Todays & Tomorrows Technology

LG’s latest super-snapper cellphone has broken cover, and from the spec-sheet at least you’d think this was the handset to quash all point-and-shoot digicams. The LG GC990 Louvre is tipped (despite LG’s own denials; see after the cut) to launch later on in 2009, taking the place of the existing LG GC900 (aka the Viewty II), and brings with it a 12.1-megapixel camera with Schneider-Kreuznach optics, Xenon flash and what the company suggests is ISO 3200 sensitivity.


Call us terrible skeptics, but we’re wondering exactly how much noise will be in images at those sort of ISO levels; this may be a case of “just because you can, doesn’t mean you should.” Elsewhere the camera can be re-purposed as a camcorder, grabbing 720p HD video at 30fps. Like the iPhone 3GS it supports touchscreen-controlled focus and GPS geotagging, and LG are claiming zero shutter lag too.

Elsewhere there’s a 3.2-inch 16:9 aspect touchscreen with the company’s S-Class UI, WiFi and Bluetooth, together with DivX and Xvid playback plus TV output. It can also stream media to and from other DLNA compatible devices.

So, we don’t know if these are for real or not, but some specs for the Canon 1D Mark IV DSLR Camera were revealed today at Photography Bay. These specs reveal quite a bit about the new camera and if proven true, will be pretty interesting to see in action.

Specs include a 1.3x crop sensor for 16-megapixel images, sRAW1 format for 8-megapixel images and an ISo sensitivity of 50 to 26,500. The supposed beta tester reveals that the camera has a burst shooting mode that’s faster than the 1D Mark III and has a super fast autofocus as well.

Other features include a 3-inch LCD screen, video recording, and ergonomically arranged buttons and controls. We already heard about an August release date for this model, so if these specs are real and there are beta models in tester’s hands, that date is looking more and more likely.

Samsung released their SMX-C14 camcorder today, following the product’s announcement back in April. This camera sports the Touch of Color style that has been so popular among Samsung products these days.
This camera features a 25-degree angled lens and 16GB of flash memory. However, you can expand this by means of the SDHC memory card slot. It’s capable of HD H.264 format and photos with a 1,600 x 1,200 resolution.

Other features include time-lapsed photography, a 10X optical zoom, edit abilities, an Upload button for transferring files to YouTube, and USB syncing. You can get the SMX-C14 now for the equivalent of $310 in Korea in blue, gray and red color options.

Olympus’ E-P1 Micro Four Thirds digital camera is expected to make its official debut on Tuesday, but that doesn’t mean we don’t want to hear about the appealing snapper today if we can. The E-P1 is, according to the latest spec-leak, expected to have a 13-megapixel sensor, 200-6400 ISO range and 60-1/4000 shutter speed, together with supporting 720p video recording.
According to the leak, the E-P1 will support up to 7 minutes of 720p recording or up to 14 minutes of 480p resolution recording. Stills can be captured in RAW, JPEG or RAW + JPEG formats, and there’s a Liveview LCD with electronic shake correction.

Eleven-area autofocus round out the leak. It’s expected to be priced at ¥90,000 ($917) for the kit, with a bundle including both 17mm and 14-42mm lenses coming in at ¥130,000 ($1,324). Alternatively the 17mm lens is believed to be priced at ¥10,000 ($101) while the 14-42mm version is ¥35,000 ($356).

It seems a day doesn’t go by without some new technology rumor. But hey, it keeps things exciting. Today, there’s a rumor going around on the Pentax Forums that Samsung will be releasing the GX-30 very soon.

The GX-30 is set to be the successor to the GX-20, a DSLR camera. The suspected launch date is July 7th. Interestingly enough, we heard last month that the GX-30 would be launching in June but nothing has come of that yet.

However, not everyone thinks it’s the GX-30 set to launch. Others are set on the idea that the NX-series will be making it’s debut next month. Of course, nothing official has been revealed by Samsung just yet, so for now all we can do is speculate.

It’s seems to be a morning of digital cameras, with Casio the latest to whip out their pocket-snapper. The Casio EXILIM EX-H10 has a 12.1-megapixel CCD paired with a 24mm 10x optical zoom, and while it may not have the AMOLED panel of the Samsung WD1000 it does manages to squeeze a similarly-sized 3-inch LCD into its sub-1-inch thick chassis.

In fact Casio are claiming to have created the thinnest and lightest camera of its class, which basically means other 10x optical zoom models. If marketing hyperbole doesn’t excite you, then perhaps the 1,000-shot battery life or automatic Motion JPEG animation tool will tickle your fancy.

Elsewhere there’s a new “Landscape Mode” which will automatically juggle the settings depending on whether you tell it you’re snapping a misty or a vivid scene, and a “Dynamic Photo” mode in which you can piece together a person or object from one shot into the background of another.

The Casio EXILIM EX-H10 will begin shipping in mid-July, with an MRSP of $299.99.

Samsung have unveiled a new digital camera that rocks its distinctive dual-analog-gage indicators. The Samsung WB1000 has a 12.2-megapixel 1/2.33-inch CCD paired with a 24mm wide-angle Schneider-KREUZNACH lens and 5x optical zoom, together with a 3-inch AMOLED 480 x 260 display around the back.
The two retro gages show battery life and capacity, and are intended to be more intuitively read at-a-glance. Meanwhile the WB1000 is also capable of recording 720p H.264 video, which also takes advantage of the camera’s dual optical and digital image stabilization.

Maximum ISO is 3200, though that scales down the frame resolution to a mere 3.2-megapixels, and the WB1000 stores either to its 76MB of internal capacity or up to 8GB SDHC cards (bigger may be supported, but not officially). No word on official launch dates or pricing, but it’s expected to arrive later this month for around $400.

FujiFilm have announced their latest compact camera, the FinePix Z300, a 10-megapixel point-and-shoot with a 5.7x optical zoom and 3-inch touchscreen preview screen. Capable of recording VGA quality video at 30fps, the FinePix Z300 measures 92 x 56.5 x 18.5 mm and weighs 150g.

There’s also touch-focus control, automatic scene selection and face detection for up to 10 individual faces; the Z300 can even recognize faces when they’re in profile, oblique and upside-down. Onboard storage is 31MB, augmented by an SD/SDHC card slot.

The FujiFilm FinePix Z300 also supports PictBridge photo printing and you can organize, browse and re-order images directly on the camera’s touchscreen. It’ll go on sale in Japan on June 20th, no word on pricing as yet.

Olympus’ E-P1 Micro Four Thirds camera has shown up in the wild, complete with a a 17mm f2.8 prime lens. Details regarding the camera are scant - in fact these images are pretty much all we have to go on - but it’s suggested that Olympus will release the E-P1 in July this year.

The Micro Four Thirds system was created by Olympus and Panasonic, as a way to fit DSLR sensors into a smaller chassis. Not all the cameras are going to be as retro as the E-P1, though; back at PMA we spent some time with the thoroughly modern Panasonic DMC-GH1.

Seeing as it’s tricky to envisage exactly how large or how small the E-P1 is from a single photo, jdhodges.com put together a comparison shot. Click on the image below for a full-size version.