Review Kodak’s Easyshare M420 is aimed at the person looking for a reasonably cheap and convenient, compact Camera that will basically take care of business, allowing you to simply point and shoot. As Kodak’s founder George Eastman once said: “You press the button, we do the rest.” So, the Easyshare M420 is cheap, but is it cheerful?
Kodak’s Easyshare M420
First impressions were mixed when we removed the Easyshare M420 from its box. It’s certainly compact, measuring 97.2 x 59.7 x 210mm and weighing 155 grams with battery and card. It fits snugly in a pocket and is great for carrying around. But this being Kodak, there are one or two idiosyncrasies. The first is the inclusion of a paper user guide that basically gets you started with the Easyshare M420 – there’s not even a full PDF manual on a CD-Rom and you have to go online to download one.
The second issue is the curious battery charging system that involves plugging a USB cable into a mini USB port on the bottom of the Camera and then connecting that to a charging unit that plugs into a power socket – there is no separate charging cradle. Kodak markets spare batteries for this Camera, but the recharging system means you can’t charge one battery whilst using a second one. Read the rest of this entry »
Review You’ve got to hand it to those marketing bods who are constantly on the lookout for a gap in the market. Not so long ago, digital SLRs were neatly divided into high-end/entry-level models, but now, consumer DSLRs come in a variety of specifications aimed at specific groups of users. Nikon’s D5000 is a good example. It’s described as an “upper entry level” DSLR, which means that it offers more than a budget DSLR, but just a little less than a mid-range model. So does the D5000 fill a gap or fall between two stools?
Nikon’s D5000 DSLR
Despite its model number, the D5000 sits firmly between Nikon’s D60 and D90 models, and Nikon clearly hopes that potential D60 buyers might be tempted to trade up to the D5000. However, the company also clearly desires that potential D90 purchasers will not be persuaded to trade down to the D5000 – hence, the carefully selected features and specifications.
The D5000 offers HD recording and Liveview operation and it uses the same 12.3Mp (effective) 23.6 x 15.8mm DX Format CMOS sensor as the D90, as well as the same 11-point AF system. Naturally, the D90 has a few cards up its sleeves, including a Pentaprism-based viewfinder, a 3in LCD screen composed of 920,000 dots, slighter faster continuous shooting speed (4.5fps compared with 4fps) and a built-in autofocus motor. Read the rest of this entry »
Review These days you’re rather spoilt for choice when it comes to super zoom compacts, and so it’s simply not enough to offer a Camera sporting an extra-long zoom; you’ve got to make it stand out in the crowd. Sony reckons the DSC-HX1 offers something special beyond a 20x optical zoom, to tempt the super zoom customer, including a novel panoramic shooting system and a super-fast continuous shooting mode.
Sony’s Cybershot DSC-HX1
The DSC-HX1 has 5-100mm f/2.8-5.2 Sony G lens, equivalent to a 28-560mm zoom on a 35mm Camera. Its closest rival is Canon’s PowerShot SX1 IS, another model with a 5-100mm optical zoom, although at £589, the Canon’s suggested retail price is a fair bit more than the DSC-HX1’s £429. That said, the PowerShot SX1 IS does offer a few extras lacking on the Sony, such as RAW recording and 1920 x 1080 HD movies at 30fps – the DSC-HX1 also offers HD recording but with a lower specification.
The product shots outline the basic control layouts, so we’ll just focus on some features. You get a 0.2in electronic viewfinder composed of 201,000 dots and a 3-inch LCD screen with 230,000 dots. The LCD screen is on a hinge and can be swivelled up or down by 90 degrees. It’s not as flexible as some articulated LCD screens we’ve seen, but it’s still a nice feature to have. Read the rest of this entry »
Review Some products remind you of certain things, and in the case of the Nikon Coolpix S630, it’s a banana. You can’t help but notice the curvature of the Camera body, which sweeps gently towards the right. But although the Coolpix S630 comes in a variety of colours, yellow isn’t one of them.
Nikon’s Coolpix S630
This is a Camera designed for the point-and-shoot photographer. Yet having a 7x optical zoom means it offers more than the average compact when it comes to focusing on your subject. Despite its respectable zoom, the Coolpix S630 remains a compact Camera, measuring 96.5 x 57.5 x 25.5mm and weighing around 160g with battery and card. On top, is a small power button, shutter button and zoom rocker. The back is dominated by a 2.7in LCD screen composed of 230,000 dots.
On the right, is a tiny flash indicator light, a small Camera mode button and playback button. Below is a multi-controller which has a central OK button and can be used for selecting macro, drive move, flash mode and exposure compensation. For some reason, Nikon has hidden the exposure compensation logo on the right hand side of the body, so it’s very easy to miss this function. Read the rest of this entry »
Review Kodak is the latest company to enter the super-zoom market, with the EasyShare Z915. Equipped with a 10x optical zoom, plus a good sprinkling of features, it is aimed at the person who wants to get closer to the action with their compact Camera. What’s more, it sells for less than £200. So do you really get more for less with the Z915?
Kodak’s EasyShare Z915
As would be expected for a Camera sporting an extra large optical zoom, the Z915 is bigger than most compacts, measuring 107 x 72.4 x 35.7mm. but it’s not overly large, as it more compact than Canon’s PowerShot SX 110 IS, which also sports a 10x optical zoom.
Weighing in at around 260g with battery and card, you’d struggle to fit this Camera in your trouser pocket, although it’s quite comfortable to carry around for long periods of time. At the top of the Z915 are the tiny power button and a larger mode dial. To the right, the shutter button, zoom lever and three tiny buttons for flash, macro and drive mode settings. Read the rest of this entry »
