Panasonic Press Release 07/01/04

PANASONIC DEBUTS NEXT GENERATION LUMIX DIGITAL STILL CAMERAS
LAS VEGAS, Nev. (January 7, 2004) ? Panasonic, the first consumer electronics company to feature world-renowned Leica DC lenses in its digital still cameras and camcorders, today announced its new Lumix digital camera line for 2004.

Representing the perfect balance of art and science, Lumix cameras seamlessly integrate superlative Leica optics with Panasonic?s unsurpassed digital electronics technology, allowing users to experience a new level of artistic expression while exploring a host of creative applications made possible by digital technology.

?The Lumix line has taken digital cameras to a new level of performance,? said Andrew Nelkin, Vice President of Panasonic?s Optical Group. ?Thanks to high-performance Leica DC lenses, and Panasonic?s unique image processing system, the Lumix cameras capture nuances unlike any other digital camera, and are capable of taking consecutive shots nearly as quickly as a motor-driven film camera.?

The Slovenian website e-Fotografija have published a comprehensive review of the 4 megapixel Minolta DiMAGE G400 digital camera, which is actually exactly the same model as the Konica KD-420Z.

Website: e-Fotografija - Minolta DiMAGE G400 Review

DCViews have published their review of the HP Photosmart 945 digital camera, which features a 5.3-megapixel total resolution and 56x total zoom (8x optical zoom). The HP Photosmart 945 digital camera is available now and has an estimated U.S. retail price of $549.

“Looking at the pictures taken with the Photosmart 945 you will notice that the Fujinon f2.8 - 3.1, 7.6-61mm zoom lens (37 - 300mm equivalent) shows little distortion and chromatic aberration even at full wide angle or tele settings. The impressive zoom range allows for quite extreme close ups which all show nice saturated colours and good dynamic range. Exposures are accurate and the images are sharp although contrast is a bit strong sometimes. This can be altered in the capture menu and adapted to your own personal preferences though. One phenomenon that had me fooled sometimes was that images appeared to be too dark when viewed on the LCD, however once they were transferred to the computer they appeared to be perfectly all right.”

Website: DCViews - HP Photosmart 945 Review

CNET have reviewed the Panasonic SV AS10, which measures just 51.5 by 103.7 by 13.5 (mm, approx. excluding protrusions), with the slimmest part of the camera being a mere 9.9 mm. The SV AS10 uses state-of-the-art technology and the SD memory card which is no bigger than a postage stamp to achieve its tiny dimensions.

“Panasonic’s SV-AS10 combines a 2-megapixel digital camera, a video recorder, a digital voice recorder, and an audio player in one wafer-thin package. But despite this ambitious roster of features and the AS10’s elegant design, we can recommend this overpriced ($300 list) device for only casual use.”

Website: CNET - Panasonic SV AS10 Review

DCResource have reviewed the Casio QV-R40, a 4 megapixel digicam which has an amazing start-up time of one second and shutter-lag of 0.01 seconds. The Casio QV-R40 currently retails for around $300 / £300.

“The QV-R40 takes sharp images with accurate color and exposure. Purple fringing was not a major issue.

The biggest gripe I have with the photo quality is the noise level—it’s higher than average. The place where the noise is most obvious is in the sky, and on flat things like walls. It really eats away at the detail in your shots.”

Website: DCResource- Casio QV-R40 Review

LetsGoDigital have reviewed the Fuji FinePix S7000, which is the successor to the popular FinePix S602 model. The S7000 uses Fuji’s 4th Generation Super CCD HR with 6.3 Million Effective Pixels output and 12.3 million recorded pixels. It costs around $799.99 and is available now.

“Is the FinePix S7000 a perfect camera? Well, some things can always be found, and the S7000 is not an exception. I would like to have some more choices of compression, beside the Fine and Normal mode in a 12M resolution. The other resolutions have only one compression! Also disappointing is the large range of shutter times only in M mode and not, as I would have expected in the S mode. The camera is delivered rather frugal, that is to say: a standard 16MB memory card with 4x AA Alkaline batteries won’t surprise the buyer.”

