Olympus Imaging Corp announced their Olympus Pen E-P1 digital camera a little while ago. The E-P1 is Micro Four Thirds compliant and so has a compact body thanks to the lack of a pentaprism mirror and optical viewfinder.
The camera was recently reviewed by Digital Photography Review who deemed it Highly Recommended…but not for everybody. While the the build quality and image quality were both outstanding, the performance was deemed to be slow, and it has too many options and features for a n00b like you. $799.99
Kodak’s cheap new Zi8 video camera records 1080p 30 fps for only $179.95. Specs are here.
Wired had a look at the Zi8, and thought well enough of it to give it a score of 9 out of 10. The reviewer said the Zi8 is a big improvement over Kodak’s previous Zi6 and Zx1 models in many areas, but added that the 5 mega-pixel still shots are merely ok and the 4x digital zoom was not that great.
CNet largely agrees with Wired’s view of the Zi8, saying “it’s the best pocket camcorder we’ve reviewed to date, with superior image quality and the best features”…4/5
The new Nikon Coolpix S1000pj digital camera includes a built-in projector that can display a 40in image at a distance of 2 meters. 12.1 megapixels with 5x optical zoom. The projector utilizes an LCoS chip with an LED light source. $429.95.
Nice…but the pj was not the 1st projector phone in the world. That particular world’s first honor belongs to the Samsung SPH-W7900, aka AnyCall Show. The SPH-7900 is only available in Korea, and its picoprojector is based on the DPP1500 DLP chipset. Both phones only output 10 lumens = use in darkened rooms only.
iSuppli is projecting huge growth for embedded pico projectors, as marketing types use them to hock their wares directly from their laptop or mobile phone.
Samsung announces the TL225 digital camera with a front-facing screen. 12.2 mega-pixels, 4.6x optical zoom, 3.5in haptic rear screen, 1.5in front screen and 720p movies. $349.99. Video at 6.
Leica camera announces their new S-system of DSLR camera, based on a new 37 megapixel 30×45 mm CCD sensor from Kodak. Image processor is called Maestro is “ultra-fast”, according to Leica and was developed together with Fujitsu. Body size is similar to 35mm DSLR cameras.
The “S” in S2 apparently derives from the fact that the camera is “Made in Solms’. Estimated price for the S2 body is €20,000-30,000.
With all these recent camera announcements, you’d think PhotoKina was coming up, or something…
Along with the Powershot G10, Canon announced 6 new/improved digital cameras at it’s September 17 2008 launch event:
EOS 5D Mark II – 21.1 Megapixel DSLR with full-frame CMOS sensor, HD Video capture at 1920×1080, monaural audio via the built-in microphone/stereo recording requires an external microphone, $2,699.99
PowerShot SD880 IS – 10.0 Megapixel point-and-shoot, $299.99
PowerShot SD990 IS – 14.7 Megapixel Digital ELPH, $399.99
PowerShot SX1 IS – variant of the SX10 IS, but with CMOS in place of CCD which allows 1080p/30fps HD movies of up to 4GB or 29 min 59 sec
The star at the product launch was clearly the EOS 5D, with its HD movies. The specs for the 5D can be found at this link. As for marketing niche, Mogens Jensen of Canon says “professional photojournalists and wedding photographers already choose the EOS 5D for its discrete size and outstanding image quality”. Eight short movies taken with the EOS 5D Mark II are available at this link.
Canon introduces the PowerShot G10, positioned as a high-end point-and-shoot digital camera intended for “advanced amateur photographers”. DigitalPhotographyReview deems the G10 “much anticipated“, and rates the preceding G9 as “Highly Recommended (but only just) “.
Honey I shrunk the DSLR…Panasonic introduces the G1 family of digital interchangeable lens cameras in a new format known as Micro Four Thirds System. The DMC-G1 is smaller and lighter than regular DSLRs because it loses the internal flip-up mirror and accompanying pentaprism. The Four Thirds refers to the aspect ratio (4:3) of the sensor.
Digital Photography Review has a nice review of the G1 at this link, as well as a discussion of the benefits of the larger sensor (7x larger than compact digital cameras) and the simpler internal structure.
…does all this mean that there is a new acronym on the way to describe this type of camera? e.g. DIL (for digital interchangeable lens), or perhaps MFTS (Micro Four Thirds System), or M43, or maybe even µ4/3 ?? …time will tell.
