Imaging Resource have just reviewed the 15x zoom Sony Cyber Shot DSC-H9 digital camera.

“Surprisingly compact and lightweight, considering its powerful zoom, the Sony H9 is styled to mimic the look and feel of a digital SLR. The grip is sufficiently large for a sturdy and comfortable handhold. The body is made of plastic of course, and while it’s not as sturdy as a digital SLR, it doesn’t feel fragile. Granted, the camera is obviously too large to tote around in a pocket but I was able to stow it in a medium-sized handbag when taking it out and about.”

Imaging Resource - Sony Cyber Shot DSC-H9 Review

ePhotoZine have reviewed the Casio EX-Z75, which features a 7.2 megapixel sensor, Anti-Shake DSP mode and other advanced functions.

“Measuring a scant 16.2mm at it’s thinnest point, the Casio is a thin camera. Unfortunately, the camera is quite unstable when stood on its own and can fall over easily which is not a good thing for your shiny screen. It is made from metal which is always a good thing. It is heavy and solid and looks well built. Movement of the lens is quiet and smooth and if it wasn’t for the immense size of the menus, it would be easy to navigate and quick to move around in.”

Website: ePhotoZine - Casio EX-Z75 Review

CNET have reviewed the Casio Z1200, a 12.1 megapixel compact camera featuring a a 1/1.7 inch CCD sensor with shift anti-shake mechanism and a 2.8 inch LCD screen.

“Of all of the Z1200’s major features, its lens is the least impressive; the 37mm-to-111mm-equivalent lens offers a mere 3x zoom and a relatively narrow wide angle. A wider angle or stronger telephoto lens would have been a nice touch. The camera also falls short in terms of sensitivity; while most point-and-shoots can reach ISO 800 or ISO 1600 levels, the Z1200 tops out at ISO 400, limiting your options when taking low-light or high-speed shots.”

Website: CNET - Casio Z1200 Review

Jaacx Distributors will distribute GE-branded digital cameras in Latin America. “The contract with Jaacx came about very quickly,” said Rene Buhay, General Imaging vice president of sales, North America. “As a result, Latin American consumers will be able to see the excellent quality and superior features of the GE cameras this summer.” General Imaging unveiled eight GE-branded cameras on March 8 in Las Vegas during PMA 07.

Imaging Resource have reviewed the Nikon Coolpix P5000 camera, which offers 10 megapixels, 3.5x zoom lens (36-126mm), Vibration Reduction to combat camera shake, ISO 3200 capability and a 2.5 inch LCD screen.

“The attractive and capable P5000 may rub you the wrong way when it comes to shutter lag, shot to shot speed and high ISO noise. But because it’s a camera you can control, it provides ways to improve autofocus and reduce shutter lag and smooth out high ISO images. That takes a little more engagement with the camera than many digicams require, but that’s not always a bad thing.”

Website: Imaging Resource - Nikon Coolpix P5000 Review

ePhotoZine have reviewed the new Sony T100 camera, which has a 5x optical zoom lens and 3-inch LCD screen, with red, black and silver colours available.

“Predictably, ISO80 gives good results with no noise and good detail to the petals as does ISO100. ISO200 shows a minor amount of noise and the colour of the petals is starting to saturate with ISO400 having distinct noise and the petals a brighter orange than the lower ratings. ISO800 shows more colour, but still displays detail in the petal and I would expect to see more noise than this in the image. At ISO1600 the image starts to drop off in quality with noise taking over and the petals paling out whilst the noise at ISO3200 breaks the straight lines of the grey card down so they are fuzzy.”

Website: ePhotoZine - Sony DSC-T100 Review

Website: Read our Sony Cyber-shot DSC T100 Review

TrustedReviews have reviewed the new Canon IXUS 950 IS (also known as the SD850 IS), an 8 megapixel digital camera with 4x zoom, image stabilized lens equivalent to 35-140mm.

