The Canon PowerShot A650 IS is based around a 6x optical zoom lens -- the 35mm equivalent of a 35 to 210mm zoom, an excellent range for all-purpose photography. It also includes a high resolution 12-megapixel sensor, more than enough for tack-sharp 13x19-inch prints. Despite its high resolution, the Canon A650 IS offers an ISO range that's been extended at the top end for an equivalent of ISO 80 to 1,600 (with the ability to extend this to ISO 3,200 in one of the Scene modes, albeit at a lower resolution).

The Canon A650 IS sports an articulating 2.5" rear-panel LCD and a real-image optical viewfinder. In addition to fully automatic shooting, it features aperture-priority and shutter-priority exposure modes and even fully manual shooting, welcome options for more sophisticated users. There's also a wide range of 14 scene modes, including an Underwater scene mode that adjusts color balance and exposure for use with an optional underwater housing. The Canon PowerShot A650 also offers a range of metering modes, including evaluative, center-weighted, spot, and face detection-linked metering. read more »

PENTAX just announced the PENTAX Optio V20 compact digital camera with a 5X zoom lens, 8.0 megapixels, and a 3.0 inch LCD monitor. The camera has three features to help consumers optimize portrait photographs – Face Recognition, Smile Capture and Blink Detection.

• Face Recognition function automatically detects and focuses on faces, then sets the optimum exposure.
  
• Smile Capture detects the key facial expression of happy people and releases the shutter automatically.
  
• Blink Detection reports to the user whether any subjects closed their eyes in an image, so that the shot may be recaptured if necessary.
  

Additional features include Auto-tracking AF for continuously focusing on a moving subject, 52MB of built-in memory, and an Auto-Macro mode that allows close-up photography as near as 4 inches (10 cm) without changing the normal focusing mode. read more »

With so many different options, shopping for a digital camera can be a hassle. The best approach is to find one that suits your needs. YouTube has quickly become a media for the common person and if you are one of the many who enjoy uploading and sharing videos from your digital camera, Casio has just the product for you. The EXILIM Zoom EX- Z9 is the newest digital camera from Casio America Inc. This model features 23 camera modes, one of which is the YouTube Capture Mode that allows you to upload your videos directly onto YouTube without uploading onto your hard drive. read more »

New LUMIX TZ5 and TZ4 Offer 10x Optical Zoom, 28mm Wide-Angle Lenses and Advanced Intelligent Auto Mode Technologies for Increased Ease-of-Use

Panasonic is serious about digital photography. A friend of mine recently went camera shopping and took home a Panasonic point and shoot digital camera and two other similar digital cameras (from two other very well-known brands). After shooting with all three over a weekend, he purchased the Panasonic and has been more than pleased with his decision. Earlier this month, at PMA (the annual photo trade show) the company introduced two additions to its award-winning TZ-family of LUMIX digital cameras, the DMC-TZ5 and DMC-TZ4 – both packing a 28mm wide-angle, 10X optical zoom Leica lens in a compact design. By combining a 28mm wide-angle lens, which lets you capture a wider-framed shot as opposed to most other compact digital cameras, using the TZ-Series 10x optical zoom –you can take expanded shots, both wide and far. Adding to these feature-rich digital cameras, Panasonic also expanded its Intelligent Auto technologies with new Intelligent Exposure and Digital Red-eye Correction. read more »