High-Res Digital Cameras – Hardware Review – Evaluation
Steve Morgenstern
We take a look at seven megapixel cameras designed with home office shutterbugs in mind
JUST A YEAR AGO, A HIGH-RESOLUTION digital camera was a treat for the elite–the model you really wanted until you checked your credit card balance and settled for a 640- by 480-pixel or VGA resolution alternative. Now it’s getting tough to find a digital camera from a major manufacturer that offers less than megapixel resolution.
For those rusty on their etymology, “mega” comes from the Greek for “a whole lot”; a megapixel digital camera captures images made up of more than 1 million tiny dots or picture elements. More pixels mean a higher-resolution image. With a million of the little suckers, you can print out a respectable-looking 8- by 10-inch or an excellent 5- by 7-inch print on a photoquality printer and achieve acceptable results in a desktop-published document sent to a commercial print shop for reproduction.
To be frank, if you’re planning to use your digital photo images mostly for onscreen use–on a Web site, for example, or in a PowerPoint presentation–megapixel sharpness is overkill, because it gives you more resolution than will appear onscreen and files too large for quick downloading. On the other hand, high resolution provides the margin you need for improving your picture with your favorite image editing software (especially cropping out extraneous elements). With a megapixel model, you can always convert an image to a lower resolution for Web work or shoot at a lower-res setting; this gives you the advantage of being able to shoot more pictures before the camera’s onboard storage fills up.
CHOOSING THE RIGHT CAMERA
With many models available at a wide range of prices, what should you look for when shopping for a megapixel camera? Image quality is paramount, though it’s a factor that can’t be gleaned from feature charts or specifications. Minor differences in resolution don’t make much bottom-line difference in the final image; the quality of the lens and electronic components are much more significant, so eyeballing actual results is crucial.
You’ll also want to consider the method used for storing images. Each of the seven cameras we tested accepts interchangeable memory cards that work like solid-state disk drives, with no moving parts. Two memory card standards predominate: CompactFlash and SmartMedia. Both are small, though SmartMedia is significantly thinner, like cardboard, and a CompactFlash card is about the size of a matchbook. And although it’s slightly bulkier, CompactFlash is available in higher storage capacities and costs about half as much per megabyte.
All of the test cameras include an LCD panel for framing images while you’re shooting and for reviewing pictures stored in the camera. The latter lets you see a picture you’ve taken right away, to make sure you got the shot you need. Equally important, given the cameras’ limited storage capacity, is the ability to throw out shots you don’t need, to make room for more images. And when shooting close-ups, the LCD panel lets you aim more accurately than you could with a conventional optical viewfinder.
As useful as the LCD is, though, your best bet is a model with both an LCD and an optical viewfinder. LCDs are notorious battery-drainers. If you can shoot by looking through an eyepiece and then check your shot on an LCD, you have the best of both worlds with less power drain. Note, too, that quality differences in LCD screens aren’t always apparent at first glance. The display may be crisp and colorful when standing still, but if it stutters or smears when you pan the camera, it’ll quickly make you miserable.
A zoom lens is extremely valuable in digital photography. When using conventional film negatives, you can enlarge a relatively small portion of the image and still have acceptable resolution. With a digital camera, even at megapixel resolutions, you want to frame your shot as precisely as possible to minimize enlargement requirements later. All but two of our test units provide built-in 3x zoom lenses.
Several cameras also offer a 2x “digital zoom,” which adds or interpolates extra pixels to mathematically double the image size. Don’t be fooled. A digital zoom noticeably degrades image quality. We recommend taking your shots using the camera’s optical zoom at full magnification and then enlarging them on your PC with image editing software, rather than relying on an in-camera digital zoom.
Digital cameras are gaining more of the advanced photographic features familiar to 35mm shutterbugs. For example, manual exposure control lets you adjust for extreme lighting situations that might fool the built-in metering system. Manual adjustment of the white balance lets you compensate for odd lighting situations such as greenish fluorescent bulbs.
For day-to-day shooting, though, the real trick is finding a camera with a control system that gives you easy access to all features, basic and advanced. All too often, we found overly complicated camera designs, requiring mental gymnastics for simple tasks such as erasing pictures or changing resolution settings. As you’ll see in our ratings, though, a few models stood out for their clear, comprehensible controls.
