SlashScope

Personal Computer World have published a review of the Sigma SD14 DSLR. 'The SD14 from Sigma boasts many improvements over the SD10. As the model number would suggest, capture resolution is up from 10 to 14 megapixels, but there’s a lot more to the SD14 than a simple boost in image resolution. It has a more compact, though still rather chunky, case along with improved menu control, built-in flash, rechargeable Li-ion battery, 2.5in LCD to the rear and a larger illuminated top-mounted status panel. It’s also considerably faster in operation. With the SD14, Sigma has finally added Jpeg support. It may seem incredible that a digital SLR could have been sold that does not take Jpegs, but Sigma digital SLRs are all about shooting in Raw mode - and this is where the SD14 comes into its own.'

Read: Review: Sigma SD14 digital SLR - Personal Computer World

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A review of the compact Nikon Coolpix S500 digital camera has been posted over at Digital Camera Review. ‘This new addition to Nikon’s Coolpix “Style” series features a 7.1 megapixel sensor, 2.5 inch LCD monitor with 230,000 dot composition and a 3x Nikon optical zoom lens that provides a 35mm film equivalent focal length range of 35 to 105mm. The camera also features 15 scene options, optical Vibration Reduction, In-Camera Red-Eye Fix, Face-Priority auto focus (AF) and Nikon’s excellent “D-Lighting” image correction function in addition to the standard “auto” mode. However, the power-on and shutter performance are what gives this camera its star status. Hit the power switch and the S500 is ready to shoot in 0.6 of a second. With focus acquired (and the S500 acquires focus pretty quickly in good lighting conditions) the shutter fires only 0.005 seconds after pressing the shutter button. This blazing performance is packaged into a sturdy and stylish stainless steel body that is easily pocket-portable, and build quality appears first class.’

Read: Nikon Coolpix S500 Review – Digital Camera Review

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CNET have published a review of the Samsung S850 digital camera. ' The S850 is an 8-megapixel, sub-$250 shooter with full manual exposure controls, giving frugal photographers plenty of settings to tinker with. Manual mode even has a convenient onscreen meter that tells you if your photo will be over- or underexposed, an extremely useful tool when tweaking all the settings by hand. Strangely, the camera doesn't have a manual focus setting, forcing you to choose between center and multipoint autofocus. Manual focus would have been nice, but its absence is hardly a surprise; few, if any, low-end cameras offer manual focus. Whether you're looking at the silver or black version, the first thing you'll notice about the S850 is its prominent lens. Instead of receding into the camera's body as do most compact cameras, the S850's lens protrudes more than half an inch from its body. It doesn't have the most aesthetically pleasing design, but it's not nearly as ridiculous as the small body/massive lens combinations found in its bigger brothers, the Samsung NV5 and the NV7 OPS. Regardless of appearance, the S850 feels very solid and accessible, with a dense, hard shell and a simple, well-placed control scheme.'

Read: Samsung S850 - CNET

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A review of the Nikon Coolpix S50c digital camera has been posted over at CNET. 'Some things never change. Some other things, such as Nikon's wireless S-series cameras, change a little bit at a time. Nikon's new Coolpix S50c is a whole lot like the S7c that the company offered last year. It boasts a 7.2-megapixel CCD imaging sensor, a 3X optical, 38mm-to-114mm-equivalent f/3.3-to-f/4.2 zoom lens, a 3-inch LCD, and houses it all in a cute, curvy-yet-slim casing that's available in silver or black. Oh yeah, and it can wirelessly upload (via built-in 802.11 b/g) your images to Nikon's CoolPix Connect 2 Web site and send e-mails to your friends and family so they can retrieve said photos for free. Other than some slight, but welcomed, control changes, the biggest and best difference between this and last year's model is the addition of optical image stabilization instead of the much-less-effective electronic stabilization found in the S7c.'

