#1 Rob

Fun & informative piece!

8:58 pm - Monday, January 9, 2006

#2 nick in japan

You are gonna have to fall back on Flowers and candy Gary, if zooming is your wife's priority. It seems like once we start doing pictures other than close-ups, everything in the pocketable sizes have noise issues. I balanced the size requirements with cost and quality and still believe that the LX-1 fills, as much as we can expect right now. The IS is a wonderful tool that makes this choice so easy for me, as well as the 16x9 sized image. Being without my LX-1 would be like not bringing a couple Keith Whitley CDs on a road trip in the van, depressing.
If she can wait, I recommend doing just that. We know you have your heart set on a nice camera, and how much it means to you, but there just isn't alot of choices right now. Hopefully a manufacturer will have a noiseless, 16x9, IS, small/thin, big LED compact before long, with a CMOS type sensor. As many cameras as there are now, the monies that makers are alloting to R&D should yeild a quality product soon...maybe!

1:30 am - Thursday, January 12, 2006

#3 GARY POGODA

Nick, I was thinking almost the exact same thing. A romantic dinner
sounds pretty good at this point. The only problem is that my wife's
Casio, for no apparent reason, died just before the holidays, and the
estimated repair is $300. No way !!!

So now I am really in a bind. The main feature that she needs is the
in-camera red-eye removal. Higher zoom would be nice, but as you
say, that is where the breakdown occurs. There were a few cameras
with red-eye removal introduced at CES; however, only one of them,
the Kodak EasyShare V570, which has a 5x zoom range, is currently
available. You'd be doing me a big favor if you could check it out and
let me know what you think. Tanks.

http://tinyurl.com/d8qwk
http://tinyurl.com/aljju

3:09 am - Thursday, January 12, 2006

#4 nick in japan

Gary, I've had good feelings about Kodak since enjoying the 265 a few years ago, this new, breakthrough camera certainly is something, but, as you probably know my feelings about wide angle, 28 is about the ideal view due to distortion becoming a distraction rather than a benefit when you go below it. I would consider this Kodak for my camera collection, only for the breakthough factor, a bit pricey to invest in as a part of the family , remember that soon there will be better reviews on other cameras, I hope!.
Red-eye reduction with the pre-flash systems work very well, no complaints with the LX, nor the S6. If you decide on a camera that has alot of attractive features, but a red-eye, potential problem due to the close relationship of lens and flash, there is an LED accessory light that attaches to the tripod screw-hole, that will close an iris real quick! I went to a local hardware shop and bought a similar light that snaps on a 9 volt battery that I'm gonna try out soon and eliminate the pre-flash selection ordeal.

4:12 am - Thursday, January 12, 2006

#5 GARY POGODA

Nick, 23 mm is wider than I wanted. I also was not able to find a size
spec for its 5 megapixel CCD. If it's 1/2.5", I don't want it, period.

Another camera I am interested in is the Nikon Coolpix P2, which has
a 5 megapixel. 1/1.8" CCD with very low noise. It also has 3.5x zoom
and built-in Wi-Fi, plus all of the Nikon in-camera processing, such as
Red-Eye Fix, D-Lighting, Face Priority AF, and Blur Warning.

This Nikon Coolpix P2 could be the one. Any thoughts?

6:44 am - Thursday, January 12, 2006

#6 nick in japan

I go back to the basics, for me, it's gotta have 28 on the wide side, the LX spoiled me with the IS... Blur alarm is just a sales pitch... A decent picture can be zoomed in Photoshop pretty well, so a few extra millimeters isn't really important in the camera. My wife is delighted with the S6, guess it's the smallness and big bright see thru menu, thats all she needs, lovely close-ups for flowers too. I dont think there is really any camera on the market that produces "Bad" pictures, we guys get so picky on our own little "needs" that maybe we just need a couple basic things like real-thin, wide lens for those scenics, maybe IS, and some creative tools. Can't find the basics in many, keep falling back on the LX, Gomen!

7:18 am - Thursday, January 12, 2006

#7 GARY POGODA

IS and 28 mm would be nice, no question about it, but for me, more
important is low noise and in-camera red-eye fix. Secondary is 2.5"
LCD and greater than 3x zoom. Ideal would be AA batteries and 1"
depth. The P2 (or P1) covers the first four, but not the last two, but
it also has Aperture Priority, Wi-Fi, and 3:2 mode as bonuses. Time
is NOT on my side, and I am sinking fast.

