Modern digital cameras can provide a lot of fun<\/p>\n
By Zatni Arbi<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): Digital cameras have definitely come a long way
\nsince the day I played around with a Logitech Fotoman, which
\nlooked so much like a martabak (Indian pizza). Today's digital
\ncameras -- also called digicams -- have come close to
\nconventional cameras in terms of look and feel. Some of the high-
\nend digital cameras can almost match their film-based
\ncounterparts in terms of image quality, although their price is
\nsubstantially higher.<\/p>\n
Courtesy of Datascrip, Canon's main distributor in Indonesia,
\nI was able to play around with a PowerShot A50 digital camera,
\nwhich carries a price tag of around Rp 4.8 million.<\/p>\n
I did some homework before I went to pick up the review unit
\nfrom the company's headquarters in Kemayoran. I checked the
\nInternet for comments from people who own this camera, finding
\nthree such people. In general, they all liked the camera's
\nfeatures, but two of them complained about its battery life and
\none complained about the time it took to download the pictures to
\ntheir PC. My own experience showed that these problems were not
\nas bad as they sounded. I'll return to that later.<\/p>\n
But first, let's learn a little digicam lingo. These cameras
\nare categorized according to how many pixels they can capture in
\neach frame. A megapixel (MP) camera captures an image with
\n1,000,000 dots. The state of the art is two MP, but Epson is
\nalready touting a three MP camera. With its 1.3 MP CCD, the cute
\nPowerShot A50 belongs to the 1.3 MP category, which many believe
\ncurrently offers the best price for performance.<\/p>\n
Features<\/p>\n
As admitted by the three owners, the list of features found in
\nthe PowerShot A50 is impressive. To start with, it has a powered
\n2.5x zoom lens (the 35mm camera equivalent of 28mm to 70mm).
\nPressing two tiny buttons with the right thumb will adjust the
\noptical zoom level while the autofocus mechanism keeps the image
\nsharp. The lens is retracted and covered by a built-in cover when
\nnot in use or when you review stored images.<\/p>\n
At the back of the unit there is a bright, high-quality LCD
\nmonitor that we can use as a viewfinder or as a display screen
\nfor previewing captured images. Its refresh rate is high enough
\nthat we don't see any annoying blurs as we move from one object
\nto another.<\/p>\n
Above the LCD is the optical viewfinder, which follows the
\nzoom function faithfully. This allows us to take pictures as we
\ndo with a conventional camera. Three small buttons on the left of
\nthe viewfinder let us control the camera menu that appears on the
\nscreen. The flash is built-in, and there is also a red-eye
\nreduction lamp that will better adjust the subject's eye color to
\nthe bright flash.<\/p>\n
On the left side there is a digital terminal port for the data
\nserial that goes into the PC or the Mac for downloading. Above it
\nis the Video Terminal port that allows us to send the pictures
\ndirectly to a TV monitor. On the top side there is an LCD screen
\nthat shows the status of the camera, such as the flash setting,
\ntimer, macro mode indicator and the approximate number of
\npictures that we can still take.<\/p>\n
Picture data is stored in an eight MB compact flash (CF)
\nmemory card. This included card can hold up to 23 frames of
\npictures with the highest resolution (1280 x 960) in the highest
\nquality JPEG format. Choosing a smaller picture size -- 640 x 480
\npixels -- in normal quality JPEG means creating smaller files (65
\nKB each) and therefore you can store more than 100 frames in the
\n8 MB CF. Optional CF cards with capacities up to 45 MB are
\navailable. The camera is also capable of rapid-fire shots,
\nalthough it requires a couple of seconds to recycle.<\/p>\n
Turning on the camera, choosing the automatic or manual
\nsetting, playback and panorama mode is done by rotating a dial on
\nthe top. The shutter knob provides enough resistance so as to
\navoid accidental shots.<\/p>\n
For real fun<\/p>\n
This compact digicam is really fun to use. Using the automatic
\nmode, we can simply point and shoot. If we want to have more
\ncontrol, we can use the manual mode. We can turn on the white
\nbalance feature, which will offset the effects of ambient light
\ncoming from sources such as tungsten and fluorescent lamps. We
\ncan turn the flash off, set the shutter speed for night scenes
\nand adjust the exposure setting to compensate for more difficult
\nlighting conditions.<\/p>\n
The camera also can create a horizontal or vertical 360-degree
\npanoramic picture by stitching several frames together. A guide
\non the LCD screen will tell us where to point the camera for
\nsubsequent frames so that they can be combined to form a 360
\ndegree view of, let's say, the interior of a cathedral. If you
\nneed to create a large picture, the A50 can also help us combine
\nfour frames in the same manner.<\/p>\n
We can also run a slide show of all the pictures stored in the
\nflash memory, and they can be displayed either on the LCD or on a
\nTV monitor. To conserve battery power, Canon supplies a DC power
\ncoupler that we can insert into the battery compartment. The
\nother end of the cable goes into the adaptor. Recharging the
\nincluded Nickel-hydride battery takes only one hour. I didn't
\nreally test the life of the battery, because I was using it off
\nand on, but certainly it is not bad. Canon claims that with the
\nLCD off, a full charge will allow us to take 200 shots. With the
\nLCD on, the number is reduced to about 70 shots. A full charge
\nwill also allow us to preview the pictures for one hour.<\/p>\n
Downloading pictures onto a PC also is very simple once the
\nsoftware is installed. Contrary to the complaint I read on the
\nInternet, downloading is not a painfully slow process. It does
\ntake a couple of minutes to transfer the thumbnail and a couple
\nof more minutes to download the real JPEG files. But, hey, how
\nmuch time do you usually spend going to your neighborhood Fuji
\nImage Service or any other one-hour photo service to have your
\nfilm processed and your pictures printed?<\/p>\n
On the screen, the images look sharp and the color is great.
\nCanon included Ulead's PhotoImpact 2.0 with the camera just in
\ncase we want to do some touch-up experimentation. PhotoImpact
\nprovides dozens of ready-to-use filters and tools to manipulate
\npicture images.<\/p>\n
Needless to say, the real test of a digicam should involve
\nprinting. Unfortunately I ran out of the blue ink for my HP
\nDeskJet 1600C. In black and white, the printout was very sharp.
\nIncidentally, I have a HP DeskJet 970C Professional Series
\nwaiting for a test drive. I'll certainly report the results once
\nI've tested the printer with images from this camera.<\/p>\n
The PowerShot A50 is definitely not a cheap digicam, but I'm
\nalready hooked on it. In fact, I'm seriously considering buying
\none to complement my 35mm Olympus. Its compact size, rich feature
\nset, reasonable weight, the possibility of using a Li-Ion battery
\nand, more importantly, the positive reviews from those who have
\nbought it make it a safe bet.<\/p>",
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