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The WFT-E5A for the EOS 7D is one of three new Canon SLR accessories that brings new wireless photo transfer and remote control abilities to Canon SLRs.

(Credit: Canon USA)

Canon on Thursday announced three new wireless photo transfer accessories for its higher-end digital SLR models, adding the ability to simultaneously shoot with 10 linked cameras and other new features.

The wireless file transmitter devices, which mount to the SLR camera bodies, are the WFT-E2 II A, available this quarter for the EOS-1D Mark IV; the WFT-E4 II A, available now for the EOS 5D Mark II; and the WFT-E5A, available now for the EOS 7D. Each transmitter costs $700--more than an entire lower-end SLR and lens--but provides a variety of options to connect devices to the cameras and to link them to the outside world over a network.

One new feature is called Camera Linking, which lets up to 10 cameras take the same shot, which can be useful for capturing the same moment from different perspectives. Seen advertisements where it looks like the ... Read the full post at CNET's CES 2010 blog

Sony liberates its cameras and camcorders from Memory Stick Duo.

(Credit: Sony Electronics)

It's the end of the world as we know it, and I feel fine: Sony is not only branding its own line of SD cards, but also most of its point-and-shoot cameras and camcorders for 2010 actually have combo slots that can take SD cards in addition to Sony's hopefully-dying-soon Memory Stick Duo cards. The company's dSLRs have long been SD- and CompactFlash-friendly.

For the purposes of digital cameras and camcorders, Memory Stick has always been more expensive yet slower than its SD competitors. Though we long ago resigned ourselves to the knowledge that buying Sony meant buying Memory Stick, we still get e-mails from readers complaining that we fail to highlight the need for Memory Stick Duo as a "con" in our reviews.

And that's just the tip of the dying-media iceberg. Long in a similar position, Olympus has also added SD support to its snapshot cameras, which have been hobbled by proprietary xD-Picture Cards. While Sony ... Read the full post at CNET's CES 2010 blog

(Credit: Samsung)

LAS VEGAS--Samsung's wisely been addressing improvements to the shooting experience through design. With the CL80 and TL240, for example, the bottom of the camera has a 7-degree tilt to it so that the camera angles up when placed on a flat surface. That little bit of an angle makes it much easier to get good self and group portraits.

Both models also have shutter buttons that are angled forward making it more comfortable and natural to hold and shoot.

Typical of Samsung's midrange and high-end point-and-shoots, these cameras are feature laden. Both cameras are 14 megapixels, have 7x optical zoom, optical image stabilization, 720p HD-quality movie capture at 30fps (H.264 format), built-in HDMI connectivity, and just about all the auto shooting features you could want. The TL240 has a 3.5-inch touch-panel display while the CL80 has a 3.7-inch AMOLED touch panel.

The CL80 also has built-in Wi-Fi for direct uploads to sharing sites or sending to e-mail addresses;DLNA is supported; and Bluetooth 2.0 for wireless photo ... Read the full post at CNET's CES 2010 blog

(Credit: Sony Electronics)

LAS VEGAS--Sony's already overcrowded dSLR product line--the company offers six dSLRs under $1,000 if you include the now fire-sale-priced A700--gets another middle sibling in the Alpha DSLR-A450. This model will be available in the US, however. Also, Sony didn't announce pricing, but there's not a lot of room to squeeze between the $699 A380 and the $749 A500.

The A450 seems to be a stripped-down version of the A550, mostly with the same everything except a smaller 2.7-inch, nontilting LCD and possibly no Fast AF in Live View.

EF 70-200mm f2.8L IS II USM

(Credit: Canon)

Canon today announced the EF 70-200mm f2.8L IS II USM lens, a successor to its EF 70-200mm f2.8L IS USM lens that was launched in 2008. The pro-grade 70-200mm f2.8 lens has long been a go-to lens for professional shooters. This newest version offers improvements on an already solid design including a redesigned optical system and a closer minimum focusing distance.

It is fully weatherproof. The mount, focus mode switch, and focusing ring are completely dust-proof and drip-proof. The lens is designed and built to withstand the rigors of everyday use by professional photographers.

