Digital Camera Technology

As far as point and shoots are concerned, Asian companies such as Sony and Nikon seem to always take the spotlight.  But rising from the depths of digital camera technology is another player that is slowly gaining more ground in the industry: Samsung.  Samsung was once known for their house appliances and then later on their mobile technology.  Having developed a 10 mega pixel mobile phone camera, it was only a matter of time before they started concentrating once again on the digital camera market; thus, the release of the Samsung NV10.

BLACK IS BEAUTIFUL

Take one look at the Samsung NV10 and your initial reaction will not be just as you would expect when looking at any other digital camera.  The first thing you will notice is the quality of the material that is draped in a rich coating of black.  The Samsung NV10 is a very manly device but it will appeal to women as well.  It’s the sexy black that brings about a level of sophistication and class.  The Samsung NV10 not only gives off the impression that it is a solid device; it is a very solid device.  The metals chosen for the Samsung NV10 gives it a weighty feeling in hand but it’s light enough to store and whip out of a bag. 

UNIQUE

One of the best features of the Samsung NV10 is the way the controls are laid out and the way they are used.  The buttons are more or less the same as any other digital camera.  However, on the Samsung NV10, they are laid out in a reverse “L” fashion and the other unique feature is that you don’t need to add too much pressure to use the buttons.  They are actually touch-sensitive and the slightest touch will allow you to activate the feature of the button you are pressing.  The Samsung NV10 touch-sensitive feature allows one to use its features in the easiest way possible and without too much work.  The other great advantage to this is that you won’t have to worry about over using the buttons even if you use them a lot over time.  In contrast, typical buttons will tend to feel softer over a long time and their tactile feedback will become less than reliable.

POWER

Packed with a 10.1 mega pixel CCD sensor, the Samsung NV10 is not a point and shoot that should be underestimated.  In fact, the Samsung NV10 employs a CCD that is not normally used in typical point and shoots.  With a 3x optical and 5x digital zoom, that brings the total to 15x zoom and it produces crisp quality photographs no matter which zoom you are using.  Of course, for the best detail, it is best to use the optical camera zoom.  The Samsung NV10 has a 2.5-inch LCD monitor which is surprising because the new standard seems to be 3.0-inches.  And equipped with a Schneider-Kreuznach lens, you can be assured of the best quality pictures.

Are you tired of the brand of digital camera that you usually purchase?  For a totally different user experience, try out the Samsung NV10.  It’s inexpensive, innovative and photography will never be quite the same with the kind of technology that Samsung is introducing with the Samsung NV10.

Some of the most famous and affordable digital SLR’s are from the company Nikon.  With the success of the Nikon D40, the popularity of Nikon has risen to heights never before seen in the camera industry.  The fact is that the D40 is still in the market and is still selling because of demand for the affordable camera.  But there are other cameras that do the job as well and with added features to boot.  One of them is known as the Nikon D80.  It’s been more than 2 years since the announcement of the D70 and finally the successor, Nikon D80, is taking the stand. 

Changes

The Nikon D80 is now a 10 mega pixel monster of a DSLR and it fits nicely in between the market for amateur and professional photographers.  This basically means that the Nikon D80 can be used and understood by just about anybody who comes across it.  Its design is clearly based on the D70 but there are some significant differences.  First of all, the CCD is now a 10.2 mega pixel, whereas the D70 packed a 6.1 mega pixel camera.  The Nikon D80 body is even more compact than its predecessor’s which makes it a little lighter as well.  The Nikon D80 also sports a much larger viewfinder with x0.94 magnification and it has a mechanical shutter only which makes for slower performance; this has proven to be one of the gripes of many consumers of the Nikon D80.  Most believe it would have been better off with an electronic shutter.  Another feature that is new in the Nikon D80 is its image processing engine.  It was designed based on another earlier model, the D200.  The D70 did not have this technology.  On-camera retouching features are also available on the Nikon D80 including red-eye reduction, trimming, overlay and D-lighting.

Familiar

Although there are significant changes in the Nikon D80, consumers of the Nikon D-series will grow quite comfortably with it.  It is slightly smaller than the D70, but most of the controls are the same if not even better or more improved.  The Nikon D80 placement of buttons is more or less the same and there are a few added buttons dedicated to particular commonly-used functions.  For the most part, previous Nikon D70 users will be happy to know that the Nikon D80 interface is just about the same.  It is still straightforward and about the only new menu is the Retouch tab which allows one to take advantage of the new retouch features in the Nikon D80.

The Nikon D80 will definitely take over as its predecessors better.  With all the added features plus more power and image control / editing functions, the Nikon D80 is definitely worth the price that still doesn’t seem to break the $1000 mark.  After all, Nikon is known to give quality products at a very affordable rate.  For starting and professional photographers, the Nikon D80 will be a welcome change, despite its major flaw in mechanical shutter speed.

Most digital cameras will need a separate accessory or housing so that it can be taken on underwater photo shoots or dive expeditions.  Housing and underwater accessories can be very expensive.  So why spend so much money on buying the accessories and camera separately when you can buy already underwater digital cameras?  It was only about two years ago that manufacturers started to realize that this was a possibility.  But only a handful has really tried to put out a product that has a very small market.  Still, there are a few options out there, and the cameras aren’t that bad either.

Pentax

One of the first and few companies to take the underwater digital cameras seriously was Pentax, a global leader in various optical equipment and products.  They developed one of the first underwater digital cameras that did not need a housing accessory in order for it to be used while submerged in water.  The camera itself is packed with a 7 mega pixel sensor and can be used underwater for up to 30 minutes and as deep as five feet.  It can even take very high quality shots with a blur reduction mode built in.  The camera also has a movie mode allowing one to record underwater movie footage.  Of course, there is no microphone or speaker and the large 2.5-inch LCD is more than enough screen for a review while snorkeling.

Sealife

An unknown digital camera company, Sealife makes digital cameras for exactly that purpose: underwater photography.  So it comes to no surprise why their underwater digital cameras are probably some of the top selling ones in the market today since it is their expertise.  The Sealife DC500 is one of their underwater digital cameras.  It has a shake elimination feature conveniently called Shark Mode.  For what this camera can do at 5 mega pixels and with two flash modes (land and sea flash), this camera is a steal for just under $500.

Casio

It wasn’t long before Casio joined in to see if they could get into a fad that just hasn’t quite picked up even until now.  Nevertheless, they were more than willing to add their input and their underwater digital cameras to the market.  The problem is that although it is marketed as a good underwater digital camera, it still needs a special housing for it to be able to be submerged in water.  The Exilim Zoom EX-Z1000 was born and is probably the most powerful of marketed underwater digital cameras to date.  Underneath its compact exterior, the camera uses a powerful 10 mega pixel sensor.  It also features a much larger LCD screen at 2.8-inches and an anti-shake feature that promises even better shots while swimming around a reef.

There aren’t so many options for one looking for underwater digital cameras that don’t need extra housing accessories.  The ones out there, however, are worth every cent and you can be assured that more underwater digital cameras will make there way to the market provided there is a lot of noise coming from underwater aficionados worldwide.