We don’t say this enough, but when it comes to gadgets, substance trumps style. Even if a gadget is pretty and stylish, it’s worthless if it doesn’t do what’s intended. Sure, Kodak’s EasyShare V803 might be pretty and stylish. Unfortunately it’s also a very poor digital camera.

Despite its fat, candy bar shape, the V803’s smooth curves and array of colors make it quite comely. Unfortunately, the camera’s sleek design makes for an uncomfortable control scheme. A handful of tiny rectangular buttons strewn across the top and left side of the camera back access the V803’s different modes and menus. The buttons feel unresponsive and are placed so that you have to use two hands while operating the camera, and we had a hard time trying to distinguish between them by touch. Also, you have to use a small, awkward-to-manipulate joystick to navigate the camera’s various settings and menus. In our field tests, it often mistranslated directional taps and button pushes for each other.

The Kodak V803 includes user-friendly functions such as in-camera digital red-eye removal, a blurry picture warning, and a new “Maintain Settings” menu that lets the user store their preferred settings such as flash, white balance, ISO, and resolution for use each time the camera is powered on.

Other Kodak V803 features include 4x digital zoom, three metering modes (multi-pattern, center-weighted, or center-spot), +/- 2.0 EV exposure compensation, 2, or 10 second self-timer, and a Movie mode that produces QuickTime MOV (MPEG-4) files with audio at 640 x 480, or 320 x 240 pixel resolution at a rate of up to 30 frames per second.

he Samsung i7 is much more than just a simple point and shoot digital camera. The feature list is seemingly endless - 7.2 megapixel still camera, personal media player, music centre, camcorder, portable hard drive, text viewer and voice recorder - all in a compact and stylish black metal body. There’s even a glorified travel guide in the form of the World Tour Guide, which provides images and explanations of famous attractions in 30 different countries! The Samsung i7 offers a very innovative way of accessing all of these options. The large 3 inch LCD screen actually rotates through 180 degrees, with different functionality available at each of the 0, 90 and 180 degree settings.

There are some cameras that promise a lot but when you get them home with the curtains drawn, it’s all rather a disappointment. Not so this smooth, dark beauty. For a start, it’s three things in one - camera with 7Mp res and 3x optical zoom, MP3 player and video player. And it comes with a whopping 3in. screen that rotates into three positions that represent each of the functions. And you don’t even have to press the on button - just rotating the screen turns it on automatically. What’s strange is that the MP3 player position also lets you switch into camera mode as well, but considering that the camera zoom and mode buttons are then hidden this is a little strange to have as an option. As it transpires, the camera mode available, when the screen is in MP3 player position, is Auto, with little user ability to change settings. The spirit of interchangeability extends to the .SDC format movie player mode. Press the menu button here and switch to the MP3 player, a text reader or the built-in Tour Guide to 2600 regions in 30 countries. To be honest, this latter item is of very dubious value as it contains little more than one or two sentences, with no pictures or directions.

The 7 mega pixel i7, with 3x optical zoom, has been created for those who want to capture sound, video and photos wherever they are without compromising on feature quality or design. With the LCD in neutral (0 degrees) the user can access SRS quality music files through the integrated MP3 player; and with the LCD rotated to 90 degrees its Portable Multimedia Player (PMP) function; and turned a full 180 degrees, high quality still images and MPEG-4 SVGA quality moving pictures can be taken. On camera editing means that it’s simple to keep the best material and cut unwanted elements without having to wait until you can get access to a computer.

Introducing the amazing 10.2-megapixel Samsung NV24HD camera. Representing the very best in compact camera technology, it boasts a 24mm wide-angle and a 3.6x optical zoom lens so you have a wider shooting range. Plus, now you can experience full HD quality with your camera. Capture images and record videos in high definition - then watch them on your HDTV in high-quality 720p resolution. Images are richly colored, crisp and clear, simply the best quality available in a digital camera.

Whether you’re indoors or out, snapping a landscape or friends around a table, the 24mm Ultra Wide Angle lens gives you a wider shooting range from a shorter distance and more flexibility for a greater variety of high-quality options. Now you have the ability to capture images of beautiful landscapes and entire buildings from a very short distance - not something you can do with a standard 35mm. The 24mm Ultra Wide Angle is a perfect marriage of advanced versatility with the convenience of a stylish, compact camera.

