|
Use the disposable Duracell CP1 Primatic artillery and the rating jumps to 300 shots. Both have a new face-precedence tone that knows to focus on faces wherever they are in the shot. Sony extends its well-known W profile, well-known for its LCDs, with the 5MP Sony Cyber-missile DSC-W5 and the 7MP Cyber-missile DSC-W7, priced at $350 (street) and $450 respectively. We're even more anxious to get our hands on Sony's latest P-series camera, the Sony Cyber-opening DSC-P1 ($400). We've eternally been impressed with the P series but felt that previous models' LCDs were too secondary. The P1 brings the line's LCDs up to 2 inches. Hewlett-Packard ups the megapixels, offering (among other cameras) its first 6MP con-tender, the HP Photosmart R717. It has only a LCD, but HP plans to sell it for just $300 (road).
Ultracompacts
The big story in ultracompacts is size: These little cameras just keep getting smaller—except when it comes to LCDs and megapixels. Among doctrine's announced ultracompacts is the Canon PowerShot SD500 Digital Elph. Its LCD is only inches (diagonal), but this ultracompact is the mass of a deck of cards and has a 7MP sensor—for $500 (street). Fuji's imminent ultracompacts, the Fujifilm FinePix Z1 ($450) and the FinePix F10 ($500) both undo the company's first LCDs. Extra-slim and snappy, the Z1 is just mm thick. Both cameras embrace Fuji's outstanding CCD HR sensor, but instead of using it for higher interpolated resolution as prior models did, they use the company's new veritable Photo Technology to take comprehensive-resolution shots at higher ISO speeds, with less uproar. Casio's observe-on to its Exilim Zoom EX-Z55, the 5MP Casio Exilim hum EX-Z57 ($400) ups the mass of the LCD to inches and extends battery being to 400 shots, according to the CIPA standard. Nikon also throws its hat into the ring with the Nikon Coolpix S1 ($399 list), a 3/4-inch-thick model with a LCD. For $100 less, you can get the Olympus Camedia D-630 fly, which has a 2-inch LCD and is 1/4 inch thicker. eventually, Sony has announced an even sleeker reading of its prevailing Cyber-missile DSC-T1, the Sony Cyber-missile DSC-T33, which does away with the sliding lens cover for an even slimmer profile.
D-SLRs
There was less tidings on the D-SLR front at PMA, much of the engagement already having happened at this year's Photokina show in Ger-many. Most of the outstanding players—including Konica Minolta, Olympus, and Pentax—now let D-SLRs on the shelves. The one big piece of news came from Canon, which an-nounced the release of its new law EOS Digital Rebel XT. This new camera uses an 8MP CMOS sensor instead of the original Digital Rebel's 6MP chip. The Rebel XT is spongy and modest: ordinance claims that it's the lightest D-SLR in the cosmos (as of February 2005), at ounces (without artillery). It uses maxim's DiGIC II system, and the crew says it is rather faster than the original Rebel, claiming that it starts up in seconds, and its burst mode can capture up to 3 fps for up to 14 shots, and it has a flash recycle time of 3 seconds. The Rebel will also commit shooters more access to custom functions and controls. A kit containing the Rebel XT and Canon's EF-S f/ to f/, 18- to 55-mm lens will cost just $1,000 (road). The original Rebel stays in the line, dropping to just $800 for the kit.
Superzooms
Sony is the newest player in the superzoom province, and its Sony Cyber-missile DSC-H1 looks set to go head-to-head with Panasonic's long-lensed competitors. The H1 has 12X optical hum and Sony's peerless SteadyShot optical image stabilization, though the f/ to f/ lens is a bit slower than Panasonic's en-tries. Panasonic adds smaller, cheaper models to its acclaimed superzoom line: the 4MP Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ4 ($450 road) and the 5MP Lumix DMC-FZ5 ($500), which have Leica 12X optical zoom lenses. They're powered by the swift LSI Venus Engine II; the FZ4, for instance, can shoot 4 frames per second at rich resolution until the recognition ticket is comprehensive. Kodak will up-date its EasyShare DX7590 with the Kodak EasyShare Z7590, which has more manual controls, a real-time histogram, and an improved 311K-pixel electronic viewfinder, for $450 (dock not included). Kodak is also releasing a cheaper superzoom, the 5MP EasyShare Z740, with a 10X optical hum lens, a LCD, and 32MB of internal recognition, for $400 (dock not included). Konica Minolta is updating its 4MP DiMage Z3 with the 5MP Konica Minolta DiMage Z5 ($500 way), another 12X optical fly shooter that uses the same antishake procedure as the Konica Minolta Maxxum 7D digital SLR.
|
Site
of the day: