Samsung DualView TL225 Review

February 18th, 2010 by Allison Gibson Posted in Articles, Camera Reviews

Text and Photos by Allison Gibson

I’ve been known to cut my husband’s head off. In pictures, that is. He’s several inches taller than me, and when we travel we tend to forgo asking strangers to take our photo for us, opting instead to go for the stretched-out-arm-double-self-portrait. Inevitably, he only makes it into the shot from the neck down, or in other cases, our faces crowd the frame so much that the picture might as well have been taken in our front yard rather than in front of the Eiffel Tower. Sure, there’s the Quick Pod, Arm Extending Self Portrait Device, which would allow for further extension beyond my limited arm’s length, but then I still couldn’t see a preview of the shot to frame it. And, let’s face it; I probably wouldn’t go through the trouble of hooking it up. I’ve seen hacks online where people have glued small mirrors to the front of their cameras to resolve this issue, but it hasn’t been until recently that a camera has existed to remedy this problem professionally. It’s been a long time coming.

The Samsung DualView TL225 boasts two LCD screens—a 3.5-inch touch screen on the back and a 1.5-inch front LCD, which allows you to see a live view of what the lens sees, in order to get a perfect shot. Ingenious, really. Though I don’t know what took so long for this feature to make its way to consumers, I give major credit to Samsung for being the first.

Specs

The TL225 has a 12.2-megapixel CCD image sensor and 4.6x optical zoom. The 4.9-22.5mm (35mm film equivalent: 27-124.2mm) f/3.5-5.9 wide angle Schneider-KREUZNACH lens allows for shooting wide landscape vistas and large groups of people. There is an expanded list of flash modes, beyond what is often seen in pocket cams, including: Auto, Auto & Red-eye reduction, Fill-in flash, Slow sync, Flash off and Red eye fix. The TL225 records High Definition video (1280×720p at 30fps) in H.264 format, and has a mini HDMI connector.

Interface

If you’re a fan of the touch screen interface, you’ll be a fan of the TL225. The camera body is virtually void of any protruding buttons, save for a small power button, an almost flat shutter release, a zoom toggle and a slim and flat playback button—all on top. The wide 3.5-inch LCD screen fills up the entire back of the camera, and its touch menu is about as good as I’ve seen before for navigating the menu layers and scrolling through shots in playback. A simple tap of obviously marked tabs and symbols takes you where you need to be, and the circular shooting mode menu scrolls smoothly. The touch screen uses “haptic” technology, which causes a little buzz to occur when you tap so that you get the reassuring sensation of having pressed a button and made a selection. Also, the Gesture UI allows for the camera to respond to your hand gesture in order to access certain features.

Shooting Modes

Harbor shot in Auto Mode

Harbor shot in “Sunset” Scene Mode

There is an assortment of shooting modes in the TL225, including: Auto, Program, Smart Auto (which automatically recognizes the scene and adjusts settings), and thirteen dedicated Scene Modes (including: Beauty Shot, Frame Guide, Night, Portrait, Children, Dawn, Sunset, Text, Close up, Landscape, Backlight, Fireworks and Beach & Snow). There is also Dual Image Stabilization (IS) mode, which uses both Optical (OIS)—for combating hand-shake—and Digital (DIS)—as a backup—to help you capture sharp, blur-free shots. In Program Mode you can select from an ISO range of 80-3200, or ISO Auto. You can also choose to shoot in Auto Focus Mode, Macro (for a focusing distance closer than 80cm) or Super Macro (for less than 3-8cm) in order to control depth of field as specifically as the point-and-shoot will allow.

DualView

The nice thing about the 1.5-inch front LCD on the TL225 is that it turns off and basically disappears if it’s not in use, so that you don’t go around promoting your shots to the world if you use the rear LCD to frame. Also, it lies underneath the glossy, black semiopaque casing of the camera, so it’s much more scratch resistant than the rear screen.

There are additional uses for the front LCD beyond giving you a live view of what the lens sees for self portrait taking. In Child Mode, built-in animations, such as a winking clown, keep the attention of squirming toddlers and crying babies. The Samsung website offers additional Child Mode Animations for free download as well. The Countdown Timer animation is another option to be viewed through the front LCD, so that you know when to smile and when not to blink as you wait for the self timer to release the shutter.

Inconveniences

My biggest complaint about the TL225 would be the memory issue. Samsung insists on using a Micro SD/SDHC to keep the camera slim and compact, but it ends up being a hassle for most of us whose card readers and arsenal of memory cards are of the SD/SDHC variation. At most, however, this is no more than an inconvenience; not really a flaw. The camera does come with about 55MB of internal memory as well.

Conclusion

All said, I’m a fan. Yes, mostly because of the DualView aspect, but also because I found the overall design and functionality of what could be a “gimmicky” camera to be very good. The $349.99 (MSRP) price tag is a response to the Schneider-KREUZNACH optics, the near flawless UI and the dual LCDs—not the comparable specs and image quality of point-and-shoots that can be found for well under $300. So, those are your options to weigh. Some people assume that the DualView TL225 is marketed only to those interested in vanity, but I think it’s worth considering how often you take self portrait shots, especially if you travel a lot. This is an innovation that goes far beyond vanity or gimmick in my opinion.

