Digital Cameras
Click first here  if you wonder WHY a digital camera, is the absolute best alternative...
You may also click here to see exactly how we work... And please click here to email me... If you have NEWS about finer worldwide alternatives, any important information (type extra good or bad qualities) on the products I recommend and naturally, any finer pictures!
This is a wonderful time, for everyone who like photography... The price has been falling dramatically on digital cameras, since 2003 and you can now get a finer camera, at only 12% of the old price...
How to select a digital camera
Zoom  You should first ask yourself, how big zoom you need... Yes, a 3x zoom is very good to have and mean normally, that you come up to 2 times closer and that you can take fine portraits at 3x zoom... Then will a 3.6x wide angle zoom, that is like 28mm in a 35mm camera, let you get more people (or maybe a house) in the picture... But you will come up to 5 times closer with a 6x zoom and objects 20 meters away, will then look as only 4 meters away... Or just 2 meters away, with a 12x zoom...
Optical Stabilizer But it is hard to hold a camera steady and get sharp pictures, with more than 5x zoom... So if you want a long zoom and don't like to use a clumsy tripod all the time, must you select a model with an Optical Image Stabilizer... Then will a good stabilizer, also help you to take sharp pictures in normal soft indoor light, without any need for a flash (that make flat "burned out" pictures) or a clumsy tripod... WARNING! There are many "anti shake" technologies (especially electronic methods) that NOT work as effective as a real Optical Image Stabilizer and some call even extra high ISO sensitivity a "shake reduction" technique (as it might be in theory) but then must the high sensitivity give sharp low noise pictures and only a few compact cameras from FujiFilm manage that rare trick, but they has other problems... Most clumsy SLR cameras give also rather high sensitivity, but they has also other problems... The "sport" mode many cameras have (auto select fastest possible shutter) give almost the same effect and can freeze movements, if the camera also have a good lens... And you can naturally use both a "sport" mode and Optical Image Stabilizer (if the camera have that) at the same time, for maximum sharpness!
Mega pixels Then was the big question how high resolution you actually need, so I did begin every camera class by explaining what you may need... Because it's only a waste of money, to buy more pixels than you really need or use... But today has even a basic camera 6 millions effective pixels, so you get anyhow more than you normally need... Many users, never use the highest resolution and get then room for more pictures on the memory card... And if you don't need max resolution, for the size of print you want, can you instead reduce a too big picture with a photo editing program (and not select a smaller size in camera) which automatically reduce a lot of noise and still give you a very sharp picture (after little sharpening) if you have any noise to really bother about...
Then must the lens also be sharper, to handle a higher resolution and cameras with over 8 mega pixels on a tiny sensor, give only max sharpness at lower apertures and 10mp cameras get often softer at F5.6 or more... That simply mean that a fine 8mp camera, with a really sharp lens - can easy give higher sharpness and show finer details, than a 12mp camera (and even soft 12mp pictures need a lot more space on the memory card) so the MP number is only one rough indication, of the potential sharpness... Then will a fine 7.1mp camera with a big zoom, actually give you clearly sharper pictures at 6x zoom (you simply get more pixels on the motive) than a 28mp SLR with a standard 3x zoom... Finally can you easy make a fine 7.1mp picture up to 200% as wide with a good photo editing program and get a print, that look 98% as fine as a 28mp print!!
A big bright lens Then need many simple cameras 88 lux at 100 ISO - but soft indoor light are from only 22 lux and a flash, will kill any fine soft shadows... So look for cameras that not has a tiny lens and handle soft indoor light... Fine automatic functions And after the sharpness, is the most important for great picture quality, fine automatic functions (exposure, white balance, focus and contrast) and accurate colours...
Some problems to avoid... There are also some digital artifacts that you don't want, even if you only can see them in rather few pictures... The worst looking artifact (that also are impossible to fix) is pixelation (look like tiny steps) or "zigzagging" on diagonal lines... You can also get that on yellow objects and highlights... Then come burn out highlights, that also are impossible to fix... And chromatic aberrations, that I simply call for "purple edges" because it give a glowing "purple effect" on some dark to white edges... But you see it only in a few situations (somewhere in one of 20-40 pix) and you can reduce (or even eliminate) this ugly effect, by not use the widest angle or select less contrast (maybe by underexposing and then get it right, in the computer) or simply replace the purple with grey, in a good photo program... Then is a "holo" effect rather common, with white around black edges, if you (or the camera) set sharpening too high... And finally will you almost never see moire (distorted patterns) in normal photos... Very bad cameras, save also pictures with too high compression and that give "jpg" noise that look like tiny worms... But some (like Panasonic) handle this better and get no ugly side effects, even with rather high compression!
Fast actions and more... Some cameras work also very slow, so you miss the right moment and that was actually the biggest problem with digital cameras... But almost every cameras I recommend, is very fast... Then is any manual control of exposure good and more memory is nice, even if you anyhow should buy a second bigger card... Then is auto lens cover, the possibility to use AA batteries and good battery life - naturally VERY practical... And if it's hard to select between some models, check finally for the best optical or electronic viewfinder OR a bigger screen... Or if the camera can take a fine wide adapter... Remember also that an usd price, is without tax and sek (Swedish krona) is with 25% tax.
A few more vital advice Look ONLY for the OPTICAL zoom, because digital zoom give you less sharp pictures... A digital zoom, show simply the centre of the original image (with less pixels) and put sometimes fake pixels between the real one, but you can normally do that better (and whenever you want) with a fine Photo Edit program... Yes, you get normally a basic Photo Edit program with any camera... And if you want extra fine pictures, will you need a good photo editing program... You can click here to find them... The video option in most cameras, did only give you very small pictures and was almost useless, but now can many cameras film with 640x480 vga quality and 30fps, if you first buy a huge high speed memory card... Most cameras use USB connection and if your computer don't have that, must you buy a cheap card reader...
Pixels and Photo quality A very fine brilliant sharp paper photo, look like 300 true dpi (that's 300 pixels wide on 2.54 cm) and that are also the print quality, in a fine magazine... And more than 350dpi, don't look better... But a computer screen, show normally just 72-96dpi and that's why web text look ugly and why it's vital to optimize web pictures, like I do... Yes, a 17" vga crt monitor show only 50dpi and 8" xga screen 125dpi... You can also optimize a low noise picture, with a good Photo Edit program and then print (up to) twice as wide, with fine photo quality... The picture will then look as 200 to 250 dpi... Just like most of my web pictures, look as twice the screen dpi... But if the original is rather noisy, can you only make it max 150% wide, because the program can't calculate the new "between" pixels accurately and the noise will also be more visible!
You will finally need a fine cheap 600 dpi inkjet printer (with edge improvement) to get excellent quality prints, because the ink points will smudge and look as 300 true dpi, on fine glossy photo paper... But very light parts may still look slightly dotty, except with fine Canon printers... And yes, any picture need naturally a lot less dpi (to look perfect) on distance!
Take finer pictures!
You should first adjust you camera... Avoid extra noise There are 4 vital facts, about noise and digital cameras... 1) You should simply not use high ISO with any small sensor, except with some unique Fujifilm cameras, but they has other problems... Small sensors are normally made for the lowest ISO and everything else is like using 2 to 8 truck turbos, on a small car engine and that will naturally produce a lot of extra noise OR more and more unsharp pictures, if the camera try to reduce the noise... So you should select max 100 ISO sensitivity and some cameras give clearly better result with a 50 or 80 ISO setting... And if you like to take pictures in "soft indoor light" that is 22-66 lux (without flash) or at late evenings outdoors, should you (a) select a camera that let you select a low ISO sensitivity and (b) especially has a fine Optical Image Stabilizer, which give the same effect as a rise from 100 to 800 iso... Then will (c) a bright lens also help a bit and you can always (d) use a tripod... But a tripod or OIS will naturally not freeze moving objects (only a faster shutter time can do that) just as little higher ISO not will eliminate tiny vibrations...
You can otherwise select up to 2 step lower exposure, if the light not is enough and first let the picture get darker... Then can you very easy adjust the clean low ISO picture so it get perfect, with the "curve" tools (not brightness) in a good photo editing program... And the result get normally much better, if you use that method instead of boosting the sensors sensitivity... The only problem with that method, is that the "white point" will normally move down a bit, but that is also easy to adjust (except with very bad pictures) and that side effect will also make sure, that you not get burnout highlights...
Remember also three more facts... 2) A normal 98dpi notebook screen show a "full size" picture in over 300% closeup, compared to a fine 300dpi print... So any noise will simply look over 3 times more (than it actually is) and be dramatically reduced (not visible) in a high quality print, that is only 33% in size compared to what you see on a computer screen... And you will get almost the same effect, even if you make the picture twice as big and optimize it for max size printing... You can view a picture at 50% size, to see some of the "print effect" on noise, but remember that the print will look dramatically sharper and cleaner... That mean that even a rather "noisy" 400 ISO picture (from a small sensor) may be completely noise free in print...
3) If you check that, will you see that most digital cameras (with small sensors) give clearly less noise at 400 ISO compared with the "grain" from the finest 400 ASA films... Except that digital shadows can look worse, compared with the other clean parts of the picture and most small sensors cameras will also loose sharpness above 200 ISO because of too aggressive noise reduction...
4) And if you scale down to BIG pictures for the web, will normally any noise be totally eliminated, even if you add some sharpness... Finally give most small 6mp sensors little more noise than 5mp sensors, 7mp sensors is actually better (!) the first 8mp from Sony was absolutely worst and the last 8mp is as good as 7mp... And the 6.3mp high ISO sensor (of HR type) in some Fujifilm cameras, is a true miracle - that handle up to 400 iso and give 1900 fine lines sharpness (if your hands not move) as the best 8mp cameras, but their cameras has other problems... Then have DSLR cameras much bigger sensors, that handle up to 800 iso - but that mean also that they need a much bigger and a lot more expensive zoom lens and they also use to need more light, if they not are extremely expensive...
Don't use the flash A flash kill any lovely shadows and give a very "flat burned out" picture, that only look fine for some "party" pictures... So you should normally use the normal lights indoors and if that not is enough, a separate wide spotlight... Or at least a strong slave flash, from the side...
White balance... Adjust the white balance, so you don't get too yellow indoors, or too blue shadows outdoors... Check the manual, if you don't know how to do that!
And take then pictures... Get first in the best position It's very important that you try to get the strongest light behind you, or at least from the side... You may also have some more light, that absolutely not is visible, behind your motive... Because any light that is directed into the camera, will make your motive pale or grey... Be careful so you not get a bad, distracting or really annoying background - if possible... Then may a small change of the angle (move first side ways and then down) be very important... A few things look also better, if you move up... And if you take pictures of people, is their position also of major importance... It may be smart to study some magazines, days before and select some reference pictures, that look extra fine... A slightly open mouth and some hair over one eye, look a lot more sensual... Hands should be folded, or sometimes closed... A face should either look in the camera or at something, like a book or another person in the frame... And if you have deep shadows, should the nose be directed at the strongest light (or half the face, be in a deep shadow) to avoid strange shadows from the nose...
