Compact Digital Cameras

"This is a rugged camera? It's too pretty!" was the first thing that came to mind when I saw the latest entry from Casio. But sure enough, the new EXILIM G1 is a shock-resistant, waterproof, and dustproof digital camera. And, at only 0.78-inch thick, it is also the slimmest shock-resistant digital cam on the market today.

Thanks to the camera's two layer construction of stainless steel and resin, the EX-G1 can be dropped from seven feet and can be used underwater at depths of 10 feet for 60 continuous minutes. It even withstands freezing temperatures as low as 14 degrees!

The 12.1 megapixel EX-G1 will hit store shelves in December 2009 with an MSRP of $299.99. It will be available in black and red.Read more

Thanksgiving is less than two weeks away, and with that comes the holiday shopping season. If you are in the market for a new digital camera for someone on your gift list, one to consider is the Nikon COOLPIX S70.

Not only does the S70 feature 12.1 megapixels, it has a 3.5-inch OLED touchscreen display. OLED technology gives you excellent color reproduction, sharp contrast and the absence of afterimages. And the touchscreen? Thanks to it, there is only one button on the camera, the shutter release button. Using the Touch Shutter feature, you can take pictures completely "button-free" by just touching the camera's display. You can even retouch images, zoom in or out and switch between thumbnail and full screen views by using pinch and swipe movements, similar to using the touchscreen on the iPhone. The camera adds a couple of new touchscreen controls too, such as on-screen sliders to adjust the brightness, and the new Scene Effect Adjustment gives you controls specific to the scene mode you're using.Read more

Fujifilm's FinePix REAL 3D system is now available in the United States. Unlike any other digital camera on the market today, the FinePix REAL 3D system captures realistic 3D still photographs and movies that can be viewed without 3D glasses.

The Finepix Real 3D W1 digital camera is the first camera in the company's lineup. It features 2 lenses and 2 CCD's. Two images are captured with the left and right lenses at the same time. The dual Fujinon lenses then layer the two images together to create a 3D image. Read more

Sometimes you don't need camera (or camcorder) that shoots a gazillion megapixels. You just want a small, simple camera that you can carry around in your pocket for everyday shooting. JVC realized this and just announced the company's first pocket flash memory camera, the PICSIO GC-FM1.

Think small and simple means you get low quality? Think again. PICSIO has a two-inch LCD screen, shoots true eight-megapixel stills and 1080p Full HD video, has a 4X digital zoom and image stabilization. Videos are recorded in MPEG-4 AVC/H.264 format and stored as .MOV files that can be sent directly to YouTube and iTunes. The camera also has an HDMI connection for viewing videos on your HDTV, and an SD/SDHC slot for additional storage of up to 32GB. Read more

The Casio EXILIM EX-FC100 is not a brand new digital camera (it has been available since April), but it is a camera we think has features - and a price point - worth mentioning again.

The compact 9.1 megapixel EX-FC100 measures just 3.9" wide x 2.3" high x .9" thin and has a 5X optical zoom lens with a CMOS shift anti-shake function and a 2.7-inch Super Clear LCD. It also features a high-speed 30 shot-per-second burst rate and records video up to 1,000 frames per second in high-definition.

And with Casio's High Speed Pre-Record, the camera not only records when you hit the button, it also records instances before and after. All you do is hold the shutter half way and the FC-100 starts recording images to its temporary buffer memory. Afterward, review a slow motion sampling on the monitor and choose which instances to save to memory. Easy! The camera also has slow motion movie recording. You can actually record motion that is usually too fast for the human eye to see, and then play it back in slow motion. The frame rate can be set at 1,000 fps, 420 fps or 210 fps. Read more

Panasonic's latest LUMIX digital camera, the 12.1 megapixel DMC-GF1 Micro Four Thirds shooter, hits the market as the world's smallest and lightest digital camera with a built in flash. But don't let its small size fool you, the LUMIX GF1 is packed with features. It can record 1280 x 720 High Definition video in AVCHD Lite, as well as HD Motion JPEG in 1280 x 720 and other video recording formats such as QVGA, VGA and WVGA.

