With more HD camcorders comes more detail and anxiety

This photo was taken in the late afternoon. Note how the warmer sunlight creates softer, less conspicuous shadows, particularly on the face. This lighting technique can improve your HD video as well. (Click to enlarge.)  [ Photo: T. Sullivan ]

Sony recently announced two new flash-memory camcorder models for consumers, the HDR-CX500V ($1,100) and HDR-CX520V ($1,300), which will be available in September. It's proof that Sony, like all camcorder makers, is continuing to expand its line of HD camcorders while introducing fewer and fewer standard def models.

But in the rush toward this more detailed video format, are we getting more than we bargained for? In the world of show biz, many makeup artists, who are responsible for making celebrities look great in front of the cameras, are concerned about how much detail HD captures. Apparently, HD will, indeed, make a mountain out of a molehill. Even makeup companies are getting into the act: On the Sephora website, you can buy an "HD Elixir" which claims to have an "immediate smoothing effect" on the skin that will make you look better in front of an HD camera.

So what's an average Joe or Jane to do when it's time for his or her close-up? Here are a few tips to help you look good, or at least look better, on HD:

Waterproof cameras: A tidal wave of new models

[ Photo courtesy of h-angele]

Last week, Pentax introduced a new underwater camera. This week yet another camera maker, AgfaPhoto, did the same. If you add those to the waterproof cameras in our Ratings and ones we're currently testing, that makes at least eight waterproof point-and-shoots to choose from.

Here's a brief rundown on each (models below with links can be found in our Ratings, available to subscribers):

• 12-megapixel Olympus Stylus Tough-8000, $370, (3.6x optical zoom, wide angle). Manufacturer claims: Waterproof (to a depth of 33 feet) and shockproof (can withstand a 6 1/2-foot fall). Includes a 2.7-inch LCD.


• 10-megapixel Olympus Stylus Tough-6000, $270, (3.6x optical zoom, wide angle). Manufacturer claims: Waterproof (to a depth of 10 feet) and shockproof (can withstand a 5-foot fall). Includes a 2.7-inch LCD.


• 10-megapixel Olympus Stylus 550WP, $200, (3x optical zoom). Manufacturer claims: Waterproof (to a depth of 10 feet). Includes a 2.5-inch LCD.


• 12-megapixel Canon PowerShot D10, $330, (3x optical zoom). Manufacturer claims: Waterproof (to a depth of 33 feet) and shockproof (can withstand a 4-foot fall). Includes a 2.5-inch LCD.

Digital cameras for traveling

[ Photo courtesy of woodleywonderworks/Flickr. ]

When I was younger, I enjoyed flipping through National Geographic and Life magazines for their amazing travel images. It might be an unforgettable portrait of a woman from Afghanistan or maybe a wolf in a barren landscape. If you like to shoot photos when you travel, here are some models to consider.

All are very good overall, but vary in response speed and other aspects, which we don't cover here. To see how they fared in our tests, check our point-and-shoot Ratings (information is available to Consumer Reports.org subscribers only):

• Canon PowerShot SX10 IS
  This superzoom has plenty of features; two that one feature that stands out for travelers are is its long, 20x optical zoom with wide-angle capability and ability to shoot high-def video. [UPDATE: As some of our readers have pointed out, the SX10S does not have the ability to shoot high-def video. However, the more expensive Canon Powershot SX1 IS does have the ability to shoot HD video. –Ed.]


• Fujifilm FinePix F200EXR
  This subcompact has a very flexible sensor that can automatically adapt to ambient lighting or a particular scene. So, if you're in the Uffizi gallery in Florence, it might switch to a low-light setting. But if you're strolling across the Ponte Vecchio on a sunny day, it might use a dynamic range setting.

Your digital camera: Avoid these common goofs

When it comes to caring for your camera, are you a fastidious photographer or a slipshod shutterbug? Our survey of 8,250 ConsumerReports.org subscribers by the Consumer Reports National Research Center revealed that many failed to make the best use of their newest point-and-shoot:

66% didn’t regularly clean the camera’s lens. Clean the lens before each use, which minimizes the risk of focusing problems and blurry areas on pictures.

