It’s not a micro four thirds, but Pentax has lifted the lid on the 645D medium format camera , which will be available this May for close to $10,000. Why so expensive, you ask? There’s that 40MP Kodak sensor for starters. It’s also got a SAFOX IX+ autofocus system with 11 sensor points, a Pentax original Real Image Engine, 14 bit A/D converter, and is the ultimate kick-around camera, with 70 seals making it dustproof, weather resistant and cold-proof. There’s also a dust removal II system, just in case. It takes SD/SDHC memory cards, and while that May release is scheduled for Japan, the rest of the world should be getting some Pentax love soon after

We had a hunch that Pentax was readying a 645 Digital , and sure enough, the company has come clean with that very camera today. The May-bound 40 megapixel 645D is a medium format beast, but unlike similar options from Hasselblad , this one won’t actually destroy your hopes of sending four generations of offspring to college. Boasting a 44mm x 33mm sensor, a 3-inch rear LCD and a virtually indestructible chassis, this monster promises high res images that only pros can appreciate, and there’s a pair of SD / SDHC card slots for those who love to surround themselves with options. You’ll also get a newly designed 11-point AF sensor, a fresh dust removal system, 77-segment multi-pattern metering system and a battery good for around 800 images when fully charged. ‘Course, with a retail price of

Panasonic has the news day all to itself with its newfangled pair of Micro Four Thirds shooters, and in case you were wondering — yeah, this is the exact same duo that we saw slip out on Friday. Up first is the Lumix DMC-G2, which looks an awful lot like the G1 it replaces and is touted as the first interchangable lens system camera with touch-control shooting. Granted, we haven’t exactly warmed to the idea of using a touchpanel to fire off a shot, but hey, it is what it is. Other specs include a 12.1 megapixel Live MOS sensor, Venus Engine HD II technology, a 3-inch rear LCD and a 720p (AVCHD Lite) movie mode, though curiously enough a price and release date eludes us. Moving on, there’s the DMC-G10, which is supposedly the “world’s lightest” interchangeable lens camera with a viewfinder; this one packs the same 12.1 megapixel sensor and Venus Engine HD II as on the G2, but the 3-inch LCD lacks tilt / swivel / touch options. We’re still waiting on pricing for this one as well, but now is as good a time as any to mention that both fully support those obnoxiously expensive SDXC cards

We should all be pretty familiar with the specs of Canon ’s latest mainstream DSLR, so let’s skip past the new 18 megapixel CMOS sensor, SDXC memory card compatibility and high-res 3-inch LCD screen, and just focus on the one area where the Rebel T2i has a shot at matching the EOS 7D : 1080p video . Ron Risman of Cameratown has perched the two black-clad champs atop a tripod, installed identical (for the purposes of the test) lenses on them, and gone to town with testing the ISO performance of the two bodies. As he sees it, there’s no perceptible difference between the two up to ISO 1600, though looking at his video test we’re also hard pressed to distinguish any notable discrepancies at the maximum 6400 setting. Needless to say, the conclusion is that if you’re just after the 7D’s video performance with a smaller price tag, the Rebel T2i / 550D is the shooter for you. To make that decision as informed as possible, there’s also a feature comparison list, so skip along to the source link to get informed.

If you haven’t got nearly enough of the cameras coming out of the PMA show this week, you couldn’t go wrong with the 26x optical zoomer X90 from Pentax, which takes last year’s X70 and ups the zoom-factor. It’s still got a 12.1-megapixel sensor, but going back to that zoom lens it now spans a 26mm wide angle to 676mm super telephoto. The LCD measures 2.7-inches and it shoots HD video (no word on specifics, yet) and has face detection, triple shake reduction, anti-shake, an electronic viewfinder, Eye-Fi compatibility and a HDMI interface with USB 2.0 port. Battery life has also been improved by 50 per cent over the X70. You’d be pretty steaming if you splashed the cash on last year’s model, though as the date of release hasn’t been mentioned by Pentax just yet, it could still be some way off. CrunchGear’s found the pre-order page on Amazon , which puts it at $399.95, which seems like a very fair price to me

Announced at CES, the GPS-enabled EX-10HG from Casio has been a bit of a mystery so far, but has just been given full launch details, with the price expected to be in the region of $400 when it hits in October. That’s a good 10-month long wait, and it’s not like the EX-10HG is the first camera with geotagging—though Casio uses three-axis accelerometers and an orientation sensor for gauging the correct GPS position, which can sometimes become unclear when indoor. This 12.1-megapixel model has a 10x zoom lens and records video at 720p, so it’s not like it’s just a basic point and shoot with a GPS sensor rammed in as an afterthought. Alternatively, the Eye-Fi Geo SD card adds geotagging to your photos, and doesn’t have a 10-month wait. [ Photography Bay via Gadget Venue via Geeky-Gadgets Image Credit: DC Watch

Announced at CES, the GPS-enabled EX-10HG from Casio has been a bit of a mystery so far, but has just been given full launch details, with the price expected to be in the region of $400 when it hits in October. That’s a good 10-month long wait, and it’s not like the EX-10HG is the first camera with geotagging—though Casio uses three-axis accelerometers and an orientation sensor for gauging the correct GPS position, which can sometimes become unclear when indoors. This 12.1-megapixel model has a 10x zoom lens and records video at 720p, so it’s not like it’s just a basic point and shoot with a GPS sensor rammed in as an afterthought. Alternatively, the Eye-Fi Geo SD card adds geotagging to your photos, and doesn’t have a 10-month wait. [ Photography Bay via Gadget Venue via Geeky-Gadgets Image Credit: DC Watch

I’d be more excited if this special limited edition color was a never-seen-before color, but alas Pentax thinks the camera world can still get excited about silver . Or maybe silver is rare in Japan, where this model is launching? The K-7 has been around since last summer , but only 1,000 of these limited edition model exist. If the new silver color, a reinforced LCD screen and new firmware and image processing software is making your fingers itch at the thought of flying out to Japan to scoop one up, it’s on sale March 13th for the equivalent of $1,420. Apart from those minor changes, it’s still the same old 14.6-megapixel, 720-p-shooting camera which can be picked up for as low as $1,000 on Amazon .

You know what the world needs? Another stereotypical pink gadget to commemorate a Hallmark holiday. Bitterness and shame aside, it looks as if Pentax has decided that too few people were using its custom color shop to craft completely pink K-x DSLRs , and in the honor of Saint Valentine, the company has decided to roll out another stock hue to sell alongside the red, white, black and navy blue versions . It’ll set you back around HK$5,990 (or $770 in greenbacks), but trust us, your honey is totally worth it. Pentax K-x DSLR goes pink for Valentine’s Day, naturally originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 14 Feb 2010 15:14:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds .

Ricoh’s CX2 seemed to impress a-many reviewer when it launched last autumn, so it’s sort of odd to see the camera’s successor hitting the market so soon after. The appropriately named CX3 recent sat down on the test bench over at Photography BLOG , and while critics were quick to point out how appreciative they were of the extras (a 720p movie mode, namely), they couldn’t help but notice what a small step forward this was from the prior model. In fact, they found little to no good reason for existing CX2 owners to upgrade, though they did deem the image quality to be “excellent” and noted that newcomers shouldn’t hesitate to give this one a whirl. Still, we were disappointed to hear that the low-light performance was underwhelming despite promises that it had been improved, and for $400, you’ve got a lot of other options in the point-and-shoot realm. Ricoh CX3 reviewed, just marginally better than CX2 originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 13 Feb 2010 11:07:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds .