Sony Cyber-shot DSC-T99 photos look soft and they lack in fine detail when you view it at full size except for the ones that are taken in macro. A camera having 14 megapixel resolution should have good room for cutting down the images. If you like cropping a lot of subjects and then want to print 13×19 photos, I would recommend you to look elsewhere. There are other cameras in the sub $250 category.

The overall photo quality on the Sony Cyber-shot DSC-T99 was brought down by the lens distortion. Sony has kept the barrel distortion in check for most parts. On left side, I saw some asymmetrical distortion. There isn’t any sign of pin cushioning on the zoom’s long end but there is distortion in corners which pulls the subjects up and in. Lens isn’t really sharp; the quality is OK in center but in the corners and sides, it drops off. This makes the subjects look smeary and soft. There is some fringing in the photos’ high contrast areas. All this distracts a lot when the photos are seen at full size or if they are cropped heavily. If you are not going to do either of these, there are chances that you will like results of this camera.

Video quality of the Sony Cyber-shot DSC-T99 was good and it was on par with a mini camcorder. There is 4x zoom available while video recording. But if you wish to see the HD movies and the photos from the camera to a large HDTV, you will have to use a proprietary component cable which connects to multiuse terminal on the bottom of the camera.

If you consider the Sony Cyber-shot DSC-T99 to be better than a typical camera phone and if you use the pics mostly for sharing on the Web, this camera is a good choice. It is not good for printing though. The photo quality and performance is nowhere close to what you get on the higher end touch screen cameras from Sony.

Ultra compact digital cameras with high end specifications are getting really popular these days and the Nikon Coolpix S550 here will have to compete with Casio Exilim EX-X100 (having 10 megapixel sensor, with 4x zoom with a 28mm wide-angle lens) and the Sony Cyber-shot DSC-W170 which looks quite impressive (with optical image stabilization, 5x zoom through 28mm wide angle lens and 10.1 megapixels sensor). There is also the Canon IXUS 970 IS with 5x zoom and 10 MP lens and CoolPix S550 which is more reasonably priced but it doesn’t have mechanical image stabilization.

I really liked the look of the Nikon Coolpix S550. It is a very simple camera and so is the design. The style of this device is pretty unassuming; the chassis is rectangular shaped and there is not a lot of decoration. The aluminum body with brushed pleasant texture feels great in the hand. This device is available in gunmetal, dark blue and silver color. I got the later in my labs for review. The camera is pretty small at 90 mm by 53.5 mm by 22 mm and it weighs just 135 grams with the battery.

Nikon Coolpix S550’s control layout is pretty simple. There are four buttons with a direction pad on the back. Fortunately, the manufacturer has opted for standard 4-way pad instead of the rotary unwieldy controls which was found on S500 and S600. I found it less frustrating and fiddly as compared to those two models. Another thing that is worth mentioning here is that the camera has shooting priority. This means the camera will cancel the menu and return to shooting mode if you half press the shutter button.

Controls on the Nikon Coolpix S550 are pretty straightforward. There is a mode button which lets you choose from the variety of shooting options like high-ISO mode, smile-detection shutter, sound recording, 15program scene mode movie mode, as well as basic set-up mode.

Thumbs Up:

Three inch screen, simple operation, runs on AA sized batteries

Thumbs Down:

Photos look smeary and soft, minimum features

The Whiz Kid Speaks:

Sony Cyber-shot DSC-S2100 is 3.9 inches wide, 1.1 inches deep, 2.4 inches high, and weighs 4.4 oz. The enclosure color is black, the device has a 12.1 megapixel resolution sensor with Super HAD CCD optical Sensor Type. Effective Sensor Resolution is 12,100,000 pixels. Light sensitivity options include ISO 200, ISO 100, ISO 400, ISO 1600, ISO 800, ISO auto and ISO 3200. The camera has 2x digital zoom. Shooting Programs include Beach, Snow, Gourmet, Soft snap, Landscape, Twilight mode, Twilight portrait, High sensitivity. Maximum Shutter Speed is 1/2000 seconds, Minimum Shutter Speed is 1 second. Exposure Metering options include Multi-segment, Spot, and Center-weighted. The two Exposure Modes include Program and Automatic

Exposure Compensation is ±2 EV range, in 1/3 EV steps, White Balance options include Custom, Automatic, Presets. White Balance Presets include Cloudy, Flash, Daylight, Fluorescent light (daylight), Incandescent, Fluorescent light (warm white), Fluorescent light (cool white). Images are stored in JPEG format. Video Capture resolution options are 640 x 480 pixels and 320 x 240 pixels. Supported Flash Memory cards are SD Memory Card, Memory Stick PRO Duo, Memory Stick Duo.

Additional Features include Face detection, Direct print, Built-in speaker, Auto power save, Cropping an image, Resizing an image, Histogram display, PictBridge support, In-camera red-eye fix, Built-in help guide, USB 2.0 compatibility, Blink Detection technology, Digital image rotation, Smile Detection technology, Intelligent Scene Recognition (iSCN), Camera orientation detection.

Image Storage options are JPEG 4000 x 2248, JPEG 4000 x 3000, JPEG 3264 x 2448, JPEG 1920 x 1080, JPEG 2592 x 1944 and JPEG 640 x 480. Flash Modes options include Auto mode, Slow synchro, Fill-in mode, Red-eye reduction, Flash OFF mode. Effective Flash Range is 1.6 feet – 22 feet. The camera has Zoom lens – 6.2 mm – 18.6 mm – F/3.1-5.6 with Focal Length of 6.2 mm – 18.6 mm. Focus Adjustment is Automatic, Min Focus Range 2 inches, Macro Focus Range 5 cm, Lens Aperture is F/3.1-5.6, Optical Zoom is 3 x. Other features include Features Built-in lens shield and Aspherical lens. The screen is 3 inches big with 230,400 pixels. Connectors include USB and Composite audio/video output. Expansion Slots include Memory Stick PRO Duo and SD Memory Card. Softwares include Sony Picture Motion Browser and Drivers & Utilities. Supported Operating Systems are MS Windows Vista, Apple Mac OS X 10.4 – 10.6, MS Windows 7, MS Windows XP SP3. There is a carrying case and wrist wrap included by the manufacturer. USB cable is also given, the camera runs on 2 AA sized batteries.

