Nikon to announce D5000 dSLR at PMA?

It's less than a week from the Photo Marketing Association (PMA) tradeshow held in Las Vegas, and the rumor mills are churning out more gossips than ever. Tech blog Nikon Rumors cited a reliable source who "has never been wrong before" for a new entry-level dSLR, the D5000.

It is reported that this camera will have a 12-megapixel sensor and a swiveling display. This is similar to the LCD Olympus has implemented on the E-620, and we think this is a smart move from Nikon to keep up with its competitors.

There were also comments to the post, saying that the D5000 would have the same sensor as the D90, which indicates the rumored dSLR will have HD-video recording function.

If the D5000 rumors are true, we believe Canon will also have something similar to pit against the Nikon camera. Expect the entry-level dSLR competition to really heat up then.

When we got to Nikon Singapore regarding the rumor, the company told us that it cannot comment on unannounced products. Well, we'll see what the imaging firm has to offer next week at PMA.

TinyPic now does great-looking HD video

A few weeks ago TinyPic.com quietly launched support for HD video uploads. I gave it a spin earlier Thursday and the results look great. It supports files up to 200MB in size, which I'm told will get bumped up to 500MB starting next week.

The service's main appeal is that you can quickly upload and share these videos with friends, all without having to register. You can also upload an unlimited number of videos, however each one can only be up to five minutes long in length if it's in HD. SD videos, like most taken on point-and-shoot digital cameras, can be up to 15 minutes, which is five longer than YouTube allows.

Something worth mentioning is that TinyPic (which is owned by Photobucket) often serves as a test bed for upcoming Photobucket features, meaning Photobucket's video player may soon be getting an upgrade. It currently accepts HD video files, but the quality is just a hair below what's offered on TinyPic.

Here's the clip on TinyPic and Photobucket for comparison's sake.

Canon PowerShot SX1 IS to be RAW-enabled

Canon's 20x megazoom shooter, the PowerShot SX1 IS, is getting a major upgrade via a firmware update next month. As if its full-HD video-recording capability wasn't impressive enough, the Japanese company is adding RAW image capture to the camera. This means the SX1 IS will be almost like a dSLR, despite the fixed lens and smaller sensor size. So, if you currently own this snapper, look out for the new firmware next month on Canon's Web site, as well as an update for the Canon Digital Photo Professional software for processing RAW pictures to other image formats.

We were unable to reach the Japanese for more information regarding the SX1 IS' firmware update, but do take note of the instructions on how to upgrade the program in both your camera and the computer.

We've also noticed that the SX1 IS wasn't available in the US when announced last year, but the shooter will soon make its way there in April. The Canon camera can be had in Asia for S$999 (US$712.10).

Olympus' new dSLR has swiveling screen and art filters

We are in the midst of reviewing Olympus' midrange dSLR, the E-30, and are pretty impressed with the Art Filter function and swiveling LCD. But who would have thought that these premium features will also be making their way into the latest consumer-level shooter, the E-620?

Compared with its E-520 predecessor, the E-620 sports several feature upgrades. The most significant change is the implementation of a 2.7-inch articulated LCD which facilitates taking overhead or waist-level pictures. Previously, this type of display could be found only on higher-end dSLR models. Olympus has also imported the Art Filter function from the E-30 to the E-620. This fun mode has six preset settings which change the look of the images in-camera.
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Samsung announces the WB100 (or TL320)

Was it just a few hours ago that we reported the leak on Samsung's new shooter, the TL320? Well, this point-and-shoot has just been made official and is known as the WB100 in Asia or TL320 in the US.

As mentioned, the 12-megapixel WB100 will come with a 5x optical zoom lens and a 3-inch AMOLED display, the largest of such a screen to be incorporated into a digital camera. The two analog gauges on the top display the remaining battery and memory capacity (onboard and memory card). With the option for manual and shutter/aperture priority exposure controls, we think the WB100 is targeted at enthusiasts.

What wasn't mentioned is that the Samsung camera has a 24mm ultra-wide-angle lens, just like its longer zoom sibling, the WB500. The new camera can also record 720p-quality video clips in H.264 compression format.
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