CES 2008

Though not nearly as big as CES, the PMA trade show is coming to Las Vegas in three weeks. Yes, less than a month after covering CES, our editors will bravely return to Sin City to report on some of the biggest names in digital photography. That didn't stop camera and camcorder makers from revealing plenty of new products last week, though; major companies from Samsung to Sony revealed their newest digital imaging products at the show.

Sony made one of the biggest camera announcements at the show, unveiling the Alpha A200 digital SLR. This new 10-megapixel model stands to face other intro-level SLRs like the Canon EOS Rebel XTi and the Nikon D40x. Casio also made a splash with the Exilim Pro EX-F1, an EVF camera the company claims can shoot 60 still images per second, or record video at a whopping 1,200 frames per second. I'll believe it when it's under our skeptical eyes in the lab. On the snapshot side of cameras, Kodak and Samsung both announced a handful of inexpensive point-and-shoots, and Kodak revealed the ESP-3 combination photo printer/document printer/scanner.

For camcorders, flash memory was the name of the game this year as Canon, Sony, and Panasonic all announced new, high-end SSD and card-based camcorders. Panasonic unveiled several new SD card camcorders, Canon combined large amounts of flash memory with SD/SDHC card slots, and Sony added an 8GB flash drive to a DVD camcorder, giving users plenty of options for recording and transferring footage. Besides flash memory, camcorder manufacturers revealed new cameras that used more conventional media, like miniDV, DVD, and hard drives. Though it didn't reveal any new high-def, flash memory models, JVC expanded its Everio line of hard drive camcorders with several slimmer, more colorful models as well.

Those are the big headlines from CES, but don't think that's all the new camera/camcorder news of the season. Keep an eye on Crave at the end of the month for our coverage of PMA 2008.

Samsung's new NV24 HD can capture 720p video in the H.264 codec.

(Credit: Samsung)

It may have taken them a little while, but Samsung has added optical images stabilization to its upscale NV line of compact cameras. As has become a bit of a trend, they are offering it in conjunction with digital image stabilization, which boosts ISO to help keep shutter speeds fast in an attempt to minimize blur due to subject movement, while the optical IS does its best to counteract blur to due to your shaky hands. Samsung has dubbed this combination Dual Image Stabilization and includes it in all of its new NV models, except the NV4, this year. All but the NV4 also sport Samsung's unique SmartTouch menu navigation system.

They seem particularly happy with their 10MP NV24 HD, which uses the H.264 codec to record video at up to 720p pixel resolution at 30fps. While HD is in the name of the product, if you want to output an HD signal to your TV without going through a computer first, you'll need to buy Samsung's HDMI CEC cradle for an extra $50. On the upside, you'll get a remote control with that cradle, so you won't have to get up off your couch to move through your images or videos.

More interesting than the high-def functionality is the NV24 HD's 2.5-inch AMOLED screen. If you've never seen this acronym before, it stands for Active Matrix Organic Light Emitting Diode. OLED technology has been working its way up through other devices for a while now, but we haven't seen it really hit cameras yet. A color gamut chart at the Samsung booth boasts a significantly wider gamut for their AMOLED screen compared to the regular TFT LCDs used in their other cameras, though on the demo units images looked rather oversaturated. We weren't allowed to tinker with the demo units, so we don't know if user menu adjustments might be able to bring the saturation to normal levels.

The NV24 HD also has a 3.6X optical zoom lens covering an equivalent of 24-86.5mm and f/2.8-5.7, as well as face detection and self portrait modes. The face detection can see up to nine faces and use them to set focus and exposure, while self portrait mode can locate one face and won't let you shoot a picture unless that face is centered in the frame. Other features include 14 scene modes and sensitivity settings of up to ISO 1,600 at full resolution or ISO 3,200 if you don't mind that it cuts the resolution to 3MP. Samsung expects the NV 24 HD to be available this March for about $350.

Following up on last year's NV3, 2008 sees Samsung offering the 8MP NV4. Like its predecessor, the NV4 can play back video clips and MP3s, leading Samsung to call it a PMP (Portable Media Player) as well as a camera. There's even a tiny speaker built-in to the camera body, though your headphones would probably give you better sound. This ultracompact has a 2.5-inch LCD, 3X optical zoom lens, face detection and self portrait modes, along with 14 scene modes. The NV4 should hit stores in March for about $280.