Razzle Dazzle:

Sony Cyber-shot DSC-S2100 is available in three color choices – orange, silver and black. This is a quite attractive budget friendly camera and the construction is quite good for this price range. The camera runs on 2 AA sized batteries which gives you bump on the sides for grip it comfortably. The body is almost entirely made of plastic excepto for the brushed metal on the lens which gives the camera an expensive look. We also liked that Sony gave a three inch screen for this device. Normally cameras in this price range come with 2.5 or 2.7 inch screens.

Inside Dope:

Sony Cyber-shot DSC-S2100 is an entry level camera from the company. At the moment, it is the only model from this manufacturer to run on AA sized batteries. For me, that is a highlight in a camera apart form a larger than standard display. This device is made for starters who are looking for easy operation and convenience. The photo quality is strictly OK but that is not unexpected at this price range. The performance is not that good either. But the camera still has some strong points, depending on how you are going to use the photos. The results are not that good but the still live up to the expectations.

Controls on the Sony Cyber-shot DSC-S2100 are pretty basic. You have the shutter release and power button on the top, and rest of the controls are located on the right side of the screen. You have rocker switch for 3x zoom, swtich for toggling between photo and video modes, play button for watching the movies and shots, four direction pad for navigation, and changing timer functions and flash pad, menu/delete buttons, display information button and smile detection activation button. The buttons are a bit small but still you will be able to press it easily. The four way pad and its center button could have been larger though.

Menu system on the Sony Cyber-shot DSC-S2100, just like the controls, is pretty straightforward. The menu button gives you shooting modes its mode sensitive settings. On the bottom, there is toolbox icon which gives you access to secondary set up options like memory card formating or turning off the loud beep (by default, every key press gives out a loud beep).

For connecting the Sony Cyber-shot DSC-S2100 to a computer, there is a micro-USB/AV port on the left side. On the bottom, you have tripod mount, memory card slot and battery compartment. Just like all 2010 Cybershots, this one too has a single slot of SD/SDHC cards and Memory Stick Pro Duo.

Sony Cyber-shot DSC-S2100 is made more for beginners, we liked the auto mode but this doesn’t mean that the camera doesn’t give you any control. There is Program Auto, autofocus points, white balance, exposure value and light metering controls. In our tests, the Intelligent Auto scene-recognition mode gave good results without any adjustments but you still get some options like burst shooting activation and exposure adjustment. The camera will lock all the options in the Easy mode (except for image size – where you get option for small or big). There are 8 options for scene shooting which includes Gourmet for food pictures and High Sensitivity for dim light shooting. Finally, there is a movie mode which captures VGA quality videos and you cannot use the optical zoom for movie recording.

Sony Cyber-shot DSC-S2100 has a few extras like face detection activation and smile detection sensitivity. There is also the SteadyShot electronic image stabilization, which adjusts shutter speed and ISO sensitivity for helping to counteract the camera shake and also the motion blur.

We don’t expect entry level cameras to have a great performance but the Sony Cyber-shot DSC-S2100 is faster than others for the given price range. It takes just 2.3 seconds for the camera to switch on and start shooting. In bright light conditions, the shutter lag is 0.6 second and in dim light, it goes down to 1 second. Shot to shot times are 2.1 seconds with the flash turned off. With the flash on, the wait time is doubled. However, this camera is pretty good in continous shooting at 1.1 fps. We won’t recommend this camera for shooting fast moving subjects like dogs. Photo quality of the Sony Cyber-shot DSC-S2100 is good considering this is an entry level camera.

Nitty Gritty:

Sony Cyber-shot DSC-S2100 is just another entry level compact camera, there is nothing beyond the basics here.

Thumbs Up:

Fast shooting performance, attractive looks, slim design, lots of useful features, good photo quality in low light conditions

Thumbs Down:

Photo quality looks a bit soft, battery life is poor

The Whiz Kid Speaks:

Sony Cyber-shot DSC-TX7 is 3.9 inches wide, 0.7 inch deep, 2.4 inches high and the weight is 4.7 oz. It has 10.2 megapixel sensor. Light sensitivity options are ISO auto, ISO 200, ISO 125, ISO 400, ISO 1600, ISO 800, ISO 3200. The camera has 2x digital zoom. Shooting programs include Snow, Pet, Gourmet, Beach, Landscape, Fireworks, Soft snap, Twilight mode, Underwater, Hi-speed shutter, Twilight portrait, High sensitivity.

Maximum Shutter Speed is 1/1600 second, minimum shutter speed is 2 seconds, Exposure Metering options are Multi-segment, Spot, Center-weighted. Exposure Modes are Program, Automatic. White Balance options are Presets, Custom and Automatic. White Balance Presets include Cloudy, Flash, Daylight, Incandescent, Underwater, Fluorescent light (daylight), Fluorescent light (warm white), Fluorescent light (cool white). Digital Video Format options include MPEG-4 and AVCHD. Images are stored in JPEG format.

Video Capture options are AVCHD – 1440 x 1080, AVCHD – 1920 x 1080, MPEG-4 – 1440 x 1080, MPEG-4 – 640 x 480, MPEG-4 – 1280 x 720. Supported Flash Memory options are SD Memory Card, Memory Stick PRO Duo and Memory Stick Duo. Image Storage options are JPEG 2592 x 1944, JPEG 3648 x 2736, JPEG 1920 x 1080, JPEG 3648 x 2056. Connectors include USB, Component video output, Composite video/audio output, HDMI output.

