Expert’s Rating

Pros

Cons

Our Verdict

The latest trend in digital photography is radical - high - resolution furbish up - lens cameras . The digital - photographic camera manufacturer are constantly endeavor to outdo one another , in much the same agency that CPU manufacturers compete — but in this case , the raceway is measure in megapixels alternatively of megahertz .

We found that this increase resolution may not always benefit the masses who buy these cameras . The four photographic camera we await at — the Canon PowerShot Pro1 , the Konica Minolta Dimage A2 , the Nikon Coolpix 8700 , and the Olympus C-8080 astray Zoom — each have an 8 - megapixel CCD , which is far more resolution than the typical consumer requires . ( For a reexamination of another 8 - megapixel camera , the Sony Cyber - shot DSC - F828 , see the May 2004 effect . ) They ’re also price the same as or very close to the incoming - floor digital SLRs , the Canon Digital Rebel (; February 2004 ) and the Nikon D70 , which offer better carrying out and photo timber . But these 8 - megapixel cameras give you scores of resolution without the bulk of a digital SLR . And while all four models are quite good , the Olympus stands out from the bunch .

Bundle It Up

These four cameras take issue greatly in term of their memory board cards and software program . Compact Flash card are not include with the Konica Minolta and the Nikon . The Olympus include a 32 M xD Picture Card and take a CompactFlash Type II card , while the Canon includes a 64 Mbit CompactFlash card and has a CompactFlash Type II one-armed bandit .

Each camera also hail with its own proprietary software . The bundled programs , which all run in OS X , let you regard and perform basic edits on your photo . They can also process images in the RAW format . you could use the Canon software to contain your camera ’s mount and focus directly from your Mac , and to save images immediately to the Mac . That feature , combine with the sizeable memory circuit board , means that with the Canon , you get more for your money .

A Look Around

All four tv camera have sleek sinister bodies stretch with buttons and dials . The Canon and the Konica Minolta have ring for rapid growth and focus , while the Nikon and the Olympus refuge to more - traditional buttons for those mathematical function . The Canon is the most thick camera of the crowd , at 4.6 inches wide by 2.8 inches marvellous by 3.5 in mystifying , though the Nikon is the lite , weighing just over 1 pound sign . But none of them seem bulky , specially when compared with the 33.7 - ounce Sony Cyber - shot DSC - F828 . The construction of all four cameras is very secure , with the Olympus being the most square .

With the elision of the Olympus , all of the cameras variation big zoom lens : the Canon and the Konica Minolta have a 7x lens ; the Nikon , an 8x ; and the Olympus , a 5x . Except for the Nikon , whose lens system starts at 35 mm , the cameras ’ zoom mountain range startle at a nice , wide 28 mm . All of the camera support rebirth lenses ( though Canon does n’t provide a wide - angle lens ) .

All four photographic camera have a hot - horseshoe for attaching an external flashgun . The Konica Minolta ’s hot - shoe support is confine to Konica Minolta flash , but the tv camera includes a wink - sync port for third - party heartbeat .

The Konica Minolta stand out in another big way : it has double stabilisation . Unlike some other cameras that stabilize only the lense , the Konica Minolta ’s Anti - Shake organisation actually move the CCD to compensate for motion . This will give you precipitous pictures at shutter swiftness that would normally bring on foggy pic , especially at the telephotograph end of the electron lens .

When framing or reviewing photos , you ’ll swear on an LCD or an electronic viewfinder ( which you actually peer through , as on a film camera ) on each of the four models . The LCDs on the Konica Minolta and the Olympus can tilt , while those on the Nikon and the Canon can be flipped to the side and rotated ( which is far more utilitarian ) . The Canon has the expectant LCD of the bunch , at 2 inch diagonal . The Konica Minolta ’s amazing electronic viewfinder ( EVF ) has nearly four clock time the resolve of the other EVFs , and it can tilt upwards 90 degrees , which is handy when you ’re using a tripod . The Konica Minolta , Nikon , and Olympus models clear their screen mechanically in low light .

Feature-Packed

All four cameras declare oneself full control over aperture , shutter speeding , concentre , white balance , and color . And all have similar shutter - hurrying chain , except when in bulb mode ( which only the Canon lacks ) . In this mode ( which ask that you use a outside shutter release ) , the Nikon offers vulnerability for as long as 10 minutes . For more - originative shot , the Canon , Konica Minolta , and Nikon cameras offer a time - lapse photograph mode .

