Nikon P300 Hands-On Preview

After years of relative stagnation, Nikon's P-series is back. The Canon PowerShot-inspired Coolpix P7000, released late last year, now has a little brother - the P300. Both in terms of specification and styling, the P7000 was designed to rival Canon's Powershot G-series, but the P300 is pitched a little lower.

Although at first glance it looks a lot like the Canon Powershot S95 and Olympus XZ-1, the P300 is a significantly different camera in a couple of important ways. It offers higher resolution, at 12MP rather than the 10MP common in that class. It also offers Full HD video (1080p as opposed to 720p), but its true colors are betrayed by a lower price-point, a smaller sensor (1/2.3" as opposed to 1/1.6" or 1/1.7"), and the inability to record RAW files. Whether or not you care about the smaller sensor and lack of RAW depends on your priorities as a photographer, but we suspect that a lot of enthusiast photographers will be disappointed that Nikon hasn't taken the opportunity with the P300 to create a true S95/LX5 competitor.

And so, despite obviously being designed to appeal to the same audience as the Panasonic LX5 and Canon S95, the Coolpix P300 is actually a lot closer in specification terms to a camera like the Canon SD 4000 IS/IXUS 300 HS. Like the SD 4000 IS, the P300 offers excellent build quality and manual control in a genuinely compact body, for less cash than the larger sensor, RAW-enabled Powershot S95, or its 'big brother' the Coolpix P7000. The P300's lens is optically stabilized, covers a useful 24-100mm (equivalent) range, and is impressively fast at wideangle, if unspectacular at the long end (f/1.8-4.9). The rear 3in LCD screen is bright and contrasty with 921k dots - the same specifications as the screens in Nikon's mid-range and top-end DSLRs.

The market for high-end compact cameras with a small form factor is booming at the moment, which is evidenced in the rash of new releases in the past few months. We're certain that, purely because of its styling, a lot of consumers will regard it as a cut-price alternative to cameras like the Canon Powershot S95 and Panasonic Lumix LX5. It certainly offers comparable build quality and manual control but its sensor is 35% smaller and that's arguably the most important determinant of image quality, so we'd expect its performance to be more in line with regular compacts. Read our hands-on preview for our impressions of how it works, and how it compares to its peers in terms of usability and specification.

Panasonic Lumix DMC-GF2 Review

Panasonic unveiled its first compact-body 'rangefinder-like' Micro Four Thirds camera in September 2009, in the shape of the DMC-GF1. This quickly gained a following as arguably the best 'enthusiast' camera of its type, with its solid feature set, fast reactions and body bristling with external controls. But since then the market has moved on and new contenders have appeared on the scene, with Sony's NEX cameras in particular making a splash due to their impressive miniaturization and excellent image quality. Under this new-found pressure of competition, the GF has slimmed-down and emerged with a new, sleeker look.

The DMC-GF2 is essentially a smaller, externally-simpler version of the GF1 that's acquired many of the feature upgrades we first saw on the G2 (most notably the touch-sensitive screen) plus Full HD video. Its body is smaller in every dimension than its predecessor's, making it very nearly as petite as the Sony NEX-5. In the process, though, it's shed a significant number of those external controls that until now have been the hallmark of the G series - most obviously the exposure mode dial, but also the drive-mode lever that sat beneath it, along with several of the buttons on the back. This places rather greater reliance on the touchscreen for quick operation compared to the G2, and Panasonic has redesigned the interface (and the Quick Menu in particular) to facilitate this.

These changes all signal a clear repositioning of the GF series in the market. Whereas the GF1 was unashamedly a camera for enthusiast photographers, the GF2 is now aimed much more at compact camera owners looking for an upgrade. According to Panasonic the design emphasis has been on offering creative controls as opposed to just providing a simple, unintimidating camera which happens to contain a larger sensor.