Website: LetsGoDigital - Fuji FinePix S7000 Review

Website: Read my review of the Fuji FinePix S7000

The Danish website Akamera.dk have reviewed the Fuji FinePix A210 Zoom digital camera. The A210 has 3.2 million megapixels and a 3x optical zoom. It retails for $279.99.

Website: Akamera.dk - Fujifilm FinePix A210 Review

Imaging Resource have reviewed the Kodak EasyShare CX6330, a 3.2 megapixel digital camera that costs around £220 in the UK.

“Kodak’s EasyShare digital cameras consistently rank among the easiest to use of any I’ve tested, and the CX6330 follows suit. Full automatic exposure control keeps things simple, with exposure decisions down to a bare minimum. A handful of preset scene modes help with special shooting conditions. This is a true “point-and-shoot” digicam, requiring little or no intervention to take nice looking photos under a wide variety of conditions.”

Website: Imaging Resource - Kodak EasyShare CX6330 Review

The Slovenian website e-Fotografija have just posted a review of the 5 megapixel Kodak EasyShare DX4530. This digicam retails for just £399 in the UK.

Website: e-Fotografija - Kodak EasyShare DX4530 Review

The Danish website Akamera.dk have reviewed the 4 megapixel EasyShare DX6490 digital camera, a digital camera which features a 10x optical zoom lens (38-380mm focal length). The Kodak EasyShare DX6490 has a suggested retail price of £399.99.

Website: Akamera.dk - Kodak EasyShare DX6490 Review

Steves Digicams have published a comprehensive review of the 4 megapixel Minolta DiMAGE G400 digital camera, which is actually exactly the same model as the Konica KD-420Z.

“Perhaps the most striking feature of the G400 is its remarkable shooting performance. Minolta claims that the G400’s performance is improved over the G500, and our measurements are in agreement. From power-on until the first image was captured took only 7/10 second, so responsive that it will likely be ready to shoot before you are; you’ll rarely miss that unposed spontaneous photo opportunity.”

Website: Steves Digicams - Minolta DiMAGE G400 Review

Steves Digicams have joined in the fun by reviewing the 8-megapixel Sony Cybershot DSC-F828 digital compact camera.

“At the end of the day, it’s not features but image quality that matters most. And in this respect, the F828 does not disappoint. Our outdoor shots were richly-saturated and well exposed. We did however notice some apparent imager “noise” in the lower contrast shadow areas. The versatility of the 7x zoom lens allows you to obtain wide landscape images, and a twist of the zoom ring will get you close to your subject. Indoors flash shots were well- exposed and nicely balanced.”

Website: Steves Digicams - Sony DSC-F828 Review

Another day, another Sony DSC-F828 review. This time it’s the turn of DCResource to deliver their verdict on one of the most highly-anticipated digital cameras of 2003.

“It can be very tempting to compare the $999 Sony Cyber-shot DSC-F828 with digital SLRs like the Canon Digital Rebel ($899 w/o lens). They have many similarities, such as high resolution image sensors, manual controls, and great performance. But as much as I love the Digital Rebel, it’s not really a fair comparison—and not for the reason that you’d expect. The Sony’s stellar F2-2.8, 7X zoom lens cannot be easily (or inexpensively) duplicated on the D-SLR side: you’ll need two lenses to cover the same focal range, and that’ll cost you at least as much as the camera body. Comparing the F828 and Rebel is only fair if you can afford the price jump from $999 to $1999. If you can, then the D-SLR easily wins in all categories (unless movie mode counts).”

Website: DCResource - Sony DSC-F828 Review

Imaging Resource have published their review of one of the more popular consumer digicams, the 4-megapixel Canon PowerShot A80, which sells for around $399.

