Seitz scanning camera offers 160 megapixels

Got US$45,600 burning a hole in your pocket? Try out Seitz Phototechnik's 160-megapixel 6 x 17 Digital Camera. And save a bit more of your allowance for a lens, too.

The mammoth device is able to take an image measuring 60 x 170mm, a big notch up from high-end SLRs with a 24 x 36mm frame. It's got huge handgrips on either side that cry out to be grasped, but it's 18 inches wide and weighs 10 pounds, so it looks either like a great workout or tripod material to me.

It can be purchased with a tablet PC to operate it, too. That's doubtless handy, because a single high-resolution file is 307MB in raw format, the company said.

The 6 x 17 Digital employs a digital scanning back made by Dalsa. Scanning cameras employ a linear light sensor detector similar to that used in flatbed scanners; it moves across the field of view to take the photo rather than using a two-dimensional sensor that captures the entire scene simultaneously. It's a good way to get high resolution, but it comes at a cost: it takes a single second to take a full-resolution 7,500 x 21,500-pixel image.

Via Crave CNET

Sony Alpha with Live View coming soon?

We've all heard that Sony just launched its latest digital SLR, the A200 at CES. The new camera is the successor to the Japanese company's first dSLR, the A100, and comes with quite a few improvements. So soon after the announcement, we already have rumors and leaked images of the next Sony Alpha, and this one comes with a swivel LCD.

Having a swivel LCD on a dSLR makes sense only if the LCD is used for framing images. This would imply that the new Alpha in those images will incorporate Live View, a feature found in some other dSLRs like the Olympus E-3 and Nikon D300.

This leak could be bad news for Sony. Some users may hold back from getting the A200 in anticipation of this model. On the bright side, if true, it would mean Sony still has quite a number of tricks up its sleeve for its digital SLR business--great to know if you are a fan of its camera system.

Via Dyxum forums (via Engadget)

New year, new cameras, no?

In 2008, Sony Europe was first off the starting line with the Cyber-shot S730, a 7.2-megapixel shooter with a 2.4-inch LCD. Its design is typical of Sony's snapshooters, cleanly minimal with no particular wow feature.

Since the 3x optical lens is no Carl Zeiss and with the role of image stabilizer residing with a high light sensitivity (ISO 1,250), it's clear to see that the S730 is really more of an entry compact than anything else.

The Cyber-shot 730 will be available in Europe by mid-January. No word on Asia at press time.

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