Toshiba PDR-M71Toshiba introduces a feature-packed, value-priced 3 megapixel model!<<Optics :(Previous) | (Next): Shutter Lag & Cycle Time Tests>> Page 6:Exposure & FlashReview First Posted: 08/24/2001 |
Exposure
The PDR-M71 offers a great deal of exposure control, with a range of shooting modes that give you as little or as much control as you want. The Mode dial on top of the camera controls the basic recording mode, offering Auto Select, Manual, or Movie modes. Within these selections are a variety of options from which to choose.
When in Auto Select, you can choose from Automatic, Portrait, Landscape, Sports, Night, and 16-Frame Multi exposure modes, which are all accessed via an on-screen, pulldown menu (activated by pressing the Enter button). In Automatic mode, the camera makes all of the exposure decisions, with the exception of Flash mode and File Size settings. Portrait mode uses a large aperture (decreasing the depth of field) so the subject is in focus and the background is slightly blurred. Landscape mode adjusts the camera for distant scenes and landscapes, by setting the focus for infinity and using a smaller aperture for greater depth of field, so objects in the foreground and background remain in focus. In Sports mode, the camera increases the shutter speed to "freeze" fast-paced action. Night mode allows you to photograph people against dark backgrounds, such as cityscapes, without losing the background color or detail. (The flash is automatically fixed in a Slow-Synchro mode and a long shutter speed records more ambient light.) Finally, the 16-Frame Multi mode takes 16 consecutive shots at intervals of approximately 0.13 seconds (7.5 frames per second), which are then saved as a single 2,048 x 1,536-pixel image. This is a good mode for recording moving subjects, as the resulting image appears like a series of stop-action frames.
When the Mode dial is set to the Manual position, you have a choice of Program AE, Aperture Priority, Shutter Priority, or Manual exposure modes (also accessed via a pulldown menu). In Program AE mode, the camera continues to select the shutter speed and aperture settings, while you have control over all other exposure variables. Aperture Priority and Shutter Priority modes give you control over either aperture or shutter speed, while the camera selects the best corresponding setting. Available aperture settings range from f/2.9 to f/8, and shutter speeds range from 1/1,000 to 15 seconds. In both modes, the adjustable value is changed by pressing the up and down arrows on the Four-Way Arrow Pad. In all three of the abovementioned modes, the left and right arrows adjust Exposure Compensation from -2 to +2 exposure values (EV) in one-half-step increments. Finally, Manual exposure mode provides full control over both shutter speed and aperture, with the up and down arrows controlling aperture, and the left and right arrows controlling shutter speed.
In Aperture Priority, Shutter Priority, or Manual exposure modes, the adjustable variable is displayed in red if the camera's metering system disagrees with the setting, but the camera will still take the picture. In all four Manual modes, the camera's on-screen histogram (displayed in the lower right corner of the LCD monitor) shows tonal distribution, and the surrounding frame turns red if the meter determines that the Exposure Compensation, Aperture, or Shutter speed is incorrect. (The User Guide also notes that in Manual mode, if the aperture is set to f/2.9, the 1/1,000-second shutter speed is not available.) There are three additional exposure adjustments in the Manual mode pulldown menu, including: White Balance, Metering, and Single / Continuous (S/C) capture, which includes Auto Bracketing Exposure.
The PDR-M71 offers six White Balance settings, including Auto, Daylight, Cloudy, Blue Fluorescent, Red Fluorescent, and Incandescent. (One thing we'd like to point out here is that with as much manual control as the PDR-M71 provides, a manual White Balance setting would have been very welcome.) By default, the camera employs a Multi Metering system that reads light from the entire frame and calculates the best overall exposure. An optional Spot metering mode reads the exposure from the very center of the frame, which is useful for high-contrast subjects. The Single capture mode records one image at a time. Continuous or Burst Photography mode records up to three consecutive images with a single press of the Shutter button (see below); and Auto Exposure Bracketing (AEB) mode takes three consecutive images at -0.5, 0.0, and +0.5 EV settings, allowing you to choose the best overall exposure.
