Sony just announced two updated entry-level digital SLR models. The new Sony Alpha A290 and A390 cameras released today are successors to the last year’s Alpha A230 and A330/A380 respectively.

Compared to their predecessors, it seems not much has changed, the only obvious ‘change’ being the increase in megapixels to 14 megapixels for both the A290 and A390, as well as a $50 decrease in recommended retail price versus their 2009 counterparts.

Between the two newborn siblings today, the differences between the two are the presence of live view (At the cost of a smaller optical viewfinder) and a tilt-out LCD screen on the higher end A390. Neither camera has any sort of movie recording capability.

Sony Alpha A290/Alpha A390
(Entry-level digital SLRs)

• 14.2 effective megapixels (APS-C sensor, 1.5X crop)
• Sony/Minolta lens mount (1.5X crop factor))
• Dust reduction
• In-body sensor-shift image stabilization
• Alpha A290: 2.7 inch fixed position LCD
  Alpha A390: 2.7 inch inch dual-hinge, tilt-out LCD
• Alpha A290: 95% viewfinder with 0.83X magnification
  Alpha A390: 90% viewfinder with 0.74X magnification
• ISO speed range of 100 – 3200
• Alpha A290: NO live view
  Alpha A390: Live view; uses secondary CCD sensor inside viewfinder chamber
• 2.5 FPS continuous shooting mode
• Full manual controls with RAW mode and hotshoe; wireless flash control
• 9 point AF
• No movie mode
• Dual memory card slots for SD/SDHC and Memory Stick Duo
• Uses a lithium-ion battery (NP-FH50)
• Alpha A290: Available in July for $500 (with 18-55 mm kit lens)
  Alpha A390: Available in July for $600 (with 18-55 mm kit lens)

Panasonic just made a standalone announcement of a lone compact camera today. The new Lumix FX75 (AKA the Lumix FX70) is Panasonic’s latest touchscreen camera. The camera doesn’t feature any manual controls (a change from their old FX500 and FX550 touchscreen cameras) but does have a brand new ultra-wide angle lens that starts at 24 mm and with a very “bright” wide-angle aperture value of F2.2.

Panasonic Lumix FX75
also known as Lumix FX70 in some places
(Compact camera)

• 14 effective megapixels
• 24 – 120 mm (f2.2 – f5.9) 5X optical zoom lens
• Optical image stabilization (Power OIS)
• 3 inch touchscreen LCD
• No manual controls: point-and-shoot functionality with scene modes
• Touch shutter and cosmetic mode with skin softening and digital tanning
• 720p (1280 x 720) 30 FPS movie mode with sound
• Takes SD/SDHC memory cards (SDXC compatible too)
• Uses a lithium-ion battery
• Availability and price to be announced
• Comes in your choice of silver or black (pink and purple available in select places)

Before this, the only players in the compact, interchangeable lens camera arena were Olympus, Panasonic and Samsung. Well, Sony hasn’t been sitting down lately as they’ve prepared two interchangeable lens cameras of their own to join in the fun. The brand new NEX-3 and NEX-5

Sony NEX-3/NEX-5
(Compact interchangeable lens cameras)

• 14.2 effective megapixels (EXMOR APS-C CMOS sensor, 1.5X crop)
• New Sony E-mount (1.5X crop factor)
  Compatible with Alpha mount lenses (sans autofocus ability) via adapter
• 3 inch ‘Sony TruBlack’ LCD (921,000 pixels) with two separate hinges for tilting
• Proprietary port where you can attach an external ‘popup’ flash or optical viewfinder
• ISO speed range of 200 – 12800
• Live view only with face and smile detection
• Auto HDR (High dynamic range) takes three pictures and combines them into one for improved dynamic range
• Handheld twilight/anti blur modes take six pictures and combine them into one for lower noise and sharper pictures
• Sweep Panorama mode automatically creates panoramas (up to 23 megapixels large) as you pan the camera
• 3D Photo feature in the works; will be available via future firmware update from Sony
• 7 FPS continuous shooting mode (up to 8 RAW or unlimited JPEG)
• Full manual controls with RAW mode
• 25 point AF
• HD movie mode with stereo sound recording, continuous AF, optical image stabilizer and dedicated start/stop button
  NEX 3: 720p Standard HD (1280 X 720) movies in H.265 codec
  NEX 5: 1080p Full HD (1920 X 1080) movies in AVCHD codec; 720p option (same as NEX3) available
• Dual memory card slots for SD/SDHC/SDXC and Memory Stick Duo
• Uses a lithium-ion battery (NP-FW50)
• NEX 3: Available in July for $550 (with 16 mm pancake lens) or $600 (with 18-55 mm kit lens)
  NEX 5: Available in July for $650 (with 16 mm pancake lens) or $750 (with 18-55 mm kit lens)

