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Home > Cameras
Section - Cameras
Write or read a review for any type of camera, be it a digital, video,
polaroid or standard film camera. Current digital cameras include a whole
host of features like LCD screens, digital and optical zoom, auto focus,
built in auto flash, red eye reduction, self timer, exposure compensation,
AV out connection, Video out connection and PC and Mac editing software.
The best selling brands include Agfa, Canon, Sony, Nikon, Pentax, Fuji
and Olympus.
Digital cameras maybe confusing to users of conventional film cameras.
When looking for a digital camera it's useful to know what basic features
such as white balance, pixel, ppi and dpi mean.
- Pixel - Is short for the term 'Picture Element' and pixels are small
squares that make up a larger picture. Therefore the higher the pixels
the better the picture quality.
- Aspect Ratio - This is the ratio of the length of the sides of the
images. A pc monitor with a 800x600 resolution display is equal to a
4:3 aspect ratio. And the standard 35mm film frame produces an image
which is approximately 36mm wide and 24mm.
- LCD screen - Allows you to view all of your shots.
- PictBridge - technology which allows you to transfer pictures from
your digital camera to your printer. The great part is you do not need
your PC or photo editing software.
- USB cable - This is the cable that connects your camera to your USB
port on your PC.
- White balance - The automatic makes sure that whites are produced
in difficult lighting situations.
- Optical zoom - Zooms in just like the lens on a film camera.
- Digital zoom - This produces an image quality of a much lower quality
than optical zoom. It basically just crops an image to a smaller size.
- Memory Cards and Sticks - Allows you to store photos on a small card
which can be inserted into various electronic media's.
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Manufacturers
Canon
- Homepage for UK - http://www.canon.co.uk/
- Nationality of company - Japan
- Founded - 1933 by Goro Yoshida and Saburo Uchida.
- Description - The company first traded under the name 'Precision
Optical Instruments Laboratory', and as today their business model
was to develop quality cameras. The Canon philosophy is "Kyosei"
which means living and working together for the common good. Canon's
current headquarters in the UK is based at Woodhatch, Surrey,
which was opened in the year 2000 by H.R.H the Duke of Edinburgh.
Today Canon's revenue stream is not only from their consumer cameras
and printers, but through office analog and digital copiers. Their
full product range includes multifunctional printers, IT consultation,
film and digital cameras, camcorders, photocopiers, printers,
large format printers, fax machines, binoculars, desktop multifunctional
products and multimedia LCD projectors. As of 2006 Canon has teamed
up with Toshiba to develop a new display technology called SED
for a range of new flat panel televisions. This may also lead
to a range of Canon projection television being released in the
consumer market as well.
- Canon EOS 300 - Features a seven-point
AF and silent film. [reviews 1 - avg.
 ]
- Canon IXUS 60 - 6.0 megapixels, 3X
Optical zoom. [reviews 2 - avg. ]
- Canon IXUS 75 - 7.0 megapixels, 3.0
inch screen. [reviews 1 - avg. ]
Fujifilm
- Homepage for UK - http://www.fujifilm.co.uk/
- Nationality of company - Japan
- Founded - 1934
- Head Office - Minato, Tokyo, Japan
- Number of Employees - 75,000 (2005)
- Description - Fujifilm alongside Kodak are the largest mass
produced camera and camera film firm. To continue this popularity
they sponsor the vast majority of major sporting events such as
the FIFA football World Cup. The companyhas been responsible for
some notable inventions such as X-ray film in 1936, colour film
in 1946, carbonless copying paper in 1963, instant camera in 1981,
the Quicksnap in 1986, Super CCD technology in 1999 and the Nanocubic
technologyin 2001 to name a few. Fujifilm also now hold a 75%
stake in Fuji Xerox corporation, which was a joint venture between
Fujifilm and the Xerox Corporation.
Hewlett Packard
- Homepage for UK - http://www.hp.com/
- Nationality of company - US
- Founded - January 1, 1939
- Head Office - Palo Alto, California, USA
- Description - The company was created in Bill Hewlett and Dave
Packard in 1939. HP had a humble beginning which started in the
garage of a Stanford home and focused on the manufacturing of
test and measurement instruments. Since their inception in 1939
until the 1990's HP had remained focused on producing products
for the trade market rather than the home consumer market. HP's
electronic products even focused on agriculture, and were popular
due to their reliability and inclusion of extra features compared
to their competitors. HP's best selling product during 1939 -
1970 was the Model 200A audio oscillator which was used in testing
by Hollywood film companies like Disney in the production of sound
for movies. By the 1950's HP decided to move their headquarters
to California and are recognised by the tech fraternity as the
founder of Silicon Valley, and are also acknowledged as the producer
of the first personal computer. The 9100A was marketed as a calculator,
but most experts consider it a personal computer due to it's assembly
of circuits and a CPU. As home computers started appearing in
most homes by the 1990's HP's focus gravitated to this market
and after a takeover of Compaq they became a major player in desktops,
laptops, and servers for most markets. They also expanded into
printers and digital cameras.
