Digital Cameras That Do Different Tricks

Now that digital cameras have pretty much maxed out their megapixel counts, manufacturers are turning to other tricks to entice buyers. Two of the coolest are the kind of innovative but obvious features that make you wonder why someone never thought of them before.

The Samsung DualView TL225 ($350) and TL220 ($300) include a 1.5-inch LCD screen on the front of the camera as well as a traditional, larger screen on the back. The most obvious use for the front screen is to take the guesswork out of self-portraits and to let photo subjects see what the finished picture will look like.

But the front screen can also display an anime-style cartoon to capture kids' attention so that they sit still and look at the camera, and it also shows a countdown in self-timer mode. And since LCD screens are big drains on battery power, the front screen stays dark and blends into the camera until it's tapped to turn it on.

The DualView cameras also can do a few tricks using the  touch-screen on the back. Pictures can be deleted just by drawing an X on the screen; they can be rotated  by drawing a circle on the screen clockwise or counterclockwise; and they can be advanced just by flicking a finger iPhone-style across the screen.
The Nikon Coolpix S1000pj ($430) solves the problem of having to pass a camera around to share recently shot pics or having everyone gather around the computer once they are downloaded and displayed. It does this by incorporating a microprojector into the camera that can display pictures on a wall, ceiling or any light-colored surface.

The projected image can be up to 40 inches diagonally, depending on the distance from the display surface. The Coolpix S1000pj's tiny projector produces only 10 lumens of light (compared with around 1,000 lumens of a typical conference-room model) and the projected image can be a maximum of 640 by 480 pixels.

But it's more than enough to quickly display your pics -- and impress your camera-phone toting friends.

-- Posted by Doug Newcomb, special to MSN Tech & Gadgets