Casio Exilim EX-S500 Digital Camera Review

Very small camera! People are amazed at how thin and small it is. This is the most pocketable full-featured camera I have ever seen. You can see how small it is the above picture comparing it to a standard CD jewel case. Many people think it is a cell phone it is so small. I walk around with it in my pocket and don't even know it's there. It can even go easily into a front shirt pocket it's so small.

Full-res video recording. The S500 records 640x480 30fps MPEG-4 video with sound. This was a requirement for me. I think that video snapshots are much more evocative than photos, even if it's only 20 or 30 seconds, so I wanted a camera with full-size full-rate video. The video this camera can record is fantastic, and limited only by the memory in your camera. MPEG-4 means you can get excellent quality video at 30 minutes per Gigabyte. So with a 2 Gig SD card you can get an hour of video. There is no limitation on the individual clip length, so you can keep recording until you run out of memory. There are lower-quality modes that increase the recording time at the price of reduced video quality. The high-quality video is unbelievable for such a tiny camera. It's not DVD quality but it is darn close. The main problem with the video is very low light situations (see below).

Very fast and responsive operation. I can go from pocket to taking pictures or video in about 2-3 seconds. It will take a little longer if you need to use the flash however, but the flash charges fairly quickly. I'm used to massive shutter delay on digital cameras, and this one seems very fast. There is a mode you can turn on to cause it to "just take the dang picture" when you press the button (i.e. no auto-focus or exposure control). This is very useful if you don't want to miss the action, especially if you've pre-focused the camera.

Uses standard SD memory cards. This was another requirement for me, as I already have a lot of SD cards and didn't need to start collecting another memory card format. However, to use the video, you should probably get a high-speed SD card. There have been reports of dropped video frames when using regular speed cards, but I've been using a high-speed card since I got it so I haven't experienced this.

Fast and large (2.2") LCD screen. It can play video at 30fps so it looks great. And so it also is very responsive when viewing the LCD viewfinder to see what you're aiming at. Lots of other cameras, especially older models, seem to be blurry or low-frame rate in the LCD viewfinder. Not this one. It is quite bright too, and the S600 is supposedly even brighter.

Fast picture review. This is so important as everybody wants to see the picture right after you take it. There are two buttons, play and record. Press Play to view your existing pictures. Press record to start taking pictures again. The operation is pretty much instant.

No delay when viewing pictures. This thing is VERY responsive. It really feels like every button press is instant. You can flip from picture to picture with no delay. I have never felt like I was waiting for the camera to catch up to my button presses, no matter how fast I press.

Works one-handed. It's pretty small but it is possible to use it one-handed (albeit slightly clumsily).

Tons of features and modes. Edit photos in the camera (trim, rotate, etc). Change resolution of pictures in-camera.

Edit video in the camera! Chop off beginning or end, or choose a section to extract. You can also save individual frames as stills.

You can zoom in and pan around while playing video! How cool is that? However, you can't zoom video when watching it on an external monitor (i.e. via the dock and A/V cable). The video zoom only works in the camera itself. You can also fast foward/rewind at several different speeds, or even freeze frame and then zoom in, step frame-by-frame forward and reverse, etc. Pretty slick!

Nifty calendar mode shows what days you have taken pictures so you can find the one you want, or even useful as a regular calendar when you don't have one handy.

Past Movie mode lets you start your movie in the past. When you press record it starts recording 5 seconds in the past! That is just insanely cool. Surprisingly, I don't use this often, as it was one of the amazing features that made me want this camera. But its there if you need it, so you can catch sudden action without sitting there recording the entire time.

Dock is very small and light. This is important because you will need to bring it with you on trips.

Dock does not need power to work. It needs power to charge the camera of course, but if your camera still has battery power, you can watch video on an external monitor without having any A/C power to the dock.

Great slideshow mode for watching on external monitor. Pictures fade in and out, and video plays. Very nice.

You can pre-focus/pre-expose the camera before shooting video.

