ultracompacts

There's very little that's different between the Sony Cyber-shot DSC-T90 and the DSC-T900. The T90 has a 0.5-inch smaller screen that has a significantly lower resolution (910K to 230K dots). It also doesn't have a stereo mic or have HD output via HDMI, only component. But, that's pretty much where the feature shed ends.

Basic specs for the ultracompact include a 12-megapixel sensor, 4X optical zoom with stabilization, 3.0-inch LCD, and 720p HD movie recording. You also get Sony's intelligent scene recognition, intelligent auto mode, Smile Shutter, and face detection with child and … Read more

With the exceptions of decent lens specs and a specialty portrait mode, the Nikon Coolpix S570 is a fairly run-of-the-mill sub-$200 ultracompact. The f2.7-6.6 28-140mm-equivalent lens with a 5x zoom is nice to find at this price point and the Smart Portrait System works well. Which is good, considering its average-bordering-on-slow performance makes it better suited for still subjects than moving ones.

Photo quality is very good for its class, too, right up through ISO 400. The camera can shoot at full resolution up to ISO 3,200, but because of color shifting and complete loss of … Read more

There are a lot of ultracompact cameras available and for many people the decision comes down to price. But picking a camera simply because you settled on spending $150 doesn't mean you shouldn't look at those slightly above and below that limit.

Saving a few dollars more might, after all, get you a model you actually want, not just one you're settling for. And maybe the cheaper one is actually plenty of camera for your needs, leaving you some surplus coin to put toward an extra battery, memory card, or case.

Take a flip through the slideshow … Read more

Casio's going full force after consumers shopping for digital cameras in the $100-$200 price range. First, the company announces the Exilim EX-Z450 and EX-Z90, $199.99 and $149.99, respectively. And then Monday, it announces the $179.99 EX-Z280 and $119.99 EX-Z33.

The Z280 (pictured right) is a 12-megapixel ultracompact with an f2.6-5.9 26-104mm-equivalent wide-angle lens with a 4x zoom, sensor-shift image stabilization, 2.7-inch LCD, and Casio's newest image processing engine featuring a dual-processor design for lower power consumption and better photo results. It also gives you 720p HD-quality video capture and the … Read more

Yes, there was great disappointment that no new digital SLRs were announced by Canon on Wednesday--only PowerShots. However, I was not one of the disappointed as I love point-and-shoot cameras of all shapes, sizes, and capabilities. And Canon delivered exactly that.

Though the SX20 IS and SX120 IS are only minor upgrades to their predecessors, the G11, SD980 IS, and SD940 IS all have major tweaks separating them from their previous iterations.

What was probably supposed to be the big "oh wow" camera, however, was the reintroduction of the PowerShot S series in the form of the S90. Based off of the high-end functionality of the PowerShot G-series cameras, it has several cool features including a 28mm-equivalent wide-angle f/2.0 lens with a 3.8x optical zoom, a customizable control ring around the lens for easy access and operation of manual or other shooting settings, and RAW+JPEG capture--all in a body that can fit right in your pocket.

Read more about the cameras and check out some hands-on photos in the slide shows below.

Lastly, in case you're more into camcorders than cameras, Canon announced one new HD model, the HF S11.

… Read more

If you've got a point-and-shoot with face detection, you may have noticed that the feature's handy if you're shooting faces, but if left on when shooting other subjects the autofocus system is less than accurate. Casio's apparently fixed this with a new Intelligent AF found in its 12-megapixel Exilim EX-Z450 and EX-Z90 ultracompact cameras announced Tuesday.

The AF will detect faces, as well as "non-human photo subjects," so that an animal, flower, or alien invader will be in focus and properly exposed.

Also tweaked in these models is Casio's Dynamic Photo feature, which … Read more

The Sony Cyber-shot DSC-TX1 and DSC-WX1 are both 10-megapixel cameras, which in and of itself is not that impressive. What is impressive is the back-illuminated CMOS sensor, the Exmor R, that they use. The sensor is based on those found in Sony digital SLRs and promises to deliver improved low-light performance without help from a flash or tripod. According to Sony, the new design has "approximately twice the sensitivity compared to conventional sensors."

Both cameras incorporate the hand-held twilight and antimotion blur multishot modes introduced in the Cyber-shot DSC-HX1. They also get that model's sweeping panorama shooting … Read more

Pentax's dSLRs may be the attention-getting cameras for the company, but its point-and-shoot Optio line deserves some recognition, too. Even if it's only for their lenses and prices.

The P80 is a refresh of the Optio P70, a decent ultracompact camera that had the unique feature of letting you shoot vertically using the control pad on back for a camera phone-like experience. It looks like most of the specs are the same, too: 12 megapixels, 2.7-inch LCD, and a 4x, f2.6-5.8, 27.5-110mm-equivalent lens. There's still no optical or sensor-shift image stabilization, but at … Read more

The Kodak EasyShare M340 is a 10-megapixel ultracompact camera with a 3x zoom lens and a 2.7-inch LCD. It's powered by a rechargeable lithium ion battery pack, as are all of the models in Kodak's M series. It has an f3.1-5.7 35-105mm-equivalent lens, and its ISO sensitivities go up to 1,600.

CNET has not reviewed the C180, but we have reviewed a similarly featured camera in Kodak's M series, the M1033. We expect photo quality to be nearly the same between the models, however, there are some key differences.

The M1033 has a … Read more