Ultracompacts that go wider and get tighter
Joshua Goldman,
Senior Editor
November 23, 2009
When 3x zoom isn't long enough and a 35mm-equivalent lens isn't wide enough, you'll want one of these. A 5x optical zoom with a wide-angle lens is great for everyday shooting, letting you go from capturing scenic vistas to close-up portraits without moving your feet. At a sporting event, you can grab an overview of the entire field or zoom in for a better look at a play. The combination also works well for vacation and travel photography.
Getting this flexibility used to mean settling for a slightly bulkier camera. However, 2009 seems to have been a breakthrough year for size, quality, and price. All of the models below are ultracompacts (though some are slightly thicker than others) and start at around $180. And though we're used to seeing some barrel distortion from wide-angle lenses, all of these cameras keep it in check.
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| Price | $299.00 to $329.97 | $167.99 to $199.97 | $299.00 to $349.99 | $197.95 to $209.95 | $159.00 to $184.95 | $233.77 to $299.95 |
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| Review date | October 13, 2009 | October 08, 2009 | September 30, 2009 | May 19, 2009 | October 19, 2009 | November 18, 2009 |
| The Bottom Line | The Canon PowerShot SD980 IS is a very good touch-screen camera for those on the fence about using a touch-screen camera. | The Nikon Coolpix S570 is a respectable ultracompact camera, despite average point-and-shoot performance and some high-ISO overpromising. | The Sony Cyber-shot DSC-WX1 is a great, fast-performing snapshot camera that falters on photo quality. | The Sony Cyber-shot DSC-W290 is an excellent, well-balanced compact camera. | The Panasonic Lumix DMC-FS15 is a well-appointed snapshot camera for the money with the mixed performance and photo quality typical of its class. | The Lumix DMC-FP8 lives up to Panasonic's speedy performance claims; its photo quality isn't bad, either. |
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| Features | ||||||
| Lens aperture | F/2.8-5.9 | F/2.7-6.6 | F/2.4-5.9 | F/3.3-5.2 | F/3.3-5.9 | F/3.3-10 (Wide) F/5.9-18 (Telephoto) |
| Equivalent 35mm focal length | 24 - 120 mm | 28 - 140 mm | 24 - 120 mm | 28 - 140 mm | 29 - 145 mm | 28 - 128 mm |
| Optical zoom | 5 x | 5 x | 5 x | 5 x | 5 x | 4.6 x |
| Light sensitivity | ISO 80 ISO 100 ISO 200 ISO 400 ISO 800 ISO 1600 ISO auto ISO 3200 (2Mpix) | ISO 80 ISO 100 ISO 200 ISO 400 ISO 800 ISO 1600 ISO 3200 ISO auto (80-400) ISO auto (80-800) ISO auto (80-1600) | ISO 160 ISO 200 ISO 400 ISO 800 ISO 1600 ISO 3200 ISO auto | ISO 80 ISO 100 ISO 200 ISO 400 ISO 800 ISO 1600 ISO 3200 ISO auto | ISO 80 ISO 100 ISO 200 ISO 400 ISO 800 ISO 1600 ISO auto ISO auto (1600-6400) | ISO 80 ISO 100 ISO 200 ISO 400 ISO 800 ISO 1600 ISO auto ISO auto (1600-6400) |
| Display (projector) technology | TFT active matrix | TFT active matrix | TFT active matrix | TFT active matrix | TFT active matrix | TFT active matrix |
| Video input type | Digital camera | Digital camera | Digital camera | Digital camera | Digital camera | Digital camera |
| Digital zoom | 4 x | 4 x | 2 x | 2 x | 4 x | 4 x |
| Weight | 4.6 oz | 4.2 oz | 4.2 oz | 6.1 oz | 4.1 oz | 4.6 oz |
| Effective sensor resolution | 12,100,000 pixels | 12,000,000 pixels | 10,200,000 pixels | 12,100,000 pixels | 12,100,000 pixels | 12,100,000 pixels |
| Still image format | JPEG | JPEG | JPEG | JPEG | JPEG | JPEG |
| Display (projector) diagonal size | 3 in | 2.7 in | 2.7 in | 3 in | 2.7 in | 2.7 in |
| Manual focus | Automatic | Automatic | Automatic | Manual Automatic | Automatic | Automatic |
| Full specifications | Full specifications | Full specifications | Full specifications | Full specifications | Full specifications | Full specifications |
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