Flash Modes are Auto mode, Slow synchro, Fill-in mode, Red-eye reduction, and Flash OFF mode. The camera has Zoom lens of 4.43 mm – 17.7 mm – F/3.5-4.6, Focal Length is 4.43 mm – 17.7 mm, Minimum Focus Range is 0.4 inches, Macro Focus Range is 1cm, Lens Aperture is F/3.5-4.6. The device has 4x optical zoom. The display is 3.5 inches big. Supported Operating Systems are MS Windows 7, Apple Mac OS X 10.3 – 10.6, MS Windows 2000, MS Windows XP, MS Windows Vista.

Additional Features include Direct print, DPOF support, Auto HDR mode, Audio recording, Face detection, Auto power save, Built-in speaker, Date/time stamp, Cropping an image, PictBridge support, Exif Print support, Built-in help guide, PRINT Image Matching, TransferJet support, Touch-screen control, USB 2.0 compatibility, In-camera red-eye fix, Digital image rotation, Dynamic Range Optimizer, Digital noise reduction, RGB primary color filter, Blink Detection technology, Sweep Panorama technology, Self Portrait Auto Shutter, Motion Detection Technology, Smile Detection technology, Camera orientation detection, Intelligent Scene Recognition (iSCN), 1080i Full HD movie recording, Automatic display brightness adjustment. Included Accessories are Wrist strap, Pen stylus, Docking station.

Razzle Dazzle:

The color options for this camera is blue, red and silver. The metal body looks really elegant and the aesthetics are further improved by the 3.5 inch LCD screen on the back. It is incredible how Sony manages to pack in so many features in a slim body like this. You can easily put the camera in a tiny handbag or pants pocket. There are just two phyiscal controls on the top – shutter and power buttons. On the right, there is the zoom rocker, movie/mode and playback buttons. For taking a photo, just slide the cover down and click. We played with the camera for a while and the lens cover got so slick from our fingerprints that it was difficult to slide it down. Also be careful or else you might get your finger in the way of the lens.

Inside Dope:

When it comes to point and shoot cameras, a high price doesn’t necessarily mean that the photo quality will be superb or the shooting performance will be fast. Instead, you pay for the latest features that might have come up over a period of time and the body is too kept compact. Sony Cyber-shot DSC-TX7 is an excellent example of this. It has 25 mm equivalent wide angle lens, the manufacturer’s Exmor R high-speed backside-illuminated sensors, 3.5 inch high resolution touch screen display, and it also captures 1080i movies at 60 fps. All this in put in a body that is just 0.7 inch thick which is really impressive. The sensor along with the company’s Bionz image processor can do things that are beyond the reach of your standard pocket camera. The performance is speedy, low light photos look great but the photo quality could have been better. Still, prints at 8×10 inches or less look really great and the quality is also good for Web use or watching on TV.

The display has a high contrast and we didn’t have any problems with the screen when viewed in direct sunlight. We had to wipe away our fingerprints though because it accumulates a lot of them. This is not unexpected in such touch screen models. The screen responds quickly to finger touches and there is an included stylus too. Sony calls it Paint Pen. If you use this, there won’t be much fingerprints but then you have to remove and put in the stylus everytime.

Sony Cyber-shot DSC-TX7′s settings are easy to find because of the touch screen interface. Just tap your finger on the menu ion on the left side and you will have a panel containning the shooting options. There is also a ToolBox feature which gives you the general settings. On the framing shots screen, you get a set of four customizable shooting function icons. There is a button for recording movies here. On the screen’s right, there are playback icons along with shooting modes.

Sony Cyber-shot DSC-TX7 comes with the company’s TransferJet technology for transferring photos and videos wirelessly through the camera and devices that are compatible with TransferJet technology. You don’t need to pair up but the two devices should not be at a distance of more than one inch. TransferJet is for people who have plenty of money. If you have a Sony HDTV connected to the Web, you will love this feature. Just connect TransferJet Station to the TV’s USB port and you can see a photos slideshow on the panel. In our tests, the wireless was fast enough to play AVCHD movies without any hiccups. This is a great feature if you are someone who takes a lot of photos. You don’t have to go through all the cable mess, just connect the camera wirelessly and you are ready to go. You have to pay a premium for this though.

On the Sony Cyber-shot DSC-TX7′s bottom, there is a locking door which houses the Memory card, tripod mount, proprietary dock for conecting the bundled multioutput dock and battery. Both SD/SDHC and Memory Stick Pro Duo cards are supported. You have a single slot close to the battery for this. You cannot charge the battery in the camera which is a bit disappointing because it drains out pretty quickly.

Nitty Gritty:

This is an extremely stylish and sexy camera with lots of features in a slim body. The price is high but don’t expect top class photos in return. You pay more for the looks and not the quality.

The Canon PowerShot A480 has a relatively small size, simple design, is powered by AA battery powered and is comparatively cheaper.

Thumbs Down:

The Canon PowerShot A480 delivers sluggish performance and has plastic design.

The Whiz Kid Speaks:

Manufacturer: Canon USA

Price range: $103.96 – $114.95

Part Number: 3474B001

Dimensions (W x D x H): 3.6 x 1.2 x 2.4 inches

Weight: 4.9 oz

Resolution: 10 megapixels

Shooting Programs: Beach, Snow, Indoor, Macro, Foliage, Sunset, Fireworks, Aquarium, Portrait mode, Kids & pets and Night snapshot

Exposure Modes: Program and   Automatic

White Balance Presets: Daylight, Cloudy, Fluorescent light, Tungsten light and Fluorescent light

Exposure Metering: Spot, Center-weighted   and Evaluative

Special Effects: Vivid, Sepia, Black & White and Neutral

Digital Video Format: AVI

Still Image Format: JPEG

Supported Flash Memory: MultiMediaCard and   SD Memory Card

Flash Modes: Fill-in mode,   Auto mode,   Flash OFF mode,   and slow synchro and Red-eye reduction

Features: Aspherical lens, UA lens, Built-in lens shield, direct print, DPOF support, Histogram display, Face detection, RGB primary color filter, PictBridge support, Motion Detection Technology and In-camera red-eye removal

