Camera
25 Years of DPReview: 6 camera features that didn't make the cut
| Images: Samsung |
In the twenty-five years since DPReview was founded, camera companies have tried many things to differentiate their products from the competition. This was especially true for compact cameras, where manufacturers threw everything at the wall to see what stuck.
Here are six features camera makers tried that didn’t find long-term success.
Swiveling lenses
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The legendary Nikon Coolpix 950
Photo: Jeff Keller |
The Nikon Coolpix 950 was one of the most iconic cameras released in the late 1990s. While its features were top-end, it was the design that turned heads. The lens could rotate 270 degrees, so you could place the camera up high, on the ground, or even use it for – gasp – selfies. (The 950 wasn’t actually Nikon’s first swivel camera; that honor belongs to the Coolpix 900.)
Nikon wasn’t the only company in the swivel lens game. As we’ll see a bit later, Casio produced many cameras with them, including the QV-10A, the first consumer digital camera. Sony used the ‘inner swivel’ design on several cameras, such as the DSC-F88. (Sony’s DSC-F505 and successors had more of a ‘swivel body’ than a ‘swivel lens.’)
Photos: Carey Rose
In my opinion, the coolest swivel lens camera was the Minolta DiMAGE V (not to be mistaken for the DiMAGE 5). While the photo above makes it look wireless, the camera and lens were attached by a ‘lens extension cable’. This was 1997, after all.
The swivel lens faded into obscurity as fully articulating LCDs became more common. It’s possible that weather sealing and durability also played a role in the swivel lens’ demise. It was while it lasted, though.
Jump Shot
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| Photo: iStock/Carles Iturbe Ferre |
About 10-15 years ago, ‘jump shots’ like the one shown above were popular, especially with teens and young adults. Taking a jump photo wasn’t easy, though. You’d need to leave out someone in your group, use a tripod, or find a stranger with a good trigger finger.
The engineers at Panasonic developed a feature for its smartphone Image App known as Jump Snap that solves two of those problems. The app lets you adjust the ‘sensitivity’, and then it’s jumping time (with the phone in hand, of course). When the app notices the upward motion from the phone’s gyroscope, it snaps the picture right at the peak of the jump.
There was just one problem that Jump Snap didn’t solve: you still needed a tripod.
Casio’s bells and whistles
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The Casio QV-7000SX had the company’s ‘famous’ rotating lens and IR blaster for sharing photos with a select number of cameras and printers.
Photo: Digital Camera Museum/Boris Jakubaschk |
I have a real soft spot for Casio. In fact, I wrote an article about the company. While it was a big seller in Japan, the brand never took off in the US. What made Casio cameras great was their selection of unique modes that you wouldn’t find elsewhere at the time.
“What made Casio cameras great was their selection of unique modes that you wouldn’t find elsewhere at the time.”
Take 1998’s Exilim QV-7000SX, for example. It had an infrared transmitter, the ability to create HTML photo albums, in-camera panorama stitching and dozens of scene modes. The QV-7000SX’s support for the IrDA infrared protocol allowed it to slowly send pictures to a very small collection of compatible devices, such as the Fujifilm Z20fd or Canon SELPHY photo printers.
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The photo gallery created by some Casio cameras wasn’t pretty, but it was the first of its kind. And if I may, the car pictured in photo 08290008.JPG is the most beautiful of all time.
Image: Jeff Keller/DCResource |
The photo album feature was very handy since few people knew how to make an interactive gallery in the late 90s. (These galleries were made for viewing from your CF card, not online.) You could view slideshows, see larger versions of pictures, and examine Exif data.
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The Coupling Shot feature lets you combine two separate photos into one.
Images: Casio |
It takes two photos and assists you in lining up the background, like in a panorama. |
Moving on, one more Casio feature worth mentioning is its Best Shot (scene) modes. The cameras had at least thirty Best Shot modes, with some cameras having seventy more on an included CD-ROM – and you could create your own! Some of the notable Best Shot modes were autumn leaves, food, eBay, and business cards. There were also several multiple exposure modes, which allowed you to add people to photos, kind of like smartphones that came 20 years later.
The MP3 player
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The Fujifilm Finepix 40i with its wired remote and earbuds.
Photo: DPReview |
Portable music players, along with music ‘sharing’ services like Napster, gained popularity around the turn of the century. While the first iPod wouldn’t ship until 2001, camera manufacturers were already at it, like Fujifilm. The FinePix 40i shown above had a slick design and compact body but was limited by a fixed 36mm lens, a so-so SuperCCD sensor, and a hefty price tag. Music was loaded onto the camera’s SmartMedia card via proprietary software.
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The Kodak mc3 is a very mediocre camera and mp3 player in one.
