What's New in Digital Cameras

What's New - August 2005

August 23
Panasonic Lumix DMC-LZ1 reviewed!
The Panasonic Lumix DMC-LZ1 is a pretty unique digital camera. It packs a 6x zoom lens into a surprisingly compact body, and throws in Panasonic's excellent MegaOIS Optical Image Stabilization technology for good measure. Along with the long, stabilized zoom lens, the Panasonic LZ1 also offers 4-megapixel resolution, very bright color without oversaturating skin tones, good macro focusing, and excellent battery life. You really can't match its combination of 4 megapixels, 6x zoom and optical image stabilization for anywhere near its price, and its compact body design is an added plus. Make sure to read our review of the Panasonic LZ1!

Software Review: Adobe CS2: Running the Suite!
We conclude our three-part review of Adobe Creative Suite 2 with this look at the underlying architecture of the Suite. How does it change what you do, what you can do, when you match Photoshop with InDesign, Illustrator, GoLive and Acrobat Pro? On the document side, we recall Adobe's PostScript beginnings and track its evolution into the cross-platform, device independent PDF model. Then we look at the use of metadata formats like XML and XMP to build "smart" assets of your images. Finally, we do a couple of real-world projects with the suite taking advantage of Smart Objects and Object Styles. Read the review for the whole story.

August 19
Fujifilm FinePix Z1 reviewed!
Not only is the Fujifilm FinePix Z1 handsome and nice to hold, its color is very good, its resolution excellent, and noise levels at low ISOs are very low as well. It offers good low light performance when compared against the other compact and subcompact digital cameras with which it competes. Photo quality is generally good, but it does tend to oversaturate reds, and other colors come out a bit less saturated than they do with many competing cameras. The FinePix Z1 is also fast, something to be admired in a digicam. The Fuji Z1's VGA-resolution movie mode is also quite impressive for such a small camera. Bottom line, the Fujifilm Z1 is worthy of consideration if you're in the market for a compact digital camera that will just slip in your pocket.

August 10
Nikon D50 review updated to full production status!
Given the amount of email we've been getting lately, this has to be one of the most eagerly anticipated production updates to a review we've ever done. Wait no more, our Nikon D50 review has now been updated to include test results and sample images from a full production model. My initial (very positive) impressions of the D50 were largely borne out by the production model, and I was surprised by how low its image noise is, particularly at high ISO. It's a "value priced" d-SLR, but its performance is very much first rate. As usual, there's too much detail to even mention in passing here, see the full Nikon D50 review for full information. (If you've already read the First Look preview of the camera, you may want to just dive into the Nikon D50 test results.) Bottom line though, the Nikon D50 is just an excellent match for the aforementioned "family photographer," or for anyone wanting exceptional value in an entry-level digital SLR. This is a camera that will get you started in the world of d-SLRs at an affordable price, but one that will also give you plenty of room to grow over the years, as your skills mature. Very highly recommended, a dead shoe-in as a Dave's Pick. Check out our full Nikon D50 review for all the details!

August 9
Software Review: Adobe CS2's Photoshop!
We continue our review of Adobe Creative Suite 2 with a look at Photoshop's evolution. Adobe told us they used Photoshop's 15-year milestone to rethink some basic operations. The goal was to make the product more user-friendly for the legions of digital photographers marching their way. We highlight the improvements to tools, workflow and customization before taking a closer look at a few significant new features including the new Mac plug-in architecture, activation policy, some new filters (Noise Reduction, Optical Lens Correction and Smart Sharpen) and 32-bit editing of HDR images. Read the review on Adobe CS2's Photoshop for the whole story.

August 5
Review posted for the Kodak EasyShare V550!
The Kodak V550's fully automatic exposure control performs surprisingly well in a wide variety of conditions, requiring less exposure adjustment or tweaking than do most competing models. For more difficult shooting conditions, a wide range of preset "Scene" modes extend the camera's capabilities nicely. Its design is solid and has a high quality feel, with cool blue LEDs on the top panel that indicate modes and even show charge status when the camera is charging. The 5.0-megapixel CCD captures high resolution images, with plenty of detail to make good-looking 11x14 prints, and a handful of helpful tools such as the Blur Warning, Motion Image Stabilization, and automatic Red-Eye correction are very welcome additions. While sophisticates may prefer more subdued color, we suspect that most consumers will love the bright, vibrant photos the V550 produces. Tiny, compact, and super-stylish, the Kodak EasyShare V550 is a perfect choice for novices, as well as more experienced users looking for a capable, yet travel-worthy "fun" digital camera.