Frame right Let then your motive (the interesting part of the picture) almost "fill" the frame... But your motive can naturally be several things - like a girl, sitting under a huge tree in a misty park... Use minimum 3x zoom for portraits, even of you frame the whole torso - if you don't want "silly" looking faces, with a huge nose...
Focus Focus your target by first pressing down the trigger, half way and wait on the "focus lock" sign... Then can you change then direction (with most cameras) if you don't want your target in the centre... And squeeze finally off the picture, without shaking the camera and remember that a Optical Stabilizer is a GREAT help...
And take safety pictures If something was very bright in the frame (and you can't set lower contrast) so you might get burned out high lights (or the graph in a histogram, hit high up on the right side) should you adjust down the exposure and take some extra pictures, until you see most of the details... But normally does some burned out high light look natural and a lower exposure, may make shadows completely black... Avoid also leaning pictures and take another one, if you not are sure... Most people does also blink, so take several "safety" pictures, when you photograph people... Take finally more pictures, if you not are absolutely sure you got the perfect framing or angle!
Optimize your pictures
And optimize then the picture, with a fine photo edit program... Click first here and check, if you need to adjust your monitor... Make then too dark indoor pictures, lighter with the curve tool... Which not give as much more noise, as 200/400 ISO does... Adjust (maximise) then the black and white point... Add normally some contrast with curves, make slightly darker dark and slightly lighter light, until the picture not look greyish... Before you add some extra sharpness, without getting any "white halos" or pixelated edges (which you then can make softer, if you want max sharpness) and fine tune the colours... Then has many report that the Qimage program is excellent, if you want to make a 200% interpolation (twice as wide picture) and add then finally some extra sharpness... And remember that fine noise, that is visible on the computer screen in a "print ready" picture - will not be visible in a 300dpi print, that normally is three times smaller!
Safety!
Remember finally that every computer hard-disc will CRASH in time (even if some notebooks hard-discs are much safer) so you must also COPY your digital pictures to some extra media and that may be a second hard-disc... Two hard-discs crash "never" at the same week... So you should take some minutes and copy everything to a new simple DVD-R disc twice every year (because they have only a lifetime of 1 to 6 years) or every second year to a finer disc (that hold up to 50 years) or always save to two hard-discs and if you do that, will your pictures be safe forever... And you should always save your pictures on your hard-disc and NEVER only print them from the memory card, before you erase them... The colour of paper pictures, fade rather fast and you loose also 33-50% sharpness, if you don't have the digital original and have to scan them!!
 First some words about megapixels... Most people don't need more than 6 million pixels, but the best value digital cameras have more than 7 MP today...
And if you want 261x196mm prints, of excellent quality (true 300 dpi) must you anyhow get a sharp 7.2 megapixels camera, which give 3072x2304 pixels... Then can you also get twice that wide prints (522x392mm and almost three A4 papers) of fine photo quality, with optimizing in a Photo Edit program... But you can NOT compare this quality with mobile phones, that still have lousy lenses and no optical image stabilizer, so they handle low light very bad...
And if you really need even bigger 310x232mm prints, of excellent quality (true 300 dpi) must you get a very sharp 10.1 megapixels camera, that give 3648x2736 clear pixels... Then can you also get twice that wide prints (620x465mm or little bigger than four A4 papers) of fine photo quality, with optimizing in a Photo Edit program...
But a camera with 12 mega pixels and a tiny sensor, get problems with diffraction (that give softer pictures) at higher apertures... You can then use max 5.6 aperture, to avoid that problem OR buy a camera with a clearly bigger sensor... And a tiny 14 mega pixel sensor, will never be really sharp - because of diffraction at 5.6 or some flare at 2.8 aperture!
The best value "ultra compact" camera with over 7mp and 3-5x zoom...
 Is the  and very elegant Canon Digital IXUS 870 IS (in Europe) Canon PowerShot SD880 IS Digital ELPH (in USA) with an excellent 4x wide angle zoom (as 28-112mm, F2.8-5.8 and auto lens cover) that give almost no "purple edges" at high contrast, very little barrel distortion at wide and sharp corners, which is dramatically better than the earlier models from Canon - including the new semipro G10 that is much worse... Then has it a fine Optical Image Stabilizer and 10 million effective pixels, that give you pictures of excellent quality - with 2200 fine lines sharpness, accurate colours, slightly better dynamic range and almost no noise at 100 iso, even at 100% on a notebook screen - that is as 300% closeup of a fine print... In a very elegant and slightly curvy 129cm3 ultra compact body (94x57x24mm) in light gold and dark bronze (or silver & black) with a magnificent 3 inch high resolution screen (230t pixels and 230dpi, fine even in strong sunlight, very wide angle view, scratch resistant and anti reflection coating, 10x view zoom and get brighter in dark) so this lovely camera, is in short Canon's greatest masterpiece and the first model for a long time that actually is better than Panasonic, in this class... Then has it improved face detection (that still detects up to nine faces in a frame and optimize focus and exposure - but work worse than Panasonic) good battery life (about 330 shots, recharge in less than an hour) work very fast with 0.7-0.9sec start up, 0.2-0.5sec focus at wide and 0.6-0.8 sec at tele including shutter delay 1.5-1.8sec between shots (different times in different review) and 10 shots in 5.9sec in burst mode, you can easy delete last photo with down at the 4way navigator, it has magnificent macro (minimum 36mm wide) panorama stitch mode, histogram at playback, digital sound recorder mode, focus assist lamp, some manual settings (exposure, ISO, white balance, colour effects and sharpening) mute option (no beeps) the print button can be used for many other functions instead, it show finally a tiny battery meter, shutter speed and aperture and take SD/SDHC/MMC cards, at only 2500sek or 263usd with a 32MB SD card, Li-ion battery and separate 100-240 volt charger... And you get actually sharper and cleaner pictures with this 10mp masterpiece, than any ultra compact 14.5mp camera!!
But the clean body have a tiny free thumb rest, so it's not perfect to hold, even if it's hard to press the big top button by mistake... The widest aperture at tele (f5.8) mean that it need little more light than some other and it has no live histogram... It does also overexpose sometimes in bright outdoor light... Then has it no quick view button of last picture (but a quick selector) and rather few manual controls... Then is it clearly bigger than the excellent Panasonic FX35 and 33 below, that also have some practical advantages and cost less... And this camera has a rubber flap over the connections, a huge screen instead of a tiny optical viewfinder, still no "sport" mode (to freeze fast movements - but the "kids & pets" mode might work that way) and you should use max 100 ISO for noise free pictures, as usually... You may click for basic info about high ISO and noise!
Then have you the even more compact alternative Panasonic Lumix DMC-FX35 that offer an advanced 4x ultra wide angle zoom (as 25-100mm 2.8-5.6 by LEICA that work smooth with 19 steps, has virtually no "purple edges" sharp corners and auto lens cover) 10.1 millions effective pixels and the famous Optical Image Stabilizer, that give you very sharp handheld pictures (2100 fine lines sharpness in test, no moire and only little shadow noise at 100 iso) even in soft indoor light... And the sharp pictures are of excellent quality, with very accurate colours and exposure, exact colour balance and just little barrel distortion at max wide... The noise reduction don't smudge details at low ISO and that's very good... Then has it a big 2.5 inch screen (230 pixels, that is 3x sharper than a notebook screen and great in strong sunlight, 16x view zoom and a special high angle view) in a tiny metal body (only 108cm3 or 94.7x51.9x22mm) with good ergonomics, especially compared with other tiny cameras... Easy power switch and shooting / playback switch... And it work fast, with 1.6-1.9sec startup 0.2-1sec autofocus (at wide / tele) including shutter delay and 1.5-1.9sec between shots (without flash) ulimited burst mode for 1.9 frames sec (of 10.1mp at standard quality) and same focus times even in low light... Yes, the different times are from different reviews... Then has it fine macro (minimum 62mm wide) good battery life (about 290 shots) widescreen HD movie mode (1280x720 pixels 30fps with mono sound, need high speed card and only wide angle, no zoom) 23 scene modes with helpful explanations, exposure adjust and bracketing, white balance fine adjust and manual setting, you can also adjust the strength of sharpness contrast and colour (all three at once) with the "pic.adj" setting and "natural" give finest result... It has also AF assist lamp, can show live histogram and guiding lines, 60 to 1/2000sec shutter, fine doors (with three hinges and spring lock, not annoying rubber flaps) for the connections, metal tripod socket and take SD/SDHC/MMC cards... And it has accurate face detection for 15 faces and a very clever "Intelligent Auto Mode" that actually can help you in many situation (according to several reviews) at only 2000sek or 230usd with 50MB built in, li-ion battery and separate charger... In soft black, dark blue or silver... This camera is actually the 8th improved generation of Lumix ultra compacts, since the legendary FX7 that came 2004...
But then have Panasonic released some new models which might be fine alternatives (must only find good reviews, before I might recommend them here) this camera give slightly more shadow noise (instead of lost details) than the golden Canon above, even if you can't see any difference in print... You may click for basic info about high ISO and noise! The high resolution photos are made almost without sharpening, so they are really possible to sharpen (without any ugly effects) in a photo edit program... And some bigger cameras, has brighter aperture (than f5.6) at tele... Then is the compact Canon A2100 IS below (207cm3) a better choice for most, because it offer a 6x zoom, 12.1mp and a fine 3 inch screen, at a much lower price... And the greatest alternative is the elegant Panasonic TZ7 you also find below, that is very compact (only 202cm3) but offer a superior 12x zoom (as 25-300mm ) with OIS, a 3 inch ultra high resolution screen and 10.1mp, but that one cost more... And if you want to spend a lot less, should you look at the nice Panasonic FS3 below, that offer a 3x zoom with Optical Image Stabilizer and 2.5 inch screen, in a slightly (114cm3) bigger body... And this camera has an big screen, instead of a tiny optical viewfinder... And you should set it at 100 ISO to not loose any of the finest details, just as most compact cameras... Then give this model very natural colours, that can look a bit boring (which make them perfect to adjust in a photo program) but you can set "Colour Mode" at "Vivid" and get Canon style colours, plus maybe more sharpening, as earlier Panasonic models!
And Panasonic Lumix DMC-FX37 is a more advanced version of FX35 above, that mainly offer a bigger ultra wide zoom of 5x (as 25-125mm, with 20 steps and slightly softer ultimate corners at wide) and a screen with much wider angle of view, at 2560sek and then is every other quality almost the same, including the design... So you get a slightly bigger zoom, but smaller screen - compared with Canon above, at a slightly higher price... But one review say that FX35 give sharper corners and less barrel distortion at wide... And you can click for a lot more information and view a few sample pictures, in Panasonic's official site... And Panasonic have also released some new models, which might be fine alternatives - but I must find good reviews, before I might recommend them!
