PCMag reviews the Canon PowerShot A550. Here’s an excerpt, “The PowerShot A550, Canon’s new compact point-and-shoot camera, is a solid machine. It performs nimbly and produces pleasing picture quality. Still, there are a few areas where this shooter stumbles. The LCD is a little small and the price is a little high, but most users will be pleased anyway. … Overall, for an inexpensive digital camera, the Canon PowerShot A550 is a solid choice, although the Kodak EasyShare C875 edges it out with an inventive ’smart’ auto mode and speedier performance. For real power and control in a compact camera, reach for the Canon PowerShot A630. ”

Buy the Canon PowerShot A550

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.

Now Nikon has introduced it’s entry level D40 SLR camera many potential buyers are tempted to get one instead of a high end compact camera. At the same time, Canon is not the cheapest supplier anymore, so also on the manufacturer’s front a lot of things are moving.

Just now, Canon made their move: US prices for the Digital Rebel XTi will be dropped by $ 100, by means of a refund . For us, that’s very good news: even Canon fans will love Nikon’s move!

When these camera giant are preparing for the battle and start to equalize prices, we can concentrate on specifications, options, features… Which one tastes better?

The ultimate answer used to be: buy a camera that fits the lenses you already have. But now, that’s getting complicated. The Nikon D40, for instance, is unable to use autofocus on lenses that don’t have a motor themselves, so do you really want to use these nice old optics???

Starting from scratch with a first DSLR seems easier… with the present season ahead there is another argument: availability. The D40 is not yet available in stores, but the XTi is. You can’t go wrong with this wonderful piece of technology. Check it out here for a nice offer.

Some weeks after Canon released the Powershot G7 I still wonder what the best reasons would be to actually buy one. After all, some of the things that made the previous G series cameras great are missing: G’s were the perfect synthesis of high-end compacts with high resolution, top image quality, flip-out display and remote control with some DSLR gotchas like RAW support and a shoe for an external flash.

And some of these great specs have survived - but not all. Gone are the flip-out display, remote control and RAW support. Is this still the high-end cam you would want, or is the Powershot S3 IS a better option? Or even an entry level DSLR for about the same price?

I don’t know… and was surprised to hear that two of my friends decided to buy one. Suddenly I remembered that cameraland is big and has so many different inhabitants…
And, let’s face it, after all it comes down to the resulting image quality. And the Powershot G7 yields absolute quality.
Read more about this technical wonder at DCresource.