The Ricoh GR is the latest update to the GR range and features a 28mm (35mm equivalent) f/2.8 lens, 16.2 million pixel APS-C sensor and light weight magnesium alloy body.

The Ricoh GR’s new sensor is nine times larger than the 1/1.7-inch sensor found in the Ricoh GR IV. And with the Ricoh GR price tag starting around £599 (approximately US$920 / AU$882), it could perhaps give the Nikon COOLPIX A a run for its money.

Here Ali Jennings of our testing team takes a look at what the Ricoh GR premium compact camera has to offer in his hands-on Ricoh GR review video.

Hands-on Ricoh GR Review Video Transcript

This is the Ricoh GR, the update to the company’s premium line of compact cameras. It’s quite a significant upgrade however as has an APS-C sized sensor, which is around 9x larger than the 1/1.7 inch device in the GR IV.

The pixel count of the sensor has also been boosted from 10 million to 16.2 million.

To accompany that sensor is an 18.3mm f/2.8 lens, which is equivalent to around 28mm in 35mm terms. Although it’s a fixed focal length lens there’s an optional adapter available to transform it into a wider, 21mm optic. At the other end of the scale, a 35mm crop mode is also available.

One of the trade offs Ricoh has made as a result of the larger sensor is that the lens can’t focus quite as close as its predecessor. However, Macro mode can be activated via this dedicated button to get as close as 10cm to the subject.

Built from a sturdy magnesium alloy, the GR is billed as the world’s smallest and lightest APS-C format camera. Despite the much larger sensor, as you can see it’s actually only marginally larger overall than the GR IV.

This slightly pronounced grip, which has a useful rubberised texture, helps when shooting one-handed. The layout of the buttons on the back of the camera also makes changing settings with a thumb quick and easy.

Here at the top we’ve got a mode dial for speedily changing between automatic, semi-automatic and fully manual modes. There’s also space for up to three customisable groups of settings here and this lock button prevents accidental dial changes while the camera’s in a pocket or bag.

This small dial on the grip is used for altering aperture or shutter speed, depending on the mode you’re shooting in. When shooting in fully manual mode, this dial is used for aperture, while this switch at the back of the camera controls shutter speed.

One of the best things about the GR is that several of the buttons on the back, and side, of the camera are customisable. These dedicated function buttons here and here can be changed to suit your needs, while this effects button and this switch are also customisable.

Exposure compensation is changed quickly by this plus and minus switch which doubles up as the zooming buttons during playback.

Changing autofocus point by default is done by tapping this Function button //Fn 1// and using the arrow keys to scroll around the scene to the point you want to use. After pressing this button, you can use the zoom //+// to check critical focus.

On the back of the camera is a high resolution, 1.2 million-dot 3 inch LCD screen. It’s not articulating, or touch sensitive, but it appears cope reasonably well with direct light, not suffering too badly from glare or reflections.

Making an appearance just weeks after the Nikon Coolpix A, the Ricoh GR will go on sale with an asking price of around £599 (that’s about 920 US dollars)– making it significantly cheaper than the Nikon camera.

It will be interesting to see if this camera manages to capture the imagination of the experienced user looking for a backup compact that is capable of delivering excellent images. Look out for our full review of the Ricoh GR in the near future.

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The TZ series is Panasonic’s popular range of travel compacts and this is the TZ40, the latest version, featuring a 20x optical zoom Leica lens.

The TZ40 has built-in Wi-Fi, which means that you can control the camera remotely via a smartphone app, where you can also save images for sharing online.

On the side of the Lumix TZ40 is an NFC chip, which means that if you have any compatible devices, all you need to do is tap the two devices together for an instant connection.

GPS is also built in, which is useful for a travel camera as it saves you having to remember the exact location of all your photos.

Amy Davies of our testing team puts this new Panasonic camera and all of its key features to the test in her Panasonic TZ40 review video.

Panasonic TZ40 Review Video Transcript

The TZ series is Panasonic’s popular range of travel compacts and this is the TZ40, the latest version, featuring a 20x optical zoom Leica lens.

Unusually for a compact, the TZ40 features a mode dial on top of the camera, where you can access fully manual and semi-automatic modes, such as aperture and shutter priority. Also on this mode dial you’ll find scene modes and fully automatic modes and space for upto two groups of customised settings.

