Pma07
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Fujifilm's FinePix A820 and A900 for consumers
Just like Canon's new PMA-bound A Series cameras, Fujifilm's new A820 and A900 cameras don't really break a lot of new ground, but there sure is a lot more megapixel bang-for-buck going on here. For $180 and $200, respectively, the A820 brings 8 megapixels and the A900 goes for 9, while both camera have 4x zooms and 2.5-inch LCDs. Unfortunately, there doesn't seem to be any form of optical image stabilisation here, nor any of those much-hyped Face Recognition AF/AE features we've been seeing in other PMA offerings, but if all you're looking for is pixels and lots of 'em, you can't go far wrong with this pair of FinePix, which will be hitting shelves in March.
Canon debuts SD750 and SD1000 Digital ELPH cameras
Two new compact and fashionable PowerShot Digital ELPHs from big C, the SD750 and SD1000. Canon seems to be mostly focused on the looks here: we've never seen a growed-up digicam manufacturer be so proud of "Dynamic Dual-Tone Elegance," but there's decent stuff under the hood. Like most of the PMA-bound cameras we've spotted, these include Face Detection-based auto focus, auto exposure and red-eye correction. There's also the DIGIC III Image processor, and ISO as high as 1600, but everybody comes for the basics: 3x zoom, 7.1 megapixel CCD and a 2.5-inch LCD in each shooter. The $300 SD750 gets a bit fancy on form factor, but manages to be a mere 0.75-inches thick, while the 4.5 ounce SD1000 keeps the the classic ELPH look and also retails for $300. Both should be out in March, and include 32MB SD cards for good luck, though no mention is made of SDHC. Remember, it's fashion first for this line.%Gallery-1748%
Pentax pops out the Optio W30 and A30
There's some heated competition already for our PMA eyeballs, and Pentax sure wants a slice. They don't have anything terribly outstanding on the consumer end, but these W30 and A30 Optio shooters still do pretty well for themselves. The A30 (pictured) takes a pretty traditional approach to the compact genre, boosting the megapixels to 10 and offering up 2.5-inches of LCD. There's also ISO 3200 and some fancy gyro-based shake reduction, along with face recognition auto focus and auto exposure, all in a pretty dang compact SDHC-munching body. The W30 steps it back a bit, with a 7.1 megapixel CCD and mere digital shake reduction, but the rest of the specs are there, along with a waterproof and dustproof housing that can handle being up to three meters under water for two hours. No word on price or availability for either camera, but we're sure we'll be finding out soon enough. Peep the W30 after the break.[Thanks, David N]Read - Optio A30Read - Optio W30
Sony Cybershot G1 digital camera detailed
That batch of new Sony Cybershots let loose this morning was quite a bit to digest all at once, so we thought we'd take a minute to go over one of the more interesting of the still-to-be-officially-announced cameras in greater detail, namely, the Cybershot G1. Apart from that new (for Sony) model name, the camera's particularly notable for its big 3.5-inch (or possibly 3-inch) LCD and uncommonly spacious 2GB of internal memory. Though less unusual, the camera's other specs are also nothing to sneeze at, with a decent 6 megapixel resolution, 3x optical zoom, Carl Zeiss Vario-Tesar lens, built-in WiFi, and Sony's usual SteadyShot and Anti-Blur features. Still not clear, unfortunately, is the price, although as we mentioned earlier, that should be revealed by the end of the month.
Sony goes PMA crazy, planning seven more Cybershots
We were already feeling the Cybershot love with the DSC-W80, W90 and W200 Sony foisted upon us today, but it appears those aren't the whole story. Sony is planning at least seven more Cybershot cameras for PMA 07 this March: The DSC-T100, H9, G1, W60, W85, T20 and H7. The main surprise in this group is the G1, the rest of 'em appear to be natural extensions to current lines. Obviously the W80, W90 and W200 didn't really bring a lot of surprises other than the HDMI ports on the latter two, and we aren't really expecting much different from the W60 and W85, though we do know the W60 will fit into the W80's underwater housing. The T100, which we hear has an 8.1 megapixel CCD and 3200 ISO, and its T20 buddy are most likely fashionable shooters of the T10 or T30's ilk, while the H9 and H7 probably pick up where those mid-range H5 and H2 Cybershots left off. The mysterious G1 eludes us, but we've spotted a £319 ($622 US) pricetag, which would put this thing pretty far into the upper-tier price wise. From the looks of things, Sony's evolution-centric lineup isn't going to turn many heads at PMA, but perhaps Sony still has some fancy surprises still up its sleeves -- like a new Alpha camera, oh pretty please?
