Basically, the reason to go with the S9100 over the S8100 is the longer, wider lens; shooting performance and photo and video quality is about the same. If you’re a stickler for sharpness or fine details when photos are viewed at larger sizes, then this camera probably isn’t for you. Also, I found it difficult to hold this camera still with the lens fully extended, and the image stabilization could only do so much. Without some sort of support, you may end up with a lot of blurry shots. But for its price and shooting flexibility, most people after a decent snapshot should be pretty happy with the results.

According to CNET:

While several manufacturers have bulked up their compact megazoom offerings with GPS receivers, touch screens, 3D photo capture, and semimanual and manual shooting modes, the Nikon Coolpix S9100 is all about the lens. Yes, it has plenty of other things going on–including a beautiful high-res LCD–but if all you really want is a long lens in a pocketable body with reliable automatic shooting options, the S9100 might be the best option for the money.

According to Digital Camera Review:

The S9100 features some nice new innovations and a great 18x optic, but it doesn’t solve the low-light problems that plague just about every compact point-and-shoot on the market.

After partnering with Olympus on the development of the Micro Four Thirds System standard (an offshoot of the Kodak/Olympus Four Thirds System), Panasonic followed Olympus into the mirrorless/interchangeable lens class of compact digital cameras with 2009′s Lumix DMC-GF1. The new genre of camera mated physically larger, more DSLR-like sensors into bodies resembling a large compact point and shoot, with the ability to change lenses like a DSLR while eliminating its bulky mirror assembly.

CNET said:

its predecessor earned an Editors’ Choice, and much of what I liked about the GF1 remains in the GF2. But I can’t help but feel the Panasonic Lumix DMC-GF2 has taken a step backward in photo quality in some ways, especially in light of the impressive quality of competitors like the E-PL2 and NEX-5. For folks who shoot raw and don’t mind the aforementioned issues with the touch interface, then the GF2 will likely provide a great shooting experience. For others, not so much.

Pros

* Somewhat smaller than GF1
*Full HD video
*Functional, fluid touch LCD

Cons
*Disappointing battery life
*Costs as much as DSLR
*High ISO performance could be improved

Cyber-shot DSC-TX7 Features:

* 10.-Megapixel “EXMOR R” CMOS sensor with 4:3, 3:2 and 16:9 aspect ratios
* Ultra-compact, all metal body that’s available in three colors: Silver, Red, and Dark Blue
* Carl Zeiss Vario-Tessar internal (folded) 4x optical zoom lens; covers 25-100mm equivalent range for still photos
* Optical SteadyShot image stabilization
* BIONZ high-speed processor
* 3.5-inch Xtra Fine, TruBlack LCD with 921k pixels and 100% frame coverage
* Record AVCHD video @ 1080i (1920×1080, 60i) or 1440i (1440×1080, 60i) w/ Dolby Digital Stereo sound
* Also captures progressive MPEG-4 video @ 1440p 1440×1080, 30p), 720p (1280×720, 30p) and SD (640×480, 30p) resolutions
* Intelligent Auto exposure mode (iAuto) with scene recognition (iSCN) technology
* Program AE, Intelligent Sweep Panorama, and 12 Scene modes
* In-camera HDR mode combines two exposures to increase dynamic range
* Burst Mode shooting at up to 10fps
* 9 Area Multi-point AF system; Auto, Selectable Spot, and Touch AF modes
* Anti-blink and Face detection technologies; can detect up to 8 faces within the frame at one time
* Smile Shutter mode, automatically detects and captures smiling faces
* ISO Sensitivity: Auto, 125, 200, 400, 800, 1600, 3200 equivalent
* Sony’s Clear RAW Noise Reduction: Automatically cleans up long exposure images
* Sony’s DRO technology (Dynamic Range Optomizer)
* Flash with Auto, Fill, Forced Off, and Slow Synchro (Red Eye reduction available)
* USB 2.0 high speed Auto-Connect to host computer
* Rechargeable InfoLithium battery and AC charger included
* 5MB internal memory
* Compatible with Memory Stick Duo/Duo Pro/Duo Pro-HG or SD/SDHC/SDXC memory cards
* TransferJet compliant
* DPOF and PictBridge direct-print USB compatible
* HD (1080i) video output for viewing images/movies on a HDTV
* Supplied Camera Dock “Multi Output Stand”

Source

The company has rejected the traditional DSLR design and instead created a hybrid that, like a compact camera, is from the ground up built around live view, but one that is also capable of offering full-time DSLR-style phase-detection autofocus. The combination means they can offer features such as phase-detection AF during movie recording and extremely fast continuous shooting rates (10 frames per second on the A55), previously unthinkable at this price.

