Not too long ago, you’d have been lucky to find a digital camera that wasn’t bulky or ate batteries faster than you could replace them. Times have changed. These days, shutterbugs have plenty of choices when it comes to thin, slim digital cameras.
Like mobile phones and most other technological devices, thin is in, and the smaller the camera, the better.
There are all types of cameras out there; credit-card-sized cameras that resemble something from a James Bond film, ones with LCD screens, optical zoom, movie functions, etc.
Finding a camera with all your feature requirements is one thing, but if it’s far too bulky to carry around, the chances of you actually using it are pretty slim. So, if you have decided to make the all-important move to digital, what should you be looking for?
If you want something slim enough to fit in your pocket, you may have to sacrifice certain features. The smaller the camera, the more functions you sacrifice. For example, you won’t get much in the way of optical zoom with a wafer thin credit-card-sized camera. Optical zoom, as opposed to digital zoom, actually gets you closer to the subject, whereas digital zoom only enlarges the picture that is already there.
To keep the profile thin, some of the cameras do away with the LCD screen that most use to preview images or which doubles as a viewfinder. Fans of the electronic optical viewfinder may also find slim cameras aren’t to their liking – the choice is often between a very basic viewfinder or the LCD screen.
Extra functions, such as the ability to take short movie clips or even to expand the camera’s memory with a removable card, may also fall by the wayside in the lower-priced, lower-end, lower profile models.
In return, however, you get a camera that is ultraportable, doesn’t need any extra lenses or attachments to take photos, and can be at your fingertips no matter where you are.
Some of the slimmer cameras don’t have a very high pixel count either. This can range from images suitable only for Web use or e-mailing, to those that can be printed off and put in your photo album. Megapixels are a measure of the picture resolution that the camera can take. The higher the megapixel count, the sharper your pictures will be. A 2- or 3Megapixel camera will give you decent images if you are using it at home; if you want to enlarge the images, you will have to up your megapixel count to 3- or 4Megapixels.
Our advice is to weigh up what you want and need against your size requirements. We took a look at some of the slim cameras on the market and separated the best from the rest.
Credit card cams
At the most basic, you have the slim cameras that lack an LCD screen, but will fit in your back pocket. Oregon Scientific’s Cardcam (EUR94.99) is a tiny little piece of equipment. It’s about a millimetre thick and about as big as your credit card. There’s no flash, no LCD screen and you can choose between two image sizes at the touch of a button.
It’s not really suitable for taking those precious family snaps; the size of the files mean the resulting images are more suited to images for a website or ones you want to e-mail to family and friends. To switch it on, you push a small button on the side of the camera and the tiny lens pops out. You can’t delete individual images from the camera, so use your memory wisely.
Oregon Scientific also has a Flashcam DS6628 (EUR129) in this category, but this is a little bit more advanced. At only 8mm, this camera claims to be the world’s thinnest 1.3Megapixel camera.
A separate flash module clips on to the camera and needs its own AAA battery to power it (included in the pack). The camera itself is powered by an internal rechargeable battery. There’s no colour LCD screen to review shots, just a tiny display on the rear of the camera that tells you how many shots you have left, what size your images are, the battery status and if the flash is switched on. The camera also sacrifices optical zoom to make the camera a small as possible.
To switch on the camera, you use the lens pop-up dial on the side of the camera. The camera comes with 16Mbyte of internal memory, which will take 21 SXGA shots at 1280 by 1024dpi (dots per inch), and 91 VGA shots at 640 by 480dpi.
The Flashcam is compatible with Secure Digital cards, so you can expand the memory. It uses USB 2.0 to transfer images to your PC, and has technology known as Autobrite to compensate for backlight or glare in images. Once again, be careful how you take your shots – you can’t review them or delete selected ones. You can only delete your last saved image or all of them.
Ultracompact
The Oregon Scientific Eyecam DS6638 (EUR159) is an ultracompact 2Megapixel camera with an LCD screen. Compatible with SD and Multimedia cards, the camera also comes with 8Mbyte of internal memory. Images can be enhanced to 3.0 interpolated megapixels.
