Sigma Germany has announced a limited edition Sigma SD1 that comes in a removable, hand-made wooden case to whet your appetite for luxury gadgets. The camera comes with a special wooden casing fashioned from Amboyna Burl, the deformed wood of the Southeast Asian Padauk tree. The case takes around 60 hours to cut, mill and polish. The two-part housing is split into separate front and rear sections, each of which leaves the camera’s top deck uncovered, but wraps around the sides and bottom of the camera. Of course, there are cutouts in the rear section to provide visibility for the SD1′s LCD display, and for the main controls
Read more

The Fuji X10 is getting ready to be released in November and Fuji recently posted full size samples on their web site. Building on the tremendous success of the sophisticated FUJIFILM X100 digital camera, the new premium compact FUJIFILM X10 is the latest addition to the growing FUJIFILM X-series of advanced digital camera. The X10 is built around a large (for a compact point-and-shoot) 2/3-inch 12 megapixel EXR-CM0S sensor and a bright high-definition FUJINON1 F2.0 wide-angle to F2.8 telephoto 4x manual zoom lens (28-112mm)2 that produces superb image quality from edge to edge. Video also gets an upgrade with 1080p recording, and the EXR-based 12-megapixel sensor can use pixel binning to boost the light sensitivity up to ISO 12,800 by reducing the resolution of the shot.
Read more

November 3rd is the day that both Canon and RED have announcements planned. RED CEO Jim Jannard has just confirmed that it will be officially announcing its “new” RED Scarlet camera on the November 3rd. The date that RED’s planning to announce the Scarlet is the same day as a scheduled press event from the folks out at Canon. The Scarlet is not for the average consumer. This video camera is expected to sell for around $5000. The RED Scarlet is essentially the junior version of the RED Epic, which sports an S35 sensor (close to APS-C sized). When it was first announced, the Scarlet was supposed to be available with an S35 sensor (dubbed the Scarlet S35). Those plans were altered when RED announced it was renaming the Scarlet S35 as the Epic Light. Now, the Scarlet model(s) appear that they will only sport a smaller, 2/3″ image sensor more akin to a camcorder and, thus, lacks the ability to get that cinematic-looking depth of field. Canon itself may introduce a 4K camera to compete with the likes of RED’s high-end Epic.
Read more

Nikon announced the new J1 and V1 mirrorless cameras. These models will go on sale in the US on the 20th of October. Both however include a 10.1 megapixel CMOS sensor, dual-core EXPEED processing engine, a 1200fps slow motion capture mode, 10fps burst shooting, 3-inch LCDs for reviewing the pictures taken and support for Full HD video capture as well as an ISO range of 100 to 6400.The cameras will use what is called Nikon’s CX format, which sports a 2.7X cropped sensor smaller than Micro Four Thirds.
The heart of  the Nikon J1 camera is the new Nikon developed CX-format, 10.1 megapixel High-Speed AF CMOS sensor that helps make this camera the pinnacle of portable performance.  The J1 also adds a built-in flash, auto-noise reduction on movie clips and a 73-point auto-focus system, all fitted inside a magnesium alloy chassis.  The J1′s 3.0-inch monitor is of a slightly lower 460k-dot resolution.
Read more

BenQ has just announced the release a pair of AE series camera globally, called the BenQ AE100 and BenQ AE200. The BenQ AE100 and AE200 feature a 14 megapixel sensor and a 16 megapixel sensor respectively. A BenQ AE100 arrives in red-colored and silver diamond style, whilst a BenQ AE200 arrives in blue and even gray. Other specifications that they both share includes a F2.4 aperture lens which delivers better low light photos, they both get a 5x optical zoom, a 2.7-inch LCD display and they can both record 720p HD videos. These kinds of benq cameras also enable a 5x optical zoom, super-macro, and a number of special effects just like Panorama, Lomo, Fisheye, along with Colour Accent.
Read more

Zotac will start shipping new VIA Nano X2-powered nettops by the end of the month in Japan at first. VIA Nano X2-powered nettops was presented at the last Computex a few month back. A minor cosmetic change includes a yellow circle, instead of a green one on the AMD powered model. Measuring 127 x 127 x 45 mm, the new ZBox will be available in two SKUs: a complete product, and a barebones package to which you have to add some of your own compatible components. Both Zotac ZBox Nano-VD01 models are bring Gigabit Ethernet, 802.11 b/g/n WiFi, a 6-in-1 card reader, Bluetooth 3.0, USB 3.0 ports, HDMI and DisplayPort outputs.

Read more

JVC GY-HMZ1 3D Full HD ProHD Camcorder has been announced in April in Europe, today this ultra-portable 3D camcorder has finally released the GY-HMZ1 3D Complete HD ProHD camcorder in the Japanese marketplace. The JVC GY-HMZ1 camcorder switches between 2D and 3D recording and can simultaneously record each left and right image in full 1920×1080 resolution, to non-proprietary SDHC or SDXC media cards or to the camera’s built-in 80GB internal memory. It captures and records image with 24p at 34Mbps (AVCHD) of GT Lens, large internal space at 80GB, 3D Glasses-Free 3.5-inch LCD, XLR input, BSI CMOS, and the most impressive 5 times zooming for 3D format while 2D in 10 times zooming.

Read more

Canon has a couple new cameras announced include the PowerShot S100 and the PowerShot SX40 HS.
The PowerShot S100 coming as the successor of the highly-regarded S95, while the latter is a super-zoom with a 35x lens. Both hit at respectable price points and bring impressive new features including the DiGiC 5 processor that promises better low capture, improved color accuracy and even less digital noise
The S100 is a slim compact camera and is said to mark a true step forward for the PowerShot S-series. It features a 24mm ultra-wide angle, 5.0x optical zoom lens; Canon’s Intelligent Image Stabilizer, GPS functionality for geotagging, full HD 1080p movie recording, HDMI output, and a large 3″ LCD display.

Read more

Ricoh has just introduced the Ricoh GR Digital IV, the successor model to the GR DIGITAL III. The camera comes with a hybrid autofocus system that combines an external auto focus with a conventional contrast autofocus system. The camera also becomes the first camera to use the ‘WhiteMagic’ RGBW 1.23M dot LCD. Moreover, the inclusion of Dynamic Range Compensation makes it possible to shoot subjects in backlit or high-contrast scenes in the way the eye sees them, and Interval Composite, which can combine images shot at a certain shooting interval, advances the camera’s expressive capabilities.

Read more

Casio just have unveiled their new Exilim EX-ZR15 compact camera which provides quick start-up times and minimising the power-on. Most DSLRs don’t have the problem of start up times but when it comes to digital compact cameras, depending on the model you get, start up times can sometimes cause you to miss out on a great shot. The Exilim EX-ZR15 starts up and is ready for clicking in under a second, 0.99 seconds to be precise. It also claims to have an autofocus time of just 0.13 seconds, which is pretty darn fast for a compact camera. The Exilim EX-ZR15 features 7X optical zoom lens, a 3� LCD and a 14MP sensor. The camera measures 101.9 × 58.7 × 27.4mm and weighs 176 grams with battery and memory card.

Read more