Nikon has announced the D3X, its latest high-resultion professional DSLR. Sporting an imaging sensor with double the number of photosites of the popular D3, the 24.5 megapixel D3x includes similar features such as a 3.0″, 920,000 dot LCD monitor with Live View, 51-point autofocus, EXPEED image processing and HDMI output. To keep up with the demands of stock photography the camera produces 50MB 14-bit RAW files that can be processed to produce 140MB TIFFs. It also supports Nikon’s wireless system and is compatible with Nikon’s new GP-1 GPS unit.

Key features:

• Nikon FX-format CMOS sensor with 24.5 megapixels

• Wide sensitivity range starting at ISO 100, ending at ISO 1600

• New EXPEED-based image processing, which was designed to minimize noise occurrence, achieves this without interfering with other factors, including hue.

• High-speed performance meets the most rigorous professional demand: It delivers a continuous shooting speed of approx. 5 frames per second in FX format (36 x 24) or 5:4 (30 x 24), and 7 frames per second in DX format (24 x 16)*2*3.

• Realizing reliable auto control: Scene Recognition System

• AF system employing high-density 51-point AF

• Superior durability

• High-resolution 3-inch LCD monitor with approx. 920k­-dots (VGA), 170° wide-viewing angle and reinforced glass

• Two Live View modes available

• Picture Control System: Choose from Auto, Extra High, High, Normal, Low or Off setting prior to shooting.

• Electronic virtual horizon

• UDMA-compatible memory card double slot

• GPS Unit GP-1 (optional)

Other features

• Lateral chromatic aberration reduction creates images with a clear periphery using original image processing technology to significantly reduce color aberrations

• Vignette Control effectively prevents reduction of light at the periphery

• Optical viewfinder achieves approx. 100% frame coverage and 0.7x magnification in FX format

• Three sensing areas: FX format (36 x 24), DX format (24 x 16), and 5:4 (30 x 24)

• Customizable function button

• Choice of black or white letters for shooting information display

• AF fine adjustment with professional standard of accuracy

• Compliant with HDMITM for high-definition image playback

• Lets you shoot up to approx. 4,400 frames on a single battery charge

Ricoh Caplio R7 digital camera offers 8.1 megapixels and a 7.1x wide zoom lens (28-200mm), meaning that it will bring you more optical zoom than any other camera in this range. On the first view, I can say it has a very solid build. Around the back are a selection of well-positioned control buttons, which prove to be responsive. One of these buttons is particularly useful: the ‘adj’ button (abbreviation for adjustments), which allows easy access to a host of useful control options such as exposure compensation, white balance control and ISO settings: the main ingredients for a technically good photo. The on-screen menu system is a doodle to navigate.
The most interesting features of this model are vibration control and face recognition technology. There’s no optical viewfinder, but the 2.7inch LCD screen is one of biggest out there and performs very well even in bright sun. On the other hand, event if Ricoh raised the ISO sensitivity up to 1600, this level is total useless. Usually Caplio R7 is capable of some very fine shots, with a particularly good grasp of colour reproduction, but if used fully extended, some barrel distortion and less detail towards the edges will be present in the image. The rapid start up and response times of this camera are certainly the strongest plus of it next to the white balance performance. What is not so good is the flash: it is either too strong or missing.
So, if you want a strong camera with big zoom that still fits even the pockets (unlike big ultrazoom cameras which have a bigger size), Ricoh Caplio R7 is an interesting choice.
Ricoh Caplio R7 Specifications
Ricoh Caplio R7 Firmware

