Digital Camera and Photography: Tips, Information and News | Neocamera Blog

Not be left out of the CES and pre-PMA announcements, the Sony Alpha A200 and Nikon D60 were recently launched by their respective manufacturers. Unlike the K20D and K200D which have no significant differences relative to their predecessors, the Nikon D60 and Sony Alpha A200 have no differences with the D40X and Alpha A100, respectively. Well, there are some changes, but the most significant is the change in model number. Considering the major specifications of these cameras, it would be hard to tell them apart. Another way to see it is that the Nikon D60 and Sony Alpha A200 will make the D40X and A100 more affordable thanks to those who prefers the latest models just because they are the latest.

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Pentax recently announced their K20D and K200D DSLR cameras as successors to the K10D and K100D Super, respectively. Honestly, my first reaction was one of disappointment: What? Nothing ground-breaking? Right! Now the good news: Not much has changed between these cameras and their excellent predecessors. Ergonomics and body-design are identical. Both have added about 4 megapixels of resolution along with a few minor changes. Curiously, the K20D added one stop of ISO (or two if you count the boost mode) but the K200D lost one compared to the K100D Super.

For these two models, the proven formula of their predecessors means that we expect these new ones to remain excellent cameras, barring any unexpected increase in image noise due to added resolution. In this respect, the K20D is a gamble and a scary one at that. Pentax coming out with a 14 megapixels sensor from Samsung, who has always made extremely noisy sensors for compact cameras and has never made any DSLR sensor before is completely uncharted territory. Lets hope Pentax and Samsung got their act together right for the Pentax K20D’s CMOS sensor.

The most significant change of the K200D is its weather-proofed body. This mean that the K200D becomes the smallest and cheapest weather-proof DSLR and it is also becomes the only weather-proof DSLR to use AA batteries. Those two combined features make the K200D more suitable to off-the-beaten path photography. The differences between the K10D and the K200D come down to ergonomics (in the K10D’s favor including its larger viewfinder) and power (in favor of the K200D thanks to the versatility of AA batteries). All things being more-or-less equal, the K200D is positioned to be the most capable cameras in its class.

The story is somewhat different with the K20D. Although it pushed the resolution limit of cropped-sensor DSLR by 2 megapixels passed its closest competitor, the Sony Alpha A700, there are many areas in which Pentax is falling behind, plus Sony also just announced a lower-end DSLR with a 14 megapixels sensor. The most significant advance among DSLR cameras over the last year is speed. Indeed, prosumer models from Canon (40D), Nikon (D300) and Sony (A700) all feature at least 5 FPS continuous shooting and top-of-the-line models exceed 10 FPS. By comparison, 3 FPS on the K20D is so entry-level.

The other lack of progress comes from the K10D’s viewfinder. The K10D had the largest viewfinder among cropped-sensor DSLRs and the K20D keeps the same size which is still the largest. However, Nikon has bested the K10D’s viewfinder by providing one that is nearly equally large and shows 100% coverage (vs 95% for the K20D and K10) on its D300. Olympus also introduced a 100% coverage viewfinder in its E-3, although it is noticeably smaller. This important feature had been limited to high-end Pro cameras until now and I definitely expected Pentax to keep up with this extremely advantageous change. Incidentally, having a 100% coverage viewfinder removes one clear advantage of live-view which has been increasing in popularity lately.

Nikon and Sony now use 3″ LCD screens with nearly one million dots which is 4 times as precise as the display on the Pentax K20D. Finally, Nikon introduced a level-indicator on its D3 to help keep images horizontal. Not only is this the sort of photographer-oriented feature that Pentax is famous for inventing, but Pentax has the technology to automatically correct it because the Shake-Reduction (SR) system in the K20D can rotate the sensor to compensate for the photographer’s movements.

