Compact Camera Reviews

Every year member magazines from the Technical Image Press Association (TIPA) gather to consider and vote on the top products of the year in 40 categories, ranging from cameras to tripods to software and printers. This year’s selections represent technological sophistication along with features and functionality that make them leaders in their respective categories.

The Canon G15 follows the G12. The new model has a massive, robust, and heavy body and has major changes from its predecessor.
The G15 is Canon’s newest high-end compact system with a 12MP sensor (1/1.7”), a large LCD screen, and a lot of manually controlled image parameters. It allows the user to shoot Full HD video.

The Panasonic LX7 is the top model of Panasonic’s compact camera range. It uses a (large) 1/1.7” image sensor and has a moderate image resolution of 10MP, the same resolution as the forerunner LX5 but with a new lens system with outstanding speed capabilities. It offers a maximum aperture of f/1.4, with only f/2.3 when using the maximum focal length of 90mm (35mm film equivalent). This allows the user to shoot images with a shallow depth of field—something compact cameras have often failed to offer. To change the aperture setting the photographer uses a very handy lens ring on the front of the camera. When using M mode the shutter speed is changed with a comfortable setup dial on the back.

Fujifilm’s X100s follows the X100 and offers enhanced imaging features and functions. The most important difference is the new sensor--the X-Trans CMOS sensor uses aspecial RGB mosaic pattern and offers higher resolution compared to the sensor in the X100. The new sensor has special mirco lenses that result in a very sharp and brilliant image, which is then enhanced further with the camera’s new EXR II image processor.

The Sigma DP2 Merrill is dedicated to Dick Merrill (1949-2008), a photographer and engineer who developed/invented the Foveon sensor technology. The camera is based on former DP compact Sigma cameras, but uses the newest generation of the Foveon X3 sensor. This sensor records all three RGB values for every single pixel and has an image resolution of 4704x3136, or 14.75MP. Because of the multiplication of three RGB layers, the camera gains a “resolution” of 44.25MP. Officially, Sigma specifies the resolution of the sensor even higher: the spec sheet uses the gross resolution with 4800x3200 pixels (x three layers) and therefore indicates that the camera has a resolution of 46MP.

The Samsung Galaxy is a new type of camera that’s more like a tablet computer with an integrated camera system. However, rather than using a small low resolution camera module (like smart phones and tablet computers) it offers a “real” camera module with an ultra zoom lens. This lens system offers a 21x zoom lens with a focal length of 23 to 483mm (35mm film equivalent).

Calling a product “state-of-the-art” can be a double-edged sword, one that includes both the leading edge and the bleeding edge. In the case of the Samsung EX2F there’s more of the leading side of the equation, at least when it come to a fun, portable camera that delivers in more ways than one—especially when it comes to connecting you from camera to email, sharing sites, et al.