Reviews

A well-built compact digicam with an attractive range of shooting modes for more experienced photographers.Almost identical to the NV7 OPS we reviewed in October 2006, Samsung’s new NV5 has the same 7x optical zoom lens and ‘Smart Touch’ user interface but lacks the CCD shift image stabilisation system of the earlier model. Instead there’s the ISO-boosting ASR (Advanced Shake Reduction) system, which is less effective at counteracting camera shake and may reduce picture quality. ISO settings range from 100 to 1000.

A well-built, high-resolution digicam with plenty of shooting modes for both stills and video clips.Slimmer and more elegant looking than the NV5 model, Samsung’s new NV11 combines a slightly larger, 10.1-megapixel CCD image sensor with a Schneider-Kreuznach 5x optical zoom lens. It has the same ‘Smart Touch’ user interface as the NV5 model but a larger, 2.7-inch TFT LCD. Samsung’s ISO-boosting ASR (Advanced Shake Reduction) system, along with the face recognition technology that adjusts both AF and AE to deliver sharp, correctly exposed people shots.

Plenty of adjustments and good-looking pictures, but no viewfinder or still picture stabilisation. Chronic lateral chromatic aberration was detected.The chunky, retro-styled body of Samsung’s new Digimax L85 camera contains a larger-than-average 8.1-megapixel CCD plus a Schneider-Kreuznach Varioplan lens with 5x optical zoom. The lens focuses down to 1cm in Macro mode and the L85 offers plenty of manual controls. But there’s no optical viewfinder, which most serious photographers will see as a disadvantage.

Available in ‘Noble Wine’, ‘Indigo Blue’ or ‘Milk Silver’ colours, Samsung’s Digimax V700 is a step up from the standard point-and-shoot digicam, with some additional features that will attract more experienced photographers. The lightweight aluminium body feels solid and comfortable – although we have some concerns about the durability of the tether for the DC-in AV-out port cover. However, the battery/card compartment closes securely and the tripod socket is well positioned and the button controls, though small, are logically positioned. The viewfinder eyepiece is, unfortunately, rather small and not diopter adjustable.

Ricoh’s Caplio R2 is an upgrade to the R1 with a 5-megapixel CCD sensor but the same 4.8x zoom lens, which is equivalent to 28-135mm in 35mm format, and the same ‘pendulum’ lens retracting mechanism. The physical dimensions and controls of both models are similar, although the R2 lacks an optical viewfinder and its 2.5-inch LCD monitor takes up most of the rear panel.

A point-and-shoot digital camera with a built-in printer that uses ZINK printing technology.We seldom review point-and-shoot digicams unless they include features that are novel or potentially interesting in some way. The recently-released Polaroid Two camera qualified by being the first digicam we’ve seen with a built-in printer. Ten-sheet packs of 76 x 49 mm ZINK Photo Paper are loaded into the camera body, dropping into a tray behind the lift-up LCD monitor and users can decide which shots to print after they are taken.

A compact, high-zoom digicam with CCD-shift image stabilisation and some handy auto image correction functions.The latest of Nikon’s ‘twist-and-shoot’ cameras, the Coolpix S10 has a 6-megapixel imager and a 10x optical zoom lens. Nikon’s swivelling cameras were among the more versatile models in their digicam range but that has changed with the S10, which has been designed with point-and-shoot photographers in mind. There’s no thread on the lens barrel for filters and other add-ons, the maximum aperture is relatively small at f/3.5 and controls are somewhat restricted for a long-zoom camera.

With its smart black body, long lens and pop-up flash, Kyocera’s Finecam M410 looks like a serious camera. Its plastic body is comfortable to use and the pop-up flash is nicely integrated. The 10x optical zoom lens is fast and test shots were sharp, but no image stabilisation is provided. The mode dial covers full auto, drive, scene, ‘Ext.’, movie and set-up. Four scene modes are provided and ‘Ext.’ allows users to access white balance pre-sets and open an ‘M’ menu containing a wide range of adjustments. The EVF is diopter-adjustable and a live histogram display is provided.