Still, even though the K20D has behind in some areas, it has a lot going for it. I expect it to be the third most affordable weather-proof DSLR (after the K200D and K10D) and that features unique to the Pentax K10D will remain unique to the K20D (with the exception of the K10D of course). Particularly, time and aperture priority (TAv) mode, sensitivity priority (Sv) mode, hyper-program (P), hyper-manual (M) and digital white-balance preview are all exceptional tools which increase the photographer’s efficiency.

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Without much fanfare, camera manufacturers have introduced many fixed-lens cameras with relatively wider lenses. While lenses starting between 35mm and 38mm are still the norm, 28mm and wider lenses are very rare. The few cameras with lenses starting at 24mm, such as the Sony Cybershot DSC-R1 and Kodak Easyshare P880, have been long discontinued. Last year we saw the Fuji Finepix S8000fd and Olympus SP-560 being the widest at 27mm.

In truth, there has historically always been far more people asking for more zoom than for wider lenses. Myself, being part of the latter group, have often felt disappointed with the lack of wide-angle offerings at any one time. Particularly, few flagship models have had such wide-angle lenses, except for Fuji’s mechanically-linked S-series. However, I noticed that we have been receiving proportionally more inquiries lately about wide-angle lenses. One obvious explanation is that the latest crop of 14X to 20X zoom easily reach beyond 400mm is indeed far reaching. Honestly, I do not feel I can see far enough to know where to point a 400mm lens…

When I read the press-release of the Olympus SP-570, the 20X zoom really stuck out as going for the big numbers but it was the 26mm wide-angle that got me interested. At 26mm, the SP-570 because the widest fixed-lens camera in production. Little did I know that this distinguishing quality would be so short-lived: Panasonic today annouced their Lumix DMC-FX35 with a 25-100mm lens, besting the Olympus SP-570 by 4% in terms of field-of-view.

Intestingly, there has been a disproportionate number of wide-angle ultra-compacts, the FX35 included, compared to larger – and more advanced – cameras. Among large cameras, we now (or soon) have:

• Olympus SP-570 – 20X Stabilized optical zoom, starting at 26mm.
• Fuji Finepix S81000fd and S8000fd – 18X Stabilized optical zoom, starting at 27mm.
• Olympus SP-560 and SP-550 – 18X Stabilized optical zoom, starting at 27mm.
• Fuji Finepix S100FS – 14X Stabilized optical zoom, starting at 28mm.
• Fuji Finepix S6000fd, S9100 and S9000 - 10.7X Optical zoom, starting at 28mm.
• Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ18 – 18X Stabilized optical zoom, starting at 28mm.
• Sony Cybershot DSC-H9 and H7 – 15X Stabilized optical zoom, starting at 31mm.

Among compact and ultra-compact cameras, we currently have:

• Panasonic Lumix DMC-FX35 – 4X Stabilized optical zoom, starting at 25mm.
• Panasonic Lumix DMC-TZ5, TZ4, TZ3 and TZ2 – 10X Stabilized optical zoom starting at 28mm.
• Fuji Finepix F100fd- 5X Optical zoom, starting at 28mm.
• Casio Exilim EX-Z200 – 4X Stabilized optical zoom, starting at 28mm.
• Casio Exilim EX-Z100 – 4X Optical zoom, starting at 28mm.
• Fuji Finepix F480- 4X Optical zoom, starting at 28mm.
• Nikon Coolpix S600 – 4X Optical zoom, starting at 28mm.
• Olympus FE-350- 4X Optical zoom, starting at 28mm.
• Olympus FE-290- 4X Optical zoom, starting at 28mm.
• Canon Powershot SD870 IS – 3.7X Stabilized optical zoom, starting at 28mm.
• Nikon Coolpix P50 – 3.6X Stabilized optical zoom, starting at 28mm.
• Olympus Stylus 1030SW – 3.6X Optical zoom, starting at 28mm.
• Panasonic Lumix DMC-FX33, FX55 and FX100 – 3.5X Stabilized optical zoom starting at 28mm.
• Sony Cybershot DSC-W170 – 5X Stabilized optical zoom starting at 28mm.
• Panasonic Lumix DMC-FS5 and FS20 – 4X Stabilized optical zoom starting at 30mm.
• Panasonic Lumix DMC-LZ10- 5X Stabilized optical zoom starting at 30mm.
• Sony Cybershot DSC-W150 – 5X Stabilized optical zoom starting at 30mm.
• Panasonic Lumix DMC-LZ8- 5X Stabilized optical zoom starting at 32mm.
• Fuji Finepix E900 – 4X Optical zoom starting at 32mm.
• Sony Cybershot DSC-W130 and W140 – 4X Stabilized optical zoom, starting at 32mm.

