SlashScope

Digital Camera Info have posted their review of the Fujifilm FinePix F31fd digital camera. 'Fujifilm’s F-series of digital cameras showcases the manufacturer’s newest technology, beginning with the F10’s speed and nearly noise-free pictures to the most recent addition of face detection and communication technology. The Fujifilm FinePix F31fd swipes many of the F30’s great characteristics and adds in a few more perks. The face detection is the headlining feature, of course, with the “fd” making an appearance in the model name. The technology was first introduced in the summer on the Fujifilm S6000fd, but the F31fd is the first point-and-shoot digital camera to include it. Another trendy addition is the infrared communication to compatible IrSimple devices including other F31fd digital cameras. With a 6th generation 6.3-megapixel Super CCD and Real Photo processor II, the Fujifilm FinePix F31fd offers ISO sensitivity up to 3200 for better pictures in low light, semi-manual functionality, and amazing battery life for a $399 retail price.'

Read: Fujifilm FinePix F31fd Digital Camera Review - Digital Camera Info

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Pocket-Lint has posted a review of the Olympus Mju 725SW waterproof digital camera. 'The camera comes with a very bright and clear 2.5-inch colour screen, a 3x optical zoom lens giving a 38-114mm focal length range and modest maximum apertures of F/3.5 to F/5. There are 25 scene modes that provide a good range of automatic shooting options including portrait and landscape modes, sports and a candle plus a few less ordinary options such as a cuisine mode. The movie mode provides 640 x 480-pixel resolution clips with audio to the limit of the storage in use, but at a disappointing 15fps maximum.'

Read: Olympus Mju 725SW digital camera Review - Pocket-Lint

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DPInterface has reviewed the slim Nikon Coolpix S9 digital camera.’ The Nikon Coolpix S9 is one of the smallest cameras in the very competitive ultra-compact camera category, and a light one too. With its tiny dimensions and light weight, you could bring this camera anywhere. The Nikon Coolpix S9 has 24 MB of internal memory, which holds up to 9 photos at the highest settings. I'd recommend at least a 1 GB Secure Digital card to start with. The camera doesn't take advantage of high-speed cards.

Read: DPInterface Nikon Coolpix S9 Review

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The Olympus SP-510 UZ digital camera has been reviewed over at Digital Camera Review. 'The SP-510 UZ features a relatively high-eyepoint tunnel style electronic viewfinder (EVF). The SP-510 UZ’s high resolution (235,000 pixels) EVF is noticeably sharper than the LCD screen – which is nice for veteran shooters who generally eschew arms-length LCD screen composition in favor of traditional framing/composition techniques. The EVF is also fairly bright, which helps when glare and harsh outdoor lighting make the SP-510 UZ’s 2.5 inch low resolution (115,000 pixels) LCD screen unusable. The EVF is essentially hue (color) accurate, but EVF/LCD images are noticeably warmer than the actual images captured. The EVF (like the LCD screen) is fluid - movement is smooth rather than jerky, but there’s no diopter correction for eyeglasses wearers.'

Read: Olympus SP-510 UZ - Digital Camera Review

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A comprehensive review of the Sony HDR-FX7 Camcorder has been posted over at Camcorder Info. ‘Sony has categorized the HDR-FX7 as a consumer camcorder, despite the very un-consumer MSRP of $3500 and a very prosumer design and manual control suite. Ah, were it only so that people shopped by imposed categories. Instead, of course, they shop by price, and Canon’s XH A1 makes a very persuasive contender at a mere $500 more. How can Sony compete? The FX7’s ClearVID CMOS sensors make a great impression in bright light, but under low light conditions the performance falls to pieces. The FX7 has a pleasing, portable feel and solid image controls, but the XH A1 offers a great deal more control and makes it more accessible. The XH A1 has a ton of great audio features and the Sony FX7… doesn’t, omitting XLR inputs and external audio level controls. We like the HDR-FX7 in itself. It comes from a good family, improving in some points over the HDR-FX1, and harkening back to the DCR-DVX2100 and even XV1000. But in a comparative, competitive market, it simply can’t hold a candle to its main challenger.’

