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Pentax refreshes its rugged camera lineup with the Optio WG-2 series
Exactly twelve months after the unveiling of the Optio WG-1 family, Pentax is now introducing the successors to its colorful and ruggedized shooters. And while its macho design hasn't changed much, the newcomers usher in a host of predictable spec bumps. The new all-terrain shooters are sporting a 16-megapixel, back-illuminated CMOS sensor, 1080p (30fps) movie mode, micro-HDMI for when you feel like sharing your adventures and a 3-inch, 460,000 -dot LCD to help you frame your shots. Of course, this wouldn't fall under the rugged category if it couldn't handle anything you threw at it, which is why any WG-2 is waterproof up to 40 feet, shock-resistant and dustproof. If you're thinking about taking one of these on the trails with you, be ready to unleash around $350 for the unguided model or about $50 more for a GPS-enabled number. Neither will be available until March, so you'll have to wait a while, but in the meantime we've got the full PR below along with some press shots.
Fujifilm FinePix F600EXR packs photo navigation, augmented reality in a 16 MP digicam
GPS, a 16 megapixel CMOS sensor, 15x optical zoom -- we've seen it all before. But a feature that displays places of interest on the camera's 3-inch LCD? Well, that sounds a bit like augmented reality (AR)! The Fujifilm FinePix F600 EXR's new Landmark Navigator mode does exactly that, packing one million pre-loaded locations from around the world. Looking to find your way from Rome's Trevi Fountain to the Spanish Steps? The compact cam will point the way, including other stops along your route. You can also add your own locations, or launch Photo Navigation, which lets you easily return to places you've photographed -- or plot them on Google Maps once you get home. There's also 1080p movie capture, a 12,800 ISO high-sensitivity mode (that you'll probably never want to use), sensor-shift image stabilization, and a 24-360mm lens with an f/3.5 maximum aperture. But as you may have guessed, we're most excited about those AR features, so jump past the break for the full scoop.
Casio's GPS-equipped EX-10HG camera gets a price, launch date
Last we saw Casio's GPS-equipped EX-10HG it was still in prototype form at CES, but the company was back with it again at PMA this week, and thankfully was a bit more talkative this time. The big news is that the camera will be available in October of this year, and will cost "around $400." That will get you a 12.1-megapixel camera that not only does geotagging of photos (with some accelerometer-based assistance when a GPS signal isn't available), but can even double as a navigation system in a pinch -- although it's still not exactly clear how fully functional that aspect of the camera will be.
GPS-equipped Sony HDR-XR520V camcorder now available to order
We already knew that Sony's GPS-equipped HDR-XR520V camcorder (and the slightly lower-end HDR-XR500V and HDR-XR200V models) would start shipping in March, but you'd be rightly skeptical if you thought that meant it'd be arriving closer to the end of the month than the beginning. Sony looks to be bucking the usual trend, however, as the camcorder is now in stock at Amazon and selling for the not-so-discounted price of $1,499 (SonyStyle itself, meanwhile, lists the camcorder as shipping on March 8th). It seems like quantities may be a tad limited to start with, however, as Amazon lists only four left in stock as of this writing. A handful of sellers also appear to have the HDR-XR500V and HDR-XR200V available, which each pack 120GB of storage as opposed to the 240GB on the HDR-XR-520V.[Thanks, Dave]
Altek reveals GPS-enabled 8MP point-and-shoot
Picking up a camera with built-in WiFi not good enough for you? How's about a point-and-shoot with integrated GPS? DigiTimes has it that Altek, a Taiwanese ODM / OEM maker of digicams, has just unveiled a camera with an 8-megapixel sensor, 3-inch touchscreen and GPS. The latter will enable users to "automatically record the longitude and latitude of where a picture is taken," giving the geotagging crowd one gigantic reason to take notice. Reportedly, the firm is already negotiating orders with potential clients in Europe and the US, and shipments could start heading out as early as this quarter.
