Contributing editor David MacNeill says: My days of complaining about the limitations of multifunction printers are over. Used to be you had to give up so much in one or more of the functions that it just wasn't worth the space and money savings to have one. But that was then and this is now. I have consistently preferred Epson printers over the years and the RX680 (List $199, $129 discounted) gives me no reason to change that preference. I have been living with this unit for over a month and can report that it is an excellent machine, worthy of your hard earned cash. It is not perfect, but it is the best multifunction printer I've ever reviewed.
[See review of the Epson Stylus Photo RX680 Multifunction Printer]

Two new 8-megapixel Nikon Coolpix cameras
Nikon introduced two new 8-megapixel S-series Coolpix cameras. The US$179 S210's primary claim to fame is its slender, sexy body that's just 0.7 inches thin. It also weighs next to nothing and fits anywhere. Yet, it has a large and razor-sharp 2.5-inch LCD that remains quite readable outdoors thanks to an anti-reflection coating. The design is clean and uncluttered, and the four available colors are quite attractive. The US$229 aluminum-bodied S520 is a bit thicker and heavier. It has active lens shift vibration reduction that eliminates most blur when you zoom and it can be used both for still pictures and for movies. [Read full description and specs of the Coolpix S210 and Coolpix S520] -- Posted Friday, February 1, 2008 by chb

Two new tough and rugged Olympus Stylus models
Olympus introduced two new cameras in its SW (Shock & Waterproof) series. The US$299 Stylus 850 SW is a 8-megapixel camera that's waterproof to ten feet, can survive drops of five feet, and freezing temperatures. It's designed for all sorts of outoors activities including skiing and snorkeling. The US$399 10-megapixel Stylus 1030 SW is tougher yet. You can go diving with it, down to 33 feet (and probably more), drop it from almost seven feet, subject it to extreme temperatures, dust, sand, whatever. It also has a terrific hi-res 2.7-inch LCD and a 3.6X 28-102mm optical zoom that enables wide angle photography. [Read full description and specs of the new Olympus Stylus 850 SW and Olympus Stylus 1030 SW] -- Posted Tuesday, January 22, 2008 by chb

Superfast burst mode and movies in 12X zoom Casio Pro EX-F1
Casio's corporate slogan is "Expect the Unexpected," but even so, few would have expected the Pro EX-F1 from the company famous for its attractive little ultra-slim cameras. What is the EX-F1? A fairly large 6-megapixel camera with a 12X optical zoom and, according to Casio, the world's fastest burst shooting performance. How fast? Up to 60 frames per second in full resolution burst mode, and up to 1,200 frames per second in high-speed movies! And also 1920 x 1080 stereo movies at 60 frames per second. [Read detailed description and specs of the Casio Exilim Pro EX-F1] -- Posted Wednesday, January 16, 2008 by chb

Two more new 10-megapixel Casios
Casio added two more stylish and attractive 10-megapixel cameras to its lineup. The Exilim EX-Z100 and EX-Z200 come in a variety of colors, have a high-res 2.7-inch display, all the goodies of the latest generation of Casios (800 x 480 pixel movies at 30fps, auto-shutter, face recognition, and digital image stabilization. They have a 28-112mm 4X optical zoom that allows wide angle shooting. No manual modes, but 39 scene modes cover about everything. The difference between the two is that the US$299 EX-Z200 has CCD-shift active anti-blur technology and the US$279 EX-Z100 does not. [Read detailed description and specs of the Casio EX-Z100 and EX-Z200] -- Posted Saturday, January 12, 2008 by chb

The new Casio EX-Z80: even smaller and lighter
The 8.1 megapixel Casio Exilim EX-Z80, available in six colors, replaces the EX-Z77 as the entry level model in Casio's "Zoom" series. It's even smaller and lighter than its predecessor, can record 848 x 480 pixel movies at 30 frames per second and uses H.264/AAC recording for easy play back on iPods and automatic upload to YouTube. There is advanced face recognition that can even detect a smile, and a special "auto shutter" mode detects movement and can automatically take blue-free pictures. The EX-Z80 lists for US$199.95. [Read detailed description of the Casio Exilim EX-Z80] -- Posted Friday, January 11, 2008 by chb

