - CNET

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The Sony Cyber-Shot DSC-T50 (black) digital camera has been reviewed over at CNET. 'Lately, it seems as if Sony is putting out a new T-series camera every other week. The newest addition to this hip line of snapshooters is the Cyber Shot DSC-T50. Like the T30, it features a 7.2-megapixel CCD sensor; optical image stabilization; a 3X optical, 38mm-to-114mm (35mm equivalent), f/3.5-to-f/4.3 zoom lens; and sensitivity of as high as ISO 1,000. However, the instead of the T30's 2.5-inch LCD screen, the DSC-T50 includes a 3-inch touch-screen LCD. This touch screen is the only major difference between the two models, and since Sony priced them the same, it looks like you'll get to choose whether you want a touch screen or not.'

Read: Sony Cyber-Shot DSC-T50 (black) - CNET

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A review of the 10-megapixel BenQ DC C1000 digital camera has been posted over at Trusted Reviews. 'The initial impression is of a solidly made and nicely designed camera. The body is half metal and half plastic, and finished in a nice matt black with chrome details. Overall build quality is excellent, with no embarrassing creaks or groans when squeezed. It is quite chunky compared to some more expensive models, and weighs in at a not insubstantial 140g without batteries. It runs on 2x AA’s, so add a couple of Duracells and that weight will go up to a hefty 190g.'

Read: BenQ DC C1000 10-Megapixel Compact Camera - Trusted Reviews

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Cameras.co.uk has reviewed the six megapixel Olympus FE-140 digital camera. 'As I had expected the FE-140 performs better in bright light than it does once the light begins to dip. In bright conditions the photos are acceptable. Even then there are some flaws that should be noted. The biggest problem in my view is that the FE-140 has difficulty with white and other very light colors. This is especially true when any light falls directly on them. This leads to a loss of detail in these areas of a photo. Examples can be seen in the first and third outdoor shots. In the first one the white wooden beams under the roof of the building show more as a white mass than individual planks of wood. In the third shot there are floats hanging over the side of some of the boats. These tend to show as glowing white blobs.'

Read: Olympus FE-140 Review - Cameras.co.uk

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