Samsung, Panasonic Bow Digicams For Fall

By Greg Tarr On Aug 2 2010 - 4:01am

NEW YORK — Looking to bring some excitement into the point-andshoot digital camera market, electronics manufacturers Panasonic and Samsung unveiled new fall entries designed to push holiday shoppers’ buttons with new expanded creativity options.

Panasonic took the wraps off of five Lumix digital cameras, including models with SLR-like burst shooting capability and manual override controls.

The new Lumix additions include the TS10, FX700, FZ40, FZ100 and LX5.

The Lumix LX5 (shipping in August at a $500 suggested retail) replaces the popluarl LX3 and is targeting the “high-level amateur” photographer. It offers a 3.8x F2.0 (24mm-90mm equivalent) Leica Summicron lens, power optical image stabilization and a 10-megapixel 1/1.63-inch CCD sensor.

It will record HD video in 720p AVCHD Lite format and will store high-resolution stills in RAW format. Included is high-res 3-inch 460,000- dot LCD monitor, and users can add to that an optional color electronic viewfinder (DMWLVF1, $199 suggested retail). The camera will be available in a choice of black or pearl white.

For improved highspeed and low-light results, the camera includes expanded high dynamic range and noise-reduction capability using a Venus Engine FHD processor.

Panasonic adds a Sonic Speed autofocus system with a 0.3-second auto focusing time, enabling up to 3 picture per second burst shooting.

The FX700 (shipping in mid-August at $400) offers a 14-megapixel MOS sensor that will record stills and Full- HD 1080/60i video.

It offers high-speed burst shooting at up to 10 fps and includes a redesigned Leica Summicron 5x/f2.2 optical zoom lens and a 3-inch touchpanel LCD.

It has manual exposure control, a RAW image capture option, and will ship in a choice of black or silver.

New in the Lumix FZ series is the DMC-FZ100 (shipping in mid-August at $500) and DMC-FZ40 (shipping in late August at $400); both offer a powerful 24x optical zoom and creative manual operations to present greater creative control.

The FZ40 includes a 14.1-megapixel CCD while the faster FZ100 adds a 14.1-megapixel MOS sensor. Both have 25mm ultra-wide angle Leica lenses and a new image-processing system that achieves high picture quality for both still images and videos.

The FZ100 is billed as a sports camera with high-speed shooting at up to 11 fps using a mechanical shutter or 60 fps at reduced 2.5-megapixel resolution using an electronic shutter.

It records HD video in 1080i format while the FZ40 records in up to 720p format in AVCHD Lite mode.

The Lumix FZ40 has upgraded intuitive manual and creative controls including the new jog dial that helps to elevate the camera’s operability.

A 3-inch intelligent LCD monitor is added to both models, along with a Wind Cut function that blocks out noise from background wind when shooting video.

The TS series Lumix DMC-TS10 (shipping in mid-September at $250) is designed for rugged performance out or indoors. It features a flat, slim profile, a folded optics design, 4x optical zoom lens, and the new 14.1-megapixel sensor with a Venus Engine IV processor with advanced signal-processing technology.

The TS10 is waterproof to 10 feet, shockproof to 5 feet, dustproof and coldproof to 14 degrees F. It ships with a silicone jacket for further protection.

It will record 720p HD movies in Motion JPG format, includes a 2.7-inch 230,000-dot intelligent LCD that automatically detects light on the screen and boosts the backlighting by 40 percent.

Samsung follows the successful introduction of its DualView cameras last year with two new additions.

Shipping in September, the ST600 ($330 suggested retail) and ST100 ($350) are 14.2-megapixel digital still cameras that continue Samsung’s use of LCD screens on both the front and rear to enable easy self-portrait photography as well as shooting more conventional fare.

New to the DualViews this year is a tap-activated front panel, which now measures 1.8 inches, up from 1.5 inches in last year’s off erings, while the rear LCD screen measures 3.5 inches on both cameras.

The front-facing screen continues the animation, self-timer and smiletriggered- shutter modes from last year but adds a new Jump Shot mode that prompts a subject to jump at a specific time, then shoots three rapid-fire images while they’re in mid-air.

Both cameras also feature Samsung’s Smart Gesture UI interface that enables switching modes by tilting the camera, to delete photos by drawing an X on the screen, and to rotate shots during playback by drawing a circle on the screen.

The ST600 combines a telescoping 27mm wide-angle focal length lens with a 5x optical zoom, while the ST100 is the first Samsung DualView digital camera to feature an internal, 5x optical zoom, allowing for a thinner cosmetic.

The Samsung DualView ST600 and ST100 are also available in a choice of colors, including purple (ST600) and pink (ST100), and are encased in a compact frame with a metallic finish.

Other features in the new models include: video capture in 720p/30 fps HD H.264 format; and Smart Auto (for both stills and video) scene-recognition technology.

Samsung also unveiled the PL200 (September, $180) midrange 14.2- megapixel digital point-and-shoot camera featuring a long 7x zoom lens.

It combines 720p high-definition video recording, a 3-inch LCD screen, and a compact body measuring 3.9 inches by 2.3 inches by 0.83 inches.