Has your current tablet come to the end of its life? Are you looking for an upgrade? Whether you want an iPad or another tablet, it is always important to consider your needs before making a rash purchase. A tablet is a long term investment and should be treated as such.
The eyes are commonly compared to cameras – their functions are quite similar, both processing light and recording images. Your eyes use light to send image signals to the brain, and cameras use it to capture images.
But how similar is a camera to the human eye?
With the development of new technologies and the benefits personal devices provide their users, it doesn’t come as a surprise that many people have chosen to purchase tablets. They’re useful machines that offer smart interfaces and allow people to check their emails, read books, go online shopping and much more. Tablets have been considered the next generation of digital development and so have been adopted by a large number of people. Read the rest of this entry »
Many people seem to be born with a natural ability to take a good photograph. They seemingly point their camera lens at an object and the resulting picture is always amazing. Then there are those of us who simply don’t appear to have the knack for capturing photographs; even still objects seem to stump us!
However, it is possible to take good pictures, and more often than not, there are reasons why your photographs don’t look great. Are you making some of these mistakes and ruining those perfect shots?
A couple of years ago, a good budget tablet cost about £120. It had the words “Tesco” and “Hudl” on the box and you could get one for half that price if you had enough Tesco Clubcard vouchers. Clearly the Hudl didn’t make enough money, so Tesco made a swift exit from the tablet business.
It would be easy to say you’re a fool for buying another tablet, but the Fire has one sticking point: it’s not an Android tablet. This isn’t a problem for a lot of people, but the fact that everything Google is conspicuous by its absence is a deal-breaker for others.
You can find out more about the pros and cons of Amazon Fire OS in our Fire review.
If you do decide that the Fire isn’t for you, the alternative is an Android tablet. iPads don’t fall into the budget category, so you’ll only find those in our Best Tablets roundup. Android is a great operating system, but it doesn’t follow that all cheap Android tablets are great. There are plenty of no-name brands out there, but as with most tech, you can’t buy one based on specifications alone. Quad-core CPUs and “high definition” screens might sound great, but what counts is how they perform in the real world. That’s where our reviews come in, as we run benchmarks to assess performance and battery life, and test a screen’s brightness, viewing angles and colours: none of which you can do by looking at an ebay listing or Argos catalogue. However, it does help to know what to look for when narrowing down your search. First, decide on screen size. Do you want a portable tablet with a 7in screen, or do you want something larger (and trade off portability)? We can’t tell you what’s best for you, but in general, a 7- or 8in screen is best if you’ll take the tablet everywhere, while a 9-10in screen is good if you only need to carry it around occasionally. Look for an IPS screen, as this technology is almost a guarantee that it will have good colours and viewing angles. It doesn’t say too much about brightness and contrast, but we’ve seen few IPS-screened tablets that we didn’t like. Resolution isn’t as important as you might think. Pixel density is a better guide: you need fewer pixels on a smaller screen and vice versa. Look for at least 250 pixels per inch. Storage You won’t get much storage in a budget tablet, but that’s fine if your chosen model has a microSD slot for adding more. Amazon’s (old) tablets don’t, which is one big black mark against them. The new range does, which is why we rate the £49 Fire so highly. Consider 16GB a minimum: 8GB without a microSD card is just too restrictive because half (or more) of this can be taken up by the operating system and pre-installed apps which you might not be able to delete. Most tablet cameras (let alone budget models) are relatively poor compared to the best smartphones. Don’t expect great quality photos or videos from any budget tablet, but if this is important to you always check reviews to see which tablet has the least worst cameras. Processor Don’t pay any attention to GHz numbers or even RAM. It’s easy to be fooled into believing a tablet will – or won’t – perform well based on numbers alone. Read our reviews to find out how each tablet performs in the real world. Software As we’ve said, pretty much every budget tablet around today runs Google’s Android operating system. This isn’t a bad thing though, as it’s very easy to use and just as good as Apple’s iOS found on iPads. It’s rare to find out without the Google Play store these days, but do check as it’s a pain if you buy something and find out it’s not approved by Google and you can’t access Google’s apps.Android tablets
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The operating system determines not just which apps are pre-installed, but also which you can download and use. The Google Play store has a massive selection and it’s rare to find an app that’s only on iPad and not available to Android users. But it does happen, particularly with apps for gadgets and smart home accessories.
They may be over a year old, but you can now pick them up for less than their original price, making some a better deal.
This isn’t a bad attempt at a budget tablet with decent build and almost stock Android. If you want 4G data on the go for simple tasks then the Vodafone Tab Prime 6 isn’t a bad choice with the PAYG option. However, if you’re not going to make use of the 4G then you’re much better off going for a tablet like the Tesco Hudl 2 which is cheaper and offers much better specs. It’s the screen which is the biggest let down here.
There’s little to get excited about with the Acer Iconia Tab 10 but that’s fine with a very affordable price tag of £179. It’s plain in appearance and quite heavy but apart from a few too many pre-loaded apps, the tablet offers good performance and decent storage plus a handy microHDMI port. Overall it’s a good choice if you’re looking to spend under £200 on a large Android tablet.
