Nikon Coolpix S1000PJ
Coolest Feature: Camera turns into a mini-projector.
Bigger LCDs and Wi-Fi have made sharing digital photos easier, but you
still have to pass the camera around to give everyone a look. Nikon’s new
12.1-megapixel Coolpix solves the problem with first-of-its-kind technology.
Turn on its tiny, built-in projector and everyone in the room can view VGA quality
photos or videos (with sound) at sizes up to 40 inches across, on
surfaces up to six feet away. The coolest new Coolpix is lots of camera too,
with a 5X zoom that starts out at a wide-angle 28mm (35mm equivalent)
and vibration reduction bolstered by a motion-detection system that ups ISO
and shutter speed automatically. (Sensitivity goes as high as ISO 6400.) Still
not sure you’ll get it sharp? The Best Shot Selector shoots a burst of up to 10
frames and saves the sharpest one.
Buy It: $430; Nikonusa.com
Samsung TL225
Coolest Feature: Touch-screen is highest-res ever.
This 12.2-megapixel compact takes a cue from Apple’s iPhone. Using its 3.5-
inch touch-screen, you can scroll through photos with finger swipes, delete
photos by drawing an “X” through them or rotate photos by tracing a circle.
The LCD itself boasts the highest resolution of any camera, with an impressive
1,152,000 pixels. Aside from the TL225’s dazzling, user-friendly interface,
its face-recognition capability can memorize up to 20 faces that you identify
for it — and when it spots one, it bases focus and exposure on it. The
Schneider zoom has a nearly 5X range that starts at a wide-angle 27mm
(35mm equivalent). Also way cool: a front-facing screen for self-portraits.
Buy It: $350; Samsung.com
Fujifilm Finepix F70EXR
Coolest Feature: Simulates shallow depth of field.
It packs a 10X wide-angle zoom into the smallest body in its class, but Fuji’s
new 10-megapixel model has other unique charms. In Pro Focus mode, it
shoots a series of frames in which focus is automatically varied from your
actual focused distance and reassembles them to create an out-of-focus —
and less-distracting — background and foreground. Ideal for portraits, that
effect is impossible to achieve with a small-chip, short-lens camera in a single
exposure. Likewise, in Pro Low-Light mode the F70EXR shoots a series
of bracketed exposures — then reassembles the frames to produce a much
smoother, fuller-toned image with greatly reduced noise.
Buy It: $270; Fujifilmusa.com
Sony Cyber-Shot DSC-WX1
Coolest Feature: Makes panoramas without stitching.
Even automatic panorama stitching programs take work during shooting to
get a seamless shot. Sony’s 10-megapixel WX1 makes the technique intuitive:
Hold down the shutter button in its Sweep Panorama mode and simply pan
across the scene, and it fires off 10 frames per second, reassembling them
into a sharp, seamless image that measures a considerable 7152x1080 pixels.
(Like an old-fashioned swiveling-lens panoramic camera, the WX1 can
cover 185 degrees.) Taking it all in is made easier by a crisp Zeiss 4X zoom
that starts at a very wide 24mm equivalent.
Buy It: $380; Sony.com
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