Olympus PEN E-PL1

 Pen Your Story with a Brand-New PEN

The new Olympus PEN E-PL1 is truly greater than the sum of its parts, with a surprisingly small camera body packed with technology normally found in bigger, bulkier and heavier professional Digital Single Lens Reflex (DSLR) cameras and High-Definition (HD) camcorders. This third-generation PEN is built for shutterbugs who always wanted better pictures and considered a DSLR, but were intimidated by the bulky size and complex interface. The new camera's simple design and easy interface enable photographers to easily create amazing images never dreamt possible. 

 

 The E-PL1 equals an affordable and powerfully simple all-in-one package that travels with you to capture life in the high quality that your memories deserve.

 The E-PL1 is essentially a simplified and cut-down version of the company's E-P2 Micro Four Thirds camera. The 12MP camera adopts many features from its big brothers and adds a built-in flash and an interactive point-and-shoot mode.

 

Product Features

• 12.3-megapixel interchangeable lens digital camera; Micro Four Thirds format
• Includes 14-42mm f/3.5-5.6 digital zoom lens; features built-in flash
• 2.7-inch HyperCrystal LCD with Live View function; Continuous Autofocus (C-AF) tracking system
• Capture HD video with high-quality audio; new "Direct Button" for easy recording
• New Live Guide interface simplifies great photography; capture images to SD/SDHC cards

 

This is a competent and nice camera that will take stunning images. Slow autofocus and clunky controls will make this camera frustrating to many people.

GE Power Pro X500-BK

 Seamlessly built....

If you want it all, you'll want one of the GE Pro series of bridge cameras. The new X500 is as powerful as it is easy to use. All the latest digital camera technology is seamlessly built in to reflect your own powerful sense of style and capture those priceless memories that define our lives. Get closer to the action and take photos like a pro with the X500 from GE's Pro line of digital cameras.

 

The X500's 16 MP lens means your images will be alive with detail, capturing every nuance. With it's 15x optical zoom and 6x digital zoom, lets you get close to the action without needing to get right in the middle of it. It also has a 2.7 inch LCD screen that lets you frame every shot with ease.

 

The GE Power Pro X500, It has a built in HDR ( High Dynamic Range ) feature that let's adjust exposures for more detail in light and dark scene. Get the right balance of detail no matter the lighting conditions. A 3200 ISO improves pictures in low lighting condition for optimal exposure. Capture all of your videos with ease. The X500 takes MPEG-4 videos in .MOV format with G.711 monaural audio for simple, one-touch recording of those special moments. And they're easy to share using a USB connection or SD card reader.

The x500 with Superb picture quality for the price, Myriad of features packed in one, Good build quality. With all the features that a newbie hobbyist needs.

Canon EOS Rebel T3

 

Announced in February 2011 along with the more fully featured Rebel T3i, the EOS Rebel T3 slots into the middle of Canon's entry-level DSLR lineup based on MSRP. The T3 features a 12.2 megapixel CMOS sensor and improved DIGIC 4 processor, a nine point auto focus (AF) system with a single center cross-point sensor and a 100-6400 ISO sensitivity range.

 The Canon 5157B002 includes the EOS Rebel T3 Digital SLR Camera and the EF-S 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 IS type II Lens. This camera and lens is perfect for photographers ready to make the move to digital SLR photography. The EOS Rebel T3 delivers beautiful photos and video, speed, simplicity and fun. It features a 12.2 Megapixel CMOS Image Sensor and Canon DIGIC 4 Image Processor for richly detailed images and quick camera response. It has Canon's amazing 63-zone, dual-layer metering for accurate exposures and features Canon's Basic+ function, HD video recording and Live View shooting, plus a convenient in-camera Feature Guide. 

