Nikon has just announced two new compact Coolpix cameras today – the follow-up to their very unique “projector-camera” as well as a pretty conventional, entry-level model. As of now, Nikon remains the only manufacturer making digital cameras with built-in projectors.

Nikon Coolpix S1100 pj
(Compact camera)

• 14 effective megapixels
• 28 – 140 mm (f3.9 – f5.8) 5X optical zoom lens
• Optical image stabilization (Vibration Reduction)
• 3 inch touchscreen LCD (460,000 pixels)
• Built-in projector can project images/video in playback up to 47 inches in size (up from 40 inches on the original S1000pj)
  Focus knob at the top of the camera allows you to focus projected images for distances up to 7 feet
• New: Camera can also link up to your PC and double as a ‘conventional’ projector (S1000pj could only do pictures from the camera itself)
• Nikon’s usual Smart Portrait system: Face, smile and blink detection, redeye removal, skin softening, tools for various effects in playback
• No manual controls
• 720p (1280 x 720) 30 FPS movie mode with sound
• Takes SD/SDHC/SDXC memory cards
• Uses a lithium-ion battery
• Available in September for $350
• Comes in your choice of silver, black, green or violet

Nikon Coolpix S5100
(Compact camera)

• 12 effective megapixels
• 28 – 140 mm (f2.7 – f6.6) 5X optical zoom lens
• Optical image stabilization (Vibration Reduction)
• 2.7 inch LCD
• Smart Portrait: Face, smile and blink detection, redeye removal, skin softening
• No manual controls
• 720p (1280 x 720) 30 FPS movie mode with sound
• Takes SD/SDHC memory cards
• Uses a lithium-ion battery
• Available in October for $180
• Comes in your choice of black, blue, purple or pink

Casio announced two basic additions to their digital camera line today. Both are essentially the same camera inside but with different designs (and price!).

Casio Exilim Z800 and S200
(Entry-level cameras)

• 14 effective megapixels
• 27 – 108 mm (f3.2 – f5.9) 4X optical zoom lens
• 2.7 inch LCD
• No manual controls; fancy-named Premium Auto mode automatically picks a scene mode
• Single Frame Quality and Single Frame Zoom sharpen and enlarge pictures respectively, with less quality loss than conventional digital zoom
• 720p HD (1280 x 720) 20 FPS movie mode with sound
• Takes SD/SDHC memory cards
• Uses a lithium-ion battery
• Available in September for $150
• Comes in your choice of silver, black, blue, yellow or pink
• Exilim S200 sports a slimmer body, adds an autofocus assist light and carries a $180 price tag

Samsung introduced a fairly affordable compact camera with built-in WiFi capability today and here it is:

Samsung ST80
(Compact camera)

• 14 effective megapixel CCD
• 35 – 105 mm (f3.0 – f5.6) 3X optical zoom lens
• Optical image stabilization
• 3 inch touchscreen LCD
• Face, smile and blink detection; Smart Auto with auto scene selection
• Built-in Wi-Fi allows you to wirelessly upload and email photos
• 720p HD (1280 x 720) 30 FPS movie mode with sound
• Takes micro SD/SDHC memory cards
• Uses a lithium-ion battery
• Available in September for $250

There we go – it’s my review of the Olympus Stylus Tough 6020 (also known as the Mju Tough 6020), one of three rugged cameras that Olympus has introduced for 2010. This new Olympus TOUGH camera gives you more than last year’s models while remaining just as rugged, with a new 720p HD movie mode, 14 megapixels of resolution, a 5X optical zoom lens and 2 GB of internal memory. Also head on to the Olympus Stylus Tough 6020 photo gallery posted as well.

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I’ve posted the Olympus Stylus Tough 6020 aka Mju Tough 6020 Photo Gallery which contains full-sized pictures taken by the camera. Be sure to check out the Olympus Stylus Tough 6020 aka Mju Tough 6020 review for details and an opinion about this rugged, waterproof camera.

View gallery

Samsung dived into the summer camera announcement party today with the announcement of two new Dual View cameras (also known as 2 View), which sport unique dual LCD screens and one entry-level camera with a lot of zoom.

Samsung TL100 Dual View
(Compact camera)

• 14 effective megapixel CCD
• 35 – 175 mm (f3.6 – f4.8) 5X optical zoom lens
• Optical image stabilization
• Rear display: 3.5 inch wide touchscreen LCD
  Second front facing 1.8 inch LCD for self-portraits
• Face, smile and blink detection; Smart Auto with auto scene selection
• 720p HD (1280 x 720) 30 FPS movie mode with sound
• Takes micro SD/SDHC memory cards
• Uses a lithium-ion battery
• Available in September for $350

Samsung TL600 Dual View
(Compact camera)

• 14 effective megapixel CCD
• 27 – 135 mm (f3.5 – f5.9) 5X optical zoom lens
• Optical image stabilization
• Rear display: 3.5 inch wide touchscreen LCD
  Second front facing 1.8 inch LCD for self-portraits
• Face, smile and blink detection; Smart Auto with auto scene selection
• 720p HD (1280 x 720) 30 FPS movie mode with sound
• Takes micro SD/SDHC memory cards
• Uses a lithium-ion battery
• Available in September for $330

Samsung PL200
(Entry-level cameras)

• 12 effective megapixels
• 31 – 217 mm (f3.3 – f5.5) 7X optical zoom lens
• Optical image stabilization
• 3.0 inch LCD
• Face, smile and blink detection; Smart Auto with auto scene selection
• 720p HD (1280 x 720) 30 FPS movie mode with sound
• Takes SD/SDHC memory cards
• Uses a lithium-ion battery
• Available in September for $180

