What's New in Digital Cameras

What's New - November 2006

November 29
Hands-on Preview posted for Panasonic Lumix DMC-TZ1!
The Panasonic Lumix TZ1 is a nice little camera at a great price, with a 10x, optically stabilized zoom lens, high ISO Scene mode, and large LCD. The large 2.5-inch LCD screen, while less accurate than most, is great for sharing your photos with friends, and makes the menus easier to see. From startup to cycle times, the Panasonic TZ1's performance was above average. The Panasonic TZ1 did reasonably well overall in our testing, delivering good, bright color, and good resolution, but the significant lens flare from middle to long telephoto raised a red flag. Another failing is the weak flash, somewhat mitigated by the Panasonic TZ1's ability to shoot in low light. It would be nice to have a controller instead of arrow buttons and some manual exposure options, but otherwise the Panasonic TZ1 is a pleasure to use. See the hands-on preview for more!

November 26
Hands-on Preview posted for Canon PowerShot SD900 Digital ELPH!
Megapixel counters will be drawn to the 10 megapixel sensor on the Canon SD900, the most yet on a Digital ELPH. But there are other cool new features on this little ELPH worth noting besides its taut titanium skin: ISO settings as high as 3,200, Face recognition, and Category image tagging, to name a few. Designed for the person who doesn't want to worry about shutter speeds and apertures to get good pictures, the Canon SD900 focuses on handy options. The Canon SD900's bright 2.5-inch color LCD monitor is excellent for framing and reviewing shots, and the overall design and layout is user-friendly and hassle-free. The Canon SD900 is an excellent performer no matter what aspect you consider, with superior focusing and low light performance matched with a powerful flash that doesn't make you wait all day to recharge. Small, tough, and elegant, with a day-long battery, and 10 megapixels to work with, the Canon SD900 promises to travel well and bring home great shots. See the hands-on preview for more.

November 22
Full Production Update for Canon Digital Rebel XTi Review!
We've completed our testing of a production sample of the Canon Digital Rebel XTi, and updated the review to reflect that. The detailed tests revealed what we already suspected, this is a really excellent DSLR, with plenty of resolution and great image quality. As is the case with most DSLRs, the kit lens on the Canon XTi leaves a bit to be desired, but it's fine to get started with, and actually delivers very good images when stopped down to f/8 or so. All in all, the Canon XTi is a fine DSLR, a modest step up in resolution from the previous XT, but a very worthwhile one from the original Digital Rebel. - So, all you Digital Rebel owners out there, the time has indeed arrived for you to upgrade! Read our Canon XTi review for all the details!

Hands-on Preview posted for Canon PowerShot A630!
Like most Canon PowerShots, the A630 is well-built, the pictures are great, and the camera is just a pleasure to use. The Canon PowerShot A630 continues in that tradition of dependability, sporting an 8.0-megapixel CCD, a very good quality 4x optical zoom lens, and a big 2.5 inch swiveling LCD screen. Sturdy of build, the Canon A630 offers everything from full automatic to full manual exposure control, with a healthy set of Scene modes thrown in to make it easy to bring back great-looking photos from what might otherwise be challenging situations. The Canon A630 has a great movie mode, and its superb lens delivers excellent sharpness across the frame. Thanks to its high-speed DIGIC-II processing chip, the Canon A630 is also very responsive, and its movie capability is impressive as well. Bottom line, like its brother the A640, the Canon A630 is a classic; just an excellent all-around digital camera. See the Canon A630 hands-on preview for more.

November 21
Express Review posted for Olympus Stylus 750!
Slim, light, and all-weather, the extremely stylish Olympus Stylus 750 is both a beauty to behold and wonderful to hold. Its 7.1 megapixel sensor, 2.5 inch screen, and 5x zoom are impressive digital camera specifications, indeed. The Olympus Stylus 750 is further graced by a unique guide mode that helps you through its extensive options to get just the picture you want. We had a little trouble with the Olympus 750's buttons, in particular the very stiff shutter button; and the optical image stabilization often didn't work when we really needed it to. To see how it all balances out, see the express review of the Olympus Stylus 750.

