Best cheap camera 2014: 6 cameras reviewed

On the surface, it might seem like your smartphone does a decent enough job of snapping your posh dinner in that upmarket Italian restaurant at the weekend, or your latest selfie as you bronze yourself on the beach, but if you hanker after more – faster captures, sharp shots of moving subjects and cleaner, more natural looking shots after dark for instance – then you're missing out.
The reason your 8MP smartphone camera can't match your mate's 8mp compact for image quality and level of detail is that it's not all about megapixels – sensor size matters too. A Smartphone's sensor is a mere fraction of the size of that inside a compact camera: a larger sensor means bigger pixels and better light-gathering ability, plus the way in which the technology is configured in a camera means that you can achieve sharper definition, finer detail and cleaner images in low light.

Added bonuses such as Wi-Fi connectivity, big zoom lenses and detail-rich macro shooting modes – not to mention HD movie recording and fast burst shooting modes – are all features that current smartphones just can't deliver to the same level as a compact, if at all.
Put simply, smartphone cameras have their place when it comes to occasional snapshots, but for a reliable, responsive performance and truly impressive image quality in an easily portable package, you can't beat a compact. Read on for our round-up of six of the best budget-friendly compacts on the market that will help you take your photography to the next level.

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Galaxy S5 Active 'Activity Zone,' multi-use button star in latest video leak

The last time we saw the rumored Samsung Galaxy S5 Active it seemed its specs were more or less identical to the standard Galaxy S5's.
Perhaps in response, TK Tech News - the same YouTube channel that leaked the previous benchmark video - has returned with another clip, this time pointing out some of the major differences that will be found in the S5 Active.

Prominent among them is a new app called "Activity Zone" that appears to have a number of features exclusive to the sporty handset.
What's more, tied to the Activity Zone is an "Activity Key," a button on the phone's left side that can open up Activity Zone with a short press or, with a long press, the camera. Once the camera is open, the Activity Key button can snap a photo.

So much room for activities

As the disembodied hand and voice in the video point out, Activity Zone appears to be an extension of Samsung's S Health app.
The Galaxy S5 Active's Activity Zone is apparently a place from which to access the phone's barometer and compass, as well as stop watch and flashlight features.
The Activity Zone also has a shortcut to the phone's existing S Health exercise app.
The video's narrator also claims the Galaxy S5 Active is "faster" than the Galaxy S5, though that claim seems somewhat dubious, considering his last video said the two phones have the same specs.
But he also says the Active is actually slimmer than the existing Galaxy S5, not thicker as its extra rubber and metal bits might seem to suggest.

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