28% cleaned the lens with a shirtsleeve, household tissue, or canned air. Clean your lens gently with a microfiber lens cloth and lens-cleaning fluid so that you don’t scratch or otherwise damage the surface. (You should clean your flat-panel TV the same way.)

45% left photos in the camera for at least a month. Photo files should be copied to a backup device, such as a hard drive, soon after they are captured. That reduces the risk of theft or deletion. (It may be possible to retrieve accidentally deleted images, but don’t count on it.)

39% didn’t know whether the camera had scene modes, image stabilization, face detection, or burst mode. Check the manual for features you might be unaware of that make shooting easier and can improve your photos. If you find some new features, play around with them.

13% disposed of a camera in the trash (of those who got rid of a camera). If possible, sell your camera or give it away. For recycling options, contact the manufacturer or check for a program near you at www.eiae.org. Also visit Consumer Reports GreenerChoices.org for a host of information on recycling electronics. —Nick Mandle

Pentax's Optio W80: An underwater camera with HD video and long zoom

Pentax claims its Optio W80 point-and-shoot digital camera is waterproof to depths of 16-feet and survives falls from a height of 3-feet. The camera will be available in July. Click to enlarge.
[ Photo courtesy of Pentax. ]

The burgeoning waterproof camera market has yet to cool off this summer. Pentax has just announced a new model, the 12 megapixel Optio W80, $300, which records HD video (720p at 30 frames per second). It's not the first with this feature—Panasonic has made that claim. But the W80 is $100 cheaper than the Panasonic Lumix DMC-TS1. (Digital camera model Ratings information is available to Consumer Reports subscribers only.)

The new Pentax will include a 5x zoom, more than most other waterproof models. Like the TS1 and a couple of other waterproof cameras, the W80 also has wide-angle capability, letting you fit more fish, or mermaids, in your shot.

Pentax claims the W80 will be shockproof, able to withstand a 3-foot fall, and operable at a depth of 16 feet. Both exceed the specs for a number of waterproof cameras, although the Olympus Stylus Tough 8000 (available to subscribers) is supposed to be able to withstand a drop of 6 feet and operate at a depth of 33 feet. (For more information, see: Abuse this camera? We test the Olympus Stylus Tough 6000, available to subscribers, from the July 2009 issue.)

The Optio W80 will be available in July, in red, blue and gray. —Terry Sullivan

Kodak takes our Kodachrome away

After more than 70 years marketing the iconic color slide film, Kodak has announced that Kodachrome is about to bite the dust. For more details on Kodachrome’s illustrious history and impending demise, see “Tightwad” Tod Marks’s posting on our Money blog. —Jeff Fox

iPhone 3G S: First impressions of its upgraded camera

Apple's new iPhone 3G S sports a 3-megapixel digital camera. But is it really better than its predecesor's 2-megapixel camera? Consumer Reports takes a first look at the iPhone 3G S camera's performance. Click to enlarge.
[ Photo courtesy of Apple ]

The digital camera on the new iPhone 3G S seems to deliver on its promise of better performance compared with other iPhones, at least in my initial use of it over the past few days.

Imaging capability is among the several key areas where Apple has upgraded this newest version of their smart phone with capabilities that competitors have—and have had for years, in some cases.

Here's what I observed:

Sharp pictures. In my casual test shots, the 3G S yielded shots that looked noticeably sharp, at least in the viewfinder. Some of the credit undoubtedly goes to the presence of auto-focus, a first for an iPhone and a less-than-universal feature on other cameraphones. There's also has a unique tap-to-focus feature, which lets you override the auto-focus by tapping on any subject on the screen. I found the camera successfully focused on the subjects on which I tapped.

A macro feature—another first for an iPhone and relative rarity on cameraphones—lets you shoot objects as close as a few inches away. As you can see in my close-up shot (just 4 inches away) of an n-scale train layout, this feature, too, appeared to yield impressively sharp performance.

Here's a sample of a close-up I took of an n-scale model train set using Apple's new iPhone 3G S built-in camera. Click to see the full-size (and unedited) image.
[ Photo: M. Gikas ]

It likely helps, as well, that the 3G S camera has been upgraded to 3-megapixels of resolution, compared with the 2-megapixels of past iPhones. But resolution isn't everything, as we say in our digital camera advice. Factors including the lens and image processing also affect image quality. The new Palm Pre has a 3-megapixel camera, too. But in my casual test shooting, I found its photos to be less sharp than that of the 3G S, particularly when taking close-ups.