Fortunately, Fantasea makes a cool underwater housing for the P1/P2. :)

7:57 am - Thursday, January 12, 2006

#8 nick in japan

I got it!!! Just wait! Digital pocket cameras are being produced faster than spermatazoa! Your dream machine will be produced sooner or later. Dont confuse NEED with WANT, if you buy now, I can see it coming, we poor bloggers will be bombarded with your disgruntled comments, and that will be just too depressing! We enjoy your genius and wit, stay positive and go the Romantic Route with your wife, she will understand!

8:09 am - Thursday, January 12, 2006

#9 GARY POGODA

Good point. Don't think I am not tempted to take your advice. If her
Casio had not just died, it would be a slam dunk. Consider this.

I can get a P2 with an extra battery (while using the 128 MB SD from
her Casio) for under $300, delivery included. She'd end up spending
that much on disposable film cameras waiting for the right digicam to
come along.

If the LX1 had not been so noisy, I would have bought it even without
any in-camera red-eye fix, just because of its 28mm, 16:9 wide mode.
If the R3 had not been so noisy, I would have bought it because of its
7.1x zoom.

Noise is the only thing I cannot tolerate in a digicam. Plus flimsiness.
Noise and flimsiness are the two things I cannot tolerate in a digicam.
Noise, flimsiness, and bulkiness. Those are the three things I cannot
tolerate in a digicam.

I also cannot tolerate having less than a 2.5" LCD. Nor can I tolerate
having only a 3x zoom. Noise, flimsiness, bulkiness, less than a 2.5"
LCD, and only a 3x zoom. Those are the five things I cannot tolerate
in a digicam. :)

8:53 am - Thursday, January 12, 2006

#10 GARY POGODA

(for my wife)

8:58 am - Thursday, January 12, 2006

#11 nick in japan

You are off the hook, just ask your wife what she wants and be done with it. You will never have to worry about what she got, it was HER decision. Never underestimate her intelligence! Unless you get something with a CMOS, you will never get away from noise!! In camera red-eye fix must be some program that IDs red color and automatically difuses it, sounds funky to me, the pre-flash red-eye reduction won't let the original image be manipulated in any way. Casio builds some awesome stuff, better look-see, hands on preferred.... Happy Birthday Mrs. Pagoda, I wish I was talented enough to send wishes as heart-warming as your husband did for me. ( Tell Gary to take his pack off and wait till spring for your compact camera!)

9:21 am - Thursday, January 12, 2006

#12 GARY POGODA

Nick, she can buy anything she wants, anytime she wants. The point
of me buying her a birthday gift is for ME to find something I think she
would like.

I do not buy her Christmas gifts (don't ask), and I do not celebrate any
holidays except New Year's, so as you can imagine, my birthday gift to
her is a big thing, and I have actually been searching for a camera for
her for nearly a year (which when you think about it, is really a pathetic
reflection on the state of the digital camera industry).

As for noise, it was never a big problem until manufacturers started to
cram more and more pixels on image sensors. When I bought the G3,
I expected it to have 5 megapixels, because the G2 had 4 megapixels,
and I was disappointed when it only had 4. But looking back on it, what
happened was that Canon was unhappy with the noise performance of
the new (at the time) 5 megapixel 1/1.8" sensors, so they reverted back
to a tried and true 4 megapixel sensor, as unpopular as that move was.
Only now do I realize how admirable a move it was for Canon.

Fortunately, 5 megapixel 1/1.8" sensors were finally perfected, and the
fact that the P2 uses one is what I am counting on for low noise. From
the reviews I have seen, that has been the case, very low noise.

http://www.megapixel.net/reviews/nikon-p2/p2-gen.php
http://www.digitalcamerareview.com/default.asp?newsID=2647

BTW, my wife does not read this blog (it would spoil the surprise), but
she does know who you are, so I'll pass along your birthday wishes to
Mrs. Pogoda at the appropriate time. (Please note the correct spelling
of the last name. If it helps, my grandfather invented the PogoStick). :)

Gotta go now. It was great chatting with you, and thanks for the advice.
Who knows, I may end up taking it after all.

10:18 am - Thursday, January 12, 2006

#13 nick in japan

After review, I AGREE with you, An impressive camera for your wife, the price is great too. I think your wife will be Very happy!!!
Sorry about the spelling, it was unintentional.
Best of everything... Semper Fi!

12:05 pm - Thursday, January 12, 2006

#14 GARY POGODA

Thanks, Nick. I know you're not saying that just to appease me. You
have the most extensive and diversified digital camera experience of
anyone on this blog, and I value your opinion greatly.

