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For what it's worth, the consensus about the 2009 Photo Marketing Association show seems to be that it wasn't as bad as everyone expected. The mood was low-key, many of the booths were half empty, and several manufacturers were notably absent--like Adobe and Epson--while others only had meeting rooms.
Nonetheless, several announcements managed to generate some buzz, and most of the manufacturers I spoke with agreed that their business-to-business business at the show was quite productive. Despite the economy, tons of new products debuted, partly because planning takes place 6 to 12 months out. So it's likely that the first real signs of contraction will appear with the fall product lines. And, in fact, at least one manufacturer has already changed its dSLR release plans in preparation for tough times.
The biggest hits of the show seemed to be Sony's Cyber-shot DSC-HX1, a CMOS-based megazoom with a novel shooting mode that creates panoramas on the fly as you pan across the scene, and the Panasonic Lumix DMC-GH1, a video-capture enabled version of its interchangeable-lens G1. What has everyone excited about the camera is how much control you have over depth of field when shooting video, a capability you usually only get with relatively expensive pro camcorders. And unlike the dSLR video implementations in cameras like the Nikon D90 and Canon EOS 5D Mark II, because the GH1 lacks a mirror it supports AF while shooting; in conjunction with the camera the company introduced a new Lumix G Vario HD f4-5.8 14-140mm lens which by design has a quieter focus motor so that the microphone doesn't pick up the noise.
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(Credit: Casio)If you know anyone who has asked for just a basic point-and-shoot camera to stick in their back pocket, point them to the Casio Exilim Zoom EX-Z29. Priced at $149.95, this 10-megapixel ultracompact camera is low on features outside of having 23 Best Shot scene modes and the ability to set the menu system color to one of six options: black, chocolate, cinnamon, rose, sky blue, and olive green.
Up front is a pedestrian 3X f2.8-5.2 38-113mm-equivalent lens, and in back is a 2.7-inch LCD for framing your shots. Here's hoping at least it's a fast performer.
Available in April in a choice of black, pink, blue, silver, and purple.
When I reviewed Panasonic's groundbreaking Lumix DMC-G1 hybrid camera, my biggest criticism about its features was its lack of movie capture; since Panasonic had announced it would ship a model this year which included the capability, it felt a bit premature to recommend that version. Well, next year is here, and so is the movie-capable version of that interchangeable-lens non-SLR camera, the Lumix DMC-GH1.
While technically the camera records 1080p HD video (1920x1080), that's at 24fps, which isn't quite as nice as 30fps; it drops to 1280x720 for 30fps 720p recording. It's also the first still camera to support AVCHD (though Panasonic announced the TS1 earlier this year which uses a stripped-down version of the codec, AVCHD Lite). You can record to the capacity of the card. There's a stereo mic on top of the camera.
Bolstering the video capability is a revamped version of Panasonic's Venus Engine image processor, the Venus Engine HD, with dual processors to handle the extra data load. Panasonic simultaneously announced two new lenses, one of which (dubbed an "HD" lens) is designed specifically to support continuous and quiet autofocus while shooting video. The Lumix G Vario HD f4-5.8 14-140mm lens will ship in a kit with the GH1. You can control aperture and shutter speed during capture as well, and the company includes its Intelligent Auto capabilities in this mode.
The company also announced plans to release a 45mm f2.8 OIS macro lens and 20mm f1.7 later this year, as well as Micro Four Thirds adapter mounts from partners such as Leica.
I guess Panasonic didn't like the blue of the G1; this model comes in red, gold, and black. The company chose not to announce pricing and availability at this time; will update when I get them.
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Did you spend many thousands of dollars on an EOS 1D-whatever Mark III only to find your off-center AF more auto than focus? Well, it's not your imagination. Canon issued a service announcement indicating " If an AF point other than the center AF point is used, focus may become soft. " Ooops. On the bright side, the company is offering free accuracy checks and AF adjustments for those affected. All will be well.
The only announcement to come from Kodak at PMA 2009 was for the EasyShare Z915: a $199.95 pocketable 10-megapixel compact camera with a 10X optical zoom lens and optical image stabilization. It's also powered by two, AA batteries and features a smallish (by today's standards at least) 2.5-inch LCD.
So it's a lot like the Canon PowerShot SX110 IS, except slightly higher resolution and a smaller LCD, but $50 less expensive. Or like the $299 Samsung HZ10W minus the 24mm-equivalent wide-angle lens or the Panasonic Lumix DMC-ZS3, though that one's $399 and features a 28mm lens with 12X optical zoom. Guess this compact megazoom category is more crowded than I thought.
The announcement of the Z915 follows the CES 2009 launch of the Z980 IS, a 12-megapixel dSLR-style shooter with a 24X optical zoom. (Hmmm, could Kodak want a bigger piece of the megazoom market?)
Color options for the Z915 include red, blue, black, and gray (more colors--another differentiator for Kodak in this category). Look for it in April.
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(Credit:
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Camera manufacturers seem to have chosen megazooms as their latest battlefield--and thankfully, the fight isn't just about who's got the biggest lens. In this case, the latest player comes from Sony, whose new Cyber-shot DSC-HX1 incorporates several technologies from its Alpha DSLR products, including a 1/2.4-inch 10-megapixel Exmor CMOS sensor (for 9-megapixel images) and 20X f2.8-5.2 28-560mm-equivalent optically stabilized lens based on the company's higher-quality G series lenses.