Samsung DualView TL225

Nikon COOLPIX S1000pj Review

February 11th, 2010 by Allison Gibson Posted in Articles, Camera Reviews

Text and Photos by Allison Gibson

The Nikon COOLPIX S1000pj’s built-in projector seemed like a gimmick at first, but after using it, I found that the feature quickly moved beyond the realm of “party trick” into that of functionality. Boasting a 12.1-megapixel CCD sensor, a 5x optical zoom 5-25mm f/1:3.9-5.8 Nikkor lens, and an ISO range from 80-6400, the COOLPIX S1000pj fares well against competitors in its category specs-wise. The compact Nikon camera feels sturdier in-hand than many other point-and-shoots, and looks more professional with its gunmetal black finish and bright 2.7-inch LCD.

Image Quality

The compact COOLPIX S1000pj is an impressive image taker for its class. This point-and-shoot camera doesn’t offer Manual shooting mode—or even Aperture or Shutter Priorities—but its Auto and Scene selections do tend to make the right setting choices for capturing crisp, vivid shots. The shooting modes offered are: Auto, Smart Portrait and Subject Tracking, as well as a solid lineup of Scene modes, including: Scene auto selector, Portrait, Landscape, Sports, Night portrait, Party/indoor, Beach/snow, Sunset, Dusk/dawn, Night landscape, Close-up, Food, Museum, Fireworks show, Copy, Backlight and Panorama assist. It also shoots movies with sound (640 x 480 at 30fps). Capture is to 36MB internal memory or an SD/SDHC card.

Low-Light

The COOLPIX S1000pj also boasts a generous ISO range, though the numbers may impress more than the results. I was prepared for the worst when I set out to shoot at ISO 6400, but was actually impressed with the results once I did. Not surprisingly, there is a good amount of noise, but much less than I expected, and the images retained better detail than I expected as well. Still though, you probably don’t want to venture above ISO 800 to be safe. But being as this is a point-and-shoot camera, it is really meant to make taking pictures as simple as possible, and the Scene mode options listed above do the work for you quite well—even the modes meant for low-light shooting.

One seemingly insignificant feature of this camera that made me happy was the fact that whatever flash mode you set it to stays set even after you turn the camera off. Too often with point-and-shoot cameras, you turn the Auto flash mode off and then next time you go to take a shot, the flash is back on again by default, forcing you to take the step to turn it off again before each shot.

Projecting Your Pictures

The stand-out feature of the Nikon COOLPIX S1000pj—and most definitely the reason for the $430.00 price tag—is the built-in projector, which allows you to display your photos and videos directly from the camera (via internal memory or SD/SDHC card) onto a blank wall or projector screen. The camera comes bundled with two small, plastic projector stands, but I found them to be unnecessary, as setting the camera on any flat surface works. I even projected images stably onto a brick wall in downtown Los Angeles while holding the camera in my hand. There is a sliding focus adjustor on top of the camera to make sure the projections are sharp. You can set the camera to project a slideshow of all of your images, or just share one, and there is a remote control so that you can step away and control the projector from elsewhere.

The projector has up to 10 lumens of brightness, and its throw distance is 10-inches to 6-feet 6-inches. According to Nikon the battery endurance when running the projector is approximately one hour (on a fully charged battery).

Handling The Camera

The COOLPIX S1000pj is compact and thin enough to fit in a pocket, but it feels sturdy compared to the plasticky lightness—okay, cheapness—of many small point-and-shoot cameras. At 5.5 ounces, it is actually heavier than most others, and the brushed metal surface of the face-plate adds a stylish sophistication to the look of it. I supposed if you’re going to have Ashton Kutcher hold one in ads, it had better look good.

As is almost always the case with point-and-shoots, the S1000pj lacks an optical viewfinder, but the 2.7-inch LCD with anti-reflection coating is bright and clear. The small selection of buttons to the right of the LCD are what you’d expect: the camera button for switching between shooting modes, playback, menu, delete and the four-way control for flash, exposure compensation, macro mode and self-timer. The projector button is conveniently located on top of the camera, right next to the focus slider, on/off button and shutter release. The digital menu is easily navigable and zooming in and out with the toggle on top of the camera is smooth.

It’s Really All About That Projector

Though the COOLPIX S1000pj does have many of the features one would want in a stylish and slightly more advanced point-and-shoot camera, the feature that really sets it apart is the built-in mini projector. This feature is admittedly impressive, and useful, and I imagine we will see it become more common in the near future (Sony is reported to be working on it, according to Photo Rumors). However, you would have to decide whether it’s worth the approximately $150.00 more you’ll likely be paying for it since cameras with similar specs and no projector can be found for well under $300.00, even by Nikon.

Nikon COOLPIX S1000pj

How-To: Shooting in Existing Light

February 9th, 2010 by Allison Gibson Posted in Articles, How-To

How-To: Shooting in Existing Light
Text and Photos by Lynne Eodice

Some of the best photo opportunities present themselves in situations that would appear to pose lighting challenges, such as outdoors at dusk or dawn, or indoors with window light or artificial illumination. This how-to story provides tips on meeting these challenges without using flash.

Dusk and Dawn

For a half-hour to an hour before the sun rises and after it sets, the sky is filled with soft, beautiful light that has inspired the term magic hour among photographers. Beginning with the first faint light of daybreak, colors in the sky brighten quickly—from cool blue tones to soft pastel shades, and finally, the warm tones preceding sunrise. After sunset, this process takes place again in reverse.

Because you have such a slim window of time in which to shoot, it’s best to scout out a scene that you want to photograph ahead of time. During the shoot, you’ll want to use a tripod (or plan to use a fast ISO setting like 800 or greater if a tripod is not available). You should also use a small aperture like f/8 or f/11 for great depth of field. Check your exposure readings frequently. The darker the scene, the more important it is to bracket your exposures. Long time exposures of several seconds are very likely once the sun goes down.

Dusk is a great time to photograph city skylines. You’ll still have some exciting color in the sky, and the lights from street lamps and buildings will also contribute to creating a truly dramatic photograph. An extra bonus is that if you’re using a very small aperture, like f/11, f/13, or f/16, small points of light in the scene (like street lights) may resemble multi-pointed stars.

Natural Light Indoors

Occasions may arise in which you’ll want to shoot indoors, but aren’t permitted to use flash because of certain restrictions; i.e., weddings in chapels, art galleries, and other public buildings. When shooting indoors with natural light that comes in from outside, use windows or doors that get reflected light from the sky. This light will be directional, but softer and not as intense. Diffused window light may provide flattering illumination when photographing people. If you’re not using flash, you’ll probably need to use a higher ISO reading like 800 or 1600.

If there is a lot of bright light coming in through a window or doorway, you can reduce this contrast by using a secondary source of light, like some sort of reflective material. You can use white poster board, Fome-Cor board (both are available at art supply stores), or a commercial reflector (from your local camera store) to bounce light back into shadowy areas of a person’s face. Whenever possible, you can open a door or curtains to let light in from another direction to fill in shadows.

Your camera’s meter is often fooled by bright areas of direct light from a window, so you may want to switch to your camera’s spot metering mode to get a more accurate reading. Take your spot meter reading from an important part of the scene—like a person’s face or mid-tone object. Use your camera’s exposure-lock feature to hold that reading.

Artificial Indoor Light

Taking pictures with ambient indoor light can be challenging. First of all, you may want to change your Auto White Balance (AWB) setting to match the main light source. Some indoor artificial lighting requires that you switch your White Balance setting to a tungsten setting to correct for incandescent lighting. (But if you like the warm cast created by this light source, use your camera’s AWB setting.)

To photograph a person in a public place, try to position him/her in a place with even indoor lighting, or surround the individual with bright, reflective surfaces. If you’re photographing a subject next to candlelight, the person may appear warmer than he/she would with tungsten lighting. When photographing performers on a stage, you’ll have the challenge of bright lighting on the person or group against a dark background. Use a telephoto lens to bring the performer in closer and switch to your camera’s spot-metering mode to get a reading from the person’s face or clothing.

In a Nutshell:

Dusk or Dawn
•    Scout out your scene ahead of time
•    Use a tripod for best results
•    Photograph the lights of the city balanced with the color of the sky

Natural Light Indoors
•     Shoot with reflected light coming in from outdoors
•     Use a reflective material to fill in shadows
•     Use your camera’s spot-metering feature

Artificial Light Indoors
•     Adjust your White Balance setting to match the light source
•     Photograph a person in a place that’s evenly lit
•     Use a telephoto lens to bring stage performers in close

Olympus FE-5020 Review

January 13th, 2010 by Allison Gibson Posted in Articles, Camera Reviews

Text and Photos by Allison Gibson

A Super Wide-Angle Point-and-Shoot

When shopping for a compact point-and-shoot camera, there are a slew of features to consider, and they vary based on what is most important to you as a photographer. If you have kids who play sports, you probably want to look for a camera that has a fast shutter speed or maybe a scene mode meant for precisely that type of shooting. If you like to have a camera handy for parties, you want to make sure the image quality is good in low-light. Other things to look for are: zoom, flash, shooting modes, video, battery life, display and ergonomics. The slim, 12-megapixel CCD image sensor Olympus FE-5020 is a slick and stylish point-and-shoot that, for only $159.99 (MSRP), boasts high marks in many of the above categories.

Super Wide-Angle

The 4.3-21.5mm f/3.3-5.8 Olympus lens lives up to the hype of the FE-5020 being a “super wide-angle” camera, as it’s being billed by the manufacturer. To get closer to specific parts of the action, the FE-5020 offers 5x optical zoom, controlled by a quickly responsive thumb toggle to the right of the LCD. It is an unpleasant but not surprising detail to many photographers who prefer to compose shots with a viewfinder that this low-priced point-and-shoot lacks one. However, the large, bright 2.7-inch LCD offers expansive coverage of the wide shots.

Shooting Modes

The FE-5020 offers Intelligent Auto (iAuto) shooting mode, Program Auto mode and Digital Image Stabilization Plus mode, as well as a large assortment of specialty Scene Modes, including: Portrait, Landscape, Night Scene, Night + Portrait, Sport, Indoor, Candle, Self Portrait, Sunset, Fireworks, Cuisine, Documents, Beach + Snow and Pet. Additionally, there are “Magic Filters,” which include: Pop Art, Pinhole and Fisheye—if you can get to them in the LCD menu, that is. You can only access the Magic Filters option from the Menu button if you are in the Program Auto shooting mode, and once you get to them in the digital menu, they are untitled and offer only a dark thumbnail shot of what the filter will look like when applied. But however difficult Olympus makes it to get to the Magic Filters, they do deliver good results once they are in use. The Fisheye filter offers a much truer rendition of the effect that a real Fisheye lens gives, as compared to the Fisheye Art Filter in the recently reviewed Pentax K-x D-SLR.

The FE-5020 also shoots video (640×480, 30/15fps)—though not High Definition—with sound, which does well to capture sharp footage if the available light is sufficient.

Highs & Lows

With its sophisticated looks, compact size, super wide-angle lens and 5x optical zoom, the Olympus FE-5020 is a well-priced point-and-shoot camera, however not without a few issues. The shutter release button has a wobbly, unstable feel to it, making it difficult to focus and take quick, precise shots instantly. The shot-to-shot lag time also leaves much to be desired. The built-in flash is much too bright, washing out shots with its overly harsh light in most ambient lighting situations.

The image quality is good, however, in low-light if you punch up the ISO. From ISO 64-400 it does great, and at 800 only a little noise starts to show up. At ISO 1600 you begin to see heavy noise.

The FE-5020’s AF (auto focus) Tracking, which Olympus bills as “automatically tracking moving subjects and continuously adjusting the focus and brightness to capture them sharply with ease,” didn’t always meet that standard for me in capturing a busy, low-lit Los Angeles outdoor night scene.

A great thing about this camera, though, is the outstanding battery life. It uses a Li-ion Rechargeable Battery (LI-42B), which lasts 150 shots according to the manufacturer, and seemed to last even longer than that for me—which was impressive considering that the LCD is always on due to the lack of a viewfinder.

The FE-5020 has 48MB of internal memory, and is xD-Picture Card and microSD (with optional adapter) compatible, which was admittedly inconvenient for me, as my card reader didn’t read the Olympus xD-Picture Card that I tested the camera with. A more accessible SD or SDHC would be a better choice for Olympus to go with. Of course, the camera comes bundled with a USB cable to retrieve images.

Overall, the thin and lightweight Olympus FE-5020—which comes in an assortment of jewel-toned finishes, including wine red, royal blue and dark gray—is a well-priced point-and-shoot with many of the features you may be looking for, plus more. It has a large, bright LCD, a large assortment of auto shooting modes and filters, advanced Face Detection (up to 16 faces), and the TruPic III Image Processor delivers sharp results that you can blow up to poster sized prints.

Olympus FE-5020

Pentax K-x Review

December 14th, 2009 by Allison Gibson Posted in Articles, Camera Reviews

Text and Photos by Allison Gibson

An Intuitive Entry-Level D-SLR with Surprising Features

Walk down the street with the white Pentax K-x D-SLR in hand, and you’ll likely attract the attention of enthusiastic strangers who will stop in their tracks to ogle the camera, or even shout compliments from across the street. But even beyond its eye-catching looks (it also comes in black and a limited edition red or navy blue color), the K-x is attractive to a large number of consumers because it offers the market an affordable entry-level D-SLR with High Definition video recording and a built-in HDR processing feature. Because the $650 MSRP includes the body and kit lens, the Pentax K-x is more affordable than many new entry-level D-SLRs, including the Nikon D5000 ($630, body only) and the Canon EOS Rebel XSi ($699, kit).

An Ideal Entry-Level D-SLR

Camera manufacturers have begun to hone in on a growing, and long ignored, demographic: the Pro-Amateur, or “Prosumer.” This photographer finds the typical point-and-shoot digicam lacking in features, but isn’t yet ready to move on to a pro-level D-SLR. The Pentax K-x might offer perfect entrée into the SLR world because it boasts a few of the advanced features of its big sister, Pentax’s flagship D-SLR, the K-7, yet it also offers features like Auto Picture and Scene Modes, which are typically found in many consumer-level compact cameras.

We tested the K-x with its kit lens, the limited edition white, weather resistant DA 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6. While shooting, we focused on how the camera could introduce D-SLR photography to those new to it by experimenting with features that might serve as good learning tools—shooting with capture modes like Shutter and Aperture Priority, and shooting in RAW+ mode for more control of exposure in processing.

The K-x’s 2.7-inch LCD features Live View, which people used to point-and-shoot cameras have come to expect, but the feature is only now becoming common in D-SLRs. The LCD also has adjustable brightness and Face Detection Auto Focus for up to 16 faces. The optical viewfinder is small, offering only 96% coverage, but is still preferable to the LCD for composition.

