Compact Camera News

We all need a second camera, one that travels with us when the heavy artillery stays at home. There are many premium models to choose from, and most yield results on par with their larger brethren—under certain circumstances.

The primary emphasis was on D-SLRs during the photokina 2008 show, but many new digicams with integral lenses were introduced, including some inexpensive models strictly for quick snapshooting. While those may find eager buyers, I’ll concentrate on cameras intended for the photo enthusiast. In these categories, only a few trends became obvious, starting with resolution: 13- and 14-megapixel...

A funny thing happened to me while I was shooting and reviewing the new Sigma DP1 compact camera in New Mexico. I had taken a lunch break in a local taqueria and in came a couple that sat down at the next table. Next to the guy's backpack and hat he set down the Sigma DP1. I did a double take, and asked him how he liked it. "Great," he said, "the picture...

First announced as a "product under development" in September 2006, the DP1 finally became available 18 months later and it was worth the wait. Aside from solving some image quality issues, the engineers also modified the specifications, delivering a better camera than we had initially expected. In spite of the compact size, this is not a typical point-and-shoot...

Integral zoom lens cameras are often referred to as “bridge” cameras: the idea being that they bridge the gap between compact and DSLR models. If there’s a bridge connection here it’s in the rather incredible zoom range of the Sony Cyber-shot RX10 IV ($1,700, retail price) that spans the far shores of 24-600mm equivalency.

The Sony HX200V is a compact bridge camera with an SLR-like design. It offers an extreme zoom lens that is able to cover wide angle shots with a focal length of 27 mm and tele photos with an extreme tele of 810mm (35 mm film equivalent). The camera offers an integrated image stabilizer (Sony’s “Steady Shot”) to allow shooting with this extreme zoom range. This stabilizer works fine, but can’t really help if you are using the digital zoom function, which allows a 60x zoom, an equivalent of 1620mm.

Sony has launched two new Cyber-shot compact cameras and an Action Cam POV model, which is designed to compete with the popular GoPro camera.