November 20
First test shots and gallery photos posted for Nikon D40!
We received a production-level Nikon D40 Friday, and Shawn and Luke have been busy, shooting a collection of gallery images and test shots, respectively. The results are quite impressive. You can read some of Shawn's comments in the news story he posted Saturday night, and you can see all the images we've shot to date with the camera on the Nikon D40 Thumbnails page. We were particularly impressed by how usable its ISO 3200 shots seem to be, although have been less impressed with the quality of the 18-55mm "kit" lens, and the camera's tendency to lose detail in strong highlights. We'll be doing more tests over the next few days, hope to have a full report posted very soon.

November 16
Hands-on Preview posted for Nikon D40!
Now it can be told: One of the worst-kept secrets of the internet over the last couple of weeks can now officially be talked about, and we have a full report prepared for you! Although we've only had our hands on a prototype of the new Nikon D40, we can say that we've been mightily impressed with what we've seen. Smaller than any Nikon DSLR to date, the new D40 is nonetheless surprisingly comfortable to hold. It also packs a load of features and a great new user interface, all for an impressively low price. As most affordable Nikon DSLR to date, the D40 promises to open the experience of Nikon photography to legions of new users. Clearly aimed at the new DSLR owner, the Nikon D40 carries over a lot of the feature set from its big brother the D80, but presents a very user-friendly face to the newbie. At the same time though, it has more than enough capability to interest the enthusiast on a budget. (The Nikon D40 strikes us as a near-perfect camera for photo student, soccer mom, or budget-minded enthusiast shooter alike.) Our ultimate judgement will have to await our testing of a full production sample of the camera, but from what we've seen so far, the Nikon D40 promises to be one of the smash hits of the 2006 holiday season. Read our full Nikon D40 hands-on preview for all the juicy details!

November 15
Hands-on Preview posted for Canon PowerShot A640!
Canon PowerShots have always been reader favorites, valued for their user-friendly design, excellent photo characteristics, and good build quality. The Canon PowerShot A640 combines all the best of the A-series, with an impressive 10 megapixel CCD, a very good quality 4x optical zoom lens, and a big articulated LCD. The Canon A640 offers everything from full automatic to full manual exposure control, with a healthy set of Scene modes thrown in. The Canon A640's articulating LCD is now bigger and still just as useful as past iterations, and the camera's reliance on AA batteries is a critical factor for many who want to have a ready supply of compatible batteries no matter where they go. The Canon A640's lens is superb, delivering excellent sharpness center to corner, and high ISO shots are some of the best we've seen. Thanks to the Canon A640's high-speed DIGIC-II processing chip, it is also very responsive, and its movie capability is impressive as well. Bottom line, the Canon A640 is destined to become a classic. It's just an excellent all-around digital camera. See our hands-on preview of the Canon A640 for more.

November 13
Express Review posted for Canon PowerShot SD40 Digital ELPH!
There are few cameras more stylish than the Canon PowerShot SD40 Digital ELPH, the colorful little shooter that is the replacement for last year's popular 5 megapixel Canon SD30. The Canon SD40 upgrades its image sensor to 7 megapixels while adding several new features, including Canon's fast DIGIC III processor, and new Face Detection technology that can find and focus on up to nine faces at once with a half-press of the shutter button. The Canon SD40 also expands its light sensitivity range from ISO 80 to up to ISO 1,600. Of course, the Canon SD40 comes in four stylish colors to raise the level of panache. See our Canon SD40 review to see if "image quality" applies to more than its stylish exterior.

Full Review posted for Kodak EasyShare V603!
Like the rest of Kodak's EasyShare line, the V603 boasts a simple-to-understand user interface that keeps the fun in point-and-shoot digital photography. The Kodak V603's unique design is stylish and its small size makes it a perfect camera for anyone on the go. Featuring a competent Auto setting with 22 Scene modes, the Kodak V603 is perfect for point-and-shoot enthusiasts who don't want to worry over exposure decisions. With the range of preset shooting modes, the Kodak V603 produces good exposure in almost any situation, and the printed output looks very good across the ISO range. Like Kodak's other EasyShare cameras, when combined with the included camera dock, the KodakV603 ranks among the easiest digital cameras to use. See our full review of the Kodak V603 for more.

