Samsung NX10 launched and previewed

Samsung NX10 launched and previewed

Samsung has announced the NX10, the first of its NX series of mirrorless interchangeable lens cameras. The NX10 wraps a 14.6 megapixel APS-C-sized CMOS sensor up in a comparatively compact, DSLR-style body including an eye-level VGA resolution electronic viewfinder.

It also features a 3.0" OLED screen, promising lower power consumption, a wider range of viewing angles and better contrast than LCD technology. It can also shoot 720p HD video with H.264 compression.

The company has also launched an 18-55mm F3.5-5.6 kit lens, a 55-200mm telezoom and a 30mm F2 pancake lens for the camera, which uses a completely new lens mount.

We've had a pre-production camera for a little while, so have produced a full preview (with sample images to follow later today) to give you an idea of what to expect from the little Korean camera.

Las Vegas, NV, January 4th, 2009: Samsung Digital Imaging Company Inc., today announced the Samsung NX10 at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas – an innovative digital camera that provides users with an interchangeable lens system and optimum image quality in a sleek, compact body. Delivering creativity without compromise, users can now be as creative as they want on the move, without having to compromise perfect images.

The NX10 incorporates a fast and decisive auto focus (AF), 14.6 MP APS-C size CMOS sensor and unique, large 3.0” AMOLED screen, allowing users to easily view their images, even in bright sunlight. Users can also record in HD movie to create the full story. Available in two colors, Noble Black and Titan Silver, the Samsung NX10 is small, light and ergonomically designed to ensure maximum portability for everyday use.

The Samsung NX10 ensures users never miss a moment, with one of the fastest AF in its class on the market. The company’s latest innovation, the new DRIMe II Pro engine and advanced AF algorithm, also provide ultra fast AF speed with the higher precision of contrast AF.

The Samsung NX10 has the heart of a DSLR embedded inside the compact frame of a digital camera, successfully integrating the APS-C size CMOS sensor with a mirrorless interchangeable lens, for a sleek, lightweight camera that users can easily take with them everywhere they go.

Consumers are not just limited to taking shots but can also tell their own stories in video format with HD movie recording (H.264 codec).

Samsung continues to extend the usage of AMOLED screens across many products, using a large 3.0” AMOLED screen in Samsung NX10. AMOLED provides easier viewing even in bright sunshine and at acute viewing angles, meaning users no longer need to shield their screen with their hand. The category leading screen also provides 10,000 times faster response rate than conventional LCDs, has a far lower power consumption and higher contrast ratio – 10,000:1 vs. 500:1.

“The new Samsung NX10 marks the start of the next generation of cameras,” said Mr. S J Park, CEO of Samsung Digital Imaging Company. “We know from our detailed research over several years that what consumers want from their cameras is evolving, which we’ve reflected in the development of the Samsung NX10. With specialist equipment open to everyone and no longer restricted solely to the professional, more and more people want to capture something creative and tell a story through their camera – but they also want something compact that they can carry round with them all day. The large sensor and the ultra fast auto focus give consumers the quality they demand as well as the compactness they want in one exceptional package.”

Mr. Park continued: “Samsung has always been quick to implement cutting edge technology and no more so when it comes to quality of images. For the first time in the market, Samsung has successfully integrated an APS-C size sensor into a compact body by eliminating the mirror box, meaning that our users can now be as creative as they want to be on the move without having to compromise on image quality.”

The Samsung NX10 also contains a range of intelligent features to put professional quality images within reach of the amateur photographer. The Samsung NX10 includes in-depth manual controls and also a Smart Auto function which automatically detects the surrounding environment of the shot and selects the right shoot mode. Its Smart Range feature also enables the user to vividly express both bright areas and dark areas in the same frame, and the Supersonic Dust Reduction system keeps those dust particles clear of the image sensor that can often impair an image. It even senses when the user brings the camera close to their face to look through the viewfinder, and puts the AMOLED screen on standby to conserve power.

(Source: www.dpreview.com)

Canon PowerShot G11

Canon PowerShot G11

It really feels as though Canon's trying to recapture the past, or at least make up for some possibly poor decisions it's made over the past few years. For instance, though in many ways it bears little resemblance to the five-year-old PowerShot G6, that was the last G-series model with an articulated LCD, a feature beloved by many of the series' fans. And though last year's G10 jumped to 14.7 megapixels, bringing with it an increase in noise--anathema to the pixel peepers who play with these models--the new PowerShot G11 drops back to the 10-megapixel resolution of the several-generations-old G7. And these choices seem to pay off.