That’s all! Notice how most of these cameras have been announced in the last 2 weeks? Many of them have not even shipped yet, but it will not be long. Hopefully this is a sign of a new trend, with most wide-angle models starting at 28mm or wider. The bulk of wide-angle cameras comes in the form of ultra-compact models but, for those looking for advanced features and a wide-angle lens, there are several advanced models in the large category.

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It’s no secret that Neocamera prefers AA batteries over proprietary batteries, as do many other digital camera review sites. There are many reasons for this, including the flexibility they provide, price and availability.

Despite the advantages of AA batteries, a number of people have reported bad experiences with them. That is how I realized the primary advantage of proprietary batteries: their predictability. When you buy a digital camera that requires a proprietary battery, it comes with a brand-new manufacturer-issued battery. That battery was specifically chosen by the manufacturer for that particular camera and the two were extensively tested together. Battery-life was also presumably determined using that same battery model.

Things are different with AA batteries. Some cameras come with disposable Alkaline batteries which rapidly find their way into the trash, while most others come with none at all. Although few manufacturers ship rechargeable batteries, those are the exception. Due to this, people end up testing their new cameras with whatever batteries they find and therefore the millage varies, and it does so greatly…

Here are things to consider when using AA batteries:

• Brand and power matters. Not all batteries are equal. Even though two AA batteries may be specified with the same energy (Say 2500 mAh), some will last longer than others. This has to do with the current they produce as they get discharged. For your information, Maha PowerEx NiMh batteries unscientifically gave me the best results, followed by Sanyo NiMh (not the Eneloop which I did not try).
• New NiMh batteries do not fill to capacity until a few recharge cycles. On average between 6 and 10 cycles (a full charge followed by a full discharge) are required before they reach peak capacity.
• As NiMh batteries get older, their performance diminishes. After a few hundred recharges, they become pretty much useless. Battery-makers generally quote battery-lifespan between 100 and 1000 cycles but results will vary depending on how far a battery is discharged and recharged.
• All NiMh gradually loose their charge when not in use. Most such batteries will not have enough power to operate a digital camera after one month, regardless of their initial charge. That means if you take only one picture each day, you will get a battery-life of 30 or so images. Note that there are now Imedion batteries that claim to keep 85% of their charge after one year.
• Battery life greatly depends on usage. Most numbers are quoted based on the CIPA standard which uses flash 50% of the time and is based on specific timing and other actions such as power-cycling the camera and zooming. Flash and LCD use influence battery-life the most. Those who do not use flash will get a much longer battery-life than the one quoted by the camera maker. Note that movie recording does not fit into this.
• Battery-life also depends on environmental conditions. Cold, for example, reduces battery-life and can cause a camera to be inoperable. Note that freezing batteries is considered dangerous as it can cause internal damage and it is therefore advisable to dispose any batteries which may have frozen.
• Chargers are also important. Many chargers do not charge batteries to their full capacity. Fast chargers generally produce less charge than their slower counterparts. For example, 15 minute chargers usually do not fill the battery to more than 80%-85% of they peak capacity. Due to this, some models of chargers offer two charging speeds. The strategy taken by Imaging Resource is to initially use a rapid charger and follow that by a slow charger to reach peak capacity.