Keeping all these factors–plus the size, shape, and feel of the camera–in mind, we chose seven digital cameras capable of at least 1,280- by 960-pixel resolution: the Agfa ePhoto 1680, Casio QV-7000SX, Epson PhotoPC 750, Hewlett-Packard PhotoSmart C30, Minolta Dimage EX Zoom 1500, Olympus D-400 Zoom, and Ricoh RDC-4200. Best of all, each lets you join the megapixel club for less than $800.
Agfa ePhoto 1680
8.0
8 8 7 9 V P E S
The $699 Agfa ePhoto 1680 is a well-designed, easy-to-handle camera that takes excellent pictures. The Agfa rendition of our still life delivered exceptional detail in the darker areas, truly white whites, well-balanced colors, and a pleasing exposure.
When it comes to unique handling, the Agfa is outstanding. The lens section pivots freely, allowing you to aim the lens while holding the camera body at a comfortable angle for LCD viewing. The camera’s size and slim shape make it easy to toss in a bag or briefcase, and its controls are delightfully easy to learn and use. A simple knob switches from Record to Play functions, and a separate push-and-turn dial lets you set resolution, flash mode, multiple-image display, and other functions using logical onscreen menus. After reading the directions once, you’ll never need them again.
The single flaw in the ePhoto 1680’s design is the lack of an optical viewfinder. Although its LCD screen is large and crisp, and pans smoothly, shooting outdoors in bright light is difficult (a low-light boost function makes indoor photography less of a problem). Although it wasn’t available in time for this roundup, Agfa has announced a new model, the CL50, offering the same basic electronics in a more traditional camera shape and including both LCD and optical viewfinders–at the same price. Although we were impressed with the 1680, the newer CL50 may be the more practical choice.
RATINGS
HOME OFFICE COMPUTING’S product scores are weighted averages of 1- to 10-point ratings for: Value (30 percent of total), Performance (30 percent of total), Ease of Use (20 percent of total), and Suitability for Home Office Use (20 percent of total).
KEY:
V = Value
P = Performance
E = Ease of Use
S = Suitability for Home Office Use
Casio QV-7000SX
6.7
7 6 7 7 V P E S
Another pivot-lens model, the Casio QV-7000SX is reasonably priced at $599, but it’s not one of our favorites. Color rendition in our test shot appeared distinctly cold and blue-tinged, and slightly dark. And the level of detail fails to match that of our top camera choices–the stone wall and wall hanging, for example, show noticeable clumping and fuzziness.
Most controls on the QV-7000SX are well laid out and easy to use, though we weren’t thrilled with the zoom control, which is placed awkwardly on the front of the camera right below the shutter.
The LCD panel is exceptionally large (2.5 inches diagonally) and wonderful for reviewing photos you’ve taken. Unfortunately, it’s less terrific for taking pictures: It smears badly as you move the camera–a major problem considering there’s no optical viewfinder.
One welcome design detail is the switch that toggles you almost instantly from Record to Play mode. On most digital cameras, you must turn off the camera between these two modes, which could cause you to miss that perfect shot.
The Casio provides several unique features that seem of only borderline use for a home office worker–the ability to shoot in sepia tone, create mini movies (viewable only on the LCD; they can’t be transferred to your computer), or add titles. Far more useful are the preprogrammed exposure modes tailored for sports (fast action) and night shooting (low light).
RATINGS
HOME OFFICE COMPUTING’S product scores are weighted averages of 1- to 10-point ratings for: Value (30 percent of total), Performance (30 percent of total), Ease of Use (20 percent of total), and Suitability for Home Office Use (20 percent of total).
KEY:
V = Value
P = Performance
E = Ease of Use
S = Suitability for Home Office Use
Epson PhotoPC 750
7.5
7 8 6 9 V P E S
The Epson PhotoPC 750 is a solid, well-designed camera with lots of useful touches that, taken together, make it an excellent value. Those looking for plenty of well-integrated, intuitive features won’t mind the $799 price tag.
