Computer Act!ve - UK (2022-01-19)

28

Reviews

VERDICTAdecentdigital camera you

canuse in places your smartphonemay

notreach

★★★★★

ALTERNATIVENikonCoolpixW300

£389Awaterproof

digitalcamerathat

shoots stereo-

sound video

underwater at

depthsof30metres

SPECIFICATIONS

12-megapixel image sensor••4K videorecording••

4x opticalzoom••3incolourscreen••16 scene modes

• •GPS••66x32.4x113 (HxDxW)••253g••One-year
  warrantywww.snipca.com/40468

TheTG- 6 takesprettygood

pictures with accuratecolours,

evenin lowlight. Thisisdownto

itswider-than-averageaperture

setting(f/2.0). Thepicturesare

similarto what youmightexpectfroma

mid-rangesmartphone.Thereare

camerasthatwill takebetter shots, but

theydon’t tendto beas water- and

dustproofasthisone.

There areseveral features here that

photoenthusiasts will appreciate,with

plenty of manual settings (aswellasthe

usualautomatedones)ifyouwant to take

more controloveryourimages. It canalso

savephotos in theRAWformat,which

collectsmoredetailanddata in theimage

thanJPEG,for example. Thisleavesyou

with more optionsif youwanttodigitally

editthephoto.

Smartphonesmayhavereplacedthedigital

camerafor most casualphotography

thesedays, buttheyare worryingly easy

to damagewhile,say,onthebeachor

hikingupamountainside.Ifyou’d rather

capturememoriesonadevicethatcan

withstandanactivelifestyle,theTough

cameraisdefinitely worthconsidering.

It cantakepictureswithupto

12-megapixelresolutions,shoot4Kvideo,

andiswaterproofdowntoadepthof15

metres. It evenoffersanunderwater

shootingmode,whichmakes it ideal for

takingphotos whileyou’redoingabit of

snorkelling.

DIGITALCAMERA❘£36 9 from Olympuswww.snipca.com/ 40468

OlympusToughTG-6

Activeshooter

VERDICTThisApple-onlysmartplug

isincrediblyeasytosetupanduse,but

issignificantlymoreexpensivethan

rivalplugswithsimilarfeatures

★★★★★

ALTERNATIVE

TP-LinkTapoP100£8

If youdon’tneed theApple

connection, this s mart plug

integrates with Amazonand

Google smart speakers, and

is greatvalue formoney

SPECIFICATIONS

RequiresAppleHomeKitapp••Wi-Fi 4 • •

30 x34x52mm(HxDxW)•• 530 g••One-yearwarranty

http://www.snipca.com/4 0375

iPadsandthelike,settingupthedeviceis

assimpleasscanningaQRcode.The

deviceisthencontrolledviaApple’s

Homeapp,seamlesslyintegratedwith

yourothersmart-homeproducts.From

theappyoucansetupatimedschedule

forthesocket,makeitcomeonatsunset

andturnoffatsunrise,orswitchittoa

randomsettingtomakeitappearthat

someoneisathome.It’scurrentlythe

easiestwaytocontrolanelectrical

appliancesmartly,butit’snotthe

cheapestoption.

Ifyou’rehappytodoalittlemorework

togetyourdevicesconnected,thereare

cheaperalternativesthataremorefiddly

tosetupandintegratewithGoogleor

Amazon’s smarthomedevices.However,

thisdeviceisagreatoptionifyoulike

techthatlinksseamlesslyandyou

alreadyuseAppledevices.

Thereareseveralwaystomakeyour

homesmarter,butoneofthesimplestis

touseapluglikethisonefromBelkin.It

letsyouconnectastandardlamp(orany

otherdevicethatyouleavepluggedintoa

mainssocket) andcontrolitusingyour

smartphoneorsmartspeaker.

There’s acaveatwiththisparticular

device:it’s specificallydesignedtowork

withAppleproducts. Thismeansyou

needtouseanAppledevicetosetitup

andcontrolit.Ifyou’dpreferto(or

alreadydo)useAndroid,GoogleAssistant

orAmazonAlexaasyoursmart-home

controller,you’llneedtolookelsewhere

(seeAlternative).

However,ifyoualreadyuseiPhones,

SMARTPLUG❘£25fromAmazonwww.snipca.com/ 40465

BelkinWemoWiFi SmartPlug

Socketandsee

e

g

nd

nd

ikon Coolpix W300

s

19 January–1February