Fuji has posted six high-resolution sample photographs taken with the new Fujifilm X30 digital compact camera. Captured at low sensitivity settings (ISO100/21°, ISO125/22° and ISO200/24°), these Fujifilm X30 samples demonstrate the effects of some of the film simulation modes available on this camera including Astia, Provia, Velvia and "Classic Chrom." You can download the official Fujifilm X30 sample images from the website below.

Website: Fujifilm X30 Samples

Sony Asia Pacific has introduced a new digital camera that looks like a perfume bottle. The Sony Cyber-shot DSC-KW11 has a 1/2.3"-type, 19.2-megapixel Exmor RS CMOS imager, a 21mm (eq.) f/2 lens mounted on a 180-degree swivel to facilitate the capture of self-portraits, and a large high-definition, high-contrast, 3.3 Type OLED screen with approximately 1,299k dots. Key highlights include a Beauty Effect mode, Flick Touch Shutter, NFC, Wi-Fi and remote shooting via a compatible smartphone or tablet computer. The Cyber-shot DSC-KW11 comes in four colours (White, Pink, Green and Violet) and will be available in Asia Pacific from October 2014 onwards. Currently, there is no word on US/EU availability and pricing.

Casio has announced a new, Wi-Fi enabled digital compact camera with 10x optical zoom. The 16.1-megapixel Casio Exilim EX-ZR50 has a 1/2.3"-type CMOS sensor, an optically stabilised 25-250mm equivalent lens, a 5cm macro mode, a 921,000-dot, 3" rear display that tilts upward by up to 180°, and Full HD video recording capabilities. The camera will be available from 12 September 2014 at an estimated retail price of 40,000 yen (£235/$385).

Sigma has issued a firmware update for its dp2 Quattro large-sensor digital compact camera. According to the company, Version 1.01 incorporates the following fixes:

• It has corrected the phenomenon that details of subjects that have both similar color tones and contrast difference will be lost when images are recorded in JPEG format.
• It has reduced the longitudinal noise that appears occasionally when changing each adjustment value in the image correction process substantially during the development of RAW files in SIGMA Photo Pro Ver.6.

*Note: If your firmware has been updated to Ver.1.01 or later, it is not possible to develop RAW files in SIGMA Photo Pro released before Ver.6.0.5.. Please be sure to update it to SIGMA Photo Pro 6.0.5.

Website: Sigma Global Vision

Sony USA today expanded its product portfolio with two Cyber-shot models, both of which have been available in other markets for a while. The pocket-sized Sony Cyber-shot DSC-WX220 (read review) is extremely slim and compact, yet packs an 18.2 megapixel Exmor R CMOS sensor with 1080/60p movie recording capabilities, a 10x zoom lens bearing the prestigious 'G' designation, and an integrated Wi-Fi module. The entry-level Sony DSC-W810 features a 20.1MP CCD sensor and 6x optical zoom lens, and can shoot HD movies at 720p. For convenient movie shooting, there’s a dedicated movie button on the camera that instantly starts video recording without digging through menus. The new Sony Cyber-shot WX220 will be available in August in black and gold for about $200, and the new Cyber-shot W810 will be available in September in silver for about $100.

Building on the features of the PowerShot SX510 HS, the new PowerShot SX520 HS digital camera incorporates a 42x otical zoom with optical image stabilisation, a 16-megapixel CMOS imager, and a dedicated movie button that enables users to easily record 1080p Full HD videos. Upgraded from its predecessor, the PowerShot SX520 HS features Canon's Creative Shot mode that uses a combination of lighting, colour and composition from the original image to create unique, artistic images. The PowerShot SX520 HS digital camera will be available in September 2014 for an estimated retail price of £299.00/€359.00$399.99.

The Canon PowerShot SX400 IS is a CCD-based, 16-megapixel digital compact camera with 30x optical zoom and 720p movies. The camera has a Smart AUTO mode that identifies an ideal image setting by intelligently selecting from one of 32 pre-defined modes for still shots and 21 scenes for video, while the updated grip design improves handling comfort. The PowerShot SX400 IS digital camera's High Speed AF, also upgraded from the previous model, helps to reduce lag time so that the perfect shot can be captured quickly and with ease. The PowerShot SX400 IS digital camera will be available in August 2014 in black or red for an estimated retail price of £259.00/€315.00/$249.99.

Sony unveiled the world’s first offshore gallery on the Southwark Lake today to mark the official launch of two new high-zoom cameras – the HX60V (read review) and the HX400V (read review). The work of ‘Where’s Wally’ creator Martin Handford appeared to float on the London lake where passers-by were encouraged to try to find the hidden Wallys in the artwork using the high zoom cameras 20m away on the shore, with  the quickest entrant winning the painting and camera. “We wanted to bring a bit of fun to the park experience this summer so we have partnered up with ‘Where’s Wally’ creators to make the ultimate family treasure hunt," Claire Beard, Product Manager for DSC, Sony UK said. "With the world’s first offshore gallery we hope to create the most interesting Wally search to date. Park goers will need to use the 50x optical zoom of the new HX400V to unearth the king of hide and seek.”

Nikon has issued firmware updates for its Coolpix P340, Coolpix P530 (pictured) and Coolpix P600 digital compact cameras. Version 1.1 for all three Coolpix models addresses an issue that, in some rare cases, caused the camera to freeze when the camera was turned on while the shutter-release button was held down. You can download the firmware upgrades from the websites below.

Website: Nikon Coolpix P340

Website: Nikon Coolpix P530

Website: Nikon Coolpix P600

Ricoh has published eight high-resolution sample photos captured with the new Pentax XG-1 superzoom bridge camera. Taken by photographer Yoshiaki Kobayashi, these Pentax XG-1 samples were shot at a variety of focal lengths ranging from 4.3mm (24mm eq.) to 188.8mm (1053mm eq.). All of the official Pentax XG-1 sample images were captured at ISO 100/21°.

Website: Ricoh Imaging Japan

Ricoh has announced the Pentax XG-1, a 16-megapixel bridge camera with 52x optical zoom, 9fps continuous shooting and Full HD movies. Able to cover ultra-wide-angle (24mm equivalent) to super-telephoto (1.248mm eq.) ranges, the Pentax XG-1 has a 1cm Macro mode and an Auto Tracking AF function to keep your moving subject in focus. The camera also offers ten shooting modes including the hands-off Auto Picture, Scene (11 options), Program, Face Beautifier and Movie. There’s even a pet detection mode for automatic recognition of up 10 pet faces. The XG-1 is compatible with Eye-Fi wireless LAN SD memory cards so you can share your images and videos straight to your phone or tablet. Available from the middle of August, the Pentax XG-1 carries a suggested retail price of £279.99.

Sigma USA has launched a new “Try Before You Buy” loaner programme that offers consumers the opportunity to test a dp2 Quattro camera before it hits the shops in August. The dp2 Quattro camera, priced at $999 and the first camera in the series, features a fixed 30mm 2.8 standard lens that is specifically designed and optimised to pair with the APS-C sized Foveon X3 Quattro sensor. “The ‘Test Shoot: Try Before You Buy’ program is a bold and unique initiative from Sigma and for the photo industry,” said Christine Moossmann, director of marketing for Sigma Corporation of America. “It gives consumers an opportunity to shoot with the dp2 Quattro camera and experience, first hand, the amazing images the camera and the new Quattro sensor produce. There are so many camera options out there and we’d like to make the buying process more personal. "  Sigma will ship the camera to the participants via two-day shipping and the loan period for each participant will be five days. The programme will run until the end of this month.

Nikon has posted a firmware update for its Coolpix S9400 and Coolpix S9500 cameras. Version 1.1 (for both models) resolves an issue that resulted in deviation in the timing of movie video and sound

Website: Nikon Coolpix S9400 Firmware Update 1.1
Website: Nikon Coolpix S9500 Firmware Update 1.1

See exactly what the new Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ1000 superzoom compact camera looks like in the flesh, and read our initial hands-on review.