“As usual with Canon cameras the AF system is extremely fast, in fact it’s one of the fastest AF systems I’ve ever seen on a compact camera, locking on in under half a second, and sometime much quicker. Even in low light it focuses quickly, or at least lets you know quickly if it can’t focus. The bright AF assist lamp means that doesn’t happen very often though, and I found no problem focusing at night at ranges of several metres.”

Website: TrustedReviews - Canon IXUS 950 IS Review

Website: Read our Canon Digital IXUS 950 IS Review

After yesterday’s announcement by Canon that they were to invest heavily in CMOS sensors, Sony have also revealed very similar plans. Except that the Sony release is dated 6th June, which technically means that Canon are following Sony’s lead, but anyway, I digress. Sony are investing 60 billion Yen during the next 3 years “to strengthen its CMOS sensor manufacturing operations to provide growth markets such as mobile phones and digital still cameras with CMOS sensors”. All of this probably means that CMOS sensors will gradually replace CCDs in compact digicams, and hopefully improve the overall image quality (fingers crossed).

DigitalCameraInfo have reviewed the Nikon Coolpix S500, a 7.1 megapixel camera with a 3x zoom lens (35-105mm), Vibration Reduction to combat camera shake, ISO 2000 capability, 2.5 inch monitor and One-touch portrait button.

“The Nikon Coolpix S500 retails for $299 which is right in the range of where it should be as a slim and sturdy point-and-shoot digital camera. This model was released alongside the Nikon S200, which was targeted to be the more budget-oriented camera. It costs $50 less and its features are worth at least that much less. Between the two cameras, I’d still go for the S500 mostly because of the optical image stabilization and much better LCD resolution. However, don’t expect too much in terms of image quality from the S500; noise levels up to ISO 800 are acceptable, but the S500’s dynamic range, color accuracy, and video performance are disappointing.”

Website: DigitalCameraInfo - Nikon Coolpix S500 Review

DCResource have reviewed the Nikon Coolpix P5000 camera, which offers 10 megapixels, 3.5x zoom lens (36-126mm), Vibration Reduction to combat camera shake, ISO 3200 capability and a 2.5 inch LCD screen.

“The Nikon Coolpix P5000 is a good compact camera that had a few too many corners cut, in my opinion. It offers a lot of features for both beginners and enthusiasts, but at the same time it’s lacking features that would make it a true D-SLR companion. Throw in a movie mode bug and a totally bizarre noise (and not the photo kind) in record mode and you’ve got a camera that I’m not jumping up and down about. It’s worth a look, but if you’re expecting a compact D-SLR, you might want to lower your expectations.”

Website: DCResource - Nikon Coolpix P5000 Review

DPReview have reviewed the Sony Cyber-shot DSC-H7, a new addition to Sony’s range of ultra-zoom compact digital cameras offering 8 megapixels, 15x optical stabilized zoom lenses, ISO 3200, face-detection and HDTV output.

”...if you want a genuinely affordable big zoom camera for snapping the family that you can leave on ‘full auto’ all the time - and you rarely print your pictures bigger than 6x4 inches - the H7 is (at as little as $350 online) certainly worth a closer look.”

Website: DPReview - Sony Cyber-shot DSC-H7 Review

The Fujifilm F47fd is the latest in Fujifilm’s range of advanced compact digital cameras. Exclusive to Dixons in the UK, the Fujifilm F47fd is essentially the same as the F40fd model, except for a slightly larger 9 megapixel sensor. The Fujifilm F47fd also Fujifilm’s proprietary Real Photo Processor II, Super CCD HR VI and hardware-based Face Detection, plus ISO 2000 sensitivity at full resolution and a 3.0x optical zoom lens. The Fujifilm F47fd is available now at Dixons for £179.89.

The Fujifilm F45fd digital camera is a new ocean-blue version of the F40fd. Produced exclusively in the UK for Argos, the Fujifilm F45fd shares exactly the same specification as its sister model, including ISO 2000 sensitivity at full 8.3 megapixel resolution, 3.0x optical zoom lens, Face Detection and 300 shot battery life. The Fujifilm F45fd is available now at Argos for £199.99.

