(An edited version of this article appeared in Claims Magazine in the August 1996 issue)

Digital Cameras - Other Views and Reviews

In the last ten months, no less than four publications have reviewed digital cameras. The most recent was a column by Walter Mossberg in the May 16, 1996 issue of The Wall Street Journal. In his column, Mr Mossberg compared two digital cameras priced under $500, The Casio QV-10A and the Epson PhotoPC. Mr Mossberg liked the Casio's features and capacity and the Epson's picture quality and simplicity. Of the two, he preferred the Epson PhotoPC to the Casio QV-10A if you could not wait for lower prices anticipated with the Kodak DC-20 ($350).

The May, 1996 issue of PC/Computing (V 9, N 5, p 284) has a review of four cameras by Woody Leonard. The four cameras reviewed were the Kodak DC50, Dycam 10C, Ricoh RDC-1, and the Apple Quicktake 150. With an emphasis on usability, he rated the Kodak DC50 as the best buy, offering lifelike image quality, good features and convenience at a reasonable price of $1000. He liked the standard zoom lens that focuses down to 19 inches and its ease of operation, detail and color fidelity. He thought the Ricoh' RDC-1 was expensive at $1700 and did not match the Kodak in resolution. Dycam's 10C, priced at $999, has a non standard PC Card storage and a mount for external lens and is similar but not equal to the Kodak DC50. The positive about the Apple Quicktake 150 is its price, $479; but he felt it had fallen behind its competitors in features and image quality.

The February 6, 1996 issue of PC Magazine (v 15, n 3, p 166) has a feature article by Daniel Grotta reviewing six digital cameras. The cameras reviewed were the Apple Quicktake 150, Casio QV-10, Chinon ES-3000, Dycam 10C, Kodak DC40, and the Logitech Fotoman. The "Editor's Choice" distinction was awarded to the Dycam 10C with "honorable mention" going to Chinon Es-3000,

Kodak DC40, Logitechs Fotoman and Casio QV10. At the time of the review, the cameras were priced from $739 for the Apple to $1095 for the Chinon. Prices have dropped for nearly all these cameras.

PC Magazine found the Chinon and the Dycam digital cameras nearly identical with the edge to Dycam on image quality software and price. They also found the Kodak DC40 and the Logitech Fotoman nearly identical.

Last October, Byte Magazine ( v 20, n 10, p 129) reviewed the Apple Quicktake 150, Kodak DC40, Logitech Fotoman and Casio QV-10. They recommended the Apple Quicktake as the best buy since its price was nearly $250 less (then) than its competitors. Ten months in the exploding field of digital cameras is a very long time.