It has tons of features, modes, as well as being the first in the LUMIX G Series to be compatible with an optional Live View Finder (DMW-LVF1). Read the press release below to find out everything this camera has to offer…I was certainly impressed.

The LUMIX DMC-GF1 will be available in October 2009 with the option of two kits – both priced at $899.95. One kit option includes the newly-announced LUMIX G 20mm/F1.7 ASPH, a compact and lightweight "pancake" lens, while the other kit features the LUMIX G VARIO 14-45mm/F3.5-5.6 ASPH/MEGA O.I.S. Read more

Samsung's new 12.5 megapixel HZ25W has the most powerful lens ever offered on a Samsung compact digital camera. The HZ25W's Schneider-KREUZNACH lens has a 24x optical zoom with a 26mm wide-angle focal length (35mm film equivalent focal range of 26mm-624mm). But not only that, this digital cam offers full manual control, RAW support, as well as recording 720p HD video in H.264 format.

The HZ25W features a three-inch LCD screen, dual image stabilization, aperture and shutter priority, a full manual shooting mode, as well as manual focusing. Also, shots can be made in RAW (DNG1.1), JPEGs, or both right on the camera. The HZ25W records 720p HD video using H.264 compression, with the ability to zoom in and out while recording as well. Read more

Casio announced today that they have added two more digital cameras to their EXILIM line, the EXILIM Zoom Z280 and EX-Z33. The folks over at Casio have certainly been busy…after all; the EX-Z450 and EX-Z90 were released only two weeks ago. The new EXILIM models are said to be aimed toward those new to digital photography.

The new 12.1 megapixel EXILIM Zoom EX-Z280 has a wide-angle 26 mm 4X optical zoom lens and comes with features such as CCD-shift image stabilization, Face Detection, and an Easy Mode that helps new digital camera owners by having a simplified menu screen. The camera also has Casio's Dynamic Photo feature which lets you add animated clip art to any picture by using only the camera (no additional software is needed). The pictures can then be printed, emailed or posted on social networking sites. Read more

Casio today announced two new EXILIM digital cameras, the EXILIM Zoom EX-Z450 and EXILIM Zoom EX-Z90.

Both cameras feature Casio's Intelligent AF feature which automatically detects even non-human photo subjects to determine the focus and exposure area. Taking pictures of Fido, or even your trip to the mountains, can be done easier than ever thanks to this new function.

The cameras also include Casio's Dynamic Photo function, which lets you easily cut out images of a moving subject and combine them with a different still image with just a single shot (as long as the background is flat and in one color). In the past, you had to take photos twice, having separate photos with and without the subject, while keeping the camera in the same position.

The EXILIM Zoom EX-Z450 features 12.1 megapixels, 3.0-inch LCD monitor with 230,400 dots of high resolution, a wide-angle 28 mm 4X optical zoom lens, HD Movie function, CCD-shift image stabilization mechanism, Landscape Mode, a Makeup Mode, and has a battery life lasting about 550 shots on a single full charge. The EX-Z450 will be available in October and have an MSRP of $199.99. It will be available in just one color...champagne. Read more

Not only did Samsung introduce a new Wi-Fi digital camera with Geotagging yesterday, they also unveiled two new DualView Cameras, the TL225 and TL220. These cameras feature Dual LCD screens on the front and back, allowing the photographer to be the subject of the photo. Gone are the days of awkwardly holding the camera in the air to take a self-portrait.

Both the TL225 and TL220 have a 1.5" LCD on the front of the cameras so you can easily take a self-portrait and actually see what the photo will look like! With a 3.5" wide, 1,152K resolution touch-screen LCD, the new TL225 has one of the highest resolution screens available on a digital camera. This 12.2 mega-pixel camera also features a 27mm wide-angle Schneider KREUZNACH lens with 4.6x optical zoom, for a wider shooting range from a shorter distance. Read more