Panasonic unveiled four new digital cameras today, three of which sound pretty exciting to me. The Lumix FZ35 (or FZ38, as it is called outside of the US) is Panasonic’s latest ultra-zoom/hybrid camera. The camera has full manual controls (which are retained even in movie mode), new HDR mode, 720p video capabilities and is able to take RAW images… that should please the general audience and, hopefully, the people who miss the old FZ30/FZ50 so dearly.

We also have the new Lumix ZR1, a slim compact camera with a big 8X zoom lens, designed to compete with the like of other compact super-zooms (the recently announced Olympus Stylus 7010 comes to mind). Call it a ‘baby ZS3/TZ7′ if you will, because that’s exactly what the Lumix ZR1 is.Then there’s the FP8, which is essentially a slim & stylish (and non-rugged) version of the rugged Lumix TS1/FT1, and the updated FX60 aka FX65.

Something worthy of note is Panasonic also introduced their new generation of image stabilization today, Power OIS, which they claim to be twice as effective as the previous Mega OIS system. All of the new cameras announced today will be outfitted with Power OIS.

Panasonic Lumix FZ35 aka FZ38
(Ultra-zoom camera)

• 12 effective megapixels
• 27 – 486 mm (f2.8 – f4.4) 18X optical zoom lens
• NEW: “Power OIS” (Optical image stabilization)
• 2.7 inch LCD
• Venus Engine HD imaging processor
• NEW: High Dynamic Range (HDR) mode
• Full manual controls with RAW image mode
• Intelligent Auto mode (camera picks a mode automatically) and same ‘Intelligent’ features as Panasonic’s other cameras
• 720p 30 FPS movie mode with stereo sound; optical zoom and Dolby Digital Stereo options available
• Takes SD/SDHC cards
• Uses a lithium-ion battery
• Available in September for $400

Panasonic Lumix ZR1
(Compact super-zoom camera)

• 12 effective megapixels
• 25 – 200 mm (f3.3 – f5.9) 8X optical zoom lens
• NEW: “Power OIS” (Optical image stabilization)
• 2.7 inch LCD
• Venus Engine V imaging processor
• NEW: High Dynamic Range (HDR) mode
• No manual controls
• Intelligent Auto mode (camera picks a mode automatically) and same ‘Intelligent’ features as Panasonic’s other cameras
• 720p 30 FPS movie mode with sound; optical zoom available
• Takes SD/SDHC cards
• Uses a lithium-ion battery
• Available in September for $280

Panasonic Lumix FP8
(Stylish compact camera)

• 12 effective megapixels
• 28 – 128 mm (f3.3 – f5.9) 4.6X optical zoom lens
• NEW: “Power OIS” (Optical image stabilization)
• 2.7 inch LCD
• Venus Engine V imaging processor
• NEW: Backlit controls
• No manual controls
• Intelligent Auto mode (camera picks a mode automatically) and same ‘Intelligent’ features as Panasonic’s other cameras
• 720p 30 FPS movie mode with sound; optical zoom available
• Takes SD/SDHC cards
• Uses a lithium-ion battery
• Available in September for $300

Panasonic Lumix FX60 aka FX65
(Stylish compact camera)

• 12 effective megapixels
• 25 – 125 mm (f2.8 – f5.9) 5X optical zoom lens
• NEW: “Power OIS” (Optical image stabilization)
• 2.7 inch LCD
• Venus Engine V imaging processor
• No manual controls
• Intelligent Auto mode (camera picks a mode automatically) and same ‘Intelligent’ features as Panasonic’s other cameras
• 720p 30 FPS movie mode with sound/li>
• Takes SD/SDHC cards
• Uses a lithium-ion battery
• Available in September for $300

Fujifilm released a slew of new digital cameras today, including two new ‘EXR’ SuperCCD cameras and a new ‘Real 3D’ camera – details on the 3D camera are scarce, other than the fact that it can take 3D photos, 3D movies and play them back on its high-resolution screen (in 3D, no less), and I’ll only be posting details on Fujifilm’s 3D camera when there’s more in September. The thing I noticed about all of them is they all use SD/SDHC cards… and lack xD-Picture card compatibility. That now leaves Olympus as the only camera maker to use the proprietary xD-card format in some of their cameras (personally, I hope they abandon it completely). Alright, enough commentary, let’s get to the exciting stuff:

Fujifilm FinePix S200 EXR
(Ultra-zoom camera)

