Canon today launched the PowerShot A3100 IS and PowerShot A3000 IS, two new digital compact cameras whose main claim to fame is ease of use. Both sport a new, slim and lightweight body with an attractive exterior design. The PowerShot A3100 IS is available in a selection of bright, attractive colours, offering a choice of blue, red and silver variants, while the PowerShot A3000 IS comes in silver with a subtle black trim. The PowerShot A3100 IS features a 12.1 Megapixel imaging sensor, while the lower-cost PowerShot A3000 IS offers 10.0 Megapixels of resolution. Both are equipped with the manufacturer’s DIGIC III processor and a 4x zoom lens featuring optical image stabilisation. Both come with Canon’s Smart Auto mode on board. Smart Auto with Scene Detection Technology recognises up to 18 different scenes and automatically applies the optimum settings required to capture the best picture. It also includes i-Contrast technology, which analyses images to deliver perfect tonality, adding brightness and detail to darker sections without blowing out correctly-exposed areas. The PowerShot A3100 IS makes it easy to navigate menus, with on-screen Hints & Tips providing simple explanations of camera functions, and both cameras run on Lithium-ion battery packs rather than the usual NiMH cells. Compatible with SDHC and SDXC memory cards, both cameras will be available from February 2010. The PowerShot A3000 IS is exclusively on sale at Argos.

Canon today announced the new PowerShot A495 and PowerShot A490 – a duo of affordable and user-friendly compact digital cameras. Available in silver (both models), red and blue (PowerShot A495 only), both new models offer a 10-megapixel sensor and 3.3x optical zoom lens. Canon’s Smart Auto mode automatically recognises shooting conditions and applies the optimum picture settings required to get the perfect shot. The PowerShot A495 automatically detects up to 18 different shooting scenes, while PowerShot A490 can detect up to 13. The manufacturer’s i-Contrast technology is also on board, detecting difficult lighting conditions and ensuring that lighter and darker areas are captured in equal detail in the final image. Each of the new PowerShots are compatible with SDHC and SDXC memory cards – with SDXC offering storage capacity of up to 2TB, allowing users to shoot thousands of images on a single card. Like the previous PowerShots but unlike the new A3000 IS and A3100 IS models, the A490 and the A495 are powered by AA batteries. Both new PowerShots will be available from February 2010, but the A490 will be exclusive to Argos.

To celebrate its 90th anniversary, Rollei has announced the ultra-compact Flexline 100 inTOUCH digital camera. The Rollei Flexline 100 inTOUCH has a body that is only 15.6mm thick, and features rounded corners and a 3” LCD touchscreen. Inside the body, there is a 10 megapixel CCD imager, an internally stacked 3x Apogon zoom lens, smile and face detection and 21 scene modes. The Rollei Flexline 100 inTOUCH can take up to 30 photos in a single second. The inTOUCH model will be available later this month, at a recommended retail price of €199.95.

Via DCVIEWS | photoscala

Ricoh has announced the GR DIGITAL III x Stussy, a limited-edition collaboration model with US fashion brand manufacturer Stussy. Ricoh has never before collaborated with a brand to offer a customised camera in their GR Digital line of professional compacts. This co-branded GR Digital III, which is released as part of Stussy’s 30th anniversary special projects, features royal blue accents and body parts. Moreover, the labels of the buttons and other controls are in the Stussy font. The “XXX” logo marking the 30th anniversary is also displayed on the flash cover and the exit screen when the power is turned off. Limited quantities of the Ricoh GR Digital III x Stussy camera will be available for purchase through Stussy Chapter stores from February 2010.

Via DCVIEWS

Casio’s new “Animate and Share” website showcases their unique Dynamic Photo camera function. Using Dynamic Photo, moving subjects can be dynamically “cut out” and pasted into a different still shot that forms the background. The new virtual camera site allows visitors to create eGreetings and share them vie email or social networks like Facebook. Visit http://www.animateandshare.com to experience Casio’s Dynamic Photo for yourself.

Leica have issued a major, function-enhancing firmware update for the Leica D-LUX 4 digital compact camera. Version 2.10 adds a square aspect ratio shooting option, white balance bracketing, blown highlights warning in Playback mode, and a new scene mode for scenes with a high dynamic range. AWB accuracy, AF speed, MF ASSIST / AF area selection and red-eye removal have been improved. The exposure compensation and the auto bracket compensation can now be set up to ±3EV, and the position of the optional shooting grid overlay can now be set byt he photographer. A number of other, smaller modifications have also been implemented with this firmware update. The update, along with the installation instructions and an explanation of the new functions, can be downloaded fromt the website below.

