Canon EOS M100 24.2 MP Mirror Less Camera

Canon India has expanded its product line-up in India with the launch of a mirror less camera - EOS M100 and new tilt-shift lenses in India.

The EOS M100 is an addition to its EOS M series of mirror less interchangeable-lens cameras. Currently, it is available with a single kit option - the EF-M15- 45mm f/3.5-6.3 IS STM. Priced at Rs 39,995, the camera has a 24.2MP APS-C CMOS sensor and DIGIC 7 image processor.

The camera has a continuous shooting speed of up to 6.1fps during fixed AF and 4.0 fps during servo AF. The DIGIC 7 image processor enables an ISO sensitivity range of up to 25600.

It comes with Creative Assist feature that lets users save up to six assistant settings for frequent use, and exchange setting information with other cameras.

One of the camera's main features is the self-portrait mode with Smooth Skin feature, said the company in a statement. The device has a 180-degree tilt up 3.0-inch touch panel LCD screen. Over that it offers Wi-Fi, Bluetooth and NFC as connectivity options. It is also compatible with the Canon Image Gateway app, that helps in sharing images to Smartphones and allows users to control camera settings such as shutter speed, focus selection and self-timer in real time.

As for the lenses, the new line-up consists of the TS-E50mm f/2.8L MACRO, TS-E90mm f/2.8L MACRO, TS-E135mm f/4L MACRO that are priced at Rs 1,72,995 each and the EF85mm f/1.4L IS USM bears a price tag of Rs 1,17,995.

Canon offers Cinema EOS, new camera for Hollywood

Four decades after winning Academy Awards for its cinema lenses, Canon Inc. was back in Hollywood, unveiling a new high-end digital video camera before an audience of some of the world's most famous filmmakers.

Fujio Mitarai, chief executive of the Japanese camera and office equipment giant, took the wraps of the movie camera, called Cinema EOS, in a packed theater on the Paramount Pictures movie studio lot.

At $20,000 for the body alone, the Cinema EOS is not cheap by consumer standards but is on the low end of what professional digital film cameras cost, which can reach into the six figures. Two zoom lenses intended for movie making will go for $45,000 and $47,000.

Making such costly cameras for professional users is somewhat of a departure for Canon, which makes up more than a third of its revenue from consumer electronics, and more than half from office equipment like all-in-one printer-copier-fax machines.

Mitarai said Canon's move into expensive high-end products for professionals comes in response to the rising yen and the movement of manufacturing to cheaper-labor countries abroad.

"Anything without high added value is now being manufactured in southeast Asian countries and China. So we need to shift into an era where all our products have an added value," Mitarai said. "That is one major trend in meeting the difficulties posed by the strong yen."

The camera draws on the popularity of the Canon EOS 5D Mark II, a single-lens reflex still camera that the company introduced in 2008 and which became widely embraced by independent filmmakers because of its ability to take full high-definition video at the 1920-by-1080 pixel resolution known as 1080p.

It didn't take long for its popularity to reach Hollywood. The Mark II was used in the final episode of the last season of Fox's television show "House M.D.," as well as in the car racing scenes of "Iron Man 2" and certain scenes in "Captain America: The First Avenger," movies that Paramount distributed.

The Cinema EOS is similar in shape to a traditional still camera but works with a variety of mounts.

Mitarai said the camera's digital images had the warmth of film and brought out skin tones well. The company showed a number of short films that used the camera to show off how it functioned in action sequences, especially in tight areas that made use of its compact size.

The camera is compatible with an array of around 60 "EF," or electronic focus, lenses that work with Canon's still cameras. The company also introduced seven new lenses that are precise enough to work with super high-definition movie cameras made by other companies using a standard known as 4K.

"This is the camera that gave us the opportunity to work with you today," Mitarai told the crowd.

Samsung introduces four new digital cameras

Samsung has introduced four new point-and-shoot digital cameras, namely SL820, SL620, SL202 and SL30 in its SL series with prices ranging from $99.99 to $279.99.

