The full-frame Nikon D3 announced

The rumors have been fierce, and some of them have been true, and now Nikon has made it official. Its new weather-sealed top-of-the-line dSLR, the 12.2-megapixel D3 will have a full-frame CMOS image sensor, which Nikon has dubbed the FX format. Well... ok, it's almost a full-frame sensor. It measures 36 x 23.9mm; just 0.1mm vertically shy (does that make it vertically challenged?) of the technical full-frame spec, but we'll let that slide.

We know that any Nikon owner with DX lenses must be reeling right about now, so it pays to mention that the D3 will include a special DX mode that crops the sensor down to DX size, results in 5.1-megapixels images, and can be set to engage automatically whenever you put a DX lens on the camera. Plus, as you might expect from the high-speed crop days of the D2Xs, the DX crop mode allows a slightly faster burst rate, which is said to let the D3 edge past the current dSLR speed king, Canon's 10fps EOS 1D Mark III.
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Olympus launches seven new cameras

The Japanese firm is very much on the tail end of the comet, as far as camera launches are concerned. However, the seven new models, including a fashion-oriented weatherproof camera, promise a relatively loud bang when they land.

Olympus' shock- and weatherproof cameras see two new entrants with the Mju 795 SW and the Mju 790 SW. While the Mju 795 SW retains the same tank-like exterior and features of its predecessor, the 770 SW, the 790 SW adds a chic sensibility to Olympus' macho cameras, but with a corresponding drop in toughness (the 790 SW can shoot underwater down to a depth of only 3m vs. 10m in the 795 SW).

To keep up with recently launched cameras from other manufacturers, Olympus has whipped up a 12-megapixel compact cam (Mju 1200), a slightly lower-end 8-megapixel shooter (Mju 820), a 27mm wide-angled 18x megazoom (SP-560UZ) and two budget digicams (FE-280 and FE-270).

All the new shooters will be available in Asia from September onward.

             

Sony's midrange megazoom

Suddenly, it seems that compact, inexpensive megazooms without an eye-level viewfinder are all the rage. Canon just announced its first foray at the US$300 price point, the PowerShot SX100, and now Sony follows suit with the Cyber-shot DSC-H3.

The H3 will offer the usual set of buzzword features, including face detection and HD down conversion for correct-aspect HDTV output.

Sony rated performance specs:

• Startup: 1.8 secs
• Shutter lag: 0.3 secs
• Shot to shot: 1.3 secs
• Burst: 2fps
• Battery life: 330 shot

	Canon SX100 IS	Sony DSC-H3	Sony DSC-H7
Resolution	8 megapixels	8 megapixels	8 megapixels
Lens	F2.8-4.3 36mm-360mm (10x)	F3.5-4.4, 38-380mm (10x)	F2.7-4.5 31-465mm (15x)
LCD size	2.5 inches	2.5 inches	2.5 inches
Viewfinder	None	None	EVF
Power	2 AA batteries	Proprietary Lithium-ion	Proprietary Lithium-ion

It's not clear who this camera is for; competitors like the Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ8, Kodak EasyShare Z712 IS and even the last-generation Canon PowerShot S3 IS offer a much better feature set for the price. The H3 will be available in silver or black when it ships to Asia in Q3 2007.

Via CNET Crave

Sony's new stylish shooters

Sony's two new Cyber-shot T-series cameras don't look very different from past models, but they certainly feel different; these new cameras eschew buttons in favor of big, touch-sensitive LCD screens. The Cyber-shot DSC-T200 and T70, respectively, replace the DSC-T100 and DSC-T20 in Sony's lineup. Its 3.5- and 3-inch 16:9 touchscreen control nearly every aspect of the cameras. Besides changing settings and navigating the cameras' menus, users can also control focus with the touchscreens by tapping the object they want to focus on. This isn't the first time Sony has attempted a touchscreen system with its cameras; last year's Cyber-shot DSC-T50 featured a 3-inch touch-sensitive LCD that we felt was a bit awkward and unresponsive.

Apart from the touchscreens, the T200 and T70 are nearly identical to their predecessors. They both use the same sensors and lenses as their bigger siblings; the T200 sports a 35 to 175mm-equivalent 5x lens just like the T100's, while the T70 uses the same 38 to 114mm-equivalent 3x lens found on the T20. The only other change is the T200's optional HD output, found on the T20 but not the T100. Hopefully, Sony's improved its touchscreen interface in the last two years, otherwise you'll probably want to stick with the old-timey, button-driven models.

The Sony Cyber-shot DSC-T200 and T70 will hit US stores in early October. The T200 will be available in red, black, and silver for about US$400, and the T70 will come in pink, black, white, and silver versions with a suggested retail price of US$330. Asia-Pacific consumers will be able to get their hands on these new units later this quarter.

Via CNET Crave

Canon EOS 40D available in Singapore next week

It's not a rumor anymore. Yipee! Singaporeans will be able to get their hands on the newfangled 40D next week.

Pricing details up first since that's what everyone is concerned about.

• EOS 40D body--S$2,099 (end August)
• EOS 40D kit with EF-S 18-55mm F3.5-5.6 IS---$2,299 (available in mid-September)
• EOS 40D kit II with EF-S 17-85mm F4-5.6 IS USM--S$2,899 (end August)

We managed to get a brief hands-on with the 40D at today's launch and, boy, the 3-inch LCD is huge. Also noticeable are the main control buttons which are now arranged in a row below the panel instead of a column to the left like on the 30D. This probably means some getting used to especially for semipro users upgrading from the 30D.

Otherwise, the look and feel of the 40D is very identical to its predecessor and the improvements are mainly on the internal system. Among them are a higher-res 10.1-megapixel CMOS sensor, a DIGIC III imaging processor, 6.5fps continuous shooting mode and nine-point cross-type AF points for F5.6 lenses or faster.

More details here.

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