The always - ready to hand manual focus feature film is offered by each of the 8 - megapixel models , but I found the focussing ringing on the Canon and the Konica Minolta easier to practice than the button on the Nikon and the Olympus . As you ’d expect , these television camera have legion snowy - balance choice , include impost modes . The Konica Minolta , Nikon , and Olympus model go a footstep further , allowing you to fine - tune the white balance manually .

If you take a lot of ultra - penny-pinching - up shot , then the Canon and the Nikon are your best selection , with the Olympus right behind . The Canon and Nikon will center the lense just 3 curium from your subject , while the Olympus will focus at 5 centimeter . The Konica Minolta ’s minimum focussing distance is 25cm — and that ’s at the telephotograph last , unlike the other three .

These cameras all abide the RAW figure format ; all but the Canon also support TIFF files . Although you’re able to use Photoshop CS ’s Camera Raw lineament to process RAWimages , the television camera also admit package for that purpose ( though Nikon ’s is quite modified — to get features equal to those in the other cameras ’ software , you have to pony up for the more subject Nikon Capture ) . The Olympus goes a step further by allowing you to edit the RAW image attribute ( such as white Libra , colouration , and sharpness ) right on the television camera and then save the image as a TIFF or JPEG file .

Time to Shoot

shoot speeding is one area in which you ’d carry these luxuriously - priced cameras to stand out , and for the most part they do .

The Konica Minolta put up out from the relief in almost all aspects related to speed . Startup times for the cameras range from 1.6 seconds for the Konica Minolta ( which does n’t need to wait for its lens to go ) to 3.5 seconds for the Nikon . Once they ’re up and running , you ’ll find that all but the Canon pop the question live histograms ; the Olympus has two to take from .

All of the cameras focus quick in sound light , with the main difference occurring in downcast light . The good cameras in this situation are also the two with autofocus - assist lamp : the Olympus and the Nikon . fortuitously , shutter lag is broken for all four camera , though I noticed some lag on the Nikon at boring shutter speeds . After you ’ve taken a shot , you may take another in 1 to 3 seconds , with the Konica Minolta again being the fastest . The spread widens a turn if you ’re shooting in TIFF or RAW mode : the Nikon and the Olympus have considerable delays while write the figure of speech to the memory bill , and the photographic camera is locked up during that time .

You ’ll be spending plenty of meter with the in - television camera menus , where most of the options are buried . The easiest computer menu to sail belongs to the Konica Minolta , though the ascendance on the television camera ’s body are quite complex . The Canon ’s fare are also good , but they ’re spread out in two separate sections . I obtain the Nikon ’s and the Olympus ’s menus to be clunky and complex .

Photo Quality

If you ’re create 8 - by-10 or smaller prints , these cameras will do the task , though they will belike be overkill . But if you ’re making 20 - by-30 - in or larger prints , or see at 100 percent on screen , you ’ll observe that images from these camera have higher noise stage and more purple fringing than those from 4- and 5 - megapixel models .

As with our other review of imaging products , we assembled a jury ofMacworldeditors , who judged 8 - by-10 print made from these cameras . We took the same two photos with each tv camera at default scope and with the highest - character JPEG context selected , and then we print them on the same Canon i9900 printer . Our jurywoman kick in the Nikon a thumb - up for both particular and color , build it their number - one choice . The Canon and the Olympus also did well , but the colors of the Olympus print were a little matt . fortuitously , you may aline the color impregnation right in the camera bill of fare on the Olympus and all the camera . While the Konica Minolta performed right in the color department , it fall scant in terms of detail — and this is the camera ’s biggest flaw . The Konica Minolta sometimes produced prototype so soft that they seemed out of focus — even sharpen the shots in Photoshop would not have deposit them .

The Canon ’s much - vaunted L genus Lens grow occasionalvignetting , or dark corners , in several of our test image . In pictures of people , we found that the Konica Minolta and the Olympus showed utterly no ruddy - eye , with the other two cameras get just a snatch of it . In term of overall photograph quality , the Nikon , Olympus , and Canon cameras were very close , with the troublesome Konica Minolta in last plaza .

Macworld’s Buying Advice

The Olympus C-8080 Wide Zoom takes the prize by a nozzle . Its good photo timber ( though a spot unsaturated at the default stage setting ) , intention , durability , in - camera RAW redaction , fast and accurate autofocus system of rules , stiff bombardment , and manual controls give it the win . Close behind are the Canon PowerShot Pro1 and the Nikon Coolpix 8700 , which are both very good but have a few fault . And due to its gentle - focus trouble , we just ca n’t recommend the Konica Minolta Dimage A2 .