Posts Tagged ‘firstimpressions’

Hands on with the Pentax MX-1, the Latest Horse in the Retro Camera Race

Hands on with the Pentax MX 1, the Latest Horse in the Retro Camera Race pentaxmx1 12

One of Pentax’s big announcements for this year’s CES 2013 was the MX-1, a camera that is designed to compete against other retrotastic compact cameras that are currently generating a lot of buzz (namely the Fujifilm X-Series and the Olympus OM-D).
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Hands-On With the Portable and Flexible Canon PowerShot N

Hands On With the Portable and Flexible Canon PowerShot N canonpowershotn 1

Canon’s attention grabber at this year’s CES 2013 is a new compact camera designed to fight against the encroachment of smartphones: the PowerShot N.

The little guy is unlike most point-and-shoots you’ll find on the market. It’s extremely small, square, and simple. The design may seem gimmicky at first, but pick it up in your hands and your opinion might change.
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A Hands-On First Look at the Android-Powered Polaroid iM1836

A Hands On First Look at the Android Powered Polaroid iM1836 polaroidim1836 2

We had some hands-on time with the new Polaroid iM1836 just now. The company is only showing off two of the units at CES 2013. One of them doesn’t turn on. The other one can’t take any pictures.
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Sigma’s New 35mm f/1.4 Has Impressive Sharpness Compared to Its Rivals

Sigmas New 35mm f/1.4 Has Impressive Sharpness Compared to Its Rivals sigma35mm

If you use a major-brand DSLR, you should be keeping a close eye on the new $899 Sigma 35mm f/1.4 (above center). It undercuts the popular (but pricey) lenses of rival camera makers by hundreds of dollars, and appears to have build- and image-qualities that are equal to (if not better than) those lenses.
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Hands-on with the Samsung Galaxy Camera, the Voiceless Phonecamera

Hands on with the Samsung Galaxy Camera, the Voiceless Phonecamera IMG 3594

Played around with the new Samsung Galaxy Camera very briefly at Photokina last week. It’s basically a camera-fied smartphone that doesn’t do voice calling. It does have 3G/4G/Wi-Fi connectivity though, so it’s one of the first — if not the first — compact camera you can add a data plan to.
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Hands-on with the Fujifilm XF1: A Retro and Flexible Compact Camera

Hands on with the Fujifilm XF1: A Retro and Flexible Compact Camera IMG 3676

Fujifilm is a camera company that’s going all-in on the idea of “retro design”. We’re not complaining. Its new XF1 compact camera brings the sleek design of X-Series’ cameras to the world of “point-and-shoots”, featuring a minimalist aluminum body that’s covered with faux-leather. The camera feels very nice and solid in the hand. It’s not as compact as other point-and-shoots (the Canon S110 is around 30% smaller and 20% lighter), so I’d say it’s purse-sized rather than pocket-sized. What it lacks in portability, however, it makes up for in beauty and brawn.
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Hands-on with the Fujifilm X-E1: Sleek, Small, and Very Solid All Around

Hands on with the Fujifilm X E1: Sleek, Small, and Very Solid All Around IMG 3660

We had a chance to play around with the new Fujifilm X-E1 at Photokina 2012, at a meeting attended by people who were the brains and hands behind the camera. Announced back on September 6, the X-E1 is the more affordable counterpart to the well-regarded X-Pro1. It’s an interchangeable lens mirrorless camera with the same beastly APS-C sensor, shedding 30% in size, 21% in weight, the fancy hybrid viewfinder in favor of an all-electronic one, and 41% in price (from $1,700 to $1,000).
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Hands-on with the Leica M: A Numberless Top-of-the-Line Digital Rangefinder

Hands on with the Leica M: A Numberless Top of the Line Digital Rangefinder IMG 3427

Announced on Monday, Leica’s new M rangefinder does away with the classic numbering system and simply goes by its model name. We got a chance to handle one a couple of times after the initial announcement… after fighting through the hoards that were clamoring to get a peek.
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Hands-on with the Nikon D600, a More Affordable Full Frame DSLR

Hands on with the Nikon D600, a More Affordable Full Frame DSLR IMG 3570

Immediately after handling the Canon 6D, we also got a chance to play around with the new Nikon D600. Unlike the 6D, Nikon’s cameras were locked down to the display booth, making it more difficult to get a feel for the weight. However, based on the announced specs alone, we know that the Nikon camera is even lighter than the already-light 6D (760g vs 770g), though it is a bit chunkier in its dimensions. Despite being so light, the D600 also feels quite sturdy. It’s cheap in its price but not in its build quality.
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