This is made possible by adopting an approach that has more in common with a mirrorless camera (like the Panasonic G2, for example) than an SLR by removing the bits that pretty much define such cameras: the optical viewfinder and moving mirror.

The designation ‘SLT’ stands for single lens translucent and it’s the ‘translucent’ bit that’s the key to what differentiates these new models both from conventional DSLRs and mirrorless interchangeable lens cameras. The SLTs do have mirrors, but they’re mirrors that let the majority of the light pass straight through to the sensor, rather than having to swing out of the way to allow exposure. As a result they are fixed in position, always reflecting a portion of the light emerging from the back of the lens onto a phase-detection AF array housed in the top of the camera. (A newly-developed 15-point array in the case of these two cameras).

Source

Below average shooting performance; Pop-up flash not in the greatest position; easily blocked by your left index finger; Flash Pops up automatically in all modes, which is not always wanted; Non-existent labeling on the 4-way controller; Indoor image quality not up to par with other Canon PowerShot models

Source ]]> http://www.acamerareview.com/canon-powershot-sx210-is-review/feed 0 http://www.acamerareview.com/samsung-tl225-review http://www.acamerareview.com/samsung-tl225-review#comments Wed, 30 Jun 2010 04:24:56 +0000 Cuzzy http://www.acamerareview.com/?p=387 Samsung has surprised the world with the introduction of the DualView TL225, one of the first digicams ever to offer dual LCD screens, one located on the front of the camera, along with the typical display on the back. This “DualView” approach is aimed towards those who are constantly taking self-portraits or small group shots using the one-handed, self-photographer method; turning the camera towards you and holding it with one hand while posing for the photo with a friend or loved one.

This is accomplished using a 1.5-inch LCD located on the front of the camera, which allows you to take sharp, high-quality photos, whether you are in front of or behind the camera. The TL225 also features a 3.5-inch touchscreen LCD on the back offering a whopping 1,152K pixels of resolution. This 12-megapixel model also offers a 4.6x optical zoom lens, Smart Auto exposure mode, and H.264 format (MPEG4) HD video recording at 720p resolution.

Source ]]> http://www.acamerareview.com/samsung-tl225-review/feed 0 http://www.acamerareview.com/sony-cyber-shot-dsc-tx1-review http://www.acamerareview.com/sony-cyber-shot-dsc-tx1-review#comments Tue, 29 Jun 2010 03:08:53 +0000 Cuzzy http://www.acamerareview.com/?p=376 Pros
Excellent build quality; Stylish and durable metal body; Ultra-compact size allows it to be carried in the smallest of pockets; Large touchscreen LCD; Effective iAuto mode; Superb image quality for size; Class leading shooting performance; Good “bang for your buck”
Cons
Small body takes getting use to for new users; Red-eye is common in people photos even with Red-eye reduction flash mode

Cyber-shot TX1 Features:

Source ]]> http://www.acamerareview.com/sony-cyber-shot-dsc-tx1-review/feed 0 http://www.acamerareview.com/olympus-m-zuiko-digital-14-150mm-f4-5-6-lens-review-2 http://www.acamerareview.com/olympus-m-zuiko-digital-14-150mm-f4-5-6-lens-review-2#comments Mon, 28 Jun 2010 03:17:37 +0000 Cuzzy http://www.acamerareview.com/?p=354 Just posted! Our lens review featuring Olympus’s Micro Four Thirds superzoom, the M Zuiko Digital 14-150mm F4-5.6. This latest addition to the company’s Pen range continues with its downsizing theme, and is dramatically smaller and lighter than most similar SLR lenses. It also promises fast and silent focusing optimized for video shooting. So is this mini-marvel the ultimate general-purpose travel zoom?