Software: Canon ImageBrowser, Canon PhotoStitch, Canon ZoomBrowser EX and Drivers & Utilities

Operating System Support: Microsoft Windows Vista, Microsoft Windows XP and Apple Mac OS X 10.4 or later

Peripheral Devices:  USB port and CD-ROM drive

Included Accessories: SD Memory Card, Alkaline battery, USB interface cable, Wrist strap and A/V cable

Supported Battery: AA

Razzle Dazzle:

The Canon PowerShot A480 is a small yet stubby camera. The Canon PowerShot A480 comes in four colors of blue, red, black and silver and even though the camera is not all that wide or tall, it definitely is thick enough and though it will fit in a small handbag or a pants pocket, but definitely will be a tight squeeze. The façade of the camera is decently stylish. The camera has a narrow 35mm equivalent lens of 37 mm, with optical zoom of 3.3 xs, which is standard for the compact and inexpensive cameras. Unfortunately, the control buttons on the camera are placed at the rear end of the camera and feels like cheap second rate plastic, the LCD although is of decent size, but has rather low resolution. In Canon PowerShot A480’s defense we will like to say that like all other Canon camera’s, the control here are also pretty simple and clear-cut and the same is the case with the menu systems.

Inside Dope:

The best introduction to Canon PowerShot A480 would be a camera with whom no one expects anything exceptional, and that is what we also will say about it. The PowerShot A480 has got basic low-end camera features and specifications, and is priced accordingly at $100. If you want to get any sort of the modern features then you will have to spend twice the price mentioned here and the same is the case with A480 as well. But in general the camera takes pretty good photos, mentioned that you keep your expectations essentially at ground levels and is modest.

The PowerShot A480 comes in four color choices of red, silver, black and blue. The camera might not be huge in terms of length and width, but definitely is thicker than most of the other cameras and hence even though it will easily get into any pants pocket or small handbag, it wont be a easy fit, rather will be a squeeze. The frontage of the camera is pretty stylish, and the camera has a narrow 35mm equivalent lens of 37mm with 3.3x of optical zoom; which again is standard for low-cost compact cameras. But sadly the back buttons on the camera feels really cheap and looks like made of second-rate plastic, though, the LCD, here is decently sized with rather low resolution. Though, in A480’s defense we will like to say that the controls here are rather simple and same is the case with the menu systems.

The Canon PowerShot A480 gets its power from AA batteries, which is pretty convenient for some people. Though, you only get around 200 shots from A480’s AA batteries before replacing them, although if you use the two Ni-MH AA rechargeable batteries, you’re your shot count will be doubled.

The Canon PowerShot A480’s performance wasn’t dreadfully slow, but was still pokey. The camera takes complete 2 seconds for getting ready for its first shot from a complete off stage. The shot-to-shot time for PowerShot A480 is 2.7 seconds and jumps to 5.6 secs when the flash in on. But the good thing is that the performance remains almost same even in the dim light. Another good thing here was the photo quality, which was much better than what we expected from PowerShot A480. Just like any other compact camera the best performance for PowerShot A480 comes at or below ISO 200, and after this the performance starts decreasing significantly. So, overall the Canon PowerShot A480 delivers satisfactory performance for its price and class.

Nitty Gritty:

Despite being a basic low-priced compact camera the Canon PowerShot A480 has the ability to take great photos and offers pretty good performance for a $100 camera.

The S1000pj is an attractive and compact camera with inbuilt projector for quick slideshows up to 40-inch size.

Thumbs Down:

The features except projector, shooting performance and quality are actually of a less expensive camera.

The Whiz Kid Speaks:

The Nikon CoolPix S1000pj is a 12.1-megapixel camera with projector and remote control. It features 4x digital zoom, optical image stabilization, face detection, and frame movie shooting mode. The digital camera has CCD optical sensor.

2.7 inches LCD display has format of 230,000 pixels. Zoom lens has focal length of 5-25mm with aperture of F/3.9-5.8 that features 5x optical zoom. The focal length equivalent to 35mm camera is 28-140mm. The CoolPix S1000pj has inbuilt lens shield and TTL contrast detection auto-focus. The zoom adjustment is motorized drive and the focus adjustment is automatic.

The light sensitivity levels are ISO Auto (80-300), ISO Auto (80-200), ISO Auto (80-400), ISO 6400 (3 Mpix), ISO 3200 (3 Mpix), ISO 1600, ISO 800, ISO 400, ISO 200, ISO 100, and ISO 80. The shooting programs include Panorama Assist, Portrait, Party/indoor, Night landscape, Night portrait, Sports mode, Fireworks, Backlight, Landscape, Dawn/dusk, Museum, Food, Copy, Close-up, and Sunset. The special effects are Black & White, Cyanotype, Vivid, and Sepia.

The exposure compensation is ±2 EV range, in 1/3 EV steps and exposure modes are Automatic and Program. The CoolPix S1000pj has three types of exposure metering: Multi-Segment, Spot, and Center-weighted. The white balance is Automatic.

The still image format is JPEG. The video capture resolution options are 320×240 and 640×480. The image storage resolution options are JPEG 3968×2232, JPEG 640×480, JPEG 1024×768, JPEG 2048×1536, JPEG 2592×1944, JPEG 3264×2448, and JPEG 4000×3000.

The Nikon CoolPix S1000pj has inbuilt microphone and built-in flash. The flash modes are Red-eye reduction, Flash OFF mode, Fill-in mode, Auto-mode, and Soft. The connector set includes 1×compositve audio/video output, and 1×USB. There is one SD memory card slot for external storage.

The camcorder has self timer delay function of 2 and 10 seconds. The additional highlights are Motion, Smile, Blink and Scene Detection Technologies, Face priority AF function, dual-image stabilization, USB 2.0 compatibility, In-camera red-eye fix, Face Detection AE/AE, Inbuilt speaker, Date/time stamp, DPOF support, and Face zoom.