Decent videos, too. The 3G S is the first iPhone with video capability. While we haven't extensively tested video from other cell-phones, the videos I shot looked reasonably clear—even at close range. (Download a QuickTime video of a model train set I shot with the iPhone 3G S. Download IMG_0034) In addition, you can edit videos for length, at least rudimentarily. A film-strip-like bar appears on top of each video clip, showing successive images from it. You slide the virtual tabs at each end to edit where the clip begins and ends. You can preview your edit before you finalize it with a press of the Trim button. The feature is less robust than video-editing software on a computer—you can't splice together successive clips, say, or save the original full-length clip for later editing. But it's extremely easy to use.

Digital camera features: What you need, what you don’t

[ Photo courtesy of Gabriella Fabbri ]

Summer photography can bring out the best and worst in a point-and-shoot camera.

For example, imagine you're at the beach on a bright, sunny day and want to take a shot of your friends or family. But when you try to compose the picture, the LCD is washed out by the bright sunlight. And if your camera is a fairly recent model, it probably has no optical viewfinder, which would have let you view the subjects you want to photograph.

If this has ever happened to you, you were the victim of a camera industry trend of reducing the number of models with a viewfinder. And you're hardly alone: In our recent subscriber survey, 68 percent of point-and-shoot owners said they found it hard to view images on their LCD in bright light.

In that same survey, 72 percent of those who had a point-and-shoot with an optical viewfinder found it useful. And about half of point-and-shoot owners said it was very important that their next model have one. Those findings raise make me question the wisdom of eliminating this vital feature from so many new cameras. To finds out which new point-and-shots still feature a viewfinder, check our latest camera Ratings (available to subscribers).

Great gifts for grads

Celebrate your grad's recent success with an appropriate gift, such as a digital camera. Read our post for other ideas.
[ Photo courtesy of: Harrison Keely ]

I can still recall my college graduation fondly. Well, it was only two years ago. Everyone wanted to have their photo taken with me, which was a first, and I got lots of gifts—mostly cash that disappeared rather quickly into my gas tank or my stomach, plus a few gag books.

In hindsight, there are a few things I would have liked to receive as I made the transition from college dorm to real world. If you're shopping for a college grad, here are my suggestions for a gift that is both practical and enjoyable:

Microsoft Office (or equivalent software): No more pencils, no more books…and no more access to school labs with all the software a student needs to get by. Give your grad the tools he or she will need to write a résumé; see our recent post Software Savings: Microsoft Office on the cheap on the best deals in word processing software.

Printer: Once the résumé is letter-perfect, a good printer and quality paper can really come in handy.

Smart phone: A cell phone your grad can use to field incoming calls and e-mails from prospective employers (you can only hope) would be nice. Two popular smart phones are the Palm Pre and Apple's iPhone 3G. (And an ever faster version, the Apple iPhone 3G S, is due out today.) But there are other choices in our cell phone Ratings, available to subscribers. (And don't forget to check our Ratings of cellular service companies, also available to subscribers, to find the best wireless carriers.)

Father's Day: Electronics gifts for every e-dad

[ Photo courtesy of Duncan Rawlinson via Flickr. ]

If your dad has been sending signals, subtle or otherwise, about his need for a cooler digital camera, a lighter laptop, or a GPS to rid himself of those infernal maps that never fold up right, Father’s Day is your chance to shine.

As we did for mom on her day, we’ve picked some e-toy categories that we think our diverse group of dads would like to get. We’ve also recommended a model (or sometimes two) to buy in each category. These selections aren’t definitive; we’ve added links to our full Ratings (available to subscribers), where you’ll find many other recommended models.

The artsy type. For serious photographers, an SLR camera is the best choice. They are large and heavy but are more versatile than point-and-shoots, allowing a savvy shooter to capture images in a range of light conditions and styles. Not for amateurs.

• Recommended: Canon EOS 40D Digital, $900. For the price, this camera’s excellent image quality, large LCD viewer, and ability to snap 6.5 frames per second make this advanced SLR a great deal. Full SLR camera Ratings