Imaging Briefs

By Staff On Oct 27 2008 - 6:00am

Pentax Lowers Price on K20D

Golden, Colo. — Prepping for a competitive holiday selling season, Pentax pared down the price on its flagship d-SLR and waterproof compact camera.

The company's K20D, initially launched at $1,299 (body only), comes down to a body-only price of $999. The Optio W60, originally $329, will be reduced to a suggested $299. The price moves are effective this month.

PMA Study Reveals Camera Buying Demographics

Jackson, Mich. — Households headed by members between the ages of 45 and 54 drove sales of digital cameras and camcorders in 2007, according to PMA.

The association's Digital Imaging survey also noted that those households spent the most on their device.

Roughly 15 percent of U.S. households purchased a camera or camcorder in 2007, and 1 percent received one for free. Ten percent of households purchased a camera or camcorder for themselves while 5 percent used them as gifts.

According to PMA, “Households where children were present were more likely than childless households to purchase a new camera or camcorder in 2007, especially when the children were between 6 and 12 years old. While this segment was most likely to purchase a camera, they spent the least amount of money on average.”

Though retirees were less likely than working households to buy a camera, they out-spent their working peers when they did buy.

AgfaPhoto Readies Q4 Digicams

Cologne, Germany — Plawa will ship a pair of new AgfaPhoto-branded digital cameras to dealers in the fourth quarter.

AgfaPhoto products are distributed in the U.S. by VistaQuest.

The 10-megapixel DC-1338sT sports a 3-inch touch-screen display, 3x optical zoom lens and 22 scene modes. It features face tracking autofocus, ISO 3,200, and records video with sound formatted for YouTube, the company said.

The company will also ship the DC-8428s with a 4x optical zoom, 28mm wide angle lens. The 8-megapixel 8428s sports a 2.7-inch LCD with a brightness mode to adjust to ambient lighting conditions, and 19 scene modes.

The camera also features face-tracking AF for focusing on up to five faces in a frame, picture stabilization, and a coupling feature that merges two images in-camera. A panorama mode, together with included desktop software, lets users create 360-degree photos. U.S. pricing was not announced.

Fujifilm Offers Accessory Pack

Valhalla, N.Y. — Fujifilm will ship a new accessory kit for its FinePix S100FS digital camera to dealers this month.

The $59.99 package includes a fitted shoulder bag, a two-year limited extended warranty dubbed PixRX, and a copy of Corel's Paint Shop Pro X2 imaging software. The shoulder bag is roomy enough for an S100FS plus accessories with interior and exterior pockets. It features a removable padded shoulder strap.