Features/Specifications:
• 7.2 Megapixels
• Internal Storage Memory: 13 MB
• 3.0-inch, 230K Wide Angle Viewing TFT LCD
• 3x Optical Zoom-Nikkor Lens, 6.3-18.9mm (35mm Format picture angle: 38-114mm), f/3.3-4.2, 12 elements in 9 groups
• Digital Zoom: up to 4x (35mm format picture angle: 456mm)
• Focus range from lens: 1 foot (30cm) to infinity
• Macro close-up mode: 1.6 inch (4cm) to infinity
• ISO sensitivity: ISO 100, 200, 400, 800, 1600, Auto (auto gain ISO 100-800)
• Built-in flash: Wide Range 1 to 19 foot 8 inches (0.3 to 6.0m), Tele Range 1 to 13 foot 1 inch (0.3 to 4.0m)
• High-Speed USB 2.0
• System Requirements: Macintosh Mac OS X version 10.3.9, 10.4.x, Windows Vista (32bit), Windows XP Home Edition/Professional and Windows 2000 Professional
• Dimensions: 3.8 x 2.3 x 0.8 inch (97.5 x 59 x 21 mm) excluding projections
• Weight: 4.4 ounces (125 grams) without battery and SD memory car

Read: Nikon Coolpix S50c - CNET

Posted by Slash Scope Admin at 3:09 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Camcorder Info have posted their “First Impressions” review of the Sony HDR-SR7 camcorder. ‘In a world where AVCHD camcorders are multiplying like rabbits, Sony has proved itself yet again as the prime contributor. The HDR-SR7 ($1400 MSRP) appears to show enormous potential as Sony’s leader of the AVCHD HDD pack with a 60GB hard drive, mic and headphone jacks, and multifunction cam control dial. Both this and the next model-down, the HDR-SR5, offer 1/3” ClearVid CMOS sensors, but the SR7 packs in significantly more pixels, making for better resolution but possibly worse low light performance. Sony's latest round of announcements marks seven AVCHD camcorder releases since last July, but can the SR7 match their initial HDD model, the HDR-SR1, for handling? Trading out the control ring for a small dial is a bad start, but we're willing to give it the benefit of a doubt. Let's take a closer look.’

Read: Sony HDR-SR7 First Impressions Review

Posted by Slash Scope Admin at 2:25 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

A review of the compact Casio Exilim Zoom EX-Z1050 digital camera has been posted over at Pocket-Lint. 'The Casio Exilim EX-Z1050 updates the Z1000 model with a few tweaks and some new-to-Casio technology that improves an already attractive package. The aluminum-bodied newcomer comes in four colours: black, silver, gold and pink. Aside from the slim styling and 10.1-megapixel sensor, other new kit in the 1050 includes the updated Exilim engine 2.0 providing improved image processing that now boasts motion analysis technology.'

Read: Casio Exilim Zoom EX-Z1050 digital camera Review - Pocket-Lint

Posted by Slash Scope Admin at 3:23 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

A review of the compact Sony Cyber-Shot DSC-T100 digital camera has been posted over at the Photography Blog. ‘Sony must have hit on something with its T-series Cyber-shots, as both Casio (EX-V7) and HP (R837) have aped it considerably by in recent months introducing flat fronted cameras with internally stacked zooms and flip open lens covers that recall the slide-open-and-snap ethos of mobile phone cameras. The Sony Cyber-shot DSC-T100's build quality and attractiveness is however higher than both its doppelgangers, being at once more slender yet of sturdier construction.

It has a modernist brushed metal reflective finish to the fascia that recalls an expensive cigarette case and proved pleasingly resistant to scratches throughout our test. From the outside then, every line and curve signals that this is a premium product, so unsurprisingly for the Sony brand the DSC-T100 sports a slightly more expensive price tag (to the tune of at least £50) than other comparable compacts in its class. It does have that High Definition output option of course, but you'll need to buy a separate cable (and own a HD TV set) to utilize it.’

