The cameras of CES 2012
CES isn't typically a banner week for camera and camcorder lovers and manufacturers, but this year was different. Nearly every major manufacturer announced cameras that are faster, more powerful, and more impressive than ever before — we saw new models with longer zoom, more shooting features, lots of manual control, and better hardware across the board. Companies added features that differentiate their point-and-shoot models from smartphone cameras, and a few launched drool-worthy flagship DSLRs as well. We put together the most interesting camera and camcorder news, plus our hands-on impressions, so check out the stories below to see the best of the first batch of cameras in 2012.
Cerevo Live Shell with Contour+ (hands-on)
We just dropped by Contour's booth at CES to check out the new Cerevo Live Shell accessory — it's a small, light, portable device that can hook up to an HD camera via HDMI and stream live video to Ustream over ethernet or WiFi. Settings for the Live Shell can be managed on a PC or through a smartphone app, and when paired with the Contour+, the system can capture roughly three hours of 1080p video on three AA batteries. Contour had a live demonstration at its booth which looked pretty...
Tamaggo 360-imager camera prototype hands-on
Panoramic photo technology is nothing new, but the Tamaggo 360-imager is a standalone fisheye camera that packs a decent amount of technology into a relatively small form factor. The prototype we handled felt pretty weighty, but its unique body made it comfortable to hold. The camera's name comes from the Japanese word for 'egg,' an obvious reference to the device's shape.
It can capture 360-degree panoramic images with its 14-megapixel sensor and 11-component lens setup. The internal...
RED Epic-X insides exposed, photographed for all to see
You already know its specs, and you've already seen it in action, but have you seen RED's $34,500 Epix-X torn asunder? We're sure any current owners wouldn't dare take the risk, but the FCC sure didn't mind. Take a look at those oh-so expensive (and red) innards and dream that you could have one of your own. More photos at the source link below.
Lytro's Eric Cheng on a video Lytro: 'there's no reason we can't'
Alright, the Lytro light field camera technology is pretty impressive and emergent all by itself (it will be shipping in about a month), but I can't help wondering what's next: what about video? Eric Cheng, the Director of Photography at Lytro, was surprisingly forthcoming. Without promising any products in the pipeline, he described the exact technical requirements, and the exact technical feasibility. What's really interesting, and was helpful in me actually understanding how Lytro works,...
Sony NEX-FS100 and NEX-VG20 hands-on (video)
We've wanted to check out Sony's NEX interchangeable lens video cameras, the VG20 Handycam and pro-level FS100, and finally got a chance on the CES show floor. We also got to see the full lineup of lenses for the E-mount system, including the new 50mm f/1.8 and 24mm f/1.8 Zeiss models, along with a pre-production 500mm f/4 telephoto for A-mount. Check out the gallery below — hands-on video impressions coming soon.
Update: Video below! Please excuse the audio.
Fujifilm X-S1 hands-on pictures
Though it might be forgotten in the wake of Fujifilm's announcement of the X-Pro1, there was another X series camera released at CES: we got to play with the new X-S1 superzoom at Fujfilm's booth, and though it's not exactly clear where the camera fits or who might buy it, it's a pretty nice shooter. It's not nearly as retro or attractive as the other X series models (the X100, X10, and now X-Pro1), with a lot more plastic and rubber on the body — that's done in the name of ruggedization,...
Fujifilm launching limited edition black X100 for $1,700 (hands-on pictures)
There probably aren't a lot of people who complain about the retro design of the Fujifilm X100, but if you're not happy, the company's shipping a limited run of blacked-out X100s. We got to check it out under the glass at Fujifilm's CES booth, and it looks...well, it looks like the X100, just black instead of silver. But it's gorgeous — I've always preferred the design of the X10 to the X100, and this limited edition makes the two look quite similar. Fujfilm's only making 10,000 of these,...
Panasonic shows off concept lenses with better focusing, improved video performance
CES is full of gadgets we'll see sometime in the next year, but Panasonic is showing off two concept camera lenses that are likely much further off. Underneath the glass at the company's booth are 12-35mm and a 35-100mm (their respective equivalents are 24-70mm and 70-200mm), f/2.8 lenses that Panasonic reps said will bring far better focusing to its Micro Four Thirds cameras, especially for video recording. The Lumix GX1 has already improved focusing performance over Panasonic's previous...
JVC's 2012 Everio video cameras with Live Monitoring (video)
Some of JVC's 2012 Everio video cameras feature Live Monitoring, allowing iOS and Android devices running a free app to control JVC's newest GX, VX, and EX series video cameras. The user can zoom, take snapshots or record 1080p video, and then wirelessly transfer those files back to the mobile device for emailing, uploading to YouTube, or whatever else people do with still image and video files. The new cameras also feature Home Detection Monitoring — when the camera detects movement it...
