megazooms

Unless you follow Casio's camera developments closely you probably don't know what the company's Dynamic Photo feature is. Hell, there's a good chance that even if you know about it, you're not entirely sure what it does or why you'd want it. But Casio must be getting some kind of good feedback on it because they've added the feature to three more cameras.

The quick explanation is that the cameras--the EX-H15, EX-Z2000, and EX-Z550--are capable of creating a motion image from a burst of shots. The moving subject can then be clipped from … Read more

The Exilim EX-FH100 is very similar to 2009's FC100 in features, but out front is a 24mm-equivalent lens with a 10x zoom range. Essentially it's a marriage of the FC100 and Casio's H10. But that's not the whole story.

The FH100 features a high-speed back-illuminated 10.1-megapixel CMOS sensor (the FC100's wasn't backlit). The back illumination improves overall sensitivity, which should reduce noise levels in low-light photos. The speed of the sensor helps it shoot up to 30, 9-megapixel images at 40fps. It also enables up to 1,000fps high-speed movie recording, though at … Read more

Sure, you know what cameras you like reading about, but if you've been wondering what ones other CNET readers have spent the past year obsessing over, well, then, here you go.

Based on your clicks since January 1, 2009, the list is full of older models (shocking, I know), which have been reviewed and reside on one of our top products lists and holiday gift guide.

There were no real surprises, though I may have personally underestimated how much CNET readers love themselves some megazooms. Sub-$1,000 dSLRs fill the majority of the list, but one of my … Read more

If there weren't already three cameras available using the same wide-angle 26mm-equivalent lens with a 24x zoom, the announcement of the Samsung HZ25W would be a little more interesting. It doesn't seem to bring anything terribly new to the category either, making it an also-ran in a race of fairly mediocre cameras.

I'm not saying Samsung's entry isn't worth considering, just that it's more than fashionably late and brought the same bag of pretzels to the party that Nikon, Kodak, and Pentax did. Hell, Samsung even brought the same brand as Kodak by using … Read more

Yes, there was great disappointment that no new digital SLRs were announced by Canon on Wednesday--only PowerShots. However, I was not one of the disappointed as I love point-and-shoot cameras of all shapes, sizes, and capabilities. And Canon delivered exactly that.

Though the SX20 IS and SX120 IS are only minor upgrades to their predecessors, the G11, SD980 IS, and SD940 IS all have major tweaks separating them from their previous iterations.

What was probably supposed to be the big "oh wow" camera, however, was the reintroduction of the PowerShot S series in the form of the S90. Based off of the high-end functionality of the PowerShot G-series cameras, it has several cool features including a 28mm-equivalent wide-angle f/2.0 lens with a 3.8x optical zoom, a customizable control ring around the lens for easy access and operation of manual or other shooting settings, and RAW+JPEG capture--all in a body that can fit right in your pocket.

Read more about the cameras and check out some hands-on photos in the slide shows below.

Lastly, in case you're more into camcorders than cameras, Canon announced one new HD model, the HF S11.

… Read more

Panasonic overhauls the insides of its popular FZ28 megazoom with the Lumix DMC-FZ35: higher resolution, improved optical image stabilizer, faster AF, and a new movie codec.

In addition to the same 1/2.33-inch 12-megapixel sensor found in models launched this spring, such as the TS1, the camera uses the new Power OIS, optimized for low-frequency handshake, which, according to Panasonic, adds 2 stops of shake reduction and is most effective in low light. There's also a new high-speed AF system that is twice as fast as the old, according to the company. The lens is the same 18x … Read more

Every round of releases from Panasonic's digital camera division gets more interesting. Case in point, the very compact 12-megapixel Lumix ZR1 features a 25-200mm-equivalent lens with an 8x zoom. The extended zoom is courtesy of a new aspherical lens design for digital cameras that makes the elements just 0.3-millimeter thick. This allows for a 1-inch body depth and a weight of 5.6 ounces with battery and SD/SDHC card.

According to Panasonic, the camera is very fast because of a revamped high-speed auto focus system and a start-up time of only 1.1 seconds (very good for … Read more

Fujifilm and Olympus have separately announced several new cameras. All of the new models are previewed below.

Fujifilm brings EXR sensor to its megazoom line The replacement for the FinePix S100FS has the same lens but incorporates Fujifilm's latest version of its Super CCD. (Posted in Crave by Lori Grunin) July 21, 2009 9:01 PM PDT

Fujifilm FinePix F70EXR: Souped-up pocket megazoom is mode-alicious The 10x zoom FinePix F70EXR gets new shooting features thanks to its Super CCD EXR sensor. (Posted in Crave by Joshua Goldman) July 21, 2009 9:01 PM PDT

Fujifilm rolls out four tiny cameras with tiny prices … Read more

A bit lighter, a bit smaller, and with an improved sensor, the Fujifilm S200EXR replaces the S100FS at the top of the company's megazoom line. Though it uses the same lens as its predecessor--the effective focal lengths differ because of the differences in sensor size--the new model incoporates Fujifilms latest generation of sensor, dubbed Super CCD EXR, which debuted in the F200EXR. (The S200EXR has the same sensor-related features, such as High Resolution Priority, D-Range Priority, High ISO & Low Noise Priority, and Auto EXR modes, which you can read about in the F200EXR review.)

Here's how it … Read more