Cameras with features and then some

A superzoom digital camera is one in which the focal length is around 4x to 12x. The focal length specification is the only true defining factor for what makes up the superzoom group of cameras. Superzooms are frequently found in prosumer style cameras, those cameras that fall somewhere in between what a professional and what a consumer would use for photography. These often mimic SLR camera bodies, but have fixed lens (whereas SLRs have removable lenses.) With the increasing of producing good technology on a smaller and smaller scale, some superzooms can be housed in compact body styles.
Kodak Easy Share Z710

Nikon punishes Cuban boy for Castro

A 12 year old Cuban boy has found himself in the middle of an international spat after he made the mistake of winning a Nikon digital camera in a UN painting competition.

According to the Japan Times, Nikon refused to hand over the first prize to Raysel Sosa Gonza'lez because the digital camera contained parts that were on a list of things drawn up by the US that Cubans should not be allowed to own.

The US drew up the list in 1962 during the Cuban missile crisis. Apparently it is very worried about 12 year olds getting their paws on digital cameras in case they disassemble it and build a nuclear missile.

The move played into the hands of the far-from-free Cuban press, which has branded Nikon as a Western capitalist running dog fellow traveller sort of a thing. Fidel Castro has presented a digital camera to Gonza'lez to make up for the loss in an archetypal propaganda move.

Meanwhile Nikon has admitted that it has made a huge PR stuff up and is working out if it can give Gonza'lez a digital camera that does not break the US embargo. So it looks like the boy could end up with a lot of digital cameras to pay with.

Give Nikon a Havana cigar!

Taiwan digital camera makers may get order increase from global brands

As Sony, Canon and Nikon, the world's top three digital camera brands, shift their marketing focus to expensive digital single lens reflex (DSLR) camera models, second-tier international brands stand a chance of increasing their global market share in 2007, which may result in more orders for leading OEM/ODM makers in Taiwan, according to industry sources in Taiwan.

Second-tier international brands include Panasonic, Casio, Fujifilm, Pentax, Kodak, Samsung and Olympus. Samsung, for example, expects to increase its digital camera shipment volume from 8.5 million units for this year to 13 million in 2007, according to the sources. Samsung, which currently has 90% of its digital cameras produced in South Korea and China, has to either expand its own production capacity or rely on Taiwanese OEM/ODM makers to meet the 2007 shipment goal, the sources pointed out. In addition to Samsung, Sony, Nikon, Casio and Pentax have begun to increase outsourcing production, the sources indicated.

Premier Image Technology, Altek and Ability Enterprise, three of the top four Taiwan-based makers of digital cameras, are most likely to share the increase in OEM/ODM orders, the sources noted.

The Olympus SP-510UZ falls short on just about every point. Read our review before even thinking about buying this camera.

Snip:

"The Olympus SP-510UZ is comfortable to handle and shooting in a variety of angles is simple. What’s not so great is the LCD screen; there’s blur as it tries to zero in on the subject. In fact, the screen is very poor, not revealing the true colors of what you’re shooting. When I did some quick reviews I thought had taken a load of bum photos—when they were transferred to the computer and shown on screen, it was an entirely different story. Another problem is overall speed. This camera will not win the Daytona 500 of digicams. It really seems to be breathing hard saving the files. And start twiddling your thumbs waiting for a RAW file to be saved (it’s about 8-10 seconds or so). Using this camera for a still life in RAW might be a reasonable task but forget about shooting the kids playing football. Another issue was auto focus; like its predecessor, the camera drifted a bit before locking in. Again this is annoying, something photographers shouldn’t have to deal with in this day and age. Note: you can’t use the RAW setting in Auto; you have to go into one of the manual modes (P, A/S, M) which is good because the average point-and-shooter wouldn’t use RAW on a bet (simply too much effort required). Within the manual settings, there are loads of adjustments but there’s definitely a learning curve to get your hands around them all. "

Panasonic launches its first digital SLR camera with interchangeable lens

Panasonic, the leading manufacturers of consumer electronics, has announced the Middle East launch of its first digital single-lens reflex (SLR) camera with interchangeable lens, the DMC-L1.

In developing the DMC-L1, Panasonic's aim was to create a digital SLR camera that delivers superb photographic rendering capabilities and is a pleasure to use.

The DMC-L1 comes equipped with a LEICA D VARIO-ELMARIT lens, the first Leica lens designed specifically for a digital SLR camera and equipped with MEGA O.I.S. (Optical image stabiliser). The DMC-L1 also incorporates a Live MOS image sensor that conforms to the Four Thirds standard and offers 7.5 megapixels to ensure outstanding picture quality. The new camera also introduces a full-time Live View function that, using a signal output directly from the Live MOS sensor, lets users see on the LCD screen the same image seen by the sensor. With full-time Live View and the DMC-L1's large LCD screen, users can compose shots in new ways and with greater ease and accuracy.

'With our LUMIX DMC- L1 we hope to help establish a new photographic culture for the digital age. The camera incorporates several features and functions that are not found in conventional digital SLRs and we are certain that professional photographers in the Middle East will find the DMC-L1 ideally suited for all their photography needs,' said Yasuo Kimoto, Product Manager, Panasonic Marketing Middle East. 'The DMC-L1 is equipped with Venus Engine III for extraordinary processing power to reproduce even nuances in texture and atmosphere. It also features a dust reduction system that solves the digital SLR camera's long-standing problem of dust adhering to the sensor.' he added.

In the new DMC-L1, Panasonic has incorporated today's most advanced digital technologies while maintaining the attractive look and operating feel of the familiar film camera. A shutter speed dial on the camera top together with a wide-aperture zoom lens provides F2.8-3.5 brightness from 28mm wide angle to 100mm telephoto (35mm film camera equivalent). The magnesium-alloy body, which in design closely resembles the body of a rangefinder camera from days past, combines with the aluminum-alloy lens section to offer both high rigidity and a high-grade appearance.

With the DMC-L1, Panasonic has created a digital SLR camera that is a pleasure to use and can render photographs of exquisite beauty. Advanced photographers and hobbyists alike will find the DMC-L1 to be an extremely satisfying tool capable of capturing expressive, artistic images.