New: Ultra-slim 10 megapixel Casio EX-S10
The ultra-slim (just 0.55 inches) stainless-steel bodied Exilim EX-S10 is Casio's first Card-series 10 megapixel camera. It's available in red, blue, black and silver, has a high-res 2.7 inch wide-format LCD, and can record 848 x 480 pixel movies at 30 frames per second. The S10, which lists for US$249, uses H.264/AAC recording and can easily play back on iPods and in iTunes/iLife'08. There are 36 scene modes (including YouTube and eBay), face recognition and a special "auto shutter" that shoots a picture when your hands don't shake or the subject stops moving. [Read detailed description of the Casio Exilim EX-S10] -- Posted Thursday, January 10, 2008 by chb

Review: Fujifilm FinePix Z100fd
With the Z100fd, Fujifilm offers its most advanced "Z" series camera yet. It is a small and slender 8-megapixel camera with eye-catching design and color options. The fully internal 5X optical zoom means no annoying lens barrel protruding from the camera. A combination xD Picture Card and standard SD card slot provides more storage options. The Fuji Super CCD HR imager makes for excellent picture quality, and the camera has both mechanical and digital image stabilization. The Z100fd lists for US$249.99, far less than older "Z"series top of the line cameras, but at the high end of 8-megapixel consumer cameras. Its performance and features justify the price. [Read review of the FujiFilm FinePix Z100fd] -- Posted Monday, January 7, 2008 by chb

Digital camera built into swimming/snorkeling mask
Digital cameras are in almost every cellphone, so why not design a swimming snorkeling mask with a camera built in? That's exactly what Liquid Image is now introducing. The Liquid Image Underwater Digital Camera Mask combines a 3.1 megapixel camera for kids or 5.0 megapixel digital camera for adults with a mask. The camera can do still pictures and video at 18-25 frames per second, uses a Micro SD card, is powered by two AAA batteries and has 16MB of integrated storage. It has a LCD display, a USB port, and comes with ArcSoft Photo and Video Impression software. To shoot a picture, line up the crosshairs in the mask. The mask is primarily for swimming and snorkeling as its maximum depth is 15 feet. [Check Liquid Image Digital Camera Mask] -- Posted Wednesday, January 2, 2008 by chb

The state of digital cameras at the end of 2007
We review a lot of cameras during a year, and we stay on top of all the technological developments. So see what happened, what changed (a lot), what stayed the same (not much) and just generally where digital cameras are today. The state of digital cameras at the end of 2007. -- Posted Wednesday, December 26, 2007 by chb

CablesToGo adds cable finder page
Sure you can stick your memory card into a card reader, but a lot of people prefer cables to connect their camera to their PC or Mac, and those cables can easily get lost. Where to get a replacement? And what kind to get so it fits? The friendly folks at CablesToGo just added a handy camera cable finder page. Just put in your camera's make and model, and you get a list of cables to fit! Some cameras are missing, but CablesToGo is adding them as fats as they can. -- Posted Wednesday, December 19, 2007 by chb

Eye-Fi SD card combines WiFi and 2GB of storage
There are cameras with built-in WiFi, but wouldn't it be nice to be able to add wireless to any digital camera? You can do that with the amazing Eye-Fi card that combines 802.11b/g wireless with a nice 2GB of storage capacity. The bright-orange card looks just like a standard SD card and fits into any camera that uses the SD card format. The software loads automatically, has a browser-based interface, and you can upload to your PC or Mac and/or almost 20 photo sharing sites. How much does it cost? US$99.99 retail. [Read our full review of the Eye-Fi wireless 2GB memory card] -- Posted Friday, December 14, 2007 by chb

And another new Nikon: The S51c with WiFi
The 8.1 megapixel Coolpix S51c is an elegant, small and handy camera with a fully internal 3X zoom. It offers an interesting feature in its built-in wireless connection that lets you send and store pictures. It primarily connects to Nikon's own my Picturetown service, which limits choices. The camera is small enough to fit anywhere, yet has a very large and razor-sharp 3.0-inch LCD that remains quite readable outdoors thanks to an anti-reflection coating. The design is clean and uncluttered,and the camera offers full voice recording, VGA movies with sound, and active lens shift vibration reduction that eliminates most blur when you zoom. It also includes a slew of Nikon's in-camera goodies and technologies. [Read full description of the wireless Nikon Coolpix S51c] -- Posted Tuesday, November 27, 2007 by chb

