Best Digital Cameras

This is a very colorful representation of brand popularity at http://digital-photography-school.com.

Clearly, Nikon and Canon are the most popular. One must keep in mind that (for better or worse) this graph represents the likes and dislikes of professional photographers, and probably indicates their preferences as far as high-end digital cameras.

Panasonic DMC-FX33 - more impressions

My Panasonic DMC-FX33 had its first field test and it is quite remarkable. Most of all, I am happy with the quality of video recording. I have had cameras that claimed to record mpg videos for at least six years, but not actually produced good enough quality. This Lumix creates excellent QuickTime movies. The motion is captured extremely well. I truly have no reason to have a camcorder, other than for some special effects. Playback through the TV was also great and simple. The jpgs and QuickTime files are all shown in the same lineup. Very convenient.

Panasonic DMC-FX33 digital camera manual and specs

Panasonic DMC-FX33

Just bought this one at Costco at $199 - a very nice deal. I will have to write a lot more about it. More precisely, it's a DMC-FX33K, the K must stand for black, just as DMC-FX33A is blue (aquamarine?) and DMC-FX33S is silver.

First impressions: very conveniently sized, nice rubbery surfaces. A quality video mode and anti-blur mode are very promising. You have to take out the battery in order to charge it, but that's pretty much standard these days, unfortunately.

Instructions in English

http://service.us.panasonic.com/OPERMANPDF/DMCFX33.pdf

Official specs:

Camera Type	Stylish Compact
KEY FEATURES	.
Camera Effective Pixels	8.1 Megapixels
Optical Image Stabilizer	MEGA O.I.S. (Mode 1 / Mode 2 )
Optical Zoom	3.6x
Image Sensor	1/2.5", 8.32 Total Megapixels CCD, Primary Color Filter
Extra Optical Zoom	4:3 Aspect Ratio: 4.6x for 5 Mega, 5.7x for 3 Mega, 2 Mega, 0.3 Mega 3:2 Aspect Ratio: 4.6x for 4.5 Mega, 5.7x for 2.5 Mega 16:9 Aspect Ratio: 4.6x for 4.5 Mega, 5.7x for 2 Mega
Digital Zoom 1	4x (Max. 14.3x combined with Optical Zoom without Extra Optical Zoom) (Max. 22.7x combined with Extra Optical Zoom)
Focal Length	f=4.6-16.4mm (35mm equiv: 28-100mm)
Lens	Leica DC Vario-Elmarit Lens
Lens Construction	7 Elements in 6 Groups (5 Aspherical Lenses/6 Aspherical Surfaces)
Aperture Range	Wide: F2.8/F8.0 (2 steps) Tele: F5.6/F16.0 (2 steps)
PERFORMANCE FEATURES	.
Conversion Lens Compatibility	No
Focusing Area	Normal: 50cm - infinity Macro/Intelligent AUTO/Motion Picture/Clipboard: Wide 5cm/Tele 30cm - infinity
AF Metering	Face/1-point/1-point high speed/3-point high speed/5-point/Spot
Focus	Auto Focus System, Normal/Macro (Dial)
AF/AE Lock	No
AF Assist Lamp	Yes
ISO Sensitivity	Auto / 100 / 200 / 400 / 800 / 1250 / 1600 (High Sensitivity Mode: Auto(1600-6400)
White Balance	Auto / Daylight / Cloudy / Shade / Halogen / White Set / White Balance Adjustment (+10steps, except for auto set) (Selectable at Portrait, Soft Skin, Self-Portrait, Sports, Baby, Pet, High Sensitivity, and Highspeed Burst mode)
Exposure	Program AE
Exposure Compensation	1/3 EV Step, ± 2 EV
Backlight Compensation	Yes (at Intelligent AUTO mode)
Auto Bracketing (AE)	+/- 1/3 EV ~ 1EV step, 3 frames
Light Metering	Intelligent Multiple
Shooting Mode (Mode Dial)	Dial: Normal Picture, Macro, Motion Picture, Playback, Print, Intelligent AUTO, Clipboard
Scene Modes	SCN (Portrait, Soft Skin, Scenery, Sports, Night Portrait, Night Scenery, Self-Portrait, Food, Party, Candle Light, Fireworks, Starry Sky, Beach, Aerial Photo, Snow, High Sensitivity, Baby 1&2, Underwater, Sunset, Pet, Hi-Speed Burst)
Advanced Scene Mode	No
Shutter Speed/Shutter System	8 - 1/2,000 sec. Starry Sky Mode: 15, 30, 60 sec.
Self Timer	10 seconds / 2 seconds
Auto Review	1 sec/3 sec/zoom
Review	1x/4x/8x
Picture Adjustment	No
Color Effect Mode	No
Color Mode	Standard/Vivid/Cool/Warm/Natural/Black & White/Sepia
Recording Format	Still Image: JPEG (design rule for camera file system, based on Exif 2.21 standard), DPOF Corresponding Image with audio: JPEG (design rule for camera file system, based on Exif 2.21 standard)+ QuickTime Motion Picture: QuickTime Motion JPEG
Image Quality	Fine/Standard
Motion Image (Quick Time Motion JPEG)	4:3 Aspect Ratio: 640 x 480 pixels, 320 x 240 pixels 30 fps, 10 fps 16:9 Aspect Ratio: 848 x 480 pixels 30 fps, 10 fps
RECORDING IMAGE SIZE (Pixels)	.
4:3 Aspect Ratio (Still Image)	3264 x 2448 2560 x 1920 2048 x 1536 1600 x 1200 640 x 480
3:2 Aspect Ratio (Still Image)	3264 x 2176 2560 x 1712 2048 x 1360
16:9 Aspect Ratio (Still Image)	3264 x 1840 2560 x 1440 1920 x 1080
Motion Image (4:3 Aspect Ratio)	640 x 480, 320 x 240 30 fps, 10fps
Motion Image (16:9 Aspect Ratio)	848 x 480 pixels - 30 fps, 10 fps
CONVENIENCE FEATURES	.
Burst Shooting Mode	Full-Resolution Image, 3 frames/sec Max. 7 images (Standard Mode), Max 4 images (Fine Mode) High-speed Burst Mode: approx. 7 frames/sec (recorded in 2M for 4:3, 2.5M for 3:2, 2M for 16:9)
Unlimited Consecutive Shooting 2	Yes
Easy Zoom/Zoom Resume/Motion Zoom	No
Still Image Recording with Audio	5 seconds
Audio Dubbing	Maximum of 10 Seconds
Real-time Histograms	Yes
Composition Guide Lines	Yes (2 patterns)
Built-in Memory	approx. 27MB
Scene Mode Help Screen	Yes
Auto Angle Detection	Yes
Flip Animation	No
Travel Date/World Time	Yes/Yes
Title Edit	Yes
Text Stamp/Date Stamp	Yes/Yes
STANDARD FEATURES	.
Built-in Flash Type/Mode	Auto, Auto/Red-eye Reduction, Forced On, Slow Sync./Red-eye Reduction, Forced Off 0.6-6.3m (Wide/ISO Auto), 0.3-3.1m (Tele/ISO Auto)
External Flash	No
Viewfinder	No
LCD Monitor	2.5" Diagonal Polycrystalline TFT LCD Display (207k pixels) Field of view: approx. 100% Auto Power LCD mode, Power LCD Mode, High Angle Mode
Playback Mode	9, 25-thumbnail display, Calendar display, Zoomed playback (16x max), Image rotation, Category Playback, Slide Show, Favorite Pictures, Create Still Pictures, Resizing, Trimming, Protection, Aspect Conversion, DPOF Print Setting
OSD Language	English, German, French, Spanish, Italian, Japanese
Recording Media	Built-in Memory SD Memory Card SDHC Memory Card MultiMediaCard
Microphone	Yes
Speaker	Yes
Interface	DC Input, A/V Output (NTSC/PAL), USB
Direct Print	PictBridge
Color	Black
Power Supply	Lithium-ion Battery Pack (3.6V, 1000 mAh)(Included) AC Adaptor (Input: 110-240V AC)(Optional)
Battery Life 3	Up to 280 pictures(CIPA Standard)
ACCESSORIES	.
Included Software	ArcSoft® MediaImpression™, ArcSoft® Panorama Maker™, USB Driver, Lumix® Simple Viewer, Photo Fun Studio
Standard Accessories	Battery Charger, Battery Pack, Battery Carrying Case, AC, AV & USB Cables, Strap, CD-ROM
Dimensions (H x W x D)	2.04'' x 3.74'' x .87''
Weight	.29 lbs

