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Nikon crams 36x zoom in P500, full manual controls in P300, refreshes Coolpix range with tons of color
Is it spring already? Nikon has just assaulted us with no less than nine new Coolpix models, freshening up its consumer offering with a litany of hot new shades, touchscreens and hardware updates. We'll let you dig into the press releases after the break for the full details, but the two new Performance range cameras, the P500 and P300, are worth discussing in more detail. The P500 improves on Nikon's P100 by a few orders of magnification, touting a voyeur-friendly 36x optical zoom, while also offering a 12.1 megapixel CMOS sensor, 1080 / 30p video plus stereo sound recording, max ISO of 3200, and an 1100mAh battery. The back is also adorned with a tiltable display, sized at 3 inches diagonally and fitting 920k dots. Yours on March 3rd for $400, €464 or £400, depending on your local currency. %Gallery-115978% The P300 is cheaper at $330 / €348 / £300, however it might well be the more appealing option for image quality obsessives as it boasts a lens with an aggressive F1.8 aperture and 4.2x optical zoom. It shares the same backside-illuminated sensor as you'll find in the P500, but benevolently permits its user full manual control to let him or her capture that perfect shot. Rapid-fire shooting at 8fps for up to seven frames is available, but we're loving the fact it can also do 1080 / 30p with continuous autofocus and the ability to both capture images and use its optical zoom while recording. If Nikon is to be believed, the P300 is basically the P7000 that came out last year, but shrunken down to the size of a compact. It really is a very diminutive and attractive -- it has that intentionally understated matte black finish that huskily whispers the word "prosumer" in your ear -- compact camera. It lands on March 17th. %Gallery-115979% %Gallery-115976%
Sony brings new Bravia LCDs and LCoS displays to Japan
As if to prove a point, Sony is throwing down a whole lotta 1080p, erm, "True HD" displays in Japan. For starters, they've got two new LCoS rear projection TVs that implement the fancy Digital Reality Creation chipset for enhanced upscaling. The 60-inch KDS-60A2500 and 50-inch KDS-50A2500 are otherwise quite similar to the current SXRD displays of the same size available in the US, but the 600,000 yen ($5,135 US) and 500,000 (4,279 US) respective pricetags for the new A2500 displays are quite a bit steeper. As for LCDs, five of the displays mirror existing offerings in the US, but the high-end 52-inch KDL-52X2500 and its lesser 46, 40 and 32-inch S2500 friends are all new. The 52-incher manages a DRC chipset, 1500:1 contrast ratio, Live Color Creation and a 1080p resolution, while the cheaper displays lose DLC, and only manage a 1366 x 768 resolution. All four LCDs run at 450 nits of brightness, and are due in Japan on October 20th, following the LCoS sets which should be out September 15th.[Via HD Beat]