The supported operating systems are Microsoft Windows XP/Vista and Apple Mac OSX 10.3.9 – 10.4.11 or later. The S1000pj has Nikon EN-EL12 lithium ion battery. Maximum operating temperature is 104°F and minimum is 32°F. Accessories supplied inside the package are A/v cable, USB cable, drivers & software disc, handstrap, stand, remote control, and user manual.

Razzle Dazzle:

The Nikon CoolPix S1000pj is 2.5 inches tall, 3.9 inches wide, and 0.9 inch deep; and weighs 5.5 ounces. It has stylish and simple design. You can add a little projector with this digital camera.

Inside Dope:

If you like to show the captured photographs to others, then the Nikon CoolPix S1000pj is a cool stuff for you. It has ultra-small projector to show pictures and videos up to 40inches diagonal with a press of button. Except this, $429.95 priced the Coolpix S1000pj features just basic: 2.7 inches LCD display, 5x optical zoom, 28mm equivalent wide-angle lens, 12-megapixel resolution, and complete automatic shooting options. If you need just a compact camera to capture pictures, then you may not choose the S1000pj. The less expensive Nikon S570 and then S640 provide comparable picture quality and better shooting performance. If you really love to share pictures quickly and need something else than just tiny camera display, computer screen or TV, then the Coolpix S1000pj is a great choice. This is the best camera for real estate and business professionals who want to exhibits the picture instantly in a meeting.

You will find turn on Projector button, slider for adjusting projector focus, zoom ring, shutter release button and the power button on the top. The LCD display is at the right side on back. The buttons for deleting pictures; accessing system setting menus, video, and photo; playing and editing images; and changing shooting modes are below the thumb rest. You will also get a directional pad for menu navigation and adjusting macro, timer, flash, and exposure. There are two small IR receiving squares in the back and front to work with included remote control.

The projector is located at the center, but not protected. You can press the Projector button at top and move the Nikon CoolPix S1000pj back or forward to adjust the picture size. You can also use the focus slider to tune the photo. You can set the projector from 10 inches to 6.5 feet. After connecting the projector; you can navigate through pictures instantly. The menu button allows turning on slide show, background music, and the transition effects; and adjusting interval time. We like that the Nikon also include a stand to angle the camera. We will advise you to adjust the pictures and rotate them conveniently as the transition effect will automatically orient the pictures.

There are 16 scene modes in the Nikon CoolPix S1000pj with a Scene Auto Selector – automatic scene recognition mode. The Smart Portrait System is also available in shooting mode menu and combines available Face Priority AF, D-lighting, In-Camera Red Eye Fix, Smile Shutter, and Blink Warning in one mode. It also add Skin Softening component. Other companies also provide such a mode, but the Nikon’s implementation works faster. You can use the Auto mode to control the results and Subject Tracking option to follow moving objects in the focus. It is truth that the shooting performance is very slow for real action photography.

The time from power-on to the first shot is 1.8 seconds. The average shot-to-shot time is 1.9 seconds and 2.6 seconds with flash. The shutter lag is 0.5 second in bright light and 1 second in dim light. The continuous shooting speed is 0.6fps and lasts up to four shots.

The overall photo quality of the Nikon CoolPix S1000pj is fine.  The photo quality is good up to ISO 400 and the S1000pj limits ISO Auto up to 80-400 or 80-200. The pictures were good up to ISO 200 and below. The colors shifted a bit at ISO 400, but the details were still good.  There was yellow blotching and color shifting at ISO 800 with loss of some details. We will advise you to keep the resolution low in low light.

The Nikon CoolPix S1000pj produced vibrant and a bit accurate colors. Everything looked bright and natural, but highlights tended to blow out. The Nikon D-Lightening system shows better shadow details. The distortion also remains under control even at fully extended lens. There is a bit purple fringe visible in high-contrast areas.

The S1000pj camera can also capture VGA quality videos at 640×480 pixels resolution. The overall video quality is good, even at viewing through projector.

Nitty Gritty:

The projector feature of the S1000pj is a novelty like dual-displays of Samsung DualView camera.

If you want to show off real-time captured pictures and recorded videos, then the Nikon CoolPix S1000pj is an affordable and the best choice.

Nikon Coolpix S640 is easy to use and has a nice ultra-compact design with wide-angle lens. The camera gives impressive photo quality up to ISO 200. There are good improvements in auto-focus, start-up and shooting performance.

Thumbs Down:

The photo quality is not good at high ISO levels. The camera does not have HD-quality movie mode.

The Whiz Kid Speaks:

Digital ultra-compact Nikon Coolpix S640 is 12.2-megapixels camera with CCD optical sensor. The supported light sensitivity levels are ISO Auto(100-1600), ISO Auto(100-800), ISO Auto(100-400), ISO 3200, ISO 1600, ISO 800, ISO 400, ISO 200 and ISO 100.  The camera has 4x digital zoom with optical image stabilizer. The shooting mode is Frame movie mode and the shooting programs include Blink proof, Blink warning, Smile shutter and Soft skin. The exposure metering is face-priority and exposure modes are Program and Automatic.

2.7-inch LCD display has a resolution of 230,000 pixels. Nikon Coolpix S640 has inbuilt mono-mode microphone. The white balance presets include Incandescent, Fluorescent, Daylight, Flash and Cloudy. The S640 has built-in flash with five modes: Red-eye reduction, Flash OFF mode, Slow synchro, Fill-in mode and Auto mode. Moreover, the camera flash has a feature of AF illuminator.

Nikkor manufactured lens has a focal length of 5mm to 25mm with an aperture of F/2.7-6.6. TTL contrast detection is there for Auto focus. The focal length equivalent to 35mm camera is 28-140mm. The focus adjustment is automatic. Lens provides 5x optical zoom with motorized drive zoom adjustment. The minimum focus range is 17.7-inch and macro focus range is 2-cm. The lens has inbuilt lens-shield.

