Canon's PowerShot S90 is one of 2009's best cameras.
(Credit: Sarah Tew/CNET)If camera phones have got people thinking twice about the need for a decent snapshot camera, no one's told the camera manufacturers. Canon, Nikon, Sony, Panasonic, Fujifilm, Kodak, Pentax, Casio, Samsung, and Olympus all continue to produce point-and-shoot cameras in a wide array of shapes, sizes, and abilities. The variety is amazing, bordering on downright silly.
This is why the question "What's the best point-and-shoot?" is difficult to answer; while one camera might excel in low-light conditions or photo quality, it'll more than likely come up short in design, usability, performance, price, or in some other area. Sure, I can stack up some cameras with some similar features and prices, but with so many variables it's very difficult to be specific. But, I'll give it a shot.
Below is a list of the best cameras--or at least those worth considering--that fall under a particular type, size, or feature. These are ones that left a strong enough impression on me to make me recommend them again and again to readers, friends, and family. None of them is perfect, but they have pluses that outweigh the minuses.
While I'm at it, there are a few things you should keep in mind when shopping for any point-and-shoot camera. For capturing kids, pets, or any other fast-moving subjects, you really need a digital SLR. A couple here are pretty quick--the Panasonic ZR1 and Sony WX1 come to mind--but if you're regularly shooting things in motion you'll want to step up to at least an entry-level dSLR. I suggest the same for those wanting the best in low-light shooting without a flash (though again, there are a couple here worth buying).
Optical viewfinders are all but gone from new models. Canon still has a few, but the rest of them are nothing but LCD. Lastly, most of these models use proprietary something or other: a memory card, cable, or, most typically, a battery. It's irritating, occasionally frustrating, and adds to the overall cost of a product--definitely worth keeping in mind when you're shopping.
... Read more
Casio G'zOne Rock
(Credit: Verizon Wireless)After seeing the Casio G'zOne Brigade at the Verizon Wireless event a few weeks ago, we had thought that would be the only G'zOne product we would see for a while. It turns out Casio and Verizon have been working on yet another rugged phone, and it's the Casio G'zOne Rock, which looks a lot like a successor to the G'zOne Boulder.
Along with an exterior that is MIL-STD-180F certified to withstand the elements (water, shock, dust, humidity, salt fog, solar radiation, altitude, high and low temperatures), the G'zOne Rock is even more of an outdoorsman tool than its predecessors. It now has G'zGear software that operates in six modes: Earth Compass, Walking Counter, Thermometer, Astro Calendar (provides the moon's age and days until a full/new moon), Sunrise Sunset (shows the current time and position of the sun, and times for sunrises and sunsets), and Tides (shows the tidal graph and time of tides, plus the best time for fishing).
Other features include Push to Talk, EV-DO Rev. A, a 2-megapixel camera/camcorder with flash, microSD card storage up to 16GB, support for V Cast videos and V Cast Music with Rhapsody, and stereo Bluetooth. The sub-display on the phone has touch controls for the music player.
The Casio G'zOne Rock will be available in matte black for $199.99 after a $50 mail-in rebate and a two-year service agreement. You can buy it online starting November 20, or you can buy it in Verizon stores starting November 30.
When Panasonic, Fujifilm, and Canon announced rugged cameras this year, it was odd that Casio didn't pop one out, too, given its predilection for shock-resistant products. Well, I guess November isn't too late to join the market, as Wednesday the company added the Exilim EX-G1 to its digital camera lineup.
(Credit:
Casio)
The $299 0.8-inch thick, ultracompact 12-megapixel camera can withstand a 7-foot drop because of a two-layer construction with a stainless steel outer casing, a resin ring protecting the lens, and a polycarbonate cover on the body side near the shutter. The wrist-strap holder is made of die-cast zinc and that little dial thingy sticking out the side seals and secures the external memory slot door.
Also included are two types of detachable shock-absorbing protectors. There's more, but let's just say the thing is built to take drops and significant abuse as well as dives down to 10 feet for up to an hour and is freezeproof to 14 degrees Fahrenheit--all without impacting photo quality or shooting performance.
