The annual Consumer Electronics Show is about everything larger than life, from huge mama flat panels to high-capacity hard drives. However, you might not want to set your imaging hopes too high at this year's show even though we'll continue to see a decent crop of compact consumer digital cameras being unveiled. Expect more ground-breaking announcements at digital imaging fairs like PMA in March. Even prior to the CES, Pentax and Fujifilm have jumped the gun with several entry-level snapshot announcements. Whether the rest of the exhibitors like Canon, Kodak, Olympus, Panasonic and Sony will follow suit and make a splash is still anyone's guess, but rest assured you'll be getting updates over the next few days right here.

Digicams at CES 2006
The doors to CES 2007 have opened. But first, check out what happened exactly a year ago...

Image sensors 2,000 times more sensitive to light
First take: Casio Exilim EX-V7
Heroic camera lets your wrist do the shooting
Smartparts digital photo frames keep it simple
Sony's Memory Stick PRO Duo hits 8GB
Samsung adds face recognition and gems to new i70

Two new cameras from Kodak

Fujifilm's FinePixes now accept SD memory cards



Looking for the scoop on a particular manufacturer? We break down the new lineups.

Select a brand:

Fujifilm Pentax		Samsung Casio

Select a brand:

Fujifilm Pentax		Samsung Casio

Fujifilm

Model name	In a nutshell
Fujifilm FinePix F40fd Click for larger image	Wow factor: Midrange compact camera with face detection technology Other notable frills: 8.3 megapixels 3x optical zoom 2.5-inch, 230K-pixel LCD Maximum ISO 2,000 Compatible with both Secure Digital and xD-Picture Cards Intelligent face detection Expected: N.A.
Fujifilm FinePix A610 Click for larger image	Wow factor: Entry-level 6.3-megapixel snapshot camera with Super CCD HR image sensor and Real Photo processor Other notable frills: 6.3 megapixels 3x optical zoom 2.5-inch, 115K-pixel LCD Maximum ISO 400 Compatible with both Secure Digital and xD-Picture Cards Uses 2 x AA-sized alkaline or NiMH batteries Expected: N.A.
Fujifilm FinePix A800 Click for larger image	Wow factor: Entry-level 8.3-megapixel snapshot camera with Super CCD HR image sensor and Real Photo processor Other notable frills: 8.3 megapixels 3x optical zoom 2.5-inch, 115K-pixel LCD Maximum ISO 800 Compatible with both Secure Digital and xD-Picture Cards Uses 2 x AA-sized alkaline or NiMH batteries Expected: N.A.
Fujifilm FinePix IS-1 Click for larger image	Wow factor: Infrared camera modeled after the FinePix S9600 Other notable frills: 9 megapixels Visible IR 400 to 900nm 10.7x optical zoom 2.0-inch, 235K-pixel LCD Maximum ISO 1,600 Compatible with both CompactFlash and xD-Picture Cards Uses 4 x AA-sized alkaline or NiMH batteries Expected: N.A.

Select a brand:

Fujifilm Pentax		Samsung Casio

Pentax

Model name	In a nutshell
Pentax Optio E30 Click for larger image	Wow factor: Entry-level snapshot camera Other notable frills: 7.1 megapixels 3x optical zoom 2.4-inch, 112K-pixel LCD Maximum ISO 400 Supports SDHC memory cards Uses 2 x AA-sized batteries Expected: N.A.

Casio

Model name	In a nutshell
Casio Exilim EX-V7 Read first take	Wow factor: Casio's first compact Exilim with a CCD shift-type image stabilizer Other notable frills: 7.2 megapixels 7x optical zoom 2.5-inch, 230K-pixel LCD Maximum ISO 800, ISO 1,600 in High Sensitivity Best Shot mode Compatible with SD, SDHC and MMC media; built-in 11.6MB memory 848 x 480-pixel movie recording with optical zoom using H.264 video-encoding format Expected: March '07

Select a brand:

Fujifilm Pentax		Samsung Casio

Samsung

Model name	In a nutshell
Samsung i70 Click for more images	Wow factor: Camera with unique sliding design and PMP functions Other notable frills: 7.2 megapixels 3x optical zoom 3.0-inch, 230K-pixel LCD Face recognition autofocus and auto exposure 720 x 480-pixel movie recording at 15fps Flash animation graphics user-interface Expected: N.A.
Samsung L73 Click for more images	Wow factor: Ultracompact with Smart Touch user interface reminiscent of the previous NV10/NV7 Other notable frills: 7.2 megapixels 3x optical zoom 2.5-inch, 230K-pixel LCD Maximum ISO 1,600 Compatible with SD, SDHC and MMC media; built-in 19MB memory VGA movie recording with 3x optical zoom Face recognition autofocus and auto exposure Expected: N.A.
Samsung L700 Click for more images	Wow factor: Point-and-shoot ultracompact snapshooter Other notable frills: 7.2 megapixels 3x optical zoom 2.5-inch, 230K-pixel LCD Maximum ISO 800, ISO 1,600 (TBD) Compatible with SD, SDHC and MMC media; built-in 20MB memory VGA movie recording with 3x optical zoom Expected: N.A.
Samsung S630 Click for more images	Wow factor: Upgrade to the 5-megapixel S500 Other notable frills: 6 megapixels 3x optical zoom 2.5-inch, 150K-pixel LCD Maximum ISO 400 Compatible with SD, SDHC, MMC media; built-in 16MB memory Uses 2 x AA-sized alkaline batteries VGA movie recording with 3x optical zoom Expected: N.A.
Samsung S730 Click for more images	Wow factor: Upgrade to the 6-megapixel S600 Other notable frills: 7.2 megapixels 3x optical zoom 2.5-inch, 230K-pixel LCD Maximum ISO 1,000 Compatible with SD, SDHC and MMC media; built-in 16MB memory Uses 2 x AA-sized alkaline batteries VGA movie recording with 3x optical zoom Expected: N.A.
Samsung S850 Click for more images	Wow factor: 8-megapixel ultracompact with 5x optical zoom and manual features Other notable frills: 8 megapixels 5x optical zoom 2.5-inch, 230K-pixel LCD Maximum ISO 1,600 Compatible with SD, SDHC and MMC media; built-in 20MB memory Uses 2 x AA-sized alkaline batteries 800 x 592-pixel movie recording at 20fps Face recognition autofocus and auto exposure Expected: N.A.
Samsung S1050 Click for more images	Wow factor: 10-megapixel compact camera with a large 3-inch screen and LCD technology that adjusts the brightness of the screen according to the surroundings Other notable frills: 10.1 megapixels 5x optical zoom 3.0-inch, 230K-pixel LCD Maximum ISO 1,600 Compatible with SD, SDHC and MMC media; built-in 45MB memory Uses 2 x AA-sized alkaline batteries 800 x 600-pixel movie recording at 20fps Face recognition autofocus and auto exposure Expected: N.A.