Fujifilm announces 3D digital imaging system

19:26 EDT - In what has to be one of the more unusual announcements at this year's Photokina tradeshow, Japan's Fujifilm Corp. has announced that it is developing a new system for 3D digital imaging.

Dubbed "Finepix Real 3D", the new system spans the range from capture through viewing and even to printing, and will be comprised of a number of components. An as-yet unnamed digital camera features twin Fujinon-branded lenses - each with its own CCD image sensor. These communicate with a new "Real Photo Processor 3D"-branded image processor, which the company says will yield... (More)

Sample images (sort of) from Panasonic G1

13:06 EDT - IR Publisher Dave Etchells had a chance to shoot with a prototype of the Panasonic DMC-G1 Micro Four Thirds camera at a pre-Photokina press event in Cologne, Germany yesterday, and has some images to share, albeit at low resolution...

I had the opportunity to shoot with a prototype of the Panasonic G1 yesterday, at an international press even here in Cologne, Germany. Because the cameras we were using had firmware that's still far from final, Panasonic asked us not to share full-resolution images from them yet. VGA-resolution images (all we're permitted to show) don't show anything about resolution or noise levels, but I decided... (More)

Pasini Reports: miniphotokina Reviews

12:02 EDT - Mike test drives a few products during the show.

While the Imaging Resource video crews were packing for Cologne, your newsletter editor was busy unpacking. A handful of products to be announced at photokina secretly arrived at his bunker last week and he's been setting them up in what can only be called miniphotokina. The plan is to post a test drive a day during the show so you can see how a few new products actually perform while they are being... (More)

Ricoh announces Caplio R10

06:38 EDT - Ricoh has announced a replacement for its existing R8 digital camera, in the form of the Ricoh R10.

The Ricoh R10 retains the R8's ten megapixel imager and 7.1x optical zoom lens. The most notable difference in the Ricoh R10 is its larger 3.0" LCD display. The company has also incorporated the "electronic level" function from its GR Digital II and GX200 digital cameras into the Ricoh R10. A user-programmable Function button has been added to the rear panel of the Ricoh R10, and... (More)

Pentax: New DSLR, ring flash, and lenses aplenty

03:01 EDT - As the biennial Photokina tradeshow prepares to kick off, Pentax Imaging Co. has announced a new digital SLR, ring flash and a range of new lenses.

The Pentax K2000 digital SLR (known as the Pentax K-m in certain overseas markets) features 10.2 megapixel resolution from an APS-C CCD image sensor. There's also in-body Dust Removal and Shake Reduction, with the mechanism and circuit boards for the latter system having been redesigned to be more compact. The Pentax K2000 also sports a body with improved ergonomics, including a control layout designed... (More)

Olympus previews next Four Thirds DSLR

01:00 EDT - Showing its continuing support of the Four Thirds system alongside the new Micro Four Thirds standard, Olympus has today announced plans for a new E-System Four Thirds digital SLR.

Few details are currently available on the as-yet unnamed DSLR, which is to be shown in prototype form at the Photokina tradeshow and can also be seen in the press image at the end of this news item. What we do currently know is that the new camera is billed as a "mid-level" (advanced amateur) model that will sit between the company's E-520 and E-3 models in the lineup. It is set to inherit... (More)

Olympus announces Micro Four Thirds plans

01:00 EDT - A little under two months ago, Olympus and Matsushita - the company behind the Panasonic brandname - jointly announced their new Micro Four Thirds standard.

Today, Olympus has announced the development of its first Micro Four Thirds product, which is being shown as a concept camera during the Photokina tradeshow. Partner company Matsushita is set to begin shipping its first Micro Four Thirds product - the Panasonic G1 - from mid-November 2008. While the G1 does better existing single-lens reflex digital cameras with its 4.9 x 3.3 x 1.8" (124 x 84... (More)

Canon announces EOS-5D Mark II

00:01 EDT - Canon USA has today announced its new Canon EOS-5D Mark II digital SLR, a direct successor to its original EOS 5D, which survived a little over three years before replacement.

The Canon 5D Mark II occupies the same position in Canon's lineup, and still features a compact body that forgoes much of the ruggedness of Canon's pro-level cameras in favor of reduced cost. The Canon 5D Mk. II sports a new full-frame 21.1 megapixel CMOS sensor with 6.4µm pixel pitch. The sensor is similar to that of the EOS-1Ds Mark III, but with quite a few changes that result in a cleaner... (More)

Canon replaces PowerShot G9

00:01 EDT - Canon USA has today replaced its PowerShot G9 digital camera with a direct successor, the new PowerShot G10.