• 12 effective megapixels
• 31 – 436 mm (f2.8 – f5.3) 7X optical zoom lens
• Sensor shift image stabilization
• 2.7 inch LCD with electronic viewfinder
• New “Pro” features: Pro Focus captures 2 to 3 shots to simulate the shallow DoF of SLRs for subject isolation (we’ll see how well that works) while Pro Low-light takes four shots and combines them into a single, low-noise shot
• Resolution, dynamic range and high sensitivity EXR modes as seen in F200 EXR
• Film Simulation includes three ‘film types’ (Velvia, Provia and Astia) for different image/color output
• Full manual controls with hotshoe and RAW/RAW+JPEG image modes
• VGA 30 FPS movie mode with sound
• Takes SD/SDHC cards
• Uses a lithium-ion battery
• Available in August for $600

Fujifilm FinePix F70 EXR
(Compact super-zoom camera)

• 10 effective megapixels
• 27 – 270 mm (f3.3 – f5.6) 10X optical zoom lens
• 2.7 inch LCD
• Sensor shift image stabilization
• New “Pro” features: Pro Focus captures 2 to 3 shots to simulate the shallow DoF of SLRs for subject isolation (we’ll see how well that works) while Pro Low-light takes four shots and combines them into a single, low-noise shot
• Resolution, dynamic range and high sensitivity EXR modes as seen in F200 EXR
• Film Simulation includes three ‘film types’ (Velvia, Provia and Astia) for different image/color output
• Limited manual controls
• VGA 30 FPS movie mode with sound
• Takes SD/SDHC cards
• Uses a lithium-ion battery
• Available in August for $280

Fujifilm FinePix Z35 aka FinePix Z37
(Entry-level camera)

• 10 effective megapixels
• 35 – 105 mm (f3.7 – f4.2) 3X optical zoom lens
• 2.7 inch LCD
• No manual controls
• Automatic scene mode selection
• VGA 30 FPS movie mode with sound
• Takes SD/SDHC Picture cards
• Use a lithium-ion battery
• Available in August for $150
• Comes in your choice of purple, green and blue

Fujifilm FinePix J38
(Entry-level camera)

• 12 effective megapixels
• 32 – 96 mm (f2.9 – f5.2) 3X optical zoom lens
• 2.7 inch LCD
• No manual controls
• Automatic scene mode selection
• Panorama mode with automatic camera stitching
• VGA 30 FPS movie mode with sound
• Takes SD/SDHC Picture cards
• Use a lithium-ion battery
• Available in August for $130

Fujifilm FinePix A170/A220
(Budget cameras)

• 10 effective megapixels (A170)/12 effective megapixels (A220)
• 32 – 96 mm (f2.9 – f5.2) 3X optical zoom lens
• 2.7 inch LCD
• No manual controls
• Panorama mode with automatic camera stitching
• VGA 30 FPS movie mode with sound
• Takes SD/SDHC Picture cards
• Uses 2 AA batteries
• Available now for $90 (A170)/$100 (A220)

Olympus announced four new compact cameras today – the new Stylus 7010 is a compact super-zoom camera (it has a new 7X zoom lens and the camera fits in your pocket) while the three FE series cameras are budget cameras. The new ‘Magic Filters’ feature, first spotted on the new Stylus Tough 6010 from last week, is here again…

But the best thing of all is the fact that all of the new cameras today (except the low-end FE46) have new lenses. That’s right folks, no sign of the el-cheapo “36-108 mm f3.1-f5.9” lens here – so with the new lenses they have, I’m willing to give the new FE-series cameras another chance at proving themselves to be worthy picture taking devices (once I get my hands on them for review, of course).

Olympus Stylus 7010
(Compact camera)

• 12 effective megapixels
• 28 – 196 mm (f3.0 – f5.9) 7X optical zoom lens
• Sensor shift image stabilization
• 2.7 inch LCD
• NEW: Subject tracking (continuous autofocus) mode
• NEW: Magic Filters (sounds like Art Filters from Olympus digital SLRs) with effects like Pop art, fisheye, sketch and pinhole
• No manual controls
• Intelligent Auto mode (camera picks a mode automatically), Beauty mode
• VGA 30 FPS movie mode with sound
• Takes xD Picture cards (and microSD cards via bundled adapter)
• Uses a lithium-ion battery
• Available in August for $200
• Comes in your choice of grey or silver (huh? They look ALMOST the same)

Olympus FE5020
(Entry-level camera)

