GE X5 Power Pro Series 14.1 MP Digital Camera with 15X Optical Zoom
- 14MP Digital Camera with 15x optical zoom and 5.7x digital zoom
- 2.7 Inch vibrant LCD with auto brightness
- 18MB internal memory with SD/SDHC card support up to 16GB
- Face detection, in camera red eye removal, image stabilization, smile detection, blink detection, and face auto-exposure
- Uses 4 AA batteries so you’ll never be stranded waiting for your camera battery to charge
If you want it all, you want a power pro series camera from GE. The new X5 defines our Power Pro series with the latest in high-tech features all captured in a professional, easy to use design. The X5 has a spacious 2.7-inch high-resolution LCD screen with auto adjust brightness so you won’t miss a thing. Featuring a generous 14.1-megapixel resolution, 15x optical zoom and 5.7x digital zoom. The X5 also provides panorama photo stitching allowing you to take 3 images and create a seamless panoramic picture, face detection, automatic face exposure, in-camera red-eye removal, optical image stabilization, blink detection, smile detection, and Quick Time Motion JPEG movie recording. Plus the impressive 18MB internal memory is expandable with an SD/SDHC card up to 16 GB. Additional specs include Focal length of 4.9mm (wide) to 73.5mm (Tele) which is the 35mm film equivalent of 27mm (wide) to 405mm (Tele), F number of F3.0 (Wide) to F5.2(Tele), Normal focusing range of 60 cm (Wide) to 200 cm
List Price: $ 139.99
Price: $ 139.99
Also Recommended:
Nikon Coolpix L22 12.0MP Digital Camera with 3.6x Optical Zoom and 3.0-Inch LCD (Red-primary)Nikon Coolpix L22 12MP Digital Camera (Red)…
Nikon COOLPIX L24 14 MP Digital Camera with 3.6x NIKKOR Optical Zoom Lens and 3-Inch LCD (Black)For those consumers who look for two major things in a camera, simple technology and affordability, they should look no further th…
Nikon Coolpix L22 12.0MP Digital Camera with 3.6x Optical Zoom and 3.0-Inch LCD (Black)Nikon Coolpix L22 12.0MP Digital Camera with 3.6x Optical Zoom and 3.0-Inch LCD (Black) – 26197…
IMO, a rebadged Fuji,
I did quite a bit of research before making this purchase ($130 at Walmart). It’s a ‘bridge’ camera with features like a point-and-shoot, but the body style of a SLR. There aren’t many reviews around or sample pics, probably due to the relative inexpensiveness of this camera, and the lack of a puffy, brand name. But if you just look closely at the physical framework of the shell, then compare the menu system to Fuji’s of this caliber (download their manuals), you won’t doubt my claim; when you take some pics, you’ll know. ‘Rebadging’, or remarking, is not a new selling strategy. It has been used by the auto industry, electronics industry, and computer software industry, to name a few.
Just check out my pics above, the macros of the Lily and cone flower (2 pics ea. with a 1:1 of each to compensate for Amazon’s limited picture quality) and the lamp post shots (3, normal, 15x and full zoom). I could get so close with macro that I could practically touch the lens to the objects (with good light), and using full zoom you can see the screw threads of the bolts of the lamp post. This has been on QVC a few times for $169 (retail, $270), and they always claim to sell over 500 in less than an hour. The color is incredible. I compared it with a Panasonic DMC-TZ3 at comparable zoom and dpi (8MP), and the color and clarity were significantly improved. The TZ3 is $160 ‘Used’ on Amazon.
I don’t know how some of these reviewers can mark this camera down unless they work for a competitor, or they just don’t know how to use one (really, no manual zoom? lol). The battery life is good also. I use cheap rechargeables. The image stabilization was demonstrated by the company at a recent electronics show where they mounted it on a heavily vibrating platform yet it still took a clean, focused shot. It works great.
Even if it Isn’t a Fuji, it’s a solid, reliable, fun camera with more capability than most people really need.
