Wednesday 7 March 2012

Fujifilm FinePix S2950 | Fujifilm FinePix S2950 Review

With a generous 18x Fujinon optical zoom lens, the S2950 really packs a punch, especially when matched with its 14 megapixel sensor, large 3.0" LCD screen and 720p HD (30fps) movie capture.
S950
Brilliant, crisp images

Electric powered Fujinon 18x zoom lens

The S2950 sports an impressive 28mm – 504mm* high precision Fujinon optical zoom lens. Simple to operate with an electric powered zoom lever, the huge zoom range means that you can capture all the detail, even when you're at a considerable distance away. You can even operate the zoom during video shooting. Unlike a bulky D-SLR, bridge cameras allow you great versatility of zoom, without the hassle of carrying a bag of lenses.

Impressive panoramas

With its easy to use Panoramic shooting mode you can get creative on the S2950, however basic your skills, and rest assured that you will not risk shooting uneven landscapes or shaky horizons. The camera enables you to take three successive shots with a helpful tool which automatically releases the shutter once the images are fully aligned to seamlessly stitch the shots together in-camera. It's so easy and the results are impressive.
Create great shots
Create great shots with the Fujinon long optical zoom lens. 

Sharp, clear shots

Even at the longest zoom settings or in the most challenging of lighting conditions, the S2950 is able to produce crisp, clean results. With its mechanically stabilised 1/2 3", 14 megapixel CCD sensor, and high ISO sensitivity settings, Fujifilm's Dual Image Stabilisation technology combines to reduce the blurring effects of both hand-shake and subject movement to provide superb pictures.

Advanced HD capabilities for Both Movies and Stills

For the complete viewing experience, the FinePix S2950 is HD enabled and can therefore play-back both HD stills (Full HD) and movies (720p) in superb quality on any HDTV. It's yet to become the standard method of viewing photos, but it’s certainly not to be knocked. And given that this camera has a mini HDMI port it's very quick and easy to connect it up to a HDTV* and play back your photos on the big screen.
*Mini HDMI cable required (not included)
Fuji_blink_detetcion
The camera can detect blinks and waits for the right moment to shoot

Frown or blink and the picture's spoilt

Not anymore! With Fujifilm's Smile and Shoot mode the camera can recognise the exact moment your subject smiles and releases the shutter only when this happens, ensuring that all your photos are happy ones! Additionally the Blink Detection function warns you if any of your subjects have blinked so that you can re-take the photo if necessary.

Facebook/YouTube easy web upload

NEW in 2011 for the S series range of cameras is Fujifilm's easy web upload function. It allows you, in-camera, to tag pictures for speedy upload to Facebook and YouTube once you connect to a PC and launch My FinePix Studio. A great time saver, it allows you to organise your photos when you're on the move!

Preserve your memories for longer by creating a Photobook!

The S2950 allows you to select in-camera the images you want to feature in your Photobook; this task is particularly simple if you have already star-rated your favourite photos! You literally tag the images that you want to have in your photo book & select which one you want for the front page and then when you are ready to order the book it's a much quicker, easier task. You can also simply enjoy viewing the selected images in an in-camera Photobook with pages that turn! Great fun.

Review

Good camera. Nice size, compact light weight. Easy to use and very quick set-up with batterys supplied. Easy to get great looking stills at 1080p, and very clear 720p video recording mode. Plenty of helpfull modes for different light conditions and face tracking. Flash works very well ( see every detail in a pitch black room! ).Big user friendly screen to view photos on; easy acces with HDMI and USB. Most impressive has to be the 18x optical zoom bringing sharp clear detailed images from substantial distances, helped by the auto focus. Very good camera great value for money.



