Expert Camera Reviews

1. Canon EOS Digital Rebel XTi

The new Canon Rebel XTi has a 10.1-megapixel sensor, a 2.5 inch LCD screen, and a new dust cleaning system. The Rebel XTi works with a vast system of over 50 lenses and a wide array of accessories.

Features:

• 10.1 effective Megapixel CMOS sensor

• Built-in dust reduction system

• Large and bright 2.5″ LCD display

• 9-point Auto Focus system

• Can take 27 JPEG and 10 RAW shots in a row in burst mode

• New Picture Styles feature

See best price for the Canon EOS Digital Rebel XTi on Amazon.com

2. Canon PowerShot A640

The Canon PowerShot A640 comes with lots of manual settings and at a reasonably low price tag, The PowerShot A640 with a 10 megapixel CMOS sensor and a pivoting 2.5 inch LCD screen looks quite smart and appealing. The A640 is loaded with features that should please more-advanced photographers. The camera offers full PASM controls, giving users the option of completely manual shooting. The camera uses a 35mm-to-140mm-equivalent lens, giving it a bit more zoom than standard 3X shooters.

Features:

• Megapixels - 10.0
• Optical Zoom - 4x
• LCD Size - 2.5 inch
• Audio Notes with still images
• DPOF and PictBridge Printing Capability
• Print/Share button for direct printing and image transfer

See best price for the Canon PowerShot A640 on Amazon.com.

3. Canon PowerShot S3 IS

The Canon Powershot S3 IS is an update to the very popular PowerShot S2 ultra zoom, Image stabilized camera. The S3 has a 12x optical zoom with image stabilization, flip and twist LCD viewfinder, tons of photographic control modes and advanced movie mode with stereo sound. There are also some new scene modes in the S3 which are, color accent and color swap.

Features:

• Megapixels - 6.0

• Optical Zoom - 12x

• LCD Size – 2.0”

• Optical Image stabilization

• High quality lens

• NTSC and PAL compatible

• Sound caption recording

See best price for the Canon PowerShot S3 IS on Amazon.com.

4. Canon EOS Digital Rebel XT

The Canon Digital Rebel XT offers more creative control than its predecessor and boasts of an 8-megapixel CMOS sensor and Canon’s Digic II processing engine. It is an exceptionally small and lightweight camera designed for amateur digital SLR photographers, but it delivers image quality you’d expect from a semi-professional model.

Features:

• 8.0 effective Megapixel CMOS sensor

• 1.8” LCD Display

• Digic II processing engine

• 18 - 55 mm, F3.5-5.6 EF-S lens

• NP-2LH Lithum-ion rechargeable battery pack

Click here to see best price for the Canon EOS Digital Rebel XT on Amazon.com.

5. Canon EOS-30D Digital

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.

Features:

• 8.2 effective megapixel CMOS sensor

• 2.5 inch LCD

• Spot metering options

• Improved shutter with a 100,000 life cycle

• Print/Share button

• Supports JPEG and RAW recording format

See best price for the Canon EOS-30D Digital on Amazon.com.

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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The Canon PowerShot SD430 happens to be Canon’s first PowerShot with built-in Wi-Fi technology, which allows you to send photos to your Windows PC without touching a USB cable. The SD430 has a 35mm to 105mm lens with a relatively slow f/2.8 to f/4.9 maximum aperture, a 2 inch LCD screen, optical viewfinder and limited manual control, snappy shooting performance, but with impressive remote control capabilities. Using Canon’s RemoteCapture utility for Windows XP SP2 a PowerShot SD430 user can remotely control zoom, ISO speed, macro mode, white balance, color mode, metering mode, focus point, image size and compression level , autofocus type and flash mode

Positive features of the PowerShot SD430 are:

• Built-in wireless control, image transfer and printing
• With the ‘My Colors” features one can customize the photos while shooting
• Shutter speeds of 15 seconds to 1/2000 second
• Voice memos can be attached to still images
• Continuous shooting at 2 frames per second till memory permits
• Unlimited length of movie mode at 640×480 with sound

Negative features of the PowerShot SD430 are:

• The zoom and focus mechanisms are a little noisy
• WiFi transfers works only to Windows systems
• Shutter response at telephoto focal lengths is a little slow
• Inaccurate optical viewfinder
• Only white balance and EV compensation options in Manual mode
• Low battery life

Specifications:
Megapixels – 5.0
Weight (oz.) – 4.5
Optical Zoom – 3x
LCD Size – 2.0 inch
Flash Range (ft) – 1.6 to 12 ft
Image stabilizer - No
Battery type – Rechargeable Lithium battery
Special features – Print/Share button for direct printing, 16 MB SD Memory, Customizable “My Camera” settings, Continuous shooting mode, Connect to Television

Summary:
The SD430 is attractively styled, but considering its poor battery life and noisy operation, and priced at $500, the SD430 is a bit on the expensive side for a 5-megapixel camera with wireless features. It’s $100 more than the Nikon P2, which also includes wireless.