Long battery life. Supposedly takes 200 pictures on one battery charge. I've never run out of battery so I can't comment, and I've shot a full 30 minutes of video without even seeing any low battery warnings. In fact I've NEVER seen low-battery warnings of any kind, but I always put it back on the dock at night to charge. The S600 reportedly is 50% better in this regard, but it's not an issue with the way I use the camera.

You can turn off the AF Assist lamp. I wouldn't buy a camera where you couldn't turn this off.

You can turn off all sound/beeps, except the auto-focus sound (which comes from the mechanical action of auto-focusing). I wouldn't buy a camera where you couldn't turn off the beeping.

There are a bunch of "Best Shot" modes (why Casio picked this name and labelled the button "BS" is beyond me) but I never use them except for the one Low-Light BS mode. They are things like Landscape, Pet, Nature, etc. These modes automatically set the exposure, saturation, etc. for best pictures.

Uses a standard A/V cord for viewing video. There is a ferrite bead so the default cord is recommended, but a standard 1/8" to dual RCA cord WILL work in a pinch (I have tried it). However, you still need the dock itself to view video on an external monitor.

The supplied power supply is very small and light, and the prongs even fold down for added portability! Very nice detail.

The video can be uploaded directly to YouTube right out of the camera (I have done this and it works fine), and it can be edited on your computer after being repacked with a utility such as the free MP4Cam2AVI. This does not affect video quality, it simply repacks the video into an editable format.

Other nifty modes like Business Card mode (makes business cards taken at an angle look straight-on) and Old time movie mode, sepia tone, monochrome mode, red/blue/green/yellow/pink/purple filters, etc. Not exactly selling points for me, but hey, there they are.

You can change the Exposure shift, Flash intensity, metering mode, as well as a bunch of other tweaks.

Nikon CoolPix 3100

The CoolPix 3100 is pretty good value for a
Nikon digital camera, and the 3.2-megapixel
resolution is fine for general-purpose and
snapshot photography. The styling is reminiscent of the
older and more expensive 885 model, and is still used
for the 4-megapixel 4100. But while it might look the
same, the 3100 is a little smaller, a little lighter and – it
has to be said – a little more plasticky.

Flat battery

That shape looks as if it’s going to be more comfortable
to use than it actually is. The moulded handgrip where
the fingers of your right hand curl round the front of the
camera proves too small to be useful. Indeed, a flatfronted
design would be easier to hold.

This is where the 3100’s batteries are stored, though,
and this represents a slight departure for Nikon
because it’s gone for a pair of AA cells rather than
the lithium-ion cell used in cameras a little higher
up the range. Although spares are inexpensive and
disposable (AAs are available everywhere and
okay for an emergency), even NiMH types don’t
have the power characteristics of lithium-ion cells. It’s
not their capacity, but their tendency to drain
slowly – even when not in use – and give up suddenly
as they run down. On the other hand, you do get
two rechargeable NiHM cells with the camera, plus
a charger, which is a lot further than most other
makers will go. It’s also interesting to see Nikon sticking
with CompactFlash memory card storage, while most
other low-end cameras seem to be opting for Secure
Digital (SD) cards.

The 3100 is mainly designed as a point-and-shoot
camera, and while the mode dial does offer a Manual
setting, all it does is let you adjust white balance, image
sharpening, drive mode (single/multi-shot/continuous
shooting modes) and apply the Best Shot Selector. This
is a feature that is unique to Nikon and found on just
about all of its digital cameras. The camera keeps taking
shots for as long as you hold down the shutter release,
then compares them all and saves only the sharpest.
It’s designed for low light levels where there’s an
increased risk of camera shake.

There are 14 scene modes, offering customised
settings for Party/Indoor, Beach/Snow, Sunset,
Dusk/Dawn, Night landscape, Close up, Museum,
Fireworks show, Copy and Back light shots.

What’s interesting here, though, is that Nikon has added
four ‘Framing Assist’ modes. These go a little further
than the scene modes, in that as well as adjusting the
camera settings to suit the specific subject type, they
also display framing guidelines on the LCD. There are
Framing Assist modes for Portrait, Landscape, Sports and
Night Portrait shots. Adults might find Framing Assist a
bit silly, but it may prove handy for kids, who can often
produce the most bizarre and wildly-framed photos.
Having said that, Casio produces a Best Shot system
for its snapshot cameras that doesn’t just offer more
options than Nikon’s, but presents them far more
attractively, too.

