Top 10 Advanced Digital Cameras by Gary Hendricks

Top 10 Advanced Digital Cameras by Gary Hendricks

If youre an intermediate level digital photographer, you might be looking for a good advanced digital camera. I know its very tough to decide on which one to buygiven that these models usually cost a bomb. A good advanced digital camera should be pretty rugged and also give you as much control over the photography process as possible. Ive compiled a list of the top 10 advanced digital cameras that are selling like hotcakes in the market right now.

Canon EOS 20D
The Canon EOS-20D is one of the best digital cameras for the advanced user. With an 8.2 megapixel resolution and a bewildering range of manual modes, this digital SLR will deliver professional looking photos.

Canon PowerShot G6
The Canon PowerShot G6 has a 7.1 megapixel resolution, a 4x optical zoom, as well as a wide range of scene modes and manual controls. Even though it lacks a digital SLR body, the images shot with this camera are nothing short of outstanding. Its also one of the cheapest advanced digital cameras out there.

Olympus C-7000
The Olympus C-7000 zoom offers a 7.1 megapixel resolution and 5x optical zoom. It also boasts 5 scene modes and full manual options. A very attractive buy, although the optional lenses are not allowed.

Nikon D70
The Nikon D70 is one of the best-selling entry level digital SLRs. It has a solid design, a bewildering range of options, powerful speed, as well as great photo quality. With its cheap price, this 6.1 megapixel SLR is one of the best value cameras for serious photographers looking to upgrade their camera.

Canon Digital Rebel
The 6.3 megapixel Canon Digital Rebel is a direct competitor to the Nikon D70. It targets photographers at the lower end of the advanced digital SLR market. Its low price, excellent image quality and speed give the Nikon D70 a run for its money.

Sony Cybershot Pro DSC-V3
The Sony Cybershot Pro DSC-V3 is a decent advanced camera which is light and easy to use. With its 7.2 megapixel resolution and 4x optical zoom, its a great buy. Do note the colors can be a bit poor in some shots.

Canon EOS-1D Mark II
The Canon EOS-1D Mark II is a new digital SLR aimed at professional photographers who want excellent customization options, great photo quality and impressive speed. This 8 megapixel camera is high on my list of recommendations.

Olympus C-8080
With its 8 megapixels and a 5x optical zoom, the Olympus C-8080 represents great value for those hunting for a digital SLR. While it doesnt sell as well as the Canon and Nikon SLRs, I think Olympus comes up with pretty decent advanced cameras too.

Konica Minolta DiMAGE A2
The Konica Minolta DiMAGE A2 is a hot favorite amongst professionals. From a feature and function point of view, its one of the best digital SLRs Ive seen. However, the build quality lacks that nice and heavy SLR feel.

Sony DSC-F828
Featuring a whopping 8 megapixel image resolution, the Sony DSC-F828 comes replete with a powerful 7X zoom lens and great camera optics. Very nice camera indeed.

Conclusion
There are lot of cameras suitable for the advanced digital photographer, but the list above covers some of my favorites. I particularly like the Nikon D70 and Minolta DiIMAGE A2. One shopping tip to remember is that the camera above tend to be more expensive than the average point-and-shoot model. So do consider carefully whether you need to features before buying the camera. If you're just starting out in digital photography, you may want to try a simpler and cheaper model first.

About the Author
Gary Hendricks runs a hobby site at
www.basic-digital-photography.com. Read his tips on digital photography and learn to shoot better photos with your
digicam.

Sony Cybershot DSC-W1 Digital Camera Review by Gary Hendricks

Sony Cybershot DSC-W1 Digital Camera Review by Gary Hendricks

Are you looking for a good point-and-shoot digital camera? If you are, one camera to consider is the Sony Cybershot DSC-W1. This little compact camera is currently flying off the shelves. With good optics and a large 2.5 inch LCD screen, in addition to great looking pictures, the DSC-W1 is one of the more popular cameras around.

Design and Construction
The Sony Cybershot DSC-W1 is one stylish looking camera. A direct competitor to the Canon PowerShot S500, the DSC-W1 has been constructed to be a compact, travel ready camera that you can use to take quick snaps. Its dimensions are 3.5 inches by inches by 1.25 inches (weight-height-depth) and it weighs only 7.0 ounces.

One aspect of the camera I found especially impressive was the large 2.5 inch LCD screen. Most compact cameras have small LCDs so much so that you have to quick to look at the postage stamp sized images. Well, not in the Sony DSC-W1. The large screen makes it a joy to do on camera image editing or to show off your pictures to friends and family.

Optics and Resolution
The Sony Cybershot DSC-W1 comes with a 5.1 megapixel resolution, as well as 3x optical zoom and 2x digital zoom. Theres a built-in Carl Zeiss Vario-Tessar lens to allow quick focusing in a wide variety of photo environments.

The optics in this camera are also superb. There are comprehensive focusing options available if youre more adventurous and want to play around with advanced manual camera options.

If you want to customize the camera to take photos at night, for example, you can change the shutter speed or play with the size of the aperture quite easily. If you need to take a quick shot in the middle of a vacation, you can switch back to auto focus and exposure so that the camera does everything for you. In short, the Sony DSC-W1 has features which give you extreme flexibility in taking photos.

User Controls
The user controls in the Sony Cybershot DSC-W1 are found next to the LCD and on a mode dial at the top surface of the camera. I found the controls easy to use. Whether you want to zoom in on an image, or change to a different scene mode or focus setting, the controls are always within easy reach.

Movie Mode
I also like the availability of a movie mode in the DSC-W1. You know, sometimes when youre out in the park or on a vacation, you get those moments when you know a video will be more appropriate instead of a photo. Thats where the movie mode is useful. You can capture video at 30 frames per second (fps) at VGA size 640 x 480that roughly translates to 90 seconds of video on the included 32 MB memory card.

Direct Printing
As with many new digital cameras, the Sony DSC-W1 supports PictBridge direct printing. This is tremendously useful if you want to quickly print out photos without having to import them to a computer first. Of course, you will need a printer that is PictBridge compatible as wellthe Canon Pixma iP4000 is my personal choice.

Storage and Transfer
The Sony Cybershot DSC-W1 comes with a 32MB Sony Memory Stickwhich is hardly enough for serious photo taking, since each image is potentially 5MB in size. Id recommend getting at least a 128MB Memory Stick to complement the camera. In terms of image transfer, the camera supports USB 2.0 ports. This means that youll experience lightning transfer of data between the camera and your computer.

Battery Life
One thing I love about the Sony Cybershot DSC-W1 is the battery system. The camera supports standard AA batteries like those from Energizer. This is pretty rare in digital camerasmost cameras need to use a proprietary battery. The ability to support AA batteries is great because you need not worry about the batteries running outAA batteries are easily found in any convenience store.

Shortcomings
There are some quirks I noticed in the Sony DSC-W1. Though not serious problems, they did serve to mar my experience with this camera somewhat. What are these quirks? They include:

* Lack of a panorama-assist mode
* Lock of white-balance calibration options
* No way to adjust the camera's automatic power-down time.
* Lack of a good photo editor in the bundled software

Conclusion
I do hope this review of the Sony Cybershot DSC-W1 has been of help to you. If youre looking for a good travel camera to take fun shots with, this Sony model is tough to beat. I personally own a Canon PowerShot S500, but Id also recommend this Sony because many of my friends have been raving about it.
About the Author
Gary Hendricks runs a hobby site at www.basic-digital-photography.com. Read his tips on digital photography and learn to shoot better photos with your digicam.