Point and Shoot

Sony HX80: For those desperate to get a tiny superzoom

Sony Cyber-shot DSC-HX80 Digital CameraIf you really need a 30x zoom (roughly 24mm-720mm in full-frame equivalent terms) that will fit in your shirt pocket, the might fit the bill. It has the usual nicely-speced Sony electronics, backing up its relatively-small 18MP 1/2.3-inch sensor. Unfortunately, it doesn’t support Adobe RGB, and it doesn’t support RAW, so it’s not likely to be the right solution for you. If you don’t need the 30x zoom, you’re also better off getting a similar-sized model that does have those features, like the  (for a similar price). You can pre-order the now from B&H for $350, and it is expected to ship in mid-April.

Canon G5 X field-tested: Is it the best point and shoot ever?

Up until now, the choice for best point and shoot was tricky – none of the three leading cameras had everything. The got top marks for image quality and has a good zoom range, but no viewfinder. The sort-of-has a viewfinder (it is a small pop-up), but has a limited zoom range and is a little lower-scoring on image quality. The somewhat older is also a worthy competitor, but its larger size isn’t justified by image quality or features. Canon has finally broken the logjam with its new . This new model adds an excellent Electronic ViewFinder (EVF) and a hot shoe for an add-on flash. There are also some other, smaller, updates to video recording formats and other features, but the EVF and hot shoe are clearly the headline here.

DxO ONE production review with sample, RAW, and SuperRAW images

DxO ONE Digital CameraAs regular readers know, I’ve been having a lot of fun shooting with a alongside my more-traditional DSLR and compact cameras over the last few months. Until now, the software and firmware have been pre-release versions, so I haven’t been able to take you through them in as much detail as I would have liked, or post sample RAW and SuperRAW images. Now that the ONE is starting to ship that’s all changed, so here’s a more thorough look at the camera and its companion software. More importantly, here are some of the first real RAW and SuperRAW images that are available for you to evaluate on your own. #dxoone

Images from Johannesburg with the DxO ONE

The Melrose Arch mall and environs in Johannesburg provided some good locations to capture images for the new DxO ONE. To make sure the camera was doing as much of the work as possible, I left it on Auto mode for all but a couple of the shots. Here’s a gallery of some of my favorites (NOTE: This is a pre-production camera, so final image quality will be different when the unit ships to customers) – Images are all copyrighted, so ask for permission before using them)…

Canon G7 X field test: Finally, a worthy competitor to the Sony RX100 III

Canon PowerShot G7 X Digital CameraSony brought the premium compact camera segment back to life with its 1-inch sensor RX100, but its rivals haven't left it have free run of the market. Panasonic's Lumix LX100 has become a worthy competitor, although its larger size and greater weight make it a less attractive alternative than Sony's latest version, the RX100 III. Now Canon has come out with a model that combines the popular interface from its "S-series" point and shoots with a few more manual controls and a 1-inch, 20MP sensor, to create the Canon G7 X. It has the best overall image quality ratings of any camera in its class, so we got one to put through its paces…