• 12 effective megapixels
• 24 – 120 mm (f3.3 – f5.8) 5X optical zoom lens
• 2.7 inch LCD
• Magic Filters: Pop art, fisheye, pinhole
• No manual controls
• Intelligent Auto mode (camera picks a mode automatically) and subject tracking
• VGA 30 FPS movie mode with sound
• Takes xD Picture cards (and microSD cards via bundled adapter)
• Uses a lithium-ion battery
• Available in August for $160
• Comes in your choice of red, gray and blue

Olympus FE4000
(Entry-level camera)

• 12 effective megapixels
• 26 – 105 mm (f2.6 – f5.9) 4X optical zoom lens
• 2.7 inch LCD
• Magic Filters: Pop art, soft focus, pinhole
• No manual controls
• Intelligent Auto mode (camera picks a mode automatically) and subject tracking
• VGA 30 FPS movie mode with sound
• Takes xD Picture cards (and microSD cards via bundled adapter)
• Uses a lithium-ion battery
• Available in August for $150
• Comes in your choice of white, gray and pink

Olympus FE46
(Entry-level camera)

• 12 effective megapixels
• 36 – 180 mm (f3.5 – f5.6) 5X optical zoom lens
• 2.7 inch LCD
• Magic Filters: Pop art, soft focus, pinhole
• No manual controls
• Intelligent Auto mode (camera picks a mode automatically) and subject tracking
• VGA 30 FPS movie mode with sound
• Takes xD Picture cards (and microSD cards via bundled adapter)
• Uses a lithium-ion battery
• Available in September for $100
• Comes in your choice of white, blue, black and pink

Olympus announced a new rugged camera today. The Olympus Stylus Tough aka Mju Tough 6010 is an incremental upgrade to the Stylus 6000 launched earlier this year (see our review), featuring just two main changes – an up in megapixel count and new Magic Filter effects

Olympus Stylus Tough 6010
(Rugged compact camera)

• 12 effective megapixels
• 28 – 102 mm (f3.5 – f5.1) 3.6X optical zoom lens
• Rugged design: waterproof to 10 feet, drop proof to 5 feet and freezeproof to 14 degrees
• Sensor shift image stabilization
• 2.7 inch LCD
• Tap control and LCD backlight boost
• NEW: Magic Filters (sounds like Art Filters from Olympus digital SLRs) with effects like Pop art, fisheye, sketch and pinhole
• No manual controls
• Intelligent Auto mode (camera picks a mode automatically), Beauty Fix mode
• VGA 30 FPS movie mode with sound
• Takes xD Picture cards (and microSD cards via bundled adapter)
• Uses a lithium-ion battery
• Available this month for $300
• Comes in your choice of grey, turquoise and red

In other news, for those who are wondering, our review of the Nikon D5000 will be up very soon.

Samsung announced two pretty basic point-and-snap digital cameras today:

Samsung SL502 and SL720
(Point-and-shoot cameras)

• 12 effective megapixels
• 35 – 175 mm (f3.5 – f5.5) 5X optical zoom lens for SL502
  28 – 140 mm (f3.5 – f5.6) 5X optical zoom lens for SL720
• Optical image stabilization (SL720 only)
• 2.7 inch LCD
• Smart Auto Mode (aka automatic scene mode selection)
• Face, smile and blink detection; face recognition
• Smart Album plays back photos by all sorts of categories
• No manual controls
• VGA (SL502)/HD 720p (SL720) 30 FPS movie mode with sound
• Takes SD/SDHC memory cards
• Uses a lithium-ion battery
• Available in August for $150 (SL502) and $230 (SL720)

July 4th is this weekend! Have you gotten your camera ready? If you’re planning to dart out there today or tomorrow and get a new camera, take it easy and do some reading up first (so you don’t regret your purchase decision). Here are four cameras you may want to consider:

Continue reading...

Pentax announced their first rugged camera today (the previous Pentax W-series were merely waterproof) and here it is – the Optio W80.

Pentax Optio W80
(Rugged camera)

• 12 effective megapixels
• 28 – 140 mm (f3.3 – f5.5) 5X optical zoom lens
• Digital ‘pixel tracking’ image stabilization [slaps self on forehead]
• 2.5 inch LCD
• Auto Picture Mode (aka automatic scene mode selection)
• Face, smile and blink detection
• Digital wide combines two pictures into a single 21 mm wide photo
• Dynamic range adjustment
• No manual controls
• HD 720p 30 FPS movie mode with sound
• Takes SD/SDHC memory cards
• Uses a lithium-ion battery
• Available in March for $300
• Comes in your choice of gray, red and blue