Samsung ST550 Puts A Smile On Your Face

Samsung’s latest compact camera is more gimmicky than ever making it very fun to use. And it may just improve your photography too.

The most obvious feature of the ST550 digital compact is the dual LCD system - one on the back as usual and one on the front near the lens. The frontal LCD display can do a lot of nifty tasks. If you’re shooting a portrait, for example, it can do a countdown to let your subject prepare for the photo. It also displays a smiley face to save you shouting ‘cheese’ all the time. Or, if you’re shooting a self portrait, the frontal LCD can help you compose yourself perfectly in front of the lens.

But this is not all. There are no buttons on the Samsung ST550’s back at all as the large LCD display there is actually a touch screen. You can navigate through all settings using the interactive display menus. The camera also has an Acceleration Sensor that lets you playback your shots without even touching the screen - a tilt or twist of the camera body is enough to go through your pictures.

Beneath it all, the Samsung ST550 is a tiny 12MP compact camera with a generous 27-124mm (equiv) Schneider lens, ISO sensitivity of up to 3200 and HD movie capability. Samsung is releasing two versions of this camera with the main difference between the Samsung ST550 and ST500 is that the latter employs a smaller LCD display and is slightly lighter.

Both cameras are available to buy at Warehouse Express.

Tags: samsung digital compact camera, samsung smiley face, samsung st500, samsung st550

Nikon Unveils Projector Camera Coolpix S1000pj

The rumours turned out to be true as Nikon have just announced the Coolpix S1000pj - the first ever compact digital camera with a built-in projector. Brilliant! Now you can share your photos easily with friends by projecting 40 inch wide images on the wall in just a click. The camera is also not bad either, featuring a 12MP sensor, 5x zoom lens with VR and ISO range of 80-6400.

The camera costs just under £350 and is available to buy from Warehouse Express.

Tags: nikon camera projector, nikon coolpix s1000pj, projector camera

Ricoh GR Digital 3

Ricoh unveils the GR Digital III

Having been in love with Ricoh’s GR-range since the Film Age, I was excited to hear the company announcing its latest premium compact additiion to the range. The GR III’s top feature is its super fast f1.9 28mm equivalent prime lens. Successor to the GR Digital II, it uses a new 10MP sensor with larger pixel pitch. Sensitivity, speed and continuous shoting are also improved. The GR III continues the Ricoh tradition of high resolution screens, becoming one of the first compact to offer a 920,000 dots VGA panel. All in all, this should be one great little camera to keep in your pocket.

Tags: compact, digital, Digital Cameras, gr 3, griii, ricoh gr III

Canon PowerShot D10

Canon PowerShot D10 - Durable & Rugged

Waterproof and shockproof, this cute 12-megapixel Canon PowerShot will take a lot more punishment than your ordinary digital camera. It will also withstand temperatures down to -10C and quite a bit of dust and dirt thrown at it. Inside its rugged protective shell, the PowerShot D10 features clever technology that will help you get a better shot - including image stabilisation, and motion, scene and face detection. The Canon’s built-in lens offers 3x Zoom which is adequate, although main rival Pentax Optio W80 has the edge when it comes to optics with its 4x zoom, allowing for both wider landscapes and close-up action shots.

Buy now from Warehouse Express.

Tags: canon, canon powershot d10, compact, digital, powershot, quirky, waterproof digital cameras

Pentax Optio W80

Oh, it’s Shockproof and Dustproof as well! Pentax have announced their latest compact for the more adventurous amongst us, and it looks like a great little camera. A nice clear screen and simple control layout make it an easy camera to use even in challenging conditions. The quality 12mp sensor and generous zoom lens (equivalent to 28-140mm) makes it ideal for landscape and action photography, and everything in between. The camera is built to withstand temperatures down to -10C and is waterproof to 16 feet.

Tags: camera, compact, optio, pentax, quirky, waterproof digital cameras

Nikon Coolpix P90

Buy Nikon P90

Outstanding 12.1 megapixel camera with super-zoom. Nikon P90’s 24x zoom lens with 26 mm wide-angle capability lets you capture impressive wide-angle and super-telephoto shots, and you can focus from infinity to as close as 1 cm in Macro mode.  The large 3-inch vari-angle LCD monitor on the Nikon Coolpix P90 can be tilted through 180 degrees to allow for easy viewing from the hip or from above. Advanced exposure modes offer greater control over your photography and you can enhance the vibrancy of images taken under difficult conditions with the powerful Quick Retouch function. The Nikon P90 – unbeatable compositional freedom.

Mark Pekelharing, Product Manager Consumer Products at Nikon Europe: “This camera demonstrates Nikon’s devotion to camera enthusiasts. The amazingly powerful 24x zoom, 3.0-inch LCD screen with vari-angle tilt function, vibration reduction, and high sensitivity make the Nikon Coolpix P90 a no-compromise bridge between a compact camera and a D-SLR.”