This camera has built-in Wi-Fi, which means that you can control the camera remotely via a smartphone app, where you can also save images for sharing online. Here on the side of the camera is an NFC chip, which means that if you have any compatible devices, all you need to do is tap the two devices together for an instant connection. If you don’t, then you can still connect via entering a unique password in your device’s Wi-Fi settings.

GPS is also built in, which is useful for a travel camera as it saves you having to remember the exact location of all your photos – though it is worth remembering having GPS activated can be a drain on a battery life.

On the back of the camera is a 920,000 dot touchscreen. This is extremely useful for changing the autofocus point, which you can do simply by tapping the area on the screen you want to use. You can also use it to fire the shutter release – the camera will focus first, then capture the image. This is fairly fast and responsive, and is useful when shooting on a tripod for example, or for capturing quick action.

Aside from the mode dial, there are no settings dials on the TZ40. Instead, if you want to change aperture, you press this Exposure button and then press left or right. To change shutter speed, you use the same button, but  press up or down. Perhaps a little confusingly, you don’t alter exposure compensation with the Exposure button – this has it’s own dedicated button on the four way control pad here.

A Quick Menu button gives access to all the most commonly used settings, saving you from delving into the more extensive menu. Here you’ll find everyday settings such as ISO and white balance. The number of options changes depending on the shooting mode being used, for instance, you’ll find more when shooting in semi-automatic and fully manual modes.

The optical zoom lens is extended and retracted via a small switch around the shutter release. The zooming mechanism is pretty smooth and fluid, which is good news considering the 20x optical length. As the zoom reaches its maximum optical capability, it stops, requiring a second push to enter the digital zoom – this is great for preventing an accidental stray into the digital zoom if you don’t want to use it.

There’s no need to worry about capturing an image at the far end of the optical zoom as Panasonic’s image stabilisation does a fantastic job of preventing blur, even when shooting handheld. Here’s a comparison of the lens extended to full with image stabilisation off, and here, with image stabilisation switched on.

Previous TZ cameras have really impressed us, so we had high hopes for the TZ40. Happily, we have not been disappointed, with bright and punchy images with plenty of detail.

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The Nikon Coolpix A, sits at the very top of the Coolpix range and features a DX, or APS-C size sensor — the very same sensor as can be found in the D7000 DSLR.

Although this is not quite a jeans pocketable camera, it’s remarkably small considering the size of the sensor. As a trade off, you get a fixed, 18.5 — or 28mm equivalent — lens, with a maximum aperture of f/2.8.

Here Amy Davies takes a look at what Nikon’s latest premium compact camera has to offer in her Nikon Coolpix A review video.

Coolpix A Review Video Transcript

This is the Nikon Coolpix A, a compact camera which sits at the very top of the Coolpix range and features a DX, or APS-C size sensor – the very same sensor as can be found in the D7000 DSLR.

Although this is not quite a jeans pocketable camera, it’s remarkably small considering the size of the sensor. As a trade off, you get a fixed, 18.5 – or 28mm equivalent – lens, with a maximum aperture of f/2.8.

There’s no hand grip on the camera, but this small strip on the front of the camera helps give extra purchase, especially when shooting one-handed.

Like many premium compacts, this camera has full manual control, with access to the manual mode, and semi-automatic modes, such as aperture and shutter priority found on this dial here. There’s also space for upto two groups of user defined settings – particularly useful if you often find yourself shooting in a given scenario, such as low light.

For further convenience, there are two function buttons. These can be found on the back of the camera here, and the second on the front. Here you can assign various settings, such as ISO or white balance, for quick access.

The focusing mode can be changed via this switch on the side of the camera, allowing you to change between autofocus, to macro and manual focusing. Macro focusing needs to be activated if you want to shoot fairly close-up as otherwise we found the camera can struggle.

If activating manual focusing, this ring around the lens is used for fine-tuning the focus. It’s a shame that this ring can’t be used for other settings – such as aperture, or shutter speed – when it’s not being used in manual focusing mode, as otherwise it’s redundant. Instead, this dial here is used to make changes to aperture or shutter speed, coupling up with the dial around the OK button when in fully manual mode.

To change the autofocus point, first you need to hit the OK button and then use the arrow keys to scroll around the screen to the point you need. It’s a little bit of a long-winded process, and would have been speedier with a touchscreen.

