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2003 HOLIDAY SHOPPING GUIDE PART 3 In Part 3 of our 2003 Holiday Shopping Guide we discuss some of the most popular cameras that have 5 megapixels and advanced features. These are generally more expensive cameras that fall into the price range of over $500, but usually under $750. In part 1 of this guide we explain why buyers should consider getting at least a 3 megapixel camera, and in part 2 we elaborated on why some may prefer getting a 4 or 5 megapixel camera, including the pros and cons of more megapixels. Those who are unsure if they need 5 megapixels and all the advanced bells and whistles these cameras offer should read Parts 1 and 2 before going on. We will assume that those of you who are looking for a camera in this category have decided that you want the benefits of a 5 megapixel camera or higher as well as advanced features and controls, even though the price will exceed $500 and in many cases will reach upwards of $750.
Initially, we should clarify that the cameras in this category are more then what some may call "Point and Shoot cameras". Those who are advanced in photography and/or who claim the title of 'Prosumer" take some offence when others refer to their fairly expensive and generally more complex cameras as "Point and Shoot" cameras, especially as opposed to the category of Digital SLR type cameras. While the cameras in this category are able to use Auto mode for easy point and shoot type picture taking when that is desired, just because they can do this and don't have Interchangeable lenses, does not make these cameras mere "Point and Shoot" digital cameras. So, on the one hand those that want family or friends who are not as into photography as you are to be able to just pick up the camera and take great shots, you mostly do not need to have any fears or concerns as most of these cameras can be operated by anyone, and yet on the other hand, for those that want to have all kinds of flexible controls over the cameras, you have that too. So with those matters now understood, let us move on to our suggestions for the 2003 Holiday Season.
1. Our first camera in this category is a camera we used for several months and just really found to be outstanding, and that is the Sony DSC-V1 digital camera. The Sony V1 is a 5 megapixel camera with a nice 4X optical zoom lens in a very compact and fairly lightweight body selling for around $599. It has a nice metallic look and provides great image result, especially for such a small camera which despite having advanced features is a camera that can easily fit into a purse or pants pocket. We would have to say that the V1 produces some of the sharpest looking image results you can obtain at a reasonable price and in this type of compact body style. The results appear to be due in large part from the use of an excellent Carl Zeiss lens, the Super HAD CCD, 14-Bit DXP A/D Conversion, and more sophisticated firmware routines. Another factor which impressed us right from the beginning upon use of the V1 at last year's PMA Sony press event was its super fast shutter lag speed and overall camera operations. You press the shutter and very quickly it focuses and take the shot! The Sony V1 uses Memory Stick and Memory Stick Pro memory cards, which enables the V1 to shoot Movies with Audio at 640 by 480 resolution and at 16 frames per second. The Sony V1 includes full manual exposure controls, a program shift mode, night-framing, 5 area multi-point auto focus, live histogram, one-push manual white balance, and has a hot shoe for use of Sony's new Flash unit for auto daylight fill flash and improved indoor shooting. We found the built-in flash to work very well on its own, with TTL metering and a focus assist light in darkness to obtain sharply focused and well metered indoor shots. Outdoor shots we took came out great with amazing detail and sharpness. This camera really takes advantage of the 5 megapixels and gives you the many benefits you are looking for in spending the extra money above the more point and shoot style cameras. The only slight factors to consider against the V1 are the fact it only has a smaller 1.5 inch LCD screen, but that is similar to many of the cameras in this category, and it uses a smaller rechargeable Sony InfoLithium battery, which lasted above average, but its still a result where we would strongly suggest you get a 2nd backup battery. Overall, the Sony V1 is an excellent value, it has many positive factors going for it including its smaller size and great image results, and it is a camera those who have more than $500 to spend this year should consider!
2. The next camera we would suggest you consider is the Nikon Coolpix 5400 digital camera selling for around $699. The Nikon 5400 is also a 5 megapixel camera with a 4X ( starting at a 28 mm wide angle) optical zoom with an excellent Nikkor high quality ED glass lens, and while not as small as the Sony V1, it is also not very big or heavy. It comes in a black body and has a nice look and solid fairly high quality feel to it. This is another camera we reviewed and used for almost 2 months, taking several thousand pictures, giving us a great appreciation for what Nikon has accomplished in this model. One feature which is distinct from the V1 is the ability of the small 1.5 inch LCD screen to flip out from the body and rotate 180 degrees for more flexible viewing angles. Once again, we have to point out that the small 1.5 inch LCD might not be for everyone, we would like to see them actually be increased up to 2.0 inches or 2.5 inches, however that can eat up battery power faster and make it harder to include the multi-viewing angel feature that is very useful at times. The Nikon 5400 also continues the Nikon tradition of offering excellent Macro capabilities with a focus ability down to 1/2 of an inch! Like the V1 the Nikon 5400 has full manual controls. It also features a burst mode allowing 7 shots to be taken at a time at a rate of 3 shots per second, it has a Movie Mode with Audio, it has a flip-up built-in flash, and 15 Programed Scene modes for use during more difficult shooting situations. Also like the V1, the Nikon 5400 uses a fairly small rechargeable Lithium Battery with slightly above-average results, but we would again suggest that most regular users of the camera buy a back-up. The Nikon 5400 uses Compact Flash memory cards for image storage. Overall the Nikon 5400 is just as fine a camera as any of the others in this Category and users will be very pleased with the picture quality in most situations. The 5400 produces very colorful and well saturated images, which almost were more vivid then the Sony V1 produces. It does not really fit in the pants as well as the V1, but its still very small and light weight, and very feature filled, making it another excellent choice for the advanced user.