The Canon G10 has grown just a little in size, with a new body that features a double-decker right-hand control dial. Internally, the Canon G10 boosts resolution to 14.7 megapixels, and upgrades the image processor to a DIGIC 4 type. At the same time the new 5x zoom loses a little reach, but gains a useful 28mm wide angle while retaining the optical image stabilization. Autofocus system upgrades... (More)

Canon announces SX10 IS

00:01 EDT - Canon's PowerShot SX10 IS digital camera replaces the PowerShot S5 IS model, and has a body that's a third of an inch larger in all directions.

The Canon SX10's controls have been totally overhauled, and inside sits a larger 1/2.3" ten megapixel CCD image sensor and a DIGIC 4 image processor that allows for servo AF tracking. The PowerShot SX10's lens is now a whopping 20x stabilized zoom that sports a 28mm wide angle and 560mm telephoto. The Canon PowerShot SX10 IS's LCD display still has a 2.5" diagonal, but resolution increases... (More)

Canon announces two new Digital ELPH digicams

00:01 EDT - Canon's PowerShot SD880 IS and PowerShot SD990IS digital cameras replace the prior SD870 and SD950 models respectively.

The Canon SD880 is a ten megapixel camera with a 4x stabilized zoom lens. The PowerShot SD880 has a 3.0" LCD display, a restyled body that's just slightly smaller than its predecessor, and increases the telephoto power just slightly as well. ISO sensitivity in the Canon SD880 IS ranges from 100 to 3,200 equivalents, and other features include face detection, contrast correction, and an H.264... (More)

Canon Europe announces first CMOS PowerShot digicam

00:01 EDT - Among today's PowerShot digital camera announcements from Canon is one that has taken place in Europe and Asia, but conspicuously not in the US market.

The Canon PowerShot SX1 IS is very similar to the SX10 IS which has been launched here, but with one very important difference. Where the SX10 IS has a 1/2.3" CCD image sensor with ten megapixels, the SX1 IS replaces this with a CMOS sensor of equal size and effective resolution. That makes the SX1 IS the first ever PowerShot digital camera to feature a CMOS imager, and it also gives the SX1 IS a huge... (More)

Sony releases major firmware update for A700, new application software update

12:00 EDT - Big kudos to Sony: Major firmware revision released for their DSLR-A700. New software update as well...

It's nice to see a manufacturer really responding to their users and continuing to support cameras well after their initial release. In the case of the Sony A700, we were also gratified to learn from Sony representatives that our own early leadership in highlighting the issues surrounding noise reduction in the camera's RAW images had an influence on their decision to update the A700's firmware. While... (More)

Casio announces 40fps EXILIM FH20

09:00 EDT - Way back in the runup to the annual Photo Marketing Association tradeshow last Spring, Casio announced the EXILIM Pro EX-F1.

Capable of a frankly astonishing 60 frames-per-second at its full resolution, the Casio F1 also offered high-speed movie modes as fast as 1,200 frames per second. Sadly, a high $1,000 pricetag and a somewhat complex user interface dampened the appeal of the Casio F1. That's where the new Casio High Speed EXILIM EX-FH20 steps in. With a simplified UI, much lower pricetag, a smaller and lighter... (More)

Expected to ship by the end of 2008, the Leica D-LUX 4 is externally very similar to the Panasonic camera, with the main difference being the removal of the slightly raised hand-grip. The Leica D-LUX 4 has a 10.1 megapixel image sensor, DC Vario-Summicron 2.5x zoom lens with 24mm wide angle, and a 3.0" LCD display. An optional external viewfinder can be attached to the D-LUX 4's flash hot... (More)

Expected to ship this October, the Leica C-LUX 3 is externally almost identical, and has a sensor resolution of 10.1 effective megapixels from a 1/2.33" CCD image sensor. Leica has coupled this to an image stabilized, DC Vario-Elmarit branded 5x optical zoom lens with a 25mm wide angle. There's no optical viewfinder, with the Leica C-LUX 3 including only a 2.5" LCD on which images and... (More)

Panasonic G1: First Micro Four Thirds digicam (previewed)

02:01 EDT - At the start of August, 2008, Panasonic and Olympus jointly announced a new standard for interchangeable lens cameras, and today the Panasonic G1 has been unveiled as the first "Micro Four Thirds" product.

We've discussed the Micro Four Thirds system in some detail previously, so readers unfamiliar with the standard may want to take a look at our earlier coverage to familiarize themselves. In brief though, it offers the promise of smaller, lighter cameras and lenses by removing the mirror box in favor of an electronic viewfinder. The interchangeable lens Panasonic Lumix DMC-G1 definitely fulfils the... (More)

Sony: new full-frame pro DSLR, reviewed

09:00 EDT - Sony Corp. has today announced its first digital SLR to feature a full 35mm frame-sized image sensor, the Sony Alpha DSLR-A900.

To coincide with the announcement, we've just posted a full Sony A900 review based on an early production sample camera - and for that reason, this news item has been abbreviated from our usual in-depth analysis, instead hitting just a few of the key points. We'd encourage readers who're interested in the camera to jump straight over to our Sony DSLR-A900 review instead, and get the full story! The... (More)

Sony announces Cyber-shot T500

08:58 EDT - Sony has today announced a new Cyber-shot T-series digital camera model, the Sony T500.

The Sony Cyber-shot DSC-T500 features a ten megapixel CCD sensor coupled to a Zeiss branded 5x optical zoom lens that incorporates Sony's Super Steady Shot optical image stabilization. Maximum aperture in the Sony DSC-T500 varies from f/3.5 to f/4.4 across the zoom range. There's no optical viewfinder, with image framing and playback on the T500 achieved solely on a 3.5", 230,000 dot... (More)

First Nikon D90 test shots posted!

22:04 EDT - Exclusive! We have a production-level sample of the D90, and have posted the first batch of tests shots we captured with it.

We just got our hands on a production-level sample of the new Nikon D90,and have begun running it through our laboratory tests. The first batch of test images are online now, in our Nikon D90 Preview, which we've just updated to First Shots status. Stay tuned, we'll have more test shots tomorrow, and hopefully some timing data on the new camera by Friday! We haven't done any formal analysis on the... (More)

Nikon announces the D90!

00:01 EDT - The Nikon D80's exceptional sales record perhaps gave Nikon a little extra time to spend cooking up their vision of the ultimate prosumer DSLR. The result is the Nikon D90, incorporating AE and AF technology from the D3/D700/D300 line, while kicking both resolution and performance up a couple of notches from the D80. Not enough? How about movies from a DSLR? Read on for the details!

The new Nikon D90 comes to market with the considerable advantage of building on the strengths of one of the most popular SLRs in recent memory, the D80. As noted above, the extraordinary success of the D80 perhaps gave Nikon a bit of breathing space in which to develop the D90, thereby taking a larger step forward than they might otherwise have managed. The result shows in a camera that taps autoexposure... (More)

Canon PowerShot E1 announced!

03:56 EDT - The Canon PowerShot E1 marks a completely new concept for Canon cameras, very much designed for a young, female aesthetic.

The Canon E1 is marked by very curvy, rounded contours, and is available in three pastel colors, namely a blue, pearl white, and pink. The styling is something of a hybrid between Canon's ELPH and A-series models, but that's only a very broad generalization: The Canon E1 ultimately has a styling all its own. (Think of the design sense of the Hello Kitty animation figures, and you'll have some idea... (More)

Canon releases PowerShot A1000IS!

03:19 EDT - The Canon A1000IS has a very similar design and body shape to that of the Canon E1 we cover elsewhere, but the A1000IS has a bit more elegant, two-toned look, evidently designed to appeal to a more mainstream demographic. (The Canon E1 is really aimed at people (particularly females) in their teens and under, the A1000IS will appeal to young males and adults of both genders.)

With 10 megapixels and a 4x zoom lens, plus Canon's excellent image stabilization (IS), the Canon Powershot A1000IS is a great little camera with lots of capability in a svelte, compact package. A melding of the compact Canon ELPH design and the preceding larger, AA-battery powered A-series models, the new Canon A1000IS has a sleeker, more curvy look than previous A-series models, yet retains the... (More)

Canon introduces PowerShot A2000IS!