That said, the camera's regular features are less impressive, especially the internal 3x f3.9-5.4 38-114mm lens. There are plenty of Best Shot scene modes including Casio's chroma key Dynamic Photo mode. However, none of the high-speed shooting modes are available since it uses a CCD sensor and not the high-speed CMOS; the features are a logical fit for a rugged camera, though. For active shooters it does have Casio's Multi Motion option allowing you to take a series of shots and put them in one photo and interval shooting. Movies record at a wide-screen standard-def resolution of 848x480 at 30fps or 640x480 if you prefer a 4:3 aspect ratio, so no HD movies, either.
Of course, most of the camera's cost goes to its build quality, which allows you to take photos and video where you haven't been able to before or were simply afraid to use a regular camera. The G1 is pretty cool looking and incredibly small, too, and I'm confident it'll live up to--and probably beyond--Casio's durability claims. And, well, it's nice to have one more rugged camera option particularly from a company that knows how to do shockproof/waterproof devices.
On Sale Now: $299.95
View the latest prices for Casio Exilim EX-G1 (red)
On Sale Now: $299.95
View the latest prices for Casio Exilim EX-G1 (black)
(Credit:
MobileBurn)
Aside from the bevy of new Verizon phones announced Thursday morning, the latest Casio G'zOne was also shown off at the 2009 Verizon holiday event in New York.
The Casio G'zOne Brigade is the latest in Casio's line of rugged handsets, and this one comes with a full QWERTY keyboard, so it also makes the grade as the company's first rugged messaging phone. Like all the other Casio G'zOne handsets, the Brigade is MIL-STD-810F-certified to withstand the elements--water, dust, shock, vibration, and more.
It also features a 3.2-megapixel camera with autofocus, a document viewer for Microsoft Office files, a text-to-speech feature, a speakerphone, EV-DO, and Verizon's suite of services that includes VZ Navigator, V Cast Video, and V Cast Music with Rhapsody. No word on pricing or availability just yet, but we'll keep you posted.
Does the body color of a camera say anything about how it performs?
(Credit: Pentax)On September 16, Pentax launched the K-x, an entry-level-ish digital SLR that it's offering in navy, red, white, and black versions. While different body colors are not unusual for point-and-shoot digital cameras, offering more than a black dSLR is still rare. (In fact, just Pentax and Sony offer color options, currently.)
Unfortunately, after testing many snapshot cameras available in a single color as well as those offered in several colors, I've developed a working theory that the more colors a camera comes in, the more likely there's something wrong with the model.
It's not the case with all cameras, but more often than not that's how things shake out. It's especially true if its available in more than four options and if the company has gone with two-word color names like flaming red or warm silver.
Want examples? Check out the Nikon Coolpix S220, the Canon PowerShot SD1200 IS, and the Casio Exilim EX-S5. The Nikon and Canon come in six different colors, the Casio in five. And all three of them have issues with performance, photo quality, or both. (Though, if forced to go with one, the SD1200 has the fewest issues.)
All of these are lower-end models, too, which brings me to my next point: expensive point-and-shoot cameras come in three colors or fewer, and usually only in one: black. Serious photographers only buy black cameras, right?
Which brings me back to the Pentax K-x. The camera colors are definitely refreshing and will likely get people questioning you on the street. They also make the K-x more approachable for those switching from a pocket camera, which fits its entry-level status. But would you take someone seriously if they were shooting with a bright red digital SLR? I'm leaning toward "no." Much like laptops, colorful cameras are great until you want to be taken seriously.
(Credit:
Casio)
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 latest iteration of Casio's green-screen Dynamic Photo function. A very compelling package for what will probably street at around $170.
With a more entry-level feature set, the Z33 is a 10-megapixel model with a 3x optical zoom and a 2.5-inch LCD. It does the basics I expect to find on a camera at this price--VGA movie mode, face detection, lots of scene modes--but its also very thin at 0.7 of an inch and weighs roughly 4 ounces with SD card and battery. Plus, it has built-in compatibility with Eye-Fi's SD cards for wireless transfer of photos.
The EX-Z280, available this September 2009, will be offered in a silver body color (though Casio has photos of gold and pink versions so maybe those colors, too). The EX-Z33 will also be available in September in black, light pink, vivid pink, silver, and blue.
(Credit:
Casio)
(Credit:
Casio)
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 works sort of like in-camera chromakeying allowing you to cut out a subject--moving or still--and drop it into another photo. It's an interesting, innovative feature and the newest version of it simplifies the process.
The Z450 (above) is the higher end of the two models featuring a 28mm wide-angle lens with a 4x zoom, 3-inch LCD, sensor-shift image stabilization, and an extended battery life of up to 550 shots. It also has a Handheld Night Scene mode to help with camera shake and motion blur in dim lighting. It comes in the color pictured and that's it, and it will sell for $199.99.
