Thursday 4th February 2010

Digital Cameras

Sony – DSC – HX1

€579 (online sterling price - £300 to £430)

Canon - Power Shot SX1

€559.00 (online sterling price £390 to £490)

Digital cameras could be very broadly put into two categories: the compact “point and click” variety, which are great for sticking in your bag or pocket, getting photos of parties and birthday cakes, and uploading to your Facebook page, and then there are Digital SLRs which are aimed at the more serious photographer, who tends to have a variety of lenses, flashes, tripods and exposure metres.

But there is a growing section in between. Cameras that give you a lot of the functions of the high end cameras, with the relative ease of use as the small snappers.

They are variously called Superzoom, “bridge” cameras – sub DSLR – or DSLR like, and we’re having a quick look at two of them…

The Sony DSC – HX1 and the Canon Power Shot SX1…

SLR or Single Lens Reflex cameras use a moving mirror system that allows the user see exactly what will be recorded on film or in a digital version, onto the camera sensor, as opposed to the point and click types, that would use different types of sensors, may not show the user the exact picture that will be taken, and usually controls all the settings automatically.

There is a growing range of cameras that bridge the gap between the two types and give you more flexibility, better camera technology, and even video recording.

These are both powerful digital cameras which used sensors that are more frequently found on SLRs, which can operate much faster than normal cameras, and can offer you the ability to capture bursts of shots very quickly.

The Sony DSC (Digital Still Camera) HX1, has a 9.1 megapixel sensor which is pretty good, against the Canon Power Shot SX1 which has a 10 megapixel sensor.

Both cameras can be operated in an automatic mode where they will do everything for you, or you can adjust for various settings (beach, party, night) as you can with most cameras, but they have the options to get really creative and adjust the exposure setting and duration etc.

What both cameras have, and this is one of the interesting traits, is they have a HD movie camera on them as well. The Sony has stereo sound recording, as does the Canon, and both can zoom in and out when recording – sometimes this simple function is not available on some cameras and the zoom is set when you start recording, which can be very annoying.

Another thing you will find on them are flip out screens on the back of both cameras.

The Canon has a 2.8 inch LCD screen that angles to the left and then can twist up, down and forward. The Sony has a 3 inch screen but only tilts upward or downward.

When it comes to focal length, both cameras have 20 times optical zoom, which is impressive, but the Canon’s zoom speed is much better than the Sony which is a bit slow compared to it.

The differences start with burst speed – which allow to shoot a large amount of shots in a very short time. This is measures in frames per second – the Canon get shoot 4 frames per second but the Sony can bag 10 frames in one second, which is very impressive and is better than a number of pro – digital SLRs.

The Sony also has a feature called “Sweep Panorama” where you can shoot a number of shots, either across horizontally or vertically up down and the camera can then edit them together for you to give you a wide or tall shot – say of a great wide scene.

The Canon has a feature called “Stitch Assist”, which is a little similar but not to the same extent.

However, the Canon can shoot photos in “RAW” mode, as opposed to a JPEG, the difference basically being that a JPEG is storing a fairly condensed image, ready for publishing, but which can only have a certain amount of editing done to it afterwards.

A RAW file is not strictly an image, more uncompressed data, (so a bigger file) but it can be edited much more using specialist software such as Photoshop, and will need post processing before printing.

Size and weight is a factor too. The Canon is a heavier camera and a slightly bigger model, but the slight extra weight along with a very good Image Stabilizer helps get you a very crisp shot. The Sony is a little smaller and can mean the buttons and click wheels can be a little cluttered if you have bigger hands!

The Canon can run on 4 AA batteries while the Sony uses a rechargeable 6.8v Lithium battery.

The Canon uses standard SD memory cards, while you have to use the Sony Memory Stick Duo or Pro Duo for the DSC.

Sony – DSC – HX1

€579 (online sterling price - £300 to £430)

Canon - Power Shot SX1

€559.00 (online sterling price £390 to £490)

http://www.sony.ie/product/dsc-h-series/dsc-hx1

http://www.canon.ie/For_Home/Product_Finder/Cameras/Digital_Camera/PowerShot/PowerShot_SX1_IS/index.asp