GE 1255W-BK 12MP Digital Camera with 5X Optical Zoom and 3.0-Inch LCD Screen with Auto Brightness (Black)
From GE
Broaden your view with the all new GE E1255W. With a spacious 3-inch high-resolution LCD screen with auto adjust brightness, photo playback is a delightful experience. Featuring a generous 12-megapixel resolution, 5x optical zoom, 4.5x digital zoom, and a 28mm wide angle lens.The E1255W also provides great extras such as pan camera panorama produced by panning the camera across to create a seamless panoramic picture, auto scene detection, smile detection, face detection, in-camera red-eye removal, electronic image stabilization and Quick Time Motion JPEG movie recording. It even has an SD/SDHC memory card slot expandable up to an incredible 8 gigabytes. Additional specs include Focal length of 5.2mm (wide) to 26.00mm (Tele) which is the 35mm film equivalent of 28mm (wide) to 140mm (Tele), F number of F3.3 (Wide) to F5.2(Tele), Normal focusing range of 60 cm, Macro of 5cm-80cm (Wide) to 120cm (Tele),Shooting modes of Auto, Manual, ASCN, Image Stabilization, Movie, Scene (Sport, Children, Indoor, Leaf, Snow, Sunset, Fireworks, Glass, Museum, Landscape, Night Landscape, Night Portrait, Portrait), and Panorama, Auto ISO sensitivity of 1600. Pictbridge compatability,ExifPrint support, multi-language support, USB 2.0 and AV out (proprietary connector) jacks. This products ships with rechargeable lithium-ion batteries, battery charger, USB cable, AV cable, Wrist Strap, CD-ROM, Arcsoft Photo Impression 6 photo mangement software, Manuals, Quick Start Guide, and Warranty Card.
- Amazon Sales Rank: #16933 in Camera & Photo
- Brand: General Electric
- Model: E1255W-BK
- Dimensions: 1.30 pounds
- Display size: 3
Broaden your view with the all new GE E1255W that delivers a big 3.0-inch intelligent LCD screen and a 28mm wide angle lens for more capturing and viewing dimension. Its powerful 12-megapixel resolution sensor offers superb image details. With the latest Pan-Capture Panorama feature, seamless wide-view photos can be captured without the need for stitching. The E1255W also contains a host of advanced features that you definitely appreciate.
E1255 Highlights
28mm Wide Angle Lens
Easily capture large group shots with the extra wide lens.
 |
Wide-view photos are produced by panning the camera across to create a seamless panoramic picture.
 |
Automatically determines the appropriate scene type and optimizes exposure for sharp, vibrant pictures.
Blink Detection
Blink Detection alerts you if a subject’s eyes were closed so you can immediately retake the picture.
Smile Detection
The shutter automatically releases when the smile appears so you can capture smiles the moment they happen.
Face Detection
Face Detection automatically focuses and optimizes exposure for sharp, brilliant pictures.
 |
Overcomes camera shake to help you take clearer, sharper pictures.
In-Camera Red-Eye Removal
Remove red-eye immediately while viewing images on the LCD.
Auto Adjust Brightness LCD
The LCD screen adjusts to the existing lighting conditions so you can frame your subject properly.
What's in the Box
- Rechargeable Li-ion Battery
- Battery Charger
- AV cable
- USB cable
- Wrist strap
- Arcsoft Photo Impression 6: Simplify management of your photos, videos and music files on your computer and get creative with digital photos.
A Solid Point & Shoot Camera
Not to be outdone by the reigning princes of the point and shoot market, the new GE 1255W 12 Megapixel camera enters the ring as a serious contender loaded with extras. Packed with a cornucopia of features including a 3" LCD screen with brightness adjustment, 5x optical zoom, 4.5 digital zoom, and a 28mm wide angle lens, its all business for this sleek model.
As with all new electronic gear, I had to take this model out for a test drive. I found the panoramic feature a sweet surprise. Simple to operate, I captured some great shots. Photo quality outdoors was outstanding. A nice collection of crisp colors and stable images without tweaking were the end product. As usual with limited lighting, indoor shots were give and take at best but still usable.
