Compact Camera Reviews

The Fujifilm Finepix X100 is designed like a classic viewfinder camera yet it offers state-of-the-art digital technology and some brand new and innovative systems. The Hybrid viewfinder, for example, is an example of a sophisticated enhancement of a classic concept. First of all, there’s a very bright and large optical viewfinder onto which the camera will overlay exposure information (aperture, shutter speed) and a parallax marker. Instead of using an optical system to create these overlay elements, as done in classic viewfinders of analog cameras, it uses a high resolution LCD. This results in detailed information and a very crisp look.

In the report on the Canon PowerShot G11 (April, 2010, available at www.shutterbug.com) I concluded by saying that it was “an excellent traveling companion.” Ditto on the new G12 ($499, MSRP), the latest iteration of the Canon “G” line of integral lens cameras aimed at the photo enthusiast. In fact, you could ditto many of the form, function, and features of the G12 with the G11, so I will not...

The new Casio Exilim EX-HG20G (list price, about $350) is a pocket size camera that is a traveling companion for those who like to see where they’ve been. Some examples: during my test with the camera we turned down a dirt road and “got lost” in the back areas of Arroyo Hondo, NM. We saw various side roads going this way and that, roads that weren’t on any map we had in the car. We shot a few pictures with the H20G and later plugged the images into Aperture 3.1 in our MacBook Pro, used the Places feature and voila, we saw exactly where we had been and where those back roads led.

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At the recent TIPA (Technical Image Press Association) meeting we had an ongoing debate about how to classify cameras like the new Sony Alpha NEX-3.

Note From The Editor
Our criteria for doing a test on an integral lens camera is whether or not we think it would be a camera that a seasoned photographer could appreciate and use as a second body to back up a D-SLR, or even as the sole camera on a trip where a D-SLR would be cumbersome or burdensome. The camera in question should have many of—but not all—the...

The Canon PowerShot SX200 IS certainly delivers exceptional image quality when shot at reasonable ISO speeds.

Low-tech cameras, a.k.a. toy cameras, a.k.a. plastic cameras, a.k.a. “you can’t be serious” cameras, have been around for a very long time.