Digital Camera News and Reviews

Olympus FE-5050
CNET UK has reviewed a digital camera called Olympus FE-5050. This entry level compact camera from Olympus has plenty of megapixels and a nice zoom range starting at 26mm. The camera also has features such as magic filters and iAuto mode which should fit beginners to the world of photography.

Some key features for the Olympus FE-5050 camera:
-14 megapixel image sensor
-5x optical zoom lens (26-130mm)
-Digital image stabilization
-2.7″ LCD screen
-iAuto mode
-Advanced face detection
-14 scene modes
-Magic filters

CNET UK ends up giving the Olympus FE-5050 an overall rating of 3 stars out 5 possible. There are several positive points to the camera including a low price tag, compact size, high resolution, magic filters and robust construction. But there are also some shortcomings like not so top of the line image quality and you get no hand grip. The 5050 has some nice features, but there are other camera on the market that might be better.
Read the full review of the Olympus FE-5050 digital camera here.

Pentax Optio RZ10
CNET UK has reviewed a compact camera from Pentax that is supposedly very easy to use and the camera does not cost too much. The camera is called Pentax Optio RZ10 and has plenty of megapixels and a pretty wide lens starting at 28mm.

Some key features for the Pentax Optio RZ10:
-14.1 megapixel image sensor
-10x optical zoom lens (28-280mm)
-Image stabilization
-2.7″ LCD screen
-720p high-definition video
-Uses SD and SDHC memory cards

CNET UK ends up giving the Pentax Optio RZ10 an overall rating of 4 out of 5 possible stars. On the positive side the reviewer finds aspects with the RZ10 such as useful zoom range, the camera is easy to use, the grip is good and it comes with a nice price tag. On the negative side we find a couple of issues like no optical zooming while recording video and there is no HDMI output. Overall the Optio RZ10 seems like a fun and good family camera.
Read the full review of the Pentax Optio RZ10 digital camera here.

Nikon Coolpix S80
Photography Blog has reviewed a compact camera from Nikon. The Nikon camera is called Nikon Coolpix S80 and among its main features we find a very large OLED LCD screen and over 14 megapixels. The S80 is also able to record HD movies and has HDMI output.

Some key features for the Nikon Coolpix S80:
-14.1 megapixel image sensor
-5x optical zoom lens (35-175mm)
-Image stabilization
-3.5″ OLED screen
-720p HD movie mode
-HDMI Output
-Uses SD and SDHC memory cards

Photography Blog ends up giving the Nikon Coolpix S80 a “Recommended” rating with an overall score of 4 out of 5 possible stars. The S80 camera scores highest on design, a little lower on features and ease of use while it scores lowest on value for your hard earned money and image quality. The S80 has a very nice design and the touchscreen abilities can be useful, but there are a few shortcomings hindering it from getting a top score. The biggest shortcomings are a not very wide lens that starts at 35mm and you do not have much of manual controls. We hope that Nikon makes a better version when it comes to image quality with their next model in this series.
Read the full review of the here.

Panasonic Lumix DMC-FX700
Photography Blog has reviewed a new compact camera from Panasonic. The camera is called Panasonic Lumix DMC-FX700 and features a large 3″ LCD screen with touchscreen abilities. The camera should also have enough megapixels for most needs and a nice wide angle zoom lens that starts at 24mm.

Some key features for the Panasonic Lumix DMC-FX700 :
-14.1 megapixel image sensor
-5x optical zoom lens (24-120mm)
-Optical image stabilization
-3″ LCD touchscreen
-1080p HD video in AVCHD format
-iA (Intelligent Auto) mode
-Uses SD and SDHC memory cards

Photography Blog ends up giving the Panasonic Lumix DMC-FX700 a “Recommended” rating with an overall score of 4 out of 5 possible stars. The Panasonic camera gets a perfect score on features, a little lower on ease of use and design while it gets a lower score on image quality and value for your money. The biggest problem with the FX700 is the image quality as it has some noise at even low ISO sensitivities, but it is still a good digital camera with a very fast lens and it is nice to have such a wide lens even though Panasonic should have put a lower price tag on this Lumix camera.
Read the full review of the Panasonic Lumix DMC-FX700 digital camera here.