Read: Sony HDR-FX7 Camcorder – Camcorder Info

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The Olympus mju 725 SW seven-megapixel compact camera has been reviewed over at Trusted Reviews. 'Apart from the increased diving depth the 725 has an identical specification to the 720 and shares the same components, which is a pity because some of them aren’t very good. It has the same 2.5in LCD monitor, which with only 115,000 pixels is well below the market average for resolution, and has the same highly reflective finish. It may resist scratches, but it also resists any attempt to see it in bright sunlight. The AF system is also the same as the one in the 720. It works well enough in normal daylight, although it’s by no means slow it’s not the fastest I’ve ever seen. It’s also not too bad in dimmer indoor lighting, although here it’s noticeably slower. However it has major problems as soon as the light drops to nightclub levels or below, and despite its adventurous pretensions the mju 725 has no AF illuminator - this seriously limits its ability to take photos after dark. This is odd, because Olympus claims that low light photography is one of the camera’s strengths. It features “Bright Capture technology“ which means a maximum ISO setting of 3200 and the monitor automatically brightens in low light to help with framing, but this seems pointless if the camera can’t focus.'

Read: Olympus mju 725 SW - Trusted Reviews

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Laptop Magazine have posted their review of the 10-megapixel PowerShot SD900 compact digital camera from Canon. 'This champagne-colored digicam looks stylish and feels solid. At 6.7 ounces and 1.1 inches thick, it easily fit into our pocket. Our only complaint about the appearance is how easily the SD900 smudges. After only a few minutes of handling, the camera was loaded with fingerprints. The 2.5-inch LCD is bright and fills most of this digicam's rear. Unlike many point-and-shoots we've recently tested, Canon included an optical viewfinder, which is nice if you prefer to shoot more traditionally (and save on battery life in the process). All of the controls are on the right side of the LCD. We found switching modes and tweaking settings to be fairly simple.'

Read: Canon PowerShot SD900 - Laptop Mag

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Digital Photography Review have posted their review of the 10 megapixel PowerShot A640 digital camera from Canon. ‘The PowerShot A640, launched in August, just before Photokina 06, replaces the popular A620 at the top of Canon's increasingly well-specified 'budget' A series range. The new model gets a bit of a facelift (and a new coat of black paint) as well as a bigger screen, major pixel boost (up from 7MP to 10MP) and a few feature tweaks. Otherwise it offers pretty much everything the A620 did; 4x zoom lens, tilt and swivel LCD, full photographic control and optional converter lenses. And like its predecessor, the A640 was launched with an almost identical twin, the A630, the only major difference being the sensor (8MP as opposed to 10MP). Therefore much of what is said in this review will also be applicable to the A630 (we will be adding A630 IQ results in the new year). The A620 was one of our favorite cameras of the last 12 months, and is a tough act to follow.’

Read: Canon PowerShot A640 – DPReview

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Digital Camera Info have posted their review of the Pentax Optio M20 compact "point-and-shoot" digital camera. 'The front of the Pentax Optio M20 has an extending lens that emerges from under an automatic lens cover on the right side of the camera body. The 6.3-18.9mm 3x optical zoom lens has a polished silver ring surrounding it. Above the lens, in the upper right corner of the front face, is its poorly placed and horizontally oriented flash. It was far too easy to cover this flash with fingers of the left hand during two-handed shooting. The in-camera microphone is located to the left of the lens, underneath three cutout holes. Above these three holes is a red self-timer lamp to indicate when the self-timer is turned on.'

