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Nokia N86

(Credit: Bonnie Cha/CNET)

Piggybacking the Nokia N97 announcement, the Finnish cell phone manufacturer announced on Wednesday that is has begun global shipments of the Nokia N86 8MP.

The N86 debuted at GSMA 2009 and is an 8-megapixel camera phone with advanced features, such as a mechanical shutter, variable aperture, and a dual-LED flash. The S60 device also has 8GB of internal memory in addition to a microSD expansion slot that can accept up to 16GB cards.

Other highlights include a 2.6-inch, scratch-resistant OLED display, stereo Bluetooth support, Wi-Fi, e-mail support, an FM transmitter, a 3.5 millimeter headphone jack, and video-out capabilities.

While it's being shipped worldwide, Nokia did not announce a specific North American version of the N86 at this time. For now, you can buy it unlocked for around $524.

Sony's new 24.8MP sensor could help make the relative newcomer to the SLR market become a force to be rekoned with.

(Credit: Sony)

In a surprise announcement that underscores how dedicated Sony has become to its digital camera division, the company says that it has developed a full-frame, 35mm-format 24.81-megapixel CMOS sensor. As if a high-rez, full-frame sensor isn't good enough, Sony says that the new sensor will be able to yield an impressive 6.3 frames per second. By contrast, Canon says its 21.1MP EOS 1Ds Mark III can shoot up to 5fps. The strange part about the new Sony sensor is that it only offers 12-bit output, while higher-end SLRs, such as Canon's 1Ds Mark III and Nikon's D3, already offer 14-bit output.

Further details remain murky, for the most part, though Sony did say that the sensor uses what they call a Column-Parallel A/D Conversion Technique, which means that each column of pixels on the sensor gets its own analog-to-digital converter. Sony says that this helps keep noise levels low, while allowing for faster A/D conversion, which likely contributes to the sensor's fast frame rate. However, Sony hasn't said whether this new sensor will be part of its Exmor line of sensors or if it will be included in the company's upcoming pro-level SLR, which was first announced at last year's PMA show. We will continue to try to dig up more information about the sensor while at the show and will provide an update if any new information comes to light.

Pentax's new 8MP Optio V10.

(Credit: Pentax)

With the first of the two cameras Pentax announced today, the company joins the club of manufacturers offering 12-megapixel compact cameras. The new Pentax Optio A40 will sport a 12MP CCD sensor, 3X optical 37-111mm equivalent f/2.8-5.4 zoom lens, and 2.5-inch 232,000-pixel LCD screen when it hits stores this month for about $300. It'll also include mechanical, sensor-shift image stabilization (Pentax calls it Shake Reduction), as well as ISO-boosting digital Shake Reduction, sensitivity of up to ISO 1,600 at full resolution and ISO 3,200 if you don't mind reducing the pixel count to 5MP.

At the same time, Pentax has announced the ultra-compact Optio V10, which marks the start of a new line for Pentax and includes an 8MP CCD sensor, 3X optical 36-105mm f/3.1-5.9 zoom lens, and a 3-inch 230,000-pixel LCD. It doesn't include sensor-shift Shake Reduction, but does have digital Shake Reduction, and sensitivity of up to ISO 3,200 at full resolution. The Optio V10 is expected to ship in November for about $250.

Since two compact cameras simply aren't enough for Pentax, they've also announced the versatile smc Pentax-DA 18-250mm f/3.5-6.3. The 14X optical zoom range makes it a nice single lens solution for Pentaxian SLR owners, though its slow aperture range will leave advanced shooters yearning for one of Pentax's fancier DA* lenses. At its price of $500 though, some advanced shooters might just grab one for simplicity's sake, since a lens like this one can make a vacation a lot simpler as long as you're not shooting in lots of low light situations.

Kodak's new EasyShare Z812 IS sports a long, 12X optical zoom lens.

(Credit: Kodak)

If you're a fan of Kodak, or a cryptologist, you shouldn't have any trouble figuring out that the company's new superzoom, called the Z812 IS, is an 8-megapixel camera with a 12X optical zoom lens and optical image stabilization. The name won't tell you that the camera has a 2.5-inch, 230,000-pixel LCD screen, or that the camera can capture MPEG-4 video, with stereo sound at up to 1,024x720 pixels and 30 frames per second. Kodak seizes on this last fact to say in its product literature that the Z812 IS can capture 720p video. The only problem is that the last time I checked, the generally accepted standard for 720p video is 1,280x720 pixels.

