New useful features cram latest digital cameras

New useful features cram latest digital cameras

Zatni Arbi, Contributor, zatni@cbn.net.id

Do you find that, sometimes, those user friendly digital cameras still are not that easy to use? Despite the great features that they are already packed with, there have been many occasions that you have to repeat taking the pictures a couple of times before the result, as displayed in the LCD monitor screen, is acceptably sharp.

Clearly, this is not in line with the words "point and shoot", which implies that everything should be as effortless as raising taxes.

There are a couple of reasons for the disappointment. You may forget that you have to first press the shutter button halfway to set the autofocus working.

In addition, when someone asks you to take his picture, his camera turns out to be much lighter than your own. You may end up getting blurry images.

Contrary to what many people believe, a lightweight camera is more difficult to hold steadily when you are aiming the lens and, especially, when you are pressing the shutter button.

Fortunately, many of these problems have been tackled with the implementation of new techniques. Last week, the Sanyo Division of Datascrip launched two new Xacti digital cameras and one handheld Xacti digital camcorder from the Japanese company.

Well, we may associate Sanyo with water pumps and refrigerators, but the fact is that they also make great multimedia devices such as the digital cameras and digital projectors.

The more expensive ultra-slim Xacti E6, which is a six megapixel (6 MP) digital camera, has at least three new features that I would really like to see incorporated in other cameras as well.

More Foolproof

The Xacti E6 has a very smart feature called Touch Sensor. If activated, the camera will start the focusing process the moment you touch its shutter button. There is no need anymore to press the button halfway and hold it there for a few moments to give the autofocus mechanism the chance to measure the distance between the lens and the subject.

Now you can press the button all the way down and you will still get a focused image.

This is certainly a very useful feature for true point-and- shoot operation. The feature can be turned off if you wish, and then you will have the two-step shutter release operation like most other digital cameras today.

Another interesting new feature on the E6 is the 3.0-inch LCD screen. It is probably the first to appear in a pocket camera (Samsung Pro815 has a 3.5-inch screen, but it is not a pocket camera).

The 3.0-inch covers almost the entire back panel of the E6, leaving only a small space on the right for the zoom control button, two tiny switches and the joystick for menu selection.

Granted, a larger LCD screen will consume more battery power. However, I can immediately appreciate some benefits of the larger screen. While the product brochure stresses the ability to show the pictures or video clips to others on the large screen, I like it more because it allows the use of bigger fonts and icons for the menu. Setting up and adjusting the camera is much easier now with the more readable text.

And, the larger screen also allows the introduction of another useful feature called Guidance Display. When activated, it will tell you what you need to do to ensure good results. For example, if you have not set the focus, the Guidance will read "Touch the shutter button to focus." If you shake the camera too much, the guidance will remind us to hold it steady.

Turning your hand to stone

In the last year or so, a growing number of digital cameras from Canon, Konika Minolta, Nikon, Panasonic and others have integrated an image stabilizer system, which used to be found only in high-end digital video cameras. The system can be very complex, but it helps those who do not have a tremor-free hand or simply do not have the time to set up the tripod for taking pictures.

Panasonic's Lumix, for example, incorporates the MEGA Optical Image Stabilizer (MEGA O.I.S.). At the heart of the system is a gyrosensor that senses any lateral and vertical motion and feeds a signal to a tiny computer, which in turn calculates the amount of compensation needed. Then a motor adjusts the position of the O.I.S. lens so that the image captured by the Charge Coupled Device (CCD) is corrected.

Different camera makers use different technologies. Konika Minolta, for example, repositions the CCD to offset the yaw (lateral motion) and pitch (vertical movement) caused by your shaky hand. Meanwhile, Canon has its own, but similar, technology for stabilizing image.

It was first incorporated in its Powershot S1 IS model (now you can guess what the IS stands for). Today, many of the credit card-sized Canon Ixus pocket cameras even have a built-in image stabilizer.

The image stabilizing system is needed each time you take a picture using a very slow shutter speed -- for example, 1/30 second. This setting may be necessary for taking a picture of the neon lights over Las Vegas, for example. The system is also important for taking a telephoto shot. A slight motion when using the optical zoom will blur the image significantly.

Today, virtually all image stabilizing -- or anti hand-shake -- systems rely on battery power. However, back in early 1980s, long before the digital camera came into being, Steve Hines, who was working at Kodak Research Lab, patented an image stability system that did not require electric power. I do not know if the system is in use in any of the digital camera today.

Brightening up the LCD

While the LCD screen on today's cameras is good for indoor picture taking, where the ambient light is not so strong, they may not be as useful under a bright sun.

If the display is washed out, it will be very difficult to compose the photo. To make it easier, some models, such as the Panasonic Lumix DMC series, allow us to increase the LCD's brightness by up to 40 percent by pressing a button. Of course, the extra backlit needs to be turned off when not needed in order to save battery power.

These new features can be good news and bad news at the same time. They are good news because they make digital cameras more foolproof. However, they are bad news because now you need to find a way to dump your less-than-one-year-old 5 MP camera and convince your wife that you need to buy one of these latest digital cameras.