The CoolPix 3100’s menus seem a bit of a step
back. We’re used to Nikon menus being compact
and neat, with very legible text and a logical structure,
but here the designers have opted for a semi-graphical
interface with bigger text. It doesn’t work. The text
is bigger but the font is less readable and, in some
instances, with more wordy menu options – it has to
be compressed horizontally to fit, making it nearillegible.
The effect is crude and confusing, and this
despite the fact that the menu options aren’t even
that numerous.

Features and handling

At least the 3100 is pretty handy to use, though. The
start-up time’s okay at around three seconds,
and the AF system focuses most shots in no more
than half a second – though telephoto shots will
take a fraction longer. There is a movie mode,
but the Nikon doesn’t record sound to go with
them, but it will shoot at a surprisingly high
resolution of 640 x 480. You can also cut the start
and end of your movie clips. This allows some
judicious in-camera editing, which has the benefit
of chopping out bits you won’t want to see later
and freeing up space on the memory card.
The 3100 will carry out a number of in-camera
functions on saved still images. You can resize
and crop your images, produce black and white
or sepia copies, and even generate a ‘halo’ soft-focus
effect for portraits. I wonder how long it will be
before we get a portable version of Photoshop for
digital cameras…

The LCD display is pretty good, with crisp detail
and fast, blur-free refresh rate. It works just as
well indoors as outside, too. However, the navipad
on the back is small and, like others with a
combined four-way action, it can lead to errors and
vagueness. It does at least offer shortcuts while
shooting to the flash mode, macro mode and selftime,
and the macro mode’s 4cm minimum focusing
distance is especially impressive.

Photographic results

While the 3100 is a bit on the plasticky side, it
works pretty well. Image playback performance
is particularly good in a camera of this price. The
images it produces are good quality, too. In fact,
it produces the some of the best results you’re
likely to see from a 3.2-megapixel camera, with
sharp detail, good colour, plenty of saturation and
a level of contrast that, altogether, gives images
real ‘punch’.

The trouble is, the CoolPix 3100 is a bit too much
of a mixed bag to recommend wholeheartedly. The
results are very good, and it has some interesting
features, but its lightweight plastic build isn’t very
appealing and its menus look awful. Nikon has
contrived to build a rather tacky camera around a
perfectly good imaging system.

So although £280 is pretty good for a 3.2-
megapixel Nikon camera, there’s a lot of very good
competition out there. This includes the HP
PhotoSmart 735, reviewed this issue. The image
quality is slightly inferior, but the HP is a heck of a
lot cheaper and, frankly, feels just as good in your
hands as this Nikon.

Konika minolta A2

How long can this camera go on? The
original 5-megapixel DiMAGE 7 came
out back in May 2001, and since then
it’s seen internal changes, a swap from AAs to a
lithium-ion cell, a new black fi nish and anti-shake
function for last year’s A1 model, and now it gets
one of the latest 8-megapixel CCDs. And yet
anyone who still owns an original DiMAGE 7 will
fi nd the new DiMAGE A2 essentially identical, right
down to the lens and the control layout.

There are two possibilities here. Either Minolta
got this camera so ‘right’ at the very beginning
that there’s really no need to redesign it, or it’s
plugging on with a model that belongs in an old
folks’ home for cameras. Which is it?

Putting aside this camera’s long heritage for
the moment, think about what we all want in a
camera. Doesn’t it boil down to just four things:
quality, features, handling and value?

Image quality

We’re willing to bet that anyone who buys an 8-
megapixel camera has image quality high on their
list of priorities, so does the DiMAGE A2 match up
to the other 8-megapixel cameras out there? We
had misgivings about the level of magenta
fringing exhibited by the Sony DSC-F828 when we
reviewed it, and the A2 produces better-quality
shots than the Sony for this reason alone.

