But now they’re taking another shot at the mobile market, and this time they’re sticking with what they know best… more or less: the company’s new product is the SC1630 HD Smart Camera – basically a point and shoot camera with an integrated smartphone.

Design

The SC1630 looks quite different than other smartphones, especially when you use it as a camera. The whole device is thicker than your average phone – at 18.5 mm, it feels almost like you’ve reverted back to the pre-iPhone era, but that’s the price you pay for a working optical zoom. Yes, this Polaroid has an extensible lens with a 3x optical zoom, which is not much, but good enough for when you really need to zoom in on a subject.
The front of the device (or should I say back?) has a 3.2 inch display with a respectable 800×400 pixels resolution, and four navigation buttons for Android right below it, while the back (front?) has the huge lens housing and a Xenon flash. The back also has a nice leathery texture to it, which feels and looks pretty good.

Hardware features and performance

The SC1630 is a pretty good smartphone and camera, all things considered. The sensor is a 16 megapixels unit, and the lens has an aperture of F3.1-F5.6, 3x optical and 5x digital zoom, a shutter speed of 1/1400 and 3200 ISO – better than any other smartphone on the market, but obviously lower than even the least expensive dedicated point and shoot cameras. There’s also support for 720p video recording, and I bet it’s much better than other phones because of the bigger lens.

The Polaroid SC1630 makes up for that with pretty decent smartphone hardware – there’s a 1 GHz single core processor under the hood, with 512 MB of RAM and 512 MB of storage space. The actual photos are supposed to be stored on the micro SD card that the user buys, so you better get a fast one if you plan on shooting full size photos or continuous HD video. Among the phone’s hardware features you can count the standard Wifi and Bluetooth adapters, micro USB port, an assortment of sensors, and a 3.5 mm audio jack – strangely, there’s no GPS or HDMI out port.

Software

The Polaroid SC1630’s main feature is the Android OS – indeed, this smart camera uses the OS as a base for everything. The camera app is a custom version with more features, but you can find something even better on the Android market if you want. There’s no word on the version of Android used, but I guess (and hope) it’s Gingerbread – using Froyo would be a real deal killer. Obviously, you can’t expect an Ice Cream Sandwich update for this phone, but hope never dies . Overall, the Android interface is pretty standard – nothing much has changed aside from Polaroid’s custom apps.

Price and Availability

The Polaroid SC1630 will come to stores this spring, in April to be precise, at a cost of $299 with a contract – that’s pretty high for a smartphone, even one with such a good camera. If you need to take a lot of photos and absolutely can’t afford to carry a separate camera, I suppose the phone may be useful, but it really isn’t the best hybrid device otherwise.

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The G series is a specialized mirror less interchangeable lens camera using the micro Four Thirds design that is made specifically for taking photos, and as such these cameras have no focus on video besides the basic ability to actually film and record.

The latest Lumix model in the line, the G3, is probably the most interesting yet, as it combines all the advantages of a full-feature dSLR that its predecessors had with a much more compact body that is almost as small as the GF and FZ series, which are meant for ease of use and portability.

This makes it the perfect travel camera for those who want to get the best shots when traveling, but don’t want to carry something that lacks any features, either. It’s a hard balance to strike, but the G3 seems to be able to do it. It measures 115x84x47mm and weighs 336 grams, and compared to the G2, which measures 124x84x74mm and weighs 371 grams, it’s positively smaller and lighter.

On the outside, the Lumix G3 looks pretty much like any other dSLR or semi-pro camera: it’s got the same controls placement and overall design that makes it easy to handle the camera for any kinds of shots. The display is very good – it’s a 3 inch touch screen with 460,000 pixels that is also articulated and can be turned and rotated to 180 degrees, which allows for shots that would be pretty hard to achieve with a fixed display. The camera also has an EVF, which many people still like, and with its 1,440,000 pixels, it’s practically just as good as a real LVF.

The Lumix G3 has a 16 Megapixels sensor, which is completely new to the series, and is a much more improved version of the old 12 megapixels unit that is inside the G1 and G2. You can use it to shoot high quality photos at up to 7 FPS in continuous mode (with a fast SD card, of course), or film video in 1920×1080 60i or 1280×720 60p resolutions with stereo sound (this is another improvement over the previous models). You can also easily shoot 3D photos or videos with Panasonic’s new 3D lens, which fits the camera perfectly, although it will obviously cut the megapixel count in half (which is not as bad on the bigger 16 megapixels sensor).

