Crowded scene for new cameras

The new camera season is well underway with a series of releases from Canon, Olympus, Nikon, Ricoh, Olympus and Sony following last week’s big LUMIX launch by Panasonic. Most suppliers will have some or all of the new products on show at the PMA show in Anaheim later this month. For example, Fujifilm has announced that it will release 13 new point-and-shoot cameras at PMA while Olympus will showcase the first new zoom lenses for its PEN range. Other recent announcements include: Canon Canon Australia has announced its most powerful entry-level DSLR yet with the EOS 550D, positioned between the EOS 500D and 50D. “The EOS 550D the perfect stepping stone for those wishing to take their photography further and transition from compact shooting into DSLR photography,” said EOS brand manager Chris Macleod. Canon has also introduced three new slim cameras to add to its IXUS range - the IXUS 210 IS, IXUS 130 IS and IXUS 105 IS and the new PowerShot SX210 IS to its Super Zoom range. Nikon Nikon Australia has released seven additions to their COOLPIX range, all of which are equipped with Nikkor lenses and EXPEED processor. The new line-up includes one Performance Series camera, four Style Series cameras and two Life Series cameras. Olympus Olympus has rejoined the micro four thirds fray with its new PEN E-PL1 interchangeable lens digital camera, positioned as the entry-level model of the PEN series. Olympus also announced that the PT-EP01 underwater housing for the Olympus PEN E-PL1 will be released next month The PT-EP01 is claimed to be the world’s first underwater housing created for a micro four thirds system camera. Offering waterproof reliability to depths of up to 40 metres, the housing is said to be significantly lighter and more compact than conventional SLR camera underwater housings. Olympus has also launched its most powerful digital compact camera yet – the Mju Tough 8010 – also available from March. Ricoh Ricoh (via Tasco) has launched its latest model in the CX series with the new CX3, which features a back-illuminated CMOS sensor. Ricoh has also made an effort to increase shooting options with the addition of a 1280 x 720 pixel HD movie function. Sony Among Sony’s new offerings are a new Handycam camcorder range, new Cyber-shot models with a full HD movie feature and, as previously reported, the new bloggie mobile HD snap camera.