Prototype G 04/1

THE JOURNAL TIMES SUNDAY, MARCH 3, CENTS

Prototype G 04/2

Diminuitive digicams deliver
If youre constantly on the move and like to take your camera with you, try out one of these pocket-size digicams. Weighing less than 9 ounces each, theyre so light youll barely notice youre carrying one. And thanks to feature sets that run the photographic gamut, you wont be left wondering if youre sacrificing function for form. Whats more, all scored such high marks in usability and design, youll want to grab one of these tiny cameras and start taking shots right away. Before you do, read the reviews to make sure you find the best one to fit
Sony Cyber Shot DSC-P5 Price: $250
onys 3.2-megapixel Cyber Shot DSC-P5 packs a wallop into a stylish, ultracompact body. Its bound to garner compliments for both its good looks and its image quality, though more advanced photographers may find its picturetaking abilities limited by the absence of aperture and shutter controls. At about only eight ounces with the battery and Memory Stick media installed, the sleek, brushed-aluminum DSC-P5 lets you shoot in style without weighing you down. Overall, this is a camera thats simple to use, with a logical control-button layout. It also offers Sonys intuitive menu system, allowing you to navigate without scrolling through endless screens.The camera also serves up a few advanced-shooting controls, such as spot metering, manual white balance, and exposure compensation. Unfortunately, the DSC-P5 falls short on two basic functions: shooting speed and image review. The shot-to-shot time is about two to three seconds, and in playback mode, you have to wait about four seconds for a picture to go from fuzzy to sharp. Once the picture clears up, though, the impressive 5X-zoom function can enlarge any section of the image so that you can check out the details. And speaking of details, Sonys long-lasting, fast-charging InfoLithium battery gives a continuous minutes-remaining readout at the top of the LCD screen no guesswork required. In our test shots, the exposure was usually right on the nose. The DSC-P5 also captured well-balanced, nicely saturated colors. We saw a good dynamic range in scenes that had both deep shadows and bright highlights, though we needed to use the cameras exposure-compensation feature at times to achieve optimal results. If youre looking for a capable, hasslefree point-and-shoot camera that you can take on the road and on the town, the DSCP5 represents a good value.
Pentax Optio 430 Price: $519
ne of the smallest 4-megapixel cameras on the market, the Pentax Optio 430 combines simplicity, good image quality, and lots of useful camera controls. At a competitive price, it offers easy operation to digital novices while providing more advanced shooters with lots of interesting features. With its ultracompact steel body and retractable 3X zoom lens, the Optio 430 will appeal to fans of 21st-century pop-culture designs. Although its construction gives the camera a solid feel, it weighs in at a mere 8.5 ounces with the battery and included 16MB CompactFlash card installed. Pentax has supplemented the Optio 430s good selection of popular camera controls with some less common capabilities and were not just talking about the alarm clock and the world time feature. A touch of the Display button overlays a dynamic histogram at the center of the viewfinder image. This useful tool provides a graphic display of the brightness levels in the image to help you get the right exposure. Among the more typicalbut equally usefulfeatures are a quickly accessible Continuous Shooting mode and selectable auto-focus areas. With the Movie mode, you can shoot 30 seconds of silent video. The Optio 430 performed pretty well for a little guy, with a negligible shutter lag and a relatively quick shot-to-shot time of about five seconds. This little Pentax produces images that compare favorably to those produced by some of the traditional 4-megapixel models. Outdoors, colors are pleasing and true; indoors, low-light shots have minimal noise. All in all, the Pentax Optio 430 is a potent little camera that offers many possibilities in a pocket-sized package. Its well-planned design and simple menu structure will appeal to all levels of users and allow them to create high-quality images at a reasonable price.

Olympus Camedia D-40 Zoom Price: $799
f youre looking for an ultracompact, take-anywhere digital camera but you dont want to give up high-end image quality or features, the 4-megapixel Olympus Camedia D-40 Zoom is made for you. It takes very good pictures and boasts nearly every feature an advanced amateur might want, all in a sleek body thats about a third smaller than most of its competitors. Finished in brushed silver and dark gray, the D-40 looks good if somewhat conventional. Its lightweight enough (8.4 ounces with battery and media installed) to schlepp around painlessly all day, particularly if you purchase the protective carrying case that attaches to your belt (not included). With the cameras clamshell design, you simply slide the lens cover open to turn it on, and its 1.5-inch LCD delivers a sharp, smooth image. The D-40 Zooms controls are reasonably well placed and easy to use, but the camera has fewer buttons and dials than youll find on most high-end models. That keeps its exterior simple and uncluttered, but it also means that you must use a multilevel menu system to access some important functions, such as resolution, white balance, and ISO settings. Fortunately, that menu system is logical and consistent, so its easy to learn. And you can customize it to make the settings you use frequently more accessible. We were pleased with the D-40s frugal power consumption; we got more than 100 pictures out of a CR-V3 lithium battery pack with extensive flash and LCD use. The camera takes a range of AA batteries as well, which is a good capability to have on the road. Happily, the D-40s pictures are as good as its design and feature set. The vast majority of our photos were well exposed and showed very good detail, with accurate and well-saturated colors, as well as natural skin tones both with and without the flash. If youre in the market for a very capable camera in a bantam-weight package, the D40 should be on your shortlist.
The Journal Times Sunday, March 3, 2002 Page 5