Read: Pentax Optio M20 Digital Camera Review - Digital Camera Info

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A review of the affordable EasyShare C743 digital camera from Kodak has been posted on CNET. 'Like most budget cameras, the C743's feature set delivers just the basics. With a standard 3x zoom lens (37mm to 111mm-equivalent), a 30fps VGA movie mode, and a handful of image presets, the C743 bears all the standard features of a low-end point-and-shoot camera. Photography controls are predictably scarce, with only a few white balance and ISO selections and no advanced exposure settings. Fortunately, a handy in-camera editing program lets users crop and tweak their images after they're shot. Finally, an optical viewfinder proves to be a welcome surprise on the budget shooter, offering an alternative to the camera's slightly smaller than usual 2.4-inch LCD. The C743 proved to be a bit sluggish in our tests, but was still responsive enough to still be useful. After a 3-second wake-up time, the camera snapped off a shot every 2.1 seconds. With the flash enabled, that time increased to 3 seconds between every shot. The shutter response was also decent, lagging only 0.7 seconds in bright light and 1.2 seconds in low light. Burst mode was quick but short, firing off three shots in just 1.3 seconds for a rate of 2.3 frames per second.'

Read: Kodak EasyShare C743 - CNET

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Trusted Reviews have posted their review of the Lumix DMC-FX01 6-megapixel ultra-compact digital camera from Panasonic. 'The good looks are more than skin deep too. Like the FX3, the FX01 has a solidly made aluminium case, solidly-mounted controls and a lens that retracts fully flush with the camera body. Measuring just 94.1 x 51.1 x 24.2 mm it’s not quite the smallest camera on the market, but it’s pretty close. It only weighs 153g including card and battery, so it’s definitely shirt pocket portable. As with the FX3, the control layout is nice and simple, but then the FX01 is a very simple camera. Main shooting modes are selected via the small partially-covered dial on the top right. It has only six positions, including playback and movie mode. Shooting options are standard auto mode, ‘simple’ auto mode, macro focusing and scene mode, which enables the user to select from 17 scene modes including all the usual choices (portrait, landscape, sports, night portrait etc.) as well as soft-focus portrait, starry sky, two modes for photographing babies complete with imprinted age, a high-sensitivity mode and an underwater mode for use with the optional underwater housing.'

Read: Panasonic Lumix DMC-FX01- Trusted Reviews

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Digital Camera Info have posted their review of the Kodak EasyShare C433 digital camera. 'The Kodak EasyShare C433 is a camera with a clearly defined market. With a current selling price of $99.95 through Kodak, and even less from other sellers online, this camera is a tempting option for true budget consumers. The EasyShare C433 has 4 effective megapixels on a 1/2.5-inch CCD, a 3x optical zoom lens, 1.8-inch LCD screen, 16 MB of internal memory, and offers manual control over exposure, ISO and white balance presets. The camera carries a full auto mode, a handful of scene modes, a macro mode, and video capture with audio. This straightforward digital camera won't work miracles, but it does offer users all the basics for under $100.'

Read: Kodak EasyShare C433 Digital Camera Review - Digital Camera Info

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A review of Canon’s PowerShot G7 10 megapixel digital camera has been posted on Trusted Reviews. ‘Unusually for Canon, who’s output of new cameras is notoriously prolific, the G6 wasn’t replaced in 2005. In fact the new G7 wasn’t announced until September this year, in time for the Photokina camera show.When its specification was released it surprised a lot of people, because in many ways it is a step backwards from the specification of the G6. That excellent f/2.0-3.0 lens has been replaced with a slower f/2.8-4.8 6x zoom, the 2in flip & twist monitor is replaced with a fixed 2.5in screen, and the RAW mode recording, crucial for top-quality professional results, has been lost altogether. Inevitably the 1/1.8in sensor has been upgraded to 10-megapixels, and it features image stabilisation and face-detection technology. Instead of a semi-pro enthusiast’s camera, it seems that Canon has decided to turn the G7 into something closer to the top end of its mid-range A-series compacts.’

