Olympus has announced the recommended retail prices of the Olympus E-PM1 (a.k.a. PEN Mini) compact system camera in the UK and the US. The smallest digital PEN, which boasts features like an ultra-fast 35-point auto-focus system, wireless flash control via a bundled clip-on unit, Multi Exposure, 1080i Full HD movie recording with stereo sound and compatibility with 20 Micro Four Thirds, 27 Four Thirds and more than 500 other lenses (via adapters), will be available in early autumn for £449.99/$499.95 including a kit zoom and a tiltable external flash.

Today at 7.30pm BST, Sony UK will be hosting a live Web chat on its Facebook page. The company’s photography expert, Paul Genge, will be there to answer any questions you might have about the products announced today. If interested, visit the website below, hit the “Like” button, and join the conversation.

Website: Sony UK - Facebook

The Sony A65 and A77 digital SLT cameras both feature a newly developed, APS-C sized 24.3-megapixel Exmor CMOS sensor and extremely fast burst shooting with continuous auto focus. Billed as the quickest, most responsive interchangeable lens cameras in their class, the Sony A77 and the Sony A65 feature shooting speeds of 12 and 10fps, respectively, with uninterrupted continuous phase-detection auto focus for tracking fast-moving subjects with ease. Additionally, the Sony A77 comes with a new 19-point AF module with 11 cross-sensors, while the A65 offers 15-point auto focus with 3 cross-hatched sensors. The other main difference between the two models is that the A77 has double control dials and a separate top-mounted LCD data display. Both cameras showcase the world’s first XGA OLED electronic viewfinder with 2359k dot resolution and 100% frame coverage. The sensor has a sensitivity range of ISO 100-16000, with ISO 50 available as an “expanded” setting on the Sony A77. Both cameras offer 1080p Full HD video recording with AF and a choice of 50fps or 25fps, and both will be available from October.

Pricing update: The Sony A77 has a manufacturer’s suggested retail price of £1150, or £1650 with the also-new Sony DT-16-50mm f/2.8 SSM lens. The optional VG-C77AM Vertical Grip will be available for £270. The Sony A65’s recommended retail price is £800 (£900 with a 18-55mm zoom lens).

The Sony DT 16-50mm f/2.8 SSM is a high-performance standard zoom lens for Sony’s A-mount digital SLT and SLR cameras with APS-C sized sensors. Featuring a dust- and moisture-resistant design, the lens boasts two aspherical elements and three ED glass elements to minimise aberration at all focal lengths. An internal SSM (Super Sonic wave Motor) drive assures fast, quiet auto focus and enables full-time manual override. Priced at £550/$700 and available from October, the Sony DT 16-50mm f/2.8 SSM has a circular diaphragm with 7 rounded blades for a pleasing rendition of the out-of-focus areas.

The Sony NEX-7 is a 24.3-megapixel compact system camera with an eye-level electronic viewfinder, responsive autofocus and world’s shortest shutter lag. Using the same Exmor APS HD sensor as the Sony A77 and A65 “SLT” cameras, the Sony NEX-7 offers a combination of ultra-high resolution and a sensitivity range of ISO 100-16000. The NEX-7 also features quick, easy control over creative settings via an intuitive new TRINAVI control. Two control dials on the top of the camera are complemented by a control wheel. Pushing the navigation button cycles quickly through various shooting modes, allowing enthusiasts to make adjustments swiftly and easily. The NEX-7 is also the world’s first compact camera that features an XGA OLED electronic viewfinder with approximately 100% frame coverage. In speed priority mode, the NEX-7 captures fast-moving action at up to 10fps (though AF performance remains to be seen). The NEX-7 introduces an Auto-lock Accessory Shoe that supports accessories including HVL-F58AM, F43AM and F20AM Flash, the HVL-MT24AM Macro Twin Flash Kit and CLM-V55 Clip-on LCD Monitor. Also capable of shooting full HD video at either 50fps or 25fps, the Sony NEX-7 will be available from November for about £1000/$1200. A kit comprising the NEX-7 camera and Sony E 18-55mm zoom lens will also be offered, for £1100/$1350.

The Sony NEX-5N is a new compact system camera with a resolution of 16.1 megapixels, responsive auto focus, world’s shortest shutter lag and 1080p/50fps video recording capability. Doubled signal readout speeds and more efficient processing have resulted in an AF that is significantly faster than the current NEX-5 model, Sony claims. Maximum sensitivity is also boosted to ISO 25600, the highest among mirrorless interchangeable-lens cameras. Stereo audio quality is improved, with revised circuitry that lowers wind noise levels, especially when shooting quiet scenes. Like the also-new Sony NEX-7, the NEX-5N offers a speed priority mode in which the camera can capture full-resolution photographs at up to 10fps. Unlike that camera, the Sony NEX-5N has no eye-level EVF and comes with a Photo Creativity Touch interface rather than the wheel-and-dial-based UI of the higher specified model. Priced at $600, the NEX-5N will be available from September. The camera will also be offered in a kit with the existing Sony E 18-55mm zoom lens, for about $700.

