Digital Trends

The annual Consumer Electronics Show features tidal waves of products. In the digital imaging world, camcorders are the main event and all of the top companies unveiled new models—Sony, Panasonic, Canon, JVC et al. As far as digital cameras are concerned the Photo Marketing Association (PMA) trade show is usually the main kickoff and that event is held after CES. Still with zillions of press people roaming the halls of the Las Vegas Convention Center, it was only logical a few new digicams made the scene. (Don’t worry we’ll be at PMA on January 31st to share the latest and greatest.) What follows are my picks for the best camcorders and cameras from CES. Realize these are the “theoretical” best in show as we really didn’t get a chance to put them through their paces. Still it’s good to have something to look forward to.

Cameras

Quick Takeaway: It’ll be hard finding a mainstream digicam with anything less than a 7-megapixel imager in 2008.

Fujifilm FZ100fd

A much more stylish version of the recently review F50fd, this is an 8-megapixel camera with a 5x optical zoom (equivalent to 36-180mm in 35mm terms). It has a cool sliding door on the front to power it on or off (similar to the Sony T series). The FZ100fd also has Dual Image Stabilization (mechanical and electronic) to eliminate the shakes in your shots. It features Fujifilm’s advanced Face Detection mode with built-in red-eye reduction that really does a fine job with people pictures. The camera also has a 2.7-inch LCD screen and a top ISO of 1600. It comes out in January for $249 USD.

Fujifilm FZ100fd

Sony alpha DSLR-A200

One wouldn’t expect a new D-SLR announcement at CES but Sony always does things a little differently. The new alpha DSLR-A200 is the replacement for the company’s first D-SLR (A100) which is definitely getting long in the tooth. This new 10-megapixel model with optical stabilization built into the body comes with an 18-70mm lens for $700 USD list or with two lenses (an additional 75-300mm for $900 USD). It’s due in February. Sony claims this one has an auto focus that’s 1.7x faster than the A100 plus it has a pop-up flash and a larger LCD (2.7 inches). We liked the original A100 and the new A700  so this one should be solid as well.

Sony alpha DSLR-A200

Samsung NV24HD

Samsung Camera unveiled a mere seven new cameras at the show but my clear favorite was the NV24HD, a 10MP model with a very wide-angle zoom. The 3.6x lens has a range of 24-86.4mm, making it the widest angle point-and-shoot out there ($349 USD, due March). Also very cool is its 2.5-inch OLED screen. You may not want to spend $2,500 USD for Sony’s 11-inch OLED HDTV but this lets you own a small piece of this new display technology (which is really quite good) for a lot less. The camera also records 720p video at 30 frames per second.

Samsung NV24HD

Casio Exilim Pro EX-F1

Casio doesn’t usually break the mold—the company typically introduces skinny digicams that fit into your back pocket. Although they introduced a bunch of them at CES, the real star was the EX-F1, a 6-megapixel camera capable of shooting a blazing 60 frames per second at full resolution. As you can imagine nothing comes close to this one. It can even shoot 1,200 fps in movie mode so you can watch some great slow motion videos. In still mode, you’d be hard pressed to miss a shot—in theory, of course. We can’t wait to get our hands on this one with its built-in 12x optical zoom and high-speed flash. It’s due in April for $999 USD.

Casio Exilim Pro EX-F1

Kodak EasyShare V1273

Kodak unveiled five new models at the show that arrive this spring. Kodak usually doesn’t blow the doors off with its announcements since they’re targeted for mainstream shooters—more like variations on a theme. However, all have a new feature called Smart Capture that is basically like the Intelligent Auto Exposure on Panasonic digicams. With it, the camera makes the adjustments for the subject in front of it (portrait, landscape and so on), basically point-and-shoot plus. 2007’s V1253 12MP edition was a solid little camera and it’s being updated by the V1273 ($279 USD) with a new 3-inch touchscreen to make your menu adjustments rather than the typical four-way controller.

Kodak EasyShare V1273

Read on to see our top camcorders from CES.