Website: Leica D-LUX 4 Firmware 2.10

DxO Labs have published RAW-based image quality data for a range of new Canon, Nikon, Pentax and Sony digital cameras on dxomark.com. The newly added models include a couple of advanced compacts, such as the Canon Powershot S90 and G11, as well as a number of DSLR cameras (Canon EOS 7D, Sony A500 and A550, Pentax K7, Nikon D300s and D3000). “dxomark.com results indicated that the best Advanced Compacts demonstrate remarkable image quality performance, especially considering their very compact form factor:  overall, the difference between the top models from the Advanced Compact category and the entry-level DSLRs is only about 1 to 2 stops,” DxO Labs said in a statement.

Website: DxO Mark

Ricoh have issued a firmware update for the Ricoh CX2 digital compact camera. Version 1.14 addresses the following issue:

The startup time may take longer than usual when turning on the camera in a My setting mode in some combinations of the My setting registrations.

Website: Ricoh CX2 Firmware

German university student Franziska Dierschke has come up with an idea for a digicam that looks like a toy gun. The Aimat, as it is called, has no viewfinder, LCD screen or anything that’s considered a basic “ingredient” of a digital camera, except a lens, a sensor and a shutter release. Apparently, the emphasis is not on image quality, perfect focus or exposure; but on the playful act of shooting a picture of someone who doesn’t quite know what’s going on. The Aimat digital camera was first displayed at Berlin’s DesignMai exhibition back in 2007, but disappeared under the radar for over two years, to recently resurface - still as a design concept only, rather than an actual product. We’ll keep you posted if/when it becomes commercially available.

Via SG | Thanks to our reader Tibor for tipping us on the news!

Jessops have announced a number of pre-Christmas offers across its product range. The Fujifilm FinePix J30 in blue colour now costs £79, £50 less than its introductory price of £129; the FinePix F72 EXR (pictured) is £179, down from £249. Those wishing to purchase the Nikon Coolpix S225 can now get it for £89, saving £10. Finally, the pink version of the Canon Ixus 95 IS digital camera can be had for £149.

Website: Jessops

As promised last week, Ricoh has posted a function-enhancing firmware update for the Ricoh GR Digital III digital compact camera. Enhancements include external flash GF-1 compatibility, playback by date, paging function for multi-frame views, menu paging function, new focus distance when snap is selected and a new “ADJ. ISO direct change” function. The Ricoh GR Digital III firmware and instructions for using these functions can be downloaded free of charge from the website below.

Website: Ricoh Firmware Update

Available throughout the month of December, Fujifilm are offering a cashback offer of £30 on the FinePix F200EXR and £50 on the FinePix S200EXR. Simply keep hold of your receipt, download and complete the appropriate form from the website below, send it back to Fujifilm along with your receipt and they’ll send you the cheque. Note however that you must be a UK resident and buy the camera(s) in the UK in order to be eligible for the cashback.

Website: Fujifilm’s Christmas Cashback Offer

Praktica has launched the luxmedia 12-Z5, a new, 12-megapixel digital compact camera with a 28-140mm equivalent zoom lens.. The Praktica luxmedia 12-Z5 features a 2.7” TFT LCD screen, smile detection, face tracking, blink detection and intelligent scene recognition. Images are stored on SD and SDHC cards, and there is 32MB of internal storage available, too. Weighing in at just 120 grams, the Praktica luxmedia 12-Z5 is available now for €120.

Via DCVIEWS

A function-enhancing firmware update for the Ricoh GR Digital III camera will be released on December 1st. Enhancements include external flash GF-1 compatibility, playback by date, paging function for multi-frame views, menu paging function, new focus distance when snap is selected and a new “ADJ. ISO direct change” function. The Ricoh GR Digital III firmware and instructions for using these functions can be downloaded free of charge from the Ricoh website.