Nikon P90 with 3-inch vari-angle LCD monitor

The generous 3-inch vari-angle LCD monitor with anti-reflection coating can be tilted up by as much as 90 degrees, or down by as much as 45 degrees.

Nikon Coolpix P90 Key Features

• Nikkor wideangle 24x zoom lens with super-telephoto capability. (35mm equivalent: 26 - 624mm.)
• 12 megapixel resolution.
• Smart portrait system:  advanced automatic features for perfect portraits. Smile Mode takes the shot when your chosen subject smiles. Blink Warning alerts you when someone had their eyes closed.
• Advanced Face Priority AutoFocus with in-camera Red-eye Fix lets you quickly detect and focus accurately on up to 12 faces in the frame, and corrects red eye.
• 4x anti-blur automatically counters blurred images in four different ways. Sensor-shift Vibration Reduction reduces the effect of camera shake. High ISO (up to 6400) light sensitivity reduces the risk of blurred images with fast-moving subjects or in low-light. Motion detection compensates for camera and subject movement. Best Shot Selector automatically selects the sharpest of up to 10 sequential shots.
• Exposure Modes for greater creative control. Programmed Auto (P), Shutter-priority Auto (S), Aperture-priority Auto (A) and Manual (M).
• High-speed continuous shooting with pre-shooting cache: shoot up to 45 continuous shots at 15 fps. Nikon Coolpix P90 gives you the option to press the shutter halfway and record the moments that take place before you press the shutter fully, so that you never have to worry about being a second too late again.

Tags: camera, Digital Cameras, nikon, nikon p90

Waterproof Digital Cameras

Choosing A Digital Camera For Underwater Photography

The underwater world is full of wonderful serene scenes making us wonder at nature and why species bothered evolving out of the sea. Seeing its beauty is one thing, but capturing it on camera can be tough. Well, not really. The pictures above, for example, are not fancy commercial photos, but rather amateur shots using budget Sealife gear. There are two routs really to shooting underwater - getting yourself a waterproof digital camera or waterproof casing for your current model. Pros and the unevitable cons of both are underlined below.

Waterproof Cameras

These are specifically built cameras for underwater photography. There are no fiddly casings to mess with, the camera is ready for the dive, but on the flip side it is not that great on land. The Sealife Reefmaster pictured below is a great little waterproof digital camera with a depth rating of 40m and is perfect for all those expeditions to the beach or sea.

Waterproof Camera Casings

Alternatively, if you have a digital camera that you prefer and love, you can buy a waterproof casing for it to take it diving with  you. This housing provides rubbery waterproofness typically down to 40 metres and easy to use big bright buttons. On the downside, you can always forget to pack your casing when going away, plus they’re not suited to more serious depths, but apart from that they should help you have all the fun a dedicated waterproof camera would.

Loss of Picture Quality Underwater And The Use Of Flash

A big problem that underwater photographers face, apart from unfriendly marine life and wild hairdos, is the extreme loss of colour and contrast at depth. This is due to colours such as red and orange being easily absorbed by water, which is why the sea appears so blue and green.

One way to solve this is to cut the distance to your subject, ideally to under one metre, as this will minimise the colour loss. You can even use wide angle lenses to get really close. Another way is to use flash, either your built-in one or a dedicated off-camera unit, which will fill-in the scene with a full spectrum of colour.

Tags: buying guide, camera, compact, digital, underwater, waterproof digital cameras

Underwater Digital Camera Mask

Underwater digital cameras are a great idea and have certainly come on leaps and bounds in the last few years. However it’s always a bit of a faff to swim with them, as you tend to need your hands for the swimming bit - preferably without some buoyant snapper dangling from your wrist. Well now you can snorkel through those coral reefs with both your hands free and be able to take great underwater snaps with the brand new Camera Mask.

The 3.1 megapixel camera has been cleverly built into the mask and the cross hairs on the lenses will show you exactly where you need to look to get the perfect snap. As well as being able to take great pics, it can also shoot video. Yup you can film your deep blue explorations that are stored in the 16MB of onboard memory - which you can easily expand with a Micro SD Card if you fancy re-enacting some sub-aquatic adventure.

Now available on the market for under £100.

Tags: camera, compact, digital, underwater

Lego Digital Camera

Lego has announced its plans to introduce a line of electronic devices including its own digital camera. The compact is aimed at children, costing around £50, and likely to be of the cheap and cheerful type with simple settings and controls. The camera will not be actually made out of Lego blocks (otherwise it probably won’t be a camera for long) but it looks decevingly much like it is and maybe it will be “compatible” with bricks.

 

Tags: camera, compact, digital, lego, quirky

Minox Digital Classic

Minox Digital Classic

Treat him to real retro chic. Minox’s ethos comes to the forefront within this camera: clever electronics combined with a touch of extravagance. The top technology and optical systems provide quality images, while the iconic retro look is real head turner. This is a truly great buy for anybody who’s into nostalgia, design, photography or just… anybody really.

Tags: classic, compact, digital, leica, minox, quirky, retro