Nikon Style: the Coolpix S510 and S700
Almost everyone now offers lots of megapixel and a slew of advanced features at very low cost, so manufacturers have been forced to differentiate low and high end cameras in different ways. The current approach is to have different "families" of cameras, with each appealing to a different group of customers. The new stainless steel 8.1 megapixel Coolpix S510 and brushed aluminum 12.1 megapixel S700, combine sophisticated elegance with advanced technology and speed. [Read our detailed description and specs of the Nikon Coolpix S510 and the Nikon Coolpix S700] -- Posted Monday, November 26, 2007 by chb

Nikon offers two new P-Series performance models
Those who want more power and versatility than point & shooters offer will be interested in two new "performance series" cameras from Nikon. The Coolpix P50 (US$229.95) is a small and handy 8.1 megapixel camera with some manual control, face recognition, red-eye reduction and electronic vibration reduction. The 12.1 megapixel Coolpix P5100 (US$379.95) offers full manual control, a high-resolution 2.5-inch LCD and true optical lens-shift image stabilization. Both have optical viewfinders to complement their LCDs, have 16 scene modes, and fit into most pockets in spite of their considerable power. [Read reviews of the Nikon Coolpix P50 and Nikon Coolpix P5100] -- Posted Friday, November 23, 2007 by chb

Two inexpensive Nikon Coolpix LIVE series cameras
For this holiday season, Nikon introduced two new members of its friendly, inexpensive "LIFE" series cameras. The Coolpix L14 (US$149.95) is a competent 7.1 megapixel camera with such advanced features as face recognition and internal red-eye reduction. Spend an extra US$30 and you can get the 8.9 megapixel Coolpix L15 that has a large, high-resolution 2.8-inch LCD and optical lens-shift image stabilization. Both are simple and easy to use, have 16 scene modes, fit into any pocket and, of course, carry the prestigious Nikon Coolpix name. [Read reviews of the Nikon Coolpix L14 and Nikon Coolpix L15] -- Posted Friday, November 23, 2007 by chb

Oprah uses Flip Video for her new YouTube channel
Oprah officially launched her own YouTube channel on her show. A big fan of the Flip Ultra Video Cam, she'll be using Flip to capture and share behind-the-scenes footage of celebrities and other guests that she'll feature on the channel, in addition to videos she made of herself backstage. Oprah's footage will be captured on her pocket-sized, Flip Ultra camcorder, a camcorder that allows easy and direct uploads of video content to YouTube and other content sites. On her November 6th show, her entire studio audience received a Flip Ultra as part of the debut. [Also see our review of the Flip Video] -- Posted Wednesday, November 7, 2007 by chb

Second cam buys boost camera sales
Adorama reports that American consumers are starting to buy their second digital cameras, causing a resurgence in camera sales in the US. This according to a survey conducted by the NPD Group. Digital camera sales increased during the first half of 2007 over 20 percent over the first half of 2006. Tellingly, 54%t of all people buying digital cameras were purchasing a second digital camera, according to the service. Last year, that category was 46 percent. Half of those buying their second camera were still using their first camera. The other trend driving growth was selling price, which has gone down. DSLR prices have dropped $125 on average, while compact digital cameras saw a 13 percent price drop. -- Posted Tuesday, October 9, 2007 by chb

DSLR Photography & Imaging Workshop Will Cruise the Southern Caribbean
DSLR photography is the focus of an eight-day workshop cruise embarking from Ft. Lauderdale, FL to St. Maarten, St. Lucia and St. Kitts, in the Southern Caribbean, March 14-22, 2008. The workshop is the eighth in a successful series and is limited to 20 attendees who will participate in lectures, demonstrations and critiquing sessions. In addition to a thorough grounding in DSLR techniques, there will be hands-on sessions devoted to high dynamic range, panoramic photography, black and white printing, portraiture, close-up photography and more. Four pros will share their expertise with participants to bring them up to speed. Each workshop attendee will receive up to $1,000 worth of hardware and software gifts from participating sponsors, and those who do not yet own DSLRs will be able to borrow state-of-the-art DSLR cameras for use prior to and during the workshop. For further information visit: http://www.dpcorner.com/cruise or call 800-652-2267.
-- Posted Friday, September 28, 2007 by chb