First, there’s the PhotoPC’s outstanding picture quality. Like the Agfa 1680, the Epson offers a 1,600- by 1,200-pixel mode that uses software interpolation to produce a higher quality image without the fuzziness of other cameras’ so-called digital zoom. In the Epson’s case, this process is accomplished within the camera itself and works well (see sample below). Our test image was nicely exposed, with clean, accurate colors, and looked sharp in most of its fine details.
The Epson camera’s shape is a bit boxy, but comfortable enough for everyday use. Its basic controls are clearly labeled and easy to access, although things get a bit tricky when trying to access the 750’s advanced features. The zoom control was also less than ideal; the lever is too small, poorly positioned, and requires too much force.
Still, the Epson delivers more than you might expect in several areas. It comes with rechargeable batteries, a handy lens cap and camera case, and a “solar assist” panel that lets you turn off LCD backlighting and use sunlight to illuminate the panel and save battery power. With 4MB of built-in memory, plus a bundled 8MB CompactFlash card, the Epson is ready to take another picture almost immediately after the last one is snapped; it takes up to two standard-resolution shots per second without flash.
RATINGS
HOME OFFICE COMPUTING’S product scores are weighted averages of 1- to 10-point ratings for: Value (30 percent of total), Performance (30 percent of total), Ease of Use (20 percent of total), and Suitability for Home Office Use (20 percent of total).
KEY:
V = Value
P = Performance
E = Ease of Use
S = Suitability for Home Office Use
Hewlett-Packard PhotoSmart C30
8.0
9 7 8 8 V P E S
If simple point-and-shoot operation at a low price ($399) is what you crave, HP’s PhotoSmart C30 could be just what you need. As you might expect, this camera didn’t match the performance of models costing twice as much. Our test shot was underexposed, with reds that were noticeably too hot; overall, we judged the C30’s images to be adequate, but not particularly sharp. Still, image quality is sufficient for most small-business tasks, especially after a little tweaking in a photo editing program to fix tint and exposure problems.
The camera design proved comfortable, with an easy-to-use, slide-away lens cover and a monochrome LCD on top to indicate basic settings at a glance, along with separate buttons to control picture quality, flash mode, and timer/autofocus settings. The PhotoSmart’s color LCD panel isn’t great. It suffers from a slow refresh rate when panning, but is fine for reviewing pictures–and its brightness can easily be adjusted.
The major feature missing from the C30 is a true zoom lens. The camera offers a 2x digital zoom, but as with other cameras, the reduction in image quality makes the digital zoom only marginally useful.
In the final analysis, the PhotoSmart C30 delivers what it promises: true megapixel resolution at a rock-bottom price.
RATINGS
HOME OFFICE COMPUTING’S product scores are weighted averages of 1- to 10-point ratings for: Value (30 percent of total), Performance (30 percent of total), Ease of Use (20 percent of total), and Suitability for Home Office Use (20 percent of total).
KEY:
V = Value
P = Performance
E = Ease of Use
S = Suitability for Home Office Use
Minolta Dimage EX Zoom 1500
5.2
4 6 5 6 V P E S
The Minolta Dimage EX Zoom 1500, priced at $799, brings some innovative ideas to the table, but slips up on several fundamentals. The camera is designed in two pieces: the main camera body and a detachable lens unit, which can be swapped for a wide-angle lens or even attached to an optional cable that lets you separate the lens from the camera body. Unfortunately, you must also remove the lens to connect a serial cable unit for downloading images to your computer–a much clumsier process than just plugging it into an ordinary output jack.
By contrast, an innovation that we admired is an ample 16MB memory buffer that virtually eliminates the annoying lag time between images that is common with digital cameras. If you like, you can shoot up to seven images in two seconds; that rates a “wow” in our book.
But you’ll quickly succumb to button burnout while trying to access Dimage features. We found ourselves fumbling and grappling with a record 13 little buttons. Some are used to interact with an onscreen menu system that’s fairly clear, but others are just baffling unless you memorize the manual.
Worse still is the Minolta’s LCD, which is shamed by those of cameras costing much less. It pans slowly, and the view is dark and grainy. The pictures we took proved overly dark, too, though the camera did a good job of capturing details and colors. Using the automatic exposure correction feature of a desktop image editing program brought picture quality up to acceptable business standards.
