Expert Camera Reviews

The Sony Cyber-shot DSC-T50 is an update to the existing DSC-T30 model. The ultra-slim and stylish Cyber-shot DSC-T50 is equipped with a 7-megapixel Sony CCD image sensor, a 3x optical zoom lens, a large 3.0 inch Touch panel LCD display, VX Fine movie mode, and 56MB of internal memory. This camera is available in three different colors, red, black and silver. The camera is provided with elective options of either a 4 GB Memory Stick Duo or Memory Stick PRO Duo media cards which allows play back of not less than 1100 high-resolution images in slide show mode.

Strengths of the camera:
A large LCD monitor usable in full sun and in surprisingly dim lighting too
A very good flash range for a compact camera
Excellent lens which provides sharp images
Excellent image stabilization for photos even in dim lighting
Excellent photo quality for 13×19 inch prints

Weaknesses:
Strong blues in images are oversaturated
Shots at High-ISO are very noisy
White balance performance under household incandescent lighting not good enough
Continuous shooting mode is slow
Touch screen interface requires more touches for many settings

Specifications:
Megapixels – 7.2
Weight (oz.) – 5.9
Optical Zoom – 3x
LCD Size – 3.0 inch
Flash Range (ft) – 4 ft to 11.2 ft
Image stabilizer –Yes, optical
Battery type –lithium ion
Special features –Touch Screen User Interface, In-Camera slide show, white balance adjustments with six modes, Movie mode with MPEG VX option, DPOF and PictBridge compatible

Summary:
The Sony T50 looks like another winner. Apart from the touch screen awkwardness, the T50 looks like a great small digital camera, with a huge, beautiful LCD screen and great anti-shake technology built in. The slightly larger body also gives it better battery life and a very better flash range than other cameras in this category. The camera is great for indoor photography.

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The Fujifilm FinePix S6000fd belongs to the bridge cameras group whose primary features are live-preview on the digital cameras. It is an ultra zoom camera with a 6.3 Megapixel SuperCCD sensor that produces less noise than regular CCDs, and giving this camera the potential to be the low light king of its class. An interesting new face detection feature is available with this camera. The camera has a 10.71 x zoom and the 10.71x (28 – 300mm) lens is not separable, although it feels like a detachable lens with a rubber ring for full manual zoom control around the barrel.

Some very good features of the FinePix S6000fd are:
• Face detection technology is great for shooting pictures of people in groups
• Priced very low for the good quality lens and sensor it offers
• The camera is very light, has an excellent grip and resembles a dSLR camera.
• Manual zooming is simple and effective
• Supports the RAW file format
• High resolution LCD unit
• Excellent flash exposure

Some drawbacks of the camera are:
• No optical image stabilization provided, just picture stabilization mode which degrades image quality
• While capturing RAW images the shot-to-shot speed is quite slow
• The electronic viewfinder is hard to use
• Bulky in size

Specifications:
Megapixels – 7.2
Weight (oz.) – 5.9
Optical Zoom – 3x
LCD Size – 3.0 inch
Flash Range (ft) – 4 ft to 11.2 ft
Image stabilizer – No
Battery type – Lithium Ion
Special features – Auto and Manual focus modes, new face detection technology, three continuous shooting modes, self-timer for delayed shutter release, DPOF and PictBridge compatible, Movie recording with sound

Summary:
The camera’s 6.3 megapixel image chip might not impress when there are models which boast up to 10 megapixels of resolution, but the images produced out of this camera are rich in color and impressively sharp, even in difficult shooting or low light conditions. The Fujifilm S6000fd can compete with many higher-resolution super zoom models and even over some digital SLRs.

The Canon EOS 30D has a perfect price and features that include excellent image quality to become a favorite Digital SLR camera for a lot of photographers. The EOS 30D shares many common features with its predecessor the 20D which include the same 8.2 MegaPixel CMOS sensor, DIGIC II Image processor, 5 frames per second fast continuous shooting mode, high precision 9 point Auto Focus system and a viewfinder. The 30D gives excellent photos especially at high ISO sensitivity settings.

Some very good features of the Canon 30D are:

• Interchangeable lenses can be used
• Red-eye reduction feature by built-in illuminator
• Supports 24 bit JPEG and 36 bit RAW data file formats
• Electronic self timer
• Operates in shooting priority mode to view pictures
• Ability to adjust ISO in 1/3 stop increments

A few Drawbacks of this SLR camera are:

• No memory card included with the 30D
• LCD not as bright or sharp as compared to other models

Specifications:
Megapixels – 8.2
Weight (oz.) – 24.7
LCD Size – 2.5 inch
Flash Range (ft) – 43 to 102 ft
Battery type – Lithium-Ion
Special features – Spot metering options, Improved shutter with a 100,000 life cycle, Print/Share button, USB 2.0 high speed support, Supports JPEG and RAW recording format.

Summary:
If you are willing to spend a good amount for a compact Digital SLR which should have a fast frame rate and high grade build quality and a lot of additional features and performance like improved camera operation, large buffer, full manual controls, then the Canon EOS 30D is a good choice for you.

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