Nikon’s CoolPix 8700 fares better. Colour
rendition is natural and nicely saturated, while fi ne
detail comes out very well, with an overall image
quality that’s just a little better than the A2’s.
The Canon PowerShot Pro1 produces strikingly
vivid, sharp, contrasty results. If you go by initial
impact alone, it’s the best of the current crop of 8-
megapixel models.

There’s a bit more to it than that, though. The
image quality you see depends on how the
camera has processed the image data from the
CCD. Different makers dial in different amounts of
sharpening, contrast and saturation to the default
camera settings, so although the image quality
may seem to vary from one model to another, this
may have as much to do with the camera settings
as the abilities of the lens and CCD.

Indeed, if you add a little saturation and
sharpness to the A2’s images in Photoshop or any
other image-editor, you can produce results that
are hard to distinguish from the Nikon’s or the
Canon’s. You may fi nd the same thing happens if
you adjust the camera’s own sharpness/saturation
settings. It’s one of those grey areas of imagequality/
processing that makes it hard to quote
outright winners and losers among cameras with
similar levels of performance. However, it’s
probably fair to say that the A2’s default settings
don’t produce quite the same overall level of
image quality as the Nikon’s or the Canon’s.

Don’t write off the A2 just yet though, because
there are other factors that make differences like
these comparatively unimportant. It has a number
of notable features on its side, and it scores highly
for both handling and value. There’s also one
particularly notable feature about this camera’s
results, and that’s the lack of any signifi cant
discernible barrel distortion at the wide-angle end
of the zooming range. This is such a standard
optical characteristic that it’s become grudgingly
accepted among photographers as a necessary
evil if you want the convenience of a zoom, but
with the A2, horizons stay straight and walls
don’t bend outwards like balloons. You can take
wide-angle and architectural shots without
having to fi ddle about with lens distortion and
pinch/punch fi lters on your computer later. It’s
a remarkable and valuable characteristic of this


Stop shaking!

The 8-megapixel CCD is the big news with the
A2, but it also has the anti-shake mechanism of
its 5-megapixel predecessor, the A1. This works
in an unusual way. Conventional image
stabilisers work by moving one of the lens
elements (or a small group of lens elements) in
response to camera movement during the
exposure. The A1/A2, by contrast, shift the CCD.
Konica Minolta claims this allows ‘safe’ shutter
speeds three stops slower than conventional
cameras. For example, it’s reckoned that a
shutter speed of 1/30sec is about as slow as
you can go at a normal/wide-angle zoom
setting without risking camera shake.

Potentially, the A2 will enable you to get sharp
shots at 1/4sec.

Of course, it can only counter camera shake:
it can’t do anything about subject movement.
Nevertheless, action photographers may fi nd it
useful because camera shake becomes even
more of an issue at long telephoto settings.

The rule of thumb is to use a shutter speed no
lower than the reciprocal of the focal length
being used. To put it into plain English, if you’re
shooting with a lens set to 200mm (equivalent)
focal length, you should only shoot at 1/200sec
or faster. With the A2, you might still be able to
get sharp shots at 1/25sec. In theory, anyway.
In practice, action photography isn’t going to
be the A2’s strongest point. True, it offers 3D
predictive autofocus, but like other non-SLRs, its
AF just isn’t quite quick or responsive enough to
keep up with fast-moving subjects. The
maximum continuous shooting speed of 1.8fps
isn’t really quick enough, and while there is a
7fps UHS (Ultra High Speed) mode, it only
offers 640 x 480 resolution.

The best way to shoot movement is to
switch to manual focus. This enables you to
pre-focus the shot and wait for the action to
happen. It eliminates shutter lag and you can
choose the perfect instant to fi re the shutter,
instead of using continuous shooting mode and
hoping the ‘perfect’ shot doesn’t fall into the
gap between the frames.

In other respects, the A2’s specifi cations and
features are directly comparable to those of the
Sony, Nikon and Canon. In cameras at this level,
you can take the PASM exposure modes for
granted, as well as the choice of three different
metering patterns, manual white balance
calibration, optional RAW fi le mode and autoexposure
bracketing.