“While the A80’s user interface may seem slightly cryptic at first approach, it’s actually quite efficient. Most camera functions are controlled externally, and a few of the external control buttons serve multiple functions. When you do need to enter the LCD menu system, navigation is very straightforward with only two main pages of options. That said, the majority of external controls do require the LCD display to be active. Regardless, the A80’s external controls cut down on the amount of time spent searching menu screens, and I particularly like the “Function” menu which has become standard on Canon digicam models in the 2003 model year. Combined with the instruction manual, the A80’s user interface shouldn’t take more than an hour to get comfortable with.”

Website: Imaging Resource - Canon Powershot A80 Review

Digital Outback Photo is the latest website to publish a review of a full-production version of the highly-anticipated Sony DSC-F828 digital camera.

“The main issue with images from the F828 is actually chromatic aberration (CA). At least with all shots at 200mm and at more contrasty scenes we get a lot CA (the contrast was not even extreme). This CA is also easily visible to the naked eye in prints at 11x14”.”

Website: Digital Outback Photo - Sony DSC-F828 Review

Luminous Landscape is claiming to be the first website in the world to review a full-production version of the highly-anticipated Sony DSC-F828 digital camera. Actually it’s the second website in the world to do so, as the German website PhotoWorld.de reviewed the DSC-F828 on 20th December. Even so, this review from professional photographer Michael Reichmann makes very interesting reading:

“Sony shot itself in the foot by not providing web reviewers with production samples before cameras arrived in consumer’s hands. This has meant that well meaning but uninformed amateurs have been almost hysterical in their on-line discussions about their newly delivered cameras, citing all sorts of concerns. This would not have happened in Sony had simply FedExed a dozen cameras from the first production run to the leading online review sites. This would have meant that knowledgeable reviews and properly produced and processed sample images would have been available around the time that cameras reached early buyer’s hands, and much of the sillyness would have been avoided.”

Website: Luminous Landscape - Sony DSC-F828 Review

DCResource is the latest website to post their review of the Nikon Coolpix 3700 digital camera. The Coolpix 3700 has a very different design from previous Coolpix models, with a brushed aluminium body that’s both slim and lightweight. The 3.2 megapixel 3700 features a 3x optical zoom that is equivalent to 35-105mm lens on a 35mm camera.

“The Coolpix 3700 is a very nice, compact point-and-shoot camera that addresses one of the two big issues that I’ve had with previous entry-level Nikon cameras: low light shooting. With the inclusion of an AF-assist lamp, the Coolpix can finally compete with cameras from Canon and Sony that have had this feature for years.”

Website: DCResource - Nikon Coolpix 3700 Review

CNET have reviewed Casio’s EXILIM EX-S3, a 3-megapixel digital camera that is less than 1/2 inch thick! If you’re looking for a camera that is the same size as a credit card, then look no further…

“For a 3.2-megapixel camera, this Casio returned mediocre results, but for a fixed-lens model of such a tiny size, it produced quite good images. If you want to post photos on the Web and make small snapshot prints, you’ll probably be satisfied.”

Website: CNET - Casio EXILIM EX-S3 Review

CNET have just posted a review of the 5 megapixel Kodak EasyShare DX4530. This digicam retails for just £399 in the UK.

“If you need the maximum pixels at the minimum price and want your digital camera to do all the thinking for you, the pocketable Kodak EasyShare DX4530 deserves a close look. This 5-megapixel, 8.6-ounce snapshooter gives you solid picture quality; surprisingly capable macro features; and fully automatic operation, including one-click upload.”

Website: CNET - Kodak EasyShare DX4530 Review

CNET have reviewed the Minolta Dimage Xt, an ultra-compact, ultra-thin 3 mega-pixel digital camera that can easily be slipped into a shirt pocket, and the new Dimage Biz software that goes with it, which is aimed specifically at business users.

“The good: Extremely compact; chic styling; generally sprightly performance; bundled with useful business-oriented software.

The bad: Fairly frequent underexposures; skimpy viewfinder coverage; no manual white balance; software has a useless help system and clumsy e-mail implementation.”

Website: CNET - Minolta Xt Biz Review