PMA 2008 opens on January 31st: there’s already a host of new products, some of them unofficially introduced, a lot of web speculations and too much rumors.

Among the tech trends for 2008 we can spot for sure:

• CCDs are getting past 12/14 MP, 10 MP is now pretty commonplace, although lens quality still matters (and we mean the lenses which sometimes are part of bundle kits),

• Live View: being able to pre-view not only through the viewfinder will become common feature among DSLRs, at last,

• extended dynamic range: in a nutshell the range of luminosity the CCD is able to catch, a much better and technical explanation may be found here on CambridgeInColour.com. Many digital camera are introducing/will introduce algorithms to enhance dynamic range so we’ll have to sort out which just fits better our pictures.

Some of the new products we already know something about:

- Canon introduces EOS Rebel XSI (in Europe AKA 450D) that goes far beyond the best-seller Rebel XTi (AKA 400D) with a 12 Megapixel CCD, Live View mode, SD/SDHC card support, a 3″ display and much more: watch out for this, it’s gonna mean a lot of rock’n'roll again for Canon;
- Pentax introduces K200D and Pentax K20D: the first is an entry-level 10 MP DSLR sporting several smart features.
The Pentax K20D features Live View, raises up the ante to 14 MP (!) and extends the previous K10D with a tougher body, new lenses and (need to say?) extended dynamic range;

- Samsung presents GX-20: almost the same as Pentax’s K20D just ‘dressed’ by Samsung; aggressive pricing and kit bundling will give competitors some trouble from this prosumer DSLRs couple;
- Fujifilm announced many new compact cameras as well as the new S100fs: a high-level bridge camera (bridging compact and DSLR, that is) that takes the place for the (glorious, we still love it) Finepix S9100 (AKA S9600).
The 2/3″ CCD reaches now 11 Megapixel, focal length is now 28-400mm (previously the S9100/S9600 lens was 28-300 mm) with optical stabilizer.
Yet again the S100fs its own extended dynamic range system (more to investigate on this) and the brand new Film Simulation mode (hence the name FS) already used in the award-winning DSLR S5 Pro.
Brand new cameras are the S1000fd, self-dubbed “the smallest 12X zoom compact camera”, and the S8100fd, now with 10 MP sensor, that replaces the (still young) S8000fd.

Still many upcoming new products in the next days, both lenses, accessories and memory card.

Goin’ to Las Vegas? Check here for more info on PMA 2008.

Nikon recently announced 8 new Coolpix digital cameras to celebrate 10 years of the compact camera brand:
- Coolpix P5100 and Coolpix P50,
- four cameras in the Style series; the COOLPIX S700, COOLPIX S510, Nikon Coolpix S51c and COOLPIX S51
- two COOLPIX cameras in the Life series, the Nikon Coolpix L15 and Nikon Coolpix L14.

The eight new cameras in the Nikon COOLPIX line include two cameras in the Performance series, the Coolpix P5100 and Coolpix P50, four cameras in the Style series, including the COOLPIX S700, COOLPIX S510, COOLPIX S51c and COOLPIX S51 and two COOLPIX cameras in the Life series, the COOLPIX L15 and COOLPIX L14.

The Coolpix P5100 will offer 12.1 megapixels, the company’s EXPEED digital image processing technology and a 3.5x Zoom-NIKKOR lens, with ISO up to 3200 and a 2.5-inch LCD monitor, measuring 98 x 64.5 x 41 mm (3.9 x 2.5 x 1.6 in.) and weighing in at approximately 200 grams without battery or SD memory card.

The Coolpix P50 will feature a 3.6x Zoom-NIKKOR lens with 28mm wide-angle capability that covers a range from panoramic landscapes to close-up portraits and up to 2000 ISO.

Both models will also feature Nikon’s face priority autofocus, touted by the company as being “faster than ever” and capable of detecting up to 12(!) faces.

The COOLPIX S700, flagship model of the Style-series, will also offer 12.1 megapixels and measures a compact 89×54x23 mm and weighs just 130 grams (without battery or memory card). Other features include a 2.7-inch LCD monitor and a start-up time of just 0.9 sec, along with one of the fastest shutter release time lag of 0.005 seconds.

It too will feature the new EXPEED digital image processing technology and is capable of achieving up to ISO 3200.

The COOLPIX S510 will come in a range of colours including Silver, Urban Black, and Pink, and offer 8 megapixels.

The Nikon Coolpix S51c comes with a 3-inch LCD monitor, 8.1 megapixels and an ISO of up to 1600 alongside a 3x optical Zoom-NIKKOR VR lens. The Coolpix S51c will also feature Wi-Fi connectivity. A COOLPIX S51 without Wi-Fi capability will also be available.

The Nikon Coolpix L15 will offer 8 megapixels, a 3X optical Zoom-NIKKOR lens and Optical Lens Shift Vibration Reduction (VR) technology which provides the equivalent of a faster shutter speed and minimises the effect of camera shake. The models will also feature a 2.8-inch LCD screen.

The Nikon Coolpix L14 will offer 7 megapixels, a 3x optical Zoom-NIKKOR lens, a 2.4-inch screen and will come with the added bonus of allowing you to shoot 1,000 photos on a pair of Energizer lithium AA-size batteries.