With its large sensor and high asking price, we had great expectations for the Coolpix A. While image quality is great, there is noticeable vignetting, even when shooting at mid-range apertures of f/8.

Focusing speeds are also a little lacklustre, making it a little slow for the street photographer that this camera is so very clearly aimed at.

On the plus side, detail and colour is fantastic, and you really do get DSLR quality images from a pocket sized device. Full manual control and raw shooting capabilities are an extra bonus.

PAGE 1: Nikon Coolpix A review video
PAGE 2: Our original hands-on Nikon Coolpix A review video
PAGE 3: Our original Nikon Coolpix A announcement story

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In her Fuji X100S review video, our head of testing takes an in-depth look at what this X100 replacement has to offer.

While Fuji has promised 70 improvements on the X100S, the the big news is that its APS-C format X-Trans CMOS II sensor boasts the same colour filter arrangement as the Fuji X-Pro1.

In her Fuji X100S review video, Angela Nicholson takes a look at the new Fuji camera’s image quality, performance and and key specs to see if it’s the right camera for you.

Fuji X100S Review Video Transcript

Hi, I’m Angela Nicholson, head of testing for Future’s photography portfolio and in this video I’m going to be looking at the Fuji X100S.

Like the X100 it replaces, the Fuji X100S has an APS-C format X-Trans CMOS II sensor inside it, however it has 16.3-million effective pixels instead of 12.3 million and Fuji has used the same sensor design as is in the X-Pro1.

This sensor doesn’t have the standard Bayer colour filter, but uses a random arrangement of colour filters within each block of 36 photo receptors, and this makes the images less prone to suffering from Moire interference.

As a result Fuji has left off the the anti-aliasing filter that is normally used to avoid moire patterning, and this enables the camera to capture sharper details.

As it’s a so-called compact camera the 23mm f/2 lens on the Fuji X100S is fixed and it gives a 35mm focal length equivalence of 34.5mm – which is a great choice for street and documentary photography.

As you can see the Fuji X100S has the same retro design as the X100 and exposure is set using this aperture ring, shutter speed dial and exposure compensation dial.

When the dials are both set to A, the camera takes control over the exposure. When just the shutter speed dial is on A, the camera is in aperture priority mode, while shutter priority is selected by setting the aperture dial on A and selecting the shutter speed you want to use.

Fuji has worked on improving its automatic focusing for the X100S, and although there’s usually a small, but noticeable backwards and forwards adjustment, the hybrid focusing system usually gets the subject sharp pretty quickly. It even copes well with quite low light.

The continuous autofocusing is also reasonably fast and smooth, but it’s rather hampered by the fact that the AF point is limited to the centre of the frame.

The X100S can be set to focus manually via this switch, and there are a couple of new features available to help you get the image sharp.

First off, the X100S is the first camera to feature a digital split image and when this option is selected the centre of the screen or viewfinder is turned monochrome and divided into bands.

When the image in these bands aligns, the subject is in focus. It’s reasonably effective, but it’s not always easy to see what’s going on.

I prefer to use the focus peaking option. When this is active, the focused areas are outlined with white and black. I find this pretty easy to use, but there are times when it would be helpful to be able to choose different highlight colours.

The X100S can record images as raw or JPEG files or both simultaneously. There’s also a collection of 10 film simulation modes that give JPEG images a particular look. Provia, for instance is the default or standard setting, its a good choice for many situations, but there’s also Velvia when you want more vivid colours with higher saturation, and Astia for a more subtle, natural result.

Though the film simulation modes can be used when shooting raw and JPEG images, the Advanced filters can only be applied to JPEGS. However, it’s nice that the camera automatically switches to shooting JPEGs when a filter is selected, and you don’t need to delve into the menu to change file format.

Like the X100, the X100S has a nice solid build and although the grips are fairly minimal, it feels reasonably secure in your hand. The control arrangement is the same as on the X100, but this button is now marked with a Q rather than Raw and gives access to the quick menu. This menu provides a quick route to 16 of the most useful features for speedy adjustment. You just navigate to the one you want and select the setting using this dial.

Although the direct-view optical finder can display key information like the exposure values and AF point, I prefer the electronic finder as it shows the image as it will be captured – and it gives a nice clear view with plenty of detail.

