Photography

Nikon just announced two new lenses for professional photographers, the highly anticipated 24mm f/1.4G ED lens that gives photographers a dramatic depth of field and versatile focal length; and the new 16-35mm f/4 VR, Nikon's widest angle FX zoom lens to date.

The AF-S NIKKOR 24mm f/1.4 G ED lens will be available in late March 2010 for $2199.95 and the wide angle AF-S NIKKOR 16-35mm f/4G ED VR is scheduled to be available in late February 2010 for $1259.95.

Read the press release below for more information. Read more

Canon on Friday announced that the EOS E1 video plug-in for Apple's Final Cut Pro is now available.

This new plug-in allows you to easily transfer video content from Canon's EOS DSLR cameras directly into Final Cut Pro. The EOS E1 video plug-in takes advantage of Final Cut Pro's Log and Transfer feature, which lets you select and mark the video directly while it is still on the camera. You can also add custom metadata and ingest the clips in the background so the editing can start immediately.

The EOS E1 video plug-in is a free download available at www.apple.com/downloads/macosx/finalcutstudio. The plug-in is compatible with Final Cut Pro 6 or higher and currently supports Canon EOS 5D Mark II, EOS 7D and EOS 1D Mark IV cameras.

Olympus just added the new PEN E-PL1 to its lineup of Micro Four Thirds digital cameras. Designed for those who want the power of a DSLR camera but not the bulk or complex interface, the E-PL1 allows you to take beautiful pictures without the difficult learning curve.

This third generation of the Olympus PEN series features a 12.3-megapixel Live MOS image sensor, 2.7-inch HyperCrystal LCD, in-body Image Stabilization, Imager Autofocus, Olympus Dust Reduction System, the TruePic V Image Processor and is the first in the PEN series to include a built-in pop-up flash.

The E-PL1 also has a new Direct Button for HD movies which lets you instantly switch to video recording if you're about to take a picture but realize video would be better. And its new Live Guide lets you preview the Scene modes to see what the picture will look like before you even shoot.Read more

PMA is coming up later this month and the new cameras announcements have already started rolling out. The latest is from Nikon. Today, Nikon introduced seven new COOLPIX digital cameras; the COOLPIX P100, S8000, S6000, S4000, S3000, COOLPIX L110 and L22.

The COOLPIX P100 is Nikon's first compact camera to offer full HD movie (1080p) recording with stereo sound. It also features a 3.0-inch Vari-Angle 460,000-dot Clear Color Display LCD and Electronic Viewfinder, 10.3 Megapixels, a 26x Optical Zoom-NIKKOR ED Glass Lens (27mm wide-angle to 678mm super-telephoto), HDMI connectivity, as well as a Backside illumination CMOS Sensor for high-speed continuous shooting at 10 frames per second (fps) at full resolution and beautiful pictures even in low light. Read more

Fujifilm today announced a slew of new FinePix digital cameras, and with 13 new models there is something for everyone – from the novice user, all the way to the serious photographer. They also announced several new Instax Instant film models and a brand new Medium Format Film camera. Here is a rundown of new products:

Digital Cameras:

FinePix AV100 & AX200

Designed for the novice digital camera user and those seeking an affordable, user-friendly upgrade to their current digital camera, the FinePix AV100 and AX200 digital cameras are perfect for the consumer on a budget.

Both cameras feature a 12-MegaPixel CCD sensor and a 2.7" High Resolution LCD, as well as HD Movie Capture, Automatic Scene Recognition, Face Detection and high ISO sensitivity levels of up to ISO3200. The FinePix AV100 features a Fujinon 3x optical zoom lens and the FinePix AX200 steps up with a Fujinon 5x Wide-Angle optical zoom lens. Both models come in a choice of black or silver.Read more

JVC today announced that a new HD camera has been added to its 2010 Everio line. The new Everio GZ-HM340 includes 16GB of internal flash memory plus an SD/SDHC card slot. It also features a KONICA MINOLTA HD LENS, 20x optical zoom and a 1/5.8" 1.37 Megapixel CMOS Sensor.

Additional features include an Advanced Image Stabilizer, Face Detection, Time-Lapse REC & Auto REC, one touch uploading to YouTube, and Everio's MediaBrowser for automatic conversion of HD and SD videos for sharing on YouTube (both down-conversion and up-conversion).

The new Everio GZ-HM340 will be available later this month for $499.95. Read more

There were so many products introduced at the 2010 CES trade show earlier this month, we could write on them all year (and probably will!). Casio announced at the show four new EXILIM digital cameras, the High-Speed EXILIM EX-FH100, EXILIM EX-H15, EX-Z2000 and EX-Z550.

The High-Speed EXILIM EX-FH100 features Casio's high-speed burst shooting, 10.1 megapixels, a wide-angle 24 mm 10X optical zoom lens, and has a maximum burst rate of 40 shots per second for still images. It also enables up to 1,000 fps high-speed movie recording that captures motion that is ordinarily too fast for the human eye to see. The EX-FH100 has a mode dial for manual exposure burst shooting, as well as a mode that makes high-speed burst shooting easy, by choosing the optimal rate just by selecting the type of scene. Low-noise, high-quality photos can be taken even in dim indoor lighting thanks to the highly sensitive CMOS sensor. Price: $349.99.Read more

Nikon today announced the winners of the Nikon Festival, which launched in November 2009. They are:

The Nikon Festival Judges' $100K Award Winner is Marko Slavnic. His video submission entitled "Chicken vs. Penguin" is a unique short film that shows a funny, physical story of unexpected love brought to life through a fast food mascot rivalry between a boy and girl. It was shot over two days on Congress Street in Austin, TX.

Actor Rainn Wilson, photographer Chase Jarvis and Internet personality "iJustine" selected the 140-second video to win $100,000 from the top 50 finalists, which were narrowed down from more than 1,200 video submissions to www.NikonFestival.com. Read more

PENTAX just announced three new digital cameras, the Optio 1-10, Optio H90 and a new, affordable Optio model priced under $100 - the E90!

The Optio I-10 is the first in the new Optio I line from PENTAX. With an SLR-shaped body, the Optio I-10 features a wide angle, 5X optical zoom lens (28mm-140mm equivalent), a 12.1 megapixel CCD sensor, 2.7 inch widescreen LCD, and HD video capture at 720p and 30 FPS. The camera also includes a mechanical sensor shift Shake Reduction system, Pixel Track Shake Reduction, Smile Capture, Blink Detection and Face Detection that spots up to 32 faces (including dogs and cats!). Read more

Panasonic just announced pricing for its new line of LUMIX digital cameras - the LUMIX FH, FP and F- Series. The new LUMIX digital cameras will be hitting store shelves in mid-February 2010.

Three new LUMIX cameras will be available in the FH-Series, the FH1, FH3 and FH20. All three feature a 28mm wide-angle lens, record HD video, and feature Panasonics iA (Intelligent Auto) mode. The 12.1 megapixel LUMIX FH1 will be available for $159.95, the 14.1 megapixel LUMIX FH3 will be $179.95 and the 14.1 megapixel LUMIX FH20 has an MSRP of $199.95.

In Panasonic's FP Series, the LUMIX FP1 and FP3 both sport a 4x optical zoom with a folded optics design. New to the series is a lens cover that not only protects the lens, but acts as the camera's power switch. HD video recording is another new feature to this series, and the FP3 takes it a step further with the addition of a 3.0" touch-screen LCD. The 12.1 megapixel FP1 will be available for $149.95 and the FP3 for $229.95.Read more