Crave

Sigma's DP1 camera

(Credit: Stephen Shankland/CNET Networks)

Each pixel in a Foveon sensor can detect red, green and blue light, a different approach compared to most "Bayer pattern" sensors that have a checkerboard of pixels that only capture a single color. The Foveon sensors have been used earlier in Sigma's SLR cameras.

The camera image has a resolution of 4.7 megapixels, but each pixel has all three colors; most cameras have only one color and extrapolate values for the others.

The DP1 also has a 2.5-inch display, a fixed 28mm lens, a hot shoe to mount an external flash and support for "raw" images taken directly from the sensor without in-camera processing.

The camera is due to ship this summer, Sigma said, but the company isn't releasing price details.

The smc Pentax-DA 35mm F/2.8 Macro Limited

(Credit: Stephen Shankland/CNET Networks)

The Japanese camera maker has released three such models, but it began showing a fourth here at the Photo Marketing Association trade show.

The new lens is a 35mm F/2.8 macro, said John Carlson, imaging systems product manager, in an interview here. He declined to offer details on price, availability date, or how closely the macro lens will be able to focus.

The diminutive lenses all are part of Pentax's high-end "Limited" lens line. Though small, they're not cheap: Current models cost between $450 and $600 apiece, he said.

Lenses are a key part of SLR (single-lens reflex) cameras, and Pentax is working to beef up its portfolio to compete with the two dominant companies in the market. "Canon and Nikon have a lot more lenses, but we're catching up," Carlson said.

Sony's new high-end amateur SLR, left

(Credit: Stephen Shankland/CNET Networks)

Sony's high-end SLR

(Credit: Stephen Shankland/CNET Networks)

Sony's super-telephoto and other new lenses

(Credit: Stephen Shankland/CNET Networks)

Sony telephoto lens prototypes

(Credit: Stephen Shankland/CNET Networks)

At a news conference Thursday, Sony described three of the lenses in some detail--a 24-70mm F/2.8, a 70-300mm F/4.5-5.6 and an 18-250mm F/3.5-6.3. But at its booth, it showed eight new models.

The models are a large-aperture standard zoom, a large-aperture wide-angle zoom, a super-telephoto zoom, a super-telephoto with a fixed focal length, a regular telephoto with a fixed focal length, a wide-angle with a fixed focal length, a regular telephoto zoom and a large-aperture wide-angle with a fixed focal length.

Sony only began selling its first SLR, the Alpha 100, last year. Sony also plans two higher-end SLRs, a model for high-end amateur photographers to arrive this year and a professional-level flagship model to arrive later.

The Japanese company showed both models at the show.

(Credit: NXP Software)

Photography's essential use of GPS differs from the typical GPS application in one significant way: You don't need it to tell you where you are, only where you've been. Why does this distinction matter? Because the former requires far more real-time horsepower and precision than the latter does. For digital photography, that translates into the difference between bulky, expensive power-draining solutions or small-footprint, cheap, energy-efficient ones.

The first product available using NXP's SnapSpot swGPS technology--Jobo AG's PhotoGPS, a $149 add-on that fits into a camera's hotshoe--will ship this summer. I'm just hoping that the execution works as well as the theory sounds.

LAS VEGAS--Maybe BetterLight's 384-megapixel Super 8K-HS scanning camera is just too wimpy for you.

The company's products are geared for professionals with demanding needs in areas such as landscape or catalog photography. The new Super 10K-HS, announced Thursday here at the Photo Marketing Association trade show, is intended in particular for reproducing artwork or museum artifacts such as scrolls.

BetterLight's 10K-HS camera back

(Credit: BetterLight)

Technically, BetterLight doesn't sell cameras, but rather camera "backs" that attach to high-end large-format cameras. The products are essentially scanners with a moving sensor element; taking a full-resolution photo takes a minimum of nearly two minutes. But you get a 794MB file that can provide 300 pixel-per-inch resolution for a poster measuring 34 by 45 inches, according to the company.

