Last episode, we discussed why there are no Poor DSLR cameras. In this episode we discuss what is happening at the opposite end of the scale. Review after review, recent DSLRs have all been scoring Excellent.

Not to say that those DSLRs are not quite good, but the problem is due to historical ratings. Once certain DSLRs a few years ago were awarded Excellent status, any equally good or better camera has to be given the same status. Otherwise, readers would get very confused. Imagine if some better but newer camera would be given a lower score, then selecting among our list of cameras would be difficult because the ratings would not be absolutely ordered.

The result is that there is now a large discrepancy in performance between the most and the least Excellent camera in our DSLR models page. Two solutions come to mind: revise each camera’s rating or extend the rating system. The former way is tedious because there are a lot of cameras and factors to consider, plus image quality data is not always comparable. The latter approach will counter the simplicity of the rating system by adding levels of Excellence. Stay tuned to see which way we end up going…

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Earlier this week Neocamera posted its full-review of the Nikon Coolpix S600. This ultra-compact digital camera is one of the newest of Nikon’s mid-range S-series, between the low-end L-series and the more advanced P-series. As such, it features a now-standard 10 megapixels sensor and a not-so-common wide-angle 4X optical zoom lens, equivalent to 28-112mm in 35mm terms. The S600 also features ISO sensitivities up to 3200, continuous autofocus and face-detection.

Even compared to other ultra-compacts, the S600 is a diminutive camera. While it is not any thinner, the metal casing is small and durable. There are quite a few external controls for such a tiny camera which is powered by a proprietary lithium-ion battery and takes SD/SDHC cards for memory. See the review summary to find out more.

Neocamera today brings you the world’s first full review of the Fuji Finepix F100fd, Fuji’s new flagship ultra-compact.

This follow-up on the excellent Fuji F50 adds a wide-angle 5X optical zoom lens and pushes its top ISO sensitivity to an incredible maximum of 12800. At its full 12 megapixels resolution, the F100 goes to ISO 3200, one full stop more than the F50 does. Fuji also added an expanded dynamic range feature to capture up to 400% more dynamic range than normally possible.

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The world’s toughest digital camera was just reviewed at Neocamera. That would be the Olympus Stylus 1030SW, which is waterproof, shockproof, crushproof and scratchproof. Having such a tough camera with you opens up many possibilities.

Unlike most ultra-compact cameras, the Stylus 1030SW features a wide-angle lens, equivalent to 28-102mm on a 35mm camera. A 10 megapixels sensor and a 2.7″ LCD round-off the main photographic specifications of this unique digital camera. Feature-wise, the Olympus Stylus 1030SW is rather limited with no manual controls at all, not even for white-balance. Remember though that the tough metal exterior of the 1030SW is its most important feature.

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FlashBlock is a browser extension that prevents Flash objects from starting automatically. FlashBlock works with Mozilla-based browsers such as Firefox and SeaMonkey. The difference between using FlashBlock and not installing the Flash Plug-In is that Flash objects can be activated on-demand buy clicking on the FlashBlock place-holder. This way, Flash objects such as embedded video-players simply require an extra click, while unwanted Flash objects can simply be left unactivated.

Using FlashBlock provides several advantages:

• Reduced CPU usage and improved browsing speed. There are many sites which use so many Flash objects on a single page that they can keep more than one CPU running at 100% and cause the browser to become otherwise unresponsive.
• Reduced visual clutter and distractions. Flash is well-known for being, well, flashy. Sometimes so much so that it distracts from a sites contents. By the way, Neocamera has a no-Flash policy for ads.If a Flash ad appears, let us know and we will warn the publisher or distribution network.
• Open YouTube videos in multiple tabs. Because YouTube uses a Flash video player, each time a tab is opened with the URL of a video-clip, it starts playing. A great example is the Related Videos column which appears on pages of YouTube videos. If you want to see multiple videos from one such column, clicking on one brings you to a page with a new list, so you have to open each video one at a time. The best way is to open each one in a new tab and then activate the video-player using FlashBlock as you view each tab.
• Save the planet. Yes, FlashBlock helps reduce energy consumption because it lets you control which Flash player gets activated. This way, you can speed up your web-experience and do your part to conserve energy.

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