Digital Camera Review

The EOS 40D is the most expensive and, so far, most impressive of Canon’s consumer-level digital SLRs. The range goes up higher (see the professional 5D), but you’re talking about adding £1,000 to the price.

The 40D is bigger than many digital cameras, but it’s still easy to handle, being superficially very similar to its predecessor, the still-available 30D, with the same solid build quality.

Enhancements include better sensor (10 megapixels) and a slightly bigger screen. Most SLRs can’t compose pictures using the screen – the 40D’s clear and bright viewfinder is handy – but this one can also be operated using the screen.

It’s easy to use – if you like, you can set it to automatic and let it do all the work, or it’s possible to gain full creative control. There are several modes in between, too. Menus are clear and easy to follow, and navigation is good.

We tested the 40D with the £800 17-55mm lens, but it will work with all Canon EF-S lenses (and compatible ones from other makers), and results were almost as good with the 17-85mm kit lens that’s available online for around £900.

Image quality throughout was excellent, although in truth not far above the 30D. Sure, £900 is a lot to spend on a camera, but if you’re looking for something to replace your ageing film camera or entry-level digital SLR, look here.

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With good image quality, a useful and flexible set of features, plus a sturdy, ergonomically appealing design, this 12-megapixel camera is ideal for shooters who don’t need advance manual controls or a large zoom range.The F50fd’s 3X zoom lens offers a 35mm-equivalent focal-length range of 35mm to 105mm, with a maximum aperture of f/2.8 on the wide end to f/5.1 zoomed in. In other words, the lens provides good but not spectacular low-light performance at wide-angle settings and has otherwise unremarkable specs.

With the high resolution of its Super CCD HR sensor, this camera maxed out our resolution test, capturing separate lines up to the 2,000-line limit. In both daylight and flash shots, standard test images showed realistic color. Exposures in the field were well balanced and colors-including skin tones across the spectrum-came out looking vibrant and natural.

The F50fd operated responsively, allowing me to capture candid shots and moving subjects easily. For portraits, the camera’s face- detection technology effectively tracked not only faces looking directly at the camera but also those in profile and at high and low angle.

The F50fd comes at a competitive price, and its combination of advanced tools and satisfying photographic results makes it easy to recommend.

Ricoh recently announced the new Caplio RR770 digital camera. As the name suggests, it is equipped with a 7.1 megapixel 1/2.5-inch primary color CCD and the lens is a 5.8mm-17.4mm (equivalent to 34-102mm for 35mm cameras). It features a 3x optical zoom plus 4x digital zoom. With a shutter speed of 1/2000 seconds for still images, it’s a neat little camera to have. On the back, you will find a 3.0 inch TFT-LCD offering 230,000 pixel resolution.

The camera runs on AA-size alkaline or Ni-MH batteries. Measuring 94.5mm x 60mm x 29.1mm, the Ricoh Caplio RR770 weighs in at 140.8 grams. It takes in SD memory cards, and comes with 32MB of internal memory. For amateur photographers, it offers Auto, Program, Portrait, Landscape, Sports and Night shooting modes for still images. It can also capture video (320×240 pixels resolution at 30 frames/second). The macro mode is useful for close-range photography up to 5 cm from the subject.

The 8.1-megapixel Cyber-shot DSC-T70 from Sony is a compact point-and-shoot that feels solidly built. Unfortunately, you must navigate the camera’s menu and controls via a 3-inch touch screen LCD (in wide-screen format). The panel is large, but the touch-screen controls are hard to press and annoying to use. My frustrations with it prompted no small amount of colorful language at times.

The camera’s slim, minimalist design is attractive, and it has a thumb grip on its right side perfectly placed to make holding it steady easier. The only real buttons on the camera are on the top side. There you’ll find a small power button and a small review button, which I found hard to press, though the larger shutter-release button worked very well. To the right of the shutter button, a small sliding button operates the camera’s zoom. I found my finger often slipping off this latter button, and there was a lag between my pressing the button and the camera actually zooming in or out.

Source pcworld.com