RATINGS
HOME OFFICE COMPUTING’S product scores are weighted averages of 1- to 10-point ratings for: Value (30 percent of total), Performance (30 percent of total), Ease of Use (20 percent of total), and Suitability for Home Office Use (20 percent of total).
KEY:
V = Value
P = Performance
E = Ease of Use
S = Suitability for Home Office Use
Olympus D-400 Zoom
8.3
8 9 7 9 V P E S
The Olympus D-400 Zoom produced the best images in our test group, with excellent sharpness, exposure, and color rendition. That, coupled with Olympus’s inclusion of both an 8MB SmartMedia storage card and the incredibly useful FlashPath adapter for popping the card directly into your PC’s floppy disk drive (a $100 option with other cameras), made this $699 unit a shoo-in for our Best Buy award.
On the downside, the D-400’s unfriendly design could use some improvement. The Olympus offers several features that will appeal to veteran photographers, including the ability to manually adjust white balance, tweak exposure settings, and view several images on the LCD at once. Unfortunately, the controls to access these features are discouragingly complex, with numerous tiny buttons labeled with mysterious icons.
The camera’s pop-up flash design moves the flash a bit farther than usual from the lens, which should fractionally reduce red-eye. But at the same time, you must manually raise the flash to fire it, making it all too easy to shoot without realizing you won’t get flash illumination.
Another odd design choice is the mechanism for opening and closing the camera. To switch on the D-400, you slide the built-in lens cover to the right, at which point the zoom lens extends. No problem. But when you’re ready to close the camera, you must close the cover partway, then wait for the lens to retract, then close the case all the way. It works, but it’s inelegant and time-consuming.
The LCD screen is reasonably bright and pans smoothly, with no herky-jerky movement. It’s covered with a smudge-proof protective shield–good thing, because its position at the far left side of the camera was an absolute magnet for our big, greasy thumbs.
RATINGS
HOME OFFICE COMPUTING’S product scores are weighted averages of 1- to 10-point ratings for: Value (30 percent of total), Performance (30 percent of total), Ease of Use (20 percent of total), and Suitability for Home Office Use (20 percent of total).
KEY:
V = Value
P = Performance
E = Ease of Use
S = Suitability for Home Office Use
Ricoh RDC-4200
7.9
8 7 8 9 V P E S
We really like the feel of the Ricoh RDC-4200–it’s well balanced, compact, and just feels solid overall. And its $499 price is easy on your wallet, too.
But the camera had some trouble with our test shot, producing an image that was underexposed and overly warm (probably because of the tinted coating over the flash, meant to favor skin tones), though it did deliver good levels of detail. The camera performed much better outdoors, and consistently produced pleasing flesh tones.
Designwise, the RDC-4200’s pivot-mounted lens ratchets through 190 degrees, making it easy to point anywhere (even at yourself). A built-in lens cover automatically protects the optics whenever the power is off.
The LCD is first-rate, with a crisp image that updates smoothly as you pan. There’s even a welcome external wheel to adjust the display’s brightness. Still, the lack of an optical viewfinder is a major problem. And the zoom lens is another shortcoming; it moves slowly, with an annoying chugging sound.
Camera controls are well thought out, with basic functions available on a clearly labeled knob and more-advanced features readily accessible through a well-organized onscreen menu. And there are plenty of high-end features available, including a special text recording mode, exposure and white balance control, and an automatic interval timer for time-lapse photography. Overall, the RDC-4200 is one of our favorite digital cameras, and its price is extremely attractive.
RATINGS
HOME OFFICE COMPUTING’S product scores are weighted averages of 1- to 10-point ratings for: Value (30 percent of total), Performance (30 percent of total), Ease of Use (20 percent of total), and Suitability for Home Office Use (20 percent of total).
KEY:
V = Value
P = Performance
E = Ease of Use
S = Suitability for Home Office Use
Can You Picture This?
All of the cameras listed include a built-in flash and self-timer, a tripod socket, and video output, and produce images with up to 16.7 million colors.
