What's New in Digital Cameras

What's New - July 2000

July 22
Full review posted for Sony MVC-FD95! Well at long last, we're getting back on the digicam review bandwagon! Our full review of Sony's high-end floppy-based Mavica, the MVC-FD95 is now on line! This is a very interesting unit, sporting a full 2.1 megapixel sensor and a 10x optically-stabilized zoom lens. As we noted in our previously posted picture analysis, this new Mavica uses 12 bit digitization, which has led to dramatic improvements in a number of areas. Most notably, highlight detail is very good, with the FD95 holding a lot of detail even in very strong highlights. Likewise, low light capability is dramatically improved over earlier Mavicas, with the new FD95 actually being one of the top low light performers we've tested to date! Relative to the previous FD91, resolution is dramatically higher, thanks to the 2.1 megapixel sensor. Mavica critics will likely still comment on the image softness that results from the high levels of JPEG needed to squeeze the 2.1 megapixel images onto floppies, but there's no question that the FD95 is a huge improvement in the image-quality department relative to all the floppy-based Mavicas that have gone before. (Meanwhile stay tuned early next week for our full review of the new CD-based Mavica, the MVC-CD1000.) Check out the FD95 review for full details! (It's in the Comparometer(tm) too!)

July 17
Software Review: ArcSoft PhotoStudio 2000
Take a good, hard look at the pictures you've recently taken. Could your images use some color help? Would an image editing program make them better? If so, which one should you use? That's they key question that haunts anyone who stands behind a lens, as an amateur or as a professional. If you're still looking for that perfect image editing program, check out our review of ArcSoft's PhotoStudio 2000. (Sorry Mac users, this is strictly a Windows program.) This very user-friendly program is packed with many features and utilities that give it a "high-end" feel. From macros and batch processing options to red-eye removal and stitch features, it's possible to create masterpieces from your ordinary photos. Customizing the desktop is as easy as dragging palettes where you want them positioned. You can even acquire images straight from your digital camera. This full-featured easy-to-use program is definitely worth looking at, so check out the review!

July 14
Well, we haven't posted anything new for almost a month. Now that doesn't mean we haven't been working very hard to bring you high quality reviews. So watch out! We're finally breaking out the software! The first one on our list...a review of ArcSoft's PhotoMontage 2000. If you're into mosaics, or you've ever wanted to make really cool posters, this software is definitely for you. The great thing about Photomontage is that it automatically selects and arranges thousands of micro-images to recreate a picture of our choice. I'm sure that you're wondering, "Where in the world am I going to find enough pictures to make a mosaic?" Lucky for you, ArcSoft has you covered and included over 20,000 individual pictures to help you create your own photo mosaic. The software even manages to find the best matches for your picture, so that you don't have to. Check out the review, because we're sure you will be impressed!

Software Review: ProJPEG
Many people want to put pictures in JPEG format online. Unfortunately, we all know that with JPEGs come long download times. And with long download times, people tend to leave pages quickly. If you're having this problem, we have the software for you. BoxTop Software's ProJPEG can help you decrease download times and keep people on your site. ProJPEG is a Macintosh and Windows plug-in for Adobe Photoshop that lets you create smaller JPEG files than with just Photoshop alone. What's really great about the software is the side by side image preview window. This allows you to compare images before and after compression without actually having to modify and save the JPEGs for viewing. It even has a slider from which you can set the level of JPEG compression and see an instant preview of how that level of compression will modify your image. For an overview of this great compression software, read the review!