03:04 EDT - The Canon PowerShot A2000IS is intended as a replacement for the very popular Canon A720IS that was a sales leader last year.

The new Canon A2000IS has the same 6x optical zoom range (covering focal lengths from 36-216 mm equivalent) as the A720IS did, but bumps up the resolution from 8 to 10 megapixels. - And of course, it offers Canon's excellent IS (Image Stabilization) technology, an especially key feature at longer telephoto focal lengths. With a 10-megapixel sensor and a 6x optical zoom lens covering a focal length... (More)

Canon announces PowerShot SX110 IS!

02:32 EDT - The Canon SX110IS follows in the footsteps of a very successful long-zoom camera in last year's lineup, the SX100IS.

This year, Canon has updated the design with a 9 megapixel sensor (up from 8 megapixels) and larger 3 inch LCD (up from 2.5 inches). The Canon SX100IS also sports a number of enhancements to the its operation, with more sophisticated face recognition processing, a more sophisticated auto exposure system, motion detection, and a new Easy Mode that reduces picture taking to a "just push the button"... (More)

Canon announces EOS-50D!

00:01 EDT - Canon announces the Canon 50D, the follow-on to their highly successful 40D SLR, with higher resolution, higher ISO, and a deeper buffer for JPEG images.

Today sees the announcement of one of the more avidly awaited cameras of the year, the Canon 50D mid-range DSLR. While an excellent camera, many felt that the Canon 40D was a somewhat incremental upgrade over the preceding 30D, which was itself a relatively incremental step over the 20D. The Canon EOS 50D definitely kicks things up a couple of notches though, boosting resolution from 10.1 to 15.1... (More)

Olympus introduces the rugged Stylus 1050SW

00:26 EDT - The Olympus Stylus 1050SW features a rugged body that is shockproof, waterproof, and even freezeproof and includes perhaps the most unusual control system we've ever seen.

Based around a ten megapixel image sensor and 3x optical zoom lens with a rather tight 38mm wide-angle, the Olympus 1050SW also includes a 2.7-inch LCD display, 41.6MB of internal memory, and xD-Picture Card storage slot. Perhaps the Olympus Stylus 1050's most unusual feature is the ability to control the camera by different patterns of tapping on the camera body, from different angles. It's an idea... (More)

New Stylus is Olympus' slimmest yet

00:20 EDT - The Olympus Stylus 1040 features an ultraslim body that the company says makes it "the thinnest Stylus camera of all time".

Based around a ten megapixel image sensor and 3x optical zoom lens with a rather tight 38mm wide-angle, the Olympus 1040 also includes a 2.7-inch LCD display, 48MB of internal memory, and xD-Picture Card storage slot. There's no mechanical image stabilization in the Stylus 1040 - only what the company calls "Digital Image Stabilization", which simply increases the ISO sensitivity to try... (More)

Olympus announces SP-565UZ

00:14 EDT - The Olympus SP-565 UltraZoom takes the SP-570UZ model from Spring 2008, and updates it with a redesigned body that's slightly smaller and lighter.

The Olympus SP-565UZ has a ten megapixel imager, and an Olympus ED-branded 20x (!!) optical zoom lens. The SP565UZ also offers sensor-shift type mechanical image stabilization, and an electronic viewfinder with diopter correction. Something had to go to get the size down, though, and hence the Olympus SP-565UZ has a smaller 2.5" LCD display. On the plus side, available memory in the Olympus... (More)

Casio: Three new EXILIM digicams

06:43 EDT - Casio America Inc. has introduced three new digital camera models for its EXILIM Zoom series.

The Casio EXILIM Zoom EX-Z85 and Casio EXILIM Zoom EX-Z250 both sport 9.1 megapixel 1/2.5" CCD imagers, while the Casio EXILIM Zoom EX-Z300 boosts this to 10.1 megapixels from a 1/2.3" CCD. All three cameras have EXILIM-branded optical zoom lenses - a 3x zoom with a rather tight 38mm wide angle for the Casio Z85, while both the Casio Z250 and Casio Z300 sport 4x optical zooms with a useful... (More)

Olympus announces FE-360, FE-370

17:53 EDT - Olympus Imaging America Inc. has today announced two new digital camera models for its budget-friendly FE-series.

