Digital Cameras

Casio's Latest Edition To The QV Range.

By Mike Hanlon

October 10, 2004 Its dimensions are a tiny 88.3(W) x 60.4(H) x 33.4(D) mm but the new Casio QV-R61 also takes six megapixel shots, making it a powerful but compact camera for discerning users. As an entry level model it boasts a 2-inch LCD screen, 3 x optical zoom as well as a help function that provides pop-ups to provide explanations of different icons. All this is wrapped up in a sleek aluminium body. Read More

A digital camera for dogs!

By Mike Hanlon

October 10, 2004 An interesting trend in high tech pet care seems to be developing. In recent times Gizmo has reported on the cat toilet training seat and the Bow-Lingual dog translation device. Now this week we have two new high tech products for pets - a cell phone and a digital camera. The 0.3 MPX Tomy Wonderful Shot camera straps on under the collar and at 38grams in weight and 55x52x12mm in size, is light enough to suit even the smallest pooch and perhaps even larger cats. Read More

Vivitar Releases The 'Eek', A Digital Camcorder/Camera.

By Mike Hanlon

In a time of merging technologies and melding devices Vivitar has released the rather unfortunately named multifunctional media recorder, the 'eek'. A video camcorder with digital still camera, MP3 player and voice recorder are rolled in to one small package.

Using a 256MB SD card in its slot and a long life lithium-ion battery the eek can record a maximum of more than one hour and twenty minutes of video or one thousand images or sixteen hours of sound clips and an unspecified number of MP3 music files. Measuring 103mm long x 62mm wide x 16mm deep the eek is sleek. The compact and stylish case is available in a black or white body finish. Read More

Ricoh releases super fast Caplio R1 digital camera.

By Mike Hanlon

To date the greatest detraction for digital camera enthusiasts is the long time it takes for the lens to properly focus and snap its subject. Add this to start up time and you're often behind the eight ball when trying to shoot spontaneously. Ricoh may have changed all this with the high speed, wide-angle Caplio R1 digital camera.

The four Megapixel camera features a world first 'pendulum' retracting lens system that allows the R1 to focus and snap in just 0.05 of a second. Ricoh claims it is up to twenty-five times faster than other digital cameras. With the focus lock achieved the camera can shoot in an almost instantaneous 0.003 of a second. Read More

Olympus Introduces 7.1 Megapixel 5x Optical Zoom Digital Camera

By Mike Hanlon

The megapixel space race continues, and the 7 megapixel barrier was broken for a compact camera in Australia this week when the new Olympus C-70 ZOOM went on sale. Claiming it is the smallest 7.1-megapixel, 5x optical zoom model in the world the C-70 went on sale in Australia in September, retailing for $899 and measuring just 102mm (W) x 59mm (H) x 42mm (D).

The C-70 features a newly developed 5x optical zoom lens that is specifically designed to maximise the imaging potential of its 7.1-megapixel CCD, as well as an Olympus-developed TruePic TURBO image. Read More

Nikon 8-Mpx Coolpix 8800 with 10x optical zoom

By Mike Hanlon

Nikon has announced a new 8-megapixel Coolpix 8800 digital camera with a 10x optical zoom Nikkor ED glass lens, which opens the shooter to an unmatched 35-350mm (35mm equivalent) zoom range, the longest zoom range available in the 8-megapixel category, and delivers razor sharp images. Read More

Nikon 12.4 Mpx Digital SLR has Wi-Fi options

By Mike Hanlon

Nikon has announced a new D2X professional digital SLR camera that blends high resolution image quality, color consistency and blazing speed. The high resolution is achieved by an all-new 12.4 million pixel DX Format CMOS image sensor and a new image processing engine. Despite the high resolution, the D2X can comfortably shoot full resolution images at five frames per second and eight frames a second in 6.8 megapixel 'High Speed Cropped Image' mode. Read More

Netcom releases pan, tilt and zoom IP camera for AUD$3200

By Mike Hanlon

Broadband equipment specialist NetComm has released an affordable highly advanced IP camera with Pan/ Tilt/ Zoom capabilities and full Web-based digital server capabilities - making it possible to deliver high quality video streaming over Ethernet and the internet. The NS4540 is an outdoor, all-weather surveillance and monitoring solution, and has a capabilities set which make it suitable for a broad spectrum of applications for business and residential users, while delivering unprecedented ease of use and management at an affordable price - AUD$3179 Read More

Casio ceramics makes world's smallest optical zoom camera

By Mike Hanlon

Casio has announced the release of the world's smallest digital camera with an optical zoom (2.8X), the EXILIM CARD EX-S100. The camera and its lens owe their exceptionally compact packaging to another world's first - the application of ceramic lens technology providing a great advance in optical quality with even greater strength than glass. The EX-S100 will be available in October 2004 at an RRP of US$400. Read More

CasioTransparent Ceramic Lens technology reduces zoom lens size

By Mike Hanlon

Casio has developed the world's first lens using transparent ceramics. This breakthrough will make it possible to make zoom lenses for cameras which are much smaller. The technology is expected to find its way into the next generation of Casio's thin Exilim card-size digital camera and continues the major push in technological development to find better methods of creating smaller, thinner cameras. Read More