The touch screen is actually better than most cameras out there, and fortunately, everything is doubled by the traditional external controls, which makes the G3 great for experienced dSLR users, as well as novices who might prefer the touch controls over the old school method.

The starting price for the Lumix G3 body is actually lower than the G2, which is another great point for the camera, and thanks to its good video mode, it might also be a good purchase for people who need a hybrid still/video camera, but who want to focus more on photography than video.

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Of course, I’m talking about the body itself, as the most difficult choice, which also influences the results of a photo session – the lens – is still here, and it may actually be harder than ever because of the ever increasing number of competitors on the market (I’m not even talking about the new camera formats out there like Micro Four Thirds, which require a completely different lens mount).

With that in mind, here is a collection of some of the best lens you can get for your dSLR:

Canon EF-S 10-22mm f/3.5-4.5 USM. Canon’s EF-S 10-22mm lens is perfect if you want ultra wide angle coverage for your EF-S compatible camera. The equivalent range is 16-35mm, and it covers all of the most important focal lengths, allowing you to fit a lot more in the picture. The correction is also top notch, with the lens being better in this regard than many other competitors. The USM motor focuses fast and is very quiet, so you can also use it for video, if you wish.

Canon 70-300mm f4.0/5.6. the Canon 70-300 telephoto zoom lens gives you a maximum focal length of 480mm, and for the price, that is pretty hard to beat. If you need a zoom lens to spy on your favorite celebrities, for example , or to take long distance of wildlife and sport events, the 70-300 is a perfect choice.

Nikkor AF-S DX VR 18-200mm. The Nikkor 18-200mm DX is one of the most well recognized lens for Nikon DSLRs, being by far the most popular among amateurs and professionals alike. The 11x optical range (27-300mm equivalent) is very flexible and the lens is great for most situations, whether you need a good macro shot or you need to fit more landscape into the picture at a wide angle. The VR technology reduces shake and the focusing mechanism is fast and pretty quiet. It’s practically a must have general purpose lens for any Nikon owner!

Nikkor 17-55mm f/2.8G ED-IF AF-S DX. The 17-55mm Nikkor is also a great lens for Nikon cameras, offering a wide angle and decent zoom in a compact package, which is great when traveling. A lot of professionals and enthusiasts recommend the lens, and the price is pretty decent, too.

Olympus Zuiko Digital ED 7-14mm 1:4.0. The Zuiko Digital 7-14mm is a Four Thirds lens, and it basically has the world’s widest zoom, perfect for any ultra wide shots you may want to take. The ultra-wide coverage is equivalent to 14-28mm, and the correction is simply excellent, giving you sharp shots every single time. It’s also very expensive, but if people say that the lens is worth switching to a Four Thirds camera, it must be good.

Of course, there are dozens (literally) of other lenses out there, some cheaper, some crazily expensive, and it’s a very hard thing to choose the ones you need. If you find it hard to select a lens for your work, start by checking out the models listed above, then work your way from there.

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But Canon is doing pretty well regardless, and just recently, they’ve updated their professional cameras line with the EOS C300 – a modular digital camera for cinematographers, videographers and anyone who intends to use it for filming some serious production (movies, TV shows, feature films, etc.).

The C300 is not your usual pro camcorder, either – unlike the older Canon cameras, it features a new modular design, much like the famous RED One and the new Scarlet, while the cost is even lower (although the specs are a bit behind, too). It looks quite impressive and it definitely will be great for people who need the flexibility, but the accessories range is pretty limited at the moment, although that will undoubtedly change in the future.

The internal specs are top of the line, as well, with Canon equipping the EOS C300 with a new 8.3 megapixels CMOS sensor, which is modeled on the Super 35 mm 3-perf motion picture film standard and is able to deliver a full bandwidth to each color channel without the need for debayering, leading to a clear and sharp image with true to life colors. The sensor also has a shallow depth of field, high signal-to-noise ratio and reduced rolling shutter artifacts – pretty much in line with the older top of the line professional cameras, which were huge and cost a lot more just a decade ago.

