Sony announced just one camera today (hmm will we see more before CES this weekend?) which is an entry-level compact camera.

Sony Cyber-shot W220
(Entry level compact camera)

• 12 effective megapixels
• 30 – 120 mm (f2.8 – f5.8) 4X optical zoom lens
• Optical image stabilization
• 2.7 inch LCD
• No manual controls
• Intelligent scene recognition and dynamic range optimization features
• VGA 30 FPS movie mode with sound
• Takes Memory Stick Duo memory cards
• Uses a lithium-ion battery
• Available in March for $190
• Comes in your choice of silver, black, blue or pink

And here’s where the rumor and speculation part comes in (I don’t really do rumors, speculation and such but I couldn’t resist, seeing Sony only announced ONE camera today which is odd)… surely Sony won’t just announce just one lone compact camera and be happy for the rest of spring 2009. Based on their history in announcing cameras over the past years, I suspect we’ll see several higher-end models with bigger screens (3 inches?), larger zoom lenses and of course, megapixel increases; which probably will be announced between this weekend and PMA 2009 in March. Speculation for model names, if anyone’s interested: I’m thinking Cyber-shot W250 for a slightly higher-end model and Cyber-shot W500 for the flagship W-series with lots of megapixels (could be 14.7 megapixels like the others, or Sony could push for even more! Oh no!)

Olympus announced a whole lot of cameras today, included the new Stylus SW series, now rebranded as “Stylus Tough” cameras as promised. And let’s begin with Olympus pushing the “most zoom in a single lens” barrier yet again with their latest SP590 Ultra Zoom which has a whopping 26X optical zoom!

Olympus SP590 Ultra Zoom
(Super zoom camera with a 26X lens)

• 12 effective megapixels
• 26 – 676 mm (f2.8 – f5.0) 26X optical zoom lens
• Sensor shift image stabilization
• 2.7 inch LCD with EVF
• Full manual controls and wireless flash control
• New multi-exposure, soft background focus, birdwatching and beauty fix modes
• VGA 30 FPS movie mode with sound
• Takes xD Picture cards
• Uses 4 AA batteries
• Available in March for $450

Olympus Stylus 5000, Stylus 7000 and Stylus 9000
(Compact cameras with large zoom lenses)

• 12 effective megapixels
• 37 – 260 mm (f3.5 – f5.3) 7X optical zoom lens for Stylus 7000
  28 – 280 mm (f3.2 – f5.9) 10X optical zoom lens for Stylus 9000
• Sensor shift image stabilization
• 3 inch LCD for Stylus 7000, 2.7 inch LCD for Stylus 9000 (I have no idea why)
• No manual controls
• Intelligent Auto mode (camera picks a mode automatically), Beauty Fix mode and OR button (OR stands for Olympus Recommended) brings up panorama, Perfect Shot Preview and Shadow Adjustment functions
• VGA 30 FPS movie mode with sound
• HDMI port
• Takes xD Picture cards
• Uses a lithium-ion battery (LI-42B for Stylus 7000, LI-50B for Stylus 9000)
• Available in February for $300 (Stylus 7000) and $350 (Stylus 9000)
• Stylus 7000 will come in your choice of silver, black or blue
  Stylus 9000 will come in your choice of beige or black

Olympus also announced another camera: the Stylus 5000, a compact with 12 megapixels, a 5X zoom lens equivalent to 36-180 mm and 2.7 inch LCD.

Olympus Stylus Tough 6000 and Stylus Tough 8000
(Rugged compact cameras)

• 10 effective megapixels for Stylus Tough 6000
  12 effective megapixels for Stylus Tough 8000
• 28 – 102 mm (f3.5 – f5.1) 3.6X optical zoom lens
• Rugged design:
  Stylus Tough 6000 is waterproof to 10 feet, drop proof to 5 feet and freezeproof to 14 degrees
  Stylus Tough 8000 is waterproof to 33 feet, drop proof to 6.5 feet, freezeproof to 14 degrees and crushproof up to 220 lbs
• Sensor shift image stabilization
• 2.7 inch LCD
• Tap control and a new LCD backlight boost button like the FE-series
• No manual controls
• Intelligent Auto mode (camera picks a mode automatically), Beauty Fix mode and OR button
• VGA 30 FPS movie mode with sound
• Takes xD Picture cards
• Uses a lithium-ion battery (Stylus Tough 8000 can be charged via AC adapter)
• Available in this month for $300 (Stylus Tough 6000) and in February for $400 (Stylus Tough 8000)
• Stylus Tough 6000 will come in your choice of white, blue, yellow and orange

Olympus Stylus 550WP
(Low cost waterproof camera)

• 10 effective megapixels
• 38 – 114 mm (f3.5 – f5.0) 3X optical zoom lens
• Waterproof to 10 feet
• 2.5 inch LCD
• No manual controls
• Intelligent Auto mode (camera picks a mode automatically)
• VGA 30 FPS movie mode with sound
• Takes xD Picture cards
• Uses a lithium-ion battery
• Available in February for $200

