Digital Camera News and Reviews

Lowepro Quick Case Series

Lowepro has announced a new series of camera cases called Lowepro Quick Case Series. The cases are designed to be streamlined and lets you quickly get your camera.

The Lowepro Quick Case Series will come in two sizes, the Quick Case 120 for DSLRs with kit zoom and the Quick Case 100 for bridge, ultrazooms and compact digital cameras.

Press release:
Quick Case Series

Lowepro today launched into the market a classically styled, fitted case that provides streamlined protection and instant access to today’s best-selling models of bridge and DSLR cameras.

The snug-fitting design covers the camera in a durable, impact resistant shell that opens quickly and smoothly, allowing photographers to capture images rapidly.

The Quick Case series takes its design inspiration from retro-style, fitted leather cases, but is designed with a modern feel. A hybrid nylon and genuine leather shell provides a tough impact-resistant, stylish exterior that helps safeguard gear from moisture, dust and sand. It’s lined with soft padding to protect the fragile lens and LCD screen from scratches and abrasion.

Named for its ability to provide instant access to the camera, the Quick Case features an inventive design with fully integrated construction. A built-in leash tethers to a camera’s carrying strap, securing the case to the camera. To shoot, a photographer simply pulls open the back flap and raises his or her camera and the case remains suspended below.

Tim Sadler, Category Manager for Lowepro, said: “Our designers loved the refined look of old-school, fitted leather camera cases, but wanted to address the needs of today’s consumers. They used fine-grade technical materials with touches of leather to create a protective, yet stylish case adding a built-in microfibre cleaning cloth to the Quick Case 120 model as an extra-convenient detail.”

The Quick Case series includes two sizes; each fits a camera snugly and includes an adjust-to-fit magnetic closure. An accessory pocket is located at the bottom of each case with ample space to store spare memory and batteries and the interior mesh pocket is an ideal place to stash a lens cap when not in use.

The Quick Case series is available in two sizes in Black: Quick Case 120 and Quick Case 100.

For more information on the series and other products visit http://www.lowepro.com.

Fujifilm FinePix F550 EXR

Photography Blog has reviewed a compact camera with a pretty wide zoom lens starting at 24mm. The camera is called Fujifilm FinePix F550 EXR and is a follow up to the Panasonic camera F300 model. The F550 has 16 megapixels, a big LCD screen and the ability to GEO-tag your photos.

Some key features for the Fujifilm FinePix F550 EXR:
-16 megapixel image sensor
-15x optical zoom lens (24-360mm)
-3.0-inch High-Contrast LCD
-GPS Geo-Tagging Function
-Mini HDMI port
-Capture movies in Full HD 1080p resolution
-Uses SD and SDHC memory cards

Photography Blog ends up giving the FinePix F550 EXR a “Recommended” rating with an overall score of 4 out of 5 possible stars. The Fujifilm camera scores highest on features where it gets a perfect score, a little lower on design and ease of use, while it gets a lowest score on value for your money and image quality. This camera has many great features including excellent geo-tagging, but it suffers from not so good image quality on photos taken over ISO 200. Let us hope Fujifilm works a bit more on the image quality with the next model of this series.
Read the full review of the Fujifilm FinePix F550 EXR compact digital camera here.

Sony Cyber-shot DSC-H70

About.com has tested a digital camera from Sony with a wide angle zoom lens starting at 25mm. The camera called Sony Cyber-shot DSC-H70 has over 16 megapixels, a large LCD screen and is able to record HD movies.

Some key features for the Sony Cyber-shot DSC-H70:
-16.1 megapixel image sensor
-10x optical zoom lens (25-250mm)
-Optical image stabilization
-3″ LCD screen
-HD Movie mode (720p)
-Sweep Panorama Mode

About.com ends up giving the DSC-H70 a good review with an overall score of 4 out of 5 possible stars. The reviewer likes aspects such as very good image quality, useful zoom range, the flash is good and the camera is easy to use. There are a few negative points that hinders the Sony camera from getting a perfect score including slow autofocus, response times could be better, some overexposure when photographing outdoors and little manual controls. If you can overcome this few shortcomings and enjoy the great image quality this Cyber-shot camera might be your choice.
Read the full review of the Sony Cyber-shot DSC-H70 camera with wide angle zoom here.

Samsung ST95

CNET UK has tested a very compact digital camera from Samsung. The camera is called Samsung ST95 and has over 16 megapixels combined with a large LCD screen and a wide angle lens starting at 26mm.

Some key features for the Samsung ST95:
-16.1 megapixel image sensor
-5x optical zoom lens (26-130mm)
-Digital image stabilization
-3″ LCD screen with touchscreen abilities
-Movie recording (720p)
-ISO sensitivity up to 3200

CNET UK ends up giving the ST95 a good review with an overall rating of 4 out of 5 possible stars. On the positive side the reviewer finds aspects such as good and slim design, value for your money and the touchscreen works well. There are a few negative sides including no HDMI connection, the video function could be better and the camera only supports micro SD when it comes to memory cards.
Read the full review of the Samsung ST95 compact camera here.