Was this review helpful to you?
|Excellent camera for the money,
I wanted to learn more about photography without breaking the bank since this is an experiment for me I would have hated to invest a ton of money in a camera just to find that the hobby was not for me. I looked at “inexpensive” DSLRs with kit lenses and well as various bridge cameras and even some P&S Canons what I could use the CHDK with to extend the functionality. Ultimately I decided that I wanted a bridge camera because I wanted more control and zoom over what most P&Ss offer but I didn’t want to invest a ton of money in lens with a DSLR. I was intialy interested in the Fuji Finepix S2550 but after discovering that it didn’t have a real aperture and since part of this was to learn more about digital photography I decided against that line. I ultimately decided on the GE X5 for several reasons.
1) It has a real aperture priority mode
2) It had the ability to do continuous AF
3) It could shoot video with optical zoom and little/no motor noise
4) It could do last 3 burst at full 14MP
5) It has a single press multiple shot smile detect mode which I love to use for family self portraits which with 3 kids the one shot on a set timer just isn’t enough for me.
6) The default mode of of the shutter is release priority which when coupled with constant AF means no missed moments while the camera focuses.
7) An AF assist lamp for night photos
8) The story of how General-Imaging came to be with retired execs from Olympus and Minolta getting together to make a new inexpensive camera company got me interested.
These things being said there are a couple things about the camera I wish were different.
1) A manual focus mode
2) EV Bracketing
3) HD Video
4) MPEG4 video encoding
One gripe I often hear with this camera which is actually a feature I like is that the camera does not focus completely when the button is full pressed without an intermediate half press. In DSLRs this is called release priority. The default behavior of this camera is to auto focus on a half press and take a picture on a full press unless you turn the continuous auto focus feature on in which case the camera is always focusing. Most P&S cameras are focus priority which means if the button is pressed the camera focuses then takes a picture a half press just speeds that process up a little by letting you prefocus. People used to this behavior may hate this camera as single full button presses may result in blurry pictures. I love this feature though because I can’t even begin to count how many times I have missed a moment with other P&S cameras when I press the button just to have whatever it was I was trying to capture change while the camera focuses. If I am shooting portraits of the kids I always half press to lock focus and then full press when the moment is right, and if I want subsequent pics I just keep pressing because the camera is already in focus from the last picture and I know it won’t refocus before the next shot. In action situations I turn on continuous AF and snap away to my hearts content, basically I am trading battery life for the ability to get instantaneous photos.
Ultimately I think the price this camera is insanely good. There are a couple of shortcomings that effect pretty much all bridge cameras and I have seen them mentioned here as flaws in this camera. First indoor/night photos are not as good as some other cameras. This is pretty much the case for all bridge cameras because even though the camera form factor is DSLR like the sensor inside is still small P&S type sensor which means less light is falling on the sensor vs a DSLR which have bigger sensors and bigger glass lens that let more light in. If you want superior dark photo taking ability you will need a DSLR no questions about it. One saving grace for this camera though is dark frame subtraction. What this means is if you take night pictures using a long shutter speed the camera will actually take 2 pictures, one with the shutter open and one closed. It will then automatically correct the shutter open picture by removing sensor noise by using the picture taken with the shutter closed as a reference. This means more noise free night long exposure shots than you get with a similar camera.
Another issue is lens sharpness. This camera is good in this regard, but not on par with say a Panasonic bridge camera. The thing is all bridge cameras have insane lens configurations going from wide angle to super telephoto. To pull off this change with a DSLR you would need several interchangeable lenses but all of these pieces of glass in the optical path mean that the light is being bent a lot and it will never be as sharp as a camera with a more limited range.
