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Digital Cameras & Camcorders

Gadget geek Janice Chen delivers real-world buying advice of the best digital photography gear to get.

Janice Chen

<p>Janice Chen is an editorial consultant and has been covering technology for over two decades. Serving as editor in chief at CNET and Computer Shopper magazine for many years, she oversaw product coverage for the CNET and ZDNet websites. She has appeared on most of the major morning TV news programs and was featured weekly on CNN Headline News' Hotwired segment recommending personal tech ranging from digital cameras to notebook PCs. Prior to that, she appeared with Anderson Cooper on a monthly technology segment for ABC World News This Morning. Quoted in numerous publications such as the New York Times, USA Today, and People magazine, Janice has also evaluated tech products for BusinessWeek, USA Weekend magazine, and Parenting magazine among others.</p> <p> Janice got her hands on a Nikon Coolpix 900 back in 1998 and has been a digital camera enthusiast ever since. A graduate of Cornell University, she resides in Maplewood, NJ, with her husband (a professional photographer who shot his last roll of film in 2003) and their two daughters. </p>

Latest Posts

Going skiing this weekend? Slip one of these weather- and waterproof cameras in your pocket.

A recent e-mail from a reader reminded me of waterproof cameras. I love the idea and just wish Canon would come out with a great waterproof PowerShot SD870 IS (http://blogs.zdnet.com/digitalcameras/?p=110)! You'd think that waterproof cameras are all about summer, but in my family at least, the second favorite winter sport after skiing would have to be snorkeling (yup, we're fans of the winter warm weather getaway).

January 3, 2008 by Janice Chen in Hardware

How to recover accidentally deleted photos from a memory card (for free!)

Does this scenario sound familiar? We were walking in the woods on New Year's day, my sister happily snapping photos of the kids when all of the sudden she says "Uh oh, uh oh!" While trying to delete one unappealing photo, she'd accidentally chosen "Delete All." Unfortunately for her, Delete All meant all the photos from New Year's Eve as well as Christmas with the Chens, Thanksgiving, Halloween, and, worst of all, the photos from a recent trip to the British Virgin Islands to celebrate our dad's 70th birthday. Uh oh, indeed.

January 1, 2008 by Janice Chen in Developer

New digital camera got you down? Surf for support before picking up the phone

Now that we've had some time to tinker with the new digital cameras that were unwrapped during the holidays, some of us are ready to throw in the towel. Whether just you can't figure out how something works (Manual? What manual?) or you have a more serious issue and need to update firmware or find out how to get warranty repairs, your first stop should be tech support from the camera manufacturer. All camera vendors offer some sort of support site online--some more helpful than others--where you can find FAQs, PDFs of user manuals, driver downloads, and more. The better sites have big knowledgebases that you can search or forums you can post questions to for support. Here's a quick linkfest to get you to your camera's support site quick:

December 30, 2007 by Janice Chen in Mobility

Didn't get it for Christmas? Buy it today and get post-holiday deals

Hope everyone is enjoying a little calm after the Christmas blitz. If you didn't get the camera gear on your wishlist this year and you can stomach a bit more shopping (it's easier without any shipping deadlines to worry about!), check out these post-holiday sales and deals. Act fast, though. Some are only valid for a day or two.

December 26, 2007 by Janice Chen in Processors

Best gifts to buy for someone who already has a digital camera (part 2)

Digital SLR users are among the easiest folks to shop for during the holidays. Either they’ve spent so much on their cameras that they can’t afford more accessories, or they have an insatiable appetite for shiny new toys to feed their gear habit. Either way you can’t miss with one of the products below. (Click here for a slideshow with larger images, or here for gifts for point-and-shoot users.)

December 20, 2007 by Janice Chen in Hardware

Best gifts to buy for someone who already has a digital camera (part 1)

Still scrambling to get last-minute gifts for the hard-to-buy-for people in your lives? (I know I am!) Well you can’t get them a digital camera every year, so here are some great accessories that any digicam owner will dig. I’m breaking my mini gift guide into two posts. The first installment is geared toward point-and-shooters, while the second is for more-advanced digital SLR users.

December 18, 2007 by Janice Chen in Hardware

Panasonic Lumix DMC-L10 is a great DSLR for newbies, but at a price

DP Review posted it's full review of the Panasonic Lumix DMC-L10 on Friday and comes to the same conclusion as most other existing reviews: It's an easy-to-use, entry-level DSLR with some truly unique features that's capable of superb image quality (when shooting in RAW mode), but it's too expensive for the low-end DSLR market and not well featured enough for high-end users.

December 17, 2007 by Janice Chen in Hardware

What the heck is the difference among all those Canon ELPHs anyway?

As I mentioned in my last post, I’m a big fan of Canon’s Digital ELPH series, but I can’t tell you how many times friends have called me from Best Buy in a state of confusion about which one to buy. It’s no wonder. Stop into any electronics store today and you’ll find a slew of ELPH models and they all look pretty similar to the untrained eye. So here’s a quick primer on what’s what, broken down by resolution (since for better or for worse, that’s how most people seem to shop for cameras).

December 13, 2007 by Janice Chen in Hardware

Best digital cameras to buy yourself (part 3)

If you already have a serious camera and need a pocketable model that you won’t be disappointed with, get the Canon PowerShot SD870 IS. Even a seasoned pro will want a camera that slips easily into a palm or pocket every once in a while. But if that’s the camera you have with you when you find yourself facing the photo op of a lifetime, you won’t kick yourself as much if you have the Canon PowerShot SD870 IS (street price $300 to $400).

December 12, 2007 by Janice Chen in Hardware

Best digital cameras to buy yourself (part 2)

If you don’t mind a little bulkiness and want the flexibility of a broad range of focal length, get Panasonic's Lumix DMC-FZ50. You have to be willing to drop some change on this 10.1-megapixel megazoom model—it will run you about $480 or more--but you’ll get a slew of features, not the least of which is the excellent 12x Leica optical zoom lens. This camera is the next best thing to a DSLR in many ways (and shoots video, which you won’t find in an SLR).

December 11, 2007 by Janice Chen in Hardware

Best digital cameras to buy yourself (part 1)

Let’s face it. Chances are slim that someone’s gonna drop 400 bucks on you this holiday season. But that doesn’t mean you can’t pick up that camera you’ve been eyeing while you’re already out braving the malls. Here’s a good shortlist (in three posts) for you to pick from this season:

December 10, 2007 by Janice Chen in Hardware

Welcome to ZDNet's digital cameras blog

Some of you might remember me from my days running reviews at CNET and ZDNet. Or you might have caught me doing speed reviews of tech gadgets on CNN Headline News (in three minutes or less!), which I did for years. Suffice it to say, I've been immersed in personal technology in one way or another for the past 20 years, and I'm a bona fide gadget geek. Here, I’ll be focusing on my favorite piece of tech gear, the digital camera.

December 9, 2007 by Janice Chen in Mobility