Read: Canon PowerShot G7 – Trusted Reviews

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PC Magazine have reviewed the 6.3-megapixel FinePix S6000fd superzoom camera. 'Fuji is not the first company to offer face-detection technology; Canon and Nikon both make similarly equipped cameras. The difference here is that Fuji is making a big deal of it, even including it in the name of the camera (thus the letters "fd"). Fuji also created an entire Web site, devoted to this feature. Essentially, the company claims that the technology helps you compose a portrait or group portrait by identifying the faces and placing squares around them. The face nearest to the camera will have a green square and should be the one the camera focuses on. So when you frame up a shot, you don't have to worry about accidentally focusing on the wrong subject.'

Read: Fuji FinePix S6000fd - PC Mag

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A review of the Sony DCR-SR40 Camcorder has been posted over at Camcorder Info. 'Sony’s new entry-level HDD camcorder, the DCR-SR40, made its debut this fall in a crowded market, with media, video standards, and manufacturers vying for consumers’ attention. It’s a market in flux, as HD video becomes an affordable option for the masses and convenience-oriented formats like HDD (hard disc drive) grow in popularity. With a head-spinning array of options available to consumers, the lowly DCR-SR40 may have a hard time making a name for itself. It produces mediocre video, takes still photos so small they barely deserve to be mentioned, and it costs more than many DV or entry-level DVD camcorders. Yet there is one area in which the SR40 excels above just about any other camcorder we’ve seen: ease of use – and that may turn out to be its saving grace.'

Read: Sony DCR-SR40 Camcorder Review - Camcorder Info

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Megapixel.net have published their review of the 10-megapixel HP Photosmart R967 digital camera. 'The body of the HP Photosmart R967 is entirely metal clad, with a brushed finish over most areas, and the front of the camera features a wave design that creates a modern, as well as effective, grip. With the exception of the shutter release that is tilted towards the front of the camera, a tungsten colour highlights the area that supports all the external controls of the camera, which in combination with the brushed metal finish, makes the HP R967 look very elegant. Most of the R967's back is taken up by the LCD monitor, which measures 3-inch (7.6 cm) diagonally. The monitor is composed of 230,400 pixels, creating a sharp image.'

Read: HP Photosmart R967 - Megapixel

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Trusted Reviews have posted their review of the 10MP Olympus mju 1000 “weatherproof” camera. ‘The mju 1000, while not fully immersion waterproof, offers protection “equivalent to the IEC standard publication 529 IPX4”, which in plain English means it’s resistant to water splashed from any direction, so it’s ok to use it in the rain or at a particularly sweaty rave (ugh!), but it’s probably not a good idea to use it in the bath. It has a very strong stainless steel body, so while it’s not specifically claimed to be shockproof (as a couple of other cameras in the mju range are) it can certainly survive a few more knocks than most compact cameras. The lens retracts fully into the camera body, and the overall shape is very smooth and sleek, like a thin wedge with rounded-off corners, so when switched off it presents a very slim and pocket-friendly profile. It measures 97 x 56.2 x 22.7mm and weighs only 140g (minus the battery) so you’ll hardly know you’re carrying it.’

Read: Olympus mju 1000 – Trusted Reviews

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Digital Camera Review has posted a review of the Olympus Stylus 730 digital camera. ‘The Olympus Stylus 730 is a slight design departure from its Stylus brethren. It is still weatherproof, but instead of the wedge-like, tapered design, the Stylus 730 is the same depth all the way across the camera. It’s reminiscent of the Stylus 720 SW. At 0.8 inches thick, the Stylus 730 fits into the ultra-slim category. The Stylus 730 also features a very nice and large 3 inch LCD. It also takes pictures at 7.1 megapixels and a 3x optical zoom.

