Itching to upgrade your old camera but not sure what to look for? Well, here's a summary of what we think will make or break a compact shooter this year.
It doesn't take a Nostradamus to figure out what manufacturers are packing in with their compact shooters this year. Some of these innovations (like ultra-wide-angle lenses) may be relatively new, but most are just improvements over previous versions (think Fujifilm's Face Detection 3.0).
You may think "I only want a camera that takes pictures without the fluff". But admit it -- some of these features do make our picture-taking process easier, and the learning curve for newbies isn't that steep anymore. Using the appropriate settings, almost anyone can produce great-looking and properly exposed shots. Welcome to the new era of digital photography, where technology assists to snap a picture.
Touch screen display
We believe it was Sony's Cyber-shot DSC-T200 (now succeeded by the T300) that made swiping the screen with our fingers cool. Panasonic has caught up and will be introducing its first touchscreen compact, the Lumix DMC-FX520.
Now we're just waiting for the rest of the major players (Canon, Nikon, Fujifilm and Samsung, are you listening?) to dish out their share of shooters that can keep our fingers happy. One request we have is to make the screen as smudge-resistant as possible.
Wider dynamic range
With conventional digital cameras, chances are that details in the highlights and shadow regions are either "blown out" or blotched. But the newcomers on the compact shooter scene look promising in solving this problem.
Fujifilm's claims 400 percent more dynamic range for its FinePix F100fd than other cameras. We can attest to that from our review of it. Other manufacturers are catching up as well because most of the cameras that we tested over the past few months showed up much more details in the picture than before.
Face Detection 3.0 / Smile Shutter
While most face detection features can now recognise only faces that are looking straight at the camera, Fujifilm improved on that and introduced Face Detection 3.0 with its FinePix F100fd.
This new algorithm can detect side profiles as well as faces that are upside-down in the frame. Sony's face detection technology is more family friendly -- it can differentiate between an adult and a child's face. What's more, with Smile Shutter activated, the camera will automatically snap a picture when it detects a smile from your subject.
Ultra-wide-angle lens
"Wider is better" -- that's what we believe at CNET.com.au. So when Samsung announced its NV24HD with a 24mm ultra-wide angle lens, it claimed the shooter would give twice as much view compared with a normal compact shooter that was 35mm at its widest.
Although we've recently seen an influx of 28mm point-and-shoots on the market, we knew the future of ultra-wide compacts is drawing near when Panasonic introduced its 25mm-wide Lumix DMC-FX36.
High-definition-quality movie recording
Panasonic and Samsung are leading the pack when it comes to HD-quality video recording on a compact camera. The Lumix DMC-FX36 and NV24HD are both capable of recording video clips at 720p.
This means the video resolution is 1,280 x 720 pixels, whereas conventional cameras can record at only 640 x 480 pixels maximum. While it is still not a common feature, Panasonic seems to be banking on the future of HD and is incorporating a 720p-video recording feature in its upcoming Lumix DMC-FX520. Just try to ignore Uncle Fred's nose hair when you view the clip in its full glory on a compatible HDTV.
Geotagging
Geotagging is making a slow but steady advancement into digital cameras, but what does the future hold for this technology and how can it help? If you travel a lot, geotagging is convenient in helping you identify the different locations where your photos were shot.
As you snap a picture, the geographic coordinates are captured via a GPS unit (external or in-built) and tagged to that shot. When you upload the images and information to the computer, they can be displayed and categorised according to locations.
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