D&H Distributing will distribute GE Cameras to photographic retailers, resellers and consumer electronics dealers throughout the United States. Cameras should be available to resellers by mid-May. General Imaging unveiled eight GE-branded cameras on March 8 during PMA 07.

CameraLabs have reviewed the Panasonic DMC-TZ3 camera, which fits a 10x optical zoom, 7.2 megapixels and 3 inch LCD screen into a compact, stylish body.

“Panasonic has improved on the earlier TZ1 though by equipping the new TZ3 with genuine wide angle capabilities, and what you lose at the long end is more than made up for what you gain at the short. Considering the constraints the optics have to work in, they’re also remarkably good. Geometric distortion and light fall-off are kept to a respectable minimum, while coloured fringing is virtually non-existent.”

Website: CameraLabs - Panasonic Lumix DMC-TZ3 Review

Website: Read our Panasonic Lumix DMC-TZ3 Review

DigiCamReview have reviewed the new Fujifilm FinePix F40fd camera, which offers 8.3 megapixels, 3x zoom lens, 300 shot battery life, Face Detection technology and support for both xD-Picture Card and SD card formats.

“Thanks to Fujifilm’s unique Super CCD sensor, the Fujifilm FinePix F40fd has low noise upto ISO800. ISO1600 produces acceptable results, however, detail is lacking and ISO2000 is probably best left unused unless absolutely necessary (ISO2000 is only available in one of the natural light / anti-blur modes).”

Website: DigiCamReview - Fujifilm FinePix F40fd Review

DigitalCameraInfo have reviewed the new Olympus SP-550 UZ. This is the first digital camera to offer an 18x optical zoom lens, equivalent to 28-504mm.

“Olympus throws in a lot of gimmicks that make this ultra-zoom model look even better: a 15 fps burst mode, ISO settings up to 5000, and a pre-capture mode that snaps pictures before you push the shutter release button. However, all of these features are so flawed that they are hardly worth using.”

Website: DigitalCameraInfo - Olympus SP-550 UZ Review

Website: Read our Olympus SP-550 UZ Review

DCResource have reviewed the Canon A570 IS compact digital camera, which offers a 7.1 megapixel sensor, 4x optical zoom lens, Face Detection Technology and Red-Eye Correction, plus an Optical Image Stabilizer to combat camera shake and full manual control.

“I’ve long been a fan of Canon’s PowerShot series, and here’s why. They offer features (like manual controls and conversion lens support) normally found on cameras costing hundreds more. They are also use AA batteries, are quick performers, and take high quality photos. The PowerShot A570 IS continues this tradition, and adds a very handy feature: optical image stabilization. With a street price hovering around $225, there’s no arguing about the A570’s value—you get a lot of bang for the buck. All these things make it an easy camera to recommend.”

Website: DCResource - Canon A570 IS Review

Imaging Resource have reviewed the Canon Powershot SD1000 camera (called the Digital IXUS 70 in Europe), which is Canon’s slimmest optical zoom camera.

“Face Detection (FD) is quickly becoming a standard feature, and Canon has one of the most responsive and accurate FD technologies I’ve worked with to date. The SD1000 is equipped with Canon’s latest FD technology that not only recognizes multiple faces and helps ensure accurate focus and exposure of subjects. It also analyzes and adjusts flash output according to shooting conditions.”

Website: Imaging Resource - Canon Powershot SD1000 Review

Website: Read our Canon Powershot SD1000 Review

Steves Digicams have reviewed the Canon PowerShot SD750 digital camera (also known as the IXUS 75) which has a metallic finish, 3x zoom lens and 3 inch LCD screen.

“The overall image quality was very good for a 7-megapixel model. We used the highest quality setting available (Large SuperFine), and when doing so, the SD750 captured nice images. I did not see much CA (chromatic aberrations, aka purple fringing) on the edges and color saturation was good. Its 3x optical zoom lens offers a typical range of 35 - 105mm (35mm equivalent), and helped the camera produce sharp images throughout the zoom range. I did observe moderate barrel distortion and pincushioning at the wide angle and telephoto extremes, respectively.”

Website: Steves Digicams - Canon PowerShot SD750 Review

The new Canon S5 IS ultra-zoom compact camera features a 12x optical zoom lens equivalent to 36-432mm, optical image stabilizer and 8 megapixel sensor. The Canon S5 replaces the S3 model, adding face detection technology, flash hot shoe compatible with some Canon EX Speedlite external flashes, and an increased sensitivity range of ISO 80-1600. The Canon S5 IS will be available from early June, priced at £409 / €601 RRP inc. VAT.

The new Canon IXUS 950 IS (also known as the SD850 IS) is an 8 megapixel digital camera with 4x zoom, image stabilized lens equivalent to 35-140mm. The Canon 950 IS / SD850 IS replaces the Digital IXUS 800 IS / SD700, adding faster processing, advanced Noise Reduction, Face Detection technology and Red-Eye Correction. The Canon 950 IS will be available at the end of May, priced at £329 / €484 RRP inc. VAT.

Photoxels have reviewed the new Olympus SP-550 UZ. This is the first digital camera to offer an 18x optical zoom lens, equivalent to 28-504mm.

“The Olympus SP-550 UZ shakes up the ultra zoom category with an 18x optical zoom that starts at a beautiful 28mm wide-angle coverage to the longest telephoto available so far at 504mm. No longer playing catch up to its competitors, the SP-550 UZ now includes CCD-shift image stabilization to help eliminate camera shake when using long focal lengths.”

Website: Photoxels - Olympus SP-550 UZ Review

Website: Read our Olympus SP-550 UZ Review

DPReview have reviewed the Casio EX-V7, the world’s slimmest digital camera with a 7X optical zoom lens (equivalent to 38-266mm on a 35mm film camera).

