A lot is written lately about compact cameras with 10 megapixels: simply too many elements on such a small sensor, causing noise and blurry images.
And indeed: most 10 MP compact cameras do not yield better pictures than 6 or 7 MP cams. When part of an image is cut (”cropped”) out of the original, details don’t look very natural.

The abundance of noise is sometimes compressed in such an agressive way that details get lost… So: forget about 10 MP cameras???

No: in tests, there is a remarkable exception: the Canon Powershot A640 as currently delivered to stores. This A-type camera is powered by standard AA batteries, has a 4x optical zoom, a big 2.5″ flip-out display and 10 usable megapixels.
As a real A-type, it can be used fully automatic, as well as completely on manual control offering all artistic freedom one can wish.

How did Canon do this: offer so many features in this quality with even ISO 800 pictures looking good? That’s their secret…
With 10 MP, the biggest poster-sized images can be printed, so this camera can be regarded more future-proof than most others.

Read more about this technical wonder here.

That’s still a bit difficult… Many phones have pretty bad cameras on board, just adequate for sending simple, small images to others. We digicam lovers like more pixels, less color fringing, exposure control… and that’s offered by the better phones for some time!

The pictures above show the city of Gouda in Holland at daytime (very easy to take; just select the correct white balance) and when evening is falling. The latter situation is still very difficult for the latest phones - and much more of a challenge!

However… things are still getting better and it’s encouraging to see manufacturers working hard on improvement.
Some time ago, I wrote about the Nokia N93; now a pretty good review about the Sony Ericsson K800i has appeared on digicamreview.
Bottom line is that this model is some improvement on the W800i (used for taking the pictures above) - still not ideal, but getting better!

So: never forget to take your phonecam with you, but for now you better accompany it with a “real” digicam if you like better and bigger pictures!

Last week, my mother (75 years old) told me she was considering a new camera: a nice digital one instead of her old film-based cam. As she liked her old Nikon a lot, she wondered what model to buy.
My first reaction was: “no, stay with film - it’s easy and you have no computer”.

However, it’s very easy nowadays to have pictures printed. So that’s no stopper.
Another thing is batteries: digicams drain batteries so much faster… And, last but not least: these things are so complex!

Stop: none of these issues exist with the wonderful Nikon Coolpix L6: it looks too simple for experienced users, but it’s in fact a very, very clever camera for starters:

• very easy to use
• a huge display
• very long battery life

And, it’s also relatively cheap, for instance here.

Read more about it at Nikon USA.

Some time ago, the megapixel race started again, with suppliers rushing out pixels by the Millions.
Hoping, of course, to have us rushing out for the shop and buy such a nice topmodel.

At the same time, it’s funny to hear specialists warn for too many pixels… what’s going on?
Camera manufacturers use so called CCD sensors, like the Sharp 6 MP chip shown in the picture. Nowadays, you can buy them with no less then ten million (mega) pixels on a small surface. How much is that… check out these resolutions:

• most pictures on this blog: 0.15 megapixel
• your computer screen: 0.8 - 1.3
• required for a 4″ x 6″ print: 2 - 3
• for a big 16″ x 24″ print: 6

However, there are times I’m very, very lucky with every megapixel: especially when I can’t get close enough to the subject. On my computer, I simply cut the part I like out of the image.

So if you need to crop out images regularly, consider a large MP number. If you don’t, spend the money on a nicer, smaller, easier model. Or a big zoom, so you don’t have to crop your images so often!