And the updates today just keep on trucking. This is Canon’s PowerShot SX130 IS, and obvious replacement for the SX120 IS. This time around we’re looking at a 12x optical stabilized zoom starting at 28mm equivalent, matched to 12 megapixels on a 1/2.3″ chip. It continues to be of that new, mid-size body design (anyone remember when super-zooms like this were almost the size of a DSLR on their own?).
Pricing is going to be around $250ish, it looks, which is in keeping with this type of camera.
And, to round out the day, this straggler is the PowerShot SD4500 IS. And possibly the most memorable thing about it is that for some reason it appears to only be available in brown. How bizarre.
Under that earthy exterior lies a fair length of ELPH pedigree, and if the SD4500 IS offers no surprises it’s because there’s really very little this line has needed in the way of changes. Of most note is the sizey 10x soom it sports, though it’s a bit long at the wide end, only making it to 36mm equivalent. But, if a sleek, metal, pocketable cam with a good amount of zoom is your ticket, this’ll be your ticket to ride.
For all you Canonistas out there who’ve patiently sat through all that Nikon, here’s one for you. Canon has announced the new PowerShot S95, an update to address the (admittedly few) complaints with last year’s S90. The lens, imager, and processor remain just as they were, why mess with a good thing? The body is now even slimmer, they’ve made some changes to the control ring, and it’s now finished with the same sruface that the 7D is, to help improve grip.
Oh! And it has 720p video now. That’s nice, isn’t it?
It continues to be 10 megapixels, and to have a 3.8x optical and optically stabilized zoom starting at f2 and 28mm equiv, and a 3″ 461,000 dot LCD. It also shoots to RAW, and has manual exposure controls and PAS modes.
We’re unsure when it’ll be hitting, but the MSRP is $399.99, and you can hit up our preorder form on our site to throw your name down for one whenever they do show up.
Nikon Coolpix S1100pj
Nikon today has announced the update to last year’s novelty S1000pj, the first camera with a built in projector. This year’s model ups the ante, and adds a lot of features to this concept that help to make it a much more appealing package. And then they made it cheaper. Hard to complain about that, isn’t it?
Key changes include an upgrade to a 14 megapixel sensor and a switch to a 3″ touchscreen LCD with twice the pixel resolution. And, on the projector front (you know, that big honky lens on the front that makes this thing unique), we’re looking at 14 lumens, up from 10, and it can now be used as an ad hoc projector for any JPEGS on the memory card, or can be hooked up to your computer and used as a projector for that.
And, let’s not forget these slick new colors on that much nicer looking body there, yeah? It’s good to see someone else taking visual cues from those nifty Olympus Tough cameras, which the design on this is admittedly very reminiscent of (*cough cough Stylus 750SW cough*).
It’ll be available yet this year, and it’ll debut at around $350, or about $80 bucks less that its predecessor did, and not much more than the S1000pj is currently at. Impressive.
The wide-angle, bright aperture 14.1MP beauty from Panasonic.
If the DMC-LX5 will stretch your budget or your patience, fear not: Panasonic has the DMC-FX700 to bridge the gap between the LX5 and all other cameras running engines not named for Attic love deities.
The FX700 will run the Venus engine FHD,
separating chromatic noise from luminance noise and applying the optimal noise reduction to each
which probably means it’s better at calculus than I ever will be. Or want to be. It also means that it should process image areas dynamically based on the detection of faces and the background. Wowie. In addition to that they’ve put a Leica DC-Vario Summicron 4.3mm-21.5mm f/2.2 lens in it. Sounds a little short until you consider it’s equivalent in 35mm format – 24-120mm. Sounds better and better.
It’ll support SDXC format, so kudos for Panasonic looking to the future there. It’s also sporting a 3.0″ TFT touch screen LCD with 230,000 dots. Holy 14.1MP, Batman, the FX700 is gonna be cool.
So, you remember the LX3? Popular camera, broke a lot of ideas as to what a high end compact digicam should be? Was stuck on our allocation list for like years? Well, it’s finally getting its long due update, the LX5.
Of special note is the fact that despite identical numbers, the sensor is all new, and talking up a wider dynamic range than the already well-received LX3. Combined with the newest incarnation of the Venus engine, which features 3 processing cores and can analyze chroma and luminance noise both separately as well as in relation to each other, the LX5 is promising a leap forward in image processing ability.