While the X100S might intimidate novice photographers, enthusiasts will find there plenty to get excited about and the exposure controls are a joy to use. Perhaps even more importantly, its also capable of capturing superb, well-exposed images with lots of sharp detail and pleasant colours.

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When our testing team took a look at the Fuji FinePix X10 it really impressed them, so naturally they were pleased to learn that the Fuji FinePix X20 that replaces it is fundamentally the same, but with a sensor based on the one in the superb Fuji X-Pro1.

However, while the Fuji X100S and the Fuji X-Pro1 have APS-C format sensors, the Fuji X20 uses a 2/3-inch X-Trans CMOS II device with 12 million effective pixels.

In her Fuji X20 review video, Amy Davies takes a look at what this new Fuji camera has to offer.

Fuji X20 Review Video Transcript

This is the Fuji X20, the upgrade to the popular and well-respected X10.

If you’ve seen or used the X10, you probably won’t see much of a difference between the two cameras, as they use pretty much the same body design.

Fuji says that there have been over 50 improvements made to this camera, most of which take place inside. Probably the most notable is the sensor design, which, has a random colour filter array that means the sensor doesn’t need an anti-aliasing filter, like the X100S and X Pro1.

This is quite a chunky compact camera, and because of its protruding lens, you’re unlikely to be able to fit it in a trouser pocket. As with the other cameras in the X range, Fuji has gone for a retro design, with a textured coating and a protruding grip here that makes the camera feel very secure in the hand.

It’s via the lens that the camera is powered on, by twisting it around like this. It’s great for capturing quick action, but, on the downside, when the camera auto-powers off, you need to twist it off and on again to reactivate the camera.

Here on the top of the camera we’ve got two mode dials, one for switching between the various modes the camera offers, and another for adjusting exposure compensation. This dial is easily reached by the thumb and is handy for making quick changes.

On the mode dial you’ll find fully automatic modes, semi automatic modes – such as aperture priority and shutter priority – and, usefully, two slots for custom functions. You can save groups of settings to these, handy if you often find yourself shooting particular types of scenes.

Also on top of the camera is a small function button. By default this is set to ISO sensitivity, but there’s a number of options you could assign to this – such as Film Simulation.

The back of the camera is pretty similar to many other digital compact cameras on the market. Here we’ve got a four way directional pad, with a Menu button in the centre and surrounded by a jog dial.

One small change from the X10 is that this button, which was previously marked with RAW, is now the Quick Menu button.

This scrolling dial here can be used to alter aperture or shutter speed, depending on the mode you’re in. When in fully manual mode, you can either push in the dial to switch between the two, or use this dial for altering one and the scrolling dial for the other.

Several of the key options have direct access buttons. For instance, white balance can be accessed here, drive mode here and metering – called photometry by Fuji – here. When you need more extensive settings, the Quick Menu is a great way to access them. Use the arrow keys to scroll around these options, and then scroll with the thumb dial to make changes.

There’s no touchscreen on the X20, so to change the autofocus point, first you’ll need to hit the up key, then use either the scrolling dial or the arrow keys to move around to the point you want to use.

The thumb dial can then be used to alter the size of the autofocus point for more precise focusing. Macro focusing is activated via the left key, and you can choose between standard macro and super macro which allows you to get as close as 1cm from the subject.

The X20 has an optical viewfinder. There’s a sensor here which detects when you’ve lifted the camera to your eye, switching off the rear LCD screen.

One of the more noticeable improvements to the X20 has been made to the finder, which now includes a Digital Trans Panel to display key information such as aperture, shutter speed and focus area.

This 460,000 dot screen is the same as that found on the X20. It’s a reasonably good performer, not suffering too badly from glare and reflection in all but the brightest of light. It also has a good angle of view, helping when you want to shoot from slightly awkward positions.

We had very high hopes for the X20, since the X10 performed so well. Happily, we have not been disappointed with the image quality from the camera. Images are bright and punchy, and the new sensor design means it is capable of resolving more detail.

The X20 makes a great standalone camera, but it is also worth considering for owners of larger cameras looking for an excellent backup, or everyday, camera.

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Announced yesterday at the Focus on Imaging trade show in Birmingham, UK, the Nikon Coolpix A took many people by surprise.