Nikon Coolpix S640 captures images of JPEG format. It also captures video in 640×480 VGA mode. The supported image resolution options are JPEG 640×480, JPEG 1024×768, JPEG 2048×1536, JPEG 3968×2232, JPEG 2592×1944, JPEG 3264×2448 and JPEG 4000×3000. The camera has inbuilt 45MB Flash memory and it also has a SD card slot.

The additional features are Motion Detection Technology, Smile Detection Technology, Scene Detection Technology, Display brightness control, Blink Detection Technology, Face-priority AF function, In-camera red-eye fix, USB 2.0 compatibility, PictBridge support, Ex-if Print support, Built-in speaker, Date/time stamp, Audio recording, Face detection, USB charging and self timer.

Nikon Coolpix S640 has two connectors: 1×compsoite audio/video output and 1×USB. The S640 has lithium ion Nikon EN-EL 12 battery.

Razzle Dazzle:

Nikon Coolpix S640 measures 2.2-inch tall, 3.6-inch wide and 0.8-inch deep. The S640 weighs 3.9 ounces and comes in black, red, pink and white colors. The camera is so slim and lightweight that it can easily fit in a small bag or pants pocket. The S640 has metal body and feels sturdy while taking in hand.

Inside Dope:

Nikon Coolpix S640 is priced at $239.95 that is $50 more than the price of S570. The S640 offers optical image stabilization, improved performance and extra options for shooting. The Coolpix S640 continues to have same 5x zoom similar to its predecessors. The S640 is an ultra-compact camera with 28mm equivalent wide-angle lens. However, the camera does not have HD-quality video mode. We recommend Nikon Coolpix S640 if you need an ultra-compact camera with good basic features.

Despite having wide-angle lens, its aperture comes down to f6.6 on zooming out that makes the low-light shots iffy. This is acceptable on S570 because of the low price, but we won’t accept the Nikon Coolpix S640. The flash bulb is located on top left side and you will have to take care while positioning you finger, or else you may block it.

Nikon Coolpix S640 has standard controls, which are easy to get used to. The shutter release buttons, zoom control and power button are located on the top. Whereas, buttons for playing/editing images; accessing video, photo and settings menu; changing shooting options and deleting pictures are located to right side of LCD on the back. A dial for moving through photos and setting is also there. This dial works as directional-pad for setting exposure, macro, timer, flash and navigation. The dial moves freely and works straightforward; however, you can feel some stops while using it.

Nikon four-way VR Image Stabilization is included in Nikon Coolpix S640 as optical image stabilization. The camera uses high ISO level settings and adjustments for shutter sped with motion-detection to work with motion blur and handshake. The Coolpix S640 can also be charged with USB cable connected to computer.

Nikon Coolpix S640 has 15 scene modes with Nikon Scene Auto Selector – automatic scene recognition mode. Moreover, the shooting mode menu has an option Nikon Smart Portrait System that combines all features into one mode and add Skin Softening component. The feature set combined in this Portrait System include Face Priority AF, D-Lighting, Red Eye Fix In-Camera, Smile Shutter and Blink Warning. This type mode is also available in other camera from different manufacturers, but the implementation is very fast in Nikon S640 that works well with a balance of softening and sharpness. You will get most of the controls including auto focus, color options, ISO, light metering and white balance in Program mode, which is called Auto mode in S640. The camera has Subject Tracking mode to focus on moving objects. S640 has basic VGA quality movie mode without optical zoom.

The shooting performance of the S640 is better than expected from a Nikon Coolpix camera. The camera takes one-second to power on and to capture first shot. The shot-to-shot average waiting time is of 2.4 seconds and 2.7 seconds with flash. The shutter lag is 0.4 second in bright conditions and 0.8 second in dim light, which is good. The full resolution continuous shooting speed is one frame per second. This performance is an improvement for Nikon. However, the shutter lag is less than that of Sony Cyber-shot DSC-W290. The S640’s shooting performance is an average for the cameras of this class. However, Nikon has to improve the shooting image quality for moving objects.
The resulting photo quality is nice.

Nikon Coolpix S640 delivers good photo quality up to ISO 200 like other cameras in the same range. The S640 is also good up to ISO 400, but the images have increased softness and visible noise. The auto ISO level ranges from ISO 100 to ISO 1600. Moreover, S640 gives passable performance to ISO 800; however, it increases noise, artifacts and softness. We recommend you for using ISO 100 to 400 in daylight or bright environment. The camera can shoot up to ISO 1600 with full resolution, but the photos do not look nice due to color shifting, yellow blotching and absence of image detail.

The image colors from Nikon Coolpix S640 are not accurate as blues and reds are a bit pumped-up, but the overall image result is quite pleasing. Everything is natural looking, bright and nice. The image highlights always tend to blow out in the compact cameras, but we thank Nikon for its D-Lighting system to bring up shadow detail. The S640 has a bit barrel distortion and no pincushion distortion even when lens is extended fully. However, there is little purple fringe in high contrast areas.

Nilkon Coolpix S640 is a bit more than a standard basic ultra-compact camera. Coolpix S640 is good one but not excellent. The shooting performance is better than previous Coolpix cameras. It takes good photos up to ISO 400. Nikon has made this Coolpix S640 for easy to use. If you do not need HD-quality video capture, then Nikon S640 is fine with wide-angle lens and 5x zoom.

Nitty Gritty:

Nikon Coolpix S640 is easy to use. If you are looking for an ultra-compact camera with wide-angle lens, 4x digital zoom and 5x optical zoom, and other features, then Coolpix S640 is for you.

Thumbs Up:

The presence of second LCD for mirror imaging, countdown timer, etc. Great touch screen,

Thumbs Down:

microSD card, expensive.