Agfa ePhoto 1680
MANUFACTURER Agfa
888-281-2302
www.agfahome.com
LIST PRICE $699
PROS Slim and easy to handle,
good image quality, excellent
controls
CONS No optical viewfinder
RATING 8.0
VERDICT A nice choice, but latest Agfa CL50
may be still nicer
RESOLUTION SETTINGS 1,600 x 1,200(**), 1,280 x 960, 640 x 480
STORAGE MEDIUM SmartMedia (4MB supplied)
IMAGE CAPACITY (WITH 6-48
SUPPLIED MEMORY)
WEIGHT 13.5 oz.
(WITHOUT BATTERIES)
POWER SUPPLY 4 AA (rechargeable NiMH included)
AC ADAPTER INCLUDED No
VIEWFINDER 2-inch LCD only
ZOOM (OPTICAL/DIGITAL) 3x optical/2x digital
LENS COVER No
ADDITIONAL FEATURES Black and white document mode,
manual exposure and white balance
compensation, LCD brightness boost
for low-light shooting
INCLUDED SOFTWARE(*) LivePix SE (image editing),
LivePicture PhotoVista (panorama
creation)
Casio QV-7000SX
MANUFACTURER Casio
800-836-8580
www.casio.com
LIST PRICE $599
PROS Reasonably priced,
simple controls
CONS No optical viewfinder,
blur-prone LCD, awkward zoom
control, 2x zoom to rivals’ 3x
RATING 6.7
VERDICT Not a bad camera,
but not a front-runner
RESOLUTION SETTINGS 1,280 x 960, 640 x 480
STORAGE MEDIUM CompactFlash (8MB supplied)
IMAGE CAPACITY (WITH 14-55
SUPPLIED MEMORY)
WEIGHT 9.9 oz.
(WITHOUT BATTERIES)
POWER SUPPLY 4 AA
AC ADAPTER INCLUDED No
VIEWFINDER 2.5-inch LCD only
ZOOM (OPTICAL/DIGITAL) 2x optical/4x digital
LENS COVER No
ADDITIONAL FEATURES Manual exposure and white balance
compensation, minimovie and
panorama shooting, titling, soft case
INCLUDED SOFTWARE(*) QVLink, Adobe PhotoDeluxe 3.0, ixla
Digital Camera Suite, PictureFun
Photo, Spin Panorama, Spin
PhotoObject
Epson PhotoPC 750
MANUFACTURER Epson America Inc.
800-463-7766
www.epson.com
LIST PRICE $799
PROS Useful extra-high-res mode,
short wait between shots
CONS Clumsy zoom control
RATING 7.5
VERDICT A good buy for most small-business
needs
RESOLUTION SETTINGS 1,600 x 1,200(**), 1,280 x 960, 640 x 480
STORAGE MEDIUM CompactFlash (8MB supplied)
IMAGE CAPACITY (WITH 16-178
SUPPLIED MEMORY)
WEIGHT 10.9 oz.
(WITHOUT BATTERIES)
POWER SUPPLY 4 AA (recharqeableNiMH included)
AC ADAPTER INCLUDED No
VIEWFINDER 2-inch LCD, optical
ZOOM (OPTICAL/DIGITAL) 3x optical/2x digital
LENS COVER Yes
ADDITIONAL FEATURES Continuous-shooting mode (2 pics/sec.),
manual exposure and white balance
compensation, low-light no-flash mode,
picture-taking under PC control, case
INCLUDED SOFTWARE(*) Sierra Imaging Image Expert
HP PhotoSmart C30
MANUFACTURER Hewlett-Packard
888-HP4-FUNP
www.photosmart.com
LIST PRICE $399
PROS Low cost, high resolution,
easy to use
CONS Off-tint color rendition,
mediocre LCD
RATING 8.0
VERDICT Hard to beat for affordable
point-and-shoot convenience
RESOLUTION SETTINGS 1,152 x 872
STORAGE MEDIUM CompactFlash (4MB supplied)
IMAGE CAPACITY (WITH 8-40
SUPPLIED MEMORY)
WEIGHT 10.9 oz.