Source ]]> http://www.acamerareview.com/olympus-m-zuiko-digital-14-150mm-f4-5-6-lens-review-2/feed 0 http://www.acamerareview.com/samsung-smx-c20-camcorder-review http://www.acamerareview.com/samsung-smx-c20-camcorder-review#comments Wed, 23 Jun 2010 06:26:39 +0000 Cuzzy http://www.acamerareview.com/?p=328 Believe or not, they still make standard-definition camcorders and for the same price as most pocket HD camcorders, they typically offer more features and picture controls but shoot lower resolution footage.
Camcorder manufacturers know they need a hook to sell these devices, and with Samsung’s SMX-C20, that means deviating from the traditional camcorder look. The C20 lens is angled approximately 25 degrees upward, giving it a more natural feel when gripped. The result is a comfortable and ergonomic design, one Samsung claims is ideal for long recordings.

Source ]]> http://www.acamerareview.com/samsung-smx-c20-camcorder-review/feed 0 http://www.acamerareview.com/samsung-nx10-review http://www.acamerareview.com/samsung-nx10-review#comments Wed, 23 Jun 2010 06:15:01 +0000 Cuzzy http://www.acamerareview.com/?p=324 The first real camera to compete with the Olympus and Panasonic micro four thirds models, Samsung’s NX10 is a powerful “EVIL” (Electronic Viewfinder Interchangeable Lens) camera that packs a 14.6-Megapixel APS-C sized CMOS image sensor, which is same size unit found on most dSLRs on the market. This means the NX10 should offer superior low-light capabilities when compared to cameras with smaller sensors that offer the same resolution. This unit also utilizes dust protection using super sonic vibrations at 60,000 times a second to keep the sensor clean between lens changes.

Samsung NX10 Features:

Source ]]> http://www.acamerareview.com/samsung-nx10-review/feed 0 http://www.acamerareview.com/sony-nex-3-nex-5-review-june-2010 http://www.acamerareview.com/sony-nex-3-nex-5-review-june-2010#comments Fri, 11 Jun 2010 07:49:39 +0000 Cuzzy http://www.acamerareview.com/?p=215 Ever since Panasonic and Olympus created their Micro Four Thirds mirrorless system, all the talk has been about what the other players in the market will do. Micro Four Thirds has been steadily building its market share, seemingly without response from the three companies that account for over 80% of DSLR sales (Canon, Nikon and Sony), to the extent that ‘Micro’ risks becoming the generic term for these mirrorless systems (‘When will Brand X make a Micro camera?’ has become a fairly common thread title on our forums).

The waiting is now over as, following the showing of some mock-ups at PMA and a torrent of teasers and leaks, Sony finally officially announced its NEX system last month. The details are exactly what you’d expect – HD video capable APS-C sensors in small bodies. What might take you by surprise is just how small the bodies are – the NEX-5 in particular being tiny. In fact the cameras are too small to include in-body image stabilization units, as found in Sony’s SLRs, and instead use lens-based ‘Optical SteadyShot’. These NEX cameras will come under the Alpha brand but do not make use of the Alpha lens mount, instead using the completely new all-electronic E-mount.

Sony has made clear that it is aiming for compact camera users who wish to upgrade (a market it estimates at around 10 million potential buyers), rather than trying to offer a second camera for existing DSLR users. And the NEX models have more in common with compact cameras than DSLRs – including very few buttons and a resolutely unconventional interface.

As part of this interface it offers not only the standard Sony option of showing a small description of each selected option, it also has a full user guide built in to the camera. Relevant sections of this guide are available in each shooting mode to give hints and advice about everything from how to hold the camera to how to achieve an out-of-focus background.

The company told us that it felt its competitors had merely miniaturized, rather than revolutionized, so it’s no surprise that the NEXs are more than just the company’s SLRs with the mirrors removed. Instead you get a wholly new system with metal-bodied kit lenses (something we didn’t expect to see again in a mainstream product), and an accessory port instead of a conventional flash hot shoe.