In theory, the combination should deliver better photo quality than we're used to seeing in this class. (We haven't yet had a chance to review its primary--and also CMOS-based--competitor the Canon PowerShot SX1 IS, but it's been shipping overseas for a little while, so you can read CNET Australia's take on it).
In addition, Sony introduces several interesting continuous shooting modes: an intriguing Dynamic Ultrawide panorama mode that captures sequential images as you slowly pan across a scene and automatically stitches them into a 7,152x1,080 photo; a 10 frame-per-second 10-shot continuous shooting mode that uses a mechanical rather than electronic shutter for, the company claims, less distortion; and Handheld Twilight mode, which combines multiple exposures for a theoretically lower noise, higher detail low-light photo.
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Although it looks like something you'd hang from your rearview mirror next to the fuzzy dice, Datacolor's SpyderCube is actually an ingenious tool for maximizing the dynamic range and obtaining neutral white balance for your digital photographs. Datacolor describes the SpyderCube as "the first all-in-one raw calibration device for fast and accurate whitepoint correction as well as bracketed adjustments for highlights and blacks," which I find a bit misleading, but it nonetheless seems as if it has the potential to aid those of us who batch process large numbers of images shot under consistent but uncontrolled lighting.
The term I take issue with is "calibration device," because it makes it sound as if you're somehow optimizing the camera's behavior by using it. You're not; you're optimizing your processing of the resulting image files. You photograph it to define a reference white point, black point, and various other characteristic points that you then use to more accurately and consistently retouch photos--or create a profile based on it for batch processing of the photos--shot under those lighting conditions. In fact, I suspect if you tried to use the entire cube for setting manual white balance in the camera, the closest a camera offers to calibration, it would send too much data and confuse the system (I haven't yet tried it; this is based on my discussion with the company when the product was just a spec.)
That said, it seems far more useful than a simple white/gray reference point. Since it's three dimensional, it picks up illumination characteristics of the scene that a flat card can't; the addition of a black point gives you the ends of the range over which to set your levels adjustments and the various gray chips provide midtone points.
For $59, it might be a useful little device to toss in your camera bag. It's scheduled to enter our dimension in March.
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Better late than never? Pentax makes a surprisingly belated entry into the megazoom digital camera market with the $399.99 X70, a competitively spec'd camera. In fact, its lens and sensor specifications look amazingly similar to that of the Nikon P90: a 1/2.33-inch 12.7-megapixel CCD and 24x f2.8-5 26-624mm-equivalent zoom lens.
Unfortunately, there's not much here to differentiate it from the crowd, at least on the surface. The X70 incorporates a 2.7-inch LCD, but it's fixed--many competitors offer tilting or fully articulated displays. It doesn't support HD movie capture, instead maxing out at a 1,280x720-pixel resolutions at 15 frames per second using the rather inefficient Motion JPEG codec. While it offers sensor-shift image stabilization--every camera in this class has either mechanical or optical stabilization--the Movie SR (Shake Reduction) mode sounds like it's probably electronic. There's a high-speed burst mode, 11fps for 21 frames but at a reduced 5-megapixel resolution. And while it offers a full complement of manual and semimanual exposure modes, it lacks raw format support.
The weakest aspect of megazooms tends to be the lens: they're usually not terribly sharp across much of the zoom range, and prone to distortion and aberration. Nor are these models usually particularly speedy. So if Pentax's lens is a bit better or it's a faster shot than its competitors, then it's got a chance. I guess we'll find out when it ships in April.
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If there is such a thing as a camera with too many automatic features, the 9-megapixel Casio Exilim EX-Z250 might be it. This ultracompact--with an MSRP of $250, but sells for less than $200--is brimming with detection, recognition, and preset shooting options to the point where the camera's Auto mode ironically provides you the most control.
Luckily it also produces very good photos, as long as you don't mind some softness. It's not all that fast, but that still doesn't stop it from being a respectable pocket camera.
Last September, Samsung sort of announced its intent to create a standard for non-SLR cameras with interchangeable lenses, dubbed "hybrids," and while there's no talk of standards in the latest announcement, Samsung has announced a prototype for a hybrid model that the company plans to ship in the latter half of this year.
Samsung's annoucement provided few details--I'll try to get more when I meet with the company this week, so stay tuned. As indicated previously, the first NX series camera will be based around an APS-C size sensor, though it's not yet clear which size APS-C that means; it's likely that it will be one that results in an effective 1.5X focal-length multiplier like that used in all consumer dSLRs save Canon's. The concept photos seem to include a fixed-focal-length lens that I guess would be about 33mm or 35mm for a resulting 50mm-equivalent angle of view.
This is a pretty smart step for Samsung's newly formed Samsung Digital Imaging Company, though it's risky planning the camera for six months or more out. Right now there's currently only a single competing hybrid on the market, the Panasonic Lumix DMC-G1; we're still waiting to see a real product from Olympus' concept announcement. Still, a lot can change over that amount of time.