Simplicity at its best, this light weight camera also covers the bases with auto scene, face and smile detection. Usually with point and shoots, the onboard red eye removal tool is hit and miss. Not with this camera. Image stabilizer is pretty standard. It goes without saying that the best stabilizer is still a good old fashioned tripod. My only gripes are that the controls are a bit small and the obvious omission of a viewfinder.
Even though this model has a limited 24 megabyte internal memory, no worries. It operates with both SD & SDHC cards. The GE 1255W is packaged with a rechargeable lithium ion battery, battery charger, USB cable, AV cable, CD ROM, Guide, operating manual, and a wrist strap. One big selling point is this particular model easily slips into my shirt pocket.
Arcsoft Photo Impression 6 album software is also included. After looking over the photo software its okay, but not something I wish to add to my computer. The best free photo working software out there is still Google's Picasa 3. Its packed with outstanding tools and does not hog up space on your computer. The GE 1255W comes in Black, Silver, Pink and Red finish. GE backs this product with the standard one year warranty.
As an avid photographer, I am not generally impressed with many point and shoot cameras. There are a few that hold their own. Surprisingly I find the GE1255W strong with plenty of potential. Economically priced and packed with more features then most of the name brands, this model sells itself.
For those that want to jump into the realm of digital photography, I would recommend this product as a good starter camera. First time digital camera buyers won't be disappointed in performance or price.
GE Goes Digital !!!
GE Digital Camera?!! Isn't that the same company that makes Washers, dryers and host other home appliances? - You are correct; Apparently GE has an Imaging division Torrance, California which makes pretty good line-up of digital cameras.
So how well does this camera stack upto the plethora of other brand name Digital cameras that are out there in today's market?
General Imaging's new GE E1255W digital camera reviewed here is a 12.2 Megapixel based image sensor with GE's Proprietary 5x Optical Zoom that is capable of focal length equivalents from a useful 28mm wide angle to a 140mm telephoto.
Well there is an "Electronic Image Stabilizer" which attempts to take a steady picture by increasing the ISO sensitivity which does decent job at times but with the expense of some added image noise when looked closely. Optical Image stabilizers are better in this area but that is beyond the price range this camera is being offered. GE offers Optical image stabilization technology in the E1276W (MSRP $199) and the X3 (MSRP $229)
If you are a photographer who would like to take Panoramic images, this camera does a pretty decent job of automatically stitching together a panorama by simply panning the camera across the scene and taking pictures without the need of stitching the images with help of a computer and software later.
It has host of other interesting features which one may find useful they include...
(*) Blink Detection - A function which alerts you when camera finds closed eyes so that you can retake that image
(*) Smile Detection - A function that helps you take picture automatically when you say "cheese" and people smile
(*) Auto Scene Detection - An Automatic Function that determines the appropriate available scene types and optimizes exposure types for a sharper well balanced picture.
(*) Face Detection - An automatic function to focus on face and optimizes exposure for a clearer picture
(*) Built-in Red-Eye Removal - Allows you to remove red-eye in camera without using a computer or software
(*) Auto LCD Brightness - The LCD screen brightness adjusts itself to surrounding lighting conditions so that you can see images more clearly.
PROS:
[+] Simple point and shoot camera which is small enough to fit in your shirt pocket
[+] Large 3.0" LCD display with 234,000 dot resolution
[+] Takes true 16:9 {9} Megapixels (4000×2248) HD picture to view on Bigger LCD/ Plasma TV's (Most of us now-a-days just view pictures on TV rather than printing them)
[+] In-camera editing of images like panorama and Red-Eye removal
[+] AF assist lamp to help camera focus is low-light environments
[+] Includes Arcsoft Photo Impression 6 editing software for free!
[+] IMHO a well written manual is included to help you understand all the features & functions of your camera.
CONS:
[-] Proprietary 700mAH Li-Ion Battery which means you will have to buy a Li-Ion spare battery that generally costs more than having spare AA batteries.