In the UK, the Sony NEX-5N will be available in a bundle with either the Sony E 18-55mm or the Sony E 16mm f/2.8 lens from September, priced at £600 and £700 respectively. A double-zoom kit, comprising the Sony NEX-5N camera body and the 18-55mm as well as the new 55-210mm lens, will be offered from November for £800. Sony UK is not planning to sell the NEX-5N as a body-only option.

The Carl Zeiss Sonnar T* E 24mm f/1.8 ZA is a new, ultra-bright moderate wide-angle lens for the Sony NEX system. Featuring a very fast maximum aperture and a near-circular diaphragm with 7 blades, the Carl Zeiss Sonnar T* E 24mm f/1.8 ZA is capable of producing wide-angle images with good subject isolation and pleasing bokeh. Sony’s DMF technology allows for direct manual focusing after autofocus lock-on without having to switch modes. The suggested retail price is $999.99.

The new Sony E 50mm f/1.8 OSS is the world’s fastest interchangeable lens with integrated image stabilisation. Designed as a short telephoto prime for the Sony NEX system the Sony E 50mm f/1.8 OSS has an angle of view of 32 degrees and a 7-bladed circular aperture diagram for a pleasing rendition of out-of-focus backgrounds. Priced at $299.99, the lens will be available to Sony NEX users in December.

The Sony E 55-210mm f/4.5-6.3 OSS is a telephoto zoom lens for the Sony NEX system. Designed to complement the existing 18-55mm kit zoom, the Sony E 55-210mm f/4.5-6.3 OSS features Optical SteadyShot image stabilisation, quiet and responsive auto focus and a 7-blade circular aperture diaphragm for a pleasing bokeh. Available from October, the lens has an SRP of $349.99.

The Sony FDA-EV1S is an external EVF for the Sony NEX-5N compact system camera. Featuring a resolution of 2,395,000 dots, this OLED viewfinder provides a similar user experience as the built-in EVF of the Sony NEX-7, except that it’s tiltable and detachable. Available from September, the Sony FDA-EV1S is sold separately for £300.

The Sony LA-EA2 mount adapter allows Sony NEX users to use A-mount lenses with high-speed phase-detection auto focus on their cameras. We believe this adapter should be especially interesting for owners of the Sony NEX-FS100, NEX-VG10 and NEX-VG20 interchangeable-lens camcorders as well as dual DSLR-NEX users - and generally, anyone who finds their NEX camera’s auto focus too slow or the current E-mount lens line-up too limited. Priced at £340, the Sony LA-EA2 mount adapter will be available from September.

The Sony Handycam NEX-VG20E is an E-mount interchangeable-lens camcorder with a 16.1megapixel Exmor APS HD CMOS sensor. Capable of shooting DSLR-quality 16-megapixel stills and Full HD movies with frame rates of 50fps and 25fps, the Sony Handycam NEX-VG20E also offers comprehensive manual controls and improved audio with a precision Quad Capsule Spatial Array microphone supporting stereo/5.1 sound recording. The camcorder’s handgrip has been redesigned to provide improved ergonomics versus the NEX-VG10. The Handycam NEX-VG20E Full HD E-mount system camcorder from Sony will be available from November 2011 for about $1600 (body only).

The Nikon Coolpix P7100 is a high-grade compact camera with a 1/1.7 type CCD and a resolution of 10.1 megapixels. Offering two command dials plus a rotary multi-selector, 28-200mm equivalent lens, high resolution tilting LCD screen, improved operational speed and lower noise levels than its predecessor; the Nikon Coolpix P7100 also features raw image capture, full manual control, Vibration Reduction and a two-way virtual horizon display. The zoom memory function allows you to easily specify a preset focal length with zoom photography. As zoom can immediately be switched from a wide-angle position to a specified telephoto focal length, capturing images at the intended angle of view is fast and easy, Nikon says. High-definition movie capture with AE/AF lock, exposure compensation and user-selectable white balance setting is also on offer. Priced at £499.99 / €580.00 / $500.00, the Nikon Coolpix P7100 will be available from 22nd September.