Olympus FE3000 (aka FE45), FE3010 and FE5010
(Entry level compact cameras)

• 10 effective megapixels for FE3000
  12 effective megapixels for FE3010 and FE5010
• 36 – 108 mm (f3.1 – f5.9) 3X optical zoom lens for FE3000 and FE3010
  36 – 180 mm (f3.5 – f5.6) 5X optical zoom lens for FE5010
• Sensor shift image stabilization for FE5010 only
• 2.7 inch LCD
• No manual controls
• Intelligent Auto mode (camera picks a mode automatically) and usual in-camera help and face detection
• Smile shot and expression edit for FE5010 only (I have explained these two features in reviews of previous Olympus cameras: the first one waits for a person to smile and the camera takes a picture automatically; while the expression edit does just as it sounds)
• VGA 30 FPS movie mode with sound
• Takes xD Picture cards
• Uses a lithium-ion battery
• Availability: FE3000 for $140 this month, FE3010 for $150 in March and FE5010 for $190 this month
• Each camera will come in your choice of three different colors:
  FE3000 in silver, black or pale blue
  FE3010 in silver, black or purplish-pink
  FE5010 in black, deep blue or maroon

Samsung made an announcement of several compact digital cameras today. The first one is a compact (for a big zoom camera) which features a 10X lens starting at an ultra-wide 24 mm; no doubt this will target and directly compete with Panasonic’s TZ-series cameras. Check all of them out:

Samsung HZ10W
(Compact super-zoom camera)

• 10 effective megapixels
• 24 – 240 mm (f3.3 – f5.8) 10X optical zoom lens
• Optical image stabilization
• 2.7 inch LCD
• Full manual controls
• New Beauty Shot and Smart Album
• 720p HD 30 FPS movie mode with sound
• Takes SD/SDHC memory cards
• Uses a lithium-ion battery
• Available this month for $400
• Comes in your choice of silver or black

Samsung TL100
(Ultra-compact 12 megapixel camera)

• 12 effective megapixels
• 36 – 108 mm (f3.0 – f5.6) 3X optical zoom lens
• 2.7 inch LCD
• No manual controls
• New Beauty Shot, Smart Auto (camera detects and picks a mode for you) and Smart Album
• SVGA 30 FPS movie mode with sound
• Takes SD/SDHC memory cards
• Uses a lithium-ion battery
• Availability and pricing to be announced

Samsung SL102/SL420
(Ultra-compact entry-level cameras)

• 10 effective megapixels
• 3X optical zoom lens (SL102) and 5X optical zoom lens (SL420)
• 2.5 inch LCD (SL102) and 2.7 inch LCD (SL420)
• No manual controls
• VGA (SL102) and SVGA (SL420) 30 FPS movie mode with sound
• Takes SD/SDHC memory cards
• Uses a lithium-ion battery
• Availability and pricing to be announced

Pentax announced two new cameras today, one is an ultra-compact camera and the other is an entry-level model.

Pentax Optio P70
(High-resolution compact camera)

• 12 effective megapixels
• 28 – 110 mm (f2.6 – f5.8) 4X optical zoom lens
• 2.7 inch LCD
• No manual controls
• Auto Picture mode recognizes scenes automatically, digital 21 mm wide and image recovery/undelete
• 720p 15 FPS movie mode with sound
• Takes SD/SDHC memory cards
• Uses a lithium-ion battery
• Available in February for $200
• Comes in your choice of silver, white or red

Pentax Optio E70
(Entry-level camera)

• 10 effective megapixels
• 35 – 105 mm (f3.1 – f5.9) 3X optical zoom lens
• 2.4 inch LCD
• No manual controls
• Auto Picture mode recognizes scenes automatically, digital 21 mm wide and image recovery/undelete
• VGA 30 FPS movie mode with sound
• Takes SD/SDHC memory cards
• Uses 2 AA batteries
• Available in February for $140
• Comes in your choice of gold, red or blue

Well here come the first camera announcements for the year 2009… from Kodak. They’ve got four cameras to reveal today: the 12 megapixel Kodak EasyShare Z980 ($400) features a HD movie mode, vertical grip (!!) and a 24X zoom lens which starts at 26 mm. The other three are compact cameras: the EasyShare M320 ($130) with 9 megapixels, a 3X lens and 2.7 megapixels, the 10 megapixel EasyShare M340 ($150) and the EasyShare M380 ($180) which has 10 megapixels, a 5X zoom lens, 2.7 inch LCD and will come in your choice of three colors; black, red or turquoise. Unfortunately, Kodak didn’t provide many details about the two so I can’t have my usual specifications run-down over here.

Stay tuned for more new camera announcements as the CES 2009 (Consumer Electronics Show) approaches this weekend.