The deluge of Smartphones has severely crippled the prospects of ultra compact point-andshoot cameras, with the phone cameras receiving a boost with better sensors and large optical zoom lenses. To survive in this competitive environment, ultra compacts need to re-invent and evolve, and we saw the first spark of brilliance when Panasonic announced the LUMIX DMC-XS1, which has a … [Read more...]

Panasonic refreshes its G and GF series of cameras every year. In continuation of this trend, Panasonic launched the Lumix G6, along with the Lumix GF6 in the overseas market on 13th May 2013. The G6 has not yet been launched in the Indian market. It appears to be a scaled down version of the top-of-the-line GH3. The camera is available in black, silver and white. Design and … [Read more...]

Designing a professional compact camera is a complex process, as professionals demand the ultimate in quality. What makes a pro compact more complex is the fact that the manufacturer has to cater to this uncompromising demand with a fixed lens camera. So the lens has to satisfy a wider range of properties than a single- purpose lens. Design and Build Quality The PowerShot … [Read more...]

The last 12 months have not been very kind to the digital compact camera market. Sales have slumped particularly at the lower end and companies like Sony and Olympus have suffered significant reductions of around 30% in volume. A lot of the slump is attributed to the rise in Smartphones. It is no longer enough for a compact camera to just produce reasonable results; to stand … [Read more...]

The Nikon D7100 was announced on 20th February 2013. This is the fifth Nikon D-SLR (and the third in the DX format) to sport a 24 megapixel sensor. It appears to me that Nikon is trying to standardise 24 MP as a ‘base’ for their future models. Here is the line-up of their 24MP models: D3X (FX), D600 (FX), D3200 (DX), D5200 (DX) and D7100 (DX). Nikon claim the D7100 as their … [Read more...]