Nikon D4 network-accessible wireless control demo
A rep at Nikon's booth just walked us through one of the D4's most intriguing features. Once the D4 is hooked up to a network via Wi-Fi or its ethernet port, you can pull a network IP address off the screen and use that to connect to the camera with your computer. Assuming the camera and computer are on the same network, you can navigate to the camera through your browser, no apps or connections needed. Once you're connected, you can take photos, adjust all manner of settings, switch to live...
Toshiba Camileo Air10 streams 1080p video via Ustream, Z100 shoots glasses-free 3D video (hands-on pictures)
Toshiba updated its Camileo line of handheld camcorders this week at CES, and headlining the new class is the new Z100, capable of shooting 1080p 3D video. Even cooler is the camera's 2.8-inch articulating display, which displays 3D footage without need for glasses. It's a really small LCD, but it does display 3D, and actually looked pretty good while we played with a prototype of the camcorder. Something was built wrong in this early version, so we had to wear glasses upside down to see the...
Photography & Video
Panasonic announces four lens converters for Micro Four Thirds
The Micro Four Thirds system has a pretty extensive lens lineup, but maintaining a collection can be an expensive hobby. Panasonic is providing a cheaper way to expand your photographic options, though, as long as you already own its Lumix G X 14-42mm zoom or G 14mm f/2.5 prime. The company has announced four converters that attach directly onto the front of a regular lens, effectively changing them into fisheye, wide angle, telephoto or macro optics. The wide angle lens attaches only to the...
Photography & Video
Sony A77 and NEX-7 hands-on video and photos
Seven certainly wasn't lucky for Sony's Alpha division last year — the flooding in Thailand delayed the release of its long-awaited NEX-7 and A77 cameras, with supply only starting to trickle out recently. We managed to get a look at both elusive models here at CES 2012, though, and have the pictures to prove it.
CES 2012
Canon PowerShot G1 X hands-on pictures and video
Canon's big news at this year's CES was the PowerShot G1 X, about as high-end a point-and-shoot as you'll ever find. The $799 shooter has a gigantic 1.5-inch, 14.3-megapixel sensor, native ISO range up to 12,800, and plenty of the manual controls and shooting features pros love in their DSLRs. We got to play with the camera for a bit, and we really liked the G1 X — though we still can't afford it.
The camera's pretty big for a point-and-shoot, but it is legitimately small enough to be out...
Photography & Video
Olympus refreshes point-and-shoot camera range
The camera buzz at this year's CES has so far been with earthshakingly expensively models, but if the likes of the Nikon D4, Canon G1 X and Fujifilm X-Pro1 are too rich for your blood Olympus might have your back with its refreshed compact camera line. The company announced five new models — the $199.99 SZ-12 and SP-620 ultrazooms, $179.99 durable TG-320, $149.99 slimline VR-340, and $99.99 entry-level VG-160. We thought the SZ-12 was the pick of the bunch, fitting a 24x (24-600mm...
Photography & Video
Sony Bloggie Live review
Cisco’s Flip cameras may have died all too soon, but fortunately it wasn’t the only good line of dead-simple, single-purpose camcorders on the market: Sony’s Bloggie cameras, aside from being horrifically named, have long been worthy pocket camcorder competition. Sony’s latest model, the Bloggie Live, takes the concept of dead-simple video recording and gives it a 2012 twist with the addition of Wi-Fi connectivity that allows for live-streaming of video, as well as a lot of simple and...
Photography & Video
Sony HDR-PJ760V and HDR-CX760V camcorders with 'Balanced' SteadyShot, built-in projectors (hands-on video)
It's hard to keep endless camcorder iterations fresh, year after year, but Sony managed a couple nice innovations in this year's crop. A few of its top-of-the-line camcorders now include Balanced Optical SteadyShot image stabilization, which allows the entire lens to bob and weave with your shaky hand movements, even while zooming. Check out the video demo below to have your mind blown. The Sony HDR-PJ710V, PJ760V, and CX760V (pictured, with a crazy 360° speaker accessory mounted on top) all...
Photography & Video
Sony's slim new HDR-TD20V 3D camcorder hands-on pictures
There's a price we all pay for the bleeding edge, and in the case of Sony's original HD 3D "compact" camcorder, that cost was chub. The new HDR-TD20V still isn't razor thin, but it's much more manageable. Most of the specs are the same, but they weren't bad to begin with: a 3.5-inch glasses-free LCD, 64GB of flash storage, and dual Exmor R CMOS sensors behind 17x optical zoom lenses, which record at 1080p 60 and 24. At least the megapixel count got bumped for stills: 20 megapixels instead of...
Photography & Video
Panasonic updates Lumix cameras: Leica lenses, 1080p video, speed upgrades
Every point-and-shoot camera manufacturer must at this point be awfully tired of the question "are cameraphones killing your market share?" Panasonic's response was apparently to pack its cameras full of features cameraphones don't have — its new Lumix models have big zoom, great lenses, and plenty of speed to spare. The SZ7 is the headliner, with a 14-megapixel CMOS sensor, a 10x optical zoom lens (from 25-250mm), and an upgraded processor that promises to be faster than ever. Lenses are...