Manual mode also offers an on-screen Recording menu with additional exposure options: Color, ISO, Sharpness, and Contrast. The Color control includes Standard, Vivid, Monochrome, and Sepia settings. ISO, or light sensitivity, is adjustable in 100, 200, and 400 ISO equivalents (options are presented as Normal, 2x, and 4x). Sharpness can be set to Normal, Soft, or Hard. Contrast options include Normal, Strong, and Soft.
A Self-Timer button on top of the camera cycles between the 2- and 10-second Self-Timer modes, which provide a short delay between the time the Shutter button is pressed and the moment the shutter actually releases. The Self-Timer light on the front of the camera blinks to indicate the countdown, and a numeric countdown also appears in the LCD monitor.
Flash
The PDR-M71's built-in flash operates in one of four modes: Auto, Red-Eye Forced Flash, Forced Flash, and Off. (A Slow-Synchro mode is only available in the Night photography mode, and is automatically enabled.) The Flash button on top of the camera controls the flash mode. Auto mode places the camera in charge of when to fire the flash, based on the existing light conditions. (Auto mode is not available in the Manual record mode.) Alternately, Redeye Forced Flash mode fires the flash with every exposure, regardless of light level. A small pre-flash is fired before the full flash, to reduce the occurrence of red-eye effect. The Forced Flash mode works in a similar manner, only without the redeye pre-flash. Finally, Suppressed mode simply disables the flash, so that it does not fire at all. Toshiba estimates that the PDR-M71's flash is effective from 2.6 to 9.8 feet (0.8 to 3.0 meters) with the lens at full wide angle. (We conduct our flash tests with the cameras' lenses set at their telephoto position, which reduces the effective range somewhat, giving more of a worst-case indication of performance.) In the PDR-M71 testing, we found that flash intensity was acceptable only at the minimum 8-foot distance (where we begin measurements), and steadily decreased from that point on. Therefore, we rate the M71's flash range at only 8 feet, an inadequate performance overall for a camera with its otherwise strong feature set. As we mentioned earlier, one of the features we missed the most on the M71 was the external flash connector the M70 had. For a camera with so many obviously "enthusiast" features, leaving off the flash sync connector is hard to justify, particularly in light of the very limited range of the internal flash unit.
Burst Photography Mode
Burst Photography mode captures a maximum of three images at approximately 1.1-second intervals. (Toshiba claims 0.8 seconds, but our own tests showed 1.1 seconds between frames.) The actual frame rate depends on the shutter speed, file size and quality settings, and the amount of image information to be recorded. Images are temporarily stored in a buffer memory, which allows you to pick which frames are actually stored on the SmartMedia card. After the series is captured, the LCD monitor is automatically enabled (if previously turned off) and a set of options appears on the screen. You can either save or delete images independently, save all images, or delete all images in the series. The green LED lamp next to the optical viewfinder eyepiece flashes until you make a decision.
Movie Mode
The PDR-M71 also offers a Movie recording mode, which is entered by turning the Mode dial to the Movie camera position. A full press of the Shutter button starts and stops recording. Movies are recorded with sound for varying amounts of time, depending on the size / quality setting chosen, and the amount of available space on the memory card. The recording microphone is on the front of the camera, just over the lens. Two resolution sizes are available -- 320 x 240- and 160 x 120-pixels -- with three compression levels available at each image size. Recording times vary from 30 seconds at the highest quality 320 x 240-pixel option, to three minutes in the lowest quality 160 x 120-pixel resolution. You can set the M71's optical zoom lens to whatever position you choose before recording begins, but during recording you only have access to the 2.2x digital zoom. This is a bit of the best of both worlds, in that you still retain much of the usefulness of the optical zoom lens, even though you're not able to change its setting during the exposure. Flash is not available in Movie mode.
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