Sanyo HD700 - HD camcorder and 7.1mp camera
SANYO introduced the US$599 Xacti HD700, a pocket-sized, 720p high-definition digital camcorder. The HD700 is capable of recording both high-definition video in MPEG-4 AVC/H.264 format and 7.1-megapixel photos to an SD or SDHC memory card. The HD700 has a 5X optical zoom (38-1900 mm equivalent) and 12X digital zoom, a rotatable 2.7-inch LCD, and comes with Adobe Premiere Elements 3.0. Super-macro lets you get as close as half an inch. How much video can you record on a card? Almost three hours on a 8GB card. [See detailed description of the Sanyo HD700] -- Posted Wednesday, September 26, 2007 by chb

Transcend's hyper-fast 16GB CF card
Transcend, a global leading brand in flash memory cards, rolled out its largest capacity CompactFlash product to date -- a 16GB (Type I) card with ultra-fast 133X transfer rates. Transcend's 133X CF card targets serious users who demand superior performance and reliability from their memory cards, including professional photographers, reporters and photography enthusiasts. -- Posted Wednesday, September 26, 2007 by chb

Review: Pinnacle Studio 11 Ultimate
Pinnacle Studio Version 11 Ultimate is a combination of Pinnacle Studio Plus Version 11 (US$139) with a variety of integrated professional level audio and video tools that go about as far as most amateur movie enthusiasts may want to take it. Yet, it's all simple and really made for home users, so don't be intimidated. If you do video, you need Pinnacle Studio 11. It's easy, it's powerful, it's inexpensive, and it handles the whoe range from importing ancient footage from old vidcams all the way to producing High Definition video, even on inexpensive DVDs. [Read review of Pinnacle Studio 11 Ultimate] -- Posted Wednesday, September 19, 2007 by chb

Cool new digicam features have one source: FotoNation
Each season, some cool new features are found in the lineups of the major digital camera makers. Amazingly, many of them licnse and use the same technologies. Example: Red-FotoNation's Eye and FaceTracker imaging technologies are installed in more than half of all digital cameras sold today. FotoNation Red-Eye Technology creates perfect red-eye free photos every time. FotoNation's FaceTracker face detection and tracking technology is used in 21 out of 48 new compact digital camera models introduced in the first half of 2007. FaceTracker automatically tracks the presence of a subject's face in the camera's viewfinder to assure properly exposed portrait photos that in are in focus every time. Boxes are drawn around each face to provide feedback of correct detection. Exposure settings are instantly applied, so that faces are never dark, even in poor lighting. -- Posted Friday, September 14, 2007 by chb

Digital photo frame market said to increase dramatically
According to IDC, global shipments of digital frames reached 2.8 million units in 2006, with an average selling price of just under US$170. IDC projects the market will grow to 42.3 million units by 2011, with US shipments representing over half all all units at that time. The growth rate in digital frames shipments will be driven by new features, larger frame sizes, and lower prices, IDC said. Our take: We have been reviewing digital photo frames since 1998. It is a great idea, but the frames were rarely up to par. Initially, the LCDs were small and barely visible. Today, the screens are larger and you can have WiFi and music and all sorts of features, but we still constantly run into problems, from file read errors to connection issues and so on. Digital frames must be rock-solid before they can succeed. -- Posted Sunday, September 9, 2007 by chb

Review: Casio Exilim EX-Z77
Casio updates the Z70 series with the Z77, a handy 7.2-megapixel camera with a 3X optical zoom, digital image stabilization, advanced face recognition (you can even train it to recognize specific faces!), and a switch to MPEG-4 H.264 video compression which results in smaller vid clip file size. There is a special YouTube video recording mode among the 40+ scene modes (some extremely useful) that makes uploading quicker and easier. This Casio is just full of tricks, and at a list price of just US$199.95. [Read full review of the Casio EX-Z77] -- Posted Tuesday, September 4, 2007 by chb