“The Casio EX-V7 is one of the those cameras that works better on paper than it does ‘in the flesh’. The combination of ultra-compact design, 7x zoom, mechanical stabilization and rich feature set is an alluring one, and one that makes the EX-V7 one of the most powerful ‘pocket cameras’ we’ve seen to date - a real case of ‘having your cake a eating it’. Like I said: on paper.”

Website: DPReview - Casio EX-V7 Review

Website: Read our Casio EX-V7 Review

DigiCamReview have reviewed the 7.1 megapixel Canon PowerShot A550, which has a 2 inch LCD screen, and 4x zoom lens.

“The sensor, electronics and optics used by Canon can produce good images. However, best results are achieved by tweaking the exposure compensation and white balance in manual mode. Exposure compensation is also available in the scene modes, but not in auto mode (which tends to produce overexposed images). Colours are rich and in a very wide range of situations the camera will take sharp, detailed pictures.”

Website: DigiCamReview - Canon PowerShot A550 Review

Ricoh have released a new firmware update, v1.12, for the Ricoh GX100 digital camera.

Modified the following phenomena.
• If you register the Aperture priority mode (A mode) in the [My setting 2], a shutter speed will be fixed.
• With your setting the [SEQUENTIAL NO.] is ON, after a file number reached to “9999”, the “File Number Over” message will appear and you will not able to take a picture any more.

Website: Ricoh GX100 1.12 Firmware Update

CNET Asia have the first online review of the new Sony G1, a 6 megapixel camera with a 3.5 inch LCD screen with 921,000 pixels, 2Gb of built-in memory, 3x zoom lens, optical image stabilisation and peer-to-peer wireless connectivity.

“For a test of its image quality, we took the G1 out. The auto white balance did a good job; even in a tungsten-lit environment, it did fairly well, although, it’s a bit of a stinker that the G1 does not have manual white balance settings. We detected minimal purple fringing and a funny tendency for the story to enhance the green part of the color spectrum.”

Website: CNET Asia - Sony G1 Review

ePhotoZine have reviewed the Ricoh R6, which improves on the older R5 model by offering a larger 2.7 inch LCD screen, new face recognition mode, a slimmer body at just 20.6mm thick and 54Mb internal memory.

“Unusually this compact features an ISO64 mode, but equally unusually you can see noise in the grey card areas even at this setting. It’s more noticeable at ISO200 and becomes pronounced at ISO400. This is the critical setting as other compacts handle noise at ISO400 much better.”

Website: ePhotoZine - Ricoh R6 Review

Website: Read our Ricoh Caplio R6 Review

ThinkCamera have reviewed the Ricoh R6, which improves on the older R5 model by offering a larger 2.7 inch LCD screen, new face recognition mode, a slimmer body at just 20.6mm thick and 54Mb internal memory.

“In line with the rest of the specification though, the R6 delivers pretty good images. The lens provides a fairly sharp picture, though it does have some softening towards the very edges, particularly at wide angle. The quality isn’t bad considering the long zoom range though. Sadly it also suffers from chromatic aberrations (purple fringing) in areas of high contrast towards the edges of the picture - this can be very pronounced and makes the picture appear blurry.”

Website: ThinkCamera - Ricoh R6 Review

Website: Read our Ricoh Caplio R6 Review

CNET 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.

“The Sony Cyber-shot DSC-T100 demonstrates exactly what a good snapshot camera should be. Its slim form looks good and fits easily in the pocket, it includes some very useful features, and it shoots great photos at a fast clip. Its price may seem a bit steep, but you’ll get a lot of camera in a very small package.”

Website: CNET - Sony DSC-T100 Review

Website: Read our Sony Cyber-shot DSC T100 Review

Steves Digicams have reviewed the new Fujifilm S9600 (called the FinePix S9100 in the USA), which is a 9 megapixel camera with a 10x zoom lens.

“The S9100 can also capture RAW images, but its performance suffers. In single shot mode, the S9100 could capture RAW shots at lethargic 6 second intervals, while continuous shooting mode can not shoot RAW at all. Fuji’s software support of RAW images is also disappointing. The supplied Fuji FinePixViewer software only allows you to view RAF image files and save them as TIFF files for later processing by an image editor. In addition the RAF files are enormous at just under 19 megabytes each, exceeded in size only by the 52 megabyte TIFF files saved by FinePixViewer”

Website: Steves Digicams - Fujifilm FinePix S9100 Review

Latest Prices / User Reviews

DIWA member LetsGoDigital have reviewed the Canon A570 IS compact digital camera, which offers a 7.1 megapixel sensor, 4x optical zoom lens, Face Detection Technology and Red-Eye Correction, plus an Optical Image Stabilizer to combat camera shake and full manual control.

“he image quality of the Canon PowerShot A570 IS camera is great. The colours are saturated and appear natural. The saturation is a bit strong for my taste, but that is a personal preference. The Canon PowerShot A570 IS may not perform perfectly in extreme artificial lighting, but a simple white balance correction will resolve this problem immediately. The images are rich in detail, and even very high contrast situations are no problem.”

Website: LetsGoDigital - Canon A570 IS Review

Imaging Resource 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.

“I’m a sucker for high ISO shooting, and just couldn’t resist one night as I wandered around North Beach taking a few shots at ISO 1,600 and 3,200 at the full 1,920 x 1,080 pixels of a 16:9 image size. Color was dead on. Detail left something to be desired, and you could detect noise when enlarged. But I was happy with the shots. They captured a scene I otherwise would not have been able to shoot.”

Website: Imaging Resource - Sony DSC-T100 Review

Website: Read our Sony Cyber-shot DSC T100 Review