Inside the Trunk:

Software – Drivers & Utilities, USB cable,

The Whiz Kid Speaks:

The camera is of 12.2 megapixels, The Light Sensitivity is ISO 80, ISO 100 , ISO 200 , ISO 400 , ISO 800 , ISO 1600 , ISO 3200 , ISO auto. The camera has 5x digital zoom and it has Frame movie mode shooting. Shooting Programs on the Samsung DualView TL220 are dawn, beach, tripod, macro, macro text, blue sky, night mode, beauty shot, natural green, portrait mode, white, macro portrait, back light, sunset, night portrait, children, natural portrait, landscape, action, backlight portrait, Fireworks , Perfect self-portrait, Snow. The camera is capable of capturing in special effects like cool, calm, vivid, retro, noise, classic, forest, color, filter, elegant, negative, soft

There is built-in flash and optical image stabilizer, Max Shutter Speed is 1/2000 sec and Min Shutter Speed 8 sec, Exposure Metering  Spot, Center-weighted, Multi-segment There are two Exposure Modes – Automatic, Program, Exposure Compensation v±EV range, in 1/3 EV steps, White Balance – Presets, Custom, Automatic White Balance Presets are Cloudy, Fluorescent light (daylight), Tungsten light, Fluorescent light (warm white), Daylight Digital Video Formats are H.264, Still Image Format – JPEG
Video Capture H.264 resolutions are 320 x 240, H.264 – 640 x 480, H.264 – 1280 x 720
Integrated Memory is 55 MB and is expandable up to 8 GB Image Storage resolutions are JPEG 4000 x 3000, JPEG 2560 x 1920, JPEG 3840 x 2160, JPEG 1920 x 1080    , JPEG 3264 x 2448, JPEG 3984 x 2656  JPEG 1024 x 768, JPEG 2048 x 1536 Flash Modes are Auto mode, Slow synchro, Flash OFF mode, Red-eye reduction, Fill-in mode
Red Eye Reduction

Lens Type – Zoom lens – 4.9 mm – 22.5 mm – F/3.5-5.9, Focal Length – 4.9 mm – 22.5 mm, Focal Length Equivalent to 35mm Camera 27 – 124.2 mm, Focus Adjustment
Automatic, Min Focus Range – 31.5 in, Macro Focus Range 3cm, Lens Aperture
F/3.5-5.9, Optical Zoom – 4.6 x, Zoom Adjustment – Motorized drive, Lens Manufacturer
Schneider-Kreuznach

Additional features on the camera include – DPOF support, Dual image stabilization, Exif Print support, Audio recording, Built-in speaker, Cropping an image, Saturation control, Blink Detection technology, Face detection, Brightness control, Date/time stamp, Camera orientation detection, Auto Contrast Balance (ACB), Sharpness control, 720p HD movie recording, Smile Detection technology, In-camera red-eye fix, Digital image rotation, PictBridge support, Contrast control, Direct print, Touch-screen control, Resizing an image, In-camera movie editing, Face retouch, USB 2.0 compatibility, Gesture User Interface, Dual LCD screens, Tap control

Connectors on the camera are 1 x Composite video/audio output, 1 x DC power input, 1 x USB.

Razzle Dazzle:

The sleekest thing about the Samsung DualView TL220 according to us is that it has very few buttons on the body like power, shutter release, zoom rocker and the playback button. Rest all is controlled through the touch screen LCD on the back of the camera. There is also an LCD in the front and it is up to you whether it is just a show off or it is really needed.

Inside Dope:

We were wondering about what Samsung could possibly mean when they said Dualview on the camera name. We gave up, after thinking for a lot of time and we finally opened the product to find out for ourselves. What followed really blew us of our feet. Yes! It has a screen right next to the lens of the camera. The screen is used for self portrait and a few other functions that we will discuss later.

But a presence of a dual screen would add to the cost and it does take up the price of the product a little. The screen of the Samsung DualView TL220 is about three inches and it is a touch screen interface. Most of the physical buttons have been sacrificed for the LCD interface. The LCD has lots of functions you may get confused with the features of the camera if you are a newbie. This camera has a lot of expert features and has been made for shutter bug freaks. It will get a while for you to get used to this camera if you have never handled one before.

The LCD display of the touch screen has haptic feedback which means it will vibrate to show you that it has registered a click. This LCD screen is one of the best that we have ever seen looks wise and performance wise. It was responsive and quickly registered our touches. The LCD touch screen also lets you roll your finger through the options and then click the ones that you want. The number of options for some functions are so big that they won’t fit all at a single time and hence you will have to roll your finger on them to access more. The LCD screen also features a motion detection feature where in you can hold your finger on the icon on the screen and then rock the camera around and the camera will do the job for you.

We were disappointed to see a microSD card in the Samsung DualView TL220 but Samsung told us that the presence of a small card is the reason behind the thin and small camera and you can use this card to put in mobile phones to upload the photos to a website. Mobile phones use the microSD card and you can also share a photo through Bluetooth with other phones. But we were unhappy because if you want to put the picture to a computer you will have to get a card reader. The camera supports expansion of up to eight GB.

The best part of the camera, after the big LCD is the small LCD which is at the front of the camera. All you have to do is tap the space and the screen will wake up. You can smile check yourself out in the camera and then snap the photographs. This is a great feature if you think you are the most beautiful person in the world or if you can’t get enough of your beautiful face.

The front screen also has the count down timer so you know when the picture is going to be clicked. There is also a mode where in the screen shows animation and we thought this was a great way to make kids look at the camera and then click them.

Photo and video quality was among the best that cameras offer and after you have clicked the photos you can flick them just like you do in the iPhone. A lot of times we thought we were going through a touch screen of a mobile phone. We would say that this screen is better than the ones in most touch screen mobile phones.

The camera takes about 1.5 seconds to start, which is very fast according to us and then there is a gap of two seconds between each shots that you take. If you turn on the flash the wait time will go up to 2.6 seconds. It needs about 0.5 seconds to focus, again very fast, and it needs 0.7 seconds in low light conditions. The burst mode of the camera will reduce the photo resolution to 640X480 pixels.

This camera is almost the same as Samsung DualView TL225. Slight differences include a plastic body on the 220 and metal chassis on the 225. And the 220 doesn’t have support for output to an HDTV or monitor through HDMI.