Then is Panasonic Lumix DMC-FX500 (or FX520 in Asia, Australia and New Zeeland) an even more advanced version of FX37 above, that mainly offer a bigger 3 inch touch sensitive screen (you can still navigate with buttons and the battery last for max 280 shots) a brushed metal front with an extra grip bar (now 125cm3 or 95x57x23mm) and full manual control over exposure (with aperture and shutter priority - plus sharpness, contrast, saturation and noise reduction adjustments) at 2800sek or 280usd and then is every other quality the same... So you get a bigger zoom and more manual options, compared with Canon above and just as big touch sensitive screen, at a little higher price... And Panasonic have also released some new models, which might be fine alternatives - but I must find good reviews, before I might recommend them!
And the best "budget ultra compact" with over 7 million pixels is...
Canon Digital IXUS 80 IS (in Europe) Canon PowerShot SD1100 IS (in USA)
That look lovely in champagne "silky smooth" metal and black plastic, because it have a 3x zoom (as38-114mm f2.8-4.9) with fine Optical Image Stabilizer, that give excellent photos that are very sharp for a 8 million pixel camera (1975 fine lines at 100 iso, just little softer in the extreme corners and little sharper in "real life" than the 8.1mp Panasonic FS3 but that may be just the setting and you get 1850 lines at tele) with very little "purple edges" (chromatic aberration) no shadow noise at 100 ISO and very little moire... The ultra compact body is only 105cm3 (or 86.8x54.8x22mm) with rounded edges, so it's just room enough for the fine 2.5 inch screen (230t pixels or about 3x sharper than a notebook screen, extra good in sun and 10x view zoom) and it has a direct slider between shooting, film and view... It work also fast (obs different times from five different reviews) with 0.8-1sec start up, 0.3 at wide to 0.5sec focus 0.1sec shutter delay and 1.6-2.1sec between shots, without flash... Then give it great macros (minimum 30mm wide) has a metal tripod socket, face detection for 9 people, auto red-eye correction and a silly tiny optical viewfinder (that practically is useless) at fine 1600sek or 130usd, with a 32mb SD card (it handle also SDHC and different MMC cards) li-Ion batter and charger!!
Which make this camera to the PERFECT first digital camera, or a fantastic alternative to a mobile phone... Yes, it is a real masterpiece if you don't need more zoom... But you want maybe a lot more zoom or a wider wide angle, then are there a clear (or average) barrel distortion and more softer corners as max wide, which not is impressive because 38mm wide is not very wide... Then get the lens slightly softer at tele, with 1850 fine lines... And some "blooming" can make black edges dark blue (as in most cameras, so this is a tiny fault) the li-ion battery last only 240 shot for each charge and the battery meter is not very exact, so you should by an extra battery... Then does it sometimes clip highlights outdoors, as most compacts, if you not set the exposure compensation 1/3 or 2/3 step down... The auto white balance is not the most accurate and sometimes very "orange" indoor, but you can normally fix that with a good photo editor and you can also manually set correct white balance with help of a grey or white surface... And you should set it at 100 ISO to not loose any of the finest details, just as most compact cameras...
Then is the finest alternative Panasonic Lumix DMC-FS3 with a very fine 3x zoom (as 33-100mm F2.8-5.1 by LEICA with virtually no purple edges, rather sharp corners and auto lens cover) a high resolution 2.5 inch screen (230t pixels or about 3x sharper than a notebook screen) great battery life (about 330 shots) and otherwise the same great qualities as FX33 above, including the 8.1 millions effective pixels and excellent picture quality, with 1950 fine lines sharpness... Except a slightly bigger body (only 114cm3 or 94.9x53.4x22.5mm) with a nice edge to grip at the font, at amazing 1445sek or 150usd with 50MB built in, li-ion battery and separate charger... In soft black, silver or dark blue...
But this mode have resently been replaced with Panasonic Lumix DMC-FS4 at only 1495sek that seem to offer exactly the same advantages PLUS a 4x zoom (from f2,8) even better batter life for 400 photos and might give just as fine image quality... But it has no extra edge for better grip, are slightly bigger 121cm3 (or 55.4x97.6x22.3mm) and I have not found any deep reviews, yet...
 The other "ultra compact" cameras with over 7mp and 3-5x zoom, has bigger problems OR not a true Image Stabilizer and that is the most valuable extra function, if you really want quality pictures... So we can not recommend any other alternatives!
And you might wonder why I almost only recommend Panasonic cameras here?!?
That's is simply because Panasonic make some of the finest compact cameras, with Optical Image Stabilizers and that is really the most valuable function in a camera, if you like sharp pictures and especially if you take pictures in normal soft indoor lightening or at long zoom - without a tripod or flash... But there are some fine models from Canon, too... And Panasonic cameras give also finer sharpness, than most other brands and they cost normally less... But I would sincerely LOVE to recommend more cameras from other brands, if they begin to make finer alternatives... And I absolute don't get any money from Panasonic, or even cameras to review... But the last may be because I told them, that I will only do "long time" reviews and not return the camera... And my talent is anyhow, to compare alternatives and draw conclusions from the finest reviewer!
First some words about megapixels... Most people don't need more than 6 million pixels, but the best value digital cameras have more than 7 MP today...
And if you want 261x196mm prints, of excellent quality (true 300 dpi) must you anyhow get a sharp 7.2 megapixels camera, which give 3072x2304 pixels... Then can you also get twice that wide prints (522x392mm and almost three A4 papers) of fine photo quality, with optimizing in a Photo Edit program... But you can NOT compare this quality with mobile phones, that still have lousy lenses and no optical image stabilizer, so they handle low light very bad...
And if you really need even bigger 310x232mm prints, of excellent quality (true 300 dpi) must you get a very sharp 10.1 megapixels camera, that give 3648x2736 clear pixels... Then can you also get twice that wide prints (620x465mm or little bigger than four A4 papers) of fine photo quality, with optimizing in a Photo Edit program...
But a camera with 12 mega pixels and a tiny sensor, get problems with diffraction (that give softer pictures) at higher apertures... You can then use max 5.6 aperture, to avoid that problem OR buy a camera with a clearly bigger sensor... And a tiny 14 mega pixel sensor, will never be really sharp - because of diffraction at 5.6 or some flare at 2.8 aperture!
The excellent Canon PowerShot A2100 with the wider "grip" side
And if you prefer a compact camera, with over 7mp and a great 6-8x zoom is...
The Canon PowerShot A2100 IS the finest alternative, with two advantages (a sharper 3 inch screen and much higher resolution) over the "old" Panasonic LZ7 below and just as excellent picture quality... But it has also a grip with much worse ergonomic, a lens that need little more light and it give sometimes a blue glow (or blooming) at high contrast edges... The good side is that it's almost a copy of Panasonic LZ7 main qualities (including the limited "easy" mode) with a great 6x zoom (as 36-216mm in 12 steps F3.2-5.9 with clearly sharper corners than average, very little purple edges and auto lens cover) a fine Optical Image Stabilizer (for a lot sharper tele and soft light pictures) and 12.1 million effective pixels, that give very sharp noise free pictures at 80/100 ISO in one deep reviews... Yes 12.1mp is more than you probably need, take a lot more space (3mb for each picture) and make your camera slower - so that is no big advantage, as the huge 3 inch screen (good even in direct sunlight) with extra wide view angle and high 230.000 pixels resolution (that's is about 4 times sharper than a notebook screen and it has up to 10x view zoom) which is a true advantage... It's also very compact at 207cm3 (or 102x63.5x32mm) compared to the big zoom and look very good, with a rounded very dark grey grip and black body, with chrome details... Then does it work fast (about 1.4-2 sec start up, plus 0.2-0.6 at wide 0.5-1sec at tele to focus with shutter delay and 1.5 to 2sec between shots, without flash - according to 3 different reviews) it use only 2 AA batteries (for 400 shots with good NiMH batteries, or 160 with alkalines) has focus assist lamp, auto focus for 1 selectable or max 9 faces, VGA movie mode (640x480 60fps with mono sound and any preset optical zoom) and a smart "Kids & Pets" mode (on the function dial) that set fastest possible shutter as a "sport" mode... So this magnificent masterpiece is a great "everywhere" camera and possibly the best choice for most, if you like a rather big zoom and want sharp pictures, without a tripod... At 2490sek or 250usd with a 128MB SD card and it take SD/SDHC/MMC cards...
But the shutter button is now too close to the corner and you have no extra front grip (even if the body get clearly wider, at the grip side) so the ergonomic is clearly worse than the "old" Panasonic LZ7 below, that also give no blue glowing at very high contrast edges... And the A2100 lens need also little more light... Then is Panasonic TZ7 you find below, a clearly finer alternative - mainly because it offer a superior 12x zoom (as 25-300mm ) with OIS and a 3 inch ultra high resolution screen, but it cost also clearly more... Then give the lens little more barrel distortion than average at wide, it has sometimes hard to focus in macro mode and the screen is not of the "wide angle view" type Canon use in more expensive models, even if it have the same resolution... Then is Panasonic OIS even better and A2100 use to "blow out" some highlights, as most compacts, so you should set it to expose little less... It don't always use the whole screen when you view pictures in playback mode (!) it has a simple rubber flap to hide the connections and a dumb "easy" mode (it reduce you possible settings) you should avoid... It has also a huge LCD screen, instead of an extra tiny inaccurate optical viewfinder... You should as always invest in a charger with good NiMH AA batteries, that give twice the battery life... And it show noise from 200 iso (so set it to 100 iso) as almost every compact camera... You may click for basic info about high ISO and noise!
Before that was Panasonic Lumix DMC-LZ7 the absolute finest choice and it's still finer in three ways, as you can see in the "but" part above... With every amazing quality of the older LZ5 including the excellent 6x zoom lens (as 37-222mm F2.8 to 4.5 with auto lens cover, eight elements in seven groups and two aspherical lenses) that work both very quiet and smooth... And the same effective Optical Image Stabilizer (mode 2 is best) that give sharper tele and especially fine pictures (without either tripod or flash) even in soft indoor lightening (of 66 lux) but naturally not of moving objects, or in just candle lights... Yes, I have now a Panasonic LZ7 myself and it give amazing soft light quality, with just a 40 watt (classic bulb) wide spotlight!