All cameras are available now for pre-order and are expected to be in stores by early November.

Canon today launches its new flagship compact for advanced photographers: the Canon PowerShot G9 12.1MP Digital Camera with 6x Optical Image Stabilized Zoom.
The successor to the PowerShot G7 (recently named EISA European Advanced Compact Camera 2007-2008) the PowerShot G9 incorporates improvements driven by market feedback with a range of user-oriented enhancements, including RAW image capture and a redesigned grip and thumb rest for improved handling.
Other advancements include a high resolution 3.0 PureColor LCD II, enhanced Face Detection Technology and Red-Eye Correction in playback.
A wide range of accessories, including optional lenses and Speedlite flash units, now also features Canon’s Speedlite ST-E2 wireless flash transmitter.

The Canon PowerShot G9 features:

…because sometimes, you have to give your father a hand if you want him to be a “Cool Daddy”

Olympus Stylus 750: this compact, slim metal bodied point&shoot 7.1MP Digital Camera with dual Image Stabilization (Digital and through CCD Shift) comes with a 5x Optical Zoom (36mm-180mm, f3.3-f 5.0 35mm equivalent) and 2.5-inch LCD with Bright Capture Technology for low-light photography.

Canon HV10: the world’s smallest HDV (High-Definition Video) camcorder, this ultra-compact and stylish offering from imaging giant Canon sports a 3.1MP CMOS sensor with 10x Optical Zoom and Image Stabilization. This camcorder/camera captures true 1080 high-definition resolution video in 16:9 format, using MiniDV cassette tapes. The HV10’s true 16:9 widescreen HD image is ideal if you want to play back your memories on next-gen HD widescreen TV.

Jabra BT250v Bluetooth Headset: a stylish, light Bluetooth Headset with Vibrating Alert. Operated via a single button, the Jabra headset offers total control of your phone up to 30 feet away: operations such as voice dialing, answering and ending calls, redialing and transferring are just a touch of a button away. You can also select vibrating call alert to have calls signaled silently.

Garmin Nuvi 350: this pocket-sized, portable highly versatile vehicle GPS Navigator comes with 700MB of memory for maps and files (expandable via Secure Digital (SD) memory card slot), and is bundled with MP3/audiobook player, photo viewer, and world travel clock. Small enough to fit in a pocket (just 3.87 x 2.91 x 0.87 inches), it can be mounted on multiple vehicles with the included windshield suction cup. The Garmin comes preloaded with the latest version of City Navigator NT V.8, complete with local maps and offering turn-by-turn directions, automatic routing, all clearly and comfortbly visible on the bright 320 x 240 color touchscreen display.

Ok, we all love the image quality offered by DV video cameras (or even the latest model High Definition ones): but what’s better than a pocketful of simplicity? SourceCrowd.com is bringing you a small roundup of higly portable, take-everywhere gadgets that bring the FUN factor back into taking a snapshot or a quick movie and sharing it with friends and family. Forget about having to carry bulky battery packs, winding tapes or anything of the sort: just point, shoot, copy, watch & share!

These tiny videocameras, aptly called Flip Video, allow you to record a maximum of 60 minutes of digital video (on 1GB of storage, 512 MB on the 30 minute version) that can be copied straight into your PC as an AVI file. The camcorder has a 1.4 inch color screen for instant viewing, full 30 fps MPEG-4 video quality at VGA (640×480) resolution, video-out capability for viewing on your TV, built in mic and speakers, and a flip-out USB 2.0 arm for connecting straight into a computer.

Also of note, the RCA EZ105 Small Wonder, a small and sleek minicamcorder capable of recording 60 minutes of standard quality MPEG4 video or 30 minutes of high quality video. At the back of the slim enclosure is a 1.5 inch LCD display to view your footage, and the lens is capable of 2x zoom. It has the same video out capability as the Flip Video, and sports a built in tripod mount. This really is a bring-everywhere piece of kit, running on 2 standard AA batteries.

You can now record your videos anywhere and never worry about dust, sand or even kids crushing a $1000+ videocamera: these solid-state camcorders will get you through the most dangerous missions! All your birthdays, rave parties or whatever you get involved into, can be just a snap away from online viewing & sharing on youtube or e-mailing to your friends.

SANYO has introduced the Sanyo Xacti VPC-E1 6MP Waterproof MPEG4 Camcorder with 5x Optical Zoom , a waterproof camcorder aimed at active families, vacationers and water sports enthusiasts. Encased in a colorful compact design, the E1 can record high-quality MPEG-4 video (using the H.264 standard) and doubles as a 6-megapixel stills camera under water to a depth of five feet for up to one hour at a time. The device records to a standard SD memory card or high-capacity SDHC card (up to 10 hours of 640 x 480 pixel, 30 fps video on a 8GB card). Moreover, the Xacti E1 sports a flip-out 2.5-inch LCD color display, 5x optical zoom and an anti-shake digital image stabilizer. It measures 2.8 x 4.4 x 1.6 (W x H x D, in inches) weighing in at 8.3 oz. SANYO does away with the need of a bulky underwater housing and is counting on the easy, one hand operation of the camcorder to allow users to take it everywhere all year round: the beach and the lake for snorkeling and water-skiing enthusiasts, and the snowy slopes for skiers and snowboarders. And of course it is handy for recording all the fun at parties, children’s school or sports events and family outings.