The Fujifilm A825 is a new, charcoal grey version of the previously announced A820 model. Exclusive to Comet in the UK, the Fujifilm A825 has exactly the same specification as its sister model, including a Fujinon 4x optical zoom lens and ISO 800 sensitivity at full resolution. The A825 also features Fujifilm’s acclaimed Super CCD HR sensor and RP Processor. Comet are currently selling the new Fujifilm A825 for £89.99.

Reuters are reporting that Canon are investing 55 billion yen / $451 million in a new Japanese factory to double its production of image sensors. More interestingly, the new factory will apparently be making CMOS chips for both Canon’s DSLR and compact camera ranges. “The CMOS chips will be used in both single lens reflex (SLR) models as well as in some compact models. Canon’s compact cameras have to date used a different type of image sensor called a charge-coupled device (CCD)” commented Reuters. Up to now the company have exclusively used CCD sensors for their compacts and CMOS for their DSLRs. This could mean an increase in image quality if Canon chooses to use larger CMOS sensors in its compacts, plus the decision will directly affect Sony, who currently supply CCD sensors to Canon.

Website: Reuters - Canon to build $451 mln factory for key camera part

Nikon are offering a £50 cashback in the UK and €75 in Eire on the Coolpix S500, a 7.1 megapixel camera with a 3x zoom lens (35-105mm), Vibration Reduction to combat camera shake, ISO 2000 capability, 2.5 inch monitor and One-touch portrait button. The offer is valid for purchases made between 13th July and 30th July 2007. Closing date for application is 31st August 2007.

ePhotoZine have reviewed the Ricoh GX100 digital camera, which features a 10.01 megapixel CCD, fast 24-72mm wide zoom lens and a removable electronic view?nder.

“Upon opening the box of the GX100, I was amused to discover a camera that looked like it had been designed by someone using Sticklebricks. However, that amusement was short lived as the camera grows on you like fungus on an old tree.”

Website: ePhotoZine - Ricoh GX100 Review

Website: Read our Ricoh GX100 Review

DCResource have reviewed the new Canon S5 IS ultra-zoom compact camera, which features a 12x optical zoom lens equivalent to 36-432mm, optical image stabilizer and 8 megapixel sensor.

“The PowerShot S5’s image quality is some of the best you’ll find on an ultra zoom. The camera takes well-exposed, colorful photos with just the right amount of sharpness. At lower ISO settings, images have an almost D-SLR-like “smooth” appearance to them. Noise doesn’t become a problem until ISO 400 in good light, and ISO 200 in low light. ISO 800 is usable (in good light) if you use noise reduction software, but you might as well forget about using ISO 1600.”

Website: DCResource - Canon S5 IS Review

Website: Read our Canon PowerShot S5 IS Review

Megapixel.net have reviewed the Panasonic DMC-FX30, the world’s slimmest digital camera with a 28mm wide-angle lens.

“The Panasonic DMC-FX30 is a camera that produces mixed reactions. It allows capturing fleeting moments thanks to a fast auto focus and a negligible shutter delay. The images the camera yields have an excellent colour rendition, exposures turn out perfectly without any particular effort on the part of the photographer, and images print very well. At the same time, this is a camera that is clearly sensitive to noise, yielding its best results when given plenty of bright light and when the photographer tries to avoid framing shots that contain numerous shadow areas.”

Website: Megapixel.net - Panasonic DMC-FX30 Review

The Ricoh RR750 is an entry-level 7.16 megapixel digital camera with 2.5 inch LCD screen and 3x optical zoom lens. The new RR750 replaces the Caplio RR730 model, offering a higher resolution LCD screen and greater lens resolution. So far the Ricoh RR750 has only been announced in Japan. The Ricoh RR750 will be available at the end of July 2007 in the UK at £99.99 including VAT.