February 25 - March 3

Epson PhotoPC 850Z by Alessandro Cancian To be sincere, I recently discovered an incredible passion for digital photography. Being immediately able to check the picture taken, controlling that it is just like you had imagined, is what attracts me the most. Image quality and battery life, the real Achilles Heel of many digital cameras, still represent the main reason why many prefer to capture the significant moments on old-fashioned film rolls. Recently, however, things have changed. Some week ago I had the opportunity to test the latest model of digital camera launched by Epson, the PhotoPC 850Z, and it left me fully satisfied. Epsons PhotoPC 850Z gives you everything you need to take digital photos, and a few things you might not. This camera comes equipped with a host of small details which are not, strictly speaking, essential, but represent product improvements, such as a built-in microphone. Unlike many other cameras, this one is particularly handy thanks to a shape allowing a safe and comfortable grip. The PhotoPC 850Z, with 2.1 million pixels, allows you to take pictures of up to a maximum resolution of 1,984x1,488 (pixels), thanks to Epsons exclusive technology called HyPict. Unfortunately, using the highest resolution further reduces an already low number of shots that can be stored on the 8 MB CompactFlash card coming with the camera. If you want some additional information, this camera can store 120 images at standard resolution (640x480) that reduce to 10 (at 1,984x1,488), so the purchase of a higher capacity backup storage is strongly advised. As we said, 850Z is equipped with many small details bestowing a touch of class upon it, from a microphone for recording messages, to an additional external flash mount (the camera is already equipped with a built-in flash) to a solar-assisted LCD panel. By the way, the visual quality of the LCD is truly remarkable. The camera is fully compatible both with Macs and PCs, and the pictures can be downloaded via standard serial ports or better yet via a USB port. In the latter case, download speed is really good: the process only takes a few seconds. The software bundled with the camera is good and allows pictures downloaded to a computer to be retouched and classified. For those who would like to get hard copies of the pictures, 850Z can be directly connected to an EPSON Stylus printer. After downloading images to my computer, I was satisfied with their quality, appreciating in particular the shots taken in the different modes offered by the camera, i.e. Macro (for close-in shots), Panorama or standard. The Epson 850Z can operate in several ways, manual, semi-automatic or full automatic, leaving the choice to the owner. One of the aspects I marveled at was battery life (4 rechargeable alkalines, included), which is really exceptional; after many shots taken, the use of the recharger was practically nil. All in all, the camera proved to be well worth its price (it sells for CND $1,199), offering its owner a good tool for the most diverse situations. For further information please visit www.epson.com.

 

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