Besides, now if she's unhappy with her camera, I can always blame it
on you. :)

6:15 pm - Thursday, January 12, 2006

#15 nick in japan

Thank you for your kind words! I live and breathe cameras of all sorts, I am not blessed with advanced education, but compensate by trying to read as much as I can. I have learned so very much from you and others since discovering what a blog is all about (Last year!) I'm new to computers too and, for the most part, learn as I go.
Last year was a bad one for me, I'm not used to personal attacks ( Even tho you didn't see them that way) and was devastated when you didn't support me. I will attempt to be less cynical, and more "thick-skinned" .
Keep up the wonderful comments, here and there, and I'll follow you around, trying to pick up pointers as I go.
Semper Fi!

10:59 pm - Thursday, January 12, 2006

#16 GARY POGODA

Uh-oh !!! I just read a comment at DPReview that the P2 uses cheap
plastic and is slightly bulky. Even disposable film cameras do not use
"cheap" plastic.

More importantly, I also read a comment that the in-camera, red-eye
fix is not worth the wait time for the next shot. Unlike HP's in-camera,
red-eye removal, which implements the processing in playback mode,
Nikon automatically performs that processing upon image capture, so
you have to wait for its completion before taking the next shot.

Other negative comments were that its LCD is difficult to see in bright
sunlight, and the mode dial inadvertently jumps settings whenever the
camera is removed from its case.

Still, no complaints of image noise. :)

10:10 pm - Friday, January 13, 2006

#17 nick in japan

Back to the basics.. You get what you pay for!! I am ALMOST tempted to send you my back-up LX-1 and let you use it till you decide!! The Yen has fallen about 5%, so I can't get the same deal on another I'm sure. I will be happy to check and see what the current discount my manager friend can give and send you an LX-1 if you want. I saved a friend in Canada big bucks, It came to about $411 US, with an extra battery, and about $20 to mail it. Contact me via my e-mail on a personal level if you think I can help.

11:40 pm - Friday, January 13, 2006

#18 GARY POGODA

Thanks, Nick. I really appreciate your offer. If the LX1 were a viable
alternative, I would buy it in a second, as I am very intrigued with its
28 mm wide, 16:9 format. However, there are two drawbacks of the
LX1, namely the image sensor noise and red-eye occurrence, which
for you, can be easily corrected in post-processing on the computer,
but which for my wife, would be a show stopper.

I think it's either the P2, or nothing. I wish there were more reviews
or owners' opinions on the P1 and/or P2.

7:12 pm - Saturday, January 14, 2006

#19 GARY POGODA

Getting desperate, I almost put the HP PhotoSmart R817 back on my
list (this is the camera for which I originally had the highest hopes with
its 5x zoom, and in-camera red-eye removal during playback, all in an
ultra-compact size), but then I went back and reread Mark's damaging
review again (redundancy intended).

http://www.photographyblog.com/reviews_hp_photosmart_r817.php

Thanks, Mark, I almost faltered.

3:09 pm - Sunday, January 15, 2006

#20 GARY POGODA

Getting more desperate with time, I have now put back on the list the
Kodak EasyShare V550, and V570. This is based on the V550 review
at ImagingResource.com, which thoroughly showed that the noise of
its 1/2.5" CCD is very well-controlled, as is the camera's red-eye.

http://www.imaging-resource.com/PRODS/V550/V550A.HTM

Since the V570 has the same sensors and digital red-eye removal as
the V550, I would expect similar results. The only V570 feature about
which I am uncertain is its folded-optics lenses. The quick preview of
the V570 at ImagingResource.com left me with a good feeling.

http://www.imaging-resource.com/PRODS/V570/V570A.HTM

[Nick, the V570 has in-camera barrel distortion correction that can be
turned ON or OFF when using the 23 mm lens. It also has in-camera
panorama stitching of 180 degrees with just 3 shots.]

7:50 pm - Monday, January 16, 2006

#21 Michelle

I can't believe nobody recommended the Canon Powershot Digital ELPH SD550. It's TINY, fits in your purse easily, is a whopping 7MP and takes AMAZING photos. I had a 3.2MP earlier version of this camera and it's built like a tank. I really beat it up and it still works great.

The battery life of the new camera is great and it comes with a charger that is also small enough to keep in your purse at all times. I adore this camera and don't go anywhere without it. The images are stellar and have very low noise as Canon's dynamic range is very broad.