Of course, stretching the truth for marketing effect is nothing new, so let's look at some of the other features of the camera. Sensitivity reaches up to ISO 1,600 at full resolution, or ISO 3,200 if you drop the resolution to 2.2MP. To this camera's credit, it offers more controls than a lot of non-SLRs, including aperture- and shutter-priority, full manual exposure controls, and selectable five-zone autofocus. If control isn't your thing, Kodak includes the usual array of scene modes. It would've been nice if Kodak included a wider lens than this camera's 36mm-to-432mm, f/2.8-to-f/4.8 lens, but wide-angle superzooms aren't all that common anyway.

If you own an HDTV, then Kodak's optional EasyShare HDTV Dock might interest you. It comes with a remote control, so you can control image playback from your couch, and has an SD card slot and a USB jack so you can connect a thumbdrive and view the images on it, too. You should note, however, that the dock doesn't have an HDMI jack, so you'll have to live with a component video connection when viewing images and video from your Kodak camera. The EasyShare HDTV Dock is expected to cost about $100 when it hits stores this October, while the EasyShare Z812 IS should set you back about $300 when it hits stores this month.

Pentax's new 8-megapixel Optio E40.

(Credit: Pentax)

'Tis the season for compact camera introduction, and Pentax is getting in on the action with its new Optio E40 and M40 models. Both include 8-megapixel CCDs, face recognition, and Pentax's ISO-bump Digital Shake Reduction.

The Optio E40 slightly edges out its sibling lens-wise with its faster 3x optical, 38mm-to-113mm f/2.8-to-f/5.2 zoom lens, but its 2.4-inch LCD checks in with 110,000 pixels (40,000 fewer than the M40), and its autofocus system relies on three focus points as compared to the nine points found in the M40. The M40 also bests the E40 in terms of sensitivity. The M40 ranges from ISO 50 to ISO 1,600, but offers ISO 3,200 in its Digital Shake Reduction mode. The E40 offers ISO 80 to ISO 800, with a boost up to ISO 1,000 in its Digital Shake Reduction mode. If you're choosy about your power supply, take note that the E40 runs on AA batteries.

Pentax's new 8-megapixel Optio M40.

(Credit: Pentax)

The M40 is expected to hit stores in August for about $200, while the E40 will follow in September for about $150.

Samsung's new 8 megapixel L830.

(Credit: Samsung Camera)

Hours after they unleashed new models on Europe, Samsung has officially announced three new 8 megapixel still cameras for the US market--the L83T, L830, and the S85. All three include Samsung's new Successive Recording mode, which lets you pause and then resume while recording video. Most still cameras only let you start and stop while recording video, so you end up with many short clips if you want to stop the action for a short period of time.

The ultracompact L83T sports a 3X optical, 38mm-to-114mm (equivalent) zoom lens, 2.5-inch LCD, face detection, 14 scene modes, MPEG-4 video capture at up to 800x592 pixel resolution. The camera boasts sensitivity up to ISO 1,600 and includes what the company calls a Wise Shot mode which captures consecutive shots, one with flash and one with Samsung's Advanced Shake Reduction system (which boosts the ISO to combat shake) and then asks the user which one to keep. It also has a macro mode that focus down to 1 cm away from a subject and has a maximum shutter speed of 1/2000, which can come in handy when shooting so close.

The L830 also includes a 3x optical zoom lens and 2.5-inch LCD but tops out at a shutter speed of 1/1500 second. It has 9 scene modes and can also capture MPEG-4 video at up to 800x592 pixels.

The S85 tops out at 640x480 video, but pairs a 5x optical, 38mm-to-190mm (equivalent) zoom lens with its 2.5-inch LCD. It also includes the Wise Shot, 1/2000 sec. shutter speed, 14 scene modes, and face detection found in the L83T.

The L83T is slated to hit stores in mid August for about $279, while the L830 and S85 will both sell for about $229 and are expected to hit stores in September.