Olympus limited edition Ferrari Digital Camera

By Mike Hanlon

Olympus has announced the Ferrari Digital Model 2004, the second in the Ferrari Digital Model 2004 series of Olympus cameras to be officially sanctioned by Ferrari. Based on the all-new Olympus AZ-1 compact digital camera, the aluminium body is finished in Ferrari Red and is graced with the famous 'Prancing Horse' logo. Read More

Epson R-D1 - the world's first rangefinder digital camera

By Mike Hanlon

Epson, which does digital image processing really well, has teamed up with Cosina, which has developed outstanding original optics technologies in the production of camera lenses, and they have created a digital camera which looks and feels like a vintage film camera, even though it's capturing 6 megapixels per shot. Oh, and it can be used with Leica L- and M-mount lenses. Read More

Canon releases world's fastest professional digital camera: EOS-1D

By Mike Hanlon

Canon Australia has announced a new flagship professional digital SLR camera - the EOS-1D Mark II - featuring an 8.2-million effective-pixel CMOS image sensor and the world's fastest continuous shooting speed of approximately 8.5 frames per second (fps) for a burst of up to 40 consecutive frames. Read More

New Nikon Digital Cameras

By Mike Hanlon

Nikon has released details of several significant digital cameras and products; an 8-megapixel, 8x zoom Coolpix 8700; an 6.1-megapixel D70 digital SLR camera with interchangeable lenses and the COOLWALKER MSV-01, a 30GB portable image storage device. Read More

Versatile Underwater Camera

By Mike Hanlon

The Underwater Cam from Swann records up to 4 hours of sub-marine action to a depth of 16m in colour and connects to camcorders, TVs, VCRs, portable monitors and LCD Screens with AV inputs. Read More

Nikon D70 Digital SLR

By Mike Hanlon

Nikon have announced the upcoming release of the new D70 interchangeable-lens digital SLR camera. Being developed concurrently with a DX Zoom-Nikkor lens that will become its standard zoom lens, details are still scarce on the exact specifications of the D70, which is due to reach Australia in Autumn 2004. Read More

Siemens 4X zoom camera phone

By Mike Hanlon

Siemens has added 4X zoom capability to its latest camera phone. The multimedia equipped ST55 includes 5-way joystick navigation, TFT 65,000 colour screen and "compose your own" polyphonic ringtones along with the inbuilt, zoom enabled, 120 x 160 pixel VGA camera. Read More

Official 007 Digital Camera

By Mike Hanlon

Saturday November 8, 2003: What kind of digital camera do master spies choose? We're not sure about current CIA procedure but the JB1 gets the nod from spies of the celluloid variety, having claimed the title of official James Bond 007 digital camera. Read More

Sony's 5-megapixel ultra-compact camera

By Mike Hanlon

Saturday October 25, 2003: The "World's Smallest" title in the arena of digital still cameras has a very short shelf life these days, but Sony has staked its claim with the Cyber-shot DSC-T1 ultra-compact camera. At 2cm and 6cm tall, the "Worlds smallest 5-megapixel camera" features advanced auto-focus and auto-exposure options... Read More

Hasselblad H1 named Best Professional Product at TIPA Awards

By Mike Hanlon

Friday September 26, 2003: The Hasselblad H1, a 645 format camera that incorporates an interchangeable film and digital back system, has been named Best Professional Product at the prestigious TIPA (Technical Image Press Association) European Photo and Imaging awards. Read More

4-megapixel compact digital to join Pentax Optio range

By Mike Hanlon

Tuesday September 23, 2003: The Pentax OptioS4 digital compact offers 4.23 megapixel image capture, shutter release time lag of 0.01 sec, a wide range of shooting modes and 3X optical zoom in a compact aluminium body, but it's the extra touches often overlooked in compact digital cameras, including continuous shooting, voice recording and image zoom integrated into the optical viewfinder, that distinguish the Optio S4. Read More

Pentax announces smallest, lightest digital SLR to date

By Mike Hanlon

Friday August 22, 2003: PENTAX has announced the upcoming release of the smallest, lightest digital SLR camera to date - the *ist D. Capturing 6.1 effective megapixels,the *ist D is equipped 22 user-adjustable custom functions, sophisticated autofocus system, 1/4000-second high-speed shutter and is compatible with existing PENTAX 35mm format interchangeable lenses and accessories. Read More

FinePix S5000 Zoom digital SLR

By Mike Hanlon

Friday August 15, 2003: The new FinePix S5000 Zoom incorporates 10x optical Fujinon zoom lens and advanced features such as full manual exposure control, continuous shooting and the ability to capture 26 second 320 x 240 pixel movies - including sound - at 30 frames per second . Read More

High-speed Digital SLR captures 8 Frames Per Second

By Mike Hanlon

Friday July 25, 2003: Nikon's new D2H professional digital SLR camera is capable of continuously shooting 8 frames per second at full resolution, buffers up to 40 JPEG images and incorporates Wi-Fi capabilities for 802.11b wireless transmission of images... Read More

Totally new digital SLR system from Olympus

By Mike Hanlon

Friday June 27, 2003 Built from scratch with a new 5-megapixel CCD and dedicated interchangeable lenses designed specifically to match the performance requirements of digital imaging, the E-1 professional digital SLR camera from Olympus promises outstanding mobility and superb image quality. Read More