Cameras: July 2008 Archives

Does the world need another me-too point-and-pop digital camera? Pentax thinks so. It announced yesterday its new Optio E60, a 10.1 megapixel compact DSC with a 3x wide-angle zoom (32-96mm equivalent) and an assortment of standard features such as face recognition for up to 10 faces and digital image stabilization.

Those 10.1 megapixels, by the way, are packed onto a 1/2.33-inch sensor.

As with most bytecams in this category, the E60 doesn't have an optical viewfinder, but it does have a 2.4-inch color LCD with a resolution of 112,000 dots.

Very compact--it measures 3.9-by-2.3-by-0.98 inches--and light--4.6 ounces, the camera can take stills in a variety of sizes, from 3648 x 2736 pixels to 640 x 480 pixels and video in both VGA (640 x 480) and QVGA (320 x 240).

ISO settings for the camera range from 100-6400, but the settings from 3200-6400 are limited to 5MP shots.

All the typical scene modes are supported by the DSC, including kids, pet, food and panorama.

The unit, which runs on AA batteries, also has an interesting Image Recovery function for salvaging images which may be accidentally erased. Like the first Ford automobiles and unlike many point-and-shoot models introduced these days, the E60 comes in one color: black.

The camera is expected to reach retailers in October and sell for $140.

Announcements of new digital cameras have been fast and furious over the last two weeks. Samsung, Casio, Kodak and Canon have all raised the curtain on new models during that period. Now Panasonic is joining the parade with its announcement today of four new Lumix models, including a replacement for its popular LX2 compact camera. The new model, appropriately designated the LX3 ($549.99), sports 10.1 megapixels on an ultra-sensitive 1/1.63 CCD sensor. According to the company, by limiting the number of megapixels on the sensor, it was able to give more space to each pixel and also redesign the peripheral circuits and other components to further minimize noise generation. Those design improvements, it said in a statement, have resulted in 40% higher sensitivity and 35% increased saturation compared to the company's other 10MP digital cameras.

The LX3 also has a beefier lens than its predecessor. Its Leica DC Vario-Summicron 24-millimeter, F/2.0 lens Panasonic said, is twice as bright as an F/2.8 lens. What's more, the new model's wide-angle lens has a 136% larger viewing area than the 28mm wide-angle lenses found in many fixed lens cameras.

The new unit also has a processor upgrade. It uses Panasonic's Venus Engine IV. Not only is it supposed to produce higher-quality images with reduced noise, but it supports high sensitivity recording--full resolution images at ISO 3200--and sequential shooting at 2.5 shots per second at full resolution and six shots per second in high speed burst mode.

Other new additions to this model include a film mode, which allows a shooter to emulate several types of film stock; a multiple exposure feature; "image leveling" to correct photos taken when the camera is held slightly askew; and high definition video capture at 1280 x 720p at 24 frames per second.

The LX3 is expected to reach retailers in August.

Panasonic also introduced today a new 14.7MP ultra-compact model, the Lumix DMC-FX150.

There are days that the only thing preventing me from tossing my desktop into harm's way is its size and weight. I can't say I've ever felt that way about my digital camera but something called the Flee Flying Stick cam may change all that. The goofy gadget is designed to be tossed in the air where it will automatically start taking aerial photos until it's no longer airborne. While in flight, the device transmits its photos to a cell phone via Bluetooth. The camera is the cerebral offspring of a Turkish designer named Hakan Bogazpinar whose products appear to be more conceptual than concrete, which may be why the buzz for this gizmo far exceeds any evidence that it actually exists. Should the Flying Stick make it to market, we believe a word of caution is in order if its useful life is to extend beyond that of a Titan rocket. Avoid dog parks, for this modcon will be an irresistable chew toy for dogs, one that most canines will turn into playground mulch faster than a sprinter's sneeze.

Korean electronics kingpin Samsung unveiled four new point-and-shoot digital cameras today, including a 14.7 megapixel model, the TL34HD, which supports HD video capture, and a 13.6MP snapper, the SL310W, with a wide angle optical zoom.

The TL34HD ($329.95) is the successor to Samsung's critically acclaimed NV24HD. With its ability to capture high-definition video at a resolution of 720P, dual image stabilization technology and three-inch touch-screen LCD, the TL34HD is being touted by the company as "the most advanced point-and-shoot digital camera in Samsung's history." The camera also features a 3.6x wide-angle (28 mm equivalent) optical zoom; maximum ISO 3200; and face, smile and blink detection technology.

The SL310W ($229.95) has the same wide-angle optical zoom as the TL34HD and a smaller--2.7 inch-- non-touch LCD. It captures MPEG-4 video, has 11 scene modes and will automatically fix red-eye in photos. It also has two self-help features, Function Description and Photo Help Guide. Function Description automatically provides a brief and easy to understand description of each setting when scrolling through the camera's menus. Photo Help Guide gives a neophyte lens jock a guided tour of how to take better pictures with the camera.