The flash is built in so you can take images in low lighting conditions. You can review and delete the images using the 1.5in colour LCD screen on the rear of the camera. The device also has a video out connection for hooking the camera up to the TV to view your images on a larger screen.
The movie mode allows you take movie files, limited only by the size of your memory card. Other features include the self-timer, so you don’t have to miss out on all the photo opportunities.
There’s no optical zoom on the camera; it’s strictly digital zoom only for this camera. The camera does however offer white balance adjustment for different conditions, including sunlight, shade, yellow fluorescent lamp, white fluorescent lamp and tungsten lighting.
Retro
The Kyocera Contax SL300RT camera (EUR549) has a bit of a retro look to it. Its plastic moulded is very 1970s, reminiscent of the cameras of yesteryear. The Contax has a small LCD monitor to review photos, and the lens rotates 120 degrees so you can takes photos of yourself. It’s only 16mm thick, so it will fit into your pocket. The camera is multifunctional. Not only does it take still images, but it also allows you to record movies (the length of which depends on the Secure Digital memory card you have) with sound, and also add audio to still images. It has a microphone and a small speaker built in to the device for this very purpose.
The camera doesn’t skimp on settings. You can choose from preset scene modes, including night scenes and portraits, or change the colour of your images to sepia or black and white. The white balance can be adjusted according to the scene you are trying to shoot; the camera has settings for automatic white balance, daylight, incandescent, cloudy or fluorescent. The Chroma menu allows you to adjust the colours, making them more intense or paler. The sharpness of the images can also be adjusted. The resulting images are clear, with great colour reproduction. The camera also has limited editing functions, such as the ability to resize or trim images to your liking.
Capture the atmosphere
The Casio Exilim EX-S3 is a great little camera. Although it doesn’t have any optical zoom, the camera takes some great shots. At 3.2Megapixels, the images produced come out clear, sharp and can be enlarged. It comes with 10Mbyte of built-in memory, although this can be expanded using an SD or Multimedia memory card.
You can capture still images with the camera or opt for live action with short 30-second movies. The Exilim has a microphone to record audio with the AVI files, so you can capture on the atmosphere.
The included self-timer has three options: A ten-second timer, a two second one and a triple self-timer. There are plenty of recording modes open to you with this camera, including portrait, scenery, coupling mode, monochrome, fireworks, night scene and retro, among others – enough to make your images stand out from the crowd. White balance can be adjusted for sunlight, shade, light bulb and fluorescent lighting conditions. A manual option is also available.
The camera comes with a USB cradle to communicate with the computer and charge the battery. We liked this camera because of its compact size and the number of features it included, and due to its slim, sleek profile. It managed to balance the line between staying slim and sacrificing functions.
Picture this: MP3 player included
One of the most stylish – and useful – cameras in this range is the Panasonic D-snap. The camera practically does it all; it’s a 2Megapixel camera, a voice recorder and an MP3 player in one.
As a digital camera, it performs quite well. It has a rotating lens (perfect for those self portrait shots) and a 1.5in LCD screen to frame and review the images. There’s no optical viewfinder. A macro switch helps with taking images from about 10cm away. You can take still pictures with about ten seconds of audio, capture images in burst mode (about three frames per second) or record moving images with audio. The image size can be switched between fine and normal, to save space or capture more detailed images. Like other cameras of its ilk, the D-snap allows you to change settings like the white balance or colour effects (monochrome or sepia). You can also set the images as ‘favourites’ and play them back as a slide show or view them as thumbnails.
To use the D-snap as an MP3 player, all you need is an SD card filled with music; the device has a speaker and a headphone jack, and is compatible with WMA, AAC and MP3 file formats.
At 51.5mm by 103.7mm by 13.5mm, the D-snap is slim enough to slip into your shirt pocket; it weighs a mere 74g.