The $149.99 Z90 comes in the three colors shown on the right. Its zoom is only 3x, its LCD is smaller at 2.7 inches, and it does not have mechanical or optical image stabilization. Its battery life is considerably shorter, too, rated at up to 230 photos. It is, however, smaller and lighter than the Z450.
Look for them both in October.
No kid wants to be the one who blends into a crowd. That's why it's important to start young when setting your children up for a lifetime filled with the nostalgic irony that comes with being tragically hip. Of course, they may not like you when they grow older, but that's fashionable too, right?
Listen now: Download today's podcast
Subscribe with iTunes (audio)
Subscribe with iTunes (video)
Subscribe with RSS (audio)
Subscribe with RSS (video)
 |
EPISODE 148 |
This Death Star cookie jar is fully operational
Cassette tape lamps light up your nostalgia
NES Controller Business Card shows you mean real geek business
Casio calculator watch. For realz. (Thanks, Sparkman!)
The iPhone’s best neo-retro game: Space Invaders Infinity Gene
Good Vibrations
The Vibrator Museum
A propos (of) nothing
Japanese auto-fogging glasses prevent eye strain
What the hell?
Microsmores (thanks, Sheala)
Kill Me
Wi-Fi scale notifies the internet of your lapsed diet
(Credit:
WireImage/J. McCarthy)
Casio might be ripe to the world of mobile phones, but it certainly made a splash last night with a unique party for the launch of its Exilim C721, a versatile phone that combines rugged durability and a 5.1-megapixel camera in a stylish handset.
Casio canonized the launch by offering the Exilim mobile to several handpicked photographers with the challenge to use the short-form medium to document a week of their lives. Ricky Powell, Richard Kern, Dave Potes, and 11 other prominent artists were all in attendance at last night's event at the Stephen Weiss Studio in downtown New York, where several wall-to-wall digital projects were used to bring their distinctively playful snapshots to elaborate scale.
Casio also had the Exilim C721 handsets on display, cleverly submerged in a sterile tank to show off their military-spec (code MIL-STD 810F) resistance to water, rain, shock, dust, salt, fog, and high altitudes. The phones continued to play their video and photo slideshows underwater, and surprisingly maintained their monochrome OLED display as well.
While the phone does come with a pretty stiff price tag ($280 with a two-year service agreement and a $50 mail-in rebate), last night's gala proved that its creative innovation and tough-guy attitude may very well be worth the cost.
The Casio A158W, looking great on my hairy wrist.
(Credit: Scott Stein/CNET)Here's a retro tale for you: I wear a watch again. To be more specific, I wear a Casio digital watch, the A158W. Sporting an aluminum wristband, beeping buttons that can't be deactivated, a chronometer, and a cheesy green microlight--no fancy backlighting for you--it's a carbon copy of '80s wrist fashion. I got it at Duane Reade on my street corner for $20.
For a while, I tried to go without a watch. It's been commonly written lately that watches are passe, having been replaced entirely by cell phones. After my last watch's wristband broke, I tried to go phone-only for the time. I'd worn a watch for so long that my wrist had developed a permanent tan line. My left wrist is even slightly thinner from years of watch-wearing. It's a little scary (but not as scary as the hair that sprouts from my arms like fur).
One problem: I have a baby. And I live in a city with no car. Every morning, I commute with a baby strapped to my front and a backpack on my back as I head to daycare before work. Reaching for a phone in my pocket to tell the time is not just difficult, it's dangerous.
I got the Casio because I realized that practically no stores sell watches anymore. The few I found were high-end retailers, and so I settled for the local Duane Reade, where an embarrassingly lost-in-time selection of watches lay trapped in a white plastic display. Rather than go halfway with a cheapo brand or modern digital, I went whole hog by picking the most ridiculous throwback in the display, a model that looks like it could actually have been in the store since 1984.
The watch is, in fact, a current model, created for its retro classic appeal. (Casio's own site doesn't list this particular model, but does have the very similar A158WA.) And you know what? The numbers are nice and large, the glare is minimal, and the microlight is low enough to not wake up my kid when he's going to sleep.
Do you wear a watch? If so, what do you sport? If not, what would get you to wear one? I say the retro watch needs a comeback. Leave that phone in your pocket where it belongs.