In matter of design, Ricoh Caplio is not much for a camera, but as performance, at the quality-price rapport, it stands out good. There’s no optical viewfinder on the Ricoh Caplio GX100, but there’s a removable optional electronic viewfinder which might be useful. The user interface is simple, with minimum buttons, therefor, image deletion is not as easy as pressing a key. On the other hand, this is a camera that offers it’s users a manual focus mode and even the flash pops-up manually plus it sports an external lens cap. This camera feature has an optical-based anti-shake system which is normally turned on. Therefore, the Ricoh Caplio GX100 automatically compensates for camera shake, which is a slight blurring of the image that typically occurs at slow shutter speeds. Ricoh are well known for delivering responsive cameras, and the Caplio GX100 continues that tradition. The start-up time from turning the Ricoh Caplio GX100 on to being ready to take a photo is very quick at around 0.75 second, and it takes just over 1 second to zoom from the widest focal length to the longest. Focusing is very quick in good light and the camera happily achieves focus most of the time indoors or in low-light situations.
Other things that I like at this camera include the surprisingly good white balance control and a wide usable sensitivity range. There is an innovative feature on the Ricoh Caplio GX100 that is called Camera Shake Correction. Both the Flash On setting and the Red-Eye Reduction option may cause only a tiny amount of red-eye. Macro performance is also a stand-out highlight, allowing you to focus as close as 1cm away from the subject.
In conclusion, the Ricoh Caplio GX100 digital camera offers a 10 megapixel sensor, wide-angle 24-72mm lens, RAW mode via the Adobe DNG format, external hotshoe, full creative control over exposure, and optical image stabilization, plus, it provides good quality pictures.

First of all, I would like too observe that you are reading abot Canon G9 because other performant point an shoot camers from Canon don’t offer RAW file format as a shooting option (Raw shooting is selected via the Recording Pixels sub-menu in the Function menu). Second, you might be intrerested in the flexibility of use that this camera offers: plenty of accesories (including external flash), full manual controls, a large range of settings (Face Detection AF and AE functions, optical stabilization, 6x optical zoom, Safety Zoom function and built-in ND filter) and in-camera adjustments. On the other side, Canon Powershot G9 is based on the previous G7 model: slightly higher resolution (12.1 megapixels vs 10 megapixels) and a larger, 3.0-inch LCD screen. Also, the G9′s viewfinder, although similar in appearance with the one of G7, is small and rather cramped. It has separate dial controls for shooting modes and ISO settings, which brings it near the look of a SLR.
A special function I like at this camera is the neutral density (ND) filter – this reduces the light intensity by three f-stops, allowing photographers to shoot with a wider lens aperture to achieve differential focusing in bright conditions. It can only be used with the P, Tv, Av and M shooting modes as well as for movie capture and is accessed via the Function button.
The camera can be operated one-handedly but, because of it’s small size, when it’s held comfortably and securely, some controls are covered by your fingers. Pictures taken with this canon model are sharp and colourful as much as it needs to be right and not exagerated. Some purple fringing can be seen when photos are enlarged. White balance performance is above average and the noise was visible in long exposures at ISO 400 and above but only became obvious at the ISO 1600 setting.
It will take up to 1.7 seconds to power up and shooting lag is 0.5 seconds with both JPEG and raw files. As a conclusion, this camera is robustly built, comprehensively feature-packed and small enough to slip into a jacket pocket, having allot in its favour.
Canon Powershot G9 Specifications

Optimize the various shooting options of your Canon powershot camera by checking out digital SLR camera reviews.

Hollydays are comming and you probaly wonder what gift to buy. A camera will always bring joy to anyone and many whish for such a surprize in the box. Digitalcamerainfo proposes a list of the best cameras released in 2007 and gives good suggestions for evry price range. By the way, they also say that in 2007 there were more than 200 camera models manufactured. As I was also following every photography related news, I can confirm that. However, some of them have just a few differences and have made a debate among the experts.
Image stabilization and face detection became universal features on every new camera starting from the second half of the year.
2007 is also the year when Foveron senzors started to conquer the market but it will be much more used in 2008. I’m looking foreward for this since it is a major step for digital photography.
Now let’s see a list of the best digital cameras in 2007 and get ready to choose one for yourself or a beloved one.

Best Camera under $500

Canon PowerShot G9

Best Camera under $400

Sony Cyber-shot DSC-H7

Best Camera under $300

Canon PowerShot A720 IS

Best Camera under $200

Panasonic Lumix DMC-LZ7

Best Budget Camera

Panasonic Lumix DMC-LS70

Best Hybrid Camera

Canon PowerShot S5 IS

Best Ultra-zoom Camera

Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ18

Best Ultra-thin Camera

Sony Cyber-shot DSC-T100

Best Underwater Camera

Olympus Stylus 770SW

Best Family/Child-Friendly Camera

Pentax Optio W30

Best Value

Panasonic Lumix DMC-TZ3

Best Innovation

Sony Cyber-shot DSC-T2

I must say that I’m glad this list contains more brands. This will keep the competition between them at a high level for the next year also, and it aims the manufacturers to get specialized on specific targets.