Kodak
- Homepage for UK - http://www.kodak.co.uk/
- Nationality of company - American
- Founded - 1881
- Head Office - Rochester, New York, USA
- Number of Employees - 51,000 (2005)
- Description - Kodak have always focused on the common amateur
photographer rather than the professional. It was with this thought
in their minds that George Eastman and Henry Strong founded Kodak
as a company who offered the first cameras suitable for people
without expert knowledge. Some of their most models included the
'Brownie' and 'Instamatic', which have become household photographic
words. They also diversified into photographic equipment and have
become the largest supplier of films in the world, and this has
also included the professional market.
- Kodak C653 - LCD - 2.4 inches, Optical
zoom 3x, Digital zoom 5x. [reviews 3
- avg.
 ]
- Kodak EasyShare V550 - 32MB, Optical
zoom: 3x, [reviews 1 - avg.
 ]
Konica
- Homepage for UK - http://www.konica.co.uk/
- Nationality of company - Japan
- Founded - 1873 by Rokusaburo Sugiura
- Description - Another popular manufacturer from Japan of cameras
products, such as film, digital cameras, accessories like bags
and straps, and processing equipment. They have also made a line
of fax machines, photocopiers, and inkjet and laser printers.
Due to increased competition in the digital camera market from
new entries like Sony and HP, Konica decided to merge with Minolta
in 2003 to form Konica Minolta. In 2007 due to poor sales they
decided to transfer their digital SLR camera section to Sony.
Other areas of Konica's business has also been sold or discontinued
like it's photo imaging and processing division. The winners are
Dai Nippon and Seapac who have acquired the Konica factories,
many enthusiasts may be disappointed because Konica's 35mm film
was always acknowledged due it's quality.
Nikon
- Homepage for UK - http://www.nikon.co.uk/
- Nationality of company - Japan
- Founded - 1917
- Head Office - Fuji Bldg., 2-3, Marunouchi 3-chome, Chiyoda-ku,
Tokyo
- Number of Employees - 18,722 (2006)
- First Established in the UK - 1979
- Description - They specialize in optics and imaging, and make
all the obvious products in this sector like cameras, binoculars,
telescopes and microscopes. The company was only called Nikon
in 1988 after the success of it's F series cameras, which is the
only film camera Nikon will continue to manufacture (they are
going totally digital). Even though Nikon are best known as a
camera manufacturer by consumers, the Nikon Corporation is also
recognised in the business world as the global leader in the manufacturing
and developing of advanced optical and precision photo lithography
equipment. This currently includes the precision equipment used
in liquid crystal displays (LCD); (televisions and computer monitors).
Nikon are now owned by the conglomerate Mitsubishi corporation.
- Nikon F80 - Integral-motor autofocus 35mm
single-lens reflex, [reviews 1 - avg.
]
Olympus
- Homepage for UK - http://www.olympus.co.uk/
- Nationality of company - Japan
- Founded - 1919
- Head Office - Tokyo, Japan.
- Number of Employees - 2,900 (2005)
- Description - The company specialises in optics and cameras
and is named after Mount Olympus, which in Greek mythology is
the abode of the Gods. Olympus has always favored making quality
compact cameras, they were the first company to introduce the
OM system that allowed them to build the smallest cameras available.
This gave them a head start in the marketplace and ever since
they have retained their widespread popularity, even though their
slow introduction autofocus dented sales for a short space of
time. Alongside the OM System Olympus have been responsible for
creating the popular PEN models, the Four Thirds System standard
and the Microcassette.
- Olympus MJU 700 - 7.1 million pixels,
6.4cm LCD screen. [reviews 3 - avg. ]
Panasonic
- Panasonic FZ50 - 10.1 Megapixels, 12
x Optical Zoom, [reviews 3 - avg. ]
Pentax
- Homepage for UK - http://www.pentax.co.uk/
- Nationality of company - Japan
- Founded - 1919
- Description - The company first traded under the name of 'Asahi
Optical Joint Stock Co.'. It was not much of a catchy name so
by 1957 it traded under 'Pentax'. It first manufactured spectacle
lenses, and later in the 1930's in camera lenses. They have manufacturing
plants across Eastern Asia such as in Vietnam. Alongside of cause
digital cameras their range of products includes CCTV lenses,
electro-visual instruments, endoscopes, and CAD / CAM instruments
to name a few.
- Pentax T10 - 6.0MP, 2816x2112, 3x Opt,
12MB Internal Memory, [reviews 1 - avg.
 ]
Samsung
- Samsung S730 - Megapixels 7, Optical
zoom 3x, Digital zoom 5x. [reviews 3
- avg. ]
Sony
- Homepage for UK - http://www.sony.co.uk/
- Nationality of company - Japan
- Founded - May 7, 1946
- Description - They are a huge multinational corporation that
focuses on home consumer electronics. They only started manufacturing
cameras when digital cameras hit the market. Their Cyber-shot
line of cameras include Info Lithium battery packs, and all feature
the trademark Carl Zeiss Lenses. Sony and Carl Zeiss have also
just recently announced plans to expand forces to offer enhanced
imaging for DSLR cameras, the first camera to have an interchangeable
lens was the "Sony ALPHA". When it comes to mobile phone
cameras Carl Zeiss and Nokia (not Sony Ericsson) have joined forces
to offer enhanced imaging for mobile camera users.
Other Sources
- DP Review
- Has all the latest digital photography news, reviews, articles
and discussion forums.
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