Nikon’s COOLPIX P90 is the company’s latest super-zoom digital camera, sporting 12.1 Megapixel resolution, a tilting 3in screen and a 24x optical range that’s equivalent to 26-624mm. Announced in February 2009, it’s the successor to the COOLPIX P80 and joins the increasingly competitive market for SLR-styled cameras with enormous zoom ranges.
The 8.1-megapixel Cyber-shot DSC-T70 from Sony is a compact point-and-shoot that feels solidly built. Unfortunately, you must navigate the camera’s menu and controls via a 3-inch touch screen LCD (in wide-screen format). The panel is large, but the touch-screen controls are hard to press and annoying to use. My frustrations with it prompted no small amount of colorful language at times.
The Canon PowerShot SD960 IS replaces the previous SD790 model in the company’s lineup, and is based around a 1/2.3″ 12.1 megapixel CCD image sensor, DIGIC 4 image processor, and a Canon-branded 4x optical zoom lens. The SD960 IS’s lens offers focal lengths ranging from a useful 28mm wide angle to a 112mm telephoto, and features true optical image stabilization. Maximum aperture varies from f/2.8 to f/5.8 across the zoom range, and macro focusing is possible to just two centimeters. Continuous shooting is possible at 0.8 frames per second.