Asus’s Memo Pad 8 tablet is stylish, well-built and plenty powerful enough for most users looking to play casual games, browse the web and carry out basic productivity tasks. It is well-worth considering at £120 (you’ll find it for that price on Amazon) if display and camera quality aren’t top of your priority list. If you want to save a bit of extra cash and aren’t worried about loosing an inch off the display, we’d recommend opting for the smaller but very similarly specced Asus Memo Pad 7, which you’ll find for under £100 if you shop around.
For just £120, we’re really impressed with the Asus Memo Pad 7. In addition to a good-looking design and sturdy build, it also boasts hardware that rivals tablets with much higher price tags. A higher-resolution screen and front-facing speakers would add even more appeal, but if you’re looking for a budget tablet and have been considering the Tesco Hudl, Kindle Fire HD or even the Nexus 7, it’s worth investigating the Asus Memo Pad 7, too.
The Asus ZenPad C 7.0 is a fine tool for carrying in your bag wherever you go and using to check emails and social media and browse the web. Beyond that its functionality is limited, but what more can you expect from an £80 tablet? If you can stretch to the £99 Hudl 2 you will find a noticeable jump in performance, but the Asus is the more portable of the two.
7. Chuwi Hi12 
At under £200 the Chuwi Hi12 is a fantastic Windows 10 tablet with a large, high-resolution screen and capable – if not fast – performance. Battery life is excellent and the design is mostly good, but if you plump for the optional keyboard consider yourself warned about the trackpad.
5. Chuwi HiBook 2. Tesco Hudl 26. LG G Pad 8.3
The G Pad 8.3 is undoubtedly LG’s best tablet to date and at £199 it’s a bit of a steal. A nice selection of hardware and software make this a great choice for a small tablet. However, occasionally laggy performance means the Nexus 7 might be a better choice.
At £143.42 it’s difficult to find fault in a 10in tablet that can handle most tasks and offers both Android and Windows operating systems. We strongly recommend you purchase the optional keyboard for the extra functionality it affords, including two full-size USB ports, but even without it the Chuwi HiBook is a very decent budget tablet, with acceptable performance and a decent screen.
It isn’t perfect, but the HD 6 is really good value. Performance is well above the level you’d expect at this price, as is the quality of the screen. Some might find the 6in screen too small, though, so it’s worth trying to track one down before buying.
The 2013 flavour of the Nexus 7 is no longer available from Google. But shop around and you can find it in various online stores, at a great low price. Arguably the Hudl 2 offers a similar blend of value and quality, and may even be a bit faster. But you are unlikely to notice, and although the Nexus 7 is still lacking a microSD card slot, for many people will be the best 7in tablet around. It may even be the best value tablet there is.
One of the best budget Android tablets to date, Tesco has done the unthinkable and stopped selling its Hudl 2. It’s still a great deal where available, but be warned that many people are selling it at almost double its £99 price at Tesco – just because they can. If you can find one, and even with the complaints about charging and cracked screens, we can still recommend the Hudl 2. Tesco will continue to support its tablet, and the great screen, decent processor and microSD card slot make this an excellent tablet.
1. Amazon Fire
It’s certainly not perfect, and the lack of Google apps will still put some people off, but the Fire is excellent value at under £50. The latest Fire OS is so Android-like that it’s easy to use, and the Fire for Kids app makes it possible to limit what you kids can do and how long they can use the tablet. For some people it’s well worth paying double for the Kids Edition version as you get the bumper case and the great warranty. There are some sore points: the poor cameras, the sluggish performance at times, and the long charging time. But at this price it’s hard to complain. And you certainly won’t find a better tablet for the same money.
There are a lot of different cameras out there, and they are becoming increasingly better in regards to their technology and capabilities. One of these latest machines is the Nikon D500, a powerhouse camera capable of being used by professionals and semi-professionals everywhere. With incredible processing power and skilled in capturing the most beautiful pictures, this compact Nikon is truly king amongst other cameras. Read the rest of this entry »
Adequately lighting your studio for a photo shoot is important; after all, you want to make sure that you’re creating the perfect atmosphere in your photos, not only to create a great looking picture, but reducing the time you will need to spend editing later on!
There are a variety of different ways to light a space ready for a photography shoot, but there seems to be a long running debate in the photography world as to which one is the best; flash or continuous lighting.
In order to help settle this debate, we’ve decided to look at the advantages and disadvantages to help you make up your mind!
The bitter cold bites at unprotected fingertips as you walk determinedly. The sun isn’t up yet. The rest of the world is asleep. Not you, though: you’re on a mission to capture that famed golden hour. That special time of day when the sun hasn’t reached the height of its power yet and is softer for it in your photographs, bathing your subject in the kind of light that creates a flurry of butterflies in your stomach.
You don’t have to be a professional photographer to take expert pictures. It’s all about knowing the right techniques and following important tips.
Whether you’re a photography newbie or you’re a little more experienced with a camera, we’re pretty sure that you will always appreciate the opportunity to learn new skills and get better results.
With the never-ending deluge of filters on apps, like Instagram, and programs which get rid of imperfections in photographs, such as Photoshop, many photographs uploaded to Flickr and other image sharing sites can look artificial.
