| Saturday, December 22, 2007 |
| Review on Samsung L830(RED) Digital Camera |
Up to ISO 200, the camera took 2.8 seconds between shots with the flash disabled. At ISO 400 and above, that wait increased to 4.5 seconds. Most point-and-shoot cameras activate their noise reduction algorithms around ISO 400, so a slight increase in shot-to-shot time is understandable since the camera needs extra processing time. If you mostly shoot in automatic mode, you won't experience this issue; the automatic mode keeps sensitivity at ISO 200 or lower. If you like to shoot in high-speed and high-sensitivity modes, though, you can expect a much longer wait between shots.
In our other performance lab tests, the L830 showed mostly average results, though its time between shots with the flash enabled is longer than we'd like to see. It took 2.7 seconds from power-on to capturing its first shot. The shutter lagged 0.5 second with our high-contrast target and 1 second with our low-contrast target. At ISO 200 and lower, the camera took 3.7 seconds between photos with the onboard flash enabled. Finally, the L830 captured nine maximum-resolution shots in 7.8 seconds for a rate of 1.2 frames per second.
Despite the extra time the L830 takes trying to reduce noise at ISO 400 and above, it doesn't help much. Fine details, such as small text become blurry smears and heavy grain still washes over the pictures. Photos look much better at ISO 200 and below, though fine details still appear slightly soft. The L830's pictures generally look good enough for e-mailing and Web sites, but you should be careful when making prints; pictures shot at ISO 200 or below might look OK at sizes up to 8x10 inches, though ISO 400 or higher shots shouldn't be blown up beyond 4x6 inches. Besides noise and softened details, the L830 suffers from significant barrel distortion when shooting at the wide end of the lens. On the bright side, the camera reproduces colors well, and they stay intact up to ISO 800. At the camera's highest sensitivity of ISO 1,600, colors predictably become washed out, though at that level you won't see enough detail for that to really matter.
The Samsung L830 offers a strange mix of photographer-friendly controls, middling performance, and disappointing picture quality. Its slow shooting and poor pictures at higher sensitivity settings seriously hurt the camera's flexibility, but its generous set of manual exposure and color controls give you plenty of ways to tweak your low-ISO shots. Considering its scant price tag, the L830 offers a lot of camera for experienced, budget-minded photographers. If you ever need to shoot at ISO 400 or higher, though, look for another camera. The older Samsung S850 includes full manual exposure controls including aperture and shutter priority, and it offers slightly better performance and picture quality than the L830. If you're willing to go for a larger camera, Canon's PowerShot A570 IS is around the same price and has a 4x optical zoom lens as well as manual and aperture- and shutter-priority modes. Meanwhile, Sony's Cyber-shot DSC-W55, also in the same size and price range as the L830, trumps this camera in terms of shot-to-shot times and has an optical viewfinder.
Reviewed by: Will Greenwald
Source - http://reviews.cnet.com/digital-cameras/samsung-l830-red/4505-6501_7-32554738.html?tag=pdtl-listLabels: Camera Reviews |
posted by Raisa @ 1:03 AM  |
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| Thursday, December 20, 2007 |
| Review on Canon PowerShot A720 IS |
Canon knows not to fix what isn't broken. Last year's PowerShot A710 IS impressed us with its broad suite of features, solid design, and good value. The 8-megapixel PowerShot A720 IS does little to change that formula, sticking very close to the path traveled by the A710 IS.
Save for a few internal upgrades, the A720 IS stands nearly identical to its predecessor. Both cameras share the same 35-210mm equivalent, f/2.8-4.8 lens, the same optical image stabilization, and the same 2.5-inch LCD screen. The A720 IS even shares its predecessor's physical design, right down to the placement of the buttons. The A710 IS' grip featured a rubberized texture that this new version lacks, but otherwise you would be hard-pressed to distinguish between these two cameras at a glance.
Fundamentally, the only changes the A720 IS offers over the A710 IS are its new sensor and image processor. The camera's 8-megapixel CCD can reach ISO 1600, beating its older brother's limit of ISO 800. The camera uses Canon's Digic III image processor, an upgrade over the older Digic II processor that offers face-detecting autofocus and autoexposure, an increasingly common feature that helps when framing portraits and family photos. Besides those upgrades, it might as well be the same camera as the A710 IS.
Fortunately the A710 IS worked so well that the A720 IS really doesn't need to change that much. Like its predecessor, this chunky new camera puts function over form, with large, accessible buttons and a solid, grippable body design. The A720 IS weighs a hefty 8.6 ounces with batteries and SD card--just 0.4 ounce less than the A710 IS. Like its older brother, the A720 IS features a full selection of manual exposure controls, including program/aperture/shutter/manual modes readily accessible through the camera's mode dial.
Reviewed by: Will GreenwaldLabels: Camera Reviews |
| posted by Raisa @ 12:55 AM |
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| Wednesday, December 19, 2007 |
| Review on LG DU-42LZ30 |
There's fierce competition in the flat-panel world between LCD and plasma, and the once stratospheric pricing of both these product categories is now merely exclusive. We still monitor significant differences between the two technologies, however, and in general, we prefer plasma for value (price per inch of screen) and home-theater image quality. LCD, on the other hand, has a status for being more robust, although in certainty the danger of damaging a plasma during normal use is minimal. LG's DU-42LZ30 is one of the new crop of large-screen flat-panel LCD HDTVs, acquitting itself well in terms of picture quality, especially compared to other LCDs. Although it does carry a $7,000 list price, we were able to find it for less than $5,000 online, making it a relatively good value for a flat-panel LCD. Reviewed by: Kevin Miller Labels: TV Reviews |
| posted by Raisa @ 3:39 AM |
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