Digital Photography Interface

Olympus has announced three more cameras today; a big zoom camera (which appears to have dropped the “Ultra-Zoom” moniker they’ve been using for years), a compact super-zoom camera and an entry-level model.

Olympus SZ10
Ultra-zoom camera

• 14 effective megapixels
• 28 – 840 mm (f3.1 – f4.4) 18X optical zoom lens
• Sensor-shift image stabilization
• 3 inch LCD (460,000 pixels)
• Intelligent Auto and scene modes; no manual controls
• 3D mode for photos and Magic Filters
• 720p HD (1280 x 720) 30 FPS movie mode with sound
• Takes SD/SDHC/SDXC cards
• Uses a lithium-ion battery
• Available in March for $250
• Comes in your choice of black or silver

Olympus VR320
Compact super-zoom camera

• 14 effective megapixels
• 24 – 300 mm (f3.0 – f5.9) 12.5X optical zoom lens
• Sensor-shift image stabilization
• 3 inch LCD (460,000 pixels)
• Intelligent Auto and scene modes; no manual controls
• Magic Filters
• 720p HD (1280 x 720) 30 FPS movie mode with sound
• Takes SD/SDHC/SDXC cards
• Uses a lithium-ion battery
• Available in March for $200
• Comes in your choice of black, silver, red or blue

Olympus VG110
Entry-level camera

• 12 effective megapixels
• 27 – 108 mm (f2.9 – f6.5) 4X optical zoom lens
• 2.7 inch LCD (230,000 pixels)
• Intelligent Auto and scene modes; no manual controls
• Magic Filters
• VGA (640 x 748) 30 FPS movie mode with sound
• Takes SD/SDHC cards
• Uses a lithium-ion battery
• Available in February for $100
• Comes in your choice of silver, black or red

Well, Nikon didn’t announce (or even officially appear, though I bumped into one of their guys from Nikon Japan) anything at the Consumer Electronics Show last month in Las Vegas, but they’re making announcements now! Better late than never, right? Nikon has fully refreshed their entire Coolpix line of digital cameras (although there aren’t aNy new digital SLRs today), which makes them ready to take on the market looking for a 2011 camera model. They’ve got ultra-zoom cameras, compact cameras, affordable cameras and even a new compact prosumer camera (which will compete against the likes of the Canon S95 and Olympus XZ1)

Nikon Coolpix P500
Ultra-zoom camera

• 12 effective megapixel backlit CMOS sensor
• 23 – 810 mm (f3.4 – f5.7) 36X optical zoom lens
• Sensor-shift image stabilization
• 3 inch tiltable LCD (921,000 pixels) and electronic viewfinder
• Full manual controls with Scene Auto Selector and scene modes
• High-speed continuous shooting at 5 frames per second (full-resolution)
• Camera can shoot and combine several photos for creating better HDR, night portraits or night scenery shots
• Easy Panorama allows panoramas to be made by panning the camera from side-to-side
• 1080p Full HD (1920 x 1080) 30 FPS movie mode with stereo sound and optical zoom
• Takes SD/SDHC/SDXC cards
• Uses a lithium-ion battery
• Available in March for $400
• Comes in your choice of black or red

Nikon Coolpix P300
Compact prosumer camera

• 12 effective megapixel backlit CMOS sensor
• 24 – 100 mm (f1.8 – f4.9) 4.2X optical zoom lens
• Optical image stabilization
• 3 inch LCD (921,000 pixels)
• Full manual controls with Scene Auto Selector and scene modes
• Camera can shoot and combine several photos for creating better HDR, night portraits or night scenery shots
• Easy Panorama allows panoramas to be made by panning the camera from side-to-side
• 1080p Full HD (1920 x 1080) 30 FPS movie mode with stereo sound and optical zoom
  High-speed modes available at lower resolution, up to 120 FPS frame rate
• Takes SD/SDHC/SDXC cards
• Uses a lithium-ion battery
• Available in March for $330

Nikon Coolpix S9100
Compact super-zoom camera

• 12 effective megapixel backlit CMOS sensor
• 25 – 450 mm (f3.5 – f5.9) 18X optical zoom lens
• Sensor-shift image stabilization
• 3 inch LCD (921,000 pixels)
• No manual controls
• High-speed continuous shooting at 5 frames per second (full-resolution)
• Camera can shoot and combine several photos for creating better HDR, night portraits or night scenery shots
• Easy Panorama allows panoramas to be made by panning the camera from side-to-side
• 1080p Full HD (1920 x 1080) 30 FPS movie mode with stereo sound and optical zoom
  High-speed modes available at lower resolution, up to 120 FPS frame rate
• Takes SD/SDHC/SDXC cards
• Uses a lithium-ion battery
• Available in March for $330
• Comes in your choice of silver, black or red

Nikon Coolpix L120
Basic super-zoom camera

• 14 effective megapixels (regular CCD sensor)
• 25 – 525 mm (f3.1 – f5.8) 21X optical zoom lens
• Sensor-shift image stabilization
• 3 inch LCD (921,000 pixels)
• No manual controls
• 720p standard HD (1280 x 800) 30 FPS movie mode with stereo sound and optical zoom
• Takes SD/SDHC/SDXC cards
• Uses 4 AA batteries
• Available in February for $280
• Comes in your choice of silver, black or red