Boasting the same 16.2-megapixel sensor as the Nikon D7000 and a fast 18.5mm f/2.8 retractable lens, the Nikon Coolpix A blends some of Nikon’s DSLR technology into a small, compact aluminium and magnesium alloy body.

In his hands-on Nikon Coolpix A review video, Ali Jennings takes a look under the hood to see what this new Nikon camera offers photographers.

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The NEX 3N comes as the direct replacement to Sony’s entry level compact system camera, the F3, and as with the F3 it’s aimed at those looking to make the jump from a pocketable compact to a camera with an interchangeable lens.

As a Sony NEX-F3 replacement, the Sony NEX-3N offers a redesigned chassis that makes it what Sony claims is the smallest and lightest APS-C size compact system camera in the world.

Along with its 180-degree tillable LCD screen and a host of features like Auto Object and Auto Portrait Framing, the Sony NEX 3N could be the perfect ‘next step’ camera for compact camera owners looking to take more control of their photography.

Find out some of the key features and why this may be the camera for you in our testing team’s hands-on Sony NEX 3N review.

Hands-on Sony NEX 3N Review Video Transcript

The NEX 3N comes as the direct replacement to Sony’s entry level compact system camera, the F3, and as with the F3 it’s aimed at those looking to make the jump from a pocketable compact to a camera with an interchangeable lens.

Whilst the specifications of the 3N shows a comfortable improvement over the F3, when it’s in your hands it proves far more impressive than the specs let on; for instance there’s a big boost in build quality, button and dial layout and a new sleeker look, all of which helps reinforce a feeling that Sony is pushing harder than ever to be number one in the market.

Despite being Sony’s entry-level CSC, and having a price tag of just £400 for body and 16-50mm lens kit, my first impression wouldn’t put this in the same category as many other entry level CSC’s. As mentioned the build quality and overall ergonomics are reassuringly solid, with a metal rather than plastic body and well designed grip that actually manages to look sleek whilst still providing a good comfortable grip.

Internally being an NEX it has Sony’s APS-C sized sensor, so a larger sensor than those offered by Olympus, Panasonic, Nikon and Canon.

At 16.1 million pixels this might not seem ground breaking in comparison with the other manufacturers, but when it comes to noise at the higher sensitivities this increased sensor size really will make a difference, especially if previous NEX models such as the 5R are anything to go by.

This sensor combined with the updated Bionz processor should ensure CSC beating image quality, and performance throughout it’s 100-16000 sensitivity range, a full image quality test will be carried out once we have full production samples.

The 3N will sit below the 5R in the NEX line-up and features in common include a full mode dial, 180 tilt-able LCD and to a certain degree it looks, but it lacks the 5R’s touch-screen and the finesse of the large thumb dial, which, I felt during testing, set the 5R apart from the crowd, but then again it looks as though Sony could be following the trend started by Olympus by giving photographers great image and build quality across the range, and just reigning back the features to separate models.

For this reason the 3n sits very comfortably between premium compacts and the 5R, offing updated features such as Auto Object Framing that expands the Auto Portrait Framing feature that we’ve seen on previous NEX models, and now adds Auto Macro and Tracking framing. Again a full update on how well these work when we have full review samples.

Unlike the 5R, but similar to the F3 and Cybershot range the 3N features a pop-up flash with a GN of 6 at ISO 200, and a very familiar feature for all compact users is this zoom lever which with the new 16-50mm kit lens enables you to zoom in and out from the camera body, very nifty and compact like..

Size is also similar to premium compacts, and whilst the NEX range has never been large, the 3N is noticeably smaller than the F3 as is the new kit lens which almost halves the size of the previous version

So the NEX 3N looks very interesting and promises from what I’ve seen so far to be a very high quality entry level offering and will be available from mid-March. For more information check out Techradar.com.

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Olympus launched the PEN Mini E-PM2 and the PEN Lite E-PL5 at Photokina 2012. Both PEN cameras share a lot of similarities, most notably the same 16.1 million pixel sensor and TruePic VI processor that have been taken from the highly acclaimed Olympus OM-D M5.

In her Olympus E-PM2 review video, Amy Davies of our testing team investigates what this new PEN camera has to offer.

Olympus E-PM2 Review Video Transcript

Olympus launched two new cameras into its PEN range earlier in the year, and this is the E-PM2, also known as the PEN mini.

