Olympus announced on Monday the release of the Tough TG-3 iHS point-and-shoot camera, a successor to the TG-2 from last year with some notable improvements including increased megapixels, built-in Wifi and remote control through your Android or iOS mobile device.
The Tough TG-3 comes with a 16 megapixel BSI CMOS image sensor, can handle drops from up to seven feet and being submerged in up to 50 feet of water. Adding to the the “tough”-ness, Olympus says it can also stand up to 220 foot pounds of pressure without cracking and will operate down to 14°F.
The latest Tough camera has a 3-inch rear LCD, and will come in black or red sometime in June for $349.99.
The landscape of high-end point and shoots has changed significantly over the past couple of years. Canon’s two-year-old G1 X used to be unique and sought after, but Sony’s RX100 and RX100 Mark II redefined what a point and shoot was capable of. Now it’s Canon’s turn to play catch up.
Yep, the rumors were spot-on. At the 2013 IFA trade show, Sony revealed two of the most unusual cameras you’ll ever see. The Cyber-shot QX10 and QX100 Lens Cameras pack all of the necessary hardware inside a tiny cylinder, save for a viewfinder. Why? Because the two point-and-shoot cameras are meant as an upgrade for people who use their smartphone as their main camera. Now their phones can just be viewfinders, or even ditched altogether.
Remember the WVIL camera concept that appeared in 2011? The QX cameras are a lot like that. As Sony Alpha Rumors leaked a couple of weeks ago, the QX100 (seen above) has the same lens and 20.2mp CMOS sensor as the beloved RX100 Mark II camera while the QX10 (below) shares the lens and 18.2mp sensor of the WX150 point-and-shoot. Both cameras have their own battery and a slot for a microSD, microSDHC or a Memory Stick Micro card.
As you’ll see in the pictures and videos below, Sony is pushing these cameras together with the newly introduced Xperia Z Android smartphone. In fact, Sony is selling a plastic case that makes it easier to attach the QX cameras to the Xperia Z. Makes you wonder about the other Sony device in the images eh? It’s safe to assume that both the Xperia Z and the mystery device support NFC, which is the easiest way to pair the cameras to a phone. But the QX cameras can also be used with other Android phones and even iOS devices via the Sony PlayMemories app and a Wi-Fi connection.
To be clear, both QX cameras can be used on their own, but if you can afford either camera chances are you also have an Android or iOS device. If so, you can use the cameras’ clamp to attach them to your mobile device. Then get the PlayMemories app so you can use your device as a viewfinder, like so:
But as was imagined with the WVIL, you can keep a QX camera detached from your mobile device to make it easier to shoot from odd heights or angles…
…or to include yourself in the shot:
Then you can view, save or upload the photo or video on your mobile device using Sony’s app. The cameras will stay connected to your mobile device up to about 30ft., but the connection will likely be cut off if there are walls or other thick objects between the two devices.
Here’s Sony with more about the QX100 and QX10:
The cameras seem like great ideas for casual users, but they do have a couple of tradeoffs, most notably the way they connect to a smartphone. If you’re fortunate enough to have an NFC enabled phone, connecting to the lens cam is as easy as touching the two devices together, which automatically authenticates and connects them via Wi-Fi. However, if you don’t, you’ll have to manually connect them via Wi-Fi. It’s not clear if this creates an AdHoc Wi-Fi network between the phone and the lens, or if it requires a Wi-Fi infrastructure connection to be available. I’d assume it’s the former, which would mean your smartphone will be temporarily disconnected from any live Wi-Fi connections while connected to the camera. Then there’s the process of taking pictures with the camera. I have not tested either of the cameras, but David Pierce of The Verge did. Skip to about 0:40 in The Verge’s hands-on video below and you’ll see what I’m talking about:
Not exactly smooth, eh? Then again, unless you have the Nokia 1020 the QX cameras are significantly better than your phone’s cameras. Ultimately that should be their main selling point. You can pre-order both the QX100 and QX10 from Sony’s online store or from Amazon. The QX100 costs $500 (USD) (its big brother, the RX100 costs $750) while the QX10 costs $250 (the WX150 costs $400).
Nikon’s Coolpix S01 is adorable, and its successor, the S02, is too. The itsy-bitsy point-and-shoot is one of the smallest and lightest zoom-equipped cameras on the market, but it’s hardly the most powerful. That’s to be expected — the Coolpix S02 will fit in the smallest of palms, and its $180 price tag is reasonable given the spec list. There’s a 13.2-megapixel CMOS sensor (compared to a 10MP CCD on last year’s model), a larger 2.7-inch touchscreen, 1080p video (up from 720p) and a 3x 30-90mm f/3.3-5.9 lens. Due to the cam’s small size, there’s no room for a removable battery or expandable storage, so you’ll be limited to the internal cell and fixed 7.3GB for saving images and video clips. Expect the S02 to hit stores later this month in silver, white, pink and blue.
