pma
Latest
Canon's PMA lineup in the wild
Unfortunately we have neither the budget nor the manpower to hit up every trade show that we'd like -- and truth be told, everyone's pretty cranky for about six months after CES -- so instead of getting our hands on the new gear at PMA, we're relying on the pros to capture some quality shots of the fresh releases. To cover Canon's unveiling of six new cams we've got Mark over at Photography Blog, who was able to get some quality face time with the EOS-1D Mark III DSLR, the just-revealed A-series PowerShots, and both new Digital Elphs (or IXUS, as they're known overseas) at a London launch event. Plus, if printers are your thing, you can check out the new Pixma lineup as well. All in all a nice set of shots, so if you want to see how these bad boys look when they're not all primped up for glossy press photos, hit the read link for a full gallery (select highlights are after the break).
Pre-PMA Canon and FujiFilm announcement roundup
It's been a busy morning in the sweaty-palmed build-up to the big PMA07 show -- and we're only just beginning. The premier international conference for photography wares doesn't officially kick-off until the doors swing wide on March 8th. Here's a quick roundup of all the new shooters, each adorned with plenty of steamy hot gallery action to get up-close and personal with anything you may have missed in the wee hours of the morn: Fujifilm's FinePix S5700 Fujifilm's FinePix A820 and A900 for consumers Canon's new PowerShot A570 and A560 Canon's compact PowerShot TX1 captures 7.1 megapixel stills and HD video Canon debuts SD750 and SD1000 Digital ELPH cameras Canon's EOS-1D Mark III DSLR with live LCD
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's compact PowerShot TX1 captures 7.1 megapixel stills and HD video
Watch out, Sanyo, because your diminutive HD2 camcorder is about to face some very daunting competition from Canon. Like the recently announced Sanyo, the PowerShot TX1 packs a 7.1 megapixel CCD into a tiny little package capable of capturing 720p HD video as well -- but unlike the $700 HD2, Canon is hanging just a $500 pricetag on this model. Besides its one-two punch of high resolution stills and videos, this device offers a 10x optical zoom (with an optically-stabilized lens), a 115,000 pixel LCD, and ISO settings ranging from 80 to 1600. You're also getting the latest Digic image processor, advanced face detection and red eye reduction, Vista-compatibility, 14 shooting modes, and a so-called "Intelligent Orientation Sensor" to keep the display looking right no matter how you're holding the cam. No word so far on a release date, but with all this functionality at a very attractive price, you can probably expect the TX1 to fly off shelves when it finally makes its debut.%Gallery-1747%
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?
Sony's Cybershot DSC-W80: their latest 7.2 megapixel camera?
Out of the gates early for PMA (Photo Marketing Association) 2007, we've got rumors of the latest Sony Cybershot, the DSC-W80. The cam's already made its appearance on a few German and Dutch web sites and certainly makes sense as the successor to the 7.2 megapixel W70 launched at last year's show. However, instead of 8 megapixels like you might expect, we're still talking that same 7.2-megapixel, 1/2.5-inch CCD (which won't help improve the high rates of noise above ISO 200 any), 3x optical zoom, and 2.5-inch LCD. Other than a new ISO 3200 sensitivity and slightly larger chassis -- up from 89 x 57 x 23-mm to 91 x 58 x 23-mm -- there isn't anything new on the surface to report. No one's sayin' but perhaps they've added some optical image stabilization to bring these in-line with most other compact shooters in this range. We've also got rumors of a new Cybershot DSC-W60 and Cybershot DSC-W90 -- both unannounced and both said to work with a new SPK-SA underwater case (pictured after the break). The W80 is expected to hit in April for around €280/$368. As to the rest... well, the PMA show starts March 8th so we'll know soon enough. [Via Let's Go Digital, thanks David]
Pentax's 10 megapixel *ist D SLR makes Seoul appearance
It still doesn't have a name, price or launch date, and they're still not letting anyone touch it, but Pentax's forthcoming 10-megapixel *ist D SLR is making the rounds in Korea. AVing managed to get a few choice shots of it at the Seoul International Photo and Imaging Industry Show. The pics show a pretty standard collection of the controls you'd expect on an SLR, multiple autofocus modes and a popup flash. No surprises, really, but at least Pentax has stopped keeping it under glass, which we hope means this is getting just a little closer to launching.
Sony's 7.2 megapixel Cybershot DSC-W70 reviewed
Wasn't it just a few years ago that $300 wouldn't buy you much of a digital camera? How times have changed, because these days, you can not only score a compact 7.2 megapixel model for under three C-notes, but a good one at that -- especially if it's the Sony DSC-W70, says Digital Camera Review. We've known all about the W70 since before this year's Photo Marketing Association show, where it was introduced along with four other Cybershot models, but this one really seems hit that sweet spot of providing the most features for the least amount of dough. As you probably recall, the W70 sports a 3x optical zoom and 2.5-inch display, along with 54MB of internal memory and a 300-plus-shot battery in a case barely bigger than a deck of cards, yet according to DCR, still manages to capture quality images with good color accuracy, white balance, and detail -- although it does produce visible noise at ISO settings above 200. Still, with almost no shutter lag, ergonomic controls, and intuitive menus, the W70 sounds like a serious contender for consumers looking for a hassle-free model that takes a good picture at a fair price -- which is probably, like, most of them.