At 4.8-inches wide by 3.6-inches high, and weighing only 20.5 ounces fully loaded, the camera is easily light and compact enough for one-handed shooting, and won’t weigh you down when it’s around your neck for long periods of time. The grip is substantial enough that the camera feels secure in-hand and there is a nice, large space on the back of the camera for the thumb to rest, where it won’t accidentally bump buttons. It seems like a triviality, but that happens too often the way some other manufacturers’ models are set up. The K-x is compatible with every Pentax lens ever produced.

A Full Range Of Features

Replacing the 10.2-megapixel Pentax K2000, the K-x boasts a 12.4MP CMOS sensor with sensor-shift Shake Reduction. One of the major upgrades from the K2000 is the ability to capture widescreen HD videos in 720p resolution (1280×720) at 24 frames per second (fps), and sound with the built-in microphone. Other new, more advanced features are borrowed from the pro-level K-7, including: built-in HDR (High Dynamic Range) image capture, which blends three bracketed images into a single picture for low, mid-range and highlight detail, and also a faster, more responsive11-point wide angle SAFOX VIII auto focus system. The PENTAX PRIME II image processing engine has a fast, 4.7 fps capture speed and a top shutter speed of 1/6000 of a second.

Digital Art Filters

The K-x also offers Creative Processing and Filter modes, which Pentax boasts as offering photographers “the ability to explore artistic freedom through unique special effects.” These digital filter modes appeal to the photographer who is new to shooting with a D-SLR because they offer in-camera effects that a more advanced professional photographer might seek to capture with alternative optics or manual adjustments—rather than through digital manipulation—like for instance, the “Fish-eye” effect.

We’ve seen creative art filters in D-SLRs before, most notably in Olympus’ E-series lineup. As we pointed out in our hands-on coverage of the Olympus E-620 mid-range D-SLR and even the more advanced E-30 D-SLR, built-in creative filters can offer surprisingly stunning results. DP Technical Editor, Tony Gomez, was particularly fond of the “Grainy Film” black-and-white filter offered in both Olympus cameras. However, I wasn’t instantly impressed with many of the digital art filters in the K-x. To begin with, the feature is buried deep within the digital menu options in the camera, which is not the place a major selling-point feature like this should be hidden. There is a “Green Button” on the top of the camera near the shutter, which can be customized to be a quick-jump to any feature in the menu, so I ended up setting it to jump to Digital Filters after growing tired of going through the menu each time I wanted to change the filter. The Digital Filters that the K-x offers are: Toy Camera, High Contrast, Soft, Starburst, Retro, Color Extract, Fisheye, and room for eight Custom options. The Fisheye filter was one that I was initially most excited to try out, however I would hope to see it tweaked for the next generation of this camera because it was less than impressive. There are three levels of intensity that can be set with the filter, though the effects of each did not really resemble the wide, hemispherical results of shooting with an actual fisheye lens—rather the images appeared flat with only an abrupt bulge in the center of the frame. The Color Extract filter was much more successful. The processed images appear completely desaturated save for the one color you set it to focus on (there are six colors to choose from).

Shining in Low-Light

Where the K-x shined was auto focus, which captured moving subjects very well, and in low-light, where it did well capturing low-noise images at higher ISOs. Overall, the Pentax K-x is a feature-rich entry-level D-SLR that has impressive image quality and bonus features such as HD video and HDR capture. The digital filters have the potential in the next generation to be outstanding, though they leave much to be desired for now. The compact design and Auto Picture shooting modes make it attractive to first-time D-SLR photographers, who will learn a lot about D-SLR photography from experimenting with this camera.

Pentax K-x

Continuing the Discussion: The Future of Point-and-Shoot Cameras

November 25th, 2009 by Allison Gibson Posted in Articles, Blog

photo © Stefan Baudy (Flickr creative commons)

UPDATE: In order to get several perspectives on our discussion about the future of point-and-shoot cameras (see original post about the topic below),  I approached Ed Lee, Director of Consumer Imaging Services Group for InfoTrends to get his “insider’s” take on the issue. He had a lot of great insight, and some very explicit views about the digicam VS camera phone questions we raised, which would be interesting to both people in the camera manufacturing business and camera consumers. Here’s what Ed had to say:

“Point and shoots will continue to hold a strong position in the digital camera market. Camera phones will co-exist. While some people will decide to forego a digital camera and just use the one on their phone, others will be inspired by their camera phone photography to go out and buy a digital still camera. As for sophistication, digital still cameras will continue to offer better features than camera phones because they are dedicated devices and do not have to make compromises because of other product constraints. They also continue to work hard at staying one step ahead of camera phones, for instance, digital still cameras offer 14 MP resolution today and camera phones are just getting into the 5 MP range. Digital cameras have a good flash, which when used drains the battery, something that phones cannot afford to happen, if people want to still use the phone function and have a long idle time between charges. Decent 10 MP digital cameras can be purchased for well under $100 now, so in many instances, the up charge to buy a more fully-featured camera phone will far exceed what an entry-level digital camera will cost. So besides the integration feature, some will not see the benefit of paying the extra money. 5 years from now, it may not matter what device you use to capture the image. The key will be what can you do with the image after capture. That is where the real value begins.”

