It’s all action stations in camera world at the moment, with new models announced by some key players and a shake up occurring at another, things are really heating up!
Out With the Old…
First off, after a poor 2011 Canon are to part ways with President Tsuneji Uchida, who has announced that he will be standing down on 29th March 2012. Sales of Canons digital cameras dipped by 4% last year, as the company were suffering from supply shortages due to the earthquake in Japan and floods in Thailand. He is to be replaced by current their chairman, Fujio Mitarai.
While things sound bleak on the digital camera front their DSLR sales remain healthy, as do their inkjet printer sales, so things aren’t quite rock bottom yet thankfully.
…In With the New
In a very short space of time, a wave of new cameras have been announced by some of the worlds biggest companies, sporting some impressive specs. So here’s the first of them:
For information about some of the stranger and more original cameras coming out in 2012, then have a read of our article on The Most Impressive New Cameras to Come Out of CES.
Sony
Courtesy of ecoustics.com
The new sleek DSC-TX200V is the latest in Sony’s Cyber-shot range, packing some mighty powerful specs into its thin, smartphone-esc reinforced glass styled body. With an 18.2 Megapixel “Exmore R” CMOS sensor it offers the highest resolution pictures by a point and click ever. Its processor is no slouch either, with the BIONZ processor built to reduce noise on photos and on its HD video recording (available in 1920×1080 at 60p). The auto focus is pretty nippy too, clocking in at just 0.13 of a second when used in daylight.
The dual record feature, allowing you to take a photo while recording HD video, is a welcome addition along with the added ability of taking 3D images.
It’s no wimp either, being waterproof up to (or rather down to) 5m and being “Freeze-poof”, taking on temperatures as low as -10°C, so you can make sure you can get snaps in some of the more photographical challenging places around.
Fuji
Courtesy of PC Advisor
Now being released in the UK, Fuji have launched their X-S1 superzoom camera. With a 26x optical zoom lens attached to its 12 Megapixel sensor, you can take rapid photos with its 7 frames per second shooting, or 10 fps when turned down to shooting 6 Megapixels JPGs.
With an impressive battery life of a predicted 500 photos a charge, 360 degree panoramic images and HD video record capabilities it has some great features to make up for its £699 price tag.
Panasonic
Launching not one, but four new additions to their point and shoot Lumix range, Panasonic are bulking up their ZS and TS series of cameras.
With the DMC-ZS20, with its 20x optical zoom, HD video capabilities and built in GPS, being dubbed as one of the worlds slimmest in its field. Its 14.1 megapixel MOS sensor allows for fast shooting speeds, improved image stabilisation and the new addition of HDR system. It is to be launched with its lower spec brother, the ZS15, hopefully in March.
Courtesy of twice.com
For the clumsy amongst us, Panasonic’s Tough series could be worth looking into, with the launch of the TS4 and TS20. Both models are surrounded by a rugged frame that will keep the important innards in tact in some of the toughest conditions. The TS4 is set up with a 12.1 Megapixel CCD sensor built for high speed image capture which also supports 1080 HD video recording. The TS20 offers 16.1 megapixel sensor and a 4x optical zoom lens, which is possible to film 720/30p HD video at an 8x zoom through with its Intelligent Zoom function.
Aside from Canon’s recent blip, all of these new releases look extremely positive for photographers looking for new toys to start the year. And it’s not just camera manufactures coming out with new releases, Adobe have just let slip of their latest photo editing suit update, so make sure you take a look at this Sneak peak at Adobe Photoshop CS6.
