Hasta La Gadget!

Looks like we didn’t have to wait long after today’s leak. Pentax has made its not quite entry-level DSLR, the K-x. All the earlier specs have panned out, so we’re looking at a 12.4 megapixel CMOS censor, a 200 to 6400 ISO sensitivity expandable to 100 to 12,800, 4.7 frames per second continuous shooting, and 720p HD video at 24 frames per second. Sized up to the K-7, its wider ISO range is the only improvement, otherwise on par in features or lacking, as is in the case of AF / AE, video, and continuous shooting speed. It’s due out in October available in black, white, red, or navy blue, with an attractive base price of $650 that nets you a 18-55mm lens.

Read – Press release
Read – Brief hands-on

Filed under: Digital Cameras

Pentax K-x DSLR now official: 12.4MP, 720p video, coming October for $650 originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 17 Sep 2009 01:03:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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No surprises here (at all), but Leica’s 09/09/09 event has just led to the formal unveiling of the full-frame, 18 megapixel M9 rangefinder and the compact X1. The former (which is shipping now) supports all Leica M lenses and ships with a “newly developed glass sensor cover designed to guarantee the suppression of the infrared portion of the light spectrum.” There’s also a quick-access ISO adjustment button alongside a few other hotkeys, a full metal housing, Kodak-sourced CCD, a fresh microprocessor-controlled shutter (which is supposedly “near silent”) and a staggering £4,850 ($8,004) price tag. As for the X1, you’ll find a 12.1 megapixel CMOS sensor (APS-C), a fixed-mount Leica Elmarit 1:2.8/24mm lens, numerous “auto” modes for the newbies in attendance, a maximum ISO of 3200, 2.7-inch rear LCD and a Live View function that replaces the optical viewfinder. Expect to hear more regarding price when the January 2010 ship date nears, but for now, feel free to peruse the hands-on galleries linked below.

Read – Leica M9 announcement and hands-on
Read – Leica X1 announcement and hands-on

Filed under: Digital Cameras

Leica gets official with M9 and X1 cameras, hands-on ensue originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 09 Sep 2009 09:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Just look at that little bugger. Ain’t it just so cute? All jesting aside, the adorably retro piece of kit you’re inevitably peering at above rings up at $799 to $899, meaning that it’s priced way too high to be slotted in most consumers’ impulse buy category. Olympus’ E-P1 was launched with high hopes, and it pretty much held the weight of the Micro Four Thirds world on its shoulders. During our time with the unit, we found image quality to be satisfactory overall and the design to be simply stunning, but we certainly didn’t come away feeling it was flawless. For those of you who overlooked the entry-level DSLR in order to try something different, how has that decision treated you? Are you full of remorse? Could you not be happier? Spill all in comments below.

Filed under: Digital Cameras

How would you change Olympus’ E-P1? originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 04 Sep 2009 23:05:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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So much for subtle, ambiguous leaks. As a great follow-up to the first blurry pics we saw of Panasonic’s Lumix GF1, someone over at dpreview apparently pulled the trigger a little early and posted a vertical banner ad for the micro four thirds camera, with the tag line “DSLR photo quality in ultra compact flat design.” 4/3rumors has some of the other ad variants if you’re curious — so now that its ad campaign is primed for launch, anyone care to take a guess how much longer we’ll be waiting for its full debut?

[Via Photo Rumors; thanks, Ren K]

Filed under: Digital Cameras

Panasonic Lumix GF1 banner ad hits the web, still not official originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 01 Sep 2009 19:26:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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The 12.5-megapixel HZ25W combines the compact size of a pocket camera with the larger zooms more common to DSLRs: a 26mm wide-angled lens with 24x optical zoom, in this case. It can also shoot 720p HD video in H.264 format.

There’s no HD output, though. On the upside, the HZ25W (aka WB5000 in Europe) can handle uncompressed RAW images, in addition to standard JPEG files.

Aside from manual controls, aided modes include optical and digital image stabilization, smart face recognition, blink detection, and automatic adjustments to accommodate the color, brightness and movement of what you’re shooting.

Update: The HZ25W is scheduled to hit U.S. shops in October at $400. [Samsung]