When Pentax announced the K10D back in 2006, it was a revolutionary camera for serious amateurs and professionals on a budget. The K10D was more rugged and feature-packed than any Pentax digital SLR before it. In 2008, the company decided to update their line with the Pentax K20D, but that camera was more evolutionary than revolutionary... so much so that many Pentax K10D owners never felt the need to upgrade.

The Pentax K-7 answers those complaints by including many features that have never been seen on a Pentax camera before. In-camera lens correction for distortion control, lateral chromatic aberration adjustment, expanded dynamic range with highlight correction and adjustable shadow correction - these are new features that help the K-7 stand apart from previous Pentax cameras. Read the whole review here. You can buy the camera here.

Yesterday we found a new Panasonic patent (from December 10) which shows a new FourThirds camera (not MicroFourThirds!).

It is very difficoult to read patents that’s why we made a small summary of the most interesting parts:

Live-View, Optical Viewfinder, mirror and prism, of course interchangeable FourThirds lens mount, CMOS sensor, supersonic vibration generator, No Video recording, No in body stabilzation.

And Photographybay just published their CES 2010 predictions and they say Panasonic will drop another FourThirds DSLR!!! Read the whole article here

The Powershot G series has represented a fairly formidable presence at the top of the compact camera tree. From a keen photographer point-of-view, there's little on the market that can match its mixture of zoom range, lens flexibility, build quality and level of manual control. Somehow Ricoh's GX and Nikon's P series have never quite had the same impact but Panasonic's LX3 has been enough to tempt some potential customers away, with its bright lens and convincing (for a compact) low-light performance.

The G11 seems determined to wrestle back its position as undisputed champion of the market, though, incorporating what Canon describes as a 'high sensitivity' CCD. In what might be a first, the company has reduced the pixel count in comparison to the preceding model. In principle, there is no disadvantage to having more pixels when you consider the whole image (other than the larger file sizes that might slow down the camera and fill your memory card faster and the added complication of having to apply noise reduction before demosaicing, which is not something many people are willing or able to do). However, the often larger photosites of a less pixel-dense sensor will tend to receive more light, in the same exposure, making it easier to produce an image that looks cleaner at the pixel level. Almost as if Canon wants its flagship compact to be a handy all-rounder. Read rge excellent review here. You can buy the camera here.

The Panasonic Lumix DMC-FP8 is a new 12.1 megapixel compact camera with a 28mm, 4.6x Leica DC lens. The FP8 is quite different to previous designs from Panasonic, featuring a futuristic flat body and retracting lens with folding optics and blue LED cursor buttons that light up when pressed. In addition to the radical look, the Panasonic FP8 also offers 27 scene modes, including the High Dynamic mode which helps to capture a scene with moderate exposure, plus HD movies recorded at 720p quality, Venus Engine V image processor, Intelligent Auto mode for hassle-free shooting, and Power O.I.S to help prevent camera-shake. Available in red, black and silver, the Panasonic Lumix DMC-FP8 is priced at £249.99 / $299.95. Read the whole review here. You can buy the camera here.

The Sony Alpha DSLR A500 is Sony's latest released DSLR this year, along with the Alpha A550. The Alpha A500 and A550 are so close in specifications (a common strategy with Sony DSLRS within the DSLR lineup) that there won't be too much new information to report here in terms of 'paper performance' when compared to the A550 review I prepared, yet I will report on various areas of difference in details that I think are truly worth reading and hit areas that I didn't cover for the A550 review. Together both reviews should give the reader a combined and informative article in total between both cameras, and clarify some key differences that you would experience had you bought both cameras and compared them yourself. Read the review here. You can buy the camera here.

Canon releases a new firmware update for the EOS-1Ds Mark III (Version 1.2.0) and the EOS-1D Mark III (Version 1.3.0). The update incorporates the support for the WFT-E2 II wireless file transmitter that was released in December 2009. At the same time, firmware update Version 2.0.0 has been released for the WFT-E2 / E2A wireless file transmitter to support the EOS-1D Mark IV digital SLR camera. If you are using the WFT-E2 / E2A with the EOS-1D Mark III or EOS-1Ds Mark III, you do not need to update the firmware... Firmware update after the link

Sony Europe introduces two new Cyber-Shot digital cameras in the W-Series. The Cyber-Shot W180 and W190 are entry level cameras with 10.1 resp. 12.1 megapixel resolution and a 3x optical zoom lens, featuring easy to use convenient shooting functions, a Smile Shutter function to automatically capture smiling portraits, SteadyShot and seven Scene Selection modes. The new Cyber-shot W180 and W190 compact digital cameras are available from July in a choice of three colors: silver, black and red... read the whole article here

Nikon's plan to cut 1,000 jobs worldwide will have no direct impact on the firm's imaging division, a company spokeswoman has said.
Earlier this week Nikon Japan announced the cutbacks as part of a plan to restructure its Precision Equipment business, which makes semiconductors.
Asked to clarify the position regarding its imaging division, a UK spokeswoman told Amateur Photographer: 'As the cuts have been made within a separate arm of the business, we are not really in a position to comment as there is no direct impact on imaging at this time.' via amateurphotographer.co.uk

Canon Inc. and Canon Marketing Japan Inc. today announced that the Canon EOS 5D Mark II digital SLR camera, equipped with a 21.1-megapixel 35mm full-frame CMOS sensor and capable of recording full HD video, has been named "Camera of the Year" in the Camera Grand Prix 2009.
The Camera Grand Prix, the most prestigious award in Japan's photo industry, is sponsored by the Camera Journal Press Club Japan (CJPC), comprising thirteen photography and camera publications (as of May 2009). The Camera Grand Prix selection committee is made up of chief editors of CJPC member publications, academic experts, technical writers, professional photographers, and representatives from photo-related organizations. The coveted Camera of the Year 2009 was awarded to the most impressive camera released in Japan between April 1, 2008, and March 31, 2009. Read the whole article inside