Now, suppose you got the best batteries and charger you can find (and you indeed found good ones). Lets say you also took all the precautions listed above to make sure that your batteries are operating at their best. If you still get battery-life far below that quoted by the manufacturer, then it is time to think the unthinkable: the camera may be defective. If it is still under warranty, get it replaced. You paid for it after all.

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In part 1, we covered things to consider when buying a second camera to complement a digital SLR. In this part of The Second Camera, we consider how to choose a camera to complement a fixed-lens camera. Most fixed lens cameras fall into three categories: small cameras with little or no manual controls (usually ultra-compacts), small camera with manual controls (usually compacts) and larger digital cameras with full manual controls (often large or medium long-zoom cameras). Unlike with DSLR cameras, there are not many reasons for a nearly identical backup fixed-lens camera. With that in mind, a second camera should complement more a fixed-lens camera, rather than serve as a redundancy.

Ultra-Compact Companions

In the case of an ultra-compact, or a compact with little user controls, the compromise made was increased portability at the expense of quality and flexibility. Ideally, a complementary camera should compensate for one of these issues. Most often, this would be image quality. For those with a slow ultra-compact camera, getting a speed advantage is highly desirable.

Naturally, the camera class that overcomes the limitations of most small cameras is the DSLR category. Compared to all ultra-compacts, DSLRs offer superior quality and faster performance. To learn how to choose an appropriate DSLR, in itself, you can consult Neocamera’s DSLR Guide. If portability is still a major concern, aim for an entry-level DSLR, they are normally smaller. The absolute smallest DSLR is currently the Olympus E-410, but the Nikon D40x and Canon Digital Rebel XTi are quite small too.

A DSLR is not for everyone. Factors such as cost, complexity and size are potential reasons. In such case, a full-featured ultra-zoom camera can still complement an ultra-compact well. The Fuji Finepix S6000fd is probably the closest thing you can get to a DSLR and its sibling the Fuji Finepix S9100 a close second. As these camera are still relatively large, smaller options can be preferred. In this case, the just-reviewed Canon Powershot A720 IS with its 6X optical zoom lens can be a great choice.

Compact Companions

The compact camera is the toughest to compliment because it is already a midway compromise between size, features and quality. If size still gets in the way and you find yourself taking less pictures than you would like, then the only way to go is towards an ultra-compact. There are a number of ultra-compacts which are excellent relative to their class.

On the other hand, if the main concern is image quality, then the only sure way to go is with a DSLR. Modern compacts and ultra-zoom often use the same sensors, so there is very little image quality to gain there. Particularly, the highest quality lenses among fixed-lens cameras are now found on compacts. Ultra-compacts usually have reduced quality lenses due to size-constraints. Ultra-zooms usually have lower quality lenses to pack a long zoom range in a relatively compact size. See our DSLR Guide for how to choose one.

Ultra-zoom Companions

The ultra-zoom camera normally has two problems: it is bigger than most cameras and it has somewhat reduced image quality. Functionality is not often a problem and speed is not a big issue either. To remedy the problem of size, you must carefully consider how small do you want your next camera to be and how much functionality are you willing to live without. If you go very small, manual controls become very rate, as do moderate zoom ranges. The HP Photosmart R967 is an exception in terms of manual controls and the Pentax Optio Z10 with its 7X optical zoom is an exception in terms of zoom range.

In the compact category, which are between 1″ and 2″ thick, full-manual controls are common and zoom ranges exist up to 10X, either wide-angle or standard. For example, the Panasonic Lumix DMC-TZ3 has a 10X zoom with 28-280mm range but no manual controls and the Canon PowerShot SX100 IS has a 10X zoom with 35-350mm range but does have manual controls. To have significantly better image quality, a DSLR is a must, see the advice for ultra-compacts above.

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