Check out our extensive hands-on gallery of photos of the Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ1000 super-zoom camera, which features a 1-inch 20 megapixel CMOS sensor, 24-400m zoom range, fast f/2.8-4.0 maximum apertures, a 2,359K OLED EVF and a 921K dot free angle LCD.

The Panasonic LUMIX DMC-FZ1000 is the world’s first bridge camera to feature 4K video recording. The FZ1000 also offers a 20.1 megapixel 1-inch MOS sensor, 16x optical zoom lens which has an F2.8-4.0 aperture range, 0.09 second auto-focusing speed, a 2,359k OLED Live View Finder (LVF) and a 3-inch 921-K dot LCD display. The Panasonic DMC-FZ1000 will be available in July at a suggested UK retail price of £749.99.

Sigma UK has released availability and pricing information on the new Sigma dp2 Quattro large-sensor compact camera. Equipped with an APS-C sized Foveon X3 Quattro sensor, which outputs 5424x3616-pixel raw images at the highest resolution setting; the dp2 Quattro features a 30mm (45mm eq.) f/2.8 lens with 8 elements in 6 groups, a newly developed TRUE (Three-layer Responsive Ultimate Engine) III processor and a magnesium-alloy body. The Sigma dp2 Quattro camera will be available in early July with a suggested retail price of £899.99.

Nikon has released a firmware update for the Nikon Coolpix A digital compact camera. Version C 1.11 brings the following benefits and improvements:

• Focus range with normal autofocus has been changed from approximately 50 cm (1 ft 8 in.)–∞ to approximately 30 cm (1 ft)–∞ from the center of the front surface of the lens.
• AF focus-acquisition rate has been improved when the scene contained in the frame exhibits an extremely high level of contrast.
• The color of the focus area in manual focus mode has been changed to white, making it easier to identify the current focus mode.
• Less battery power is now consumed with interval timer photography, enabling interval timer shooting for a longer period of time when the camera is powered by the battery.

Website: Nikon Coolpix A firmware: C:1.11 Firmware Update

Lytro has published full specifications for its Illum light-field camera. Back in April, when the Lytro Illum was announced, only the headline specs were released, including a 40-megaray light field sensor, 8x optical zoom lens (30mm-250mm equivalent) with a constant aperture of f/2, 1/4000 of a second high-speed shutter, articulating touchscreen and a flash hotshoe. Now Lytro has published a detailed spec sheet that includes data on sensor format, crop factor, native resolution, maximum reproduction ratio, shutter type, and much more, Click through / scroll down for the details.

Ricoh have posted a function-enhancing firmware update for the Ricoh GR digital compact camera. Version 4.0 adds the following features:

• Added [Shift Crop] on [Effect] of [Shooting] menu.
• Added [AF Mode] on [Set up] menu. It has two options: [Normal] or [High speed].
• Added [Card Sequence No.] on [Setup] menu. It has two options: [On] or [Off].
• Added [Playback Animation] on [Setup] menu. It has two options: [On] or [Off]
• When deleting an image taken with RAW+ on Playback Mode, [Delete RAW+ JPEG], [Delete JPEG only] or [Delete RAW only] can be selected instead of [Delete One].

Website: Ricoh

Aberystwyth University student Gregory Dash has created a new digital version of the classic Diana camera. Despite looking like a classic film camera, the digital Diana houses a 1/3” CMOS sensor and can take pictures of up to 12 megapixels. It also has a plastic lens, replicating the look of photos taken on the original camera but with the benefit of digital features including built it photo filters, and some manual controls. “We’ve already developed a working prototype and just now need to raise the funds to cover the costs to purchase the materials for the cameras," Greg says. Cameras will cost £65 each, with production limited to 1000 units. The project is currently raising funds via Indiegogo.