Rounding Up Photokina 2008: New Compact Cameras

While the announcements from last week's Photokina trade show in Germany were heavily tilted toward DSLRs and new digital sensor/lens systems (such as Four Thirds and Fuji's Real 3D System), there was a small gaggle (or would that be a clowder) of compact cameras that got unleashed to the world. But they weren't all that awe-inspiring, as DPReview notes in its show summary:

There's no doubt in our minds that the compact camera market needs a serious kick up the card slot, and the stagnation is obvious when you look at just how few compacts were launched this year at Photokina. This is in part due to ever shorter product cycles (which make waiting for trade shows commercially impossible), but we suspect it's also because there's really very little about the steady stream of 'me too' models that the manufacturers really want to shout about at an international trade show.

This sentiment is exemplified by GE (not necessarily a consumer imaging powerhouse) jumping into the digital point-and-shoot arena with a trio of cameras with 10-megapixel resolutions (and one of them shooting 720p video). But a few of the bigger names came out with some models with notable specs. Kodak introduced the Z1485 (seen at right), which offers a 14-megapixel resolution with a 5x optical zoom and digital image stabilization. Geoff Duncan at Digital Trends sums up the rest of the features, including:

...a Smart Capture feature that automatically adjusts the camera's settings for good shots in a variety of environments with intelligent scene selection, focus and exposure ontrol, and image processing. [...] The camera also integrates face detection technology, and offer three battery options (AA, CRV3, and Li-Ion rechargeables) for flexibility. The camera will also shoot QuickTime and MPEG-4 video at up to 30 fps at 1,280 by 720 resolution.

And it comes in three colors (pink and blue in addition to standard black). A bit more on the compact side is the Samsung HZ1, which offers the usual round-up of spec suspects (10-megapixels, optical image stabilization, face detection, 720P HD video recording) but adds an intriguing 10x optical zoom (via Electronista and CNet Asia). The full specs and release date, however, have yet to be confirmed.

Finally, don't forget the SD880IS and SD990IS Powershot point-and-shoots released by Canon a couple of weeks before the Photokina event (check out more details at DPReview).

--Agen G.N. Schmitz