Even the lens’s focal range of 28-200mm
(equivalent) is no longer unique. It’s now
matched by that of the Sony and Canon, and


it’s beaten by both for maximum aperture.
However, the A2 does boast an ultra highresolution
EVF. At 922,000 pixels, it’s four times
as sharp as any of its rivals’, and that makes a
big difference to the camera’s handling and
usability, which is where the A2 starts to score.

Hidden qualities

The fact is, it takes a while for this camera to
grow on you. At fi rst sight it’s angular and
ungainly. The startup time is unremarkable and
the AF system, for all its sophistication
(multiple AF point selection, 3D predictive AF)
still takes around half a second to lock focus.
The LCD display is okay but it looks a little
washed-out compared to others, and the A2
really has little to commend it against its rivals.
However, after a few hours or days of use,
the A2’s qualities really start to shine through.
Take the lens. The zooming range is matched
by the Canon, which also boasts a manual
focusing/zooming ring just like the A2’s. The
difference is that the Minolta’s zooming ring
controls the lens optics directly. It’s far faster,
more direct and more positive.

The manual focusing ring works really well
too, and this is where the high resolution of the
EVF comes to the fore. It’s not especially
saturated or contrasty, but it’s far sharper than
any other camera’s EVF. Sharp enough for quite
accurate manual focusing, in fact, and without
needing the awkward and grainy magnifi ed
centre sections used by rival cameras. The lens
also has a conventional (49mm) fi lter ring on
the front, enabling you to attach conventional
photographic fi lters.

The A2 handles far more like a traditional
camera than its rivals, with a responsiveness to
the controls that others lack. The outside is
dominated by an array of knobs, dials and
switches, but they’re there for a reason. You
can apply EV compensation, lock the exposure
and change ISO, drive mode, white balance
and metering pattern without having to use
the menu system for any of them. There’s a
switch on the lens for macro mode, a button
for custom white balance, a knob for fi lter
effects, contrast and saturation, and a slider for
choosing single AF, continuous AF or manual
focusing modes. The A2 handles like a proper
camera, not like a box of electronics. There’s
more too. The A2’s built-in fl ash is pretty good,
but you can also attach an external fl ash to the
accessory shoe and use the sync socket on the
side to connect it up to a full studio fl ash
system. While the LCD on the back doesn’t
have the fl ip-out mechanism used on the
CoolPix 8700 and the Canon Pro1, its simpler
top hinge makes it easier to set up for waistlevel
viewing, which is all most of us want a
swivelling LCD for anyway.

So should you buy it?

The DiMAGE A2’s image quality isn’t good
enough to put it ahead of its rivals. Neither are
its specs. It’s the design and handling that
make the difference with this camera, and
these are things you can’t quantify.

Getting back to our original question, maybe
Minolta did get it right fi rst time. Why change a
camera that’s as ergonomically sound now as
it ever was? And it’s cheap too, comfortably
undercutting the Canon Pro1 and the Nikon
8700. It’s a tough decision, but for all-round
qualities the A2 has its nose in front.

Nikon D70

This is the camera Nikon fans have been
waiting for. It’s the fi rst time existing
owners of Nikon SLR lenses and
equipment have been able to make the swap
from fi lm to digital for less than £1,000.
Nikon owners aren’t the only photographers
likely to want the D70. Anyone shopping for their
fi rst digital SLR now has a choice of two sub-
£1,000 cameras, and the relative strengths of the
D70 and Canon’s EOS 300D (the only other digital
SLR in this price range) will be crucial.

There’s a third potential buyer for this camera.
Now that digital SLRs are at last becoming an
affordable option for keen amateurs and
enthusiasts, they’re surely set to make big dents
in the sales of high-end non-SLR models.