Now we want to hear what you have to say about this topic. Do you think Ed Lee’s predictions are correct? Do you see yourself continuing to use digital point-and-shoot cameras down the road even as your cell phone’s camera advances it’s technology? Comment below or join the discussion at the DP Facebook Page.

Original Post:

As fans of both the art of photography and the complex tools that help us to capture images–namely cameras–we at Digital Photographer would like to pose a question:

What do you think the future holds for point-and-shoot cameras, when it’s possible that in, say, five years time the cameras built into cell phones will meet the level of shooting sophistication of most consumer level digicams? Will point-and-shoot digital cameras as we know them today become irrelevant or, perhaps, extinct?

So called “instant cameras” have been around on the consumer level since 1948, when the Polaroid Model 95 went on sale (ref. The Impossible Project); and beginning in 1963, the Kodak Instamatic began to make photography accessible to the masses.

As it stands today, there are over 130 new compact digital cameras on the market, offered by Nikon, Canon, Sony, Olympus, Pentax, Samsung, Fujifilm and Kodak, and each of these manufacturers seems to be in a never-ending race to crank out more. Meanwhile, most anyone who owns an Apple iPhone (like myself) would agree that the image quality of the camera feature in the phone is inferior to even the lowest level point-and-shoot digital camera on the market. Sure, the 3MP camera boasts a built-in auto focus (iPhone 3GS) and a tap-induced digital zoom, but most digital cameras being produced by the above named companies come standard with, at the very least, an 8MP image sensor and 3x optical zoom. Oh, and there’s also always a little helpful feature called flash, which the iPhone still lacks. But the iPhone does record video as well as stills–something that a large number of the current point-and-shoot cameras on the market cannot also claim.

Join the discussion by posting a comment with your thoughts here, or at the DP page on Facebook.

The Future of Point-and-Shoot Cameras

November 20th, 2009 by Allison Gibson Posted in Articles, Blog

As fans of both the art of photography and the complex tools that help us to capture images–namely cameras–we at Digital Photographer would like to pose a question:

What do you think the future holds for point-and-shoot cameras, when it’s possible that in, say, five years time the cameras built into cell phones will meet the level of shooting sophistication of most consumer level digicams? Will point-and-shoot digital cameras as we know them today become irrelevant or, perhaps, extinct?

So called “instant cameras” have been around on the consumer level since 1948, when the Polaroid Model 95 went on sale (ref. The Impossible Project); and beginning in 1963, the Kodak Instamatic began to make photography accessible to the masses.

As it stands today, there are over 130 new compact digital cameras on the market, offered by Nikon, Canon, Sony, Olympus, Pentax, Samsung, Fujifilm and Kodak, and each of these manufacturers seems to be in a never-ending race to crank out more. Meanwhile, most anyone who owns an Apple iPhone (like myself) would agree that the image quality of the camera feature in the phone is inferior to even the lowest level point-and-shoot digital camera on the market. Sure, the 3MP camera boasts a built-in auto focus (iPhone 3GS) and a tap-induced digital zoom, but most digital cameras being produced by the above named companies come standard with, at the very least, an 8MP image sensor and 3x optical zoom. Oh, and there’s also always a little helpful feature called flash, which the iPhone still lacks. But the iPhone does record video as well as stills–something that a large number of the current point-and-shoot cameras on the market cannot also claim.

Join the discussion by posting a comment with your thoughts here, or at the DP page on Facebook.

Polipics: Fort Hood Tribute

November 9th, 2009 by Debbi K. Swanson Patrick Posted in Articles, Blog, Politics in Photography

Fort Hood Tribute

Debbi K. Swanson Patrick

This photo was taken by Martin Howard, a retired Lt. Col. and pathologist from the US Army in Mississippi. I saw it on Flickr and felt it instantly conveyed the feelings of the Fort Hood rampage last week that left 12 soldiers, one civilian, and one unborn baby dead—and the shooter in the hospital. The questions are endless about the making of this tragedy—Who missed the signs? What was the final straw? How long had this been building? Were there terrorists ties? What is the Army and other armed services going to do about it?  In the meantime, there are soldiers, husbands, sons, brothers, daughters, wives, and a soon-to-be-mother, to mourn.

Here is retired Lt. Col. Howard’s story:

I served in the US Army in Iraq in 2004 with the Mississippi National Guard. I was briefly at Fort Hood during my Reserve duty in 1999. I look upon all soldiers here and abroad as my brothers and sisters. These VOLUNTEERS are the finest people I have ever known in my life. I am continually amazed at the sacrifices these young people make on our behalf. The tragedy touched me as it occurred here in America, on a base, where they should have felt safe one last time. Their loss is no less tragic than those a world away but it reinforces the resolve we must have even at home.

As for the photo, I took my boots outside to compose a tribute for the troops to post on Flickr to remind everyone to pray for the victims. The sun was just rising as I set the boots and flag on the ground to get my camera. The scene just made itself. I used a small flash on the boots but the whole shot was done in 3 or 4 takes.

Martin Howard, MD

LT COL, US ARMY (ret)

Here is a list of the deceased.