Read: Sony Cyber-shot DSC-T100 Review - The Photography Blog

Posted by Slash Scope Admin at 3:37 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

LetsGoDigital have published a review of the Panasonic Lumix DMC FZ8 digital camera. 'The Panasonic Lumix FZ8 is a compactly made Megazoom camera with enough setting options to delight even experienced creative photographers. Compared to its predecessor, the FZ7, the main improvements and innovations in the Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ8 have been made to the interior. There is the increase in resolution, a new Venus III processor, the same format 2.5-inch screen but with a higher resolution, a larger electronic viewfinder with a higher resolution, RAW and JPEG support, SDHC flash memory card support, some extra pre-programmed modes including an ISO 3200 option and an internal memory of 27MB.'

Features:
• 7.2 Megapixels, up to 3072 x 2304 resolution, 848 x 480 at 30 FPS
• 12x Optical, 4x Digital Zoom
• Leica DC Vario-Elmarit Lens: 11 elements in 8 groups (3 Aspherical lenses / 3 Aspherical surfaces)
• 2.5-inch Polycrystalline TFT LCD (207 K Pixels), 100% Field of View
• 0.44-inch Viewfinder Color EVF (188 K Pixels), 100% Field of View
• Image Sensor: 1/2.5-inch
• AF Assist Lamp
• ISO Sensitivity: Auto, 100, 200, 400, 800 and 1250 (High Sensitivity Mode: 3200) Dial: P (Program), A (Aperture Priority), S (Shutter Priority), M (Manual) Mode, Simple and SCN
• Scene Mode: Portrait, Soft Skin, Scenery, Sports, Panning, Night Portrait, Night Scenery, Food, Party, Candle, Baby1, Baby2, Pet, Sunset, High Sensitivity, Starry Sky, Fireworks, Beach, Snow and Aerial Photo
• Shutter Speed Program AE: 1 - 1/2,000 seconds
• Aperture Priority AE / Shutter Priority AE: 8 - 1/2,000 seconds
• Manual: 60 - 1/2,000 seconds
• Built-in-Flash: Auto, Auto Red-eye Reduction, Forced On, Forced On Red-eye Reduction, Slow Sync Red-eye Reduction and Forced Off
• Dimensions: Width 4.43 x Height 2.84 x Depth 3.11 inch (112.5 x 72.2 x 79.0 mm)
• Weight: 357 grams with Battery and SD Memory Card (0.78 pounds)

Read: Panasonic Lumix DMC FZ8 - LetsGoDigital

Posted by Slash Scope Admin at 12:23 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Trusted Reviews have published a review of the Nikon CoolPix P5000 digital camera. 'Unlike the other two cameras in the premium P-series, the P3 and P4, the design of the P5000 is very functional, with a rectilinear body made mostly of magnesium alloy, a large rubberised handgrip and a row of buttons beside the 2.5-in, 230k monitor that are clearly intended to resemble those on the back of an SLR. Another SLR-like feature is the command dial on the top plate, used for altering shutter speed and aperture in manual exposure mode, and well as for some menu functions. Considering the relatively large number of external controls on a fairly small camera, the control layout is surprisingly uncluttered, leaving room for a large, secure rubberised thumbgrip.'

Read: Nikon CoolPix P5000 - Trusted Reviews

Posted by Slash Scope Admin at 5:31 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

CNET have published their review of the Fujifilm FinePix S5 Pro DSLR ‘It's no secret that Fujifilm models its dSLRs on Nikon bodies, but its latest model, called the Fujifilm FinePix S5 Pro, may as well be a clone of the Nikon D200--from the outside at least. Inside, Fujifilm swaps out the Nikon guts for its own array of electronic imaging machinery. Chief among that array is the company's Super CCD SR Pro imaging sensor, which combines two photodetectors per pixel in an attempt to create a wider dynamic range than you'd get from a normal sensor. Fuji also offers an 11-point AF system (up from 5 in the S3 Pro), as well as a 2.5-inch LCD and a nifty face-detection system in playback mode, which can come in handy when checking focus on the faces of your subjects. Considering that the S5 Pro commands a price premium over the D200 and is, in some ways, inferior to that Nikon, you'll have to decide if this Fuji's slightly extended dynamic range and array of features not found in the D200 are essential to your shooting style and thus worth the added cash.’