(WITHOUT BATTERIES)
POWER SUPPLY 4 AA
AC ADAPTER INCLUDED Yes
VIEWFINDER 1.8-inch LCD, optical
ZOOM (OPTICAL/DIGITAL) 2x digital
LENS COVER Built-in
ADDITIONAL FEATURES Integrated video connection,
flash with red-eye reduction,
enhanced RGB color sensor
INCLUDED SOFTWARE(*) Microsoft Picture It 99,
HP PhotoSmart
Minolta Dimage EX Zoom 1500
MANUFACTURER Minolta
201-825-4000
www.minoltausa.com
LIST PRICE $799
PROS Interchangeable lenses,
virtually no lag between shots
CONS Difficult controls, mediocre LCD
RATING 5.2
VERDICT Satisfactory imaqe quality, but we
expected a more polished performance
RESOLUTION SETTINGS 1,344 x 1,008, 640 x 480
STORAGE MEDIUM CompactFlash (8MB supplied)
IMAGE CAPACITY (WITH 3-76
SUPPLIED MEMORY)
WEIGHT 10.9 oz.
(WITHOUT BATTERIES)
POWER SUPPLY 4 AA
AC ADAPTER INCLUDED No
VIEWFINDER 2-inch LCD, optical
ZOOM (OPTICAL/DIGITAL) 3x optical
LENS COVER No
ADDITIONAL FEATURES Burst mode captures up to 7 full-res
images at 3.5 frames/sec., time-lapse
mode, manual exposure and
white balance compensation
INCLUDED SOFTWARE(*) Adobe PhotoDeluxe
Olympus D-400 Zoom(a)
MANUFACTURER Olympus
800-347-4027
www.olympus.com/digital
LIST PRICE $699
PROS Top-notch image quality,
convenient and compact design
CONS Complex controls, sluggish system for
opening/closing camera
RATING 8.3
VERDICT Our favorite; picture quality worth the
time it takes to learn the controls
RESOLUTION SETTINGS 1,280 x 960, 640 x 480
STORAGE MEDIUM SmartMedia (8MB supplied)
IMAGE CAPACITY (WITH 2-122
SUPPLIED MEMORY)
WEIGHT 9.5 oz.
(WITHOUT BATTERIES)
POWER SUPPLY 4 AA
AC ADAPTER INCLUDED No
VIEWFINDER 1.8-inch LCD, optical
ZOOM (OPTICAL/DIGITAL) 3x optical/2x digital
LENS COVER Yes
ADDITIONAL FEATURES Sequence mode up to 2 frames/sec.,
manual exposure and white balance
compensation, spot metering mode,
included FlashPath adapter for reading
SmartMedia via floppy disk drive
INCLUDED SOFTWARE(*) Adobe PhotoDeluxe 3.0 (Win)/v. 2.0 (Mac),
Enroute Quick Stitch (both)
Ricoh RDC-4200
MANUFACTURER Ricoh
800-225-1899
www.ricohcpg.com
LIST PRICE $499
PROS Solid, comfortable design, good controls,
appealing extras
CONS LCD-only viewfinder, overly warm indoor
exposure
RATING 7.9
VERDICT A pleasure to work with at a
reasonable price
RESOLUTION SETTINGS 1,280 x 960, 640 x 480
STORAGE MEDIUM SmartMedia (4MB supplied)
IMAGE CAPACITY (WITH 6-70
SUPPLIED MEMORY)
WEIGHT 10.5 oz.
(WITHOUT BATTERIES)
POWER SUPPLY 4 AA
AC ADAPTER INCLUDED Yes
VIEWFINDER 1.8-inch LCD only
ZOOM (OPTICAL/DIGITAL) 3x optical/2x digital
LENS COVER Built-in
ADDITIONAL FEATURES Manual exposure and white balance
compensation, time-lapse mode,
uncompressed image option, soft case,
optional wireless remote control
INCLUDED SOFTWARE(*) Arcsoft PhotoStudio,
ArcSoft PhotoBase
(*) Each camera also includes software for transferring images from camera to computer, which may include some basic editing functions.
(**) Agfa and Epson use software interpolation to boost image resolution to 1,600 by 1,200.
(a) BEST BUY
STEVE MORGENSTERN is a freelance writer based in Bright Waters, N. Y.
COPYRIGHT 1999 CURTCO Freedom Communications
COPYRIGHT 2000 Gale Group