Photo Essay: The Station Fire from the Front Lines

September 9th, 2009 by Allison Gibson Posted in Articles, Blog, Photo Essays

The Station Fire, shot at the top of Lake Avenue in Altadena, CA
all photos © Lynne Eodice

Stunning images of the Los Angeles area Station Fire have been circulating for weeks now online and  in newspapers, as area residents and professional photographers alike seek to capture the drama of the blaze that has devistated homes and even taken the lives of brave firefighters here in Southern California. Digital Photographer editor and professional photographer, Lynne Eodice, happens to live very close to the area where a majority of the fire was concentrated last week, and captured the following images with her Canon EOS 5D Mark II full-frame D-SLR using a Canon EF 100-300mm lens on August 29, 2009, just a couple miles from her home.  See more of Lynne’s photos of the fire after the jump…

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Digital Insider – A Potpourri of Accessories for your Digital Cameras

August 31st, 2009 by Tony Gomez Posted in Articles, Digital Insider, News

f you are planning to purchase a new digital camera or D-SLR anytime soon, be sure to see our Editors’ Picks article in this issue. And after you get your new camera, don’t forget about all those wonderful accessories that can make your digital imaging experience more exciting and fun. These accessories can range anywhere from external hard drives (now so common and very inexpensive), to a bag (or bags) to protect all your newly acquired gear, and new software to make your digital image captures more creative. Of course, I have to mention a camera in this column as well— after all, Nikon has just announced a new flagship D-SLR. Read on.

Seagate External USB Hard Drives

If you are like me, you are suffering from too many digital images consuming precious storage space on your home computer. Traditionally, if you needed more space, the solution would be to update the internal hard drive in your computer to a much higher capacity model— up to 1 Terabyte (1000 GB) is very common today. But that involves the hassle and inconvenience of shutting down your computer, removing an existing hard drive, installing a new one, reinstalling all your programs (and also the Windows OS if it’s on the drive you are replacing which is not without its own idiosyncrasies like getting the software re-authorized). In short, it’s a HUGE hassle. The better solution today is to go with one of the external high capacity USB drives.

In my opinion, one of the best external hard drive manufactures is Seagate (www.seagate.com). If you didn’t know it, Seagate is a household name in selling replacement drives for internal upgrade use, but they also make a wide variety of USB type external drives. These external USB drives have got to be the easiest way to expand your hard drive capacity. Just connect the drives up to your USB port, and away you go— no re-installation necessary.

All of the models in the FreeAgent hard drive series from Seagate work with USB2.0, and are backwards compatible with standard USB. Each FreeAgent drive is available in three model types: Go, Desk, and Extreme. The Go model drives are ultra-compact and available in 250GB ($120), 320GB ($150), and 500GB ($200) capacities, and come in ten cool colors (think pink, ruby red, orange, spring green, forest green, royal blue, sky blue, champagne gold, titanium silver and tuxedo black). An optional desktop dock and travel kit make the Go series practical for mobile or desktop applications. The Desk series models are available in 500GB ($130), 640GB ($150), 1TB ($200), and 1.5TB ($250) capacities. At the top of the line, the Extreme FreeAgent drives come in 500GB ($160), 640GB ($180), 1TB ($230), and 1.5TB ($280) capacities.

In addition to USB2, the Extreme models also sport eSATA and Firewire 400 ports for the maximum flexibility in connectability. I am constantly running up against the 1TB limit of my internal hard drive for stored images, so the FreeAgent Desk and Extreme models gave me blessed relief. From my personal experience, these two advanced models are without a doubt the easiest way to expand the capacity of your internal hard drives. For more advanced users with eSATA (Serial ATA interface) ports on their computers, the Extreme series run at top speed, capable of file transfers 6X faster than using USB2. FreeAgent drives are also available in pre-formatted Mac versions as well.

Toshiba External USB Hard Drives

Toshiba is another one of those companies well known for making internal hard drives for laptops and desktop computers, but until now it’s kind of been a big secret. Well now they are coming on strong as a supplier of high quality external USB2 hard drives. Toshiba (www.toshibadirect.com) offers three different capacities— 400GB ($180), 320GB ($160), and 250GB ($130). These models are very compact (.65” H x 3.2” W x 5” L), lightweight (about 6oz), and are available in a variety of colors: electric blue, black, carbon grey, hot rod red and gecko green. Also pre-loaded on each drive is NTI’s Shadow software, which allows for hassle-free file backup. The drives are compatible with Windows XP/Vista and Mac OS 10.3.9 or later.

New Camera Bags from Lowepro and M-Rock

For years I have been known as the “bag man” around the office here, and for good reason. I am constantly on the move with cameras, lenses, and other accessories that need continuous protection. If you think about it, a good carrying bag is just about the best, most inexpensive investment you can make in the care and well being of your equipment. Two of my favorite bag manufacturers are Lowepro and M-Rock. Lowepro is the most seasoned veteran, but M-Rock is coming up very strong as an alternative source of quality bags.

Lowepro’s Classified AW series (www.lowepro.com) are designed for hardworking photojournalists. They are available in four different models based on size: 140, 160, 200, and the 250. The fast-access main compartment with an angled opening makes camera or lens selection fast and secure.