It replaces the E-PM1 which was announced last year. Impressively, it contains the same 16.1 million pixel sensor and image processor as the highly regarded Olympus OM-D, which was announced at the start of 2012.

This means that the Pen Mini is capable of producing the same image quality, but with the advantage of a much smaller, more compact body. The also newly announced E-PL5, which sits in the middle of the PEN line-up, also has the same sensor.

There are several noticeable differences between the PEN Mini and the E-PL5, which is also known as the PEN Lite, and of course, the OM-D. It’s a lot smaller than the OM-D and is one of the smallest compact system cameras on the market. Compared with the Lite, it also has fewer dials and buttons.

The screen on the back of the PEN Mini is a fixed, 460,000 dot device, and although it’s not tilting, it is a capacitive touchscreen, which is very responsive and easy to use. It’s particularly useful for setting the autofocus point, and you can also use it to activate the shutter release if desired.

It’s also a good performer in bright light, not suffering too badly from glares in the majority of conditions. There’s no viewfinder, though an optional one can be purchased separately if you prefer not to use the screen to compose images.

As there’s no mode dial, you can switch between the various modes the camera offers by hitting this Menu button. From here, you can choose fully automatic, semi-automatic, full manual or art and scene modes.

Most of the commonly used settings can be accessed quickly by hitting the OK button – here you’ll see parameters such as white balance, aspect ratio, raw format shooting and focusing mode. If you need more extensive settings, you need to go into the setup portion of the menu.

One slight annoyance is the way that aperture or shutter speed is altered. As there’s no direct dial, first you need to push up on the directional key pad, and then up and down again to change the setting.

It’s not the quickest way to make this change, and it can soon get a little frustrating when you need to change exposure frequently.

Although the camera is small, this grip here, combined with a thumb rest on the back of the camera makes it feel very secure in the hand – even when shooting one handed.

Unlike a couple of other cameras currently available on the market, the E-PM2 doesn’t have inbuilt WiFi, however, it is compatible with Toshiba FlashAir Wireless LAN SDHC cards.

This means, with the aid of the free Olympus app, that you can transfer your images across to a smartphone or tablet, without needing to connect to an internet connection. You can’t control the camera with the app, but perhaps that’s something that could be developed in the future.

Like the other cameras in the Olympus Micro Four Thirds range, the E-PM2 boasts very fast focusing speeds. Although there’s some debate between Panasonic and Olympus over who exactly has the quickest speeds, but as we’re talking about microseconds, it’s probably not worth arguing about. Needless to say, the Mini does indeed deliver on those quick speeds promised, especially in good light.

This isn’t really a camera aimed at enthusiast and advanced audiences, and as such the lack of direct access buttons and dials could frustrate those who are often looking to make changes.

For those people, we’d recommend taking a look at the E-PL5 or perhaps even the older E-P3 – or you might choose to wait a little while as there’s likely to be a replacement for that in the pipeline.

As we have tested both the OM-D and the E-PL5, we had no doubts that the E-PM2 would also deliver excellent images, and happily, we weren’t disappointed. That great sensor works well to deliver images with plenty of detail and bright, punchy colours.

Considering this camera is aimed at the beginner end of the market, it’s fantastic to see such great technology being used in what is a much more affordable option than ever before.

We can see this camera being very popular for those looking to get into their first compact system camera and really get creative with their photography.

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The Olympus XZ-10 also shares the same True Pic VI image processor found in the Olympus OM-D.

Combine this with its 12-million-pixel sensor, a 3in touchscreen and full manual settings, and the Olympus XZ-10, on paper at least, looks like it could be the perfect compact camera for serious photographers.

In our hands-on Olympus XZ-10 preview video below, Amy Davies of our testing teams runs through the rest of the Olympus XZ-10 key specs and features.

Olympus XZ-10 Hands-on Preview Video Transcript

This is the new Olympus Stylus XZ-10, which joins the XZ-2 in the company’s premium compact offering.

It boasts many of the same features as its older brother, but it comes in a body which Olympus says is around 40% smaller than the XZ-2.

It has the same bright f/1.8 lens, full manual settings and a True Pic VI image processor – the same processor which is used in the Olympus OM-D.