As with Samsung and Panasonic, Sony’s background is electronics (rather than cameras) so the incentive to move away from the optically complex DSLR design to one based more around electronic displays makes sense. Sony’s situation is a little different in that it bought the respected Minolta brand and know-how but, despite plenty of new models, it has only been able to make a big impression on the DSLR market in a few selected regions. Consequently, it’s understandable that it might want to combine its DSLR knowledge with its electronics expertise to establish some compelling competitive advantage.Lens compatibility

Three E-mount lenses are being announced alongside the cameras – an 16mm F2.8 pancake, a standard 18-55mm F3.5-5.6 stabilized kit zoom and a stabilized 18-200mm F3.5-6.3 superzoom. Although the company talks a great deal about shallow depth-of-field, none of the lenses initially offered will offer a great deal of control in that respect.

Three kits are available: the ‘snap’ kits which include the 18-55mm zoom, the ‘go out with me’ kits that feature the 16mm prime lens and the ‘go out and snap’ kits that include both. And, while we think a 24mm equivalent prime lens will make sense to somebody and are quite able to look beyond the comedy potential of calling a product ‘go out with me,’ we cannot make any sense of the decision to bundle such a potentially challenging lens with what we’re told are point-and-shoot cameras.

The majority of people walking into camera shops will be very badly served if they leave with a camera and nothing but an ultrawide angle lens. And, still more disappointingly, despite its F2.8 maximum aperture, the 16mm lens will not offer much scope for blurring backgrounds, so shouldn’t be sold on that basis either.Sony is also taking the unusual step of offering adapter lenses for the 16mm F2.8 pancake, which attach via a bayonet mount on the front. In a manner familiar from compact cameras, it will be possible to adapt the lens from its usual 24mm equivalent field-of-view using either an ultra-wide adapter to take it to 20mm equivalent, or a fisheye that gives a 16mm equivalent view.An Alpha mount adapter will be available, giving the ability to use Sony and Minolta SLR lenses. The LA-EA1 adapter has a motor to control the lens aperture, but nothing to drive the autofocus (it can’t currently focus SSM and SAM lenses with built-in focus motors either). We have no pricing for the adapter yet but suspect the additional mechanical complexity of providing aperture support may mean it’s worth thinking very hard about how much it’s really worth to retain compatibility.

Source ]]> http://www.acamerareview.com/sony-nex-3-nex-5-review-june-2010/feed 0 http://www.acamerareview.com/ricoh-gxrs10-24-72mm-f2-5-4-4-vc-review-march-2010-by-lars-rehm-and-simon-joinson http://www.acamerareview.com/ricoh-gxrs10-24-72mm-f2-5-4-4-vc-review-march-2010-by-lars-rehm-and-simon-joinson#comments Fri, 11 Jun 2010 07:34:33 +0000 Cuzzy http://www.acamerareview.com/?p=206 This is the second of two reviews of the GXR; as each module is effectively a completely different camera we’ve decided to treat them as such and produce separate reviews. This review covers the GXR with the S10 24-72mm equiv (10Mp 1/1.7″ sensor) module, the previous one had a look at the GXR/A12 50mm f2.5 equiv (12MP APS-C sensor) combo. The first half of both reviews is the same, covering the GXR camera body and system.
In the short, frenetic history of the digital camera it has often been the smaller, less high profile manufacturers who have taken all the risks and experimented with more unconventional designs and solutions. For despite all the technological advances in the last decade the majority of digital cameras have designs

that follow the same basic blueprint as their analog predecessors: they’re essentially the same cameras with a sensor in the place of film.
This is especially true in the interchangeable lens camera sector, where the big players (coincidentally those who led the market in the days of film), hampered by the need (desire) to retain compatibility with their legacy analog systems, produce digital SLRs that would feel reassuringly familiar to any photographer from the late ’80s or early ’90s who by choice or circumstance had missed out on the digital revolution.

Last year saw the first serious challenges to the dominance of the single lens reflex (a design that can trace it roots back over 100 years, and that hasn’t changed fundamentally since the 1950s) in the interchangeable lens camera market – thanks to the introduction of Micro Four Thirds by Olympus and Panasonic. Since then Samsung has also introduced a very similar system (‘NX’) which is based on a larger APS-C sensor.

So when we first heard from Ricoh that they wanted to come and show us a new system camera we presumed it too was going to be variation on the ‘mirrorless’ design. Then we started to get hints that it was actually a totally new idea (or, as mentioned at the bottom of this page, a very old idea resurrected).

