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News › Camera Review
Every once in a while, a camera comes along that offers a genuinely different approach to its rivals. Some--like the first mirrorless models--go on to fundamentally change the market. Others aren't quite so successful. Either way, we welcome designs that think outside the box. The Canon PowerShot G1 X is the first large-sensor compact with a zoom lens. Its announcement last...
Having spent a little time with it, we're impressed with how much capability the engineers managed to pack into the Canon SX150, at such an affordable price. As you'd expect given the bargain-basement ~$179 street, it's not without its limitations, but considering what you get, it's pretty amazing: A capable, well-built 14-megapixel digital camera with an optically stabilized 12x...
Apple's iPhone 4S is an impressive computing and communication tool, and one of its strengths is a better camera than you can find in most dumb phones, to be sure. Enhanced by downloadable apps, Apple also souped up the iPhone 4S camera in its latest hardware rev, with a higher-resolution sensor, a faster lens, support for Full HD video, and access to the smartphone's more...
As product reviewers, we're faced with a bit of a problem. The cameras we most want to tell you about are the ones we find really enjoyable to shoot. Since we're having fun with them, though, it can be difficult to extract these gems from anybody's hands for long enough to put them through our lengthy lab testing process, let alone get some writing done! If you've been hopefully...
The Pentax Q is a camera that instantly polarizes opinion more than most.
Some love it for its incredibly compact design: there is truly no other interchangeable-lens camera that comes close to the size and weight of the Q, especially when one takes into account the optics. Others decry its smaller-than-average image sensor, and the limitations that brings in a number of areas....
Quality prime lenses and a tack-sharp sensor come together with a unique hybrid optical viewfinder to form the Fujfilm X-Pro1, a digital camera built exclusively for enthusiast photographers. The X-Pro1 really hits the nail on the head, driving deep into high-ISO territory with tack-sharp images. Its controls and feature set are also ideal for the target market, and its available...
As a digital camera made expressly for enthusiasts, the Panasonic GX1 is a little larger than the smallest compact system cameras, but is still small enough to bring along easily. While the GX1 is in some ways a return to an older design, it still includes improvements in resolution and image quality. Its new touchscreen interface also manages to add a bit of utility as well; and...
While Canon's previous megazoom digital camera was a good performer, the PowerShot SX40 HS is a finely tuned upgrade. With the same startling 35x zoom ranging from 24-840mm equivalent, the Canon SX40 sports a new, lower-resolution sensor and a punchy DIGIC 5 processor, resulting in better low light performance and better corner sharpness overall, as well as reduced chromatic...
Choosing a smaller sensor, the Nikon V1 didn't earn a lot to praise from the spec hounds at its introduction, but Nikon was aiming at a smaller system overall, including lenses. They certainly achieved that, while maintaining excellent image quality and including impressively fast autofocus speed. Though many were disappointed with the smaller sensor, our test results show the...
It doesn't take a lot of money these days to get an ultrazoom digital camera with a good image sensor, and that's certainly true of the Panasonic FZ47. Its whopping 24x zoom lens reaches from 25-600mm equivalent, allowing you to be incredibly selective about what you shoot. Supporting Full HD video, the Panasonic FZ47 is quite versatile. The FZ47's image quality was not quite...
With a whole new look on the outside, the Samsung NX200 gets quite a few internal upgrades compared to its predecessor, not the least of which is its 20-megapixel sensor. Combined with a new lens design and a slick menu system, we found the Samsung NX200 a kick to use. We were most impressed with the improved image quality and faster autofocus, and a few of the special Smart...
Canon managed to pack more features into the PowerShot S100 while maintaining the same relative look and feel of their premium pocket digital camera. Higher resolution has lately come at a cost, but Canon raised both the resolution and still image quality while also raising video resolution. The result is a pocket camera that can shoot quality 1080p video while the camera both...
Shooting with the Leica M9-P and 50mm f/1.4 Summilux-M lens taught us a lot about why people love Leica cameras. But we also learned why most people don't shoot Leica rangefinders, and it isn't just about the very high price tag. Shooting with any manual focus, aperture-priority camera is a little more challenging than most people are used to. Once we got back into the swing of...
Although it looks very similar to its previous PEN-series flagships externally, the Olympus E-P3 includes several significant changes.
Key among these is a new brand-new autofocus system, branded 'Frequency Acceleration Sensor Technology', or FAST for short. Olympus showed supreme confidence in choosing the name, and it wasn't misplaced: the E-P3's AF performance actually...
Despite its good image quality, the Nikon P7100's predecessor was a little too cumbersome to use for some. Thankfully Nikon fixes most of those issues with the P7100, making a digital camera that's not just pleasant to shoot, but whose images are worth talking about. Click here for our Nikon P7100 review and get the whole story!
Making quite a leap for compact system cameras both in terms of image quality and camera control, the Sony NEX-7 really impressed us. We used words like "astonishing" and "amazing" when describing image quality, both printed and onscreen, because the NEX-7's images are even sharper than the A77's. And for an APS-C sensor to approach the quality of the Nikon D3X, well, that is...
There's nothing better than a Travel Zoom digital camera when you're on a trip. You can pack light and yet take comfort that you have the equivalent of at least a 300mm lens in your pocket, as well as a nice wide-angle lens. But picking the right Travel Zoom camera can be a hassle. What features are most important? How well do they work? Which will capture the best images? In our...
Sony made quite a splash with its aggressively-styled NEX-5 system camera back in mid-2010, and while the succeeding Sony NEX-5N digital camera is no longer the company's flagship system camera, it builds upon its predecessor with quite a selection of upgrades and new features.
There's a new image sensor and processor that bring a wider sensitivity range and support for an...
With a wicked-fast autofocus system driving its G-series lens, the Sony WX10 integrates quite a few of Sony's recent innovations, including iSweep Panorama, Handheld Twilight, and even a set of 3D modes. Its 16-megapixel sensor, 2.8-inch LCD, Full HD video capture, and 24-168mm lens mark the WX10 as a pocket camera with a little extra something. We were most impressed with the...
Nikon bided its time before entering the compact system camera market, and when it finally did so last September, wasn't afraid to take a path untrodden.
The Nikon J1 adopts a rather smaller sensor than its main rivals, but in doing so also offers a worthwhile savings in weight and size--not only for the camera body, but perhaps more importantly for its lenses. That's not the...