The SANYO Xacti E1 will be available in the U.S.A. in a choice of blue, yellow and white colors in mid-June 2007 at $499.99 MSRP.

More Tech-Summer stuff here.

Casio has today announced it will launch the flagship EXILIM Zoom EX-Z1200, the first compact point&shoot camera to sport a 12.1 effective megapixels sensor. An update to the 10.1 megapixel EXILIM Zoom EX-Z1000, the new model has a 2.8-inch wide display and is said to offer an amazing level of detail allowing users to print high resolution photos in large sizes or when trimmed to show just one part of the image. According to Casio, the 3x optical zoom, high definition video capable EX-Z1200 incorporates “CCD-shift image stabilization and the latest EXILIM Engine 2.0 image processing module with motion analysis technology. These innovative features work together to help prevent blurry shots due to shaky hands, subject movement or poor focus when photographing moving subjects such as children or pets.”: the camera combines an auto-tracking AF system with face detection and motion analysis technologies, locking the focus to a subject’s face even if it’s moving.

No pricing has yet been announced for the EXILIM Zoom EX-Z1200.

Square Group Ltd in association with Adobe, Apple and a slew of other partners organized an Adobe Creative Suite CS3 seminar at BFI Southbank in London last Tuesday, May 15, 2007. The seminar featured presentations from both Adobe and Apple about the new features of the many applications that make up Adobe’s new crown jewel, CS3, alongside demonstrations of related products from the likes of Eizo, Wacom, Extensis, HP and G-Tech. SourceCrowd was in attendance and can bring you an exclusive report from the event.
Before the seminar, attendees were able to peruse stands with a few interesting products on show. Eizo wowed the crowd with its stunning professional quality displays like the ColorEdge CE240W sporting hardware colour calibration, 14-bit color processing and easy profiling. Extensis was showcasing two of its software products for asset management: Suitcase Fusion, a font manager to organize, categorize and activate/deactivate fonts on the fly, and Portfolio, a complete multimedia files management tool. HP was showcasing the HP B9180 Photosmart Pro Printer, an eight-tanks pigment ink powerhouse which demonstrated stunning results on some of HP’s custom papers (especially impressive were the results on canvas-textured paper). Wacom had both the A4 Intuos3 graphic tablet and the Cintiq 21UX display available for hands-on demonstrations, making precise editing of pictures a breeze. Last but not least, G-Tech had the whole range of its external high speed hard drives solution on display. The elegant silver enclosures sport the latest in eSata and Firewire connections on the G-Raid2, G-Drive 250GB External FW400/USB2, G-Mini and G-Safe, with high-end fibre-channel RAID solutions also available in the G-Speed models.

Then it was finally time to immerse into the presentation!

The first speaker was Richard West, Apple Business Development Manager for the UK and Ireland. He started by stressing how important it is, in a multimedia communicational landscape, to put to good use the plethora of different ways that businesses have to reach clients, by customizing communications to target and focus on different markets. Adobe Creative Suite CS3, he argued, is the tool of choice to do so, allowing the use of a single creative process for multiple disciplines through its multiplicity of applications. Since output is so important to the designers and developers who use CS3, he then went on to demonstrate how colour calibration devices (in this case, the Pantone Huey Pro MEU113) can work in tandem with OS X ColorSync Utility (found in the Applications>Utilities folder) to prevent disparity between screen output versus print/web output. In particular he showed how it is possible to compare colour spaces graphically, and onscreen proofing of different colour spaces just by dragging and dropping images on the application. Microsoft’s Windows has “borrowed” the same functionality for its latest OS, implemented in Vista under the name Windows Colour System (located in the Control Panel).

Stay tuned for the second part of our report - coming soon!

Canon USA is launching two new high-end PowerShot models, the 8MP 12x-zoom capable S5 IS and the ultra compact 8MP 4x zoom SD850 IS. Both models feature Image Stabilization (the IS badge after their name), face recognition AF and in-camera red-eye reduction.
The S5 IS is one of Canon’s bridge models, aimed at the prosumer enthusiast, and is styled like a small DSLR. It has an impressive 36-432 (35mm equivalent) focal length, 2.5in swivel LCD screen to frame the shots, push 1600 ISO mode for low-light photography, high quality widescreen 30fps movie mode, and uses SD cards for storage (32MB included). It has a retail price of $499.99 and will be available in July.

The SD850 IS Digital Elph packs a punch in a sleek compact design. It comes with a UA lens, a high-refractive element that according to Canon enhances picture quality while reducing lens size, features 35-140 (35mm equivalent) focal length, 2.5in LCD screen, 1600 ISO mode for low-light shooting conditions, widescreen 30fps VGA movie mode, and uses SD cards for storage (32MB included). It has a retail price of $399.99 and will be available in June.