Not wanting Fujifilm to feel lonely today, Panasonic has also come up with a bunch of their own new cameras for this fall, including the much-awaited successor to their Lumix LX3 compact/prosumer camera, the new Lumix LX5 and spiritual successor to the Lumix FZ30, the CMOS-touting prosumer Panasonic Lumix FZ100. Panasonic has also come up with a new basic rugged camera for those on a budget as well as a more consumer-oriented super-zoom (essentially a less feature-packed version of the FZ100)

The Panasonic Lumix FZ100 super-zoom and Lumix FX700 compact both sport Panasonic’s brand new CMOS sensor with 14 megapixels of resolution. This new sensor allows for high-speed shooting (isn’t everyone making at least one of these nowadays?) and improved high ISO performance, though I’m surprised Panasonic hasn’t included one of those sweep-style, auto panorama modes like Sony and (recently) Fujifilm have been offering.

Panasonic Lumix FZ100
(Prosumer super-zoom camera)

• 14 effective megapixels (CMOS sensor)
• 25 – 600 mm (f2.8 – f5.2) 24X optical zoom lens
• Optical image stabilization (Power OIS)
• New Venus Engine FHD imaging processor
• 3 inch LCD (460k dots) with ability to flip out and rotate
  Electronic viewfinder with dioptric correction available
• Full manual controls with new jog dial and focus switch
• Hotshoe supports external flash units
  New port on the side also allows you to plug in an external microphone (ala Panasonic’s Micro Four Thirds cameras)
• 11 FPS continuous shooting at 14 MP full-resolution;
  and up to 60 FPS at 3.5 megapixels
• Motion Deblur mode attempts to boost shutter speed ‘as high as possible’ by making use of both the camera’s Intelligent ISO/motion detection and Intelligent Exposure features
• Full HD (1920 x 1080) 50i/60i movie mode with stereo sound; AVCHD codec
  Lower resolution options ranging from 720p, VGA to QVGA available
  Exposure controls, wind filter, optical zoom and optical IS available while recording
• Takes SD/SDHC/SDXC memory cards
• Uses a lithium-ion battery (410 shots per charge)
• Available in late August for $500

Panasonic Lumix FZ40
also known as Lumix FZ45
(Consumer super-zoom camera)

• 14 effective megapixels (CCD)
• 25 – 600 mm (f2.8 – f5.2) 24X optical zoom lens
• Optical image stabilization (Power OIS)
• 3 inch LCD (230k dots); fixed position
  Electronic viewfinder with dioptric correction available
• Full manual controls with new jog dial
• 720p HD (1280 x 720) 30 FPS movie mode with stereo sound; AVCHD Lite codec
• Takes SD/SDHC/SDXC memory cards
• Uses a lithium-ion battery (410 shots per charge)
• Available in late August for $400

Panasonic Lumix LX5
(Mid-range compact camera)

• 10 effective megapixels (Sensor has been redesigned since the LX3 for better dynamic range and high ISO performance)
• 24 – 90 mm (f2.8 – f3.3) 3.8X optical zoom lens
• Optical image stabilization (Power OIS)
• New Venus Engine FHD imaging processor
• 3 inch LCD (460k dots)
• Full manual controls with new jog dial
• Hotshoe supports external flash units
  New accessory port (first seen on the Micro Four Thirds Lumix GF1) allows an external electronic viewfinder EVF to be attached to the hotshoe
• New 1:1 square image aspect ratio (in addition to existing 4:3, 3:2 and 16:9 widescreen options)
• New Step Zoom allows you to preset focal length to those commonly found on SLR lenses (ie 24mm, 28mm, 35mm and so on)
• 720p HD (1280 x 720) 50i/60i movie mode with sound; AVCHD Lite codec
  Exposure controls, wind filter, optical zoom and optical IS available while recording
• Takes SD/SDHC/SDXC memory cards
• Uses a lithium-ion battery (400 shots per charge)
• Available in late August for $500

Panasonic Lumix FX700
(Touchscreen compact camera)

• 14 effective megapixels (CMOS sensor)
• 24 – 120 mm (f2.2 – f5.9) 5X optical zoom lens
• Optical image stabilization (Power OIS)
• New Venus Engine FHD imaging processor
• 3 inch touchscreen LCD (460k dots)
• Full manual controls
• 10 FPS continuous shooting at 14 MP full-resolution
• Handheld Nightshot mode takes 10 pictures in a row, combining them into one sharp photo with lower than usual noise (sounds familiar?)
• Motion Deblur mode attempts to boost shutter speed ‘as high as possible’ by making use of both the camera’s Intelligent ISO/motion detection and Intelligent Exposure features
• Full HD (1920 x 1080) 50i/60i movie mode with sound; AVCHD codec
  Wind filter, optical zoom and optical IS available while recording
• Takes SD/SDHC/SDXC memory cards
• Uses a lithium-ion battery (300 shots per charge)
• Available in late August for $400

Panasonic Lumix TS10
(Rugged compact camera)

• Rugged design: Shockproof (1.5m/5 ft), waterproof (3m/10 ft), dustproof, freezeproof
• 14 effective megapixels (CCD)
• 35 – 140 mm (f2.2 – f5.9) 5X optical zoom lens
• Optical image stabilization (Mega OIS)
• 2.7 inch LCD (230k dots)
• Point and shoot; no manual controls
• 720p HD (1280 x 720) 30 FPS movie mode with sound; MJPEG
• Takes SD/SDHC/SDXC memory cards
• Uses a lithium-ion battery (300 shots per charge)
• Available in September for $250
• Comes in your choice of silver, black, red or blue