With the same body, a similarly sized sensor, and the same lens as its predecessor, it's unsurprising that the G11 looks and feels almost identical to the G10. Keeping with its historical design, the metal body feels quite solidly constructed. As with the G10, I wish the grip were just a tad larger; the thumb rest feels kind of slippery and I never feel absolutely secure shooting one handed. While it's not nearly as sleek as a lot of the enthusiast models coming out these days, such as the Olympus E-P series or Canon's own S90, the larger size does allow the G11 to accommodate a sizeable, useful optical viewfinder and big, easy-to-turn dials.

Though I have some quibbles, shooting with the G11 feels as quick, fluid, and comfortable as you'd expect from its class. The camera retains the four-way switch (for setting manual focus, macro, flash, and drive mode) with a Function/Set button nested inside the navigational scroll wheel on the back. Last year, I said of the G10's similar controller, "Like the G9 and the G7 before it, the G10 uses a four-way switch plus Set/Function button, which is surrounded by a scroll wheel.

I love the scroll wheel, but find I tend to accidentally hit one of the Manual focus, macro, drive mode, or flash switch when I'm trying to press the middle button." Canon seems to have tweaked the design of the wheel, and I find it even more troublesome: now I frequently press one of the switches while I'm scrolling as well. It's especially difficult to control in cold weather with numb fingers. And in movie capture mode, scrolling the wheel turns on the how-often-could-you-possibly-want-to-do-this Color Accent feature; given how easy it is to accidentally scroll, shooting videos can be pretty annoying.

Canon stacks the mode dial inside the ISO sensitivity dial for right-hand operation and has an exposure compensation dial on the left. In addition to giving the camera a retro feel, the dials on the G10 are really practical and much faster to use than even direct-access buttons, which always require at least some navigation. There's also a new Quick Shot mode, which provides an interactive control panel interface that's become common on dSLRs.

Unfortunately, Quick Shot mode is a semiautomatic program mode that activates continuous autofocus and face detection, so you can't access this panel while shooting in shutter- or aperture-priority or manual modes. (And leaving the camera in continuous AF mode is a great way to drain the battery.)

Features that I've liked for generations thankfully remain: a built-in neutral-density filter, two slots on the mode dial for custom settings, capability to change the size of the AF area, a hot shoe, exposure lock, raw support, and the bayonet adapter mount for add-on lenses. Still, it takes a hit for what it doesn't have: decent video capabilities. VGA at 30fps without optical zoom doesn't cut it these days. (You can download the PDF manual for a full accounting of the G11's features and operation.)

Performance is roughly equivalent to its predecessor; it's above average for its class, but still a bit slower than I think people should get for a camera in its price range. CNET Labs' testing shows time to first shot is 2 seconds, slower than before. In bright light, a relatively quick focus helps keep the shutter lag to a zippy-for-its-class 0.4 second. In dim light, that increases to a 0.7 second, about 0.1 second faster than the G10.

Two shots in a row have a relatively large 2.5-second gap between, however, slower than the past couple of generations, and adding flash recycle bumps that to a not-very-speedy 2.9 seconds. Continuous shooting drops to 1.1fps, down from the G10's 1.4fps. As before, though the AF system is pretty responsive, no one would confuse this with an SLR. The 2.8-inch LCD is big and bright; it's a hair smaller than the G10's but you don't really notice, and thanks to the flip-and-twist design, it's really useful.

When it comes to image quality, the drop in resolution seems to be worth the trade-off; the G11's photos display far less noise above ISO 200 than the G10's. Photos look clean at ISO 80 and ISO 100, but softening begins at ISO 200.

At ISO 400 you can begin to see some degradation in detail, in addition to the softness, and by ISO 800 there's enough blue-channel noise to produce some yellow splotches. ISO 400 was a bit disappointing for this class of camera, especially given the drop in resolution.

There's still sufficient detail for a lot of scenes, but you also see the yellow blotches and some white pixels from the noise suppression. Depending upon scene content, ISO 800 shots may be usable scaled down a bit. Switching to raw at high-ISO sensitivities didn't help much (processing using either Adobe Camera Raw or Canon's Digital Photo Pro); the JPEGs are fairly well optimized.

Color and exposures are great, and perhaps a tad better than before. There's some typical wide-angle distortion at the 28mm-equivalent maximum, but photos have very good center and edge-to-edge sharpness at longer focal lengths.

There are lots of reasons to opt for the Canon PowerShot G11 over the sleeker, slightly less expensive S90, including the optical viewfinder, articulated LCD, hot shoe, add-on lens support, and longer zoom. That makes it frustrating that the lens on the S90 is better in some ways, such as its wider maximum aperture. And while it doesn't have the cachet of one of the newer interchangeable-lens models, it doesn't have the price tag, either, and like those, it still admirably fulfills the promise of being a camera worth toting when a dSLR is too clunky.