Successor to last year’s Coolpix S8100, the new Nikon Coolpix S8200 offers a 16.1-megapixel back-illuminated CMOS sensor , 14x optical zoom, Target-finding AF, fast power-up and focusing times as well as 6fps continuous shooting at full resolution. With its 25-350mm equivalent lens, the Nikon Coolpix S8200 is considerably more versatile than its predecessor, yet it weighs in at only 4 grams more, including battery and memory card. The new Target-finding AF function uses Nikon’s image analysis technology to find the most likely subject within the frame and then specifies the focus area and size for focusing. Target-finding AF not only works with subjects positioned at the centre of the frame, but with off-centre subjects as well. An Easy Panorama mode, a range of special effects, a Smile Timer Continuous mode and Full HD video capture round off the features list. Priced at £279.99 / €325.00 / $329.95, the Nikon Coolpix S8200 will hit the shops in September.

The Nikon Coolpix S6200 is a 16-megapixel travelzoom camera with a 25-250mm equivalent ED lens, Vibration Reduction and 720p video recording. Other highlights include a super-slim body, a 2.7” rear LCD screen, a range of special effects and a new flash control system. Owing to its hand-held/tripod night landscape detection function, the Nikon Coolpix S6200 automatically distinguishes between hand-held shooting and shooting using a tripod, and then adjusts ISO sensitivity and shutter speed accordingly. The S6200 will be available from September 2011 for £179.99 / €209.00 / $229.95 in red, pink, silver, blue and black.

The Nikon Coolpix S100 is a 16-megapixel ultra-compact camera with 5x optical zoom and a 3.5”, widescreen OLED touchscreen featuring a resolution of 820,000 dots. The 28-140mm equivalent lens has an aperture range of f/3.9-4.9 and a close-focus point of 1cm (in macro mode, fixed at the wide end). The full WVGA screen has a gamut approximately 50% broader than sRGB (standard RGB), enabling the camera to display images, movies and menus vividly, with great colour and good contrast. The Organic LED technology provides viewing angles as wide as (almost) 180 degrees, enabling you to see the live view feed from nearly any angle. Other highlights include in-camera HDR imaging, 3D photography function and full HD movie capture. The Nikon Coolpix S100 also offers a choice of 20 scene modes and half a dozen filter simulations. Available in September 2011 for £249.99 / €290.00 / $299.95 in red, black, purple and gold.

The fourteen-megapixel Coolpix S1200pj is Nikon’s third projector-equipped digital compact camera. Offering a 40% increase in projection brightness and three times greater projection contrast, the S1200pj can be connected to an iPhone, iPad or iPod touch via the dedicated cable, allowing users to project images and movies stored on these devices as well as online content from websites such as YouTube.  What’s more, clearer, more vivid projection is now possible with the switch from a single-lamp (colour) projection system to a three-lamp (red, green and blue LEDs) projection system, display reproduction of roughly the entire sRGB gamut and a contrast ratio of 200:1 or better. As to the camera part, the taking lens is a 28-140mm equivalent, 5x zoom with Vibration Reduction and an aperture range of f/3.9-5.8, while the sensor is a 1/2.3-in. type CCD with a total pixel count of approximately 14.48 million. Other highlights include a three-inch, 460000-dot TFT LCD monitor, 18 scene modes and a range of special effects and digital filters. The Nikon Coolpix S1200pj will be available from 22nd September for £399.99 / €464.00 / $429.95 in black and pink.

The 16-megapixel Coolpix AW100/AW100s are the first models in Nikon’s new Coolpix AW (All Weather) series of waterproof, shock-proof, cold-resistant compact digital cameras. Highlights include a 28-140mm equivalent zoom lens, full HD video, built-in GPS and electronic compass. The AW100/AW100s also offers a log function that can be used to track and record movement with acquisition of position information even while the camera is off. Logs can then be saved and displayed on the camera’s monitor. The main difference between the two models is that while the AW100 can also display location information on a world map, this functionality is missing from the AW100s. The Nikon Coolpix AW100 is available from 8th September at suggested / estimated retail prices of £329.99 / €383.00 / $379.95.

The 14-megapixel Nikon Coolpix S4150 is a new touchscreen digital compact camera. Available in the UK (exclusively from Jessops) and other European countries, the Nikon Coolpix S4150 is only 0.8 inches (2cm) thick and weighs in at a mere 128 grams. The camera comes with a number of touchscreen-based functions such as Touch Shutter and Touch AF, and offers 5x optical zoom plus a number of easy-to-use filter effects such as Selective Colour and Cross Screen. Manufactured in five different colours - red, black, bronze, purple and silver -, the Nikon Coolpix S4150 is priced at €162 in the euro zone (UK/Jessops price unknown at the time of writing).