Original image source unknown |
To the best of my knowledge, there was only one camera I never reviewed due to its quality, and it was the Kodak mc3. While it was a fairly capable music player, the camera side was so bad that I couldn’t bring myself to invest the time raking Kodak over the coals.
The mc3 was a plastic camera with a fixed 37mm-equivalent F2.8 lens and a reflective LCD that could only be seen in bright outdoor light (Kodak wasn’t the only one to do this). It captured VGA-sized photos and QVGA videos with monaural sound. It lacked a remote control, so you’d have to use the hard-to-view screen to change songs. The only nice thing I can say is that it was relatively inexpensive at $299.
MP3 cameras didn’t last long, as the iPod and cheap knockoffs let cameras be cameras again.
Printer docks
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One of Kodak’s many printer docks (camera usually not included).
Photo: Kodak |
Printer docks were accessories that I genuinely wanted to succeed. For families and older folks, they were incredibly convenient, though expensive to operate. Just pop the camera on top, pick the photo(s) you want to print using the topside controls, and let the printer do its thing for a few minutes. It could also charge the batteries in your camera.
The most famous manufacturer of printer docks was Kodak by a long shot. Kodak used dye sublimation thermal printing, and a pack of 20 sheets (the ink was ‘inside’ the paper) set you back around $15. Kodak’s printers could crank out a 4×6 print in 60-90 seconds, charge your camera’s batteries, and let you view your photos on TV.
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HP’s Photosmart A447 camera on its printer dock
Photo: HP |
The HP pictured above could output 4×6 or 4×12-inch (panoramic) prints and used a tri-color ink cartridge (yep, no black ink). It had a button for redeye removal, which got rid of the annoyance that was common on compact cameras.
Unlike the other products in this article, the printer dock didn’t die; it just adapted to the times. Kodak, Canon, HP, and Fujifilm all make compact photo printers designed for use with smartphones. The difference is how you connect; instead of putting the camera on a dock, it’s all done wirelessly using Bluetooth.
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A Fujifilm Instax Link Wide wireless photo printer. In this case, ‘wide’ means 6.1 x 9.9 cm (2.4 by 3.9 inches).
Image: Fujifilm |
Instant printers like Fujifilm’s Instax lineup produce card-sized, square, and wide prints, often with special effects and templates. Unlike the printer docks that use ink or dye sublimation, Instax printers work like old Polaroid instant film, so it takes a little while for your print to appear.
Android cameras
Images: Nikon
It’s 2013, and smartphone sales are taking off while consumers are starting to lose interest in compact cameras. Nikon, Samsung and even Zeiss tried giving people the best of both worlds: the ease of use and large app library of Android with photo capabilities that smartphones could not yet match.
Nikon was first out of the gate with its Coolpix 800c, which ran a version of Android (v2.3) that was already out of date. It had a 16 Megapixel BSI CMOS sensor, 10X optical zoom (25-250mm equiv.), 2GB of internal storage and a giant 3.5″ touchscreen to take advantage of Android. It had an SD card slot and a removable battery. Since battery life was dismal, having a spare on hand was a necessity.
“While a clever idea, the Coolpix 800c was not a great product.”
Aside from being unable to make calls, you could use the 800c just as you would a smartphone and nearly every Android app was at your disposal. Who knew that one day, you could e-mail your friends or browse DPReview from your camera?
While a clever idea, the Coolpix 800c was not a great product. The photo quality was lousy, it took 30 seconds to start up, it was buggy, etc. This was the last camera review I wrote for my website, DCResource. What a way to go out.
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The Samsung Galaxy Camera with its 4.8″ touchscreen running Android 4.
Photo: Samsung |
If there was one company that should have been able to do Android cameras right, it was Samsung. It actually made two Android cameras at the opposing sides of the spectrum: the compact Galaxy Camera pictured above and the Galaxy NX, a mirrorless camera that used Samsung’s NX-mount (RIP).
The Galaxy Camera (GC) was based on Samsung’s Galaxy S III smartphone and came in two flavors: Wi-Fi and Wi-Fi + 3G/4G. Unlike the Coolpix 800c, the Galaxy Camera ran a much more modern version of Android (v4.1), and it had plenty of horsepower courtesy of a quad-core processor. It couldn’t make calls, but there was nothing to stop you from using something like Skype to chat with friends.
“If there was one company that should have been able to do Android cameras right, it was Samsung.”
Like the Nikon, the GC had a 16 Megapixel BSI CMOS sensor, but the lens was longer at 23-481mm equiv. It had a giant 4.8″ touchscreen display, making it a lot more usable than the Coolpix. As with that camera, the GC could run virtually any Android app. Samsung included three of its own for photo and video editing.