Two more from Olympus: SP-560US and Stylus 790 SW
We're analyzing the final two new cameras from the Olympus Summer 2007 introduction. The SP-560UZ is an 8-megapixel camera with a massive 18X optical zoom. It also lets you get as close as 0.4 inches in Super Macro, and it is chock full of new features, including very effective dual anti-blur technology that combines digital stabilization with sensor-shift compensation. The Stylus 790 SW is a shock and waterproof (to ten feet) 7.1 megapixel camera with many new features and five splashy colors. [Read full analysis and specs of the Olympus SP-560UZ and Olympus Stylus 790 SW] -- Posted Friday, August 31, 2007 by chb

J.D. Power announces 2007 digital camera winners
Those guys at J.D. Power seem to rate everything, so why not digital cameras. Cameras were rated on a 1-5 scale for appearance, operation, performance, picture quality and then overall. The winners are: the Casio Exilim Zoom in the Ultra Slim category; the Fujifilm Finepix F Series in the Point and Shoot class; the Canon PowerShot SD Series in Premium Point and Shoot (by a mile); and the Nikon D Series in digital SLRs (also by a mile). Congratulations to the winners! [See J.D. Power 2007 Digital Camera Ratings] -- Posted Thursday, August 30, 2007 by chb

Olympus Stylus 820, 830, and 1200

Olympus FE-280, FE-290, and FE-300

We tested the ultra-tough SeaLife ECOshot underwater camera
If you need something that can survive a six-foot drop, be punted around with getting as much as a scratch or dent, yet also take pictures and videos underwater, the very affordable SeaLife ECOshot is just perfect. It's a very simple 6-megapixel camera with just the basic controls, but its underwater modes and underwater white balance settings make for excellent pictures. It's rated at 75 feet, but won't give up if you go a bit deeper. [Read our full review of the SeaLife ECOshot underwater camera] -- Posted Wednesday, August 22, 2007 by chb

Kingston Mobility Kit
Leave it to Kingston Technology to help consumers sort out and manage the proliferation of different memory cards. Their new all-in-one Mobility Kit includes one of those tiny 1GB microSD cards and then THREE adapters so users can seamlessly convert to a SD card, miniSD or USB and use the microSD card across devices to easily move photos, music, videos or data to cameras, mobile phones, PDAs or computers. All for a grand total of US$27 list. -- Posted Tuesday, August 7, 2007 by chb

Digital camera sales booming
The Camera & Imaging Products Association (CIPA) reports that digital camera shipments for the first half of 2007 zoomed to almost 165 million, with digital SLRs showing especially strong growth. And the total number of cameras sold is even more because CIPA only represents companies accounting for about 80% of all cameras sold worldwide. Our take: We're not surprised. Digital cameras have come down in price so much that even digital SLRs are now approaching the "threshold of pain" below which the purchase of a camera becomes an impulse buy instead of a planned expense. And with many 8 and even 10 megapixel compacts now costing under $200, almost anyone can afford one, or replace an older less powerful camera. -- Posted Monday, August 6, 2007 by chb

iPhone -- finally a decent camera in a (great) phone
Okay... the Apple iPhone is a phone and not a digital camera. But if definitely has the best built-in digital camera we've ever seen in a phone, and it's super-easy to email pictures anywhere, from almost anywhere. So here's the iPhone story we ran in our sister site, pencomputing.com --Conrad H. Blickenstorfer

-- Posted Friday, August 3, 2007 by chb

Modern Problem department
We found much to like with the Sony T5 when we reviewed it a while ago. Now Sony is recalling some 350,000 of the T5s. Why? Well, "Sony has recently discovered that some DSC-T5 Cyber-shot digital still cameras may experience peeling and warping of the metal coating on the bottom of the camera that could result in a slight cut or scratch to the user's skin." Boo-hoo. Something on a consumer product that could cause a slight scratch warrants recalling hundreds of thousands of cameras? That's just so not right and a giant waste of money. We'd MUCH rather see Sony spend that money changing their gleaming designs so that the cameras themselves don't get scratched as easily. -- Posted Friday, August 3, 2007 by chb