[-] Separate Battery charger for the Battery, more items to carry on your trip
[-] No optical View finder - you must use the LCD screen to take pictures which consumes batteries
[-] Proprietary connector that doubles as USB and A/V port which means if you forget that special A/V cable, you cannot see pictures on your hotel room TV
[-] Still uses 640x480pixels: 30fps/15fps or 320x240pixels: 30fps/15fps QuickTime Movie capture mode, with larger capacity SD/SDHC cards available these days it would have been nice if it captured movies at higher resolution.
Final thoughts:
Overall it is a pretty decent 12 Megapixels camera for the price range.
It is not the fastest camera on the market or is the smallest to carry around, It is not too heavy either, It carries the GE logo that we have seen in many other areas of our lives and embraced it with confidence.
FYI, the popularity of this camera is currently very low, GE cameras cannot be found yet on flickr camera finder as GE Company is not known for making digital cameras, But hey! That could very well change who can predict the market?
A really fantastic camera, plenty of features
We have our share of point and shoot cameras, all purchased within the past year for various family members. Now, we are all fighting over this GE camera.
The four cameras I'll be referring to are these:
GE 1255W-BK 12MP Digital Camera with 5X Optical Zoom and 3.0-Inch LCD Screen with Auto Brightness (Black)
Canon PowerShot A590IS 8MP Digital Camera with 4x Optical Image Stabilized Zoom
Canon PowerShot 10.0MP Digital Camera - Blue (A480)
Nikon Coolpix S220 10MP Digital Camera with 3x Optical Zoom and 2.5 inch LCD (Plum)
Although the menu options on this one (GE 1255W-BK) are not as intuitive as they are on our two Canon's and one Nikon, we found several things we liked better on the GE.
First, the back screen was the biggest of the four at 3". It also handled bright light photo previewing better than the others. It also has the most MP, but unless you are printing enlargments of small, cropped areas I wouldn't be too concerned with the amount of megapixels between these four cameras.
The optical zoom on the GE is also the highest of the four at 5x. Add that with the slight increase in megapixels and you might do better with the GE if you tend to use zoom often. The Canon A590 has 4x, and the other two have 3x.
Actual pictures:
The GE and Canon were tied for picture quality while the Nikon sorely suffered compared to the others. I found that with both the GE and the Canon that flash was not needed indoors 90% of the time (so i manually turned it off). The colors were bright and the pictures were clear, no matter if it was a close up or if I was using zoom.
Size/Weight:
The GE was the second lightest and second smallest coming in at 6 oz with the battery and memory card installed. The only one lighter was the Nikon at 4.2 ounces, which honestly, is not nearly as good of a camera as the GE. The Canon A590 was the heaviest and most versatile, at 8.5 ounces. The A480 was 7.1 ounces. The Canon A590 allows for a lens adapter to be added as well as filters, but at twice the price, the GE might suit your needs just fine.
Of the four cameras, the only one still offering a view finder is the Canon A590 IS, which can be helpful in the future if you should have your LCD damaged (as happened to my son last year). Digital camera manufacturers just don't seem to be including viewfinders any more, and the GE is no exception.
Battery Life:
All four of the cameras have excellent battery life. But, I like the fact that with the Canon A590 and the Canon A480 I can use regular AA batteries. On vacation, if I forget my battery charger (it's happened) I can just buy any AA's and they'll work just fine. The Nikon and the GE both require a special battery battery that I found to be interchangeable between the two brands.
If I were in the market for a new camera, the GE would be my choice over the Canon A480 and the Nikon S220, even though they are each within $10 of each other. The GE just packs in more features, takes better pictures, has more MP, a wider angle lens, a larger LCD screen, and a better zoom. But, if you want to take some really professional looking photos on a budget and don't mind spending a bit more, take a look at the Canon A590IS because you can add a Wide Angle Lens or a High Definition² Telephoto Lens, or a variety of 3 Piece (UV, PL, FL) Filter Kit to capture more accurate colors. There are also several underwater cases that can be used with the Canon A590, so again, if you don't mind spending twice as much on the camera, and then another $100 on accessories, and don't mind a bulkier and heavier camera, the Canon A590 (or their newer model) would be a better choice. But, for an inexpensive point and shoot, I love the GE!