Passers-by at London Waterloo station were greeted by a rather unusual sight: a 3.6m x 2m mock-up of the new Panasonic Lumix DMC-ZX1 digital compact camera. The giant snapper, which has appeared at London Waterloo station yesterday morning, is part of Panasonic’s unconventional marketing campaign that had earlier seen a giant pigeon “land” on the grass beside London’s City Hall. The heavily-promoted Lumix ZX1 is a new ultra-compact digital camera with an 8x optically-stabilised zoom lens that provides a 35mm equivalent focal range of 25-200mm in a body measuring just 2.6cm thick.

Review: Read our in-depth review of the Panasonic Lumix DMC-ZX1

The new Casio EX-G1 is the World’s slimmest shock-resistant, waterproof, dustproof digital camera. The 12 megapixel EXG1 measures just 0.78-inch thick and can be used at depths at 10 feet / 3 meters for 60 continuous minutes, survive falls from seven feet / 2.13 meters and withstand temperatures as low as 14°F / -10 °C. Other key features of the Casio EX G1 include interval shooting and multi-image capture, useful for active sports such as snowboarding or cycling, 3x zoom lens (38-114mm), and 2.5 inch LCD screen. The Casio EX-G1 will be available in December 2009 priced at $299.99 in black and red. In the UK the Casio EX-G1 will cost £279, available from January 2010.

Professor Shree Nayar at the Computer Vision Laboratory at Columbia University and his team have come up with a prototype for a DIY digital camera. Though the BigShot camera is primarily intended to be an educational aid targeted at schoolchildren, we think it could be a potential hit with a large group of adults, too. The main parts of the camera include a gearbox, a lens wheel, a flash, a circuit board, a battery and… a dynamo! Since the Bigshot does not have an LCD of any sorts, it does not need too much power to take a photo - which means the battery is only needed if you want to use the flash. Otherwise you can use a hand crank, connected to the dynamo via the gearbox, to generate the necessary power to capture a shot. The Bigshot’s 2-megapixel sensor is mounted onto the circuit board. The lens is probably the most interesting part of the camera - while the primary lens is also fixed to the circuit board, the BigShot comes with three optical modules, which are built into a polyoptic lens wheel. “Switching lenses” is done by way of turning the wheel. Each optical module has a matching viewfinder module on the opposite side of the polyoptic wheel, so the photographer looking through the optical viewfinder can see (almost) the same view as the taking lens. Given that the BigShot does not have an LCD, using it is a lot like using a film camera, as you cannot review your photos until you download them to your computer via USB. Currently, there are only prototypes floating around and being used in workshops worldwide - there is no information as to when the BigShot will be available commercially.

Website: Bigshot: A Camera for Education

Casio Japan has announced two new digital cameras equipped with a 10-megapixel backlit CMOS sensor and featuring a burst mode of up to 40 frames per second (fps) and movie recording at up to 1,000fps. The Casio EX-FC150 is a compact model with 5x optical zoom, while the Casio EX-FH25 (see picture above) is a superzoom camera with a 26-520mm equivalent lens. Casio claims that the back-illuminated CMOS sensor has twice the sensitivity of a traditional CMOS imager. Both cameras feature various high-speed continuous shooting modes and sensor-shift image stabilisation. The Casio EX-FH25 also offers raw image capture in industry-standard DNG format. The cameras are capable of high-speed video recording, with frame rates ranging from 120fps at a resolution of 640x480 pixels to 1,000fps at 224x64 pixels. There is no word yet on international availability or pricing.

Website: Casio EX-FC150 & EX-FH25 (computer translation)

Via 1001 Noisy Cameras

We attended the UK press launch of the new Olympus E-P2 earlier today, and can exclusively bring you a photographic comparison of the new Olympus EP2 and Panasonic GF1 Micro Four Thirds cameras. There are 26 photos in our Gallery showing off the new Olympus EP-2, a mixture of side-by-side shots with the GF1 and some showing off the E-P2 with its all new, all-serious black finish. The E-P2’s new viewfinder is particularly impressive - it may be bigger than the Panasonic GF1’s in term of size, but it certainly blows it out of the water in terms of visibility and resolution, coping easily with the dark indoor conference room. Carry on reading to view the Gallery…

Double Oscar winning actor Kevin Spacey is to star in an Olympus PEN TV campaign in the UK. You can catch the first showing on TV during “I’m a Celebrity Get Me Out of Here” on Monday 16th November. The Olympus PEN ad was directed by Duncan Jones, who was recently at the helm of the acclaimed movie “Moon”. The new Olympus E-P2 will be available in January 2010.