The camera itself is relatively small and light, measuring 133mm x 171mm x 179mm and weighing 1430 grams, but the accessories add to the bulk pretty quickly. The controls are positioned around the body and duplicated to allow for quick access from any position, giving the cameraman as much flexibility a possible. The housing itself is dust and splash proof to allow for use in outdoors conditions, and the cooling system is designed to allow for pretty much limitless shooting time, as long as you have an external source of power.

The video and audio recorded is stored in a standardized file format using an MXF wrapper, and you’ll be able to edit the footage on pretty much any professional NLE system. The recording itself is done to two CompactFlash cards, which are pretty affordable, high capacity and fast, allowing for undisturbed streaming of uncompressed video/audio data without issues. If CF cards aren’t enough for you, you can always stream the data straight to an external hard drive array using the integrated HD/SD-SDI serial interface – you can also use the port to stream to an external monitoring system while recording to CF cards, as well. Obviously, the camera has all the necessary XLR ports and adapters, to allow for a maximum extension of capabilities.

The pricing of the new Canon EOS C300 hasn’t been announced yet, but it’s expected to be much less than the RED cameras, and that makes it a perfect choice for beginner cinematographers and companies who want to start a studio or create a TV show using their own equipment and locations.

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One of their latest products is the X-S1 – one of the best semi-professional cameras on the market, which aims to fully replace the need for a dSLR for amateurs and beginner photographers that fear they may need the advanced functionality in the future.

At a first glance, the Fujifilm X-S1 looks pretty much like every other camera with a fixed lens – it’s go the same overall design and size, with the only thing giving away its not-so-simple internal specs being the slightly bigger lens housing – it’s pretty hard to hide a 26x zoom monster , after all. The crazy zoom is the main differentiating feature for the camera, and it allows it to go up to f/2.8 maximum aperture, with a pretty wide range of 24-624mm – more than any other camera in the niche. The EXR sensor (the same one used in the premium X10 camera) is very high quality, and the user has more control over the end picture through the various manual functions that are available.

But the zoom alone won’t qualify this for a dSLR replacement – the lens construction itself, though, does – it is pretty much a marvel of engineering, using 17 glass elements (including 4 aspherical and 2 ED lenses) to deliver the most undistorted picture and as much light as possible directly to the 12 megapixels sensor, while the 9 blades of the lens aperture means that the camera can create a very nice bokeh effect, if you like that. The Supper Macro mode can take excellent shots of anything up to 1 cm close to the lens – that’s pretty much as close as you can get without using a microscope .

The X-S1 has a 3 inch, 460,000 pixels display on the back, along with a 0.47 EVF that has a whopping 1.44 million pixels – enough to make individual pixels indistinguishable. This means that you can take your shots in a variety of ways, depending on your style. The automatic mode is pretty much flawless at its job – it will select the best focus, aperture, and other settings for the current shot, but if you want to go manual, you have a wide array of settings to adjust, as well – pretty much everything you’ll find on a DSLR, you can find on the X-S1, except an ultra-long exposure like you’ll see on the most expensive SLRs.

Video capabilities aren’t missing either – you can shoot video in up to 1920×1080 resolution at 30 FPS, and thanks to the integrated dual microphone array, the sound is stereo and pretty high quality, as well. The camera supports SDXC cards, so you can shoot hundreds of pictures or hours of video on cards of up to 128 GB in size or more. The only drawback is the battery – it won’t last more than an hour of continuous video recording or about 300-400 photographs.

All of that versatility means that you can go a pretty long way without feeling the need for a new lens, which is the main reason people who bought a semi-professional camera switch to DSLRs early on – when you can do all that, you don’t need a dSLR, and that’s exactly what Fujifilm is marketing the X-S1 for.

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The company’s Lumix GF line of cameras is aimed at point and shoot owners who might be tempted to upgrade to something better, but are afraid of all the complexities involved with having a “real” dSLR camera, with the size and control difficulty being one of the main issues. Ironically, the GF1 has gained quite a popularity with the professional crowd instead (not that beginners don’t like it – it’s pretty successful with them, too), and while they found quite a few drawbacks in the first model, the compact interchangeable lens camera quickly became the favorite for frequent travelers that didn’t want to take all their pro gear with them.