You can get one on ebay for about $350-$400. Play with one at Best Buy and you'll be hooked. Not to mention, the HUGE screen on the back is good for those of us who need glasses!!

11:34 pm - Wednesday, January 18, 2006

#22 nick in japan

Michelle, you have a wonderful camera! There is no debate on the quality of the Canon product line, the problem is with the lack of wide angle. Alot of folks wont get past the basic field of view, and even read the rest of the camera's abilities. When I discovered that 28mm was available in a very few compacts, they started the list of possibilities, all others just got passed over. If you are happy without the wide angle, as my wife is, then, I completely understand your love of your Canon. There is no ONE camera that has it all, right now, I am very, very happy with my LX-1, I will never go back to anything that isn't 28mm, without Image Stabilization , or the 16X9 aspect ratio... I may have no chioice of an upgrade for a while.
Enjoy your Canon, it's a beauty!

12:45 am - Thursday, January 19, 2006

#23 GARY POGODA

Michelle, BION, I actually did consider the SD550, mainly for its build
quality, compact size, and low noise. The things I did not like about it
were its less than spectacular zoom range and LCD resolution. At the
time, the fact that it did not have any in-camera red-eye removal was
the deal breaker.

Now that I have found out (thanks to NightHawk) about photo printers
with built-in automatic red-eye reduction, it's an entirely new ballgame.
I am seriously considering buying such a printer for my wife's birthday,
and then waiting until after PMA before making any camera purchasing
decisions.

I sincerely appreciate your input; however, I think I will be laying off
the next few pitches. :)

2:06 am - Thursday, January 19, 2006

#24 GARY POGODA

Thanks to everyone for their helpful advice and suggestions, on this
and other PhotographyBLOG threads, regarding a camera purchase
for my wife's birthday at the end of January.

Well, it's a done deal. Since I was way behind in the count with two
strikes (and no balls), I decided to lay off the next couple of pitches,
and wait until after PMA to make any camera purchasing decisions.

Instead, I ordered the HP Photosmart 475 Photo Printer for my wife.
It has built-in red-eye removal and adaptive lighting, and is capable
of 4" x 6", 5" x 7", and 4" x 12" prints. It also has an internal 1.5 GB
HD for storing photos and subsequent viewing on a connected TV.

This printer is exactly what my wife needed, and it will keep her busy
printing the back log of photos she has for at least a few months. We
have an important anniversary coming up at the end of June, so that
might be an excellent time for a camera purchase.

I feel another "The Peoples' Voice" article in the works. :)

9:26 pm - Thursday, January 19, 2006

#25 Jan

Why are YOU picking the camera? Let her choose and you pay for it. It could be just possible that she's smart enough to make her own choice :wink:.

4:13 am - Saturday, January 21, 2006

#26 GARY POGODA

Jan, there's much truth to what you're saying. My wife knows exactly
what she wants in a digital camera (ultra-compact, good build quality
and looks, wider angle, high zoom, low noise, direct print, no red-eye,
externally rechargeable batteries, etc.), but she's not a tech head like
me, so she trusts me to translate all that into an actual camera model.

I hope I don't screw it up ... again. :)

7:09 pm - Saturday, January 21, 2006

#27 GARY POGODA

Tomorrow (January 30) is my wife's birthday. Today we are heading
to Lake Tahoe where we will celebrate her birthday. She still has no
idea what I got her, but I am sure she is expecting a camera, mainly
because I have been spending so much time at PhotographyBLOG,
and even though her Casio died, I told her not to buy any disposable
cameras for this trip (she is unaware that my Dad will be loaning her
his Canon G3).

I am sure glad I held off on buying her a camera. There have already
been a dozen cameras announced for PMA and many more expected
Also, now that she has a printer with red-eye removal, the Fuji FinePix
V10 that was announced at CES is looking good.

5:39 pm - Sunday, January 29, 2006

#28 nick in japan

Best wishes to your wife, Gary, best wishes for a safe trip and also a wonderful time together. Somewhere along the way, I have forgotten just exactly what YOU are going to take the wonderful memories of your trip with!!! The whole world is very knowlegeable about your wife and her future in the camera/printing area, BUT absolutely NOTHING about what YOU will be using, I'm assuming you have your own camera.
Maybe I missed your intentions along the way, if so, I'm so very sorry!
Semper Fi!

2:41 am - Monday, January 30, 2006

#29 GARY POGODA

I was wondering when someone was going to ask that question. :)

Thanks for your wishes, I'll pass them along.