Read: Fujifilm FinePix S5 Pro - CNET

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A review of the Casio Exilim EX-V7 compact camera has been posted over at InfoSync World. 'With its sliding lens cover / power switch, the Exilim EX-V7 could be mistaken for a Sony Cybershot. The camera is a simple, thin, silver box, like many other compacts in its class, without significant style or design details. The screen is very crisp and bright, with deep color, so previewing images was a pleasure. Buttons are placed neatly along the right side of the camera, from the shutter release on down, which does put everything within reach. Still, we were not fans of the loose function dial, which never stayed put between trips to and from our pockets. When we thought we were ready to shoot a portrait, many times we ended up starting a video (or, heaven forbid, adjusting aperture settings). Also, once or twice the lens cover came open, though the camera has a sleep mode to avoid battery rundown.'

Read: Review: Casio Exilim EX-V7 compact camera - InfoSync World

Posted by Slash Scope Admin at 10:46 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Camera Labs have posted their review of the Nikon D40x DSLR camera. 'The Nikon D40x is a 10.2 Megapixel entry-level digital SLR aimed at general consumers, family users and photographic students. Announced in March 2007, it comes only four months after the launch of the 6 Megapixel D40, and indeed the new D40x is essentially identical other than a higher resolution sensor - and a higher price to reflect it. Nikon says the D40x is therefore designed as a step-up for anyone who loved the D40 but was put off by its lower resolution, although clearly it’s also now a direct rival for Canon’s massively successful EOS 400D / XTi.'

Read: Nikon D40x - Camera Labs

Posted by Slash Scope Admin at 5:10 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Digital Camera Review have published their review of the Olympus FE-250 digital camera. ‘The FE-250 is very slim and pocketable and looks like a much more expensive camera than it really is. It measures 3.7" W x 2.2" H x 0.88" D and weighs 4.1 ounces without battery or a media card. Build quality is excellent and the controls are easy to access. The zoom control is the ring type of control around the shutter button and is easy to operate. The shooting mode dial makes it easy to move around various shooting modes quickly and with a glance. In case you’re not sure, there are plenty of on-screen instructions and descriptions about pretty much everything you can do with the camera. The 5-way control pad is a little hard to operate, requiring a little more strength to operate than is typical.’

Read: Olympus FE-250 – Digital Camera Review

Posted by Slash Scope Admin at 10:10 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Pocket Lint have published their review of the Panasonic Lumix DMC-L1 DSLR camera. ‘The L1 may look a little on the blocky side and weigh in at over a kilo with the large (but excellent) Leica lens sat in place on the FourThirds lens mount it uses. In fact the lens mount, mirror box AF and auto exposure sensors are all borrowed from the Olympus E330. The L1 also becomes the first non-Olympus DSLR using the FourThirds system, which can only be good for the system’s health, as the user base can grow further. But what of the camera?’

Read: Panasonic Lumix DMC-L1 DSLR camera Review

Posted by Slash Scope Admin at 8:42 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

A review of the Ricoh Caplio R6 digital camera has been posted over at the Photography Blog. 'The Ricoh Caplio R6 is a very compact digital camera that easily fits in the palm of your hand, measuring 99.6(W) x 55.0 (H) x 23.3mm (D) and weighing around 135g. This is one camera that you truly won't notice carrying in a trouser/shirt pocket or a handbag. It has an under-stated appearance that is fairly attractive, but which isn't going to really wow anyone either. A sticker on front of my review sample proudly proclaims that the Ricoh Caplio R6 has a 28-200mm zoom range, a truly amazing feat of engineering in such a small camera. When the lens is fully extended, the camera measures over 7cm in depth, but thankfully it retracts fully back into the body when it is turned off.'

Read: Ricoh Caplio R6 - The Photography Blog

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Computer Active have published their review of the Panasonic Lumix DMC-TZ3 digital camera. 'Last year Panasonic amazed us by shoehorning a 10x zoom into its TZ1 pocket camera; 12 months on and the latest attempt, the TZ3, maintains this impressive range and its predecessor’s price but ups resolution from five to 7.2 megapixels. Light sensitivity has also been given a boost – from a maximum ISO1600 to IS03200 here. The fact that the zoom starts at a wide 28mm going all the way up to a film-camera equivalent 280mm also provides greater flexibility than its competitors currently offer.'