Tags: best digital cameras, digital camera, best digital camera, best camera, 2007 best camera, photo gift, best bugdet camera, best ultrazoom camera

The world of digital cameras and the one of cell phones are changing rapidly. Now, it’s a great deal to have a 5MP camera with 3x zoom on a cell phone! The Samsung G800, the world’s first 5 megapixel camera phone with 3x optical zoom lens, looks like a streamlined digital camera on one side and a fashionable mobile phone on the other side. And gues what: Features such as face detection, and Wide Dynamic Range (WDR), which are very up-to-date features even in today’s digital cameras, are also equipped in the new G800! (soon i’m going to have a laptop in a pants pockets)
Elegantly equipped with multimedia features, the G800 still has a sophisticated slim design for the two handed grip when taking pictures. The large 2.4” QVGA LCD with a wide display allows users to view the screen like a digital camera. The 3x optical zoom is an inner zoom, where the lens does not extend outside the body of the phone, ensuring a slimmer design.

Boasting 3x optical zoom and Xenon flash to enable close-ups and exceptional photo detail, the G800 also comes with other most up-to-date digital camera features such as panorama shots, multi shots and macro shots.
Not only just taking pictures, the G800 also provides a very easy tool for sharing images and videos.
Plus, the Samsung G800 offers professional video editing functions so that people can easily cut, paste, and edit their own films directly on the camera-phone. A mobile blogging (so trendy these days) feature helps users to upload their favorite User Created Contents (UCC) site very easily. Supporting High Speed Downlink Packet Access (HSDPA), the photos or videos can be sent to others very quickly.

The operations are done via a Graphical User Interface (GUI) which is intuitive and simple to use so that the user experiences the same environment as a digital camera when using the camera function on the phone. An On Screen Display (OSD) shows various camera indicators in a horizontal preview mode.

Geesung Choi, President of Samsung’s Telecommunication Network said: “As multi-megapixel camera phone becomes more and more popular, the needs of actual digital camera-like features grow together. Samsung’s G800 will satisfy the unmet needs in the camera category with a true digital camera-like design and functionality. The G800 will enable users to capture and share precious moments in their daily lives through the enhanced camera functions in a fast 3G network.”

Now, I’m pleased with what I heared about it, but I have one big question: how long will the battery life be for such a complex (all-in-one) device? I’m looking foreward for findin out more as soon as the Samsung G800 will be available in European countries starting from November 2007.

Tags: 5mp, 3x zoom, camera phone, digital camera, samsung camera, samsung, samsung digital camera, samsung mobile phone

The DiMAGE Z3 is the first ultra zoom camera Konica Minolta to use their exclusive Anti-shake image stabilization system which is very much needed on a ultra zoom camera. Two nice things about Minolta Z3 are the fact it uses AA batteries (better rechargeable) and SD compatible digital storage. The design is black-colored made mostly of high-grade plastic. It feels very solid and well-constructed, with a big grip, well placed buttons (important controls are all easy to reach) and there is good distance between the pop-up flash and the lens. The range of the lens is equivalent to 35 – 420 mm, allowing a large pallet of photography types and creativity. You can also add a wide-angle conversion lens as well as filters if you’d like.
The image stabilization is not based of shifting an element in the lens to counteract “camera shake”, but the Z3 actually moves the CCD itself, giving you sharper photos at slower shutter speeds. The camera is also equipped with an electronic viewfinder instead of the Switch Finder of other models (a good thing). It takes just 1.5 seconds to move the lens through the whole 12X zoom range, so it can be considered a fast camera. The Z3 does a pretty good job at taking pictures, though you can spot some noise/grain (actually noise seams to be the most serious problem of this digital camera). Colors look good with nice saturation levels and the subject is sharp; there is no purple fringing but there is an overexposure tendency. In regular macro mode you can get as close to your subject as 10 cm at wide-angle and 1.2 m at telephoto but super macro mode has a minimum distance of just 1 cm. Before ending, I’m mentioning the histogram display and the full manual controls present on this model as well as in many other ultra zoom cameras.


