Entries Tagged as 'Prosumer Camera'

DP Review: Fuji FinePix S8000fd

Fuji FinePix S8000fdDP Review has posted their review of the Fuji FinePix S8000fd where they write:

The S8000fd packs an awful lot into its compact body, and seems to be trying pretty hard to be all things to all people, with manual exposure controls sitting alongside point-and-shoot convenience features such as face detection. There is a high-speed shooting mode (at reduced resolution), and some extremely high sensitivity modes (again at lower resolution), for shooting in low light. What compromises this all-encompassing approach brings, we shall see. …

The advantage of a larger camera is that the designers can fit more controls onto the body - and allow them room to breathe, so it doesn’t feel too ‘cramped’. And the S8000fd certainly has more than its fair share of buttons and switches, which between them give the user instant access to pretty much all the most commonly accessed controls - although you still need to use the menu system if you want to change white balance or metering, or to use the self-timer (infuriatingly the self-timer also cancels itself after every shot)…

This is because cramming an 18x (27-486mm equiv.) lens into a compact body involves some compromises, both optical and digital (to avoid the camera ending up the size of a suitcase, the sensor has to be very small indeed). The zoom produces significant levels of chromatic aberration at the long end and clearly visible distortion at both ends, but that is to be expected. As is the slight loss of resolution and contrast at longer focal lengths and the less than class-leading image quality in general. We were more disappointed to see that Fuji still hasn’t sorted out the purple fringing and red channel clipping that has plagued previous models.

Detail review about  Fuji FinePix S8000fd

PhotographyBLOG Review: Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ18

Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ18PhotographyBLOG reviews the Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ18 and writes:

This is an 8 megapixel bridge-style compact with a lens that covers a focal range of 28-504mm, perfect for everything from wide-angle landscapes to close-up sports photography. …

The defining feature of the new Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ18 digital camera is its massive 18x zoom lens, equivalent to a very versatile 28-504mm focal length, which should cover virtually every imaginable photographic situation. The FZ18 is a bridge-style compact camera, looking just like a true DSLR at first glance, but featuring a non-interchangeable lens instead.  …

As the debate rages on as to whether, with DSLR prices falling well within reach of the consumer, there is still a market for bridge cameras and so-called ’super zooms’, Panasonic releases its own big hitting 18x optical zoom offering in the 8 megapixel Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ18. Olympus was the first to offer an zoom on its SP-550 UZ, now replaced by the 560, and Fujifilm counter attacked with the FinePix S8000fd, so it seems that at least someone is still after a big zoom on a small-ish body.  …

Though the Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ18 requires some degree of familiarization and patience to fully get to grips with the range of features on offer – simply because you don’t find all of them located where you might expect, and, yes, that joystick is rather fiddly to operate – that won’t prevent you from taking photographs from the get go; largely because the Intelligent Auto Mode is so reliable.

Detail review about  Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ18

Imaging Resource Review: Fujifilm FinePix S8000fd

Fujifilm FinePix S8000fdImaging Resource reviews the Fujifilm FinePix S8000fd and writes:

The Fujifilm FinePix S8000fd has body styling reminiscent of a single-lens reflex digital camera, and uses a 1/2.35-inch CCD image sensor. The front of the Fujifilm S8000fd is dominated by the Fujinon Zoom-branded 18x optical zoom lens, which offers a 27mm to 486mm zoom range and an f/2.8 maximum aperture at wide-angle. …

The Fujifilm S8000fd is a handsome little machine with a better grip than some dSLRs and the Shutter button in just the right place. But the battery door hinge (on the short edge of the cover) is a pin floating in a slot (so the cover can slide open) rather than a hole, which makes it hard to align when you close it. And the memory card goes in only at an angle (another oddity), whether it’s an xD card or an SD card. …

Like the Olympus SP-560 UZ and the Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ18, the Fujifilm S8000fd is an ultra-long zoom with an 18x optical zoom range and an 8.0-megapixel sensor. But Fujfilm has added a lot of value to the ultra long zoom with the S8000fd. I particularly liked the two default Scene mode options on the Mode dial, the Natural Light and Natural Light with Flash options, the very quick pre-focus shutter lag and the comfortable grip.

Detail review about Fujifilm FinePix S8000fd

Imaging Resource Review: Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ18

Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ18Imaging Resource reviews the Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ18 and writes:

The Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ18 has body styling reminiscent of a single-lens reflex digital camera, and offers a 1/2.5-inch CCD image sensor with an effective eight megapixels. …

The Panasonic DMC-FZ18 is one of the first three Panasonic digital cameras to introduce a couple of new technologies to the Lumix line, the other two cameras being the DMC-FX33 and DMC-FX55 models announced simultaneously. …

Other features of the Panasonic Lumix FZ18 include a 2.5-inch LCD display with 207,000 pixel resolution, ISO sensitivity to 1,600 (or 6,400 max. in high sensitivity mode), a range of creativity-friendly options including both aperture- and shutter-priority plus a full manual mode, and no less than fourteen scene modes to keep things approachable for the less experienced photographer. …

With Panasonic’s no-nonsense approach to long zoom digital camera design, the Panasonic Lumix FZ18 shines most for its excellent 18x zoom lens. If the sensor were better, the Panasonic FZ18 would be our top pick overall in long zoom digicams. As it is, the FZ18’s sensor is good, but not as good as we’ve seen from many competitors with smaller zooms. It brings to mind the performance we saw about two years ago from Panasonic and others.

Detail review for  Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ18

Megapixel Review: Nikon Coolpix P5100

Nikon Coolpix P5100 Digital CameraMegapixel has a review of the Nikon Coolpix P5100 and writes:

Offering 12.1 megapixels in a small package that easily slides into a coat pocket, the Nikon Coolpix P5100 also offers a combination of advanced shooting modes and scene modes, integrates the Vibration Reduction (VR) system that dampens the effect of camera shake in the lens itself, and provides both a 2.5-inch LCD monitor and an optical viewfinder. …

With the P5100 set to the Playback mode, the Command Dial can be used to review images in a format called Thumbnail Wheel Playback (see at right). Moreover, when the Fn button is used in conjunction with the Command dial, captured images can be seen in a calendar format that shows 1 month at a time and the first image captured on particular dates, or simply listed by date. …

Although very compact, the Coolpix P5100 has a number of external controls. These are well positioned, and very useable. One control, however, the Multi-selector, may be a touch too small to use comfortably by everyone. The left direction, which controls the Self-timer as well, is particularly tight to the edge of the monitor, and is not easily accessed reliably.

More detail about this camera review Nikon Coolpix P5100