If you’re into ecologically “green” products, you’ll love Lowepro’s new Terraclime series of multi-purpose bags. Terraclime series bags are made from more than 95% recycled products. The Terraclime series is available in four models—10, 30, and 50 pouches, and the100 shoulder bag. Each model is also available in three colors: black, plum, or grass. Terraclime bags provide durable, soft-sided protection for a variety of cameras, D-SLRs, and other digital gear.

Some of you might be serious nature photographers, and that generally means you have an assortment of super telephoto lenses. The 600mm lens is considered a staple in telephoto lenses for nature photography. The only problem is how to carry such a long, heavy lens. Lowepro comes to the rescue with its Lens Trekker 600 AWII lens carrying case. The Lens Trekker AW carries not only a huge 600mm lens safely, but also your D-SLR body.

M-Rock (www.m-rock.com) recently sent me a couple of their latest offerings to test— the Zion 525 Laptop/backpack and the 516 Glacier. What I like about the Zion 525 is that it’s compartmentalized up the max for storing several digital cameras and lenses, and has a protected space at the back for up a 15-inch laptop computer. It all fits quite nicely on my back. The Glacier 516 is more of a conventional shoulder-carrying bag, with spacers and dividers for a single D-SLR and an assortment of lenses. It comes in two additional sizes— 515 and 517.

M-Rock also sent me a unique water hydration system called the Great Lakes 550. It’s actually a water bladder with a tube and mouthpiece and comes in a neoprene case with an insulated lining. It fits inside the rear compartment of the Zion and McKinley bags, but it can also be used separately. The bladder is easy to fill with water, or another liquid you might wish to drink while hiking on your photography excursion. Drinking is a simple matter of sucking through the provided plastic hose, and the valve seals to prevent leakage.

onOne Photoshop Plug-In Suite 4.5

onOne Software (www.ononesoftware.com) has long been a leader in releasing software plug-ins. While these plug-in software tools are targeted towards use with Adobe Photoshop, they will work equally well with Adobe’s Lightroom 2 and Apple’s Aperture 2. The plug-ins work on both Windows and Mac platforms.

The powerful plug-ins in the Plug-In Suite 4.5 include:

Genuine Fractals 6 Professional Edition (PE), which resizes digital images over 1000% with no claimed loss of detail or sharpness. PhotoTools 2 PE utilizes the power of Photoshop Actions to provide a complete library of effects created by Kevin Kubota and Jack Davis. PhotoFrame 4 PE creates stunning border and edge effects. Mask Pro 4.1 creates high-quality masks and selections even from tough subjects like hair and glass, making it easy to place a subject in a new background. PhotoTune 2.2 provides professional-quality color correction in an easy-to-use interface. PhotoTune 2.2 includes ColorTune for general color correction and SkinTune for color correcting skin tones accurately. FocalPoint 1.0 simulates selective focus or tilt-shift lenses, helping photographers blur and/or vignette an image to focus a viewer’s attention. Plug-In Suite 4.5 is now available to new users for about $500. This represents a total savings of almost $800 if each of the applications were purchased separately.

Nikon’s Capture NX2 Software

You don’t normally associate Nikon with software, but due to a co-development with Nik Software, Nikon has released a very powerful image processing application— Capture NX2 (www.nikonusa.com), which rivals Adobe Photoshop in many instances, and in some cases is much easier to use— without the learning curve of Photoshop. Capture NX2 works with Nikon NEF RAW files (no other manufacturer’s RAW files, however), but more importantly with all other manufacturers TIFF and JPEG files.

Capture NX2 utilizes revolutionary U Point technology (developed by Nik) to give photographers access to powerful Control Points that enhance color, exposure, and other image quality settings quickly and easily. This is a much easier process than using masks and layers with Photoshop. Capture NX2 works on both Windows (XP or Vista) or Mac platforms (OS 10.4 or higher) and is available for $179.95 (full version) or $109.95 (upgrade). A 60-day free trial version is also available.

Nikon’s new “Extreme D-SLR”— The D3X

If you’re a professional into no-holes-barred digital photography, you just might be interested in Nikon’s latest D-SLR— an extreme version of its flagship D3— the D3X (www.nikonusa.com). Like the D3, it sports the FX format full-frame sensor, so you achieve every bit of performance your lens offers without the focal length magnification issue. You also get an extreme resolution of 24.5 Megapixels, which is DOUBLE that of the D3! More importantly, this camera is wicked fast, capable of capturing extreme resolution images at speeds up to five frames/second. This is a very powerful tool for commercial, high fashion, fine art, and landscape photographers.

For the ultimate in flexibility, image files can be recorded in TIFF, JPEG, or NEF (Nikon’s proprietary RAW format), in either 12-bit or 14-bit compressed or uncompressed formats. Low noise capture is possible at ISO settings as high as 6400. This low noise ISO feature will be a boon to professional studio photographers, who until now had to be restricted to using larger format digital cameras to achieve a noise-free capture for large image blow-ups. Low noise capture with high ISO can help capture compelling images under extremely low light conditions. Twin CompactFlash slots are available, and the faster UDMA writing speed standard is supported. Like everything else in this high tech world we enjoy, professional performance has its price. The new Nikon D3X retails for about $8,000, body only.