Nitty Gritty:

Samsung DualView TL225 is great and has excellent quality for photos and videos. Buy it for the 2 LCDs that it has. The drawbacks of the camera is the presence of microSD card slot and the presence of 2 screens which make the camera a bit expensive.

Sum and Substance:

Thumbs Up:

Excellent control system for manual, semi manual shooting, fantastic wide-angle f2 lens, very good low-light photo quality.

Thumbs Down:

Performance is merely average, no HD movie mode or optical zoom while recording, a couple design miscues.

Inside the Trunk:

External battery charger, Neck strap, A/V cable, USB cable

The Whiz Kid Speaks:

10 Mega Pixels, 1/1.7-inch CCD, 461K dots, 4x digital zoom, Optical and Digital Image Stabilizer, Face Detection, Video Format – H.264, Photo Format – RAW, JPEG, RAW+JPEG, Resolution 3648 x 2736(Photo), 640 x 480 at 30 fps(Video), 3 inch LCD, Width 3.9 inch, Depth 1.2 inch, Height 0.2 inch, Weight 6.2 OZ, Lithium ion rechargeable, battery life 220 shots, Storage media SD, SDHC, MMC, MMCplus, HC MMCplus.

Razzle Dazzle:

The Canon PowerShot S90 is made for photograph enthusiasts who use camera regulary and not for occasional photographers. The camera has some of the best controls that you will come across. The black metal casing of the camera is cool and looks sleek but you will find it hard to get a good grip on the camera.

Inside Dope:

Canon PowerShot S90 has flash on the top of the body that pops up and retracts automatically when turned on and off. The camera is a bit slow when it comes to taking pictures, it will take 1.8 second for the first shot and then for shooting raw the time extends to 3.4 seconds.

There are options for the advanced user like exposure bracketing and focus bracketing. These options are not recommended for persons who are using a camera for the first time, they are sure to get confused. There are17 options for ISO from ISO 80 to ISO 3,200. There are plenty of options available for this camera but you have to be a professional to understand them.

We were happy with the lens, but there was a small amount of barrel distortion at the camera’s widest 28 mm equivalent position. The zoom is short on this camera (3.8x)

The photo quality of this camera is one of the best we have seen, there is a wide option of resolution from 3648 x 2736 to 640 x 480. Pictures can be stored in RAW or JPEG format, the video resolution is 640X480 and 320X420. Videos are stored in H.264 (mov) format. There is no optical zoom feature while recording. There are host of shooting options available like Snow, Beach, Indoor, Sunset, Foliage, Aquarium, Fireworks, Landscape, Low light, Underwater, Kids & pets, Night scene, Portrait mode, Stitch assist, Night snapshot.

Memory supported is MultiMediaCard, SD Memory Card. The device is powered by Lithium ion rechargeable and a single recharge has enough juice for 220 shots.

Nitty Gritty:

Canon PowerShot S90 is a good camera in its class and we would recommend this camera to shutter bug freaks who use cameras frequently. This device is not for amateurs because it is costly and they would get confused with the controls.

Sum and Substance:

Thumbs Up:

Good feature set; miniHDMI out; 24mm-equivalent wide-angle lens with 10x zoom.

Thumbs Down:

Subpar photo quality; menu system too spread out.

Inside the Trunk:

Carrying strap, Cables Included – USB cable, A/V cable.

The Whiz Kid Speaks:

12.2 mega pixels, CCD Optical Sensor, 5X Digital Zoom, 10x Optical Zoom, Optical Image Stabilizer, Image Format – JPEG, Video Format – .mp4, SD Memory Card, 1 x Li-ion rechargeable battery – 1050 mAh, Face detection, Date/Time Stamp, 720p HD movie recording, Blink Detection, Smile Detection, Auto Contrast Balance, Digital image stabilization, 3 inch LCD 230k dots, Highest resolution 4,000X3,000 (photos) and 1,280×720 at 30fps (Video)

Razzle Dazzle:

Samsung HZ15W has got the typical camera looks which is quite good. We reviewed the Casio Exilim EX-FC100 before this and both cameras don’t have anything that is out of the box in the looks department but we aren’t complaining much. We have tested cameras which looked great on the outside but were disaster when you use it and there are others which don’t look that good but are great with the inside-quality. Behind the camera is three inch LCD with 230 k dots. This camera is a little bigger than your average one and may struggle for a place in your tight jeans. Make sure carry this camera in a bag if you are going away for long.

Inside Dope:

Samsung HZ15W is a 10 MP camera and it is quite good, the photo quality didn’t disappoint us. But it was not impressive either. The camera can churn out photos with good detail and the sharpness. There is a command lever near the LCD which can be used to adjust exposure compensation, adjust ISO or white balance. The command lever sometimes comes in the way and there is a possibility of accidental presses while taking a picture or zooming.

There is a four way directional pad that is used for changing display information, setting a timer, entering macro and manual focus, or turning on the flash. The Menu/OK button in the centre is used for accessing basic shooting, sound, display, and system settings. There is a Function button, which goes by the name Fn and it is for context sensitive shooting. If you use the command lever for ISO or white balance, then you can use the function button for exposure compensation, which will be controlled again by the command lever. A second press of the function button takes you to shooting controls.

The camera takes 2.8 seconds to take the first picture and the subsequent pictures need a pause of 2.2 seconds. In bright conditions the focus time taken is 0.5 seconds and goes up to 0.7 seconds if it is too dark.

The available resolutions for video capture is from     320X240 to 1280X720 videos  and are stored in H.264 format. The photos are stored in JPEG format and the resolution is up to 4,000X3,000. Video quality is good but low light movies have high noise content. You can capture video in 720p mode. The available video recording modes are Smart Auto, Auto, Program, Manual, Scene, Movie, Dual IS, Beauty Shot.

Nitty Gritty:

The camera is good but there are other options in the market that are better than this. Other cameras in this class are Canon PowerShot SX120 IS, Panasonic Lumix DMC-ZS1. Make sure you go through both of them before buying this camera.