Photokina – Final Day (Day 4)
Impressions from the Photokina – Final Day:
- Me in the Matrix, Part II.
-
The Samsung WB2000 has beaten out the other contenders for the title of best ultra-compact camera. 24-120mm Zoom, 10MP, F2.4 aperature wide (only F5.8 tele though), Full HD, 10 FPS in full resolution, 3 ” 920,000* pixel amoled screen, ultracompact (100 x 59 x 22 mm) size, aperature, shutter speed and manual mode, Dual IS and RAW, a very nice package. There are a few funny gimmicks, too, some less useful, like 1000 FPS in 138×78 resolution (haha!), Action Panorama mode (working only hm-hm when I tried it), Strichzeichnungsfilter, some much more interesting like taking full-resolution picture while recording video and intervall shooting. You can select an AF spot and manually focus, too. The current street price here is 275€, so I can see myself getting one come Christmas.
- Other contenders were:
-
Canon S95:
+ 1/1.7” sensor
+ F 2.0 wide
+ nice manual focus
– only 28-105mm
– F 4.9 tele
– only 720p Video
– fickle control ring -
Panasonic LX5:
+ 1/1.63” sensor
+ F 2.0-3.3
– only 24-90mm
– only 720p Video
– size 110 x 65 x 25 mm
– price - Samsung Ex-1:
+ 1/1.7” sensor
+ F1.8-2.4
+ Swivel screen
+ Amoled screen
– only 640×480 Video
– size 114 x 63 x 29 mm
– price -
Sony WX5:
+ 24-120mm
+ F2.4 wide
Full HD
+ lot of gimmicks
– no RAW
– 1/2.3” sensor - Casio EX-FH100:
+ 24-240mm
+ 30 FPS
– 1/2.3” sensor size
– only 720p
– F3.2-5.7
– 230,400 dots LCD
-
- Other contenders were:
- The battle for best photo backpack with sling function was a very tight one, but eventually, the Tamrac Evolution 8 beat out the Kata 3N1-33 by an inch. The Tamrac is a little heavier, but also cheaper (street price). In the end, the Tamrac just seems better crafted.
-
And as a final result from the races, the 70-200mm contest goes into overtime. Is the HSM of the Sigma worth the extra 100€? For do I go with the 5 year warranty of the Tamron? Otherwise, they seem to close to call.
- I took part in the Sanyo Gran Prix, a two-round Carrera race. It’s the first time I played Carrera and after finishing second in the first round to qualify, I won the whole thing in thanks to my competitor’s inability to stay on the course. Slow and steady wins the race (although I had a round unter 9 seconds, which is not bad). And hey, I won a mug!
- Lens-Babies sure are fun.
- I looked through the viewfinder of a Leica S2. It’s not a viewfinder, it’s a window. Only the Sony A900 comes close to that.
- The aforementioned S2 was used to demonstrate a HDRI automatization program developed by the Cologne Technical College that – instead of creating a 32-bit file – creates a RAW file that can the open in a RAW converter and create very natural looking HDR images. Great stuff!
- Looking for a single-SLR-bag, it’s again Tamrac vs. Kata, Velocity 6x vs. LighTri-312 DL B.
- There are several ways manual focus is implemented, but hardly anyone gets it right. The focus magnifier has to go really far so that you can actually see small details. Then show the zoomed in area in an overlay (The Sony A55 does it just right).
- I am now the proud owner of a Green Pod and a Lumiquest Promax.
* According to the Samsung website. DPReview lists only 614,000 LCD dots, which is still pretty good for this class.