Photo Review Reviews section

Canon PowerShot S80

8.5 Rating

Features and functionality in a compact, well built, high resolution camera, although a few enthusiast functions are limited or absent.For a compact digicam, Canon’s elegant PowerShot S80 provides lots of user-adjustable controls. Although not strictly shirt-pocketable, the S80 is slim enough to slip into a jacket pocket or purse and its retracting 3.6x zoom lens is well protected behind the sliding lens cover/on-off switch. Its sturdy metal body contains an 8-megapixel CCD sensor plus Canon’s DiG!C II image processor and excellent ergonomics make the S80 a satisfying camera to use.

Canon PowerShot A700

8.5 Rating

An affordable digicam with a longer zoom lens and extended functionality.Added functionality makes Canon’s A700 PowerShot model more interesting than a simple point-and-shoot camera. With a 6x optical zoom lens that covers angles of view from 35mm to 210mm in 35mm format, it also sports a proper mode dial with P, Tv, Av and M settings as well as 10 scene modes, Colour Accent and Colour Swap settings and Stitch Assist.

Canon PowerShot S1 IS

Canon’s PowerShot S1 IS sports a 10x optical zoom lens plus a gyro-based image stabilisation system. The zoon is powered by an ultrasonic motor (USM) which is fast, quiet and reasonably easy to control. In video mode, where the S1 IS supports VGA capture with sound at 30 frames per second, the zoom switches to its slowest speed so no noise is recorded. Thirteen shooting modes are available through the mode dial, which is divided into the standard Canon Image and Creative zones and includes a custom mode for saving frequently used settings.

Canon Digital Ixus 500

Canon’s Digital Ixus 500 has the same compact, stainless steel body and 3x zoom lens as earlier models, with a new Print/Share button that allows image files to be downloaded directly to a Canon Direct or PictBridge-enabled photo printer, or a PC. Lens aperture is controlled automatically using evaluative metering. Centre-weighted and spot metering are also provided.

Canon Digital Ixus 50

[ia] Canon’s smallest and lightest zoon lens camera, the Ixus 50, can fit in a shirt pocket but offers plenty of user-adjustable settings. The 35-105mm (equivalent) lens retracts fully, giving the camera a smooth profile with few protrusions and the 5-megapixel CCD chip produces pictures with a top resolution of 2592 x 1944 pixels and a file size of just under 3 MB, which suggests restrained compression.

Tamron SP AF 17-50mm F/2.8 XR Di II LD Aspherical (IF) Lens

8.5 Rating

A well built standard zoom lens for DSLR cameras with ‘APS-C sized’ sensors.Tamron has tagged its new 17-50mm F/2.8 lens with the ‘SP’ label, indicating Super Performance, which puts it into the professional product category. It also bears the Di II, indicating a second-generation, digitally integrated lens that is designed for use with ‘APS-C sized’ sensors and mounts are available for Canon, Nikon and Sony DSLRs. As tested on a Canon EOS 300D, it covers a field of view equivalent to approximately 27-80mm.

Sigma DC 18-200mm 1:3.5-6.3 Lens

Sigma’s new 18-200mm F3.5-6.3 DC zoom lens is marginally heavier than the similarly-featured Tamron lens we reviewed in issue 25 but also somewhat smaller in size and considerably cheaper. Designed specifically for current DSLR cameras with ‘APS-C’ sized sensors (1.5-2.0 field of view crop), this lens has internal focusing, which prevents the front from rotating, making it ideal for use with angle-sensitive accessories like polarisers and graduated filters.

Nikon AF-S DX Zoom-Nikkor 17-55mm f/2.8G IF-ED Lens

This professional quality, mid-range zoom lens has been designed specifically for the ‘APS-C’ sized sensors used in all of Nikon’s DSLR cameras and is quite a different beast from the 18-55mm lens supplied with the D50 camera reviewed in this issue. Covering a picture angle equivalent to 25.5~82.5mm on a 35mm camera, it maintains its fast f2.8 maximum aperture throughout its zoom range, giving it a big advantage over the cheaper optic for photographers who shoot in dim lighting and those who require a high level of depth-of-field control with differential focusing.

Nikon AF-S DX Zoom-Nikkor 55-200mm f/4-5.6G ED Lens

Purchasers of Nikon DSLR cameras that come with 18-55mm or 18-70mm lenses will probably want a long zoom to extend their shooting capabilities. The recently-released AF-S DX Zoom-Nikkor 55-200mm f/4-5.6G ED has been designed specifically to meet this need. Available in black or silver (to match the D50), it can be used for subjects as diverse as candid portraits, sports, nature and wildlife photography.