The latest Digital Camera News from the 2006 Consumer Electronics Show

The latest Digital Camera News from the 2006 Consumer Electronics Show

Every year the Consumer Electronics Show is held in Las Vegas. This huge show features consumer gadgets of all kinds and attracts thousands of business and shoppers. Many new products are released at this show. We bring you the latest info on these releases.

Kodak Chairman and CEO Antonio M. Perez spoke at CES this last week and had some very interesting things to say about digital cameras including:

"Are digital cameras dinosaurs? Are they evolving rapidly and sufficiently, to take advantage of the digital ecosystem where they belong? Or are they lagging behind?

Just like the first cars were called “horseless carriages” because they were basically like horse-drawn carriages with the addition of a motor instead of a horse, I will make the argument that what we have today in our industry are not real, full-blown, digital cameras but, to a large extent, only “film-less cameras,” and we are all responsible for it."

Read the rest of the speech

or read the Kodak press release

Toshiba announced today the introduction of the gigashot digital camcorders. Part of the company's gigastyle® family of products. gigashot camcorders, like the gigabeat digital audio players, are hard drive based models that use some of the most innovative storage devices in the marketplace.

BenQ digital cameras , a leading manufacturer of digital lifestyle devices, today unveiled three new additions to its digital camera lineup, the X600, C800 and E521. The highlight of the three models is the X600, the world's smallest 6-megapixel camera. All three digital cameras offer an ultra-slim, compact design and versatile feature set, and are ideal for consumers seeking a high-quality multi-function digital camera at an affordable price.

Kodak and Lexar announce new memory cards for digital cameras and PDA's. At the CES show in Las Vegas this week these next media memory cards were announced that will make for higher speed processing, rapid fire still shots, high frame rate video recording and faster computer data transfers.

Kodak and Lexar originally entered into a marketing alliance in 2004 to create flash memory products for this expanding digital market.

They are aimed at users of Secure Digital format digital cameras.

"By offering SD High Performance cards, we're improving the overall experience for people who want to capture and store their memories with both still images and video," said Claudio D'Amico, general manager, worldwide memory business, Eastman Kodak Company. "Recreational picture takers want to pick up their digital camera and instantly 'freeze' a moment in time. By using a KODAK memory card that reduces the lag time between shots and optimizes full-motion video capture capability on some cameras, our customers will be ready for anything that comes their way," he added.

KODAK High Performance flash memory cards will be initially available from Lexar in capacities of 512MB and 1GB this month. Larger capacity cards will be available later this year.

Samsung announces a trio of new digital cameras

Samsung S500

Samsung S600

Samsung S800

In conjunction with this CES show in Las Vegas Samsung announced this week three new cameras to its lineup, the 8 megapixel Samsung Digimax S800, the 6 megapixel Samsung Digimax S600 and the 5 megapixel Samsung Digimax S500. All three cameras have a 2.4 inch LCD screen and 3x optical zoom lens. These new cameras according to Samsung will be available early 2006.

Pentax releases new entries to their digital camera lineup as well.

Pentax has announced two new digital cameras to their compact Optio line. The Pentax Optio A10, brings an 8 megapixel sensor and "Shake Reduction" in the familiar Optio size. The Pentax Optio "A" line are high end sleek cameras that feature 8 mp resolution, along with a sleek compact design. The beginner-friendly Pentax Optio E10 sports a 6 megapixel sensor. Both cameras will be available in February 2006 with the A10 at $350 and the E10 at $200.

Along with the camera announcements, Pentax is introducing a new naming scheme that they hope will make it easier for consumers to understand. The "A" line is the designation for the high-end product line and the "E" line is the designation for easy to use products. Makes sense eh? Well not if you follow digital cameras closely. Every company has naming conventions and how are we to remember?

The new Pentax Optio's though do look like winners. We shall have to check them out in detail shortly.

HP introduced the most comprehensive line of digital entertainment products and services in its history at the annual Consumer Electronics Show today.

HP's new line of sleek, pocket-size digital cameras features bigger, brighter LCD screens, an on-camera button for ordering and sharing photos through Snapfish, and new in-camera technologies that boost creativity and help consumers take better pictures.

Fujifilm releases an ultra-compact digital camera with Real Photo Technology as well as two entry-level models with Fujifilm's famed Super CCD sensor highlight the digital camera announcements made today by Fuji Photo Film U.S.A, Inc. Fujifilm is showcasing the cameras - the FinePix V10 and FinePix A400 and A500 - along with a fourth camera, the slim and trim FinePix F470, in meeting rooms N101 and N102 in the Center Hall of the Las Vegas Convention Center throughout the show.

Big Results from a Small Camera Real Photo Technology first appeared in Fujifilm digital cameras in 2005 and the FinePix V10, with a five MegaPixel Super CCD HR sensor, is the first camera in Fujifilm's 2006 line-up to include Real Photo Technology. Known for its ability to remove noise from digital pictures and thus allowing digital cameras to take pictures at higher light sensitivities, Real Photo Technology was met with much acclaim by camera reviewers and consumers when it was introduced last year.

Panasonic today announces the introduction of the new DMC-LS2, an affordable, accessible, high- quality digital still camera that brings convenient picture taking to a new level. The DMC-LS2 features a 5-megapixel CCD, MEGA Optical Image Stabilization, and a 3x optical zoom lens.

Sanyo Making its debut at the 2006 International CES, the SANYO Xacti HD1 is the world’s first high-definition compact digital media camera.* Offering advanced, next-generation video performance, the SANYO Xacti HD1 is the world’s smallest and lightest high-definition digital media camera, ideal for recording today with the future in mind.

, the world’s leading manufacturer of digital cameras and components, designed the Xacti HD1 Digital Media Camera to easily record both 720p high-definition video and 5.1 megapixel digital still images to a standard SD flash memory card. The SANYO Xacti HD1 will be available in the U.S. in late March at an MSRP of $799.99**

Sony Digital Cameras -There is more to consider when purchasing a digital still camera than pixels and price. Sony's new Cyber-shot® DSC-S600 model offers that and more.

The new camera features six-megapixel resolution and a precision Carl Zeiss® Vario-Tessar lens with a 3x optical wide-angle (31 - 93 mm) zoom, which is much wider than other cameras in its class, so everyone is sure to be in the shot.