Category: Reviews

In part one we covered the basics and followed up in part two with how to use this piece of kit.

In the third and final part we take a gander at flash, picture quality, movie mode.

Flash
Although none too powerful, the flash (situated to the top right of the camera) managed a working range of 0.5 – 4.0m at wide-angle and 0.5 – 2.0m at telephoto. Red eye was a bit of a problem, so users might want to consider investing in an external slave flash like the Metz Mecablitz 28 CS-2.
Continue reading Canon Ixus 850IS Camera Review – Part 3/3 (73%)

Yesterday we covered the basics of the Canon Ixus 850IS.

Today we look at how to use it.

Using the camera
Firing up the camera in automatic, the Ixus proved to be a nippy performer, starting up promptly and taking no time at all to lock onto focus. Low light focussing was slower but still impressive.
Continue reading Canon Ixus 850IS Camera Review – Part 2/3 (73%)

Hovering near the top of Canon’s popular Ixus range is the IXUS 850 IS, a 7.1 megapixel ultra-compact sporting a 3.8x optical zoom lens and a 2.5in monitor.

The lens offers a usefully wide 28-105 mm zoom range – great for group shots and landscapes – with Canon’s Optical Image Stabilisation system helping keep images sharp in low light.

With its rounded edges and compact dimensions (89.5 x 58.0 x 25.1mm) the Ixus is designed to be a carry-everywhere pocket snap shooter. It looks pretty to the eye too, with a stylish two-tone, semi-matt metallic colour scheme contrasting against the chrome details.

The all metal case looks pretty tough, with the smoothed and recessed controls ensuring that the camera doesn’t get snagged in your pockets.

All that metal means that it’s not the lightest camera around, and with its lardy 150g weight (without battery) you’re unlikely to forget it’s in your pocket.

The controls

The camera’s basic controls are pretty easy to get to grips with. The illuminated power on/off switch lies recessed on the top plate, which means it’s very hard to turn on accidentally, but, conversely, those with larger fingers may find it quite hard to operate.

Next to the power switch is the shutter control surrounded by a little lever for zooming in/out. Again, folk with sausage sized fingers (or simply wearing gloves) may have trouble getting to grips with it.

On the back, a circular shooting mode switch – orientated vertically – has a handy lip that conveniently doubles up as a thumb rest, making for a fairly sure camera grip.

A large and crisp 2.5″ 207k colour LCD screen dominates the back of the camera, with all the camera controls positioned to the right.

Most of the camera’s functionality is accessed through a circular 4-way control with a central OK/Function Set button, while two buttons below are used to set display preferences and call up the menu interface, with a third button accessing Print/Share controls.

In Part Two we’ll be looking at how to use the camera.

With more and more people shifting their goods via eBay, auction sites and online shops, it’s important to be able to back up your sales patter with some high quality images.

Although digital cameras make it easy to quickly snap product shots, the built in flash often creates unflattering shadows and reflections, so Lastolite are hoping that people will be prepared to shell out for their economy-priced ePhotomaker kit.A much smaller and less complex affair than the three hundred quid Lastolite Cubelite Portable Studio set-up we reviewed last September, the ePhotomaker comes in two sizes, and promises pro-quality, studio-style shots at a cut price budget.

The package comes in a small round blue bag, with the igloo-shaped light tent almost bursting out, thanks to its super-springy wire skeleton.

Also lurking in the bag is a sheet of blue ‘gel’ (to compensate for the yellow hue of the average light bulb) and two crocodile clips for attaching it to a desk lamp.

Inside the igloo
Looking inside the igloo-like tent, there’s an all-white interior with the right side covered in reflective silver material.

The idea is that you shine your desk light through the left hand side of the tent, with the material diffusing the light inside and the silver material ‘filling in’ shadows from the opposite side.

In general, we got pretty good results, although you’ll almost certainly have to fiddle about with the EV compensation and/or white balance controls on your digital camera to get the best results.

Fortunately, the included illustrated instructions do a fairly good job of talking newbies through the process of setting up the camera, with directions for both digital and film users.

The desk lamp isn’t included by the way, but just about any old light source will do (indeed, we got excellent results sitting the light tent on a sunny table top).

Also included in the kit is a grey card for setting exposure and a wee tripod, but unless you want to see your expensive dSLR nose-dive into the ground, we would only recommend attaching this to small digital compact cameras.

Conclusion
If you’ve ever battled to produce a decent product photo at home and suffered the inevitable distracting backgrounds, inconsistent shadows and disappointing results, it may well be worth investing in the ePhotomaker.

Although you could just as easily make your own home studio with a white sheet, some stickyback plastic and a few shoeboxes, the ePhotomaker kit has the advantage of being easy to set up and quick to pack away – and it’s pretty cheap too.

Once you’ve delved into your digicam’s menus to work out the best settings for your camera, you should have no problem knocking out high quality images – and if the better product photos help you sell your stuff on eBay, the ePhotomaker kit may well end up paying for itself sooner than you think!

Our verdict
Features: 75%
Ease of Use: 80%
Value for Money: 85%

Overall: 90%

0Small ePhotomaker kit
Price: £50 inc. VAT.
Large ePhotomaker kit
Price: £80 inc. VAT.

ePhotomaker