Rounding out the new NV offerings are the 8.1MP NV30 and 10MP NV40. Both have 3X optical zoom lenses, 2.5-inch LCDs, 14 scene modes, 640x480-pixel 30fps video capture, and sensitivity of up to ISO 1,600 at full resolution and ISO 3,200 at reduced resolutions. The NV30 should hit stores in February for about $280, while the NV40 is expected in March for about $330.

Sony Alpha DSLR-A200K

(Credit: Sony Electronics)

Though Sony's Alpha DSLR-A100 currently occupies the price slot of an entry-level dSLR, that's just an accident of time, a midrange model that stayed too long at the party. Sony's first true foray into the entry-level market arrives in the Alpha DSLR-A200, slipping into the market niche currently hogged by the Nikon D40x and Canon EOS Rebel XTi. Preliminary specs include:

• 10-megapixel, 23.6mm x 15.8mm Super HAD CCD
• ISO 100 to 3200
• Super SteadyShot sensor-shift image stabilization
• 9-point AF sensor with single cross-type sensor in center
• 40 segment exposure metering system
• 230,000-pixel 2.7-inch LCD
• Maximum burst speed 3fps (unlimited JPEG, 3 frames Raw+JPEG, 6 frames Raw)
• Viewfinder 95 percent coverage, .83x magnification

On one hand, the A200 seems to compare quite favorably to the Nikon and Canon competition--it delivers the same (D40x) or better (XTi) resolution and similar rated performance, but with the added attraction of the in-body stabilization, large LCD and user interface that I liked so much on the A700. But those models have been out in the market for a while already and likely due for a rev any minute now. (Given Nikon and Canon's histories, however, it's unlikely that either update would include in-body image stabilization.)

The $699 DSLR-A200K kit will include the f3.5-5.6 DT 18-70mm lens, while a dual-lens DSLR-A200W kit bundles an additional f4.5-5.6 75-300mm lens for $899. Both will ship in February.

Pharos Trip & Pics

(Credit: Pharos)

The official kickoff to CES 2008 is still a few days away, but some companies are creating preshow buzz by making some early announcements, including Pharos. This morning the GPS manufacturer unveiled Pharos Trips & Pics, a geo-logger that brings GPS capabilities to your digital camera. Available later this month for $89.95, the kit includes a Pharos iGPS-500 receiver and a pocket-size battery unit that you take with you on your trip, allowing you to record such details as time, location, heading, and speed. You'll also be able to define how often you want the receiver to log information--anywhere from 1 second up to 5 minutes. Once you've returned from your expedition, you can then export this data to your PC and display them on a map of your choice, such as Google Maps or Microsoft Streets & Trips.

Pharos isn't the first company to come up with this idea (Jobo and Sony have similar products), but CES will be the first time I actually get to see this type of solution in action. Is it actually viable or just a cumbersome setup? Check back soon when I report back live from the show floor.

Though the International Consumer Electronics Show is not a big one for camera announcements, we usually see a generous handful. Camera manufacturers tend to choose CES to announce the really cheap and the really odd models, especially those with more multitasking, multimedia tendencies. But this CES looks to be a big year for digital-photo frames: bigger and smaller, more connected, more mobile, and more versatile.

Best of CES 2007, Sony Handycam HDR-HC7

(Credit: CNET Networks)

Flash-forward: 2008
This year, we expect more of the same in camcorders--not just from Sony, but from Canon, Panasonic, JVC, and the rest of the crowd. What does that mean? Continued growth in HD models but with standard def remaining strong. We'll probably see less activity on the tape-based front, and much as I wish DVD-based models would disappear already, I don't think that wish is even close to coming true. Following past trends, I think we'll see the usual year-over-year enhancements: increased recording capacity, higher resolutions, modest redesigns. Margins have gotten too tight to expect a lot of price movement, so I don't expect significant price drops--I do expect more crowded product lines with price differentials between models shrinking closer to $20 than the $50-$100 of previous years.

Nor would I be surprised by a deluge of cheap, YouTube "bandwagoncams" along the lines of the Flip Video Ultra and Sony NSC-GC1. It's possible we'll see some still camera manufacturers counter the one-trick-pony trend with improved movie-capture and sharing features, but more likely we'll have to wait until the PMA 2008 show at the end of the month to find out.

Finally, we're also hoping that digital frames will get better, as well, easier to use with higher resolutions and better color, but that's more of a dream than a prediction.