Samsung ST200F, WB150F and WB850F
After launching the first camera of the year, Samsung has three more WiFi-equipped to show today. Samsung is giving the wireless transfer features of their new cameras a “SMART camera” moniker, which allow the cameras to be remotely controlled with live view via Android smartphones (an iOS app for that is coming later this year). The cameras can also back up photos to your computer via WiFi and upload photos to various social networks and cloud services.
- ST200F: 12 megapixel imaging sensor
WB150F: 14 megapixel imaging sensor
WB850F: 16 megapixel backlit CMOS imaging sensor
- ST200F: 10X optical zoom: 27 – 270 mm (f3.1 – f5.6) lens
WB150F: 18X optical zoom: 24 – 432 mm (f3.2 – f5.9) lens
WB850F: 21X optical zoom: 23 – 483 mm (f2.8 – f5.9) lens
- Optical image stabilization
- Built-in WiFi
- Intelligent Auto with scene modes, manual controls
- In-camera panorama mode
- ST200F and WB150F: Standard HD 720p movie mode with sound
WB850F: Full HD 1080p movie mode with sound
- Takes SD/SDHC/SDXC memory cards
- Uses a lithium-ion battery
- Price and availability to be announced
Samsung ST66 and ST76 basic cameras
Samsung has just launched two new digital cameras: the ST66 and ST76. The two point-and-shoot models feature 16 megapixels of resolution, 2.7 inch displays and 5X optical zoom. The only difference that splits the two is the presence of optical image stabilization, which will make the ST76 slightly more expensive than its non-stabilized twin.
- 16 megapixel CCD imaging sensor
- 5X optical zoom: 25 – 125 mm (f2.5 – f6.3) lens
- ST76 only: Optical image stabilization
- 2.7 inch LCD (230,000 pixels)
- Smart Auto with scene modes; no manual controls
- In-camera panorama mode and Magic Frame effects
- Standard HD 720p (1280 x 720) movie mode with sound
- Takes SD/SDHC/SDXC memory cards
- Uses a lithium-ion battery
- Price and availability to be announced
Canon PowerShot G1 X
Canon finally took the wraps off their new compact flagship camera today; the new PowerShot G1 X sports an imaging sensor that’s even larger than that of a Micro Four Thirds camera (ie those interchangeable lens compact cameras made by Olympus and Panasonic), and a whole 6.3 times larger than the old PowerShot G12′s sensor. However, the camera’s lens zoom range has been reduced as well as its aperture range, and the G1 X’s physical size also rivals or is bigger than some interchangeable lens camera in the market.
- 14 megapixel CMOS sensor
(sensor measures 1.5 inches diagonally; much larger than on a typical compact camera; 6.3X bigger than the G12′s sensor)
- 28 – 112 mm (f2.8 – f5.8) 4X optical zoom lens
- Optical image stabilization
- 3 inch rotating LCD (922,000 pixels) and optical viewfinder
- Full manual controls with 14 bit RAW support and hotshoe
Camera supports filters and conversion lenses
- ISO range 100 to 12800
- High-speed continuous shooting up to 4.5 frames per second (full resolution)
- 1080p Full HD (1920 x 1080) 24 FPS movie mode with stereo sound and optical zoom
- Takes SD/SDHC/SDXC memory cards
- Uses a lithium-ion battery
- Available in February for $800
Canon PowerShot ELPH 520 HS (IXUS 500 HS)
Remember that ultra-small ‘folded’ 12X optical zoom lens we saw on the pocketable ELPH 510 HS? Well here it is again, on the latest all-metal ELPH/IXUS model just launched today. This new camera lacks the touchscreen of the ELPH 510 HS, which isn’t such a bad thing if you’ve read our review of that camera, and has a lower resolution sensor… that really makes us wonder if this is the true successor to that camera or yet another branch in Canon’s line of small and stylish cameras. Either way, the ELPH 520 HS here sports a similar design and is Canon’s first digital camera to use those tiny microSD cards.
- 10 megapixel CMOS sensor
- 28 – 336 mm (f3.0 – f5.8) 12X optical zoom lens
- Optical image stabilization
- 3 inch LCD (461,000 pixels)
- Advanced Smart Auto picks one of 58 (!) scene modes; no manual controls
- Face ID can remember 12 faces along with their age group; new Sleeping Face Recognition (essentially baby mode) puts the camera in ‘silent mode’ to capture photos of sleeping babies
- High-speed continuous shooting up to 6.8 frames per second
- 1080p Full HD (1920 x 1080) 24 FPS movie mode with stereo sound
- Takes microSD/microSDHC memory cards
- Uses a lithium-ion battery
- Available in February for $250
- Comes in your choice of silver, black, red or blue
Canon PowerShot ELPH 110 HS (IXUS 125 HS)
Canon has just outed the actual successor to the ELPH 100 HS we reviewed a few months ago, updated with a new imaging sensor and the same 5X zoom lens we saw on the ELPH 300 HS along with new face detection related functions and improved Advanced Smart Auto mode.
- 16 effective megapixel CMOS sensor
- 24 – 120 mm (f2.7 – f5.9) 5X optical zoom lens
- Optical image stabilization
- 3 inch LCD (461,000 pixels)
- Advanced Smart Auto picks one of 58 (!) scene modes; no manual controls
- Face ID can remember 12 faces along with their age group; new Sleeping Face Recognition (essentially baby mode) puts the camera in ‘silent mode’ to capture photos of sleeping babies
- High-speed continuous shooting up to 5.8 frames per second
- 1080p Full HD (1920 x 1080) 24 FPS movie mode with stereo sound
- Takes SD/SDHC/SDXC memory cards
- Uses a lithium-ion battery
- Available in February for $250
- Comes in your choice of silver, black, red, green, blue and pink
Fujifilm FinePix HS25EXR and HS30EXR prosumer super-zoom cameras
Fujifilm has brought out two brand new super-zoom cameras today which sport big 30X zoom lenses, ‘prosumer’ SLR-like design, plenty of manual controls along with an improved EXR CMOS (still 16 megapixels) which promise lower noise at towards the high ISO range.
For America, Fujifilm has also decided to bring about their X-S1 camera (which is essentially their ultimate super-zoom; sporting a larger 12 megapixel 2/3 inch EXR CMOS, 26X optical zoom and plenty of manual controls, and that was announced two months ago in November for the rest of the world) across the pond and will begin shipping next month for $800.
- 16 megapixel EXR CMOS sensor
- 24 – 720 mm (f2.8 – f5.6) 30X optical zoom lens
- Sensor-shift image stabilization
- 3 inch tilt up/down LCD (460,000 pixels) and EVF (200,000 dots, 0.2 inch diagonal)
HS30EXR has larger 0.26 inch EVF with much higher resolution (920,000 pixels)
- Full manual controls
HS30EXR has RAW image mode and electronic level indicator
- Manual zoom and focus rings
- EXR sensor modes: High resolution, high sensitivity or high dynamic range
- High-speed continuous shooting, 8 frames per second at full resolution; can be boosted to 11 FPS (8MP)
- Motion Panorama automatically captures a panoramic image (360 degrees) as you pan the camera
- 1080p Full HD (1920 x 1080) 30 FPS movie mode with stereo sound and optical zoom
Reduced resolution “320 FPS High Speed” modes also available
- Takes SD/SDHC/SDXC memory cards
- HS25EXR: Uses 4 AA batteries
HS30EXR: Uses lithium-ion battery
- Available in March for $400 (HS25EXR) and $500 (HS30EXR)
First off, here’s a (slightly belated) Happy New Year 2012! It’s a brand new year and I’ve got lots of news and updates to share with you.
This week’s going to be a busy one as the CES 2012 show will be kicking off during the weekends in Las Vegas, which naturally means a lot of new camera announcements… Samsung got the ball rolling a few days ago with the announcement of the year, followed by Fujifilm and their landslide of 18 new cameras (plus one model announced last year in Europe, the XS1, being brought over to America). I’ll get news and specifications up on those new cameras as soon as I can.
The camera review landscape has seen quite a bit of change over the past two years and with that, comes our need to adapt. We’ll be bringing some new features to the site in the coming months this quarter as well as continue bringing the latest camera news and reviews to you right here. We aim to be the camera review resource of your choice and hope to grow to form a larger presence on the net. There are sites which are watering down their reviews in an effort to bring quantity over quality, which is a sad sight indeed, but rest assure we at DPInterface will continue to deliver the in-depth reviews (single paged, of course!) we’ve been bringing out since starting in 2005!
If you’ve got any suggestions, criticisms, opinions, anything (even camera review requests!), post them in the comments section below or email me directly at dpi [at] dpinterface-dot-com. Thanks for sticking around and being a reader of DP Interface and have a wonderful year ahead!
Nikon D4 SLR
Nikon finally unveiled their new flagship ‘multimedia’ SLR today, the much anticipated Nikon D4 SLR. The camera is Nikon’s ultimate professional camera for the time being and features very capable still image shooting as well as video recording capabilities.
- 16 megapixel FX-format full-frame CMOS sensor
- Nikon F-mount; no crop factor with FX lenses
Camera auto crops images to 6 megapixels with DX lenses
- Rugged construction that is dust and moisture sealed; shutter life rated at 400,000 actuations
Backlit buttons
- 3.2 inch LCD (921,000 pixels)
Optical viewfinder with 100% coverage, 0.7X magnification
- Full manual controls with RAW support and flash hotshoe
Default ISO range 100 to 12800, expandable to ISO 204,000 (!)
- 51 point autofocus with 15 cross-type focus points
Focusing supports face detection, even with live view off
New 91,000 pixel 3D color matrix metering
- 10 FPS continuous shooting with autofocus tracking; 11 FPS speed with fixed focus
- 1080p Full HD (1920 x 1080) movie mode
Manual controls available as well as fixed 1.5X or 2.7X cropping zoom
Raw uncompressed video output supported via HDMI connection
- Ports for external microphone, headphones, HDMI and Ethernet
- Dual Compact Flash memory card slots (supports new XQD high-speed cards)
- Uses a lithium-ion battery
- Available in February for $6000 (body only)
Nikon has also announced a new FX-format lens; the AF-S 85 mm f1.8 with Silent Wave Motor. It will be available in February for $500.