Wednesday 29 February 2012

Fujifilm FinePix HS20EXR | Fujifilm FinePix HS20EXR Review

Product Features
  • All-new 16 megapixel EXR-CMOS sensor with Fujinon 30x optical zoom (24-720mm) and 3 inch LCD Screen
  • Triple anti-blur technologies and 1600% wide dynamic range
  • New EXR Auto mode featuring 27 scenes with Object Recognition
  • Full resolution high speed shooting at 7.6fps, high speed video capture at up to 320 fps
  • Raw file format and 360° Motion Panorama mode
  • All-new 16 megapixel EXR-CMOS sensor with Fujinon 30x optical zoom (24-720mm) and 3 inch LCD Screen
  • Triple anti-blur technologies and 1600% wide dynamic range
  • New EXR Auto mode featuring 27 scenes with Object Recognition
  • Full resolution high speed shooting at 7.6fps, high speed video capture at up to 320 fps
  • Raw file format and 360° Motion Panorama mode
Review
I am a DSLR (D700 and D90) user who has been looking for a bridge camera that is small enough to be carry around but doesn't disappoint in the image quality and useability stakes. I have just taken this camera on a Baltic cruise and used it in all sorts of situations. The performance and flexibility over all is fantastic given the size. The manual zoom was perfectly smooth on my camera and so much more useable than the FZ38 which I also own (for the moment). The image quality and low light performance really does come close to DSLR levels and you have to look carefully to tell the difference. People who criticize the noise just don't understand the point of EXR which needs pixel headroom. If you use this camera on max resolution at higher ISO you will get noise. However who needs 16mp. It is there for ISO 100/200 in good light but if you want higher ISO use the EXR mode or turn down the resolution.

On the downside I do agree with the focus hunting problems with video. The view finder is course electronic and the focus is never going to be as fast as a good DSLR.

Overall this camera offers fantastic bang for buck when you consider it costs a lot less than even a decent super zoom lens for a DSLR. Next time I go away this is the only camera I will take. 









Monday 27 February 2012

Sony DPFC800 | Sony DPFC800 Review

Product Features

  • 20.3cm (8-inch) SVGA wide (4:3) LCD
  • 20.3cm (8") SVGA wide (4:3) LCD High resolution panel with LED backlight for a richly detailed, high contrast view of your photos
  • The energy saving timer automatically switches the photo frame to standby when it's not needed, like at night or when you are out , helping you save on household bills.
  • A choice of four different slideshow options to view your photo collection. Also choose from clock or calendar views.
  • Easy to use with simple buttons and on-screen icons to guide you through making display adjustments and selecting slideshow or clock/calendar modes.
  • Memory card slots accepts Memory Stick PRO Duo™/Memory Stick PRO-HG Duo™ and SD/SDHC Memory Cards. USB also available for easy viewing straight from your memory stick.
Technical Details

Black 8"/20cm Digital Photo Frame
Display Resolution 800x600 SVGA
Aspect Ratio 4:3
LED Backlight Display
Card Slots - MS Duo/SD/SDHC
USB A Connectivity
Photo Format - JPEG/TIFF/BMP/RAW
4 Pattern Slideshow
2 Clock and Calendar Options
Auto On/Off Timer

Review

The picture frame is sturdy and well made, picture quality is good and i think for the price the frame is excellent. I would recommend the SONY DPF C800 8 inch Digital Photo Frame to all.