Read: Olympus Stylus 730 Digital Camera Review

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The Leica D-Lux 3 (black) 10 megapixel digital camera is light and compact but its excellent Leica lens facilitates the taking of photos from the wide-angle to the telephoto range. 'Every year, Leica and Panasonic collaborate on a few camera models that get branded under each company's name. If you can't tell them apart, just look at the price tags. Leica generally throws in about $100 worth of perks--usually better software and an SD memory card--then charges about $200 more for the bundle. In the case of the Leica D-Lux 3, the perks over its twin, the Panasonic Lumix DMC-LX2, are Adobe Photoshop Elements 4 and a 64MB SD memory card (you can get the latest version, Photoshop Elements 5, plus a 64MB card for about $120). Like the DMC-LX2, the D-Lux 3 comes in both black and silver and is just packed with amateur-oriented features, including raw file support, a variety of focus modes, all of the essential metering and semimanual exposure options, a wide-angle lens, and an overstuffed information display.'

Read: Leica D-Lux 3 (black) - CNET

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A review of the 10 Megapixel Leica V-Lux-1 digital camera has been posted over at ZDNet. 'Each year, Leica releases a handful of digital cameras with specs almost identical to a handful of models in Panasonic's line. Among this year's batch is the Leica V-Lux 1, which corresponds to Panasonic's Lumix DMC-FZ50. If you're going to relabel a product, the DMC-FZ50 is certainly a good choice. This superzoom 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's. While this last part may scare off some users, more seasoned shooters, who value image quality over small size, will appreciate what this camera has to offer.'

Read: Leica V-Lux 1 - ZDNet

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Shiny Media have posted a review of the Olympus SP-510UZ Digital Camera. 'As one of the bulkiest members of Olympus’ digital camera line-up, the SP-510UZ bridges the gap between an SLR and a compact. The ‘UZ’ part stands for Ultra Zoom because the part of the camera’s increased bulk gets you a stalker-friendly 10x optical zoom. Other features include 7.1 megapixel image resolution, RAW image capture, a BrightCapture enhanced 2.5” LCD, electronic viewfinder and an range of ISO settings going up as high as 4000. Dimensions are 105.5 x 74.5 x 70 mm and the weight is a solid feeling 425g with batteries in.'

Read: Review: Olympus SP-510UZ camera - Shiny Shiny

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Camcorder Info have posted their review of the Canon DC22 Camcorder. 'The Canon DC22 ($699), a late-2006 introduction, falls in between the high-end DC40 and the entry-level DC100. We were pleased to find that it is a successful marriage of the two, borrowing the manual controls of the DC40 with the portability and size of the DC100. Even better, the video performance, while certainly not as good as the DC40, certainly leaned closer in that direction than towards the DC100. With true 16:9 recording and analog inputs, the DC22 looks to be among the best mid-line DVD camcorders on the market.'

Read: Canon DC22 Camcorder Review - Camcorder Info

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A review of the Pentax K100D Digital SLR Camera has been posted over at the Digital Photography Review. ‘The new rounder, softer appearance to the K100D's body is certainly more appealing and appears to have become the 'family trademark' as it has been repeated with the recently announced K10D. The front of the camera carries some interesting curves, one of which crosses the face of the hand grip which interestingly isn't just for looks, it matches the increasing width of your fingers in the grip. At the back we have a fairly familiar Pentax digital SLR layout, a simple thumb grip on the right side and a set of controls clustered around the 2.5" LCD. One addition here is obviously the Shake Reduction switch.’

Read: Pentax K100D - DPReview

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The Ricoh Caplio R5 digital camera has been reviewed over at Trusted Reviews. ‘The Caplio R5 was announced in August this year, and is now the flagship of Ricoh’s zoom compact range. It has a specification unmatched by any other compact camera on the market, offering 28-200mm-equivalent optical zoom, 7.24 megapixel resolution, 2.5in 230,000 pixel monitor, 1,600 ISO sensitivity and moving sensor image stabilisation. This is all contained in a package measuring 96 x 55 x 26mm and weighing just 140g. It has a current high street price of £249.99, but is available online for around £239. This is a little on the expensive side but compares reasonably well with what is probably its closest match, the 6x zoom Canon PowerShot A710IS.’

Read: Ricoh Caplio R5 – Trusted Reviews

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