9:07 pm - Monday, January 30, 2006

#30 AA

Why don't we all just help Gary out and get rid of his wife? Then all this stress and headache will be gone in no time.

:-)

" I am sure glad I held off on buying her a camera. There have already
been a dozen cameras announced for PMA and many more expected"

What did I tell you, Gary, about the idiosyncratic ironies in our pursuit for technological perfection? You're just going to end up waiting and waiting and waiting...... so what's the point?
Just grab what you like for now, and carry on! Then just tell yourself that from now on, every year or 18 months or so, that you will be buying another new thing as frequently as you would be doing an oil change. Stop killing yourself over it! It's beginning to annoy the shit out of me, all this cajoling and persuing for nothing - and then another 6 months, another year goes by.

11:03 pm - Monday, January 30, 2006

#31 nick in japan

Amen! Lottsa wonderful pictures that you are missing Gary! Life is too short, and precious not to capture, it's just a memory, that's passing you by...."20 a day, keeps the doctor away"

11:23 pm - Monday, January 30, 2006

#32 GARY POGODA

AA, we have the Canon G3, so there is no point in buying a camera
that does not surpass that. Many do in terms of pocketability, LCD,
and zoom, but not in terms of image quality and noise. How are you
enjoying your LX1?

Nick, that Fujifilm FinePix V10 looks interesting. What do you think?

5:40 pm - Tuesday, January 31, 2006

#33 nick in japan

Gary.. The nicest gift your wife got for her birthday was the fact that you put her wants and needs above your own burning desire to get yourself a new camera! And, that was a smart move concerning the G3, lottsa new stuff hitting the market, the big show coming up, maybe with suprises too!!
About the V10, let me start saying that, as you know, I am spoiled by IS, 16X9 and fairly fast lenses, my LX-1 is still "wowing" me, on the other hand let me say this, Fuji in Japan is a VERY respected company, the camera shop that I deal with uses nothing but Fuji for their portrait studio work, along with an old reliable Nikon lens, and, the standard for lenses in the world has, for many years, been Fijinon! I think this V10 has ALOT going for it! For me, using CF, SD and MS, that new card isnt attractive, nor is the lack of 28mm, plus the other things I previously mentioned. Like the Samsung 815, it has alot of , first glance wonders, but in actuality, leaves us unsatisfied in other areas. The final decision is in the image quality tho, and tests will weed out the problems. I seldom read a new camera's report, or intro, unless I spot, 28mm, IS and some apertures that arn't sky-high.. can't get to D,E,F unless there is an A,B,C.
Soon, Gary, soon!
Have a wonderful time and try not to think about cameras for the rest of your vacation!!
Semper Fi!

10:30 pm - Tuesday, January 31, 2006

#34 AA

Canon G3???

You're kidding me, right? You are kidding me, right?
All this time you've been perusing and researching and testing and moaning about what camera would best fit your wife's little pocket/purse/bag, and you're telling me that YOU think that the G3 is the best out for the moment?
YOU, of all people, who goes around chatting away, analyzing the heck out of every piece of camera equipment that even comes close to touching this website, and the G3 is what's keeping you happy and busy? You have got to be pulling my freakin' leg, man. YOU, the dude who goes around poking around with everything that comes across this site here? NO WAY. NO FLIPPING WAY. You really need to learn to stop patrnozing us all like this, making a fool out of us all, wasting our times!
How old is that camera? Your G3 will be almost 4 years old, come this summer, if you consider the time it was announced which would put the technology and parts associated with it to be as old as that, if not older!
The G3 is a BEHEMOTH when compared o something like the S70, SD430, or the S80 or somewhere along those lines, even my LX1, or even those slim-style Nikons and K-Ms.
Time for an upgrade for you, obviously. I figured you would at least own 3 or 4 cameras of the last 4 years or so, getting a new one as new feature sets and more pixels were introduced - after all, if you're anything like me, you would be prepared for the upgrades.
You are like the old adage of someone who is so used to how that one thing fits and works, it's hard to break that habituality. But we're talking about technology here, and things do change. I understand, but you know you need something new, and yes, you have been looking, but man I would've thought that you would have a better camera than that!
OK so the G3 MAY SEEM to have less noise, but it's also got ONLY 4 Megapixels, and that's the difference (or illusion, if you will), as we all now know.
OK the argument here would be that your wife (nor most people) won't need any more than 4 Megapixels EVER, anyways, because she probably will only ever print 4x6s...... but still those other newer Canon cameras have beautiful images and lenses on them, much better feature sets and faster operations. Even the software is better, if only slightly. As Nick would remind me, what's wrong with having more pixels to play with, for later keeping and archival purposes? It would be like those old colour photos from back in the day that you wish you could rejuventate but can't because you lost the negative and the scan of the photo can only bring it back so much.....
My buddy sitting next to me at work owns the S80. It takes marvelous photos for what it is, and the noise is surprisingly low even in the night shots.
I also owned the KM X50. Brilliant daylight photos, and with the tripod, I was able to trick it to shoot some nice night/dark are shots (like tunnels and such) without flash. The red-eye works very nicely. That little thing would slip in my BREAST pocket it was so small. And it had great a movie mode, with sound. I used it for may be 8 months until I got the LX1. It's now sitting in my drawer doing nothing - waiting for the right person to give it to.