Along with their brand new “E-mount”, Sony also announced three new lenses to go along with this new system and they are:

• $300: 18 – 55 mm f3.5 – f5.6 “kit” lens with optical image stabilizer
• $250: 16 mm f2.8 “pancake” lens (No stabilizer)
• $800: 18 – 200 mm f3.5 – f6.3 super-zoom lens with optical image stabilizer

What’s unique about that 16 mm pancake lens is that you can actually attach (additional) conversion lenses to turn it into an ultra-wide angle/fisheye 12 mm lens. No word yet if the conversion adapter will be included with the lens or sold separately (but knowing Sony, it’ll most likely be the latter).

It’s official! Panasonic global just made two new Micro Four Thirds cameras official. The new Lumix G2 and G10 (the G2 is the higher end model of the two) both replace the aging Lumix G1. Yes, two cameras to replace one – the Lumix G2 being the more ‘direct’ successor of the G1, while the G10 is probably going to be a lower priced alternative. No news about the replacement for the Lumix GH1 however, but I wouldn’t be surprised if its replacement is due for later this summer/fall…

[Specifications to come]

Sony just announced two new additions to their Cyber-shot line today. The Cyber-shot H55 is a basic version of the H5V camera announced last month – for one Benjamin less, you’ll get the Cyber-shot H55, a similar looking camera sans GPS, backlit CMOS, full HD movie mode and less bells and whistles. Also announced today is the Cyber-shot TX5, Sony’s first ever rugged digital camera. The camera is essentially a T-series cameras that’s more ruggardized to match competing offers in the market by other camera makers.

Sony Cyber-shot HX55
(Compact super-zoom)

• 14 effective megapixels
• 25 – 250 mm (f3.5 – f5.5) 10X optical zoom lens
• Optical image stabilization
• Active stabilization reduces high levels of camera shake in movie mode
• 3.0 inch LCD (230,000 pixels)
• Some manual controls
• Standard Sweep Panorama mode
• Face detection, software redeye removal
• Standard HD (1280 x 720) 30 FPS movie mode with sound and optical zoom
• Single memory card slot takes either SD/SDHC or Memory Stick Duo cards
• Uses a lithium-ion battery
• Available in April for $250

Sony Cyber-shot TX5
(Rugged compact camera)

• Rugged design: Waterproof (10 feet/3 meters), shockproof (5 feet/1.5 meters), freezeproof, dustproof
• 10 effective megapixels (backlit CMOS)
• 25 – 100 mm (f3.5 – f4.6) 4X optical zoom lens
• Optical image stabilization
• 3 touchscreen LCD (2301,000 pixels)
• No manual controls
• Enhanced Sweep Panorama mode
• High Dynamic Range mode takes and combines two photos into 1 HDR shot
• Continuous shooting up to 10 frames per second at full resolution
• Face detection, software redeye removal
• Standard HD (1280 x 720) 30 FPS movie mode with sound and optical zoom
• Single memory card slot takes either SD/SDHC or Memory Stick Duo cards
• Uses a lithium-ion battery
• Available in April for $350

Canon just announced a bunch of new digital cameras today: a new entry-level digital SLR and a couple of new compact cameras. The new Canon EOS Rebel T2i, also known as the EOS 550D, is the successor to last year’s popular Rebel T1i/500D model and features a new image sensor, more external controls and improved movie mode. Seems like Canon’s Rebel T-line is getting more and more sophisticated, which makes me wonder if they’ll introduce an even more basic model (ie 1000D class) to fill in the gap below.

Next up is the new PowerShot SX210 compact super-zoom camera. My, what a change, the camera looks nothing like it’s predecessor, the SX200 – it’s now smaller, slimmer and more stylish. Then we start with the Digital ELPH models: the SD3500 and SD1400 pair, which come to quickly replace the SD980 and SD940 (IXUS 200 and IXUS 120) models introduced barely 6 months ago. The SD1300 fills in the 2009 SD1200’s shoes as Canon’s affordable stylish ultra-compact camera.