Finally depth of field. These sorts of cameras generally have a very wide…
Read more
Was this review helpful to you?
|Really Lovin’ This Camera So Far!,
Let me begin my saying that I have not purchased a new camera in six years, so I was waaaayyyy behind in technology (I had never purchased an SD card until now, etc.). I had read so much about the user manual to this camera being hard to read, the camera functions being hard to access and use, etc., but, I must say, I found this camera easy to use and the functions were well-explained and documented in the user manual (for Pete’s sake, they show the pics and give step-by-step instructions in the manual :-)).
I ordered this camera from Amazon last Friday; it arrived today. We are using it to take on a cruise with us and I wanted something with a decent zoom to be able to take pictures at somewhat of a distance. I also needed to practice using it, so I took it out of the box right away. I looked at the user manual and went to work :-D. I also used the user manual on the enclosed CD. No problem!
Like another poster said, I, too, researched this camera a lot before buying it and I, too, found it comparable to a couple of the Fuji Finepix that I was looking at. I am in no way an expert on cameras (I don’t know much about them at all), but, I did go try this one out at Sears prior to purchasing this one from Amazon (Amazon was cheaper). While there, I noticed that they also had the Fuji I was thinking about getting, too, and I tried it. I really do like the way the GE X5 feels in my hands better than the Fuji! And, with my not needing the camera for professional purposes, I just wanted to be able to take decent pics. And, the GE camera seems to be able to do that!
I am soooo excited about this camera. The pics are so clear and sharp! I am having to learn how to focus it, etc., but, so far I have gotten some good clear shots.
I wanted to address some common comments that I have seen about this camera, both on Amazon and other other sites that sell this camera:
1. Using Manual to Get Clearer Pics of People Up Close – Previous reviewers were saying that their pics of people up close were blurry. Other reviewers suggested to take the pics in Manual as opposed to Automatic. I don’t necessarily agree with this. In fact, with my not knowing what I was doing :-), I took blurry pics in both Manual and Auto, but I took more blurry pics in Manual. What did, in fact, help me to not blur the pictures was to follow the instructions in clicking the button to take the pics. If you read the manual, it tells you to push the button half-way down to focus the pic. Once you do, you will hear a tone (unless you disable the sound feature, I guess). Once you hear the tone, press the button the rest of the way down until you hear a shutter click sound, which lets you know that the pic has been taken. Pressing it all the way down too soon caused my pics to be blurry.
2. Picture Quality is Poor – People have said that the pic quality is poor. I do not agree with that. But, what I did see (and, again, I have lived in the dark ages regarding technology for so long until it might be this way with many digital cameras that I don’t know about), though, is that the pic as it appears on the LCD screen is VERY GRAINY. This is true when the pic is being taken. However, if you go back and review the pics, you will see that they are not grainy (if taken correctly).
3. This Camera is Not for Beginners/It is an Advanced Beginner Camera – As I stated earlier, I don’t agree with that. Now, let me say that there are features that I do not know how to use on this camera and may never know how to use because I may never have a need to use them. But, you don’t have to use the “advanced” features in order to be able to use this camera. I’m a living witness :-D.
I am glad that I purchased this camera on Amazon, even though it went up $10 in my cart on literally the day I had it in the basket :-). Overall (so far), I am quite pleased with this camera.
Oh, one more thing: At the time of my writing this, if you look at the What’s in the Box? section, you will see that it lists 4 AA alkaline batteries are included with this camera. But, if you look at the Product Description portion, you will see that it lists 4 rechargeable AA batteries. I received the alkalines. The alkalines are doing well so far, but I will buy some rechargeables to take on the cruise with me. I have reported this discrepancy on the page to Amazon customer service and they may be fixing it soon.
UPDATE ON DECEMBER 17, 2010:I wrote a very positive review of this camera, but I am now seeing many negative reviews. When I bought my camera, it was sold and shipped directly from Amazon. Now I see that it is coming directly from Capital. I don’t know if there would be a difference in the camera or not; shouldn’t be. My camera did not ship from Capital and I have had no problems with it. I am adding this to my review because I don’t want people to think that I am…
Read more
Was this review helpful to you?
|