(Source: reviews.cnet.com)

Sony Cyber-shot WX1 Review

Sony Cyber-shot WX1 Review

Point and shoot digital cameras have come a long way in the past decade - most are now capable of capturing high quality images outdoors in good light. But digital cameras generally don't do as well in low-light situations, indoors, and after dark. Digital images shot in low light environments often show lots of noise and display flat, dull colors. Sony's new Cyber-shot DSC-WX1 was designed to change that.

The WX1 utilizes an innovative new back-illuminated CMOS sensor that Sony claims will capture sharper, more detailed images in low/dim lighting - images with less noise and more vibrant colors than those shot with standard CMOS and CCD sensors.

Standard front-illuminated CMOS sensors are constructed so that light (after passing through the lens) must then pass through a metal wiring grid before striking the light-sensitive pixel receptors. Consequently, some light is lost. Back-illuminated sensors position the wiring grid beneath the light sensitive pixel receptors - increasing light gathering capability by up to 200% over traditional CMOS sensors. This makes the diminutive WX1 a superb tool for capturing images in available light environments - an especially useful ability indoors, after dark, and in poor weather.

BUILD AND DESIGN

Design-wise the WX1's main claim to fame is its innovative Exmor R CMOS sensor, which works hand-in-glove with Sony's new faster Bionz processor and Super SteadyShot optical image stabilization system to produce high quality images in dimly-lit shooting venues. The metal-alloy bodied WX1 appears to be robustly built and seems tough enough to stand up to typical wear and tear.

The "minimalist" look WX1 is an attractive (my test unit was black with silver trim) little digicam - diminutive, quite thin, and easily pocketable. The WX1 supports Memory Stick Pro Duo image storage media and provides 11MB of built-in memory.

Ergonomics and Controls

The svelte (0.75 inches thick) lozenge-shaped WX1 looks similar to just about every other ultra-compact "thin" digicam out there. It's comfortable to use over long periods and it feels solid in the hand. The WX1 is a pocketable digital camera that can easily be taken along everywhere the user goes. Sony's newest Cyber-shot is an auto exposure only digital camera with no manual exposure capability, however the WX1 does permit some user input into the image making process.

Even though the camera selects the aperture and shutter speed (in Program mode) users can manipulate sensitivity (ISO), white balance, and exposure compensation. The WX1's flat body is smooth with no protrusions - meaning no handgrip or thumbrest - so keeping the wrist strap looped around your hand when using the camera is probably a good idea.

The WX1 is a small camera, but the control array/user interface does not seem busy or cluttered. Dedicated controls have been kept to the minimum. All controls are logically placed and come easily to hand for right-handed shooters. The WX1's on/off switch is too small and often requires a second push to power up or power down the camera.

The compass switch (4-way controller) is also a bit too small and gives off a fiddly tactile feel - which doesn't inspire confidence (especially for users with large fingers) in its responsiveness. The mode dial is located in the exact spot where most right-handed shooters will rest their thumb when shooting (and the mode dial is easily turned) meaning users will have to suffer through occasional accidental mode changes.

I like the placement of the menu and review button, and both functioned exactly as expected. The delete button is also conveniently placed - but users can't immediately delete an image - images can only be deleted in review mode.

Menus and Modes
The WX1's menu system is logical, user-friendly, and fairly easy to navigate, but it isn't as simple in use as most of the competition. The reasonably large 2.7 inch LCD and sensible font size make reading the various menus painless. The WX1's playback menu provides a nifty Retouch mode allowing users to crop and sharpen captured images.

Here's a breakdown of the WX1's shooting modes:

* Easy: Point-and-shoot mode - the camera selects all exposure parameters - coupled to Sony's Intelligent Scene Recognition (Backlight, Backlight Portrait, Twilight, Twilight Portrait, Twilight with tripod, Portrait, Landscape, or Macro) technology to optimize camera settings for the specific scene (and conditions) in front of the camera and displays basic advice/useful information on the LCD.
* Intelligent Auto: Auto exposure incorporating Intelligent Scene Recognition plus Burst mode, EV compensation, Smile Detection and Face Detection options, and Red Eye Reduction. Sony's Intelligent Scene Recognition technology (available in Easy and iAuto modes) provides users with two options - Auto or Advanced. The Auto setting captures one exposure with optimized settings while the Advanced setting captures one exposure identical to the auto setting and a second exposure with an alternate set of optimized settings.
* Program: The camera selects exposure parameters, but allows substantial creative input - users control sensitivity (ISO), white balance, metering, focus, image stabilization on/off, and exposure compensation.
* Scene: High sensitivity, soft snap (blurs the background), landscape, twilight portrait, twilight, gourmet, pet, beach, snow, fireworks, underwater.
* Hand-held Twilight: The camera captures up to six exposures and then combines them - via pixel matching - to create a composite image with minimal noise.
* Anti-motion blur: Similar to Hand-held Twilight, except the camera captures up to six exposures at the highest practical shutter speed and the highest practical sensitivity (up to ISO 3200) and then combines them - via pixel matching - to create a composite image to freeze motion.
* Sweep Panorama: This shooting mode doesn't have a dedicated position on the mode dial - users must decide first whether the panorama they want to shoot is horizontal or vertical and whether it goes from left to right or from right to left - then just press the shutter button and sweep the camera in a half circle arc and the WX1 will combine all the captured exposures into a single seamless extra wide panorama.
* Dynamic Range Optimizer: The DRO mode (menu enabled) is designed to improve shadow detail and contrast in images captured in difficult lighting. There are three options: Off, Standard (D-R), and Advanced [D-R+). I tried DRO a couple of times and didn't notice any obvious differences - in my opinion judicious use of the Exposure Compensation function will accomplish more dependable (and predictable) results.
* Movie: The WX1's Movie mode captures HD (High Definition) and Standard Definition video clips - 1280x720 Fine (720p), 1280x720 Standard, and VGA (640 x 480) all at 30fps (with monaural audio). The 5x zoom can be used during video capture. Users also control White Balance, Sensitivity, Metering, DRO, and Image Stabilization settings in video capture mode.

Display/Viewfinder
Like most currently available point and shoots, the WX1 doesn't provide an optical viewfinder - so the LCD must be used for all framing and composition, image review, and menu access. The WX1's 2.7 inch wide-viewing angle LCD is relatively sharp (230k pixels), fairly bright, and fluid, but colors displayed on the LCD (in review mode) are not the colors you'll see when reviewing the images on your monitor.

The differences are not major, but saved images (when seen on your computer monitor) will have more intense colors than those seen on the LCD. The WX1's info display provides all the data most of the camera's users are likely to need. The LCD gains up (automatically increases brightness) in dim lighting and can be adjusted to the individual shooters' brightness preferences.

PERFORMANCE
I have no complaints with the WX1's performance. I shot pictures with the pocket-sized camera in a variety of low light environments including indoors, outdoors after dark, and in gloomy weather with heavily overcast skies. The WX1 consistently and dependably captures very good images in poor lighting. On the other side of the equation, the WX1 doesn't manage bright outdoor lighting with the same level of efficacy - sometimes burning out highlights. There are also some minor (and infrequent) auto white balance anomalies that negatively affect color accuracy.

The WX1 is very quick and consistently comes in at (or very near) the top of the list speedwise - noticeably quicker than most of its competition. Shutter lag is 0.01 seconds. AF Acquisition is a very snappy 0.26 seconds. The WX1's continuous shooting mode (which allows users to capture several images in quick succession) is 11.4 fps.

Shot-to-shot intervals were impressive at about 1.5 seconds and the WX1 moves its 5x zoom from the wide angle setting to the end of the telephoto range in under 2 seconds. Flash recycle time is 5 seconds (after a full-power discharge).

Shooting Performance
The WX1 provides two Image Stabilization options - first via Sony's optical SteadyShot IS which functions by quickly and precisely shifting a lens element in the 5x zoom to compensate for camera movement during exposure. Digital Image Stabilization boosts sensitivity (up to ISO 3200) and increases shutter speed to help freeze subject movement during exposure.

The WX1's contrast detection Intelligent Auto Focus system provides center-weighted AF, multi (9) AF point Auto Focus, and Spot AF. AF is consistently very quick and dependably accurate. Most Point and Shoot systems provide quick and accurate auto focus outdoors in good light - the WX1 does them one better and provides quick and accurate AF indoors and in poor light as well.

The WX1's built-in multi mode Flash provides a fairly standard set of external lighting options including Auto, Forced On, Forced Off, and Slow Synch. The Red-Eye Reduction option must be accessed via the Main menu. Sony claims the maximum flash range is (at the wide angle setting) about 16.4 feet at auto ISO.

The WX1 is powered by a Sony NP-FG1 3.6 volt InfoLITHIUM G - Lithium-ion battery. Sony claims the battery is good for 350 exposures. It's very difficult for me to keep track of the number of exposures I shoot because I do a lot of shoot, review, delete, and re-shoot, but I only had to charge the battery twice in two weeks of fairly heavy shooting so the numbers seem pretty accurate to me.