The changing face of photography
Digital cameras are changing our lives! Not only are they now so much smaller, cheaper and more powerful, but they're also in PCs and phones. More than half of all pictures are now taken by cellphones and smartphones (though some may argue if those low-quality shots can be called pictures). Another technology, available pretty much since the dawn of digital photography, is now finally catching on as well, and that is Digital Photo Frames. They used to cost a fortune and had crappy LCDs, but no more. And it makes so much sense to simply use a picture frame to display hundreds of your best shots instead of just one single print. Look for reviews of some of the leading frames here. -- Posted Monday, July 9, 2007 by chb

Yahoo! Photos is closing
Photo sharing is wonderful, but trusting your pictures to any one such site is dangerous. Flickr is booming and Photobucket is doing fine, and some others, too, but when even a giant like Yahoo! can simply shut their photo sharing service down, you know this is not a medium to pass on your pics to the grandkids. Hey, we learned that the hard way when the grand daddies of today's services came on the scene back in 1999 or so. Then, Zing and PhotoPoint duked it out. Alas, they were ahead of their time and both died, without an oblivious Kodak even looking at them. So make sure you have backups of whatever you upload. -- Posted Thursday, June 28, 2007 by chb

Intelligent auto modes in new Pana Lumix cameras
Panasonic introduced the newest additions to its FX-series of compacts, the LUMIX DMC- FX55 (3-inch display, US$349.95) and DMC-FX33 (2.5-inch display, US$299.95). Like the entire 2007 LUMIX line, the two new models incorporate Panasonic's revolutionary Intelligent Image Stabilization technologies, and are the first Panasonic cameras, along with the newly introduced DMC-FZ18, to offer Intelligent Auto Mode, a system which combines Mega Optical Image Stabilization (O.I.S) and Intelligent ISO Control with three new features: Face Detection System, Intelligent Scene Selector and Continuous Auto Focus. Both models combine 8.1-megapixels with a 28mm wide- angle LEICA DC lens with 3.6x optical zoom -- Posted Sunday, June 24, 2007 by chb

Olympus 770SW: 77 feet without an underwater case
We push equipment to the very limit. Sometimes we need a camera when we go diving but just don't feel like taking a big, bulky underwater case along for the dive. That's where the Olympus Stylus 770SW comes in. It doesn't need a case. And though its depth rating is just 33 feet ("just" being relative; that is excellent), we've taken it much deeper. Last weekend it came along on the "deep dive" part of an advanced scuba class. Did it survive 77 feet? Did it work down there? Read the Olympus Stylus 770SW at a depth of 77 feet, without case. -- Posted Tuesday, June 19, 2007 by chb

Combination WiFi/SD Card
A company cleverly called Eye-Fi will release a SD Card that also contains wireless functionality later this year. The card will have a memory capacity of probably 2GB and also contain WiFi circuitry. This way, digital camera users can send pictures directly to their PC or photosharing/processing sites. When we reviewed the Nikon P3 with 802.11b/g WiFi, we found the addition of WiFi interesting but weren't sure if it makes sense as it adds complexity. Putting WiFi on a SD card would make it camera-independent, but add cost and cooperation from the camera industry. -- Posted Monday, June 11, 2007 by chb

Pentax, buoyed by good 2006 results, charges ahead
According to Nikkei Electronics, Pentax has had a good year. Sales were up 10.6%, the Imaging Systems division -- responsible for digital cameras -- returned to profitability with a vengeance, and the K10D digital SLR seems a hit. Pentax sold 3 million digicams, 300,000 of which were digital SLRs. Pentax will expand dSLR product lines from entry to high-end models and expects annual sales of 500,000, 750,000 and 1 million units in FY2007, 2008 and 2009, respectively. In compact digital cameras, Pentax plans on introducing models with unique features. The sales target of the compact digital cameras are 2.5 million, 2.75 million and 3 million units in FY2007, 2008 and 2009, respectively. -- Posted Monday, May 14, 2007 by chb

Reviews: Two very special Pentax Optios
We're reviewing two more Optios. The T30 looks like just another sleek, elegant 7.1 megapixel camera, but it sports an innovative touchscreen interface that makes the camera quick and easy to use. And the wide-viewing-angle screen measures a full three inches diagonally! If you spend a lot of time in on and under water, check out the waterproof Optio W30. You can take it down to ten feet and it has excellent underwater (and above water) performance. [Optio T30 review -- Optio W30 review] -- Posted Monday, May 7, 2007 by chb