Most of them hoped for better professional features in the following models, but that did not happen with the GF2 nor GF3, which are even smaller and simpler (yet still advanced underneath) than the GF1. To address the enthusiast market, Panasonic decided to release the GX1 – a camera aimed squarely at professionals who need an ILC and don’t want to lug around their full-sized monster SLRs.

The Lumix GX1 looks quite a lot like the GF series, more specifically the bigger GF1, although it has a few distinguishable features, as well. You’d be hard pressed to differentiate between the two at a first glance if not for the model inscription on the front, although a closer look at the back of the device reveals quite a few changes, the most important one being that the GX1 now has a touch screen and less external buttons for controlling the various functions. The basic layout and control logic is the same as with most other cameras, though, so you won’t have any trouble just picking up the camera and starting shooting.

The biggest changes are on the inside, however. The GX1 uses the same 16 megapixels APS-C sensor as its bigger brother, the G3, only here it has a maximum ISO of 12,800 – pretty impressive for a compact camera. Aside from taking some very impressive photos (well, depending on the lens you use), the camera can also shoot HD video in 1920×1080 pixels resolution at 30 FPS. The stereo microphone array is just as good as the one on the GH1/GH2 or any other Lumix camera, for that matter (there is no external mic input, though).

Another new addition specifically to the GX1 is the LVF2 accessory, which has a higher resolution and magnification and also uses a new port for transferring the live feed, making it incompatible with other Lumix cameras or the LVF1 (so you’ll have to buy it regardless of whether you already have the first model). The GX1 comes with a 7.3 W/hr battery that should last about 300 shots or 1 hour of HD video, and with support for SDXC cards, you won’t be running out of space anytime soon.

With the GF3 now being impossibly simple for a real professional to use, it is clear that the GX1 is the way to go for enthusiasts who need a real DSLR’s features in a compact body for traveling without a huge bag of accessories.

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They also found a very lucrative nice (or you could say they started it) with hybrid digital cameras that are good at both taking photos and shooting videos, and the GH1/GH2 is the pinnacle of their evolution – those DSLR’s can take excellent shots, while moonshining as semi-professional video cameras used all over the world by amateur videographers, indie film makers, interviewers and even some TV shows.

In efforts to expand on the market, Panasonic also decided to release a more affordable and less functional hybrid camera that manifested itself in the excellent Lumix FZ100, which has some pretty amazing features for the price point – it’s almost as good as the GH1, with the notable lack of interchangeable lens and a few features. And just recently, its successor, the Lumix FZ150, came out as well, fixing most of the issues and drawbacks on the FZ100, which practically makes it the best hybrid camera for those who want to take great photos, shoot great video and not spend a fortune, as well.

The new camera looks pretty much like the first model on the outside – it has the same lens with a 24x zoom, two microphones at the top and a hot shoe, the controls and the 3 inch screen swiveling screen on the back are the same, with the only visible difference being the new controls for the zoom and focus on the side of the lens barrel, which mirror the ones on the top for a better feel when shooting video (it mimics a camcorder’s setup).

The internal hardware got the biggest changes – the new camera uses a smaller 12 Megapixels sensor (as opposed to the 14 Megapixels one on the FZ100), which nonetheless is better thanks to its advanced design – the previous camera was disliked by many for its soft shots, and the new sensor provides a sharper picture. Video recording can now be done in 1080p mode, at 60 frames per second, which is an improvement over the 1080i or 30 frames per second on the FZ100.

If you are using the camera for shooting video, you’ll also appreciate the articulated display that can be turned around 180 degrees, the optional remote control and the microphone input, which lets you basically turn the camera into a full-fledged camcorder (attach a directional condenser mic to the hot shoe and you’re good to go). There’s also a high quality EVF integrated on the body, for those who prefer it over the display when shooting photos – it truly makes the FZ150 the perfect universal camera.

The battery pack is bigger than on other cameras and is rated for 410 shots or about 1 hour of HD video shooting – if you need more, I’d suggest you keep a spare battery on the charger all the time, as you can’t charge it through the camera directly (while powering it, as well, like on the more expensive models).

At the retail price of $450, the camera truly is a steal and it’s hard to ask any more of it – it does video and photo shooting equally well, and it’s the perfect choice for beginner photographers, videographers, YouTube artists and bloggers, as well as people who need a universal camera to carry with them while traveling.

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