Canon’s got a handful of incremental updates to detail today, including a selection of PowerShot point-and-shoots. The G16 is the priciest of the bunch, ringing in at $550. This model, which is set to ship in October, replaces last year’s G15, and includes a 12.1-megapixel CMOS sensor, DIGIC 6 processor, 5x 28-140mm f/1.8-2.8 optical zoom lens and 1080/60p video capture. Next up is the S120, retailing for $450, also in October. This pocketable S110 replacement includes a 12.1-megapixel CMOS sensor, DIGIC 6 processor, 5x 24-120mm f/1.8-5.7 optical zoom lens and 1080/60p video capture. The SX510 HS is the cheapest of this premium bunch, with a $250 MSRP. This superzoom, expected in September, packs a 12.1-megapixel CMOS sensor, DIGIC 4 processor, a 30x 24-720mm f/3.4-5.8 optical zoom lens and 1080p video.
The G15, S120 and SX510 HS all include built-in WiFi, letting you pair the camera with Canon’s Image Gateway Android or iOS app to upload shots to a variety of social networking sites, including Facebook, Twitter and Flickr. The final model, the PowerShot SX170 IS, does not include WiFi. It’s quite a bit cheaper at $180, however, and should ship in September. This entry-level cam includes a 16-megapixel sensor, DIGIC 4 processor, a 16x 28-448mm f/3.5-5.9 image-stabilized lens and 720p video. That last flavor replaced the SX160 IS, which launched last year as well. The SX170 swaps a rechargeable battery pack for its predecessor’s AAs, resulting in a thinner profile. Catch a bit more on all four models in the press release after the break.%Gallery-slideshow73255%
Summer’s in full swing, and, if we’re being really honest with ourselves, everyone’s probably praying to the air conditioning gods more than any other tech deity at this point. But man cannot live on air conditioning alone. Plus, June saw some pretty awesome gadgets come our way. Here are the cream of this very, very hot month’s gadgety crop.
Really exciting point-and-shoot cameras only come around every so often, and last year’s Sony RX100 was one of them. It blew its pocket compact competitors away. It also cost $650, which is pricey for an enthusiast camera. The new scaled down Sony HX50V mimics the RX100’s covetable aesthetics, and packs some attractive, beginner-friendly features into a $450 package. Call it trickle-down design done right. More »
We don’t tend to get excited about any CCD sensor-equipped point-and-shoot nowadays, but Nikon’s Coolpix S3500 has at least one feature that we don’t often see on a camera in this price range: lens-shift optical image stabilization, or Vibration Reduction (VR). Otherwise, this point-and-shoot’s specifications are par for the course, and include a 20.1-megapixel CCD sensor, a 7x, f/3.4-6.4 optical zoom lens and a rather-weak QVGA (320 x 240-pixel) LCD. It can shoot 720p video, too, though we wouldn’t expect industry-leading IQ. At $139, the S3500 is priced right for casual photographers, and its orange, pink, purple, red and silver color schemes should appease most digicam-hungry tweens. Hop past the break for some talking points from Nikon HQ.
Olympus is carrying on the recent compact camera trend of fast-ish zoom lenses and wireless sharing capability with the launch of the 12-megapixel Stylus XZ-10. The new model follows in the footsteps of the company’s top compact dog XZ-2 model, sporting a slightly smaller 1/2.3-inch sensor and a wider range 5x optical zoom with a similar f/1.8-2.7 iris. Otherwise, it’s aimed more at the casual carry-around crowd with a 40 percent smaller body, touch-screen focus selection, control ring exposure adjustment, a 3-inch 920k dot TFT LCD, art filters (in the smartphone app), image (or film) stabilization and 1080P 30 fps HD video. Olympus is also trumpeting its smartphone OI.Share capability, allowing images to be sent wirelessly to an iOS or Android device and edited with the included app — provided you have the optional Toshiba FlashAir card. It’ll be arriving in March in black, brown or white at a rather steep-sounding £349, which equates to $550, though exact US pricing hasn’t been revealed yet. See the PR after the break for more nitty-gritty.
Nikon introduced this morning in Japan and USA the the COOLPIX AW110. Waterproof, shockproof and freezeproof, the rugged AW110 is built to handle the elements, whether hiking up a mountain, hitting the slopes or riding the surf. Nikon’s newest tough camera also offers built-in Wi-Fi connectivity for sharing, Full HD 1080p video capabilities and a slew of advanced features that adventurers covet, including GPS and underwater shooting modes. The COOLPIX AW110 is the ultimate point-and-shoot …
This is site is run by Sascha Endlicher, M.A., during ungodly late night hours. Wanna know more about him? Connect via Social Media by jumping to about.me/sascha.endlicher.
Olympus announced on Monday the release of the Tough TG-3 iHS point-and-shoot camera, a successor to the TG-2 from last year with some notable improvements including increased megapixels, built-in Wifi and remote control through your Android or iOS mobile device.