Olympus Stylus 820 Digital Camera - Manual and specs

A superb camera, except for one thing: image quality. I have read reviews about the bad quality of pictures taken by this camera and my personal experience from playing with it is just the same. Weather resistance is a big feature on many Olympus Styluses. Image Stabilization is a perfect feature to go with a slightly above average 5x optical zoom. I can only hope that Olympus will manage to improve the image quality. Their website now lists Stylus 840, but I haven't seen in in person just yet.

Olympus Stylus 820 manual

Olympus Stylus 820 specs:

• 5x Optical Zoom
• 2.7-inch HyperCrystal™ LCD
• Digital Image Stabilization
• All-Weather
• Face Detection

Nikon Coolpix s10 digital camera manual and specs

Some people advise against having too much zoom in a camera. My question is: how can you have too much zoom? Nikon s10 is a slightly older model, only 6 megapixels. Truly, though, this is enough, especially if you can zoom in at 10x.

Here is the manual:

http://www.nikonusa.com/pdf/manuals/noprint/S10_en_noprint.pdf

		Amazing 10x Optical Zoom-Nikkor Glass Lens that fits in your pocket
		Vibration Reduction minimizes the effect of camera shake
		Incredible, Bright 2.5-inch LCD offers 170-degree wide-angle of view, making it easy to show your pictures to family and friends
		Auto adjusts up to ISO 800 for sharp pictures even in lower light
		Nikon In-Camera Innovations which include: In-Camera Red-Eye Fix(TM) to automatically remove most instances of red-eye in the camera, Face-Priority AF Nikon's face-finding technology that automatically finds and focuses on face(s), and D-Lighting which lightens dark images, in-camera, for great prints right out of the camera.
		Pictmotion(TM) creates in-camera slide shows with your music.
		USB and Pictbridge compatible