3. Our next choice is the Canon G5 Digital Camera, another 5 megapixel camera with a 4X optical zoom and all the advanced features a $699 camera should have. Like the Nikon 5400 it comes in a nice looking durable black body, although it looks a bit bigger and has a slightly bulkier body. The G5 features a very fast f 2.0 lens which allows low light shooting, although this can account for slight increases in Chromatic Aberrations at the more wide open lens openings. The G5 does offer 12 EOS-based programmed shooting modes and once again has all the necessary full manual exposure controls and shooting modes, along with a flexible Program mode which allows for exposure compensation changes and a full Auto mode. The G5 includes the DIGIC imaging processor, a Canon made hardware which has greatly improved the shutter lag and overall camera operations speed and it allows more complex firmware image processing at faster speeds for better color, sharpness noise reduction, and contrast results. The G5 has an advance Movie mode with audio and can take up to 3 minutes of movies at a time which are stored on Compact Flash memory cards and unlike both of the above cameras it does have a RAW image mode. It also has advanced autofocus and flash abilities for very good overall results. While each of the three cameras produces very good to excellent image results, they do each have slightly different color results. All three cameras do have some control over saturation and sharpness, however we would have to say the Canon G5 produces some of the most realistic or accurate results, which some prefer, and others find a bit lacking in saturation or punch. Saturation is easily boosted in post processing software, so it is really of little concern to us that the 5400 produces more vivid colors straight out of the camera. Some Canon fans have commented that the G5 while a very fine camera, really offers little advantage over the previous 4 megapixel G3 camera with the extra price not justifying the extra megapixel. We somewhat disagree, the 5 megapixels and results from the G5 are very good to excellent, and given the choice we'd get the G5, the extra megapixel and pay the extra cost. The G3 is also an excellent value but we like the 5 megapixels for reasons stated in our earlier guides.
4. The next choice in this category is the fine Olympus C-5060 camera selling at around $699, which again offers 5 megapixels and a 4X optical zoom lens with a wide angle 27mm starting point and f 2.8 lens. The Olympus C-5060 also produces wonderful picture results making this a camera that should be highly considered. The C-5060 is not as small as the Sony V1 or Nikon 5400, but is more in the range of the Canon G5 as far as size goes, being just slightly bigger overall. Like the Nikon and Canon choices above the Olympus has a useful flip-out LCD screen, it also does have a hot-shoe for external flash units, a new Auto Focus assist light, and it uses a relatively new rechargeable Lithium Battery which actually lasted a bit longer then the other 3 choices above. The C-5060 comes with a wireless remote control which we really find useful especially for long exposures at night and fireworks shots. Included as a feature is a live Histogram. The Olympus cameras use a newer and third kind of Memory Storage cards called x-D Picture Cards, with are only slight concern that they seem to be slightly higher priced then other formats still and many card readers do not include x-D support, although there are accessory Compact Flash adaptors that will overcome this. Olympus has apparently considered this factor and has included in the C-5060 a dual memory slot and thus you can use not only x-D Picture cards but also Compact Flash memory cards! Good thing as the Olympus also can store pictures in a huge variety of sizes and qualities including the large RAW image mode (almost 8MB per image file). The Olympus has very advanced feature also including all the Manual exposure controls, white balance control and customisable menus for flexible control of the camera and image results. The Olympus C-5060 has some of the best or fine control over sharpness, contrast, saturation and white balance of all the camera selections so far. It also support many accessory lenses and an underwater casing. Like the others it has a movie mode and includes VGA sized movies. Its only down side is perhaps its slightly bigger size, but some prefer this as its easier to hold and keep steady, and it does produce very sharp images, which can increase slightly the appearance of noise levels in some shooting situations. We like very much its outdoor color results and its flexible white balance for getting great results. Its operations and shot to shot times are also very good and overall it is just as fine a choice as any of the others!
Well that's all for this category, we hope we helped you narrow down what you're looking for this year. We have two more categories to go, the High Zoom, larger bodied high megapixel cameras such as the Minolta A1, the Sony F717 and new F828, the Nikon 5700 and the Fuji 7000, as well as the Digital SLR cameras, so come back in a few days for more of our 2003 Holiday Guide! Keep in mind that most of the cameras, but not all, are available at Ritz Online, and your purchases from them do help support this site. Please buy online from our links, they offer great reliable service, over 1000 stores to exchange at should you need to go in and do so, they have no taxes, free shipping and a low price matching policy. We really think you will be happy going with Ritz Online this year! Go check them out at least using our links below!
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