Konica Minolta DiMAGE Z3 Specifications

Tags: Konica minolta, Konica minolta digital camera, digital camera, dimage camera, Minolta dimage camera, konica minolta dimage

The Z series is one of the few ranges of digital cameras that look absolutely nothing like any film camera because of the unique futuristic design. The casing is plastic over a metal chassis, and the build quality is excellent: light and delicatebut in the same time it feels very strong and solid. Aside from a 5MP sensor and a couple of minor specification changes, the DiMAGE Z5 is almost identical to the Z3. The buttons are also extremely well placed, something that you can’t see on some other manufacturers. A 2 inch LCD monitor, a huge 12x optical zoom lens and Konica Minolta’s innovative image stabilization system are good reasons for anyone to buy it.

In terms of performance, it starts up in just under 2 seconds, and shot-to-shot time is approximately 2.5 seconds, which is not exceptional but from slow. Continuous shooting record the last 20 pictures at 10 frames per second. The movie mode is decent, you can operate the zoom lens during recording silently, so no motor noise is recorded on the soundtrack.

Focusing, exposure and color rendition are excellent, so I can say it provides nifty performance and generally good picture quality, as long as the ISO setting is kept low, and, the image stabilization makes it one of the few super-zoom cameras that can fully exploit its impressive 420mm focal length. It’s one of the best cameras I’ve reviewed recently.

Konica Minolta DiMAGE Z5 Specifications

Tags: Konica minolta, Konica minolta digital camera, digital camera, dimage camera, Minolta dimage camera, konica minolta dimage

For the advanced amateur photographers, Konica Minolta has a DiMAGE Z-series, from which the Z20 ultra-zoom camera is the less expensive one, featuring high performance 5 megapixel sensor with an 8x optical zoom lens (equivalent to 36 – 290mm) and a full range of manual exposure, metering and focus options. Besides from the futuristic silverish design, for the mid-range Z20, you can notice the large handgrip, the elongated round body, and the flash mounted over the lens barrel.
For a camera with such zoom power, the lack of image stabilization is quite an issue ourdays. The viewfinder is the same resolution as the monitor screen but it uses up a large amount of battery life compared to other viewfinders and can only be used when the LCD is deactivated (by the way, the LCD is quite small: 1.5 inch). All of the buttons and wheels are well placed for an easy use and the camera is also comfortable to hold.
Start-up time is very fast at around 1.5 seconds- it’s not a bad time, but Z10 for example is faster. In continuous shooting mode at the highest quality setting it can shoot three frames in just over 3.5 seconds, but then has to pause for a few seconds to write to the card. Comparing it again with the Z10 and the Z5, movies are recorded in high quality (but lower than Z5) Motion JPEG with audio (z10 does not have a microphone for audio recording). Picture quality is in the range of acceptable, with not too much noise and accurate colors, and, before saying that this camera is a budget alternative to the more powerful DiMAGE Z5, (an excellent performance for the money), I’m also mentioning that the 1cm close super macro will please you.

Konica Minolta DiMAGE Z20 Specifications

Tags:

Konica Minolta Z10 has a silver solid plastic futurisc design except the black placstic lens cap. This ultra-zoom (however, the 8x is the least amount of zoom in the DiMAGE Z-series) is easy to hold and has the important controls well-placed.
If you use rechargeble batteries, you will be amazed to find out that you can get up to 550 shots which is the top for this range of cameras. It’s also a fast camera: starts up almost instantly, with just a 1.1 second delay, while focusing speeds range from about 0.4 seconds for easy subjects at wide-angle to a second for more difficult subjects.
The LCD is rather small compared to the latest cameras, and the Switch FInder located above the LCD can only be used when the LCD is deactivated. The macro mode allows you to get as close as 1cm from the subject and colors are accurate and quite saturated as well. There is some purple fringing and noise is not an issue even at ISO 400. The Z10 doesn’t have a microphone so you won’t be able to record sound even if it does have a movie mode. In conclusion, the main target of the camera are passionate photographers who enjoy manual features and don’t care too much about movies.
There are just a handful of accessories available for the Z10: ZCW-200 wide-angle conversion lens kit is mentionable, but, unlike the DiMAGE Z2 and Z3, you cannot attach an external flash to the Z10.


Konica Minolta DiMAGE Z10 Specifications

Tags: Konica minolta, Konica minolta digital camera, digital camera, dimage camera, Minolta dimage camera, konica minolta dimage