Photography & Video
Samsung adds Wi-Fi to cameras and camcorders, announces $379 WB850F with 21x zoom
Samsung makes just about every gadget under the sun, and the company's starting to realize the value in connecting all its devices together. That's why it's adding Wi-Fi connectivity into a number of its new point-and-shoot cameras, introducing the new Smart camera lineup. Chief among the new cameras is the $379 WB850F, the latest in Samsung's line of superzoom cameras. The WB850F offers 21x optical zoom in an f/2.8 lens, and a 16-megapixel CMOS sensor. It also has a 3-inch AMOLED screen,...
Photography & Video
Fujifilm X-Pro1 hands-on photos
Fujifilm's press conference just wrapped up and we had a moment to snap a few pictures of the just-announced X-Pro1 before it was whisked away. The camera feels extremely well built and is very sturdy, but also quite heavy. Lens construction matches that of the camera — there's a weighty feeling, but everything's solid and reassuring to hold. Both the screen and viewfinder are beautiful, as well, and there's tons of manual controls (just like the X100 and X10). The $1700 price tag is going...
Photography & Video
Fujifilm X-Pro1 official: 16-megapixel APS-C sensor and multiple lenses, available in February for around $1,700
That Fujifilm would announce a mirrorless camera at its CES press conference was perhaps the worst-kept secret so far at CES, but at least now it's official: the X-Pro1 is really coming. (Technically, we found it in the press kit first before the event even started, but we figure that's good enough.) The shooter has a new 16-megapixel APS-C X-Trans sensor, which Fujfilm claims will exceed the resolution of most typical APS-C sensors, and could rival some full-frame DSLRs. It uses Fujifilm's...
Photography & Video
GE upgrades camera line, launches X600 with 25x zoom for $199.99
GE's cameras got a top-to-bottom refresh today at CES 2012, with upgrades across its entire lineup of inexpensive point-and-shoot models. The new X600 has 25x optical zoom, and its DSLR-sized body also holds a 14.4-megapixel CMOS sensor, a 2.7-inch LCD, and 1080p video recording capability. There's some new HDR functionality as well, supporting up to six frames that get combined into one flawless (or awesomely bizarre) image. The best feature, though, as with all GE cameras, is its price:...
Photography & Video
Canon adds 520 HS and 110 HS to PowerShot Elph line, launches six new Vixia camcorders
The G1 X is unquestionably Canon's most impressive new camera at CES 2012, but if its $799.99 price tag is hard to stomach, there's something for the rest of us: the company also announced two more affordable PowerShot cameras, the Elph 520 HS and the Elph 110 HS. The 520 HS is the successor to the 500 HS, and Canon says it's the world's slimmest 12x optical zoom camera with a 28mm lens — a narrow category, to be sure, but a feat nonetheless. The camera uses Canon's new DIGIC 5 processor,...
Photography & Video
Canon PowerShot G1 X announced: 1.5-inch sensor, ISO 12,800 for $799.99 in February
Canon's G series has long been the company's flagship point-and-shoot line, and the PowerShot G1 X the company just announced might be the best yet. The 14.3-megapixel shooter has a 1.5-inch (18.7 x 14mm) sensor, bigger than a Micro Four Thirds sensor and nearly as large as the APS-C sensors inside most DSLRs. (It's also 6.3 times larger than the sensor inside the PowerShot G12.) Canon says it's the largest sensor ever in a PowerShot camera, which might also explain why the G1 X is much more...
Nikon D4 hands-on impressions
You know you're in for a treat when Nikon decides to upgrade the very top of its camera range, the single-digit DSLR flagship. Taking over from the D3s is the D4, a $6,000 camera that gleefully upgrades just about every spec from its predecessor while also weighing less and lasting longer on a smaller battery.
Handling of the new camera isn't all that dramatically different from the D3s. A few of the keys have played a game of musical chairs, but you're still looking at more or less the same...
Photography & Video
Nikon D4 announced: 16.2MP full-frame DSLR for $5,999.95 in February
We heard the rumors. And the other rumors. And the slightly more official rumors. But now, more than two years after Nikon released the D3s, the company has officially announced the D4, its new flagship DSLR. The new full-frame shooter will be available in February for $5,999.95 in the US, £4,799.99 £5,289.99 in the UK, and €5,658 in Europe. The latter two territories will get the D4 on February 16th, the same date as Japan, so it sounds like a good day to circle on US calendars as well.
E...
Fujifilm announces $799 X-S1 X Series camera, 18 others for 2012
Ahead of the rush of CES, Fujifilm has just revealed its entire lineup of cameras for 2012 — 19 of them, to be exact. At the head of the class is the X-S1, a new addition to the X series of high-end cameras. The X-S1's specs mix the X10 and the X100, including a 12-megapixel 2/3-inch sensor, EXR processor, a 3-inch LCD, and an electronic viewfinder. It also has a 26x zoom lens that goes from 24-624mm, with aperture of f/2.8-f/5.6. The giant zoom lens is fixed, and its sheer size likely...