These include the latest 8-megapixel arrivals
from Sony, Minolta, Canon and Nikon itself. We
reviewed the Sony DSC-F828 in issue 18, and the
Minolta DiMAGE A2, Canon PowerShot Pro 1 and
Nikon CoolPix 8700 are reviewed this issue. The
differences between these high-end compacts
and digital SLRs are signifi cant. Non-SLRs have
fi xed lenses, so if you fi nd the existing focal
lengths don’t cover the range you need, the only
option is to invest in add-on lens converters,
which are bulky, inelegant and – arguably – don’t
offer the image quality of conventional lenses.
Second, digital SLRs use an optical viewing
system, where the image seen through the lens is
refl ected via a mirror up on to a focusing screen
viewed (via a pentaprism) in the camera
viewfi nder. Optical SLR viewing systems are
brighter, clearer, sharper than even the best EVF
(electronic viewfi nder) in a non-SLR, especially for
critical focusing.

Deadly rivals

At the moment, the D70 has an anticipated selling
price of £999. That’s around £150 more than the
typical current prices for the EOS 300D. It remains
to be seen how prices will fi nally settle but, for
the time being, the EOS 300D has a price
advantage. On the other hand, the D70 offers
some very impressive features, enough maybe to
wipe out any price discrepancy.

The specifi cations of the two cameras are
broadly similar. Both offer 6MP resolution,
compatibility with a range of existing lenses and
accessories, together with features designed for
both beginners and serious users. Both have a full
set of PASM exposure modes together with a
‘green’ fully-automatic option and a selection of
scene modes. Both offer a choice of three
metering patterns. Both have comparatively highspeed
sequence shooting modes (the Canon can
run at 2.5fps; the Nikon at 3fps). Both use
CompactFlash/MicroDrive memory storage; and
run on high-capacity lithium-ion rechargeable cells.

D70 versus 300D

There’s quite a difference in the size and weight,
though. The EOS 300D is no lightweight, but it’s
not very different in size to a conventional fi lm
SLR. The Nikon, though, is altogether bulkier. It’s
got the extra height in the body, which is
characteristic of most digital SLRs, and even
without a lens fi tted it weighs nearly 600g.
But while it’s quite heavy and bulky, it also
feels exceptionally well-made for a £1,000
camera, particularly up against the EOS 300D. The
Canon is solid enough, but feels plasticky. The
D70, by contrast, has a very smart textured
black fi nish that’s easy to grip and has a very
robust feel. The 18-70mm lens supplied as
part of the D70 kit is really nicely fi nished,
too. It’s just a bit annoying that the camera
won’t sit fl at when you put it down – the
weight of the lens makes it tip forward.
The D70 is even more impressive when
you start it up. In effect, the response is
instant. When you fl ick the power switch to
‘on’, the camera’s ready to shoot before you
can get your fi nger to the shutter release. This
contrasts with the far more leisurely start-up
process on the Canon.

The Nikon’s AF system is the next surprise.
It’s so quiet you’re not sure it’s done anything.
Indeed, you might want to go into the set-up
options to switch on the focus confi rmation
beep, just for the extra reassurance.

The Nikon lens has a couple of other
advantages, too. It offers a 4x zooming range
(28-106mm equivalent) compared to the
Canon’s 3x zoom, and the front lens element
doesn’t rotate during focusing. This means
you can use square graduated fi lters or
polarising fi lters without having to continually
keep realigning them.

Manual focusing is easy, too. You can fl ick
a switch on the lens to go from automatic to
manual operation, or leave it set to auto and
manually fi ne-tune the focus before you take
the shot by turning the focusing ring on the
lens. You might want to do this to maximise
depth of fi eld, for example, by focusing
between two objects the D70 will
automatically focus only on the nearest.
The AF system doesn’t seem much quicker
than the Canon’s, but it’s a lot smoother. The
D70’s claimed 3fps sequence shooting mode
should make it good for action photography
too, though it has to be said that it proved
impossible to achieve this speed in our tests.
This may be because we were using an early
production model, or because we hadn’t
chosen the exact settings stipulated in the
manual for maximum shooting speed.
Nevertheless, shooting in JPEG normal mode
with the AF switched off didn’t seem to
improve the shooting speed.

Better control

The AF speed/sequence shooting comparison
between the D70 and 300D may be
indecisive, but there are areas where the D70
is clearly superior to the EOS 300D because of
the way it offers direct control over
photographic options which the Canon ties to
specifi c exposure modes.

