Review: GE E1050TW camera

GE is not particularly well known on this side of the Atlantic but in the USA it's pretty much a household name, making everything from television programmes (it owns the huge American network NBC) to microwave ovens.

The E1050TW is one of the company's first cameras to be sold in the UK and Europe, and it has impressive specifications. It's capable of capturing 10-megapixel images, has a 5x zoom lens and a large 3in screen.

There are no buttons on the back of the camera – instead, the touch-sensitive screen is used for all settings. This can be confusing at first because the main icons are not very clearly marked, but it's easy once you get used to it. The large screen means the menus are clear and explain what each option does.

Available in a range of colours, the shell of the camera is nicely rounded at the edges giving it a great look. There's a slightly strange protrusion at the back that acts as both a thumb rest and a place to attach the supplied strap.

It can shoot video in fairly good quality, as well as being able to detect faces and focus on them. There's also a blink detector that will warn if it thinks someone blinked in the shot you just took so you can reshoot it immediately.

Unfortunately, the E1050TW's picture quality wasn't hugely impressive. While the 10-megapixel images look decent when zoomed out, if you start to magnify them to their actual size blurring and noise start to become problems. If you like to make enlargements or large-scale prints, the E1050 isn't the camera to get.

There's no viewfinder so all shots have to be composed using the screen, which could be a problem in bright light. We were also disappointed to find that the camera doesn't use the standard mini-USB connector that's common to many modern devices, instead using a different socket. That means the supplied cable may be expensive to replace if lost.

For general snapshots it's a good camera that's both easy and fast to use, and the high-quality video is definitely a bonus. But for more discerning snappers we'd recommend a camera such as the Ricoh R8 which, although a little older, offers excellent pictures and is available for around the same price.