Twice the technology for crisp, clear images. Dual Image Stabilization eliminates the blur caused by camera shake and delivers clear, crisp images every time, even under difficult lighting situations. Integrating the best lens shifting mechanisms of Optical Image Stabilization (OIS) with the sophisticated algorithms of Digital Image Stabilization (DIS), Dual Image Stabilization; another superior Samsung innovation, corrects even the tiniest of shakes.

Realistic color AMOLED technology has come of age with this beautiful display. A wider 180-degree viewing angle, enhanced color reproduction, ultra-high contrast ratio, and quick near-zero millisecond response time are just some of the advantages of this new, thinner, screen. Unlike standard LCDs, the bright 2.5-inch AMOLED screen reduces the glare from sunlight so you can see your images under any lighting condition. Add to that reduced image blurring and a broader color spectrum, and you’ll wonder why you ever considered an LCD screen in the first place.

Cutting-edge image processing algorithm DRIM’s advanced image processing algorithm lets you capture crisp, rich color images with exceptional speed virtually eliminating artifacts and digital noise.

Life can be tough, especially for digital cameras, and precision instruments such as these are not commonly built to withstand the abuse they can sometimes be subjected to. Olympus’ solution is the Mju 725SW, built to withstand being dropped from a height of up to one and a half metres, this camera is not only tough, but also waterproof to a depth of five metres. In this review Gary Wolstenholme searches for a chink in this warrior’s armor.

A choice of two autofocus modes are available through the camera’s menu - iESP and Spot. The iESP mode automatically selects an off-centre focusing point depending on your subject. The Spot focusing mode is fixed to one point in the centre, allowing you to focus and recompose for off-centre subjects. The autofocus on the Mju 725SW isn’t the fastest I have used, but it certainly isn’t slow.

In light of this accolade, in October Olympus launched an updated version, the mju 725 SW. It looks almost identical, with the same tough industrial-looking steel body, complete with exposed Allen bolt heads. These struck me as a bit of a cosmetic pretence the first time around, so in a spirit of inquiry I undid the three on the front panel just to make sure they were real bolts. In fact one of them was a fake, but the other two held the front inset panel in place. The camera comes in three colour schemes (the Titanium version you see here, plus Deep Blue and Cherry Red) with only this inset panel being of the different colour.

The similarity between the two models even extends to the retail price. The mju 720 SW is available online for around £220, while the best price for the new 725 SW is £223.

The only real difference between the 720 and its successor is an improvement to its already impressive durability. Where the 720 was waterproof to a depth of three metres, the 725 is waterproof to five metres, a whole extra 1/5th of an atmosphere of pressure, which I’m sure will make a huge difference.

Specifications

• 7.1 megapixels
• 19 MB internal memory. Removable xD-Picture Card.
• 3x optical zoom equivalent to 38mm-114mm in 35mm format
• 2.5” LCD monitor with 115,000 pixels
• 7cm Super macro mode
• 25 scene programs
• Shutter speed range - 1/2s-1/1000s (up to 4sec. in night mode)
• Sensitivity range - ISO 80 - 1600
• Waterproof up to a water pressure equivalent to 5m depth
• Shock-proof from heights of up to 1.5m

Sony’s Cyber-shot T-series has proven popular in the market thanks to designs with slim, compact bodies, and an emphasis on ease of use (while still allowing a fair degree of control over the final image). The Sony Cyber-shot DSC-T50 is an update to the existing DSC-T30 model. Both cameras include the same image-stabilized 3x optical zoom lens, branded with the famous Carl Zeiss name and coupled with a 7.2 effective megapixel CCD imager.

The Super Steady Shot technology minimizes blur caused by shaky hands, while the high light sensitivity (ISO 1000) mode reduces blur by shooting at faster shutter speeds. There’s even an added defense with Sony’s Clear RAW™ noise reduction system, which kicks in to counter picture noise associated with high-sensitivity shooting.

As with other T-series cameras, you simply slide the lens cover down and the camera is ready to capture images in seconds. Sony’s ultra-fast Real Imaging Processor circuitry increases the camera’s efficiency for quicker start-up, faster shot-to-shot times, higher-quality movie capture, and longer battery life. The supplied InfoLithium battery provides plenty of power for up to 400 shots per full charge.

Contents of the Sony Cyber-Shot DSC-T50.

• Sony Cyber-Shot DSC-T50 Digital Camera
• Rechargeable InfoLithium Battery (NPFR1)
• Battery Charger (BC-CS3)
• A/V, USB, DC-in Multi-connector Cable
• Wrist Strap
• Paint pen stylus

Sony Cybershot DSC-T50 Pros and Cons