The metering modes are a good example.
The D70 lets you choose the standard 3D
Matrix option, centre-weighted metering or
spot metering via a button on the top-plate.
On the Canon, you’re stuck with the standard
multi-pattern metering in all but Manual
mode (which is centre-weighted), and the
‘partial’ metering mode is activated only
when you use the exposure lock function.

the central 9% of the image, whereas the
Nikon offers a genuine 1% spot. But while the
Canon’s partial metering might seem less
discriminating, many users may fi nd it more
useful – 1% spot-metering systems need a
great deal of care.
Flash photography, meanwhile, is far more
sophisticated on the Nikon than it is the Canon.
First, the D70 has a fl ash synchronisation
speed of 1/500sec, which is exceptionally
high. This enables you to use slow fl ash and fi ll
fl ash effects in brighter lighting, a feature the
D70 exploits with a full range of slow-fl ash
options, including fi rst-curtain and secondcurtain
synchronisation.
With fi rst-curtain sync, the fl ash fi res at the
start of the exposure and then the shutter
remains open to record the ambient light, too.
With second-curtain sync, the fl ash comes at
the end of the exposure. This is a feature not
found on many cameras, but it’s an important
one because if you’re shooting moving subject,
second-curtain sync places the movement blur
behind the direction of the object’s travel
instead of in front of it.

The EOS 300D does offer fi ll fl ash and slow
fl ash options, but they’re more limited and tied
into its program AE, shutter-priority and
aperture-priority modes to the extent that you
can read and re-read the manual a dozen times
and still not be much clearer about how to
make the fl ash do what you want.

Photographic results

For outright image quality, it’s harder to pick a
winner. The D70’s shots are smooth-toned,
with good levels of detail and little, if any,
chromatic aberration or colour fringing. But
while shots taken in bright lighting show plenty
of contrast and saturation, in overcast
conditions or indoors you can easily end up
with pretty fl at-looking results.

The problem – if you can call it a problem –
is that the D70 seems to take a conservative
approach to exposure, preserving highlight
detail at all cost and, where the range of tones
in a scene falls well within its sensor’s dynamic
range, it seems to place the midtones just a
but too far towards the dark end of the scale.
It’s nothing you can’t adapt to or adjust later,
but it does mean the D70’s image quality isn’t
always immediately obvious, and the 300D can
produce punchier-looking shots with standard
exposure settings and techniques.

So which camera is best? The D70. It’s
academic, however, if you already own Canon
equipment, since you’re tied to the 300D, the
10D or other Canon digital SLRs. Besides, the
differences are mainly in controls and
sophistication – it’s only more advanced
photographers who are going to fi nd the D70
signifi cantly more useful.

Indeed, the complexity of the AF and fl ash
modes could easily leave you fl oundering
without long and detailed study of the manual.
The EOS 300D also offers slightly better battery
life in real-world conditions (650 shots versus
400) and a more space-effi cient RAW fi le mode
(7MB versus 11MB).

Nikon has succeeded in producing an
extremely well made, well specifi ed and well
designed digital SLR at a remarkable price. It’s
also available on body-only form for £200 less,
though the 18-70mm zoom is so good, so
handy and so inexpensive for its type that
you’d be well advised to get the D70 body/lens
kit in preference.

Review of camera Canon PowerShot A620

Is there such a thing as a perfect digital camera? Because many people prefer different features and different things when it comes to digital cameras, there is most definitely not one camera that is perfect for everyone. There are, however, some cameras that are practically perfect for most people, including the Canon PowerShot A620.

The Canon PowerShot A620 delivers awesome pictures, you will not be able to believe that you have done without it . The Canon PowerShot A620 is also very versatile – it is not just your basic point-and-shoot camera. It has many settings so that you can be creative and customize your shots.

In addition to all of its point-and-shoot features, the Canon PowerShot A620 can take 58mm filters by using the lens adapter which twists on and has a screw in at the wide end where you would normally put on the wide angle lens or telephoto lens. The adapter can act like a lens hood. Also, the this Canon has practically no shutter delay, and most Canon PowerShot A620 reviews agree that the flappable LCD screen is an excellent feature.