Of course, if you are willing to go a little bigger there are plenty of cameras out there that manage to be small enough, but don’t sacrifice certain features or pixel count.
E-mail picks in an instant
The HP Photosmart 435 (EUR149) is a good camera. It has a resolution of 3.1Megapixels, and video and audio functions. To switch on the camera, slide the lens cover over and the power automatically turns on.
The LCD screen is a bit grainy and doesn’t perform particularly well in dim lighting conditions. At first glance, the light and colour is funny – although this doesn’t translate to the image; they come out sharp with good colour reproduction. It also takes a bit of time to react to light changes.
To take movies with the camera, you simply press the dedicated movie control button on the top of the camera. The camera takes still images in full colour and black and white. The white balance can be adjusted for sun, shade, tungsten and fluorescent conditions, or you can simply stick with the automatic setting.
There is no optical zoom, although the camera comes with 5x digital zoom. HP’s Instant Share technology allows you to e-mail or print photos at the touch of a button.
Six million pixels
With its 3x zoom and 3Megapixel resolution all wrapped up in a compact package, the Fujifilm F420 is an excellent buy. Although it may not be the smallest camera, it’s definitely compact and will fit into your pocket.
The F420 has a 3x optical zoom that ensures you get up close to the action – even if you’re standing on the sidelines.
It’s also the smallest camera to include Fujifilm’s fourth generation Super CCD High resolution technology, which produces six million recorded pixels. The 1.8in LCD screen on the rear of the camera is bright and clear, although low lighting conditions render it a bit useless unless you use night mode. There are several shooting modes on the camera, including night, sport, scene, portrait, auto and manual. You can also choose from three different colour settings: Standard, black and white, and chrome. The menus are easy to work through; the ‘F’ button on the camera gives you instant access to settings such as ISO, colour or quality.
You can also shoot short movies with the camera, and a voice memo function allows you to record up to 30 seconds of audio.
It’s PictBridge compatible, which means you can print images from the camera without any need for a PC. And, the included Video Out socket means you can display your images on your TV.
The F420 may not have the pixel count of the Pentax Optio S4, but it is easy to use, fits the compact mould and looks great, to boot.
Best Buy
The Pentax Optio S4 (EUR429.99) resembles the standard film camera everyone is used to. It has a 3x optical zoom lens and has a 4Megapixel resolution. Its wealth of features and high pixel count earns the camera our Best Buy. Not only can you take digital still images, but also panoramic shots, 3D images and time-lapse movie pictures.
Digital filters can be applied to the photos, including eight different colour filters and a slim filter. Colour filters include black and white, sepia, red, green, blue, pink, violet and yellow. There are also nine available picture modes to choose from, including landscape, flower, portrait, self-portrait, surf and snow, autumn colours, and sunset. A night scene mode slows down the shutter speed enough to take photos in low lighting conditions. Images can be trimmed on the LCD screen and saved as a separate photo.
The camera has a panorama assist mode that allows you to take an image in sections and then join them together afterwards using the software provided. However, the drawback of this is that it will only work for Windows users as the provided software isn’t compatible with Macs.
Movie files can be up to 60 seconds in length. There’s also the option to take time-lapse movies, which are taken at a delayed frame rate, so the film appears speeded up.
A three dimensional viewer is included with the camera; this is to view images taken in stereo (3D) mode. The built-in mic in the S4 turns the camera into a voice recorder, or allows you to add a voice memo to an image.
The 1.6in monitor is perfect for reviewing your images (and dumping the embarrassing ones that may come back to haunt you).
Between the feature list and the image quality, the S4 is a worthy competitor in this market, and definitely our favourite of the bunch.
Useful contacts:
Business Electronic Equipment (For Casio & Oregon Scientific): 01-4509044
Fujifilm: 01-8820223
HP www.hp.com/ie
Hahnel Industries (For Kyocera): 023-41606
Panasonic (For a list of dealers): www.panasonic.ie
Pemberton 01-4598877 (For Pentax)
15/03/04
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