The magnificent "old" Panasonic Lumix DMC-LZ7 with some size references... Photographed
with my old Panasonic FZ2 and the "gold stripe" in the handle, is unique for my camera
Then has this more elegant version a fine sensor with 7.2 million effective pixels (for 1900 fine line sharpness and no moire) a very compact body (206cm3 or 98.5x62.3x33.6mm, plus the protuding lens ring) compared to the big zoom, with a very comfortable stable grip and it give especially excellent pictures - with clearly higher sharpness, normally exact exposure, very true colours (including deep red) excellent auto white balance, virtually no purple edges and very low noise (with one unique exception, see "but" below) or even better if you set "pict.adj" to natural... And the big 2.5 inch screen offer good resolution (114t pixels and 194dpi, which is about 2.3x sharper than a notebook screen, ok in strong sunlight, brighter in low light, 16x view zoom and have a high angle mode) it has also a new smart direct to 6x zoom button, can take 3MP pictures with 9x optical zoom, take great macros (minimum 51mm wide) work rather fast (2.8sec to first shot, 0.5-0.8sec auto focus, plus 0.09sec shutter delay and 2.6sec between shots) offer high quality Widescreen video (848x480 pixels) and VGA movie recordings (of 640x480 pixels, 30fps with mono mic) use AA batteries, has excellent battery life (about 460 shots with modern NiMH batteries) and you could get LZ7 in both smooth black or silver... At (sold out in Sweden) or silly low 130usd, with 27MB internal memory, but it take also SD (max2gb) SDHC (min4gb) MMC cards and you should also buy a cheap AA NiMH battery charger... There was also a slightly cheaper sister LZ6 model, with a lower resolution 2 inch screen and almost every other quality, that I can't recommend because the bigger finer screen IS worth a lot more...
Then has LZ7 a much finer lens than Canon EOS 350D / Digital Rebel XT kit DSLR that only offer 3x zoom, need more light (f3.5-5.6) and has no image stabilizer, so the 4 times more compact LZ7 should normally give you sharper stable pictures... And just imagine, if you use 6x zoom will you actually need a 28.8 megapixel camera (with normal 3x zoom) to get the same number of pixels, on the motive... Simple calculate 7.2mp x twice as wide x twice as high!
But this model is now replaced with a worse 8MP version with 5x zoom and is difficult to find... And Canon A2100 IS above has two advantages (a sharper 3 inch screen and much higher resolution) but worse ergonomics, a lens that need more light and show sometimes a blue glow, at high contraste edges... Then may Panasonic TZ7 you find below, be a dramatically finer alternative for you - because it offer a splendid 25-300mm 12x zoom with OIS and a 3 inch ultra high resolution screen - but the lens need slightly more light, it use a special battery and cost a lot more... Then give LZ7 some noise in shadows of skin and hair colour (dark brown to pale) that ONLY is visible at full size on the computer screen (that anyhow is over 3 times bigger, than you should print - max 8x10 inch or 20x26cm, for 300dpi) instead of loosing details and I actually think that's very smart... And it has a bigger screen instead of a tiny optical viewfinder, no panorama mode, the "sport" mode that help to freeze movements use "intelligent iso" which may give you some extra noise (you can set it-iso to max 400 iso and the camera use to select short shutter times, even in normal auto) you should also select 100 ISO to avoid extra noise (as always, even if it give lower noise than most at 200 ISO) and then is it slightly bigger than the older LZ5... And click for basic info about high ISO and noise!
The other compact cameras with over 7mp and 6-8x zoom, has bigger problems OR not a true Image Stabilizer and that is the most valuable extra function, if you really want quality pictures... So we can not recommend any other alternatives!
One "almost" alternative...
Canon PowerShot G9 from 2008 did offer 12.1 million effective pixels, 6x zoom (as 35-210mm in 14 very quiet steps, F2.8-4.8 and many quality problems) with Optical Image Stabilizer (the continuous mode work best) and auto lens cover... That give huge pictures (about 2150 soft lines, which is only slightly more than the earlier G7 with 10mp, because of the bad lens and the diffraction effect) of partly high quality with extremely accurate colours, normally exact exposure and and no visible 80 ISO noise... Then has it a great 3 inch high resolution screen (230t pixels and 230dpi, with extremely wide viewing angle, scratch resistant and anti reflection coating, overexposure warning and is fine in strong sun) and a lousy optical viewfinder (see why below, but it has diopter correction) in a not very compact "techno style" black body (325cm3 or 106.4x71.9x42.5mm) with real doors (not rubber flaps) it work fast (1.2 to 1.6sec start, 0.6sec focus with shutter delay and 1.5 to 2.3sec between shots) has every possible manual function and two custom modes, smart focus help that magnify the focus area, tiny live histogram, a limited RAW option (at debut no program, that can edit and save to jpg) that not give higher sharpness, digital audio recording, improved face detection (detect up to 35 faces in a frame and optimize focus and exposure) dedicated flash hot shoe, panorama help mode, sport mode that help to freeze movements and it take SD/SDHC/MMC/MMCplus cards, at too expensive 3800sek or 360usd with 32mb MMCplus card, li-ion batt and charger...
But the new A2100 model from Canon give finer quality pictures, at a dramatically lower price - because the lens on G9 is not very good, with some deep blue and "purple edges" on high contrast areas, strong barrel distortion at the 35mm wide angle, rather soft "washed out" corners and it make the sensor look soft... The lousy round optical viewfinder, give blurry edges and show generally only 80% except too much over the image area at tele... Then is the 325cm3 body extra clumsy, the grip are not good (so you need two hands for a safe grip) you get rather tight free room for your thumb, the tiny sensitive zoom ring is harder to use and even the shutter button is a bit too small... The green AF lamp is irritating... And the heavy noise reduction, begin to smooth some details even at 100 ISO and 200 ISO give noisy shadows... So it very strange that one review gave it a "Highly Recommended" rating, even if the "semi pro" styling might impress... And the elegant Panasonic TZ7 you find below, is a dramatically finer alternative - because it is a lot more compact (202cm3) but offer a superior 12x 26-280mm ultra wide angle zoom with OIS, a huge ultra high resolution 3 inch screen, excellent sharpness, much less noise at 100 ISO and cost only little more... And the amazing Canon A2100 IS above offer a clearly finer 6x lens (no distortion, sharp corners and no visible purple edges) with OIS and a very compact rounded body (207cm3) at less than half the price - so I would prefer Canon A2100 IS even if they cost the same... And G9 does sometimes over expose (mainly in strong sunlight) and clip then (type burn out) highlight areas... It use a special battery that only last 240 shots and it show noise from 200 ISO (so set it to 80 or 100 ISO) as almost every compact camera... You may click for basic info about high ISO and noise!
More Why Not?!?
The slim Casio EX-V8 offer both 8mp and a 7x zoom, in a very slim body and look delicious in black... But the tiny lens need a lot more light, which make it useless indoors without flash and give very soft corners, compared to the superior Panasonic TZ7 below with 12x zoom and a clearly bigger ultra high resolution screen... Or Canon A2100 IS above that cost dramatically less, with 6x zoom and 12.1mp!
You may think it's great to be able to change the lens?!?
And be very interested in the "ultra cheap" Canon EOS 1000D / Digital Rebel XS camera... But it is very difficult (or expensive) to clean the sensor, every time it get dusty or dirty... Even if some models have a "dust cleaning" function, that try to "shake off" dust with intensive vibrations, but that method work only on some totally dry "non sticky" dust and remove only 0-50% of the dust (after 25 cleaning cycles) according to a test of 4 models... Meaning that even the best system (from Olympus) leave half of the dust... Then is a complete digital camera, normally a lot more compact and easy to hold steady, for long times...
And many photographers regret that they bought a DSLR just because they are so HUGE and clumsy, to always bring... The excellent Panasonic FZ18 below is only about 599cm3 with it's dramatically superior Optical Image Stabilized 18x zoom (as 28mm wide angle to 504mm, max F2.8-4.2 by Leica) cost about half and give you almost the same sharpness (2000 fine lines) compared to Canon EOS 1000D / Digital Rebel XT with 10.1mp and 2100 fine lines, a huge 764cm3 naked body - without the simple 3x zoom (f3.5-5.6) of clearly lower quality... And even the very compact 207cm3 Canon A2100 IS above, with a fine optical stabilized 6x zoom, give clearly higher sharpness than Canon EOS 350D and twice as long stabilized zoom, at just 25% of the bulk and price... So you can save a lot of money, even if the Canon 350D and 1000D are "exceptional cheap" because fine stabilized zoom lenses are VERY expensive... The almost 11x stabilized zoom Canon EF 28-300mm IS (as 45-480mm on 1000D and just F3.5-5.6) from Canon is over 18cm long, 9cm fat, weight 1670 gram and cost 0808 over 23.000sek... And you can even get a long free holiday, if you simply sell your old lenses...
First some words about megapixels... Most people don't need more than 6 million pixels, but the best value digital cameras have more than 7 MP today...
And if you want 261x196mm prints, of excellent quality (true 300 dpi) must you anyhow get a sharp 7.2 megapixels camera, which give 3072x2304 pixels... Then can you also get twice that wide prints (522x392mm and almost three A4 papers) of fine photo quality, with optimizing in a Photo Edit program... But you can NOT compare this quality with mobile phones, that still have lousy lenses and no optical image stabilizer, so they handle low light very bad...
And if you really need even bigger 310x232mm prints, of excellent quality (true 300 dpi) must you get a very sharp 10.1 megapixels camera, that give 3648x2736 clear pixels... Then can you also get twice that wide prints (620x465mm or little bigger than four A4 papers) of fine photo quality, with optimizing in a Photo Edit program...
But a camera with 12 mega pixels and a tiny sensor, get problems with diffraction (that give softer pictures) at higher apertures... You can then use max 5.6 aperture, to avoid that problem OR buy a camera with a clearly bigger sensor... And a tiny 14 mega pixel sensor, will never be really sharp - because of diffraction at 5.6 or some flare at 2.8 aperture!
The best value camera, with over 8mp and a really BIG zoom...
Is the famous Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ28 that is an almost identical version of the older FZ18 below with a 10.1 million pixel sensor and this camera handle the tiny pixels clearly better than the competition (but over 13mp WILL be big trouble) so you get anyhow excellent photos and in addition a slightly bigger 2.7 inch LCD screen (230t pixels, ok even in strong sunlight) plus a slightly improved viewfinder (now 201t pixels, still with diopter adjustment) and then is the magnificent lens probably exactly the same, even if the slightly larger sensor change the effective focal length from 28-504mm to 27-486mm and it's now rated as F2.8 to 4.4 so it need slightly more light at tele, but it offer anyhow better sensitivity than any other ultra tele... And you get virtually no purple edges, very little barrel distortion and amazingly sharp pictures of up to 2300 fine lines (except slightly softer corners) with help of the famous Optical Image Stabilizer (that work better than any other) just as before... Then get you now a HD video mode (max 1280x720 at 30fps) with optical zoom and component video output... Plus a record / play switch, 4 new scene modes (totally 22) even shorter shutter delay with 0.02sec, slightly better battery life (460 pics) and the "iExposure" option, that select settings after the motive... And it offer as before almost every possible manual controls (including 4 custom modes) too... There is also a 3MP burst mode that fire away 8.7 pictures per second... So this rather compact ultra zoom camera, is simply the absolute best choice for the advanced photographers... At only 3700sek or 360usd with 50GB internal memory, li-ion battery (for 460 pictures before charge) and rapid charger...
