Photo Review Reviews section

1 Nikkor VR 30-110mm f/3.8-5.6 Lens

8.3 Rating

The kit tele-zoom lens supplied with the new Nikon 1 cameras.The 1 Nikkor VR 30-110mm f/3.8-5.6 provides the tele-zoom lens in the twin-lens kit offered with the new Nikon 1 camera bodies. Providing a 3.7x zoom range, it covers an angle of view equivalent to 81-297 mm in 35mm format and is suitable for photographing sports and wildlife, with some value as a portrait and close-up lens.

Vivitar ViviCam X60

8.5 Rating

A keenly-priced, high-resolution digicam with plenty of user-adjustable controls.Vivitar’s new ViviCam X60 packs a lot of sophisticated functions into a very compact body. And at $599 for a 10-megapixel, 6x optical zoom camera with P, A, S and M shooting modes and plenty of other adjustments, it represents a genuine bargain buy. No viewfinder is provided, but the LCD is slightly larger than many competing cameras offer and the control buttons, though quite small, are sensibly located. However, the comprehensive menu system is a bit fiddly to use.

Sony NEX-C3

8.5 Rating

A smaller, lighter replacement for the NEX-3 with a higher-resolution sensor plus new Picture Effects.Just over a year after entering the mirrorless interchangeable-lens camera market, Sony has added another model to its line-up. The NEX-C3, which replaces the NEX-3, is smaller and 14 grams lighter than its predecessor. It also comes with a 16.2-megapixel sensor, offering higher resolution than either the NEX-3 or NEX-5, both of which were 14.2-megapixel cameras.

Sony Cyber-shot DSC-HX100V

9 Rating

Sony’s latest ultra-zoom digicam offers higher resolution, Full HD video, 3D stills capture and a higher-resolution monitor.The HX100V is the flagship model in Sony’s super-zoom range and one of two digicams announced at the end of January. Featuring a 30x optical zoom lens that covers the equivalent of 27-810mm in 35mm format, it sports a backlit CMOS sensor with 16.2-megapixel effective resolution and provides plenty of attractive features for tech-savvy photographers (although not, alas, raw file capture).

Sony Cyber-shot DSC-H9

8 Rating

A compact,15x optical zoom digicam with high resolution and advanced image processing functions.Sony’s top-of-the-range ‘super zoom’ digicam, the Cyber-shot DSC-H9 combines a compact Carl Zeiss 15x optical zoom lens (equivalent to 31-465mm in 35mm format) with an 8.1-megapixel (effective) CCD imager. Like the DSC-T100 model reviewed in late April, the H9 comes with Sony’s BIONZ image processor which was first featured on the DSLR-A100 model but has been adapted to support new functions like Face Detection and Double Anti-Blur stabilisation.

Sony Cyber-shot DSC-HX1

8 Rating

An ultra-zoom digicam with HD video recording capabilities and some handy functions for still shooting.Sony has brought its Exmor CMOS technology to the super-zoom arena in the form of the 9.1-megapixel Cyber-shot DSC-HX1. Styled like a mini-DSLR – but too big to be pocketable – the HX1 is the highest-priced model on the current market. However, it boasts a 20x optical zoom lens plus a couple of features that make it stand out from the crowd, including a Sweep Panorama mode and 10 frames/second continuous shooting speed.

Sony Cyber-shot DSC-H5

8.5 Rating

A pleasing long zoom digicam with above-average performance for both still shots and video.Sony has replaced last year’s DSC-H1 long-zoom model with two new cameras, the 7.2-megapixel DSC-H5 and the 6-megapixel DSC-H2. The H5 sits at the top of the range, offering not only higher resolution but a larger LCD and 30 MB of on-board memory. As the built-in memory only holds nine high-resolution shots, you need additional storage in the form of a Memory Stick Duo card (a 1GB card was supplied for our tests).

Sony Cyber-shot DSC-H1

The DSC-H1 Cyber-shot is Sony’s first entry in the competitive, image-stabilised, ultra-zoom digicam market. Designed for photo enthusiasts, the 5-megapixel H1 provides a generous suite of controls and can record JPEG stills with 4:3 or 3:2 aspect ratios plus MPEG movie clips at 30 frames/second with VGA quality.

Sony Cyber-shot DSC-F828

[ia] Sony’s Cybershot DSC-F828 has similar ‘SLR-like’ styling to the DSC-F717 but is larger, weighs roughly 250 grams more and its 28-200mm (equivalent) Carl Zeiss T* lens is better integrated into the body, making the camera more comfortable to operate. The lens barrel can be tilted up through 70 degrees and down to 30 degrees and has rings for zooming and focusing. The mode dial carries P, A, S, M and full auto positions, movie and playback modes, plus a scene setting covering landscape, portrait, twilight and twilight portrait shots. Three AF settings are provided: multi-point, centre AF, and flexible spot AF, selected via the joystick multi-selector. Sony’s NightShot and NightFraming modes are included, the former delivering a grainy monochrome image captured in infrared light and the latter using the hologram emitter to provide a range for the focusing system and flash.

Sony Alpha NEX-7

8.6 Rating

A mirrorless interchangeable-lens camera with a high-resolution APS-C sized sensor, sophisticated controls and both 3D and Full HD video recording.Sony has taken the 23.5 x 15.6 mm 24.3-megapixel Exmor sensor it used in the Alpha SLT-A77 and installed it in a compact camera body to produce the NEX 7. It has also built a high-resolution, 1.3 cm XGA OLED electronic viewfinder into the new camera body, along with a proprietary hot shoe that accepts Sony’s flash guns. Further adjustments have been made to allow the NEX 7 to match (or exceed) the capabilities of many DSLR cameras while retaining a small, almost pocketable camera body.