One feature which is different is the 12 million pixel sensor, which is smaller, in physical terms, than the sensor in the XZ-2. This could have an impact on image quality, so we’ll been to put it to the test when a final review sample is available.

The 5x optical zoom lens offers 26mm, in 35mm equivalent, at the wide angle, and also boasts a bright f/2.7 aperture even at the telephoto end of the optic.
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Around the lens here is a customisable control ring, which can be used for adjusting key parameters, such as aperture or shutter speed. On the back of the camera is a function button, which can be used for quick access to settings such as ISO and metering.

This three inch screen is a CAPACITIVE touchscreen, which can be used to set the autofocus point or trigger the shutter release. Although this is a pre-production model of the camera, we can see that it’s pretty responsive and it’s nice to see such a feature on a model like this.

The camera doesn’t have built-in Wi-Fi, but, like the latest range of PEN cameras, it it is compatible with Toshiba’s FlashAir Wireless LAN cards which means you can connect it with a smartphone or tablet to share images between the two.

As of yet, Olympus is yet to design an app which can control the camera from a secondary device, but perhaps that is something that will happen in the future.

PAGE 1: Olympus XZ-10 Preview Video
PAGE 2: Olympus XZ-10 Official Press Release

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Nikon has replaced the Nikon 1 V1 with the Nikon 1 V2, an update that promises to be an evolution of the existing camera and is what Nikon hopes will attract more serious photographers – the ones who are more likely to buy additional lenses and other accessories down the line.

Here Amy Davies of our testing team takes a look at what it has to offer in our Nikon V2 review video.

Nikon V2 Review Video Transcript

The Nikon V2 is a replacement for the V1, and sees some interesting changes to the body shape, when compared to the previous model.

Perhaps not considered serious enough for advanced photographers, the V1 was never as popular as its smaller brother, the J1. Now, Nikon has done plenty to try and appeal to more enthusiast users.

It now has a larger hand grip, which gives the camera a much more DSLR style feel. There’s also been a mode dial added at the top here – this makes it much easier to quickly switch between modes such as aperture priority and shutter priority – previously these were hidden away in a menu.

The new hand grip makes it much easier to hold and it feels very secure in the hand, especially when shooting one-handed.

To switch on the V2, you actually have two options. You can flick this switch here – but for speed, and grabbing those quick shots, you can also activate the camera via the lens. Simply press this button here and twist the lens round and the camera switches itself on.

Just to the right of the mode dial is another dial which can be used to alter aperture or shutter speed, depending on the shooting mode. It’s a handy dial and very easily reached by the thumb, which is again useful when shooting one-handed.

To make changes to exposure compensation, first you need to hit this button on the four-way pad, and then use this dial to scroll to the setting you want. It’s a little bit of a shame there isn’t a standalone dial for exposure compensation.

Near the aperture and shutter speed dial is a small function button, which can be pressed to access some of the key settings, such as white balance and autofocus. It would have been good if some more functions could have been accessed from here, or extras added on via a customisable menu.

On the back of the camera is a 921,000 dot screen. Although it’s viewable from a good range of angles, and doesn’t suffer too badly from glare or reflection, it is a shame that it doesn’t tilt and articulate, and it’s not a touchscreen.

To change the autofocus point, you need to tap the OK button and use the arrow keys to scroll around the scene to the point you want. Although this isn’t too tricky, it would have been sped up by the addition of a touchscreen.

Down the left of the camera is a row of four buttons, including a Menu and Playback button. These can’t be reached when using the camera one-handed, but that’s not too much of a problem thanks to the Function button for the mostly common settings.

If you do need to delve into the menu, you’ll find it’s reasonably sensibly laid out. If you’ve ever used a Nikon camera before, you’ll more than likely be at home here.

Like the V1 before it, the V2 includes an electronic viewfinder. This 1.4 million dot device is very good and is a great option in brighter sunlight, or for those that prefer a traditional way of shooting.

The V1 didn’t have an inbuilt flash, only an accessory port for attaching an external flashgun. The V2 has both, with a pop-up flash which is activated via this button here, and an accessory port on top of the EVF here.

The Nikon V2 uses a new 14.2 million pixel CX format sensor and a new processing engine, so we were pretty hopeful that image quality would be good. Luckily, we’ve found that images are punchy and vibrant, with excellent colour reproduction and plenty of detail.

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