But the extra pixels make this version slightly slower than FZ18 between pictures (about 1.5 to 1.7sec for JPG shots without flash) the grip don't feel smooth in my hand and the trigger is not perfectly placed for me, the screen could have better contrast and viewing angles, the eyepiece for the viewfinder is of hard plastic and corners get slightly soft at tele, but they are still sharper than normally... You can also click to see how fine it look, find a lot more information and view a few sample pictures, in Panasonic's official site!
This mega pixel race is actually crazy... Even if the best compact cameras, as Panasonic FZ28 and Canon 880/870 handle 10mp excellent... And Canon A2100 handle even 12mp very good... But it's still rather crazy, because 10mp IS actually more than most photographers ever need... And more pixels make also your cards smaller, take more time to handle, give especially more noise plus artifacts and produce actually less sharp pictures - because of the diffraction effect at higher aperture, from f5.6 at wide and you should not use f8 anymore... The camera companies are sadly forced by the customer's unrealistic desires, to release cameras with more pixels (or lose sales to the competition) but a tiny sensor with higher density (smaller pixels) give also more errors, even at 100 ISO sensitivity and you get actually much softer photos at f8 aperture (with this high density) than at 2.8 aperture... This "customer's desire effect" is exactly the same that force DVD makers to produce discs with 16x speed, even if that ultra high speed (same as a CD at 128x) need an ultra sensitive recording layer - which become self erasing and unreliable, within four years!!
Before that was the fine Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ18 from 2007 the best alternative and this camera is basically is a FZ8 with 18x zoom (from 28mm wide angle to 504mm, smooth two speed zoom with last position memory, f 2.8-4.2 razor sharp corners and virtually no "purple edges" or distortion) that give you even higher image quality (even finer deep reds, exceptional accurate colours, excellent dynamic range at 100 ISO and very low noise to 200 ISO) a fine 8.1 million effective pixels sensor (that give 2000 fine lines) and a slightly better grip, with a more leaning shutter button... Every owner, seem to be extremely happy with this camera and that is exceptional... And it works fast - start up in 1.7 to 2.5sec, very accurate focus at 0.33-0.8 wide and 0.6-1sec tele, plus shutter delay 0.18sec, take 1.1sec between JPG shots and just 2.4 to 4sec between RAW shots... The battery last now 400 shots and several photographers report that the famous Optical Image Stabilizer (that was clearly best, together with Canon) seem to work even better than before and help you get more sharp pictures with 18x zoom, than other cameras get with 12x zoom... Observe also that you can only buy a max 11x zoom with Optical Stabilizer, to a Canon DSLR camera and that famous lens need also much more light and cost over 3000usd... And then offer FZ18 face detection for up to 15 faces, a new button for exposure lock, plus every excellent quality from FZ8 including the other first class image quality aspects, as very accurate colours and exposure, at only 250usd and sold out in Sweden... You may click here for one full size sample picture - from a Chinese PC magazine - that clearly show that this masterpiece can take photos (at 100 ISO) of extraordinary quality...
But the GIANT zoom make this relatively compact camera slightly bigger (about 599cm3 or max798cm3 or 118x76x89mm, compared to "old" FZ8 that was about 500cm3) the grip don't feel smooth in my hand, the trigger is not perfectly placed for me and the viewfinder's "eye piece" is still made of hard plastic, that might scratch cheap glasses... You can also click to see how fine it look, find a lot more information and view a few sample pictures, in Panasonic's official site!
Why not?!! Then are the ultra big zoom alternatives from Canon, Nikon and Olympus clearly worse in many different ways (even if they actually have a slightly more comfortable grip than Panasonic) and they show especially more chromatic aberration, that look as a purple "glow" along edges with high contrast... Then is the lenses not as sharp, bright (so they need more light) and has more barrel distortion... As you easy can see in most reviews!
The superior Panasonic Lumix DMC-TZ7 (in Europe) ZS3 (in USA)
In real size scale, on most wide 15.4 notebook screens
And if you prefer a very compact Super Zoom camera, with a great 10x zoom...
Is the finest alternative, the elegant Panasonic Lumix DMC-TZ7 (in Europe) ZS3 (in USA) that offer every quality the legendary TZ5 below have, plus an amazing 12x ultra wide angle zoom (as 25-300mm in 36 steps, F3.3-4.9 and design by Leica with 10 elements in 8 groups, including 2 ED lenses and 2 aspherical lenses with 3 aspherical surfaces - that only slide out 31mm at max tele) and the finest Optical Image Stabilizer (now with an auto mode, that select the best method - for sharp freehand pictures, even in low light and at tele) that give extremely sharp corners (even at ultra wide) very little barrel distortion or "purples fringes" (even at extreme contrast) and offer excellent picture quality - with rich natural colours (you can also select "vivid" for stronger "canon" colors) great shadow details, exact exposure and fine film like noise at 100 ISO (only seen at full screen pc view, which is as 300% close up) that not is visible in high quality 300dpi prints... It has also a slimmer (now only 202cm3 or 103.3x59.6x32.8mm) and clearly more elegant metal body, with the same delicious ergonomic and 10.1 million effective pixels, that actually give you higher sharpness (as you can see in this review and the second review) than most fine 12mp alternatives... The magnificent 3 inch screen, work now in wider angles, offer still 460t pixels ultra high resolution and work superior in strong sunlight, compared with other cameras... And clearly sharper pictures, than Canon SX200IS below... Plus AVCHD 720p HD video (1280x720 60fps H.264) with active zoom, separate movie recording button, HDMI out and Dolby Digital Stereo Creator, for high quality stereo sound... Which give you the finest video quality from a compact camera, but clearly worse than a fine full HD video camera... Then get you finally a panorama assist mode and automatic backlight compensation, if you like... It work very to average fast with 1.5 to 2.3sec startup (according to four different reviews) 0.2 to 0.8sec focus with shutter delay (depending of zoom and type of selected focus and it's very accurate focus too) about 1.5sec between shots and the shutter delay is almost eliminated, at 0.0006 second... The screen may now handle wider angles... TZ7 has now advanced face recognition functions (for 6 people) in addition to face focus of max 11 faces... And you can get TZ7 in soft black, deep red, soft brown, silver and deep matte blue... At 4250sek in Sweden or max 399usd, with 40MB internal memory, li-ion batt (for 300 shots) and separate charger... That is little more expensive than most compact cameras - but remember that this masterpiece give truly excellent pictures and has an extraordinary zoom, with magnificent possibilities... Many advanced owners did love the older TZ5 so deeply, that they quit using their much more expensive DSLR equipment and this one is clearly finer... Yes, I really want this camera... And a little tip - you can safely save the pictures as "normal" quality (that give you about 2.6mb photos, instead of 5.4mb) without any visual difference!
But the rotating mode dial on top, is rather loose and very easy to change by mistake (according to three of four reviews - so you must probably check it everytime you activate the camera) it show a little bit barrel distortion at 25mm wide, you can not select shutter speed or aperture directly (except selecting "sport"mode, that give you fastest possible shutter / softest possible background) if you use the zoom while filming may it lose focus for a moment, you should select 80 ISO and use max 200 ISO sometimes (as any fine compact camera) and I have not found any deep review with sharpness lines, yet... But Canon A2100 you find above, give clearly sharper pictures (except at max tele, of course) if you are happy with only 6x zoom (as 36 to 216mm) and that alternative cost almost half as much!! You can also click for a lot more information and to view a few sample pictures, in Panasonic's official site!
Then is the Panasonic Lumix DMC-ZS1 (in USA and Asia) TZ6 (in Europe) a clearly less expensive budget version, with every quality above - except "just" a 2.7 inch screen (with 230t pixels) only 848x480 video (still 30fps) no HDMI out and a mono microphone... Plus 320 pictures battery life, which is best in this class!
Before this amazing model, was the legendary...
Panasonic Lumix DMC-TZ5 the finest alternative, that also is very compact (max 221cm3 or 103.3x59.3x36mm or jacket pocket size) compared to the impressive 10x wide angle zoom (as 28-280mm, F3.3-4.9 and design by Leica, that only slide out 31mm at max tele) with auto lens cover and a very effective Optical Image Stabilizer, plus 9.1 millions effective pixels and a "Easy Zoom" button, that let you jump to maximum zoom... Which give you an excellent picture quality with 2050 fine lines sharpness (at 100 iso, little softer at tele and the otherwise excellent previous model TZ3 gave just 1750 lines) no moire and very sharp corners, accurate colours and exposure (normally without the burn out highlights, most compact cameras show) impressive sharp details in shadow areas, little noise at 100 ISO (only visible at full size on a notebook screen, which is as 300% closeup of a fine print) almost no "purple edges" and not even any visible barrel distortion... Then has it also a magnificent ultra high resolution 3 inch screen (superior 460t pixels that give amazing 325dpi or 3.8 times higher than a notebook and work fine even in bright sunlight) with auto brightness adjustment, mainly metal body (available in cool black and silver, bronze and silver, three silver tones or dark blue and silver) with very fine ergonomics, plus a new switch between record and playback... You can also get 16.9 x real optical zoom at 3mp, if you like... Okay, you get exactly the same effect, if you cut down a 10x zoom 9.1mp picture - but it is naturally more easy to see and frame the motive, if you use the extra zoom option... The extra effective Optical Image Stabilizer, give you especially sharp pictures with the long zoom outdoors and even in rather soft indoor lightening (of 88 lux) without any flash, but naturally not of moving objects, or in just candle lights... It work also very fast (starts up 1.9sec, focus 0.2-0.45sec, shutter delay 0.11sec, 1.39sec between shots and can take 3 pictures in 1.2sec) good battery life (about 300 shots, charge in 2 hours) exposure adjustment, live histogram, manual white balance and adjustments, 23 scene modes for different situations, including a sport mode that help you freeze movements everywhere, effective face detection for up to 15 faces, fine macro (minimum 59mm wide) of high quality, you have also a secondary "quick menu" that some prefer, you can adjust the strength of colour with the "Color mode" setting and "natural" give the must realistic result (in this version) AF assist lamp, a HD video mode (1280x720 30fps in 16:9 and 11min take 2MB) 8-1/2000sec shutter speed plus 15-60sec in the Starry Sky Mode, it has USB 2.0 for high speed transfers, the connections are behind fine doors (not annoying rubber flaps) and it use SD/SDHC/MMC memory cards... At only 249usd or 3330sek with 50MB internal memory, li-ion batt and separate charger... That is little more than most compact cameras - but remember that this masterpiece give you magnificent possibilities and excellent pictures... Many advanced owners fall actually in love with this camera and quit using their much more expensive DSLR equipment!
