( 120 reviews )
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Posted: 08-12-2009
This camera allows you to brandish great control over photographs. I recommend it to the person interested in photography who can't afford a DSLR but also doesn't want a point-and-shoot that offers sleekness in exchange for quality.Straight to it(I will be referring to manual mode): There is a convenient light-meter, so you can easily adjust aperture and shutter speed according to this. You have control over ISOs. A downside, at least when it comes to ISOs, is that starting at 800 the amount of noise is unbearable. However, in terms of the pricing-level, I would expect this to be commonplace. In focusing there is macro and manual (and of course the standard normal focus). The macro is quite good, but what is better in certain situations is the manual focus, which gives you a horizontal bar graph with plotted distances, so that you can control it according to how far the lens is from your subject. Quite sweet. I often use the manual focus instead of the macro when I want "macro" photography. With a macro focus here YOU have to adjust to the camera, instead of the camera working for your needs. Cases as such are usually horrible. Another great feature is customized white balanced, where the camera uses white as a reference for the lighting scheme. However, this feature should be used in cases where you and your subject are in the same lighting (which is often not the case), however when the circumstance is auspicious, this setting is worthy (otherwise just use Automatic White Balance or another pre-set setting). As for the pre-set white balances, when I am indoors I like to try each of the 3 indoor lighting schemes while looking at the lcd with the shutter half down, so that by trial-and-error I can find which white balance is best. You also have exposure control, so that you can either have a complex medley of exposure (the one I use most, and the easiest) or one more mathematically-driven, but, I suppose, when used by a keen mind, births a persuasive photo. Buy this camera with this caveat in mind: it will tempt you into getting a DSLR. It gives you so much creative control that you will want a camera that gives you better image quality for all your good work. ;) DSLRs also have a wide variety of quality lenses. This camera has optional lenses, but I don't see them being worth the money. Image quality is first in my mind, but if you have the money why not, and of course lenses can lend to image quality but the effects won't be nearly as enhancing as with a DSLR. I have only once touched a DSLR, in B&H, and that was for a fleeting moment. But from watching plenty of videos, it seems that this camera has many of the same user settings as entry level DSLRs, such as the 450d from Canon. Of course the differences are within the workings of the camera body, and of that, very importantly, the image SENSOR, which is larger in DSLRs and translates to greater image quality.