The Olympus FE-360 and Olympus FE-370 both sport eight megapixel 1/2.35" CCD imagers and Olympus branded optical zoom lenses - a 3x zoom for the FE-360, and a 5x zoom for the FE-370. The FE-370 offers mechanical image stabilization and a 2.7" LCD display, whereas the lower-priced FE-360 has a lower-res 2.5" LCD and no mechanical image stabilization. Another significant difference between... (More)

Fujifilm announces FinePix J150w

07:12 EDT - Rounding out Fujifilm's digicam announcements for the North American market, the company has launched its new FinePix J150w digital camera.

The Fujifilm FinePix J150w has a 5x optical zoom lens with 28mm-equivalent wide angle in front of a 1/2.3" CCD image sensor with ten megapixel resolution. Sadly, there's no mechanical image stabilization. The Fuji FinePix J150w's rear panel has no provision for an optical viewfinder, instead opting solely for a large 3.0" LCD display. ISO sensitivity ranges up to a maximum of ISO 1,600... (More)

Fujifilm announces FinePix F60fd

06:40 EDT - Continuing Fuji's new FinePix digital camera announcements, we have the FinePix F60fd.

The Fujifilm FinePix F60fd is based around a twelve megapixel Super CCD HR image sensor coupled to a Fujinon-branded 35 - 105mm equivalent 3x optical zoom lens. The F60fd offers sensor-shift type image stabilization, ISO sensitivity ranges up to ISO 1,600 equivalent (6,400 max at reduced resolution). The Fuji FinePix F60fd's rear panel offers no optical viewfinder, instead opting solely for a large... (More)

Fujifilm announces FinePix S2000HD

11:57 EDT - Fujifilm has today announced several new digital camera models, including one with SLR-like styling and a fairly impressive feature set.

The Fujifilm FinePix S2000HD features a 15x optical zoom lens with a 27.6mm-equivalent wide angle, and a ten megapixel CCD image sensor. With the CCD mounted on a movable platter, the Fuji FinePix S2000HD includes sensor-shift type image stabilization. The Fuji S2000HD's rear panel includes both a 2.7" LCD display and a 0.2" FLCD electronic viewfinder. The Fujifilm S2000HD is described... (More)

Nikon: Coolpix announcement redux

05:09 EDT - On Thursday, Nikon made a raft of digital camera announcements, including models with wifi capabilities and even a built-in GPS.

At the time, News Editor Mike Tomkins was fighting a dying notebook keyboard while on an overseas trip, and hence the announcements didn't get quite the coverage we'd ordinarily provide them. We now have a number of previews posted looking at each camera, along with our usual overview of specifications for each model. The Nikon Coolpix S60 is a ten megapixel camera with a 5x optical zoom lens, and... (More)

Sony: Two new Cyber-shot ultracompacts

00:00 EDT - Sony has today announced two new ultracompact digital camera models, the Cyber-shot DSC-T77 and DSC-T700.

The cameras are both closely related, sporting ten megapixel 1/2.3" imagers and mechanically stabilized, Carl Zeiss Vario-Tessar branded, prism-folded 4x optical zoom lenses. The main difference between the Sony DSC-T700 and Sony DSC-T77 is in the internal storage and LCD display types. Where the lower-priced Sony T77 has a 3.0" LCD with 230,400 dots and just 15MB of internal memory, the... (More)

Micro Four Thirds System - Dave's Analysis

14:23 EDT - Today's announcement of the Micro Four Thirds system is arguably the most significant camera-related announcement of the year. Imaging Resource Publisher Dave Etchells shares some thoughts and extended analysis about what it means to the camera market.

The Micro Four Thirds Announcement: More Detail and Analysis Today's announcement of the "Micro Four Thirds" lens mount standard will doubtless send shockwaves through the camera industry and SLR marketplace. It's arguably the most significant announcement in the camera market this year, as it introduces a whole new body/lens standard, and (at long last) opens the possibility of compact... (More)

Olympus, Panasonic announce Micro Four Thirds standard

04:07 EDT - Olympus and Panasonic have today jointly announced a new lens mount closely related to the existing Four Thirds format.

The Micro Four Thirds format has been designed to allow for reduced size and weight of camera bodies and lenses. The sensor size of a Micro Four Thirds camera remains identical to that of existing Four Thirds models, but with a roughly 50% decrease in the distance between the lens mount and sensor, known as the flangeback distance. The Micro Four Thirds mount also has a diameter that is reduced by... (More)