Friday 24 February 2012

Panasonic Lumix TZ18 | Panasonic Lumix TZ18 Review

Product Features
  • Super Zoom Camera TZ18 - Ultra Compact Camera with Powerful 16x Optical Zoom
  • New
  • 24mm Wide-angle LEICA DC Lens with 16x Optical Zoom and OIS
  • 14.1-Megapixel CCD Sensor
  • IA (Intelligent Auto) Mode with POWER O.I.S. (Optical Image Stabilizer)
  • HD Movie Recording (720p) and P/A/S/M Modes for Added Creative Control
  • High resolution 230,000 dot 3-inch LCD
Tecnhical Details 
Optics
Pixels
Camera Effective Pixels: 14.1 Megapixels
Sensor
Sensor Size / Total Pixels / Filter: 1/2.33-type sensor / 14.5 Total Megapixels / Primary Color Filter
Lens
Optical Zoom: 16x
Aperture: F3.3 - 5.9/ Multistage Iris (F3.3 - 6.3 (W) / F5.9 - 6.3 (T))
Focal Length: f=4.3-68.8mm (24-384mm in 35mm equiv.) (28-448mm in 35mm equiv. in movie recording)
Extra Optical Zoom (EZ): 18.9x (4:3 / 10M), 22.5x (4:3 / 7M), 27.0x (4:3 / 5M), 33.8x (4:3 / under 3M)
Intelligent Zoom: 20x
Lens: LEICA DC VARIO-ELMAR
Optical Image Stabilizer: Power O.I.S. (On / Off)
Focus
Focusing Area
Normal settings: Wide 50 cm - infinity / Tele 200 cm - infinity
When set to Macro / Intelligent AUTO/ movie recording: Wide 3 cm - infinity / Tele 100cm - infinity
Focus Range Display: Yes
AF Assist Lamp: Yes
Focus: Normal / AF Macro, Zoom Macro, Quick AF, AF Tracking, Touch AF/AE, Continuous AF (only for motion picture)"
AF Metering: Face / AF Tracking / 23pt / 1pt / Spot
Shutter
Shutter Speed
Still: 60 - 1/4000 sec
Starry Sky Mode : 15, 30, 60sec
Shutter Interval: approx. 0.7 sec
Recording
IA
Face Recognition: Photo
Optical Image Stabilizer: Photo / Movie
Intelligent ISO Control: Photo
Face Detection: Photo
Intelligent Scene Selector: Photo (Portrait, Scenery, Night Portrait, Night Scenery, Sunset, Macro)
Intelligent Exposure: Photo / Movie
AF Tracking: Photo
Digital Red Eye Correction (Red-Eye Removal): Photo
Intelligent Resolution Technology: Photo / Movie
File Format
Still Image: JPEG(DCF/Exif2.3)
Motion picture: QuickTime Motion JPEG
Interface
Mode Switch: [Recording] / [Playback]
Recording Modes
Mode Dial / Mode Button: Intelligent Auto, P, A, S, M, Custom, SCN, My SCN2, My SCN1, Movie
High-speed Burst Shooting: approx. 5.5 frames/sec (image priority) or 10 frames/sec (speed priority) (recorded in 3M for 4:3, 2.5M for 3:2, 2M for 16:9, 2.5M for 1:1)
Motion Picture Recording: 4:3 in VGA: 640 x 480 pixels, 30fps (Motion JPEG) or QVGA: 320 x 240 pixels, 30 fps (Motion JPEG)
HD Movie: 1280x 720 pixels, 30fps (Quicktime Motion JPEG)
Exposure Parameters
Exposure: Program AE, Aperture Priority AE, Shutter Priority AE, Manual
Others
Real-time histogram, Composition Guide lines (2 patterns), Auto Review, Optical Zoom in Motion Picture, Orientation Detector, Self Timer (2sec / 10sec)
Real-time histogram, Composition Guide lines (2 patterns), Auto Review, Optical Zoom in Motion Picture, Orientation Detector, Self Timer (2sec / 10sec)
Monitor
LCD Monitor: 7.5cm (3.0") TFT Screen LCD Display (230K dots)
Power LCD mode, AUTO Power LCD mode, High Angle mode
Flash
Flash
Built-in-Flash: Auto, Auto/Red-eye Reduction, Forced On, Slow Sync./Red-eye Reduction, Forced Off
Media
Media
Recording Media: Built-in Memory, SD Memory Card, SDHC Memory Card, SDXC Memory Card
Built-in-Memory: Approx. 70MB
Audio
Microphone / Speaker : Mono / Yes
Interface
Interface
LUMIX Image Uploader: Yes
Power
Power: ID-Security Li-ion Battery Pack (3.6V, Minimum: 895mAh) (Included)
AC Adaptor: Input: 110-240V AC (Optional)
Battery life (approx.): 340 pictures (CIPA Standard)
Metrics
Dimensions (W x H x D): 104.9 x 57.6 x 33.4 mm
Weight: Approx. 188g without Battery and SD Memory Card, Approx. 210g with Battery and SD Memory Card