Canon EOS Rebel T2i
AKA Digital EOS 550D
(Entry-level SLR camera)

• 18 megapixel CMOS sensor (APS-C, 1.6X crop factor); apparently derived from EOS 7D’s sensor
• Canon EF/EF-S lens mount
• DIGIC IV processors
• Dust reduction
• 3 inch super-high resolution LCD (1,040k pixels)
• 9 point AF
• Live view with contrast detection autofocus
• Larger exposure compensation range (up to +/-5 EV); additional controls on the back
• ISO range of 100 – 6400 (expandable to ISO 12800)
• Full manual controls with RAW mode and flash hotshoe
• 3.7 FPS burst mode up to 34 JPEG or 6 RAW photos
• 1080p (1920 x 1080) movie mode with sound; dedicated movie button and optional external microphone
  Seletable frame rate and resolution settings: 1080p at 24, 25, 30 FPS; 720p/VGA at 50 or 60 FPS
• Takes SD, SDHC and SDXC memory cards
• Uses a lithium-ion battery (new LP-E8 battery)
• Available in March for $800 (body only) or $900 (with the EF-S 18-55 mm kit lens)

Canon PowerShot SX210
(Compact super-zoom camera)

• 14 effective megapixels
• 28 – 392 mm (f3.1 – f5.9) 14X optical zoom lens
• Optical image stabilization
• 3.0 inch widescreen LCD (230,000 pixels)
• Full manual controls
• Automatic and scene modes; with a couple of new scene modes
• New “wink” detection/self-timer; in addition to existing face, smile and blink detection
• 720p (1280 x 720) 30 FPS movie mode with stereo sound and optical zoom
• Takes SD, SDHC and SDXC memory cards
• Uses a lithium-ion battery
• Available in March for $350

Canon PowerShot SD3500 IS Digital ELPH
AKA Digital IXUS 210 IS
(Stylish compact camera)

• 14 effective megapixels
• 24 – 120 mm (f2.8 – f5.9) 5X optical zoom lens
• Optical image stabilization
• 3.5 inch full widescreen LCD (460,000 pixels); touchscreen operation and no physical controls/buttons
• No manual controls; only automatic/scene modes
• New “wink” detection/self-timer; in addition to existing face, smile and blink detection
• 720p (1280 x 720) 30 FPS movie mode with sound
• Takes SD, SDHC and SDXC memory cards
• Uses a lithium-ion battery
• Available in February for $330
• Comes in your choice of silver, black or pink

Canon PowerShot SD1400 IS Digital ELPH
AKA Digital IXUS 130 IS
(Ultra-compact camera)

• 14 effective megapixels
• 28 – 112 mm (f2.8 – f5.9) 4X optical zoom lens (New design!)
• Optical image stabilization
• 2.7 inch LCD (230,000 pixels)
• No manual controls; only automatic/scene modes
• New “wink” detection/self-timer; in addition to existing face, smile and blink detection
• 720p (1280 x 720) 30 FPS movie mode with sound
• Takes SD, SDHC and SDXC memory cards
• Uses a lithium-ion battery
• Available in February for $250
• Comes in your choice of silver, black, pink or orange

Canon PowerShot SD1300 IS Digital ELPH
AKA Digital IXUS 105 IS
(Ultra-compact camera)

• 12 effective megapixels
• 28 – 112 mm (f2.8 – f5.9) 4X optical zoom lens (Old design)
• Optical image stabilization
• 2.7 inch LCD (230,000 pixels)
• No manual controls; only automatic/scene modes
• VGA (640 x 480) 30 FPS movie mode with sound
• Takes SD, SDHC and SDXC memory cards
• Uses a lithium-ion battery
• Available in February for $200
• Comes in your choice of silver, blue, pink, green or brown

Was the E-P2 PEN a bit too heavy on your wallet? Good news, Olympus just announced an affordable offering in their line of PEN interchangeable lens cameras. The PEN E-PL1 (what a mouthful) takes most of the E-P2’s features and puts them in a mostly plastic body, throws in a couple of new features like Live Guide to make the camera more beginner friendly and a built-in popup flash.

I will have a preview of the camera ready and online very soon.

Olympus E-PL1 PEN camera
(Micro Four Thirds camera)

• 12 megapixel Live MOS sensor (Micro Four Thirds, 2.0X crop factor)
• Micro Four Thirds lens mount (adapters available for normal Four Thirds and Leica lenses)
• Sensor-shift image stabilizer
• Dust reduction
• 2.7 inch LCD
• Optional electronic viewfinder attaches via hotshoe
• Six Art Filters (photo effects)
• On-board flash
• Live Guide feature for simplified manual control adjustment for beginners
• ISO range of 100 – 3200
• Full manual controls with RAW mode and flash hotshoe
• 3 FPS burst mode
• 720p (1280 x 720 at 30 FPS) movie mode with sound
  Optional external microphone accessory; attaches via hotshoe
• Takes SD/SDHC memory cards
• Uses a lithium-ion battery
• Available in March for $600 (with 14-42 mm kit lens)

Olympus also announced two new Micro Four Thirds lenses today: the 9 – 18 mm f4.0 – f5.6 ultra-wide angle zoom lens to be available in May for $700 and the new 14 – 150 mm f4.0 – f5.6 all-in-one super zoom lens, which will go for $600 in June.