The latest digital cameras to hit the market sport video capabilities that may make you wonder whether you need a camcorder at all. Case in point: Panasonic's new Lumix TZ5, a digital camera that shoots 9 megapixel still images and can record HD quality video (at 720p resolution).
With this model, Panasonic joins a growing list of camera manufacturers offering HD video recording capabilities on pocket cameras, including Samsung, Sanyo and GE. These cameras, plus lots more new cameras and photographic accessories to tempt amateur and professional photographers alike, will be on display at the Photo Marketing Association's annual trade show Jan. 31 to Feb. 2 in Las Vegas, known as PMA. An estimated 20,000 people will attend this year's show.
Other highlights this year will include lots of new digital single-lens-reflex cameras, one of the fastest-growing segments of the camera market, although one in which innovation has slowed. As DSLRs have come down in price, they've become attractive options for budding camera enthusiasts who want to take better photos, show off with bigger, more expensive lenses and get rid of shutter lag -- that annoying pause between the time you press the shutter button and when the camera actually takes a shot.
Despite some news reports to the contrary, megapixels still matter, at least to camera manufacturers, who continue to compete with one another on the basis of who has the most. Ultra-compact pocket cameras are edging into 8- and 10-megapixel range, and Sony announced a 24.8 megapixel full-frame sensor aimed at high-end cameras.
We're looking forward to seeing some GPS-enabled, geo-tagging widgets that work with popular DSLRs. And of course we'd love to see an ultracompact camera with raw image capture capabilities, full manual controls, a fast startup time and 1080p HD video recording. But we're not holding our breath for that one.
See Wired's Gadget Lab blog for full coverage of PMA 2008.
In the meantime, here's a rundown of the pre-PMA news from the major camera manufacturers.
Canon made a bunch of announcements last week including two new lenses, a new entry-level DSLR and a new slimline digicam. The new digicam is the PowerShot SD1100, which sports image stabilization, an 8 megapixel sensor, facial detection and most importantly, comes in a variety of colors. An updated version of Canon's popular Rebel XTi, the Rebel XSi, features an improved 12 megapixel sensor, a 3-inch LCD screen, faster autofocus, enhanced live view and a sturdier streamlined chassis. The lenses are the latest additions to Canon's red-striped L series high-end line and include a super-fast 200mm f/2 and a new light-weight 800mm f/5.6 lens, both of which use Canon's image stabilizing technology.
Nikon made a similar set of announcements including a new entry-level DSLR, three new lenses including a Tilt Shift model, and six new compact digicams. The D60 is Nikon's new 10 megapixel digital SLR, featuring the company's updated image processing chips, an enhanced sensor cleaning system, and a 2.5-inch LCD. It is Nikon's smallest DSLR body to date. The six new Coolpix cameras are between 8 and 10 megapixels and offer a range of options including extremely fast startup time, extremely tiny bodies, high ISO range for low-light situations. Of course, the Coolpix cameras come in various colors, too.
Panasonic has announced three new lines in its popular Lumix series. The high-end TZ5 and TZ4 offer 9 and 8 megapixel sensors, high-speed 10x zoom and high-resolution 3-inch and 2.5-inch LCDs as well as a high definition (720p) video in the TZ5. The FX35 offers high-definition video capture at 720p as well as a wide-angle, 24-100mm zoom lens. And finally the FS3, FS5 and FS20 are scaled-down versions of the TZ series which will retail at a much lower price than their higher-end cousins, but will lack some features.
Pentax, Samsung and Sony are also releasing new digital SLRs at PMA. Pentax has two new offerings, including the mid-range 10 megapixel K200D, the high-end 14.6-megapixel K20D and six new lenses. Samsung is offering the GX-20 which is basically a rebranded version of the Pentax K20D. Sony announced a massive 24.8-megapixel sensor that is as large as a 35mm film frame. And Sony also announced details on its new digital SLRS, the A300 and A350, which are 10.2 and 14.2 megapixels, respectively.
