BenQ E1260 Review

BenQ E1260 Overview

Posted: 04/28/2010

The BenQ E1260 couples a 4x optical zoom lens with a twelve megapixel, 1/2.3"-type CCD image sensor manufactured by Sharp Corp. The E1260's lens provides 35mm-equivalent focal lengths ranging from a useful 28mm wide angle to a moderate 112mm telephoto. Maximum aperture is f/2.8 at wide angle, and f/6.3 at telephoto. The BenQ E1260's standout feature is its in-camera HDR mode, which captures multiple images and then combines them into a single image with increased dynamic range.

The BenQ E1260 lacks any form of optical viewfinder, instead opting solely for a 2.7-inch LCD display with 230,000 dot resolution. ISO sensitivity can be controlled automatically or manually, and ranges from ISO 100 to 1,600 equivalents at full resolution. By dropping the resolution to three megapixels or below, this range can be expanded to as high as ISO 6,400 equivalent.

A range of over a dozen scene modes provide a modicum of control over the look of images, and the E1260 can automatically select between many of these scene types in its Smart Scene mode. The BenQ E1260 also includes auto face tracking capability, as well as both smile catch and blink detector functions. There's also a self-portrait mode, a beauty enhancer function, and a G-sensor that's used both to correctly orient images, and for an unusual control method. When playing back images, a shake of the camera can move to the next image.

As well as stills, the BenQ E1260 can capture video at both high definition 720p (1,280 x 720 pixel), and standard definition VGA (640 x 480) or QVGA (320 x 240) pixel resolution. Movies are captured at a rate of 30 frames per second, and include audio. The BenQ E1260 is also compatible with the DPOF print ordering and PictBridge tethered printing standards.

The BenQ E1260 includes a not-very-generous 11MB of internal memory, as well as a Secure Digital slot that's also compatible with SDHC cards. There's no compatibility with the latest SDXC cards, however. Connectivity options include both standard-definition NTSC / PAL video, and USB 2.0 High-Speed data. Power comes courtesy of a rechargeable 700mAh lithium ion battery pack that's included in the product bundle, along with a charger.

The BenQ E1260 goes on sale worldwide from May 2010, with two body color choices -- metallic gun-metal gray, or metallic blue. Pricing had not been announced at press time.