Sure, the US has fancy-pants capacitive touchscreen phones out the wazoo, but Japan's superphones still dominate when boiled down to a base, spec-for-spec comparison. Take this new Sharp SH-01A clamshell for example, just revealed by the FCC. It sports a 28mm wide-angle lens with 8 megapixel CCD sensor and, according to rumor, Dolby Pro Logic II surround sound for your microSD stored media. Remember, FCC testing doesn't mean it'll be sold between the left and right coasts -- this flip is likely just being certified for US roaming whenever it's finally announced for NTT DoCoMo in Japan.

We noticed that the writeup for Leica's newly unveiled S2 made mention of a new Kodak sensor, but we'll leave it to Kodak to do the boasting. Sure enough, the outfit responsible for this atrocity has rolled out a few new image sensors at Photokina 2008, one of which -- the KAF-37500 -- proudly resides in the aforementioned S2. The company is showcasing sensors for medium format rigs such as the Sinar HY6-65 (KAF-31600) and Hasselblad H3DII-50 (KAF-50100), though quite honestly, it spends more time gloating about what manufacturers it's partnering with than describing the technology. Oh well, so long as it keeps Kodak from focusing on its pathetic point-and-shoot lineup, we'll keep smiling.

Oh sure, you've been able to buy digital camera-equipped binoculars for years now, but finding one that does video (particularly with the camcorder you already own) has been a continual struggle. Thanks to one engineering soul, you can forge ahead with your plans to video all sorts of sights by adding a CCD eyepiece to any 'ole set of binoculars. Once installed, you simply hook up your camcorder (hope it has video in), mash record and get to gazing. Be careful what you look for, though.

Around this time last year, we got wind of CCD-based projectors and cameras from Olympus that were outfitted with a curious "axial symmetrical free curved surface lens." Now, said company is finally providing a few details about its current prototype, which essentially enables 360-degree photographs to be taken. Unfortunately (or fortunately, depending on perspective), the sensor isn't quite ready to be pushed out into the world, but as you can certainly imagine, it'll likely make a B-line for surveillance outfits just as soon as it's ready.

[Via AkihabaraNews]

As the saga continues, we've got yet another flip-flopped story rolling through in regard to the toxicity (or not) of cellphones to our environment. Just under a fortnight ago, a report based on an (admittedly lacking) research study claimed that Colony Collapse Disorder within bees was being encouraged by cellphone radiation. As expected, the researchers began living a life filled with Q&A sessions about the data, and now the "truth" is coming out. Essentially, the scientists are claiming that their data was "misinterpreted," and that the study actually looked at DECT phones and base stations, which transmit a "different frequency than mobiles." Furthermore, another member chimed in and boldly stated that their "studies cannot indicate that electromagnetic radiation is a cause of CCD." So that settles it -- until the next round of bickering begins, of course.

[Via Guardian]

Chalk up another world's smallest title for Samsung this morning with this, their new 8.4 megapixel CMOS sensor. By implementing extended photo diode technology, Samsung has managed to squeeze higher light sensitivity and saturation levels into less space. According to Samsung, their new sensor's high signal-to-noise ratio results in the equivalent image quality found in today's CCDs while using one-tenth the power. As such, Sammy expects it to "quickly replace" the CCDs used in mobile phones, camcorders, and even digital cameras. Yeah, they wish. We'll find out soon enough as this CIS hits mass production in the second half of 2007.

Oh noes! It seems Kyocera has failed to escape the CCD fate that has recently befallen eight of Sony's Cyber-shots and four of Nikon's Coolpix cameras. Kyocera has just announced that its Finecam M400R, M410R and SL400R cameras, released in March 2004, are all at risk for CCD defects and failures. In response, Kyocera is providing free repairs to any such cameras until March 2010, and is also offering free checkups to such affected models. Kyocera isn't saying who's responsible for the CCD manufacturer, but the similarities to the problems and causes in the cases of Nikon and Sony mean its most likely the same CCDs: defective Sony manufacturing strikes once again.

The Great CCD Failure of 2005 doesn't look like it's going to be Nikon's last. The camera manufacturer has just discovered a similar flaw in its Coolpix 5400, 5000, 4500 and 3500 shooters, and surprise, surprise, the manufacturing flaw is from the very same CCD manufacturer to blame for the last debacle. The official blame is on "CCD soldering degradation caused by aging" which means moisture and heat slowly wears down the CCD and kills the camera in its prime. Nikon got advanced warning of the problem by noticing an increase of malfunctions in a particularly hot and humid area in summer 2006. After some voluntary tests, Nikon noticed the CCD problem had reemerged, and is offering up free CCD replacements for victims -- like last time you might be seeing abnormal colors, distorted images or even no images. No word on how exactly to go about that, but we suppose Nikon isn't too terribly hard to track down.

Snapping super-secret spy pics of unreleased products is hard enough as it is without having to worry about blinding flashes tipping off the guards to our dubious activities. Thankfully, Planet82 has announced a CCD chip dubbed the SMPD -- Single carrier Modulation Photo Detector -- which may be the answer to all our problems. The chip's sensitivity is claimed to be 2,000 times higher than your standard sensor, and it's this vast increase in performance that allows it to capture images without the need for flash. No word yet when these chips will make it into consumer cameras and brighten up all our nightshots, but with some of the crappy pics we've taken, it can't come soon enough.

Don't expect to see one of these in a commercial DSLR anytime soon (especially now that Mamiya has left the game), but a division of DALSA Semiconductor has successfully manufactured and delivered a 111 megapixel image sensor that's only been topped on these pages by the 500 megapixel monster inside Fermilab's Dark Energy Camera. Putting even the highest-resolution bacteria-based cam to shame, the new 4-inch-square CCD features an array of 10,560 x 10,560 pixels, and was developed in conjunction with Semiconductor Technology Associates to aid the U.S. Naval Observatory's Astrometry Department in precisely determining the position and motion of celestial objects. While you probably can't afford to hire DALSA to build another one of these just for you, there's at least one option on the market that will give you the hundred-plus megapixel bragging rights you seek without breaking the bank: Better Light's 144 megapixel E-HS medium format backing, which, while technically only capturing 48 megapixels per color (and taking at least 66 seconds to do so), should still be enough to impress even your EOS 1Ds Mark II-sporting friends.

Proving once again that "outdated technology" still has its place among today's high-tech products, old-school film cameras may soon be the only shooters not rendered ineffective in the face of a new device that promises to identify and disable their digital counterparts in secure environments. Currently still in the prototype phase, the device developed by researchers at the Georgia Tech College of Computing's Interactive and Intelligent Computing Division uses its own set of digital cameras along with a scanning laser to inspect a given area for telltale signs of CCD imagers (shape, size, reflectivity), and subsequently shoots out concentrated beams of light to overwhelm the sensors of offending gadgets. Although the device is still unable to accurately detect camcorders whose CCDs are set farther back from the lens than regular still cameras, once that obstacle is overcome, this technology is expected to be deployed by governments and businesses as an anti-espionage technique or in movie theaters as a way of combating piracy. See, you thought you were ahead of the game with your ten megapixel cameraphone, but it's actually the spies and pirates equipped with those old medium-format Pentaxes who will soon rise to the top of their respective professions.

[Via Dvorak Uncensored]

C|net just layed mits to the 8 megapixel Olympus Stylus 810. In their review of this weatherproof (not waterproof) shooter with image stabilization, c|net calls the 810 a "very good" camera with "solid" image quality. Sure, noise is the "biggest problem" with the 810 -- quite visible at ISO 400 until becoming a "distinct texture" by the time you reach IS0 3200. However, the reviewer still considered the quality "acceptable" when compared to the alternative of dark and blurry shots taken under low lighting conditions. But by now, no one should really expect the small CCDs found in these compact shooters to perform any differently, right? Notably, the camera suffered from an "easily washed-out" LCD when used in sunlight which is potentially crippling at times due to the lack of a glass viewfinder. Still, the $349 cam pulled a 7/10 rating largely due to its hot (for a compact) burst mode capable of 12 shots in about 2.6 seconds (at 3 megapixel resolution) and generally good image quality. Still, if you're looking for an 8 megapixel camera, you can probably do better.

[Via Digital Photography Blog]

A new CMOS imaging chip being developed by Micron Technology will allow digital cameras to capture as many as 30 shots a second, and will also enable video capture at an unprecedented 720p. The eight megapixel sensor -- whose pixels are only 1.75-microns across -- needs to be throttled down to two megapixels in order to achieve that 30 shot figure, but even at maximum resolution it is able to capture an impressive 10 shots per second. Don't expect to see cameras sporting the new chip right away, though, as mass production is not scheduled to begin until the first half of next year, meaning consumer products may not be available until as late as 2008.

[Via Cnet]

Camcorder accessory manufacturer Bella has just announced a new device that will let you toss those MiniDV cassettes straight out of your bag and replace them with your iPod or nearly any other USB 2.0-compliant storage system. The Catapult, as it's known, is a paperback-sized digital encoder that plugs into any standard or HD camcorder with a FireWire port and processes the video as you're recording, eliminating the need to convert your footage later on. Besides saving time and offering access to higher storage capacities, the Catapult also enables your cam with a number of features not available out of the box, such as time-lapse recording, remote trigger capabilities, and both pre- and post-recording ability. Pre-recording is an especially attractive option, as it seems to buffer whatever your CCD is capturing for a preset timeframe, allowing you to essentially "turn back the clock" and preserve events that already happened once you hit the record button. Bella tells us to expect their new product sometime during the second half of the year, for some amount of money less than $300.

[Via T3]

In a move that promises to minimize the trade-off between digital still and video cameras, Sony announced today that it is working on a CMOS chip capable of capturing images from every pixel at a blazing 60fps. The problem with current imaging devices is that consumers must sacrifice image quality when they are recording video, but risk missing important shots due to shutter lag and the general non-continuous nature of still photography. Along with a new digital signal processing chip also being developed by Sony's engineers, the sensor should allow cameras to be used strictly in video mode, with high-res stills capable of being extracted later. No word on when we'll see actual products sporting the new tech (regular CMOS sensors are only starting to replace CCDs in consumer devices), but it's nice to know that camera manufacturers are finally throttling back on the megapixel race and instead focusing on improving the imaging experience.

[Via Digital Camera Info]