Two other cameras introduced by Samsung were the TL9 ($279.95), a 10MP shooter with a 5x optical zoom, and the SL201 ($169.95), a 10.2MP DSC with a 3x optical zoom and a 2.7-inch "intelligent" LCD which automatically brightens or dims based on available lighting.

The new cameras are expected to reach retail shelves in September.

The Sultan of Svelte, Casio, announced a new 8.1 megapixel point-and-shoot slimster today with a spacious three-inch LCD and a wide-angle 4x optical zoom lens. At 3.8 inches wide, 2.26 inches high and only .79 inches thick, the company is touting the new Exilim Zoom EX-Z150 as the slimmest digital camera on the market with a wide angle--28mm equivalent--zoom. The DSC, which has a 1/2.5-inch square pixel sensor, also features face detection technology, CCD-shift anti-shake image stabilization and a special YouTube capture mode to smooth the process of uploading video shot with the camera to that popular video sharing site. Offered in silver, black, red, pink and green, the Z150 is expected to reach retailers in September and sell for $199.99.

Canon sweetened the compact digital SLR market today for point-and-shoot fence sitters with a new addition to its digital Rebel line that's expected to be sold next month at $699.99 with an EF-S 18-55 millimeter, F/3.5-5.6 IS lens.

Weighing in at less than a pound, the new EOS Rebel XS has an APS-C CMOS sensor with 10.1 megapixels and is built around the company's high-performance DIGIC III image processor. Canon's hardware and software dust removal technology has also been incorporated into the unit.

The DSC, which will be available in both black and silver, also has a Live View mode for shooting images directly from its 2.5-inch LCD and a continuous JPEG burst rate of three frames a second that's limited only by the size of the memory card in the camera.

In addition, Canon announced a new external flash, the Speedlite 430EX II ($329.99), which it says takes 20% less time to recycle than its predecessor and whose settings can be controlled from the LCD of the camera that it's attached to.

"We are proud to introduce the new EOS Rebel XS camera at a very exciting time in digital imaging," Senior Vice President and General Manager for Canon's US Consumer Imaging Group Yuichi Ishizuka said in a statement. "As consumers have fully embraced digital photography, with many consumers purchasing their second or third digital camera models, we see the Rebel XS as the bridge to help photographers crossover from the world of point-and-shoot cameras to digital SLR technology."

It was just about this time last year that reports surfaced about Polaroid and Zink readying a digital camera with a built-in printer. At that time, the pair predicted they'd have a unit available in time for the holiday season. Santa came and went, however, without a sign of the the device. The buzz about the Zinkcam was revived this spring when something called the Shelly E-paper Digital Camera was announced but never materialized. Now Chris Cheesman at Amateur Photographer is reporting that it has confirmed that the elusive snapper cum printer will make it to market in time to be stashed under Christmas trees this year. AP says that no specs have been finalized for the product yet but it's expected to be a five megapixal DSC with 16 megabytes of internal memory and SD card support.

Buzz mongers can be a fickle lot. Leading up to the release this week of Nikon's new full-frame D700 DSLR, they couldn't speculate enough about that camera. But as soon as it became a reality, they dashed elsewhere. That elsewhere has been a rumored muscle compact from Nikon, the Coolpix P6000.

Judging from the specs thus far attributed to this phantomcam, it is squarely aimed at Canon's PowerShot G9 ($289-$449). The putative P6000 sports a 1/1.7 sensor packed with 13.5 megapixels. Forum pundits are specualting that it might be the same sensor that's in the Sony DSC-W300 which has received raves since its release. Other features attributed to the Virtual RAWsumer model are a 4x wide angle optical zoom (28-112mm equivalent), a top ISO of 6400 and an optical viewfinder, as well as VR optical image stabilization and RAW support.

According to the buzzbeaters, we won't have long to wait to see if the rumors swarming around the P6000 are truth or fiction. They say the DSC will be released by Nikon next month.

What's been buzz fodder for weeks finally became an entrée today when Nikon announced its new D700 digital SLR. The new 12.1 megapixel model has an FX-format sensor measuring 23.9 x 36 millimeters. By comparison, a 35mm film camera has a frame size of 24 x 36mm. Features found in the new D700 include:

• Nikon's EXPEED image processing system.
• A 51-point autofocus system with 3-D focus tracking.
• Two Live View shooting modes.
• An ISO range of 200 to 6400, with an expanded range of ISO 100 to 25,600.
• Sequential shooting speeds of up to eight frames a second at full resolution.
• A self-cleaning system using four distinct vibration frequencies.
• Compatibility with next-generation high-speed UDMA CompactFlash cards which can record data at 35 megabytes per second.
• A three-inch LCD with VGA resolution of 920,000 dots and 170 degree viewing angle.

The D700 is scheduled to go on sale at the end of this month for an estimated selling price of $2999.95 for the body only.