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The best cameras to buy at IT Show 2016

By Marcus Wong - 12 Mar 2016

The best cameras to buy at IT Show 2016

HWZ's picks for the best camera @ IT Show 2016

Have you been bitten by the photography bug? Perhaps you’ve had enough of the fixed lens on your phone and have decided to finally pick up a camera and all the works. Whichever it is, here are our top recommendations when you head down to the show floor.

 

Casio EX-ZR3600

While our winner for Best Point & Shoot Digital Camera at out recent Tech Awards - the EX-ZR3500 - has just been phased out, the good news is its replacement is already available. The EX-ZR3600 uses largely the same technology from the EX-ZR3500, so you can expect to get even better results. 

The EX-ZR3600 has a 12.1-megapixel sensor with a 12x Optical Zoom lens that goes to 25mm on the wide end. It again gets lens shift stabilization that lets you get images when using slower shutter speeds than normal, and now the camera comes with improved support for what Casio calls Exilim Auto transfer. This maintains a constant connection with your smart phone, and will auto send only pictures with faces in them to your smart phone so you can easily share them with your friends later.

This is going for S$599 at the show, and you can read up more from this brochure here.

 

Sony Cybershot DSC-HX90V

Meanwhile, the CyberShot DSC-HX90V is an extremely portable, stylish compact camera that has plenty of features. It comes with a 30x optical zoom lens that sports Zeiss optics – a Zeiss Vario-Sonnar T* lens has a maximum aperture of f/3.5 at the wide end and f/6.4 at the long end, and covers a 35mm equivalent range of 24-720mm.

It also gets Sony’s Bionz X processor and a Back-Illuminated sensor as well as a pop-up electronic viewfinder, and a pop-up flash. That viewfinder is very reminiscent to the one found on the higher-end RX100 IV, and we must say it’s probably the best we’ve seen on a compact camera so far. Like, the one on the RX100 IV, the OLED viewfinder sinks into the camera body and pops up at a flick of a switch. It’s clear and bright, and you get a live image review of your settings, making it extremely handy for judging exposure.

This is going for S$549 at the show, and you'll get an 8GB memory card, carrying case, and accessory kit free. Check out the details here.

 

Olympus OMD E-M5 Mark II

If you’d like to take one step up from compacts, then check out Olympus’ new OM-D EM-5 Mark II. This features an improved 5-axis in-body image-stabilization system, a flip-out, tilt/swivel LCD, and the inclusion of a 40-megapixel High-Res Shot mode.

The camera is also dust-proof, splash-proof and freeze-proof, making for a system that you can really feel confident bringing with you to any situation. Unique to the camera, is a 2x2 control lever that switches the functions assigned to the main control dials. This can be assigned to toggle between shutter/aperture and ISO/WB for example, and can again be customized to your personal preference, thus maximizing the limited space available on the camera.

This is going for S$1,998 at the show, and if you're one of the first 20 customers you can get a free 45mm f/1.8 portrait lens. The standard freebies include a $200 lens voucher that you can use at the show, and a free spare battery.  You can check out the full details here.

 

Fujifilm X-T10

The Fujifilm X-T10 was the winner of our Best Mid-range Camera category this year, so it’s certainly something to look out for on the show floor. It has the same 16-megapixel X-Trans CMOS II sensor and EXR Processor II as the flagship X-T1, as well as the Intelligent Hybrid AF system that combines the speed of Phase Detection AF with the Low Light performance of Contrast AF, and so easily gives you great performance.

It’s also extremely customizable with no less than 27 options that can be assigned to the quick menu. That makes changing settings quick and easy, as your most used functions can now be one click away. In fact, there’s also an added switch on the camera that puts it in “Auto” mode so you can hand the camera to someone else to quickly take a photograph for you and still be sure of the results.

This is going for S$1,899 at the show (body only, after $100 cashback), and you can find out more here.

Further reading:- Fujifilm X-T10 review.

 

Sony A7R II

On the full-frame front, we’d check out the Sony A7R II, winner of our Best High-end Interchangeable Lens Camera category.  This has a full-frame backside illuminated (BSI) CMOS sensor that boasts an incredibly high resolution 42.4MP sensor. 

There’s 5-axis image stabilization built into the camera body and the camera now boasts the ability to go up to ISO 102,400 (after boost). The A7R II is also able to record 4K resolution (3,840 x 2,160 pixels) video internally at up ISO 25,600, so when you pair that with the benefit of 5-axis stabilization and throw in an improved autofocus system that’s sensitive from EV-2 to EV20, you’ll have yourself a highly versatile camera for both stills and video in low light. 

No discount for this yet, but you will get a free 64GB SD card thrown in with every purchase to help you start shooting. Get the full details here.


For all other deals and steals, check out our Tech Show Portal for all buying guides, brochures, event coverage and much more!

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