Lens Performance
Most ultra-compact digicams sport 3x zooms, so one of the nicest features of the WX1 is its very good and slightly faster than average f/2.4- f5.9 4.25mm-21.25mm (equivalent to 24mm -120mm) 5x Sony "G" (6 elements in 5 groups, including 5 aspheric elements) zoom. The WX1 starts at the equivalent of 24mm - which is impressive, since most ultra-compact digicams zooms start at around 35mm to 38mm.

When the camera is powered up, the lens automatically telescopes out of the camera body. When the camera is powered down the lens is fully retracted into the camera body and a built-in iris style lens cover protects the front element. Center sharpness is pretty good overall, but at the wide-angle end of the zoom corners are slightly soft. I didn't notice any vignetting (dark corners) and flare is remarkably well controlled.

Barrel distortion (straight lines bowing out from the center) is very well controlled - check out the Moorish Mausoleum sample image. I shot that image at the 24mm (equivalent) setting and while there is some visible distortion at the edges of the frame, it isn't egregious at all. Pincushion distortion (straight lines bowing in toward the center) at the telephoto end of the zoom is also very well controlled.

Contrast is very good at the wide end of the zoom, but at the telephoto end of the zoom contrast and sharpness are slightly lower. The WX1 doesn't provide a dedicated Macro Mode - minimum focusing distance is 1.9 inches - so this is not a best choice camera for those who like to shoot bugs and flowers. I counted eleven steps in the 5x zoom range. Zooming is smooth, silent, and very quick.

Video Quality
The WX1 really shines in movie mode - 1280x720 fine (720p) at 30fps (9 MBps bit rate) with monaural audio and you can use the 5x zoom in video capture mode. Maximum video duration is up to 29 minutes (about 2GB). Users can also record 1280x720 (720p) at 30fps (6 MBps bit rate) video in the standard HD mode and at 640x480 at 30fps in the VGA mode.

Sony doesn't include an HDMI video cable, so you'll have to pony up an extra forty bucks to watch HD video on your wide-screen TV. The sample video (of Louisville's famous cookie lady in action) was shot in a dimly lit old building - so not only can you use the zoom while filming, but you can also utilize all the WX1's low light capabilities, enable Image Stabilization, adjust white balance, and manipulate the exposure compensation function.

Image Quality
Outdoors the WX1 (like most compact digital cameras) does a very nice job - image quality is dependably very good to excellent. Exposures are dependably accurate, but there is a slight tendency toward over exposure and burned out highlights. Indoor image quality is excellent - equal to or better than anything currently available.

The WX1 provides an impressive selection of white balance options including: Auto, Daylight, Cloudy, Fluorescent, Fluorescent 2, Fluorescent 3, Incandescent, Flash, Underwater 1, Underwater 2, and One Push White Balance (the WX1's ONLY manual control) which allows users to manually calibrate WB with a white or gray card.

The WX1's auto white balance mode was generally very accurate, however in a couple of cases I came up with some inaccurate colors. Check out the two WB demo images below - the daylight WB setting produced the more accurate color. The WX1's default color interpolation is actually pretty close to neutral - unlike most of its competition.

Noise levels are quite reasonable up to ISO 800, but noise levels increase noticeably at ISO 1600 and ISO 3200. Low light image quality is the WX1's main claim to fame and this camera offers users unprecedented (for a P&S digicam) automatic noise management. Colors are hue accurate and chromatic aberration (purple fringing) is very well controlled at both ends of the zoom.

CONCLUSIONS
I really enjoyed using the WX1 and I captured some interesting images with it, but I also found the camera a bit frustrating - it sometimes appears to have been designed by a committee. On the one hand, the WX1 provides a lot of nifty features that were clearly added to appeal to more advanced shooters - it has a very good zoom that starts at a wide angle equivalent of 24mm, a manual White Balance mode, a 720p video mode, and enhanced low light shooting capabilities.

On the other hand, the camera is auto exposure only (which limits user input into the creative process), it has no optical viewfinder and, unlike similar digicams from other manufacturers, doesn't provide direct access (via shortcut menu) to the most commonly changed/adjusted camera settings and functions like white balance, sensitivity, and exposure compensation. The WX1 is also ultra-compact, easy to use, has loads of neat features, and it's stylish in a minimalist sort of way - all reasons why it should appeal to casual photographers and snap-shooters.

Pros:

* Impressive noise management
* Excellent 5x zoom
* 720p movie mode

Cons:

* Slight tendency toward over-exposure
* No direct access to the most commonly changed/adjusted camera settings and functions

(Source: digitalcamerareview.com)