But the lens is slightly less bright, compared with the best and DRAMATICALLY bigger zoom alternatives and deep red is fine, but get slightly orange... The mode dial is also rather easy to move, so you should check it before you shoot... And it has "only" the most valuable manual controls, including some smart scene modes, so it could offer even more... Then does the images look slightly soft in one review (or extra smooth, as DSLR cameras) but they are easy to sharpen OR slightly over sharped (select then "natural" at "Color mode" in the menu) in another review and you will hear little zoom noise, if you zoom when you are video filming... Then cost the slightly smaller Canon A2100 IS with fine 6x zoom, 12.1mp and fine 3 inch screen a lot less... You get no tiny viewfinder, but the finest screen in the world and a more compact camera... And it use a special battery, so you should maybe buy one extra for times you don't want to bring the charger... Then does a few reviewers complain about the noise, when they use auto ISO and view the result at full size on a notebook screen, which is double dumb... Just select 100 ISO and remember that "full size" on screen, actually is a 300% closeup compared to a fine 300dpi print - so the noise you see, will simply NOT show in fine print... And if you want to freeze movements, select sport mode (and not higher iso) which simply select the fastest possible shutter speed... You can click here to see how fine it look and read a deep review, that reflect most of this unique masterpiece qualities, except it's great quality in rather soft indoor light...
And there is only one weak alternative, the rather elegant Canon PowerShot SX200 IS that only is better than Panasonic Lumix DMC-TZ5 in two ways and worse in many other... So I can not clearly recommend this alternative, even if it almost is a masterpiece - except if you already got it or get it cheaper than TZ5 - because it is anyhow one of the finest cameras ever built... It has a magnificent 12x wide angle zoom lens (as 28-336mm in 40 steps, F3.4-5.3 with auto lens cover and almost no barrel distortion, but it get slightly softer a bit from the corners) with a fine Optical Image Stabilizer - for sharp freehand pictures, even in low light and at tele... And that is a clearly longer tele, than the "as 280mm" of TZ5 - but the soon coming Panasonic TZ7 (in Europe) ZS3 (in USA) offer also 12x zoom (as ultra wide angle 25-300mm) that amazing lens is still brighter... You get anyhow a rather high picture quality (almost as Canon A2100 with 6x zoom) with superb colours (especially the deep red) exact exposure and some (very soft) details in shadow areas... And SX200 don't show any noise - if you first select 80 ISO and with 100 ISO is it still hard to see any noise (even after sharpening) at full size on a notebook screen, which is 300% closeup compared with a fine 300dpi print and that is clearly better than Panasonic TZ5 even if you can't see any difference in print - but the heavy noise reduction, smooth also away some of the finest details... And the very compact body (at 238cm2 or 103x61x38mm) compared with the huge zoom, has very nice ergonomics and is mainly of metal... Then has SX200 also 12.1 million pixels - but that is actually slightly too much for the tiny sensor (43mp/cm2 sensor density) because of the diffraction effect, that actually give softer pictures at high apertures (so you should NOT use f8 with this camera) and more pixels than you need, make your memory card smaller and take naturally more time to save... But SX200 work anyhow fast - with 1.2-1.9sec startup, 0.2 to 1sec focus with shutter delay and 1.5.2.4sec between shots, without flash... The 3 inch screen (230t pixels and 230dpi, which is almost 3 times a notebook and fine in strong sun light) is great and possible to view in wider angles than the TZ5 screen - but see the but below... Then offer SX200 an unique self portrait mode that sense / react when your face get in front of the camera, the "Kids & Pets" mode (on the function dial) that set fastest possible shutter as a "sport" mode, quick delete of the last picture, both good 9 face focus and blink detection, macro with manual focus, exceptionally elegant menu system, almost every manual option (you can as example adjust contrast, sharpness, saturation and red/green/blue/skin tone levels) a clear battery meter (first in the last years Canon models) can record HD video at 1280x720p at 30 frames/second with mono sound (using efficient H.264 codec and with optical stabilizer, but you can not adjust the zoom) and use SD/SDHC/MMC memory cards... And it's cheaper than TZ7 at 3600sek or 355usd, with li-ion battery and charger - but no memory card or internal memory... In elegant matte black, dark blue metallic or dark "purple" red metallic.
But SX200 give especially slightly softer pictures and even more softer in shadows - compared with Panasonic TZ5 even if the absolute resolution may be higher... So the pictures need some sharpening, to look almost as sharp as TZ5 either by the settings in the camera or in a photo editing program... And TZ7 give normally clearly sharper pictures... That mean also that you can't print the noise free pictures extra big (with less than 200 dpi) because they will then become too soft - or show sharpening artifacts, if you sharpen them... SX200 give sometimes "purple edges" too... Then offer Panasonic Lumix DMC-TZ5 and TZ7 twice the screen resolution (460t pixels) a slightly brighter lens (F3.3-4.9) and a more compact body (TZ5 221cm3 and TZ7 only 202cm3) and then cost TZ5 clearly less and TZ5/7 brighter lens slide only out 31mm at max tele, compared with the huge 46mm (or 48% more) that SX200 fatter lens protrude / expand... Then will the flash always plop up, when you activate the camera - even if you did turn off the flash and that is plain silly... It overexpose also sometimes bright details (worse than TZ5) as many compact cameras... Then has SX200 slightly worse battery life of about 280 shots than Panasonic and a plastic piece with a loose rubber hinge (when tz7/5 has a fine door) to cover the connection... It has not stereo microphones for video, as the coming Panasonic TZ7 (in Europe) ZS3 (in USA) and you should select max 100 ISO sometimes, because higher ISO give you both visible noise and softer details, as most compact cameras... And we have not seen any deeper review with sharpness lines, yet.
Why Not?!?
Canon PowerShot SX10 IS has a magnificent 20x zoom lens, except that it show more "purple edges" (chromatic aberration) than most ultra zooms and give also more barrel distortion (at wide) than Panasonic FZ28... Then has this model grown clearly more clumsy, so it's much bigger than FZ28 and it's also a lot more expensive, making it clearly worse than Panasonic FZ28 that in addition offer a bigger screen... Even if SX10 is the next best ultra zoom!
Canon PowerShot S5 IS was a great 8mp camera, with 12x zoom and a good Optical Image Stabilizer, if you not compare it closely to the best alternative... Panasonic FZ8 cost clearly less, give anyhow clearly higher picture quality (set at max 100 iso) with no purple edges and offer superior handling, so FZ8 is a better choice even if this camera also is very ergonomical... And it has a few advantages, as the bigger body include a fine fold out screen of the same size as FZ5 and a hot flash shoe, plus it use AA batteries... But S5 IS give softer pictures (about 1750 fine lines, which barely is better than the old S3 model) with some halo effects from bad sharpening, sometimes aggressive red "purple" edges (especially in corners and above red details) and more noise in the shadows, than before... Then has the viewfinder just 115t pixels, compared to FZ8 with 188t and the connections are under a flimsy rubber cover... So this model is not a good alternative, even if both Sony DSC-H9 and Olympus SP-550UZ is much worse, in many ways...
Sony Cyber-shot DSC-H5 from 2006 is basically the same camera as the older 6mp H2 except it has 7.2 million effective pixels, that give slightly higher sharpness (1750 fine lines) a giant 3 inch screen (230t pixels and 230dpi, good in sunlight except some glare) a black body and less burnt out highlights... Then give H5 low noise up to 100ISO, has a smooth progressive 12x zoom (as36-432mm f2.8-3.7) with OIS (that not is as good as the competition) on to first shot in 3.2sec, with focus 0.3 (or 0.8 at tele) shutter delay 0.1sec and 1.4sec between shots, has focus assist lamp, manual focus (with a magnified area) and only 2 AA NiMH batteries last 340 shots, which is impressive... But it give even more purple edges and cost clearly more than Panasonic FZ8 that is much more compact, especially have a finer lens and don't show any purple edges... Then give H5 clearly lower corner sharpness (even compared to the 6MP competition) it has some trouble focusing exact at long tele, the continuous autofocus is sometimes too slow, it give slightly over sharpen pictures (white "halo" edges, so set lower sharpening) the faster shutter is 1/1000sec, the flash recharge sometimes very slow and some connections are behind rubber flaps... This camera was very promising, but has so many picture problems (compared with the clearly finer Panasonic FZ8 and Canon's alternative) that I am very surprised that some reviewers recommend it!!
Then is Sony Cyber-shot DSC-H9 even worse... This strange model begin very promising, with a 15x zoom, optical image stabilizer (that work clearly worse than Panasonic and Canon) a huge 3 inch screen of high resolution and a 8MP sensor... But then does it show almost as many problems as Olympus SP-550 UZ below... The "basic" Panasonic LZ7 save as example pictures with 6-8 times compression, in the worst mode and show anyhow no jpeg artifacts - but H9 save only with 9-13 times compression (it has no finer setting or RAW alternative) and that is too heavy, so you get clearly visible jpg artifact (as micro worms) on smooth surfaces... Then is the picture quality clearly worse in every important aspect, that is connected to the zoom lens (according to two big reviews) compared with Panasonic FZ8 and the camera is also clearly more clumsy, plus a lot more expensive... In other hand work this camera excellent, in some ways and you can take rather fine pictures, if you not look close and don't mind more purple edges than normal... But why select this camera, when you can get a much finer alternative at a much lower prize?!?
Then have we Olympus SP-550 UZ that was extremely promising, offering an amazing 18x zoom (as 28-504mm, in 30 smooth steps and bright f2.8-4.5 with high-refractive, aspherical and ED elements) 7.1 million effective pixels and image stabilizer (by moving sensor, that is less effective) that sometimes give very fine pictures (not excellent, mainly because they are softer than some 6MP cameras and show more purple edges, plus many other problems you can read about below) in a lovely body, that is rather compact (about 566cm3 max754cm3 118x82x78mm) almost black and has very fine ergonomic... This camera has also a 2.5 inch high resolution screen (230.000 pixels, barely ok in sunlight and get brighter in low light) a cute electronic viewfinder (with high resolution, diopter adjustment and work fine with glasses) you can select helpful yellow grid lines, work partly fast (startup 2.5-3sec, max zoom about 4sec, wide focus 0.2-0.4sec tele 1-1.5sec and 0.1sec shutter delay, but up to 3.8sec between shots even with a "H" card or max 7 shots with 1.2 frames/sec or max 15 shots at 3.2mp with 7 frames/sec) then take naturally the optional RAW mode more time and lock up the camera for about 5sec, it has a close super macro mode, every manual option (Program, Aperture Priority, Shutter Priority and Manual) including manual focus (with magnified centre and distance) every picture adjustment (white balance, ISO, sharpness, contrast, saturation / colour strength) noise reduction on/off and 21 scene modes (with helpful explanations, plus a separate guide for common actions) very advanced set up options (you can as example select live histogram in record mode and even change the image stabilizer button to some other function) a high quality video mode (max 640x480 pixels and 30fps, with zoom and sound) both NTSC and PAL out, can sync with up to 10 slave flashes and it use also four AA batteries (530 pics with NiMH) instead of expensive special batteries... This camera can even edit your pictures (even in RAW mode) and you can view your photos in a calender...