Read: Review: Panasonic Lumix DMC-TZ3 digital camera

Read: Review: Panasonic Lumix DMC-TZ3 digital camera

Posted by Slash Scope Admin at 4:01 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

A review of the compact Nikon Coolpix P5000 digital camera has been posted over at CNET. 'With cutting-edge capabilities like face-priority autofocus, optical image stabilization, and full-resolution sensitivity settings as high as ISO 2000 to augment its manual and semimanual exposure options, the P5000 fits some mighty attractive features into its 8.1-ounce, 3.9x2.5x1.6 inches (WHD) frame. Though only the front of the chassis uses magnesium alloy in its design, the camera feels quite sturdy. Its smallish, rubberized grip and thumb rest make the P5000 quite comfortable for one-handed shooting. The scored ring surrounding the f/2.7-to-f/5.3, 36mm-to-126mm-equivalent lens comes off so you can screw on optional wide-angle (24mm-to-84mm-equivalent) and telephoto (108mm-to-378mm-equivalent) conversion lenses via an adapter. A Nikon i-TTL-compatible hot shoe allows for external flashes as well.'

Read: Nikon Coolpix P5000 - CNET

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Trusted Reviews have published a review of the Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ8 "superzoom" camera. 'The FZ8 is a 7.2-megapixel camera featuring a 12x zoom Leica-branded lens with a focal length equivalent to 36-432mm and a maximum aperture of f/2.8-3.3. It has an electronic viewfinder, a large 2.5-in 207k pixel LCD monitor and a full range of manual exposure options. Like most of Panasonic’s digital cameras it also features the acclaimed Mega OIS image stabilisation system. In terms of style, specification and target audience its closest match is probably the Canon PowerShot S3 IS. The first impression of the FZ8 is how light and compact it is, especially considering its impressive specification. Measuring 112.5 x 72.2 x 79mm it’s actually very close to the dimensions of the Canon S3 IS, but at 357g including battery and memory card it’s around two-thirds of the weight. The camera body is made of plastic, however it feels solid and well made, with no embarrassing creaks when squeezed. There is an aluminium bezel around the lens housing, the battery/card hatch has a metal hinge, and all the controls feel secure and operate with a nice positive action. The general design is similar to a small SLR, with a handgrip on the right hand side, and a flip-up flash mounted above the lens. The overall shape is very simple and businesslike, with no unnecessary frills or decorations. It is available in black or the silver-grey finish of my review sample.'

Read: Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ8 - Trusted Reviews

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Tech Digest have published a review of the compact Canon Digital Ixus 70 digital camera. 'The Ixus is incredibly fast to start up. From pressing the power switch you're ready to start shooting in less than a second, so you won't miss that special shot. Full res 7.1 megapixel images measure 3,072x2,304 pixels and come in at around 1.3MB at normal quality. There's a 32MB SD card included, so you should be able to get at least 20 shots on it before it fills up. Indoor shots were reasonable, without too much noise and faithful colours.

Read: Canon Digital Ixus 70 - Tech Digest

Posted by Slash Scope Admin at 10:38 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

A review of the sleek Sony Cyber-shot DSC-G1 digital camera has been posted over at CNET Asia. 'With its 921,000-pixel, 3.5-inch LCD screen, the G1 is practically a TV (in contrast, the usual camera LCD has about 220,000 pixels). 2GB of internal memory makes it possible to carry your whole photo library around with you for display on that huge LCD. The G1 looks pretty ordinary in all other respects: A 6-megapixel ultracompact with a relatively slow, narrow f/3.5-4.3 38mm-114mm 3x zoom lens. It does use Sony's SuperSteadyShot optical image stabilization, and offers a 640 x 480 30fps movie mode; interestingly, it does not use Sony's MPEG VX MPEG-2 recording, instead switching to MPEG-4.'