The SL820 and SL620 are both 12.2-megapixel models with 3-inch LCD displays and 5x optical zoom lenses. The SL820 sports a 28mm wide-angle lens and the SL620 a standard 35mm lens. Both also feature optical and digital image stabilization. The SL820 can record high definition video at 720p and features an HDMI connection. It has on-board H.264 compression. The SL620 can record 640 x 480 video using MPEG-4.

Both cameras also feature “Smart Auto” modes, “Smart Album” program which lets you search for a specific image on your memory card by sorting through pictures organized by criteria; Face Detection, Blink Detection, Smile Shot and Beauty Shot.

The SL620 will be released in March for $199.99; the SL820 is coming in May for $279.99.

The SL202 and SL30 are both 10-megapixel models equipped with 3x optical zoom and digital image stabilization features. The SL202 records MJPEG video at 640 x 480 resolution at 30 frames per second, and features a 2.7-inch LCD screen. The SL30 sports some of the same features as the SL202 and has a smaller 2.5-inch LCD display.

The SL202 and the SL30 both will be released in March for $149.99 and $99.99 respectively.

8 Megapixel Samsung Memoir to bridge Digital Camera and Smart Phone gap

The all new Samsung Memoir is going to bridge the gap between a fully-fledged digital camera and a touchscreen mobile phone. Equipped with an 8-megapixel camera with a Xenon Flash, the Samsung Memoir will be available from T-Mobile.

The Samsung Memoir ie SGH-T929 will work on 3G network from T-Mobile and will feature a full HTML browser, a virtual QWERTY keyboard, and a whole lot of other multimedia features.

The Memoir's feature set is focused on multimedia, with sharing in mind. Photos can be uploaded directly to Photobucket, Flickr, Snapfish, Kodak gallery and other such online services. The 8 megapixel camera includes a 16x digital zoom to shoot video.

Some of the key features of Samsung Memoir are:--
1) 8 Megapixel Camera with Xenon flash and 16X digital zoom
2) microSD slot for storage capacity expansion
3) A-GPS for navigation and location based services
4) 240 x 400 pixels touchscreen display (262k TFT)
5) Full HTML browser and POP3 e-mail support
6) TouchWiz interface with customizable widgets
7) 3G/EDGE/GPRS data access speeds compatible
8) Wireless Bluetooth 2.0 technology (Stereo)

However, nothing has been announced about the launch date or price of the device, it is speculated that Samsung Memoir will be launched by February 25th for $299.

New Lumix Digital Cameras from Panasonic

Panasonic is all set to expand its line of Lumix digital cameras. All the new cameras are expected to arrive in April.

The TS1 is a new model that is waterproof, shockproof and dustproof, and also records AVCHD Lite High Definition (HD) video. It’s a 12.1-megapixel camera with 28mm lens, 4.6 optical zoom and iA mode. It’s waterproof to 10 feet, shockproof from up to five feet, and dustproof with rubber padding, reinforced glass and carbon resins inside the camera, and an airtight body. The camera also touts a 2.7-inch LCD display. Priced at $399.95, the camera will be available in silver, green or orange finishes.

The DMC-FS25 is a 12.1-megapixel camera with 5x optical zoom and 29mm wide-angle lens. It sports a 3.0-inch LCD display and shares the same slim look as other FS-series Lumix cameras. The camera’s “Intelligent Auto” mode includes Auto Focus tracking and “Intelligent Exposure” functions. It works with SD and SDHC memory cards. It’s priced at $249.95; it will be available in silver, black and gold finishes.

The FX580 also features a 12.1-megapixel sensor and touch-screen 3.0-inch display interface, paired to a 25mm lens with F2.8 brightness and 5x optical zoom lens. Optical image stabilization, the “Intelligent Auto” (iA) mode and other features come standard; it can also record 1280 x 720 video at 30 frames per second. It’s priced at $399.95 and comes in an aluminum body.

The DMC-FX48, another 12.1-megapixel model, features a 25mm ultra-wide-angle lens, 5x optical zoom, iA mode, image stabilization, and face recognition. It records 1280 x 720 video at 30 fps, sports a high-speed burst mode and macro zoom function, and has a 2.5-inch LCD. It’s priced at $349.95 and comes in silver and black finishes.

