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Ultracompact megazoom cameras compared

Zoom lenses sell cameras these days, so it's no surprise that manufacturers are doing everything they can to get longer lenses into increasingly smaller bodies.

A 3x or 5x zoom lens used to be the standard for ultracompact cameras -- those measuring 1 inch thick or slimmer -- but in 2012, you can easily find a skinny point-and-shoot with a 10x optical zoom.

The frontrunner here is the sub-$250 Sony Cyber-shot DSC-WX150 thanks to its excellent features, fast autofocus, and the quality of its pictures and video (though its color accuracy could be better). Most of the category consists of sub-$200 cameras, though, so there are several options if you're just looking for a simple pocket camera with a long lens.… Read more

Which Canon dSLR? (roundup)

Editors' note: This was originally published in May 2012.

Even once you've narrowed a choice down to a specific manufacturer, the decision as to which model to buy can still be complicated and overwhelming; in fact, I'd say it's probably harder to pick the right camera from a particular lineup than it is to decide which manufacturer's wares you like best. Here's my take on Canon's current dSLR offerings and when and whether I think it's worth the extra bucks to buy higher up the line.

On a general note, if your budget … Read more

Android's new ally against the iPhone: Ubuntu

Last year was a long time ago for Android.

That was when Google's mobile platform was stealing market share from all the other smartphone platforms -- winning even against the iPhone -- and beating a path toward market dominance.

But Android is now facing a renewed challenge from its archrival. Android's vulnerability against the iPhone can be summed up by looking at the two biggest wireless carriers in the U.S. -- AT&T and Verizon. At AT&T, the iPhone represented 78% of all smartphone sales in the first three months of 2012. … Read more

How DxO Labs tests hot cameras like Canon's latest SLR

BOULOGNE BILLANCOURT, France -- So you think you're a camera expert? Well, when was the last time you evaluated a camera by spending days analyzing hundreds of test photos?

That's what DxO Labs does, over and over, publishing results so far for 185 cameras on its DxOMark Web site. To see what lies behind those performance scores, CNET visited the company as it put one hotly anticipated camera through its paces: Canon's hot new video-capable SLR, the EOS 5D Mark III.

The results might not surprise close watchers of the camera business: Canon's score of 81 … Read more

Canon 5D Mark III underwhelms on sensor test

Canon's EOS 5D Mark III is a hot item in the camera world. It's the successor to the vaunted 5D Mark II, which ignited the video SLR revolution, but with better autofocus, shooting speed, and low-light performance.

Alas for Canon shooters, though, the 22-megapixel image sensor doesn't rate much better than the 21-megapixel one in the 5D Mark II that arrived more than three years earlier, according to tests by imaging technology DxO Labs.

DxO gave the 5D Mark III sensor a score of 81 on the DxOMark test of image sensor performance when shooting raw photos. … Read more

Canon hits 4K at NAB 2012

Canon's big news for this year's NAB show are the announcements of a $15,000 4K-capable version of the EOS-1D X, dubbed the EOS-1D C, and a prototype preview of the C500, a 4K- and 2K-capable new model in its Cinema EOS line. And while the prototype sounds quite interesting, I suspect the 1D C will trigger more irritation than jubilation for Canon video shooters.… Read more

Compact megazooms compared (roundup)

Compact megazooms, also known as travel zooms, are some of the most popular cameras on CNET. That's likely because they offer wide-angle lenses with long zooms, giving you a lot of shooting flexibility, but without the bulk of larger dSLR-style megazooms.

The front-runners here are the Panasonic ZS20 for its price and performance, the Canon SX260 HS for its photo quality, and the Sony HX30V for its balance of photo and video quality, performance, and features. Now's a good time to pick these up, too, as their 2013 updates should be arriving in the next few months.… Read more

Apple update supports Canon 5D Mark III raw files

Evidently the Canon 5D Mark III SLR must be a pretty hot item.

Because Apple just released an update to its Mac OS X camera support whose sole purpose is to let iPhoto, Aperture, and other photo applications view and edit the new camera's raw images.

Usually such Apple updates add support for a collection of new cameras, but time is of the essence now that the 5D Mark III is shipping. Many photographers who use this class of camera shoot raw images (data taken directly from the image sensor, not processed into JPEG by the camera) for the … Read more

1920s folding camera + Canon 5D = awesome

The other day I was in a museum dedicated to environmental conservation and it had one of those old black rotary dial phones from way back when, surrounded by dozens of junked cell phones. It was trying to make the point that before manufacturers inflicted planned obsolescence on us, they made goods that would last.

Filmmaker Jason Bognacki's recent experiments with vintage cameras make that point very effectively. In case you missed it, shutterbugs have been drooling over his hybrid camera, a masterful blending of analog and digital technologies.

Bognacki took a battered old Piccolette camera from the 1920s that he bought on eBay years ago. He decided to unite it with his Canon EOS 5D Mark II by having the Piccolette act as a lens for the Canon. … Read more

Canon 60Da tackles astrophotography after 7-year hiatus

The ceaseless succession of new Canon and Nikon SLRs has a certain predictability, but an unusual model came out of left field today: Canon's astrophotography-oriented EOS 60Da.

The 60Da is a close cousin to the Canon EOS 60D, a higher-end 18-megapixel model geared for enthusiasts. But the 60Da has one big difference: its infrared filter has been modified so it doesn't screen out so much "hydrogen-alpha" light, a deep-red 656.28-nanometer wavelength of light produced by excited hydrogen atoms.

By letting in about three times the amount of hydrogen-alpha red as a regular 60D, the $1,500 60Da can capture much better photos of energetic nebulae, Canon said. It's due to go on sale this month. … Read more