Pro:

Con:

Good ergonomics; varied button-shapes make it easy to operate by feel Solid build for a plastic-bodied camera Generally good image quality for its class Reasonably wide sensitivity range for an entry-level model Excellent detail from RAW files Accurate color Creative Auto mode replaces photo jargon with easily-understood terminology Generous exposure compensation range Peripheral Illumination Correction reduces vignetting Highlight Tone Priority works well to protect highlights Auto Lighting Optimizer works well to improve exposure in some situations Very good battery life High-def movie capture with single AF operation during capture

Control dial is very stiff, and not ideally angled for comfort Flash button is easy to miss, since it lacks a screen-printed label New viewfinder has slightly less magnification, much narrower diopter adjustment range Very warm auto white balance when shooting indoors Burst speeds lower than typical from competing entry-level cameras Even slower burst shooting in raw mode, positively glacial in raw+JPEG, with small to nonexistent buffer depth No in-camera correction for chromatic aberration or geometric distortion Weak flash, by SLR standards No spot metering No ultrasonic sensor cleaning Minor chroma noise and demosaicing errors in fine detail such as hair Doesn't support a portrait / battery grip

Overall, the Canon Rebel T3 offers a fairly compelling package for amateur photographers looking to step up to their first SLR, and some existing Rebel owners may also find the T3 to be a worthy upgrade. More experienced shooters, however--especially those who tend to shoot exclusively in raw format--will want to look at alternatives with greater burst-shooting performance. To be fair to Canon, though, they're not really the target market for this camera. For the entry-level buyer wanting to step up to an SLR for the first time, the Canon T3 offers a pretty compelling package.

Fujifilm Finepix s2950

The Fujifilm FinePix S2950 was added to Fujifilm's range of S-Series long-zoom range of bridge cameras in January 2011. If you are looking for a camera with a large amount of optical zoom, Fujifilm have plenty to offer. The new HS20 replaces the HS10 and has 30x optical zoom, and 16Mp EXR CMOS sensor. In the S range there is the S4000 with 30x optical zoom, the S3200 with 24x, the S1950, S1850, S1800 and S2800HD with 18x and lastly the S1730 and S1700 with 15x.

The fujifilm S2950 has an 18x Fujinon optical zoom lens, 14 Megapixel CCD sensor and 3.0in LCD screen, 230K dot resolution. The lens is a Fujinon 18x optical zoom (35mm equivalent: 28-504mm) and operated using an electric powered zoom lever, which can even be operated during video recording.

When using the lens at its longest or in the dark the camera helps to produce sharp images with a mechanically stabilised sensor, high ISO sensitivity and Dual Image Stabilisation technology, Up to ISO6400 (at reduced resolution).It also has EVF, 200K dot resolution, To take panoramic images the camera takes three consecutive shots, releasing the shutter automatically and stitches them together.

The fujifilm S2950 is HD enabled and can playback HD pictures and videos on a HDTV via a HDMI cable @ HD stills (Full HD) and 720p HD movie capture (30fps), although this is not supplied with the camera. It also have a HDMI mini port.

Other features include Smile and Shoot mode, easy web uploading and the ability to select images in-camera to add to a photobook. Smile and Shoot mode release the shutter automatically when your subject smiles and the Blink Detection function will let you know if your subject has blinked so you can retake the photo. SR Auto (Scene Recognition Auto) and Easy web upload to Facebook and YouTube, were you can tagged your friends and families to your pictures.

Using the 4x (AA batteries) provided the S2950 is capable of shooting approximately 300 images but if you require your batteries to last longer then Ni-MH batteries are capable of approximately 500 images and Lithium batteries are capable of approximately 700 shots.

Fujifilm FinePix S2950: Pros

-Lots of zoom
-Good value for money
-Lots of features
-Panoramic mode
-Manual controls
-HDMI connection to HD TV

Fujifilm FinePix S2950: Cons

-Noise performance from ISO800 upwards isn't great
-No optical zoom on videos

 The Verdict:

The S2950 packs plenty of features, such as an electronic viewfinder, manual controls and large optical zoom which all combine to take pleasing pictures with ease. Noise performance above IS0400 isn't great and the zoom on videos is a let down. Overall the S2950 is a good entry level slr and  good introduction to compacts with large zooms or those who want an SLR style camera without the bulky size and bag of lenses all at a much lower price.