The interchangeable lens unit camera

Where Micro Four Thirds and similar systems aim to cut bulk by removing the mirror box, which slims down the camera body and somewhat reduces the size of the lenses (though by how much depends on the sensor size used), they still end up pretty big once you add zoom lenses (and if we’re talking about long zooms or telephotos the advantage is all but lost – large sensors require large lenses). Thus the idea that these ‘hybrid’ cameras can offer SLR quality and versatility combined with compact camera size is simply not possible.

Ricoh’s answer to this problem is, to say the least, novel. Rather than selling a camera body with a fixed sensor, the GXR system uses interchangeable lens/sensor units – every lens comes in a sealed unit complete with sensor, shutter, aperture, processing engine (there’s also one in the camera body) and the motors necessary to focus the lens (and drive the zoom mechanism if present). You are, essentially, buying a new ‘camera’ every time you buy the lens: the GXR body is little more than a shell containing the screen, card slot, controls and flash. This radical rethink of the ‘interchangeable lens’ has some important consequences:

Different lens units can have different sensor sizes and technologies (CCD or CMOS, for example)
By using a smaller (compact camera) sensor the GXR system can offer very small zooms
Lens units can be designed for specialist applications (video optimized lens and sensor for example)
The overall performance of the system is essentially defined by the lens unit, not the body
Each lens has its own leaf shutter – which will generally be quieter, and offer faster flash sync than the focal-plane shutters used by Micro Four Thirds

The GXR body (which is like a slightly over-sized GR or GX model) can thus be anything from a high speed compact super zoom (a la Panasonic TZ series) to an APS-C compact with a fast prime lens (think Sigma DP2 or Leica X1) simply by swapping lens units. By replacing the lens unit with a compact projector, printer or high capacity storage device it could stop being a camera completely, at least that’s the theory.

Ricoh GXR: Key features

Unique flat sliding lens mount
Interchangeable sealed lens/sensor units
Compact Magnesium Alloy die-cast body with ‘GR coating’
Extensive customization options and external controls
3.0″ 920,000 pixel LCD
Built-in flash and accessory shoe
Optional electronic viewfinder
HDMI connector
The standard components of an interchangeable lens camera are split between the GXR body and the lens unit in such a way that the performance of the camera (focus speed, image quality and so on) is to a large degree defined by the latter, with the body taking care of operational aspects and the actual process of taking the picture. Both camera and lens unit have their own Ricoh Smooth Image Engine processor (complete with RAM), though it appears the one in the lens unit is only used for capture and to get raw data off the sensor and convert it from analog to digital before it is sent to the body for processing and file creation. A fast, wide data bus connects the two halves together. To get a rough idea how the components and tasks are split see the table below (or check out the block diagram on the next page).Each lens unit contains instructions and parameters specific to its own sensor and optics, meaning that different lens units will change slightly the features, behavior and performance of the camera body when attached. Some of the lens unit dependant attributes (that we currently know of or can deduce) include:

Image processing parameters
Noise reduction
Menu options – lens units define what menus you see
Distortion correction (and, presumably, other lens corrections)
Shutter speed and aperture ranges
Program mode parameters (‘program lines’)
Specific features (manual focus ring, sensor-shift stabilization etc)
Focus speed
Continuous shooting speed
Buffer (no of frames and speed)
Movie capture capabilities (resolution and frame rate)
Essentially, as mentioned elsewhere, with each lens unit you’re getting a completely new camera with very different capabilities. Whether this is a good thing or not is going to depend on how well Ricoh does with its stated aim of using highly optimized lens/sensor combinations, and how much it is prepared to invest in producing a range of options that’s compelling enough to tempt buyers away from more conventional systems such as Micro Four Thirds.

In the first part of this review (pages 1-12) we will have a close look at the GXR’s body, features and user interface. In the second part (studio and real-life tests) we focus on the GXR with the A12 50mm module. The tests with the S10 module will be published in a separate review.

Source ]]> http://www.acamerareview.com/ricoh-gxrs10-24-72mm-f2-5-4-4-vc-review-march-2010-by-lars-rehm-and-simon-joinson/feed 0