Canon PowerShot S95 Review

Pros: Big, sharp LCD display, Manual controls, Very good images in all light levels, Shoots 720p HD video

Cons: Short battery life, Dawdling camera speed, Optical zoom doesn't work with video

The Canon PowerShot S95 is the descendant of the popular S90, a pocket-sized camera that offers a lot of proficient features. Aimed at the dedicated photographer looking for a accomplished compact, the new Canon S95 features improved handling and greater levels of manual control. When Canon shipped its PowerShot S90 about a year ago, it made a big impression on advanced photographers. Tiny with a wide-aperture lens and all the essential manual shooting features, it was practically irresistible for DSLR luggers. It did have a few flaws, however, some of which Canon has attempted to address with the successor, the S95. These include a 720p video-capture upgrade, improved image stabilization, and some minor tweaks to the design and feature set. Performance, though, remains on the slow end of acceptable.

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Canon PowerShot SD1400 IS: Product Review

Pros:  Small, sleek design, Consistently good image quality, HD video capabilities, Sturdy build

Cons: Small, flat control buttons, Limited manual controls, Dawdling continuous shooting, No optical zoom in video mode

The Canon PowerShot SD1400 IS is a bit of a brainteaser. It's an good-looking, lightweight ultracompact point-and-shoot nearly identical to 2009's SD940 IS, using the same 28mm-equivalent wide-angle lens with a 4x zoom and 2.7-inch LCD. The only major tweak is a resolution bump from 12 megapixels to 14, which contrary to what you may be thinking does not improve photo quality. There are a couple new creative shooting modes and shutter-release timer options, but otherwise there are no interesting new features or improvements to old ones. Plus, shooting performance is run of the mill, as is battery life.

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Canon PowerShot A3100 IS: Product Review

Pros: Plenty of preset shooting modes, Very easy to use, Cheap price

Cons: Noisy low-light shots, No viewfinder, Slow flash recovery speed

Canon's PowerShot A3100 IS moves on the A series' course toward "simple and enjoyable" photography by curtailing a feature the line was known for in the past: AA-size batteries. This camera as well as its 10-megapixel line mate, the Canon A3100 IS, uses a rechargeable lithium ion battery for power. Manual controls and optical viewfinders started disappearing as A-series features in 2008, and this change completes the renovation to a less expensive, larger version of the company's Digital Elphs. Canon hasn't deserted AA batteries entirely from A-series models, but with these additions the numbers decrease. That doesn't mean it's not a good budget-friendly camera, though, and surely there's no shortage of people after Canon photo quality at a lower cost with a more compact build than is typical of this model series. And that's really what you get with the A3100 IS.

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Canon PowerShot SD1300 IS: Product Review

Pros: Solid build quality, Excellent image quality, Clear, vibrant LCD screen

Cons: No optical viewfinder, Lacks HD video

The PowerShot SD1300 is Canon's latest entry-level digital ELPH. They offer good photo quality and features in a compact, stylish body. The SD1300 doesn't go overboard in the gimmick department, instead offering a solid set of well-implemented basic features. The SD1300 is available in a rainbow of colors, including silver, brown, green, pink, and blue. The PowerShot SD1300 is known as the IXUS 105 in some countries.

The Canon SD1300 IS lacks any form of optical or electronic viewfinder, with all interaction taking place through its rear-panel LCD display. The PowerShot SD1300's display measures 2.7 inches diagonally, and offers 230,000 dot resolution, which equates to roughly a 320 x 240 pixel array with three dots per color. LCD coverage is said to be approximately 100%. As well as still images at resolutions up to 4,000 x 3,000 pixels, the Canon SD1300 can record standard definition movie clips at either VGA (640 x 480) or QVGA (320 x 240) resolution, with a rate of 30 frames per second in Motion JPEG AVI format, and including monaural audio.

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Panasonic SDR-S50: Product Review

Panasonic SDR-S50 Review
Positive aspects:  Very  well designed, Immensely long 70x optical focus, Image stabilizer battles hand shake, Complete manual controls, Price

Negative aspects: Dated user interface, LCD display glares in powerful light, Low-resolution still pictures, Short battery life for its class, No external microphone, headphone jacks

If you prefer the lengthiest potential zoom, the Panasonic SDR-S50 is valued at its price. A significant 70x optical zoom is the Panasonic SDR-S50's allege to recognition. You'll be able to film a frame-filling video of the moon -- or your child's school plays from the very back row. The Panasonic SDR-S50 is much like obtaining a small telescope that is certainly able to capture standard-definition video. An outstanding visual photograph stabilizer assists in keeping things continuous, but you will always desire a tripod for all those long zoom pictures.

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