The LCD is now backlit with High Color Range Index LEDs. The movie mode is better now, too, adding AVHCD Lite to the codec options as well as manual exposure, color modes, and optical zoom during recording.
And it supports SDXC now, natch. It should go without saying there are a lot of expectations riding on this model, since the LX3 broke down so many walls and outperformed in so many ways. We’ll wait and see if this camera does too. It’ll be available in the pictured white, or black (so stop worrying, Jody), and it’s available for pre-order allocation right now over on our site.
| SPEC | LX5 | LX3 |
| Sensor | 10.1MP, 1.63″ | 10.1MP, 1.63″ |
| Processor | Venus Engine FHD | Venus IV |
| Optical Zoom | 3.8x | 2.5x |
| Equiv. Focal Length | 24-90mm | 24-60mm |
| Aperture | f2.0 – 3.3 | f2.0 – 2.8 |
| Lens Type | Leica DC VARIO-SUMMICRON | Leica DC VARIO-SUMMICRON |
| Image Stabilization | Optical, Power OIS | Optical, Mega OIS |
| ISO Range (Expanded) | 100-12,800 | 100-3,200 |
| LCD | 3.0″ TFT, 460,000 Dot, High CRI LED Backlit | 3.0″ TFT, 460,000 Dot |
| AVHCD Lite Video Recording | Yes | No |
| Manual Exposure in Movie Mode | Yes | No |
| Optical Zoom in Movie Mode | Yes | No |
| Available Electronic Viewfinder | Yes | No |
| Records To | SD/SDHC/SDXC, Internal Memory | SD/SDHC, Internal Memory |
Here for your all-weather-pleasure
I dig waterproof cameras that can survive falling five feet onto ice. It is, forgive me, cool. Lucky then, that along with announcing the LX5 (omg squee? anyone?) Panasonic announced the TS10 -offering the weather proofing of the TS2 with fewer video options, slightly more telephoto lens (35-140eqiv instead of the TS2′s 28-128equiv) and a much lower price tag.
According to Imaging Resource, who we would trust with our lives, Nikon has updated the firmware to their Coolpix S3000 and S4000 point-and-shoots. Both firmwares fix an issue with the battery and charging, and the S4000 bumps the 720p recording mode’s frame rate up to 30fps from 24fps.
Aaaand… that’s about it. Find links for them via the source button down yon.
A new fisheye wasn’t all Panasonic had up their sleeves today, there’s also this little gem. The LUMIX DMC-FX75 is a 5x wide-angle zoom (starting at 24mm equiv.) with a fancy f2.2 starting aperture (although it slides down to f5.9 on the long end). You’re looking at 14 and change megapixels, and a 3″ touchscreen with touch-to-focus to round out that lens, not a bad compliment.
Panasonic has gotten into a groove of releasing incredibly competent and well-round shooters with good image quality, so, pending hands-on critiques we have no reason to suspect this’ll be anything but an enticing choice at its price point, whatever that might end up being. We’ll give you more word as we know more ourselves.
So, this is yesterday news, we just got buried putting up even more awesome stuff for you to buy on our website and didn’t get the post done, so, here it is today.
This is Canon’s new ELPH: the PowerShot SD4000 IS over here in the States. It’s getting a fair amount of buzz. Why, you ask? Well, let’s start with the 10 megapixel CMOS sensor with DIGIC IV processor. Not too shabby, big C. Then, add 3.8x optical zoom with IS, covering an equivalent range of 28-105mm. Which is getting pretty common these days, so to add some buzz factor back let’s make that lens f2-5.6. Yup, f2 at the wide end, now we’re talking. The other f2 point-and-shoot in Canon’s stable certainly didn’t hurt anyone’s feelings. Might as well add ISO up to 3200 to that, just in case.
So, that’s the basics, now what? A continuous shooting rate ranging between 3.7 fps and 8.4 fps depending on the situation seems like a good plan. Now, video. 720p with HDMI is nice, but it’s starting to be expected. How to stand out some? How about a Super Slow Motion Mode that records at around 240fps and then plays them back at 30fps? That’s the sorta thing you had to look here for before.
So, you know, other than that, it’s just another point-and-shoot. Albeit one with some insanely minimal rear controls and a huge 3″ wide-aspect LCD. And aperture- and shutter-priority modes. Other than those.
Coming… soon?
