Peter K. Burian

As digital camera resolution is increasing, memory card manufacturers are keeping up, releasing new products with greater speed and storage capacity. Whether you shoot raw or the finest JPEGs, there's definitely a benefit to using the fastest memory card. The extra speed is useful primarily for greater burst depth--more frames in a long series--but also for shorter...

Owners of high-resolution digital cameras can definitely benefit from high-speed memory cards, as discussed in our review of the latest products (April 2006 issue of Shutterbug). But in camera speed is only one of the important aspects for anyone who shoots numerous images. Data transfer to a computer is also a significant factor and the right accessory can provide lightning-fast...

As recently as 18 months ago, a built-in image stabilizer was a rarity in digital
cameras. It was available only in a couple of Panasonic models and one Konica
Minolta DiMAGE camera. Today, an increasing number of digicams -- from four
manufacturers -- employ some form of camera shake compensating device. And there's
even a digital SLR with a built-in Anti-Shake mechanism, the Maxxum 7D. We expect
this trend to continue with other manufacturers jumping on the bandwagon. "Sounds
great if you're into high-tech gizmos," you may be thinking, "but
is this feature really necessary?"

...

Although digicams with built-in lenses still outsell D-SLRs by 10 to 1, market research indicates that 20 percent of consumers are planning to upgrade to an interchangeable-lens camera. As a result, most manufacturers are devoting significant R&D efforts to the D-SLR category, and we found some really desirable new cameras at photokina. The trend was toward more of the high-tech...