Gizmodo: photokina2006

Pentax Shows X-Change Hybrid Digital SLR Concept at Photokina 2006

Charlie White — Mon, 02 Oct 2006 13:54:03 EDT

Pentax refined one of its earlier concepts at Photokina 2006 with its X-Change camera, a project started way back in 2002. The idea combines the best of both the digital SLR and compact camera worlds, with interchangeable lenses packing integrated CCD image sensors inside.

As soon as this technology can be perfected, you might not need a huge camera bag any more if you want to take along a highly-capable digital SLR with interchangeable lenses. Cramming CCDs into such a small space can't be cheap, nor can it be noise-free. Maybe that's why this concept is taking so long to bring to market. What do you think, commenters? Is it vaporware? – Charlie White

Pentax X-Change concept in the works [LetsGoDigital]

Sigma Intros SD14 DSLR With Foveon X3 Sensor

Charlie White — Tue, 26 Sep 2006 10:30:20 EDT

Photokina 2006 starts today, and as anticipated, the Sigma SD14 was officially announced, the DSLR with a 14.1-megapixel Foveon x3 inside. Foveon is a tricked-out sensor with a unique way of separating the three primary colors, bringing with it lots more resolution and color clarity.

Along for the ride are a 2.5-inch LCD viewscreen, five-point autofocusing and it can snap out three frames per second in its high-speed continuous shooting mode. Sigma didn't announce pricing on the SD14, but speculation has it running around $1000 for the body only.

Should give the comparably-priced Nikon D80 and the Canon EOS 400D/Digital Rebel XTi a run for their money. Come to think of it, up against the Foveon sensor, the old-skool chips inside those other cameras just look like old news. – Charlie White

Sigma SD14 [Digital Photography Blog]

Leica Intros Digilux 3, V-LUX1 and D-LUX 3 at Photokina 2006

Charlie White — Fri, 15 Sep 2006 11:04:24 EDT

Besides its big intro of the Leica M8, the company also rolled out three other retro-futuristic-looking cameras at Photokina in Cologne, starting off with the Digilux 3. It's the first all-digital Leica camera, and it's a DSLR with a mirror reflex system giving you through-the-lens shot composition. It also has image stabilization built into its Leica D Vario-Elmarit 2.8-3.5/14-50mm lens. Even though it's all-digital, it still has analog operating procedures such as an exposure ring and manual setting rings for aperture, zoom and focus on the lens. Looks like a highly effective blend of the old and the new.

Two more way-cool Leica cameras, after the jump.

Leica also rolled out its 10-megapixel V-LUX1 at Photokina 2006, a compact digital camera with an exceptionally long lens, zooming from 35mm to 420mm. It's got a 2-inch LCD viewscreen that tilts for your convenience, can shoot 848x480 (16:9) movies at 30fps, and also features image stabilization.

Then there is the Leica D-LUX 3, a 10-megapixel compact digital camera with a 28-112mm lens. It has an integrated picture stabilizer to help you keep that frame still when you're zoomed all the way into 112mm, and although it's a compact camera, it has pro-level controls, letting you go manual or automatic depending on the situation. It also has a nice, large 2.8 inch viewscreen, and is available in silver or black.

Digilux 3
V-LUX1
D-LUX 3
[Digital Photography Review]

Leica M8: Best of the Old and New

Charlie White — Fri, 15 Sep 2006 08:52:32 EDT

Leica goes a long way toward recapturing its glory days with the M8, which harkens to the time when the company's famed rangefinder, mirrored reflex system and fine lenses ruled the camera world. In fact, the M8 is the first digital iteration of Leica's M-series, and naturally, its combination of old-school metal body and digital technology takes advantage of every lens ever made by Leica since 1954.

The 10.3 megapixel shooter also brings a wide range of sensitivity, with a basic ISO 160 speed that maxes out at ISO 2500, giving you exceptional available light performance. The feature list is long for this luxo-sport Leica; it's packed with the best of both analog and digital worlds. This might be the most important release at Photokina 2006. You'll pay dearly for this Teutonic excellence, though, it's $4795 for the camera body only; the lenses ain't cheap, either. – Charlie White

Leica M8, Exclusive Preview [Digital Photography Review]

First Photos: Canon PowerShot G7

Charlie White — Thu, 14 Sep 2006 10:17:45 EDT

Here are the first pics to surface of the Canon PowerShot G7 which will be introduced at Photokina 2006 tomorrow. The 10.2-megapixel successor to the PowerShot G6 raises the bar with a 6x optical zoom and a faster Digic III processor. Canon has also improved the autofocus algorithms on this flagship camera; it's able to discern faces with its nine-point autofocus mode.

An unusual addition to its spec list is its ability to shoot higher-rez movies, raising the resolution to an nearly-HD-level 1024x768, albeit at just 15 frames per second in a 4x3 ratio rather than that coveted 16x9 of HD. Price will be around $600, and it will be available in October. – Charlie White

More pics after the jump!

Powershot G7 first pictures! [Digital Camera Latest, via The Gadget Blog] (Thanks, Colbert!)

BenQ Intros DC C540, and DC C740 Digital Cameras

Charlie White — Thu, 31 Aug 2006 09:41:34 EDT

With Photokina 2006 right around the corner, expect a plethora of camera announcements coming up, and here's a case in point: BenQ is rolling out a couple of compact digital cameras, the DC C540, and DC C740 (pictured above). Both have a 2.5-inch LCD finder, 3x optical zoom, Pentax lenses and image stabilization. The main difference between the two is the C540's 5-megapixel sensor compared to the 7-megapixel sensor of the C740.

Nothing special here, but you can be sure these two will be extremely low-priced cameras; pricing wasn't announced but to give you an idea, BenQ's 6-megapixel DC E600 is currently selling for around $120. – Charlie White

BenQ DC C540, BenQ DC C740 [Let'sGoDigital]

Sigma Teases Next Foveon Camera, the SD14 DSLR

Charlie White — Tue, 29 Aug 2006 11:24:20 EDT

Leading up to the gigantic photo fest known as Photokina 2006, Sigma teases us with tantalizing views of its next digital SLR, the SD14. The company is offering few details about the upcoming camera's debut, other than it will be rolled out on September 26, the first day of this year's Photokina.

If you're not familiar with Sigma, it's the company that developed the Foveon X3, whose newest iteration is now called the Full Color Capture Direct Image Sensor. First introduced in its SD9 digital SLR in 2002, the groundbreaking sensor uses a special layered-grid technology that separates the three primary colors, offering significantly higher resolution and color clarity.

It looks like the Sigma site is swamped right now, but keep trying and maybe you'll see the teaser animation that reminds us of the countdown hype from Nikon last month when promoting its D80. More details on this upcoming Sigma SD14 as we get them. – Charlie White

Sigma SD14 - coming soon [DP Review]