This kind of gear doesn't come cheap. The Super 10K-HS costs $22,995. The price difference compared to the $17,995 Super 8K-HS itself is larger than a high-end digital SLR such as Canon's new $4,000 EOS-1D Mark III.

Sigma's massive 200-500mm zoom

(Credit: Stephen Shankland/CNET Networks)

Squeezing all three into the same lens is tough, but Tokyo-based lens maker Sigma has done just that with a model with a 200-500mm zoom range. It's got a wide aperture, F/2.8, for taking higher-speed shots.

But there's a catch: the lens weighs 40 kilograms, or about 88 pounds.

The company is showing off a prototype here at the Photo Marketing Association trade show.

The mammoth lens, about three feet long, is a prototype but will go on sale, said Yousuke Yamazaki, a mechanical designer for Sigma. The lens has two motors, one for zoom and one for focusing. It also has a digital display that indicates the focal distance setting.

(Credit: Stephen Shankland/CNET Networks)

Olympus has been short on details other than to say the camera will ship this year. In addition, the company said the new model would be rugged and weatherproof for the demanding conditions of professional photographers.

The camera prototype was on display at the Photo Marketing Association trade show here. It featured a main camera body and a detachable grip for taking vertically oriented shots and--if other manufacturers' products are anything to go by--for housing more batteries.

Panasonic SDR-S10

Earlier, we reported on the Panasonic SDR-S10, an SD card camcorder the company claimed was the smallest on the market. Unfortunately, details were sparse. Fortunately, we finally got the full scoop on the little camcorder.

Panasonic officially announced the SDR-S10 at PMA 2007. The SDR-S10 is a compact, rugged, affordable SD card camcorder that can handle both drops and splashes. The S10 measures just 1.5 inches thick and weighs just 6.4 ounces, making it at least one of the smallest and lightest camcorders we've seen so far. It's shockproof for drops up to four feet, and resistant against rain, snow, splashes, and other moisture.

Of course, there's more to camcorders than how small they are and much abuse they can take. The S10's sensor resolution is less than one megapixel, though its sub-$400 pricing helps make up for that. It features a 44 to 444mm-equivalent 10x zoom lens, a 2.7-inch pivoting LCD screen, and can accept SDHC cards of up to 4 gigabytes, or about 100 minutes of footage at the highest quality setting.

Many inexpensive camcorders use SD and SDHC cards, including the Samsung SC-MX10 and SC-X300, and the Mustek DV570TZ and DV700TZ. The Panasonic SDR-S10 is the first rugged, weather-resistant SD camcorder we've seen, and one of the first to come with a 2GB SD card. The S10 ships in April with a suggested retail price of $400, SDcard included.

Cyber-shot DSC-G1

(Credit: Sony Electronics)

Wi-Fi? Pffft. Sony's late to the wireless photography party, but it bypasses the hot spot in favor of the connected home. Its Cyber-shot DSC-G1 integrates DLNA--Digital Living Network Alliance--wireless connectivity, a superset of Wi-Fi that adds interdevice recognition. So far, though, there aren't many DLNA-enabled devices.

Besides, with its 921,000-pixel, 3.5-inch LCD screen, the G1 is practically a TV (in contrast, the usual camera LCD has about 220,000 pixels). Two gigabytes of internal memory make it possible to carry your whole photo library around with you for display on that huge LCD.

Cyber-shot DSC-G1

(Credit: Sony Electronics)

The G1 looks pretty ordinary in all other respects: A 6-megapixel ultracompact with a relatively slow, narrow f/3.5-4.3 38mm-114mm 3X zoom lens. It does use Sony's SuperSteadyShot optical image stabilization, and offers a 640x480 30fps movie mode; interestingly, it does not use Sony's MPEG VX MPEG-2 recording, instead switching to MPEG-4.

Sony rates the G1's performance with a .24-second shutter lag and 1.1-second shot-to-shot time, which sounds pretty promising. The battery's CIPA-standard capacity is only 280 shots, probably thanks to that mammoth LCD.

All this beauty doesn't come cheap, however. When it ships in April, the Cyber-shot DSC-G1 will go for a pricey $600.