November 10
Hands-on Preview posted for Canon PowerShot SD800 IS Digital ELPH!
If you're tired of red-eye and relying on flash, the Canon SD800 IS digital camera is your prayer answered. The Canon SD800's built-in image stabilization combined with the high ISO sensitivity extends available light, non-flash photography into the darker realms. But don't be so dazzled with the SD800's stabilizing grace that you miss a couple of other cool new features on this little ELPH: Face recognition in Portrait mode, Category tagging of images, and a 28-105mm lens in a small pocket camera. Designed for the person who doesn't want to worry about shutter speeds and apertures to get good pictures, the Canon SD800 IS focuses on handy options. If Auto mode doesn't do the trick, the Programmed Auto (M) accesses options like White Balance, EV compensation, and Metering. And if that's too much trouble, there's a healthy selection of 10 Scene modes on the Canon SD800 to solve almost any problem. The SD800 IS is an excellent performer no matter what aspect you consider, with superior focusing and low light performance matched with a powerful flash that doesn't make you wait all day to recharge. And with a day-long battery, you couldn't ask for a better traveling companion than the Canon SD800 IS. Read the hands-on preview for more.

November 7
Express Review posted for Panasonic Lumix DMC-FX3!
Though it may look like a budget model on paper, the Panasonic Lumix DMC-FX3 has a stylish and compact high-end look with great functionality thanks to Panasonic's exclusive imaging technology. The Panasonic FX3 is based around a 6-megapixel sensor and Leica-branded 3x optical zoom lens with effective focal lengths of 35 - 105mm. Exclusive to Panasonic, the FX3 boasts MEGA O.I.S. image stabilization, which helps correct for hand-shake by actually shifting the lens to keep the axis straight against the CCD when you snap a shot. If you've never tried MEGA O.I.S. before, you're in for a pleasant surprise. Along with a generous 2.5-inch LCD display, other deluxe features include a special High Sensitivity scene mode that can shoot up to ISO 1,600. So while the Panasonic FX3's low price point put it in the bargain basement category, the camera's handsome, sleek design and great features make it definitely worth at second look. Read our Express Review of the Panasonic FX3 for more.

November 5
Express Review posted for Samsung NV3!
Samsung's NV3 is a striking compact digital camera that evokes both the retro look of a Leica rangefinder and the modernism of an iPod nano. More than a camera, the Samsung NV3 doubles as an MP3 and video player that can handle text files, too. The Samsung NV3 even has stereo speakers and a headphones for enjoying movies and multimedia presentations; and you can still take pictures while doing any of these extra activities. They've put all that fun into an easily navigated menu system that relies on just a few buttons and a dial. The NV3 is polite, elegant, poised, and classy like no other camera we've reviewed. Unfortunately, the NV3's image and video quality did not quite match up to other cameras in this category. And the proprietary connector on the bottom of the Samsung NV3 made battery charging and AV playback awkward. While we can't put it at the top of the list for image quality, we can say that the Samsung NV3 is an impressive multi-purpose gadget that takes pictures, plays MP3s and videos, and is truly wonderful to hold and use. Samsung needs to step up the image quality to match some of its competitors, but in terms of design and build quality, it's the other camera companies that should take note. See our Express Review of the Samsung NV3 for more.

November 2
Review posted for Canon PowerShot A710 IS!
Let's take a moment to applaud the introduction of optical image stabilization in the A-Series with the Canon PowerShot A710. Nothing helps improve photography more than some form of shake compensation, and the A710 has what it takes to stabilize your low light shots. Canon's retention of an optical viewfinder on the PowerShot A710, no matter how spare, is also to be applauded, at a time when so many cameras are leaving this helpful feature out, and so many long zooms default to an electronic viewfinder. Startup and shutdown are quick on the Canon A710, and the menu options you need are quickly at hand, too. The Canon A710's 7.1 megapixel sensor delivers excellent resolution without risking much image noise, and its excellent 6x zoom is impressive. This 35-210mm equivalent lens is a great argument for picking this slightly larger camera over those sexy slim cameras, because it maintains greater corner sharpness and very little chromatic aberration. Its efficient use of two AA batteries is what sets the A-series apart, offering a battery size that's universally available around the world in many formulations. An articulating LCD would have made the Canon PowerShot A710 a little more useful, however, and I would have appreciated a live histogram; but that's just quibbling. The Canon A710 is a fine camera to have at hand. Read our full review for more.