Casio forgets to make new camera interesting

If you know anyone who has asked for just a basic point-and-shoot camera to stick in their back pocket, point them to the Casio Exilim Zoom EX-Z29. Priced at US$149.95, this 10-megapixel ultracompact camera is low on features outside of having 23 Best Shot scene modes and the ability to set the menu system color to one of six options: Black, chocolate, cinnamon, rose, sky blue, and olive green.

Up front is a pedestrian 3x F2.8-5.2 38-113mm-equivalent lens, and in back is a 2.7-inch LCD for framing your shots. Here's hoping at least it's a fast performer.

The EX-Z29 will be available in the US from April.

Via CNET Crave

Kodak's new pocket-10: The EasyShare Z915

The only announcement to come from Kodak at PMA 2009 was for the EasyShare Z915: A US$199.95 pocketable 10-megapixel compact camera with a 10X optical zoom lens and optical image stabilization. It's also powered by two AA batteries and features a smallish (by today's standards at least) 2.5-inch LCD.

So it's a lot like the Canon PowerShot SX110 IS, except slightly higher resolution and a smaller LCD, but US$50 less expensive. Or like the US$299 Samsung WB500 minus the 24mm-equivalent wide-angle lens or the Panasonic Lumix DMC-TZ6, though that one's US$399 and features a 28mm lens with 12X optical zoom. Guess this compact megazoom category is more crowded than I thought.

The announcement of the Z915 follows the CES 2009 launch of the Z980 IS, a 12-megapixel dSLR-style shooter with a 24X optical zoom. (Hmmm, could Kodak want a bigger piece of the megazoom market?)

Color options for the Z915 include red, blue, black, and gray (more colors--another differentiator for Kodak in this category). Look for it in April.

Via CNET Crave

Lensbaby goes ultrawide with lens adapter

Lensbaby is bringing a wider look to its line of selective-focus lenses, announcing the 0.42x Super Wide lens that expands its products' 50mm field of view to 21mm.

The US$79.95 product is on sale now, said co-founder Sam Pardue in an interview here at the Photo Marketing Association (PMA) tradeshow. "It's for anybody who wants to shoot wider," for example for interior photos, he said.

Lensbaby's lenses focus only on one patch of the frame, using flexible or pivoting designs in its lenses to shift the location of that spot. The effect can be a view that looks dreamy , in motion, or sharply focused on a particular subject.
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Eye-Fi releases two SD cards, iPhone app

Eye-Fi, maker of memory cards that can automatically upload photos and video to the Web, announced Tuesday its two new video-uploading SD memory cards called Eye-Fi Share Video and Eye-Fi Explore Video.

These two 4GB cards are capable of uploading photos and video clips to more than 20 online photo-sharing and social-networking sites, such as YouTube or Flickr.

The differences between the two: The Eye-Fi Explore Video card can also automatically geotag photos and videos with location information about where the image was captured. It also offers hot-spot access at more than 10,000 Wi-Fi locations for photo and video uploads when you're on the go.

These new cards are available later this month and cost US$79 (4GB Eye-Fi Share Video) and US$99 (4GB Eye-Fi Explore Video).

The company also said that it's going to release an iPhone application that allows Eye-Fi users to share photos from their iPhone's photo library to one of 25 online photo-sharing Web sites. iPhone users who own an Eye-Fi card will be able to download the application for free from Apple's App Store.

Via CNET Crave

Olympus high-end compact due by summer

LAS VEGAS--Olympus has set a ship date, albeit one with a lot of wiggle room, for its first high-end compact camera using the Micro Four Thirds technology.

The camera maker first showed a nonworking "concept model" of the camera at the Photokina show last September, and the same model is on display here at the Photo Marketing Association (PMA) trade show. Now, though it sports a label, "launching this summer."

Panasonic, Olympus' partner in developing the Micro Four Thirds standard, has a head start in this market. Its Lumix DMC-G1 went on sale in 2008, and on Tuesday, Panasonic announced a video-enabled sibling, the DMC-GH1, that will ship by this summer.

The Micro Four Thirds standard combines the relatively large, expensive, high-quality sensor in the companies' full-fledged dSLRs with a more compact design for interchangeable lenses. The cameras generally are aimed to appeal to point-and-shoot owners who want to upgrade but who are intimidated by dSLRs' complexity and bulk.

Panasonic's G1 and GH1 resemble miniature SLRs, with viewfinders and an abundance of buttons, but Olympus' concept is a smaller model harkening back to the rangefinder film camera days of yore.

Via CNET News

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