As if these great features of the Canon PowerShot A620 were not enough, the camera also has features that really keep the user in mind. It even has a special setting called “kids and dogs.” You know how kids and dogs will never sit still long enough for you to get a great photo. Well, with the “kids and dogs” setting on your Canon PowerShot A620 digital camera, your photos of your precious babies will come out clear.

For optimal photo storage, it is suggested that you purchase a 256 MB card so that you can hold more photos than the 32 MB Secure Digital card that comes with the Canon A620 digital camera.

The Canon PowerShot A620 has an 7.1 megapixels of resolution and a 4x optical zoom / 4x digital zoom. It comes with auto and manual focus and also auto and manual exposure. It takes 4 “AA” batteries and has a movie mode with sound.

Anne Clarke writes numerous articles for websites on gardening, parenting, fashion, photography, and home decor. Her background includes teaching and gardening. For more of her articles on photography and cameras, please visit Digital Cameras.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Anne_Clarke

Canon powershot G3 review.

we needn’t have kept our breath quite so
bated. The original PowerShot G2 was packed
with smart photographic features, but wasn’t
the best-handling camera in the world, proving a bit
heavy and, thanks to its shape and smooth metallic
finish, hard to grip. Canon’s had a year and a half to
come up with something better, and the canon G3 isn’t quite
what we were expecting.
With a boxier, retro style it actually feels a little
more cheaply made than the G2, and has more
buttons, knobs and dials than ever. True, it’s a little
more wieldy, and the finish and shape are a little less
slippery than the powerrshot G2’s, but it’s no masterpiece and it’s
going to have to have a lot of new stuff under the
bonnet to overcome these first impressions.

new features of canon powershot G3

The list of new features does sound impressive, mind.
At its heart the G3 has a new DIGIC processor, while the
optical zoom range has been upped from 3x to 4x (the
extra is added at the telephoto end of the range). The
aperture and shutter are now separate mechanisms,
apparently, offering a wider range of combinations –
notably high shutter speeds/wide apertures – and an
optional ND (neutral density) filter cuts down the light
entering the camera. This means you can shoot very
bright scenes or use wide apertures in bright daylight.
If you want to experiment with time-lapse
photography, there’s now an ‘intervalometer’ which lets
you set delays anywhere between 1 and 60 minutes,
while the new orientation sensor rotates portrait shots.
This improves auto-exposure accuracy (the light patterns
are analysed differently for vertical-format shots) and
ensures the date-stamping is always the right way up.
There are other additions and enhancements,
including a new 345-point ‘Flexizone’ AF/AE system
but, at heart, the G3 is still very similar to the older G2.
It offers fully-programmed auto-exposure, shutterpriority
and aperture-priority automation and full manual
mode. This is in addition to a selection of ‘scene’ modes,
extended slightly in this latest model.
The G3 has to be good, mind, because there’s little
wrong with the performance of the G2. The older
camera has a great LCD, good lens, minimal shutter lag
and – as far as everyday shooting is concerned – a very
similar set of features.


The canon powershot G3 starts up faster than the G2, but seems little
faster in practical terms at composing, adjusting,
saving and reviewing shots. If you include controls and
ergonomics in your assessment of ‘speed’, then it gets
harder still to see where the G3’s advantages – if any –
lie. You know how it is when you decide to tidy your
lounge/office/study? You take everything out, put it
back, and find it takes up more space than it did before.
That’s how the G3 feels.
Some of the changes to the control layout are quite
puzzling. The G2 had a nice, meaty Record/Off/Playback
switch mounted around the main mode dial. It worked
well and used little space. With the G3, the controls
have been separated into two smaller, fiddlier dials.
On the back, meanwhile, a new ‘Func’ button pops
up a menu offering quick access to the ISO setting,
picture effects, bracketing, file format/quality and flash
power. It seems smarter and slicker until you work out
that the system on the old G2 didn’t actually need any
more button presses, just different ones.
The powershot G3 does make the exposure compensation and