Nikon Coolpix S6100
Compact camera

• 16 effective megapixels (regular CCD sensor)
• 28 – 196 mm (f3.7 – f5.6) 7X optical zoom lens
• 3 inch touchscreen LCD (460,000 pixels)
• No manual controls
• 720p standard HD (1280 x 720) 30 FPS movie mode with sound
• Takes SD/SDHC/SDXC cards
• Uses a lithium-ion battery
• Available in March for $200
• Comes in your choice of silver, black, red or purple

Nikon Coolpix S3100 and Coolpix S4100
Compact cameras

• 14 effective megapixels (regular CCD sensor)
• 26 – 130 mm (f3.2 – f6.5) 5X optical zoom lens
• S3100: 2.7 inch non-touch LCD (230,000 pixels)
  S4100: 3 inch touchscreen LCD (460,000 pixels)
• No manual controls
• 720p standard HD (1280 x 720) 30 FPS movie mode with sound
• Takes SD/SDHC/SDXC cards
• Uses a lithium-ion battery
• Available in February for $140 (S3100) and $180 (S4100)
• S3100 comes in your choice of silver, black, red, blue, yellow, purple or pink
  S4100 comes in your choice of silver, black, red or purple

Nikon Coolpix L24
Entry-level camera

• 14 effective megapixels (regular CCD sensor)
• 37 – 134 mm (f3.1 – f6.7) 3.6X optical zoom lens
• 3 inch LCD (230,000 pixels)
• No manual controls
• VGA (640 x 480) 30 FPS movie mode with sound
• Takes SD/SDHC/SDXC cards
• Uses 2 AA batteries
• Available in February for $120
• Comes in your choice of silver, black or red

After talking about it at Photokina last year, Fujifilm is now ready to launch their rangefinder-inspired FinePix X100 digital camera to the market. And with that comes more details about this unique camera, as well as an availability date (March 2011) and price tag ($1199!). Here’s the scoop on the FinePix X100:

Fujifilm FinePix X100
Prosumer camera

• 12.3 megapixel APS-C sized (same size as most digital SLRs) CMOS sensor
  Fujifilm says the sensor was specially created and optimized just for this camera for optimal image quality
• 23 mm f2 fixed focal length lens
  9 blade aperture diaphragm and built-in 3 stop neutral density filter
• 2.8 inch LCD (460,000 pixels)
• Hybrid Viewfinder lets you use the optical viewfinder with the 1.4 million pixel LCD inside overlaying shooting info and gridlines; or you can choose to turn the entire thing into an electronic viewfinder EVF
• ISO range of 200 to 6400 (expandable to 100 – 12800)
• Full manual controls with flash hotshoe and RAW image mode
• Classic-looking rangefinder camera design; magnesium alloy construction
  Focus and aperture rings; exposure compensation and shutter speed dials
• Motion Panorama automatically captures a panoramic image (up to 12 or 180 degrees) as you pan the camera
• 720p Standard HD (1280 x 720) 30 FPS movie mode with sound
• Takes SD/SDHC/SDXC memory cards
• Uses a lithium-ion battery
• Available in March for $1200

Canon has introduced two new entry-level digital SLR cameras, updating their two previous models (from 2008 and 2010 respectively) with fresh ones from 2011: the new Canon Rebel T3i and Rebel T3. The two new digital SLR models today bring modern features to the table; with the Rebel T3i featuring a notable new feature – wireless flash control (a first in a Canon entry-level SLR model)

Canon EOS Rebel T3i
Also known as Canon EOS 600D
Entry-level digital SLR

• 18 megapixel CMOS sensor (APS-C, 1.6X crop factor)
• Canon EF and EF-S lens mount
• Dust reduction
• 3 inch flip-out and rotating LCD (1,070,000 pixels)
• Full manual controls with RAW image mode and flash hotshoe
• New: Wireless flash control capability
• 3.7 frames per second continuous shooting mode
• 9 point autofocus
• ISO range of 100 – 6400
• “A+ Auto” mode detects what you’re shooting and automatically picks a scene mode and Picture Style
• Creative Filters let you apply special effects to photos; four selectable aspect ratios (3:2, 16:9, 4:3 and 1:1)
• 1080p Full HD (1920 x 1080) movie mode with sound; selectable frame rates 24p, 25p or 30p; up to 10X digital zoom
• Takes SD/SDHC/SDXC cards
• Uses a lithium-ion battery
• Available in March for $800 (body only), $900 (with EF-S 18-55 mm IS Mark II kit lens) or $1300 (with EF 18-135 mm IS lens)

Canon EOS Rebel T3
Also known as Canon EOS 1100D
Entry-level digital SLR

• 12 megapixel CMOS sensor (APS-C, 1.6X crop factor)
• Canon EF and EF-S lens mount
• Dust reduction
• 2.7 inch fixed-position LCD (230,000 pixels)
• Full manual controls with RAW image mode and flash hotshoe
• 3 frames per second continuous shooting mode
• 9 point autofocus
• ISO range of 100 – 6400
• 720p Standard HD (1280 x 720) movie mode with sound
• Takes SD/SDHC/SDXC cards
• Uses a lithium-ion battery
• Available in March for $600 (with EF-S 18-55 mm IS Mark II kit lens)