But this camera was actually so lousy, that they announce the replacement SP-560 Ultra Zoom (that only is slightly adjusted, with 8mp that give max 1800 fine lines) just 9 months later and every review confirm that 550 give max 1625 fine lines (even lower at wide and tele) and that is actually softer than the 6MP Panasonic FZ7 that is clearly softer than FZ8 and you can never replace the missing fine details, with a higher sharpness setting... It give also more noise in shadows, than fz18 and the Optical Image Stabilizer in Panasonic cameras, are also clearly more effective... Then get deep red very light (sometimes almost pink) in this camera, the not exact white balance does change between shots (maybe less with SP-560) auto focus is also less accurate than average (type one of 20 times is wrong, even in good light) it underexpose (according to samples I seen) give rather high barrel distortion at wide and otherwise more pincushion distortion than usual, plus more purple edges than average (possible less with SP-560) plus more chromatic aberrations (green & red contours) often more dramatic clipping of highlights, light objects on the screen "bleed" often (making it hard to view what's really happen) and the screen show not 100% of the motive, it use the expensive xD picture cards (it has also 20MB internal memory) the mode dial turn little too easy, the stable lens barrel protrude a VERY long way and get about 65mm or 2.56 inch at max tele (the excellent 12x zoom of Panasonic FZ7/8 above extend just 17mm and zoom then internally) the USB connection (behind a rubber flap) is not 2.0 High Speed and you should as usual set 100 ISO to avoid extra noise... Okay, you can take "fine pictures" even with this camera and it has lovely ergonomics, but why not take excellent pictures with Panasonic FZ18 that cost almost the same?!?
Finally are Fujifilm FinePix S8000fd mainly a ugly budget copy of Olympus SP-560 UZ above, with the same huge (but ultimately disappointing) zoom lens and worse ergonomics!
And you need normally some kind of Image Stabilizer, to use more than 5x zoom without a clumsy tripod and even 3x zoom pictures, get easy "shaky" in soft light... So we can absolutely not recommend any ultra zoom camera, that not have that basic function!
And why is a digital camera, completely superior?!?
I did actually use a fine Pentax system camera, with five exclusive lenses... But I bought a fine 2 megapixels digital camera, with 12x stabilized zoom and it was dramatically better, in every vital way... And now I use an even finer Panasonic LZ7 with 7.1 megapixels and 6x stabilized zoom, which give amazingly high picture quality...
And the rather high price of a fine digital camera, give you over 45 unique advantages (each gold arrow) including that the total cost, will be clearly less after 1-4 years... So a fine digital camera is a great investment, for everyone that like to take fine pictures and many of this advantages, will especially help you to take finer pictures than anytime before... If you try almost as hard as before and not get sloppy!
First, you simply don't have to buy any more film... So you save both money and time... And it could also be hard to find the film you prefer, on holidays!
And then is it also a lot more expensive, to get very fine paper copies (with right colour, contrast and so on) from old film... Yes, you can easy improve and optimize you digital pictures, anytime you like... First can you take care of the ordinary problems... Fix slightly strange exposing, not perfect colours, cut some stuff or change the composition and rotate the picture a bit... Details that often make photos on paper, rather lousy and even may kill a great picture... Then is even easy to fix a bad background, erase people you don't want in the photo and improve your pictures, in over ten other unique ways... And you get normally easy photo editing programs for free, both with the camera and with magazines!!
As I wrote above... It's enough with a 2mp camera, to print out excellent 136x102mm big photos of pro quality... And with careful optimizing can you also get twice as wide pictures (272x204mm, almost A4 size) of fine photo quality, almost as fine paper photos from old 35mm film and clearly BETTER than APS photos... Normal 200/400 ISO films give the same quality on paper and clearly worse, if you need to scan the photos to your computer... And you get higher quality with a fine 5mp camera, than with a fine SLR camera and film to paper photos...But if you take dia-positive pictures with a fine SLR camera and scan them with the best scanner, then will you need a fine 8mp camera to get the same quality... With both dramatic less noise and little higher sharpness... Yes, even the best 35mm dia-positive give very noisy pictures (compared to digital cameras) and max 2000 fine lines sharpness!
Then can you see the result directly, in the camera, so you can easy take another better picture... That great possibility and especially that moment, are normally lost forever, with film... So that are a GIANT advantage, both for the advanced photographer and the clumsy beginner! And you can naturally show your pix to new friends, directly on the camera screen...
Then can you always take MANY MORE alternative pictures and simply delete the really bad ones... Experiment with alternative settings, different angles, other lighting and so on... A cheap 128MB card, have room for 200 high quality 2mp pictures... You don't even have to "click" every picture, when you experiment, because you will basically see how it will look, on the screen... You can also take a lot more "real" pictures and hope that some will be great, as many "pro" photographers... Even if my theory, is that you get the absolute finest photos, if you take some extra time and really try to make each picture, to a masterpiece!
The possibility to delete most and save the best, is a special advantages on holidays... You can take over 1000 pictures, delete the worst many times and finally have 200 pics, that are from interesting to excellent... Even if you only can afford a cheap 128MB card!
And a very fine digital camera is normally VERY small, compared to a rather compact old 35mm system camera... About 110-300cm3 compared to 1500cm3 with a 38-114mm zoom... So you can always bring your camera with you, even where it's best to be discreet and never miss any more great shots... That are possible the greatest advantage, with digital cameras!
And it's light to hold, very easy to hide (from thieves) and easy to protect, from the element of destruction... Like rain, sun and sand... Compared with a system camera!
You can then show your pictures, almost directly... In your computer, on internet and send them to your friends, by email... And your originals, will naturally be a lot more easy to handle and they will never loose quality... Even copies, will actually be perfect originals... Yes, it is also very easy to save them in several ways (for extra safety) and copy them to new media, when the technology changes!
You can naturally get excellent paper copies, in several easy ways (even send an email and get copies by post) from your absolute best digital photos... Or make them at home, with a fine cheap Canon printer... And even if the cost is little higher for each copy, will the total cost be 2-50 times lower, because you never have to pay for all these rather good pix, you don't want on paper, but still want to keep... Or the lousy ones, you simply delete... You can in addition decide the size of the paper copy, directly and only pay for the pix in the right size... Then is it a lot more easy to get the pix, from a digital camera to your computer and you get higher quality (compared with scanning paper photos) within the size limits I mention above...
And most digital cameras are a lot more reliable, than a 35mm camera... Mainly because it has very few "delicate" moving parts, that can break... And compared with a heavy system camera, will the light impact be softer, if you drop it (or hit a corner) and you get not the frustrating problem, to always load the film perfect...
Yes, you will also avoid MANY other vital problems with film... That sometimes give very strange colours, often are of the wrong type for the situation, quickly become too old, can be stuck in the camera (without any warning) so you don't get any pictures, get damage from x-ray scanners and finally, may get lost by the photo shop!
The only real problems, with digital cameras... Is the short delay, when you take a picture (even if the best cameras are very fast now) and that you naturally must charge batteries, for the camera... But the price is NOT a real problem, if you like to take pictures... Only 11 films with 36 pix (or 7 APS films with 40 pix) are actually more expensive than a superiour budget digital camera, with 6mp and 3x zoom with Optical Image Stabilizer, as Panasonic LS2 with an extra battery charger and after that, will any more pictures be completely free... And you will then get finer pix than APS class, plus all the other advantages!!
Click here for links to the finest reviews, of digital cameras!
Wrist Watches
My gallery, with some extra interesting models... Click a picture, to see the big one!
    
My second Casio * My first Casio..* Citizen Aqualand II * Raymond Weil "Parsifal"
  
An elegant Orient * A very old hi-tech Citizen * A magnificent Breitling
   
My morning clock * World time by Citizen * A glittering Tissot * Breitling Crosswind
You could buy Japanese brand watches, at half the Swedish (and most countries) price, on the holiday resort Canaria Island and you got also a lot more models to choose from... Simply because (1) there are too many watch shops and people don't come there to buy watches (2) so the importers add very little, on the factory price (3) some shop is ready to sell, at almost the import price (4) and it was also tax free... Yes, I just heard that the tax free time is over... But watches and some other stuff may still be a lot cheaper there, than in Hong Kong or anywhere else..
Then I normally find the lowest price, by looking around in more shops, for the best "direct offer" price and almost never, trough every kind of bargain!! Remember also, that in most tourist towns, are there a few shops which sometimes sell demo items as new, faulty products, returned goods and stuff you can't use in your country... So you should always test the product, as much as possible, before you pay (or a least leave the shop) and check that you get the main accessories (type a charger, you can use at home) plus an international guarantee... These things cost very often extra, even if they should be included!
GSM Telephones
First a note... I write normally only about phones I can check personally and I have no access to the phones that only are sold in USA and Japan, so I don't use to write about them...
Smart Phones, with fine PDA functionality
GSM phones, with camera and colour screen
GSM phones, with colour screen
Advanced PDA without phone
A "SmartPhone" with fine PDA functionality, is naturally the best alternative, if you can afford one... It is the absolute best way - to plan your life and always do the most important first, handle complex projects, manage your contacts and personal info, compare and investigate things to buy, collect facts anywhere and never forget anything, anymore!
You can click here to read (in a new window) about the perfect Smart Phone, that still has to be made... And you can also click here for my detail guide (in a new window) on how to select an advanced SmartPhone...
Remember that a mid size keyboard might look great, but has some big problems... It's simply too small to let you type with both hands and you can't hold it, at the same time... And if it's wider than 12cm, is it also slightly too wide (and often without enough space between the keys, as Nokia E90) to hold and handle easy with your thumbs... Or not possible to hold stable with one hand and type fast & easy with one finger, as I use to do with my 6cm wide Palm Treo 680 because that excellent keyboard is just big enough, so you don't have to move your finger a lot... You can even hold a Treo with one hand and write accurately with that thumb... And a fine keyboard, is one key element for a fine smartphone!
The best value SmartPhone, with fine PDA functionality, is...