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| The Galaxy Camera had a slick shooting interface with virtual dials. |
The Galaxy Camera was the better of the two compact Android cameras. Image quality wasn’t great, but it was more responsive, battery life was much longer, and the 3G/4G option made it usable from anywhere.
The GC apparently sold well enough for Samsung to make a sequel. The Galaxy Camera 2 had a faster processor, more RAM, NFC, and a higher-capacity battery.
Samsung exited the digital camera business in 2015, taking with it the two Galaxy Cameras and the Galaxy NX. The company sold 320 million smartphones that year.
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The $6000, Android-powered Zeiss ZX1 came with Adobe Lightroom built-in. You could even use it to surf the internet.
Photo: Dan Bracaglia |
On the other end of the spectrum was the Zeiss ZX1. It was introduced in 2018 but didn’t actually ship until the end of 2020. As you’d expect it was extraordinarily expensive ($6000) and everything was high end. It had a 37 Megapixel full-frame sensor, 35mm F2 lens, large LCD, hybrid autofocus system, and top-notch build quality. Perhaps the most interesting feature about the ZX1 is that it had Adobe Lightroom Mobile built-in. The ZX1 was unable to download other Android apps, though the target audience probably didn’t mind.
Can you think of any features from compact, DSLR or mirrorless cameras that didn’t survive beyond a generation or two? Let us know in the comments below.
As a photographer with a strong interest in history, I often find myself captivated when the two worlds collide. Looking at pictures of historical events, even seemingly mundane ones, sparks my imagination and transports me back in time.
More than the historical events themselves, I’m drawn to the people in these photos. I try to envision their lives, their experiences and the world they inhabited. I remind myself that they aren’t just historical figures frozen in time but real people who lead lives as complex as you or me, and I often wonder about their experiences, the people they knew, and the eras that shaped them.
Perhaps this is because old photographs serve as a reminder of our own mortality. Historical photos whisper to us that our time on Earth is finite and that one day, we, too, will become subjects of historical curiosity.
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| Photo: Nelson and Roswell Moore |
This fascination with the past, coupled with my interest in photography, is probably why a recent video by the BBC caught my attention, telling the story behind portraits taken of some of the last survivors of the American Revolutionary War.
The Revolutionary War was fought between Great Britain and her American colonies from 1775 to 1783 over Americans’ desire for independence. Ultimately, the colonial forces prevailed, and, as we all know today, the United States became an independent nation.
“Historical photos whisper to us that our time on Earth is finite and that one day, we, too, will become subjects of historical curiosity.”
Fast forward about eight decades, and the US found itself embroiled in yet another conflict: the American Civil War. It was around this time that two brothers, Nelson and Roswell Moore, photographers from Connecticut, got the idea to use the then-nascent technology of photography to preserve images of the last surviving veterans of the American Revolution.
According to the BBC, newspapers at the time would publish details of the United States federal budget. This included lists of Revolutionary War veterans who were still receiving government pensions. Don Hagist, author of The Revolution’s Last Men: The Soldiers Behind the Photographs and editor of the Journal of the American Revolution, told the BBC that by the 1860s, it was becoming apparent that very few Revolutionary War veterans remained. This realization spurred the Moore brothers to track down what they believed to be the last six living veterans to capture their portraits.
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| Photo: Nelson and Roswell Moore |
The Moore brothers’ portraits were unveiled in 1864 and subsequently published that same year in the book The Last Men of the American Revolution by Reverend E.B. Hillard. The book also included biographies of each veteran, based on interviews conducted by Hillard, although, according to Hagist, Hillard likely employed some creative license in his biographical accounts.
Fortunately, these invaluable photographs are not confined to the BBC’s archives. They’re preserved and freely available for download from the Library of Congress, an exceptional resource for historical imagery of all kinds.
As it turned out, the six men photographed by the Moore brothers weren’t the only remaining Revolutionary War veterans. Following the publication of their photos and Hillard’s book, other veterans came forward. However, the images captured by the Moore brothers remain invaluable historical artifacts, preserving the likenesses of men who fought for America’s independence. Gazing into their eyes, I’m struck by the realization that these men could have met George Washington in person.
One of photography’s enduring truths is that we often can’t predict which images will hold significance for future generations. History will ultimately be the judge. However, as photographers, we possess the ability to capture and preserve these visual records, even if their immediate importance is not readily apparent.
Next time you see an old historical photo, pause for a moment to think about the person or people in that photo. Who were they? What were their lives like? And reflect on the fact that, someday, far in the future, someone may be looking at a picture of you, wondering the same thing.