Despite this, there's still a smattering of clear updates and improvements over the previous model, and while they're generally more evolutionary than revolutionary, this mainly reflects the maturity of the GF1 design. Most notably, the GF2 gains Full HD movie recording capability (1080i at 60fps from 30p capture) that is supported by a stereo microphone on the top plate. In spec terms, at least, this makes for the most capable interchangeable lens camera movie capability aside from the GH2 (which offers 1080i at 60fps from 60p capture). On the photographic side the GF2 inherits the G2's ability to shoot at 2.6 fps while maintaining live view, along with its ISO 6400 maximum sensitivity, improved Auto ISO program and a dedicated iAuto button on the top plate. Meanwhile 3D fans will undoubtedly be delighted by its support for the H-FT012 lens.

Much of the key spec, though, remains unchanged, including the stalwart (i.e. ageing) 12Mp Four Thirds sensor and the 460k dot 3" 3:2 aspect ratio LCD. The hot shoe and associated EVF port is still present and correct, alongside the little pop-up flash, and thankfully Panasonic hasn't been tempted to discard the clickable thumbwheel that operates the primary exposure controls. However the pared-down body design inevitably means the camera is powered by a new, slightly smaller battery.

Canon Rebel T3i / EOS 600D Review

Ever since Canon introduced its original 'Digital Rebel' back in August 2003 - famously the first 'affordable' digital SLR - the company has continually developed and refined its entry-level line with ever-more-frequent releases, adding in more and more features in the process. So true to form, almost precisely a year to the day after the advent of the EOS Rebel T2i / 550D Canon launched its next model, predictably named the EOS Rebel T3i / 600D. As usual the 550D remains in Canon's range at a lower price point, with the EOS 1100D slotting in beneath it to round off the company's offerings to entry-level SLR users.

The new kid on the block can most succinctly be described as a 550D with an articulated screen, that also incorporates many of the beginner-friendly features we first saw on the more enthusiast-orientated EOS 60D. Perhaps most notable of these is 'Basic+', a simple, results-orientated approach to image adjustments in the scene-based exposure modes, that allows the user to change the look of their images and control background blur without needing to know anything technical about how this all works. The 600D also gains multi-aspect ratio shooting (in live view) plus the 60D's 'Creative Filters', a range of effects than can be applied to images after shooting, including toy camera, fisheye and fake-miniature looks. Additionally it can now wirelessly control off-camera flashes, including the Speedlite 320EX and 270EX II announced alongside it.

The fully-automatic 'green square' exposure mode has also been updated to 'Scene Intelligent Auto', with a new 'A+' icon on the mode dial to match. According to Canon, this mode (as its name might suggest) now analyses the scene in front of the camera and sets its exposure and image-processing parameters accordingly, and even tweaks the colour output to match. Continuing the 'beginner-friendly' theme, the camera now also incorporates a 'Feature Guide', that displays short explanations of what each function does on the screen to help beginners learn how things work.

Nikon D5100 announced and previewed

Today, Nikon announced the new 16.2-megapixel Nikon D5100 Digital SLR designed for those ready to artistically express themselves and need a versatile camera that can keep pace creatively. The Nikon D5100 D-SLR houses a host of new and innovative features aimed at giving photographers the tools to shatter creative constraints and tell stories with amazing image quality and stunning HD movies.

The Nikon D5100 includes features designed to enhance the shooting experience, including an impressive new 3-inch, super sharp 921,000-dot Vari-angle LCD screen and full HD (1080p) movie recording with full-time autofocus. The 16.2-megapixel D5100 is also the first Nikon D-SLR to provide in-camera effects that can be applied to both photos and movies to deliver even more creative expression.

“Now more than ever, consumers want to pack only one device with them when travelling on excursions both far away and close to home,” said Lisa Osorio, general manager of marketing at Nikon Inc. “By providing consumers with a simple path to creative freedom for both stills and movies, the Nikon D5100 is designed to become an essential camera for capturing all of life’s occasions.”

Ready for the Adventure of Life

The D5100 allows photographers of all levels to confidently execute new and creative ways to tell stories with amazing color and clarity. Whether shooting high over crowds or down low to a toddler’s point of view, the swing out style Vari-angle LCD screen makes it easy to compose and share great images. Displaying even the most subtle details with clarity, the super sharp LCD has a 1000:1 contrast ratio and 921,000-dot resolution, with the ability to rotate 180 degrees horizontally and vertically.