The Canon 70-200mm f2.8L IS II USM lens features a redesigned optical system with an added fluorite lens element along with five ultralow dispersion (UD) lens elements to reduce chromatic aberrations and to maintain high-contrast images from corner to corner. To add to its flexibility, the lens has a reduced minimum focusing distance of 3.9 feet, a big improvement over the 4.6 feet of its predecessor. ... Read the full post at CNET's CES 2010 blog

Lexar's new 32GB card can transfer data at 300X rates, or 45MB per second.

(Credit: Lexar)

Lexar said Tuesday it's increased the capacity of its midrange professional CompactFlash memory cards with a 300X transfer speed to 32GB.

Lexar, which competes chiefly with Sandisk for the attentions of photographers who need both high capacity and high transfer speeds, has been fleshing out its CF cards that can transfer data faster by virtue of the UDMA (Ultra Direct Memory Access) interface technology. Lexar already announced in October a 32GB card and a transfer speed of 600X (90MBps), but the 300X (45MBps) card should do fine for those who don't need quite that data transfer speed.

Lexar didn't announce pricing, but I found the 300X 32GB card at B&H Photo for $168. The company also announced two other professional-grade cards, 16GB and 32GB versions of its 233X (35MBps) models that you can expect will be a notch or two cheaper.

Sandisk is a step ahead of Lexar right now, offering a 64GB card with a 600X transfer speed. ... Read the full post at CNET's CES 2010 blog

(Credit: Eye-Fi)

Eye-Fi heads into the new decade with a completely rearchitected design for its Wi-Fi-enabled SD cards for digital cameras. The system, an integrated ASIC dubbed "Arcturus," powers the new Eye-Fi Pro X2 card, delivering higher capacities, theoretically better speed and power usage, and an overhauled software interface with more of a client-side focus. The Pro X2 builds on the feature set available in the currently shipping Pro card.

Most notably, the new $149.99 Pro X2 card, which inaugurates SDHC support with an 8GB capacity rated at Class 6 performance, moves up to 802.11n wireless from 802.11g; according to the company, this allows for a better range for the radio as well as a better power-consumption profile. Simultaneous with the release, the company is updating its currently rather clumsy Web-based Eye-Fi Manager software. The company says the replacement, Eye-Fi Center, will be an Adobe AIR app that allows for more interaction with local content, such as drag-and-drop folders for uploading files already on your system, as well sending content already uploaded ... Read the full post at CNET's CES 2010 blog

(Credit: Liquid Image)

From the makers of the Digital Underwater Camera Mask comes a new gizmo that lets adrenaline junkies capture their skiing adventures. Liquid Image will be showing off its new 335 Snow Camera Goggle at the upcoming Consumer Electronics Show in Vegas.

The shooter is part of the new Summit Series of ski masks with integrated cameras. The hands-free snapper has a 5-megapixel image sensor that's also capable of recording 720x480-pixel videos with audio. Controls are laid out on the right side of the snow goggles and are large to facilitate users wearing gloves. The eyewear has 16MB of internal memory which can be expanded via the microSD/SDHC card slot.

The 335 Snow Camera Goggle has an estimated retail price of $149 and should be showing up in June.

(Source: Crave Asia)

It's been 9 months since Samsung first displayed its interchangeable-lens camera under glass; though now officially announced, in preproduction, and slated for availability this spring, there still isn't a whole lot of information available. Unfortunately, that includes price, which is key for this segment. Also still unknown are any real details about shooting performance, such as burst rate and shutter speed range. Samsung's only claim about autofocus is that it's "fast and decisive."

The most significant potential downside is the proprietary new lens mount--the Samsung NX mount. That alone has disappointed the small but vocal legions of Pentaxians who've been counting on Samsung to deliver an interchangeable-lens model to support their lenses (a reasonable assumption, given Samsung's dSLR relationship with Pentax). Samsung really could have used the support of these fanboys; now it has no built-in boosters to help with marketing. Although there's a plan to supply a Pentax K-mount adapter, it won't support autofocus. At launch, Samsung plans to offer three NX mount lenses: an 18-55mm f3.5-5.6, 50-200mm f4-5.6, and 30mm pancake.