Finally, have you had the opportunity to capture any photos of historical significance or photograph something important before it disappeared forever? If so, I’d love to hear about it in the comments.
| Image: Panasonic |
Panasonic has made it clear: the torch has passed from its Lumix Sync app to the Lumix Lab app. If you own one of the company’s modern phase detect autofocus cameras – that’s the S5 II, S5 IIX, G9 II, GH7 and S9 – Lumix Lab can now do pretty much everything that Sync could do, alongside all the new features it brings to the table.
When Lumix Lab originally launched alongside the S9 in May, Panasonic was clear that it wasn’t ready to fully replace Lumix Sync for its older cameras; it didn’t support critical features such as remote shooting, remote shutter control, image transfer, or live streaming.
That’s changed this week, though. Panasonic released firmware updates yesterday, as well as an update to Lumix Lab, which work together to let you fully control and sync your camera from your phone.
Enter the LUT lab
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| Lumix Lab lets you download LUTS made by creators and gives you a library to manage those LUTs alongside the ones you create yourself. |
Beyond the functions that already existed with Lumix Sync, Lumix Lab adds several features around Look Up Tables, or LUTs, which are essentially color presets that you can apply to your photos and videos. It has a section that lets you download ready-made LUTs from creators, and you can even create custom LUTs using the app’s photo editor. You can then use those LUTs in Lumix Lab, applying them to photos you’ve synced over from your camera, or send them to your camera, where you can use them with the Real Time LUT that can automatically apply them to your JPEGs and videos.
Lumix Lab also has fairly robust editing features for both photos and videos. You can use it to adjust colors, exposure, sharpening, and more and to apply effects like grain and vignetting. Continuing the LUT focus of the app, if you like the adjustments you’ve made, you’re able to save them as a LUT for later use. Lumix Lab also lets you apply a variety of pre-set crops to stills and videos, making it easy to share them on platforms with a specific aspect ratio, and you can trim videos if you only want to use a small portion of them. Finally, you can share your edited photos and videos straight from the app.
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| Lumix Lab has a relatively full-featured set of photo and video editing tools, and lets you save your adjustments as custom LUTs. |
The future of Sync
At the moment, it doesn’t seem like the Lumix Sync app is going anywhere – owners of the S1, S1R, the newly released G97, and other older cameras will still need to use it to sync photos to their phones, after all.
However, if you haven’t given Lumix Lab a shot yet, and have one of the cameras it works with, it’s probably worth a try. It can now not only do the things Lumix Sync could, but much more, making the experience of shooting with your camera and sharing with your phone that much nicer. Even if those don’t interest you, it’s also worth noting that the latest updates to the S5 II, S5 IIX, GH7, and G9 II could make it more annoying to use with Panasonic’s older app, as a camera-to-phone Wi-Fi connection will now require password authentication – the ability to use the app without inputting a Wi-Fi password has been removed.
Lumix Lab is a free download from the Apple App Store and the Google Play Store.
| Image: SmallRig |
SmallRig has announced it is expanding its lineup with a new cage for the Sony a9 III and a1 II. Like SmallRig’s existing offerings, the new cage aims to add additional protection for the camera. Perhaps more importantly, it also offers expansion options, making it easier to attach additional gear like phone mounts, monitors, microphones and more. It offers what SmallRig calls a “brand-new streamlined design with precision-fit protection and unobstructed button access.” It’s available for purchase now for $99.
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| Image: SmallRig |
SmallRig’s latest full cage features a leather grip that fully wraps around the grip of the camera. The leather design allows it to blend in a bit more to the camera, and results in a more polished look worthy of the flagship cameras.
The cage features a three-point locking installation to keep it securely attached to the camera, but doesn’t require removing the D-rings. It uses an integrated bottom Arca-Swiss quick release plate for seamless use on a wide range of tripods and gimbals. It comes with a magnetic wrench on the bottom of the plate for easier attachment or removal.
Buy now:
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| Image: SmallRig |
Of course, one of the main benefits to a cage is all the extra attachment points for gear, of which this new offering has plenty. It features 1/4″-20 threaded holes, 1/4″-20 locating holes, ARRI 3/8″-16 locating holes, cold shoe mounts, strap slots and QD socket. All of those attachment points make it feasible to add on a long list of handles, microphones, lights, monitors, straps and more. Plus, the HawkLock H21 NATO rail allows you to quickly add or remove handles.
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| Image: SmallRig |
In addition to the full cage, SmallRig also released an L-Shaped Mount Plate for the Sony a1 II and a9 III. The plate is still marked as “coming soon,” and details are sparse in comparison to the full cage. SmallRig did specify that it will offer unobstructed access to switching orientation and feature an integrated bottom Arca-Swiss quick release plate. Perhaps most interesting, though, is the AirTag compartment, helping users keep track of their cameras.
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