The new ZS series succeeds Panasonic’s TZ series. The $399.95 ZS3 sports 10.1-megapixel sensor, 25mm ultra-wide-angle lens and 12x optical zoom, and can record video in AVCHD Lite format. It features the same iA mode found on the other new Lumix models along with Face Recognition. The ZS1, priced at $299.95, comes with a 10.1-megapixel CCD, standard iA mode (no face recognition) and no movie mode.

Sony announces Cyber-shot DSC-G3 : An Answer to iPhone and iPod Touch

Sony Cyber-shot DSC-T700 was released last year and it was the first digital camera to offer an on-board 4GB flash drive. Now the company has announced Sony Cyber-shot DSC-G3 at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas. The company has augmented the T700's integrated storage and basic specs with Wi-Fi capabilities and one-click access to photo-sharing sites.

Like the DSC-T700, the 10.1-megapixel with 4X-optical-zoom, Cyber-shot DSC-G3 will have a high-resolution touch screen that measures 3.5 inches diagonally, as well as 4GB of flash storage in addition to a Memory Stick slot. But the G3 also adds some new tricks to the mix, namely 802.11g Wi-Fi connectivity and integrated, one-click uploads to sharing sites such as Dailymotion, Picasa, Shutterfly and Youtube. Sony says that other photo and video-sharing sites are accessible via the G3's Web browser, and the company is open to create more one-click-upload partnerships in the future.

In addition to the mobile-upload capabilities, the G3 will have in-camera editing features that make the most of its huge LCD touch screen and 4GB flash storage, such as the ability to add your own digital tunes to the camera to create slide shows accompanied by music.

With a nice megapixel count, a slick and slim frame, a huge touch screen, Wi-Fi connectivity, and multimedia-playback capabilities, the DSC-G3 looks like an interesting rival to the iPod Touch and iPhone.

The device Cyber-shot DSC-G3 has been priced at $500.

Nikon launches Coolpix P6000 with inbuilt GPS system

Nikon has launched its new high-performance compact camera COOLPIX P6000 that can be operated on the auto as well as manual modes providing flexibility to the professional photographer.

Essential features of the Coolpix P6000 include a 13.5 megapixel resolution with an in built GPS system. It has a 2.7inch LCD with a high-resolution screen. The camera has 4x zoom, NIKKOR-angle lens with two ED glass elements and image processing system EXPEED.

It can be effectively used to compose photographs even in low light conditions. The GPS places geo tags along with the images. Thus you can browse photographs location wise.

A D-SLR dial can be used to adjust the camera for different light conditions. The camera weighs 240g and has an internal memory of 48 MB. The Lithium-ion battery is capable of delivering 260 shots after charging.

The pricing of the camera is likely to be above Rs. 20,000. It is expected to be available from September onwards.

coming soon: a digital camera based on the human eye

Digital cameras would soon be more humanised, what with a new technology that can produce images with a wider field of view, just like the human eye.

In a collaborative study, Yonggang Huang, Joseph Cummings Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering and Mechanical Engineering and John Rogers, the Flory-Founder Chair Professor of Materials Science and Engineering have created array of silicon detectors and electronics that can be conformed to a curved surface.

Thus, just like the human eye, the curved surface can act as the focal plane array of the camera, which captures an image.

In a normal camera, such electronics must lie on a straight surface, and the camera's complex system of lenses have to reflect an image several times before it can reflect on the right spots on the focal plane.

"The advantages of curved detector surface imaging have been understood by optics designers for a long time, and by biologists for an even longer time. That's how the human eye works -- using the curved surface at the back of the eye to capture an image," Nature quoted Huang, as saying.

The researchers established experimental methods and theoretical foundations for an effective way to transfer the electronics from a flat surface to a curved one.

They created a hemispherical transfer element made out of a thin elastomeric membrane that can be stretched out into the shape of a flat drumhead. In this form, planar (flat) electronics can be transferred onto the elastomer. Popping the elastomer back into its hemispheric form enables the transfer of the electronics onto a hemispherical device substrate.

But the drawback was that such a process applied to conventional electronics leads to catastrophic mechanical fracture in the brittle semiconductor materials

Thus they created an array of photodetectors and circuit elements that are so small - approximately 100 micrometers square - they aren't as affected when the elastomer pops back into its hemispheric shape.