 Palm Centro that offer exactly the same qualities as the slightly finer Treo 680 below - except it's 5mm shorter, 5mm less wide, slightly slimmer (only 107cm3 or 107.2x53.5x18.6mm) use micro SD cards and the 320x320 pixel TFT touchscreen (2.23 inch or 16.4cm2 compared with 25.4cm2 for Sony Ericsson Xperia X1 that cost 3 times more) is also 15% smaller than Treo 680... Yes, the slightly smaller keyboard is reported in many reviews, to work exactly as fine as the excellent Treo 680 so the only "real" limitation is the 2.08 inch screen, if you like the cute design ... At only 280 euro (for the unlocked gsm version) which make this advanced smartphone an incredible bargain!!
And if you think the amazing Apple iPhone might be a smarter alternative, must I disappoint you and you can read a lot more about WHY below...
 And 2009-01-08 did Palm finally announce the amazing Palm Pre (as a "prelude" of a greater future) that is a truly revolutionary shiny black smartphone, with a superior new OS and every other advantage any other smartphone offer, combined in one... Without any big compromise... And this little miracle is also clearly smaller than iPhone - less than 101x60x17mm, with only 61cm2 front area (iPhone 72cm2) or 103cm3 totally and the great screen, is only slightly smaller than iPhone... Then is the elegant multitouch fingertip navigation, even smoother and more accurate than iPhone, with more delicate scrollings and other moves... You can also see a cute "round ripple effect" where you touch the screen... Some things work actually like magic, according to the amazed reporters and the new OS offer many unique advantages - including the magic multitasking system - where you simply "scroll sideways" with your fingertip, trough "activity cards" that can show up to 12 active programs or web windows (sometimes only 4 because some programs use more memory) and you can also move around any "activity card" by hold and drag... Or simply swipe a card up and off the screen, to close that activity... They show also slim "notification bars" at the bottom of the screen - when you get emails, messages, for the music player and more - that are very easy and elegant to handle... The ultra smart OS is actually a radical new concept in personal computing and more sophisticated than any big OS for notebooks... And Palm Pre was released 6 June at 199usd with Sprint 2 years contract and come to Europe this summer!
![](t"y.gif") You get first a brilliant 3.1 inch BIG multitouch screen, that every reviewer love... With 320x480 pixels as iPhone - plus scratch proof coating, extra wide viewings angles, 24 bit color and it work fine in strong sun... The black status bar at top, is actually a part of the screen... So you can see how great contrast and deep black you get... And it has a special "gesture area" below the screen (with lightening feedback, for VERY easy to learn smart moves) and a sometimes glowing "ball" that jump to the multitasking card view... Plus an excellent curved slide out mini keyboard... That is backlit, clearly bigger than Centro's famous version and actually work great, even with fat fingers - except for 1 of 9 reviewers... You get also 8GB internal storage (with 7.4GB user available) the most powerful processor of any smartphone (TI OMAP 3430) a faster browser based on the WebKit engine (that also iPhone use) but with "thumbs of the sites" as bookmarks and other advantages... The browser turn also to widescreen, if you turn the phone, just as it rotate photos in any direction... You get also Palm's unique "Synergy" concept, that bring together all kind of contact info (even from different websites, like Facebook and Google plus delete duplicate data) and different ways of communication, type mixing IM and SMS together... And it has also an advanced music player (for MP3, AAC, AMR, QCELP, WAV) with a 3.5mm earphone connector, that can sync to iTunes (as an iPod, except DRM protected contents or calendar / contact info - which you can move in other ways) you can also use Pre as a mass storage drive (with fast drag and drop or sync to Windows Media Player) and you can even search an artist or song you play on YouTube or Amazon... And buy music directly from Amazon, trough wifi... And a fine video player (for MPEG4, H.263, H.264, MP4, M4V, 3GP, 3GPP, 3G2 and 3GP2) sophisticated image viewer (for GIF, JPEG, PNG, BMP) an excellent "App Catalog" for extra third party programs (that have ratings, reviews, links to more info and even fine screen shots, but you can't look for other programs while you download) a viewer for PDF, Word, Excel and PowerPoint documents, micro USB connector (2.0 Hi-Speed, with mass storage support) easy removable rechargeable battery (which also create an ideal center of gravity) high-speed wireless (EV-DO Rev. A CDMA or GSM turbo 3G) WiFi (802.11b/g with WPA, WPA2, 801.1x authentication) exchange email support (with Direct Push Technology) in addition to the ordinary POP and IMAP emails (also with push) IM MMS and SMS messaging, integrated GPS with turn by turn navigation, Bluetooth (2.1 EDR with A2DP stereo support) a fine 3mp camera (with virtually no shutter delay, fine color balance, autofocus and a tiny LED flash) that handle soft light better than most, environment light and "near face" sensors, physical ringer mute switch, universal search (partly as before, but see also the "but" below) that in addition include your favourite web search sites, an alarm clock (with many alarms, but no stopwatch or world clock) impressive speakerphone, cute retro style calculator, you can use the cute normal charger, or rather slow optional wireless charging (with the elegant 70 usd "Touchstone" charger) get free automatic backups of your data (setting, email, contacts, calender and task info) with "Palm Profiles" to Palm's servers (even if a few details can get wrong, so you can move to another Pre if the first one get stolen or die) and naturally copy & paste (now with your fingertips) functionality!
The superior OS is actually BOTH more advanced, in many ways and dramatically more easy to use - than any big desktop OS and you get naturally instant on, resume where you was and auto save, just as before... And it make most programs, as Google Maps, clearly more easy to use... Then will it naturally come more models (in good time) with this OS than Pre and the second smartphone will be the lower cost ultra thin Palm Eos, that look almost like a wider black Palm Centro... And Palm offer advanced help, with the sophisticated Mojo SDK application framework (that the programmers find extremely nice) to anyone that want to develop "third party" programs... Then will the programming also be extra easy, because Palms superior open main Nova OS follow Linux standards and the screen presentation follow HTML CSS, JavaScript and Ajax standards... And that's why Palm call Nova a "web OS" plus the fact it's very internet oriented... But the "web OS applications" stay anyhow inside the smartphone, so you will actually NOT need a web connection for most of the programs - except the browser, email and IM programs of course... They will also be very generous when they approve new applications and just guard high security and great stability... Then will only selected partners get access to "deep areas" of the main Nova OS because of the same safety reasons... And finally will the programs be presented in a central "app shop" from a relative low cost, to completely free...
But there are naturally some problems - even if the innovative OS is close to magic and most of the software stuff below, easy can be fixed with extra third party programs or Palm's updates... And there are actually very few hardware problems... This is the smallest ultra advanced smartphone, but that does also mean that they could not fit any removable storage, so you can't expand the generous memory. - but it would anyhow be a nice option, even if it would make the Pre a tiny bit longer... There is no lens cover and that's rather ironic - because the slide out keyboard, could also work as a camera lens cover... And I don't like the rubber flap over the miniUSB connection, because a smart micro door (that may be of rubber and naturally open sideways) is both more easy to use and look better.
My "wish list" for software developers and especially Palm...
01) There is a lot of "elegant" waste of screen space and very BIG fonts, in almost every basic view and they should give an option... Because you need only 33% more space, for accurate finger navigation and NOT more than twice the space, for the same info... They should actually offer two alternative settings - that show two or three times as much info (at every view that now use huge fonts) and still be easy to navigate with your fingertips... Yes, the events have small text in the calender and many may love the new spacious design and huge fonts - but there should naturally be some alternative, for everyone that have a lot of info in the smartphone and don't want to scroll like crazy.... And it's especially very easy to miss vital info, if you can't see it directly - type in Tasks and Contacts... So I sincerely hope it soon will be possible to "tighten" up all the new empty space between text lines and at least select smaller fonts (naturally together with less space around the letters) in the settings... And the absolute best would be if you can select that separately for the tasks, contacts, email, calendar and messaging... And then choose between five sizes, with the current as 4 and "modern" or roman fonts... Because if some tightening NOT is possible, will the the bigger screen only be useful for web browsing and that would be very very sad... Yes, you can now only see HALF the info in Tasks (without scrolling or missing vital stuff) even if the screen is much bigger, than I can see directly in my "old" Palm Treo 680 and that vital missing option, would make Palm Pre practically useless for me!!
02) In the calendar, should you also be able to remove that "empty time holder" completely, to free even more space for real calender info!!
03) The included Task application seems to be worthless, because of three big usability limitations - you can't see if there is an "extra note page" connected to the task, it don't show the priority and you can now only select 3 priority levels (just as in Windows mobile and Symbian, it was 5 levels before) even if it have both alarm and due date functions (!) maybe for people who hate (??) to use the fine calender... The only reason for that, would be if these post ALSO was shown in the calender!
04) The "universal" search don't search in Emails, the Calendar, Tasks* or any documents and that is very strange - it should at least be a two step search, with a "Search deeper in Pre" option, before Pre offer you to search in Google... Or even get a finer possibility, to select where the Pre normally should search... *But you can search Task, if you are inside.
05) And I also want the possibility to change the boring / plain ugly "modern" light grey and baby blue colours of the OS to something I actually like.
06) Some part of the ultra smart "Synergy" integration give you also trouble, because if you include your Facebook account will everyone you "know" there (you can't just select a few) be saved as contacts and that may result in ton's of contacts, you don't want in your smartphone - but it will probably come some extra program that "filter" that later and the other new "Synergy" contacts functionality, work like magic.
07) Then does copy & paste not work in web pages or any type of messages you get, but that should be very easy to fix.
08) There is no multiple email management, so you have to delete or move each email separately and that should naturally be fixed... Even if you (maybe) can do that in Google email or outlook, instead?!
09) You could use Pre as a modem for a notebook, but Sprint did stop that...
10) There isn't any "scroll bar" that show where you are, not even as an option and it should be a slim transparent indicator, that also show how big the actual view is of the total page.
11) You can't change how many "message lines" you can see in the email preview.
12) Then might the ring signal be too quiet, but only according to 1 of 9 reviewers and another one say it's loud enough...
13) The phone work very fast, but there is a delay when you open new programs and no "hourglass" so you might sometimes wonder if something happen, the first times you open a heavy program... But I don't know if that really need a fix or just some getting use to?!
14) And then do I also want the magnificent "floating event" functionality (at least in a third party application) that I now have in DateBk6 so you can show vital events that should be done today, in the calender and get them automatically moved to next day, every new day.
15) The pretty "Memo" application is pointless (just as before) when you anyhow have Task and Calender... And it is not possible to sync, so what you really need is a good plain text editor - that is easy to back up and open from your notebook, rock solid, ultra fast, has smart search & replace and handle minimum 144 huge text documents, in |
for one full size sample picture - from a Chinese PC magazine - that clearly show that this masterpiece can take photos (at 100 ISO) of extraordinary quality...