Read: Sony Cyber-shot DSC-G1 - CNET Asia

Posted by Slash Scope Admin at 4:42 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Laptop Magazine have published a review of the Pure Digital Flip video camcorder. ‘The white-and-silver Flip is housed in an identical body to the previous-generation Point and Shoot Video Camcorder. It measures 4.1 x 2.3 x 1.3 inches and weighs only 4.8 ounces. (For more photos of the Flip Video, click here.) It doesn't have any complicated menus or confusing buttons; the lens and microphone are up front, and on the back you'll find a 1.4-inch LCD, three buttons (play, delete, and record), and a four-way navigation pad, which controls the zoom and lets you scroll through recorded clips. When it's time to transfer footage, simply flip out the USB plug on the side and connect it to your PC. Everything you'll need is in the package, including a TV connector and the two AA batteries it runs on.’

Read: Pure Digital Flip Video Camcorder

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CNET have published a review of the Panasonic VDR-D310 DVD camcorder. ‘On the outside, the D310 doesn't look much different from lower-end Panasonic DVD camcorders, such as the VDR-D210 and the D230. All three models share the same basic shape and simple, direct control scheme. Most of the camcorder's shooting options can be accessed directly through the joystick mounted on the mode dial. The joystick also navigates the D310's menu. Though the casual user probably won't use the menu for anything besides finalizing the disc, this camcorder also might attract some higher-end users who might be miffed to find that there are no dedicated buttons for functions such as backlight compensation or white balance, which can be helpful when trying to change shooting conditions on the fly. Also, given that this is a step-up model, we would've hoped to find some extra controls, such as the zoom and record start/stop buttons found on the LCD bezels of most Sony and Canon camcorders.’

Read: Panasonic VDR-D310 Camcorder - CNET

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Pocket Lint have published their review of the Canon PowerShot A460 compact digital camera. ‘The PowerShot A460 updates its predecessor, the A430 with a slightly larger 2-inch colour screen and an extra million pixels, bringing the total effective resolution of the new model to 5 million pixels.The camera's rather basic 4x optical zoom lens protrudes from the body as a single barrel which as you may have guessed means while the 460 is compact it is not tiny. The camera’s undoubtedly blocky design does have good ergonomics however, meaning the controls fall nicely to hand and help make the otherwise simple styling carry across to some very simple handling characteristics.’

Read: Canon PowerShot A460 digital camera Review

Posted by Slash Scope Admin at 9:42 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Shiny Media have published their review of the sleek Fujifilm Finepix Z5fd digital camera. 'Fujifilm's Z5fd is a compact little snapper available in a range of colours - alongside the standard silver you'll find mocha brown and “raspberry red”, although it definitely looks pink to me. The 'fd' in its moniker refers to face detection - it'll search out people in images and ensure that they, rather than the pot plants behind them, are in focus when you hit the button. Aimed squarely at the point and shoot market, the Z5fd is quick to start up - slide back the lens cover and it's ready to shoot in a couple of seconds. Despite its small size, there's a 3x optical zoom squeezed in.'

Read: Fujifilm Finepix Z5fd - Shiny Shiny

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CNET have published a review of the Casio Exilim EX-Z75 (blue) digital camera. ‘At 3.8 inches wide by 2.4 inches high by 0.8 inch deep with the lens retracted, the Z75 will fit in almost any pocket, though you'll need to dig into the setup menu if you don't want to turn the camera on by accident. By default, the playback and record buttons on the back will power up the camera if you press them when the camera is off. In our field tests, we were vexed on more than one occasion when the lens extended while the camera was in a jacket pocket. Ultimately, we turned this feature off. All of the camera's buttons are on the right hand side of the camera, making one-handed shooting fairly comfortable, though we always recommend shooting with two hands for better stability. Most of the buttons look and feel very similar, making it difficult to differentiate between them without looking.’

Read: Casio Exilim EX-Z75 (blue)

Posted by Slash Scope Admin at 9:48 PM |