In addition, each of these devices on the array is connected by thin metal wires on plastic, which form arc-shaped structures that Huang and Rogers call "pop-up bridges." These bridges interconnect the silicon devices, thereby relaxing all of the strain associated with return of the elastomer to its curved shape.

The array was also designed in such a way that the silicon component of each device is sandwiched in the middle of two other layers, the so-called natural mechanical plane. That way, while the top layer is stretched and the bottom layer is compressed, the middle layer experiences very small stress.

The images obtained using this curved array in an electronic eye-type camera indicate large-scale pictures that are much clearer than those obtained with similar, but planar, cameras, when simple imaging optics are used.

"In a conventional, planar camera, parts of the images that fall at the edges of the fields of view are typically not imaged well using simple optics. The hemisphere layout of the electronic eye eliminates this and other limitations, thereby providing improved imaging characteristics," said Huang.

The results of this research will be published as the cover story in the upcoming issue of the journal Nature.

Pentax to launch 10.1 megapixels Optio E60 Digital Camera

Pentax has recently announced to launch Optio E60 compact digital camera. The camera sports 10.1 megapixels. It is bundled with the ACDSee viewer/ image software and is compatible with Windows Vista.

This latest member of the Pentax Optio E series is newly equipped with an optical 3X zoom lens designed especially for group shots in narrow settings, landscapes and architecture. In addition, the Optio E60 features a variety of modes including Auto Picture, Face Recognition, High Sensitivity Digital Shake Reduction, and a Green mode that sets exposure, sensitivity and other parameters with the touch of a button for the newest of digital users.

The Optio E60 uses AA batteries and sports World Time and Date Imprint functions. It also has an Image Recovery function to retrieve accidentally-erased pics.

The Optio E60 permits you to combine pictures into one panoramic picture. You can shoot 16 images in quick succession. It has a Green mode where in you can set sensitivity, exposure and other settings at the touch of a button.

It will be available in October for US$140.

Samsung launches 4 cameras in American Markets

Samsung has recently launched four high end cameras of the Point-and-shoot variety targeting the American markets. They are the TL34HD, TL9, SL310W and SL201. These are technology marvels and include facilities like video playback via an iPod.

The TL34HD is a 14.7 megapixel camera with a 3-inch touchscreen LCD. It has a 3.6X optical zoom and a Schneider lens with 28mm wide-angle focus length. It is capable of HD video capture and can port it to a HDTV set. The camera is priced at $329.95.

TL9 is a 10 megapixel camera. It has a 5x optical zoom and 2.7 inch LCD screen. It can be used as a portable music player. TL9 will ship in September for a price of $ 279.95.

SL310W has a powerful 13.6 megapixel lens with Dual Image Stabilization. Its lens is 3.6x zoom with 28 mm wide angle. The camera has a 2.7 inch LCD display with a MPEG recording facility. It is priced at $229.95.

The last is a low end camera, SL201. It features 10.2 megapixel lens with 11 scene mode function. Samsung has managed to put a rechargeable lithium-ion battery in such a conservatively priced camera. The SL201 has been priced at $169.95.

Digital SLR Camera D700 FX from Nikon

The rivalry for market share between the two giants Nikon and Canon is now spreading to the niche professional camera segment. The entry level Digital Cameras have already flooded markets the world over.

Nikon has endeavored to provide maximum facilities contained in its flagship product, D3, which is priced at around $ 5000, in the new Nikon D700 camera. What makes it more lucrative is a massive drop of almost $ 2000 in the costs. The D700 is priced at $ 2995.

The D700 is likely to compete 5D by Canon. When compared to D3 the D700 does not have an extra memory card slot and the battery life is comparatively lesser. If one is looking for a professional level Digital SLR camera then the D700 will be an ideal option. The camera will be shipped by the end of this month.

Salient features include a 3-inch LCD viewfinder with two Live View models. It sports the 51-point auto focus system with 3D Focus Tracking by Nikon. A scene recognition feature improves the auto focus performance. Its dimensions are 5.8×4.8×3.0 inches.