As for my LX1, it is working just as I expected - it takes great daytime photos; I need some patience, a tripod and work for night shots; I never shoot with flash nor do I ever photograph people really; the Raw seems to work alright in PS2, with some more patience and work, but that's OK for me; so, overall, it's a good camera for me to practice framing everything in 16x9 and to get my eye used to that stretch-composition and making the shots look balanced. The 16x9 is absolutely intriguing and creates room to play.

You've waited this long, so yeah you might as well wait until after the PMA. Because you know, even if they announce these cameras at PMA, it takes a couple of months for those new ones to come out anyway, so you can enjoy waiting some more.
Or, you can wait to see these newer models come out and then buy last year's models at greatly discounted prices as the shops would need to move them out - just like cars.

So yeah just wait.

So have fun waiting some more!

hehehehe.......

6:28 am - Wednesday, February 1, 2006

#35 GARY POGODA

AA, I hate to see you waste all those good words for nothing. The G3
was my wife's first digital camera. She used it for one year, realized it
was not the camera for her (which you so elegantly pointed out), and
then gave it to my father, for whom it is perfect. He has loaned it back
to her until after PMA.

Glad to hear your are working thinks out with the LX1. Have you given
any thought to submitting a Peoples' Voice article?

Nick, I agree with you about the lack of 28mm, 16:9, and IS. The main
things the V10 has going for it are ultra-compact size, 3.4x zoom, and
presumably very low noise, which is something but ... c'mon PMA !!!

7:17 am - Wednesday, February 1, 2006

#36 AA

Re: the people's voice:

I think I'm a reactionary commentator, not a propositional offerer, if you get my drift.
Yeah I've got loads of ideas floating around my head as much as any guy - I get excited when I can react to something more than anything!

Otherwise, I have the brain the size of Homer...... doh!

12:51 am - Thursday, February 2, 2006

#37 Annabel Williams

wow - all you guys get so worked up about your equipment! All your wife needs is to be free to use her camera without worrying about all the technical bits! For her next birthday buy her a "Getting started" course at my training centre - it will change her life - and yours! Once she knows how to set it up easily, she won't need to worry about whether its got the right attachments - she can just go and enjoy shooting pictures - life's too short to worry about all that other techy stuff!! Photography is so much more fun when you look at what you're shooting, not what you're shooting with! But hey, that's only my humble opinion! Good luck!

4:13 pm - Tuesday, February 17, 2009

#38 GARY POGODA

Annabel, if only there were such a camera that one were free to use w/o
worrying about all the 'technical bits', particularly THREE YEAR AGO when
the above article was written.

The main feature that my wife needed was an ultra-compact camera, one
that could be easily stored in her pocketbook and then carried with her at
all times. That alone was the biggest limitation as it physically limited the
size of the camera's image sensor.

As you know, there is no single, small image sensor that can provide all of
the following: (1) high resolution, so that one can capture the finest details
of an image; (2) low noise, so that one can capture artifact-free images in
low-light situations; and (3) high dynamic range, so that one can capture all
the highlights and shadow areas of an image equally well.

For that type of care-free shooting, one definitely needs a dSLR.

BACK UP !!! Fujifilm has announced a small image sensor that can sense
the existing lighting conditions of a scene and then automatically configure
itself to provide the best performance for that light.

http://tinyurl.com/bnbxbk

They've also announced the first ultra-compact camera to use that sensor.
I'm thinking this will be my wife's next birthday present. :)

http://tinyurl.com/clo84v

P.S. Annabel, a very interesting website. I particularly liked the 'Bumps'
course. :) Good luck to you too!

http://annabelwilliams.com/

5:43 pm - Tuesday, February 17, 2009