Digital cameras were, of course, in abundance, with the major attention focussed on those with megapixel sensors. Those with 640 x 480 pixel sensors, so sensational just a year or two ago, are now receiving much less attention. Prices of megapixel cameras today are about the same as 640 x 480 cameras were last year, though there is still a great deal of uncertainty about pricing. Some manufacturers actually asked us what we thought the prices should be and there were thoughts that some might be selling for under $400 by the end of the year.
POLAROID
Polaroid have updated their PDC-2000 to the PDC-3000, now with 20MB CompactFlash removable media giving it the capability to store 36 images without compression. The PDC-3000 provides four modes for file saving: no compression, lossless 2-to-1, lossy 5-to-1 and 10-to-1. The PDC-3000 has a suggested price of $2,495. This camera captured the $5,000 and below prize in the shootout, along with Olympus, whose D-600L remains their top-of-the-line product. The D-600L also won the $900 and above award in the Consumer category.
HEWLETT-PACKARD
Hewlett-Packard are replacing their mundane-looking 640 x 480 pixel gray 'brick' camera (made by Konica) with the stylish new 1152 x 872 PhotoSmart C20. It has an ISO of 100, a mechanical shutter with automatically selected speeds from 1/500 to 4 seconds, optical viewfinder, 1.8 inch color LCD preview/review screen, F2.8 lens, built-in flash, focus from 2 feet to infinity, macro between 9.5 inches and 2 feet, NTSC video output and comes with a 4MB CompactFlash card. We believe this camera is also made for HP by Konica, though the design differs from Konica's own megapixel offering.
Images we took at the booth were good and showed no sign of color ailiasing, even on a check jacket. Price is said to be 'about' $699.
ON-BOARD STORAGE MEDIA
Both HP and Konica have abandoned Intel's photo memory card in favor of CompactFlash. The move to CompactFlash (CF) has also occurred in other areas, such as Kodak for their DC210 and DC200, though many of the Japanese manufacturers are staying with Toshiba's diminutive SmartMedia. The 1.7 x 1.4 x 0.13 inch CompactFlash cards, first developed by SanDisk, are one quarter the volume of PCMCIA cards and are now available in large capacities. 30MB cards cost $259, 40MB $299 and 48MB $375. Passive adapters enable CF cards to be used as Type II PCMCIA cards.
As camera resolutions increase, image file sizes also grow, so fewer images fit onto any given storage medium. One alternative is to increase the compression ratio, but this works against the advantages of increased resolution by reducing image quality. So CF cards, with their large storage capacities, are an attractive proposition. CF cards support both 3.3 and 5 volt operation, whereas different SmartMedia cards are needed for each of the two voltages.
KONICA
Konica's megapixel camera is the Q-M100 which has 1152 x 872 pixels, ISO of 100, shutter with automatically selected speeds from 1/500 to 1/8 second, optical viewfinder, 1.8 inch color LCD monitor, F2.8 lens, built-in flash, focus from 8 inches to infinity, NTSC video output and comes with a 4MB CompactFlash card. Price is $699.
AGFA
The ePhoto780 fills the gap between Agfa's 307 and 1280 cameras. Although the CCD has only 350,000 pixels, Agfa PhotoGenie enables images to be interpolated up to 1,024 x 768 pixels without the jaggies - and it does work very well, though there's no substitute for real resolution. The camera has both optical and 1.8 inch color LCD, video output and saves images as standard JPEG files.
FUJI
MX-700
The
new MX-700 1.5 megapixel camera has exquisite industrial design and
will be a desirable item for this reason alone. It has a 1,280 x
1,024 pixel half-inch CCD, which works out at 'only' 1,310,720
pixels, the same as the DS-300, launched here last year - but who's
counting? The ISO equivalence is 100, the shutter has automatically
selected speeds from 1/1,000 to 1/4 second, optical viewfinder, 2
inch color LCD monitor, F3.2 lens equivalent to 35mm focal length on
a 35mm film camera, autofocus with macro, built-in flash, NTSC video
output and a 2MB SmartMedia card. All the main functions are
controlled by a rotating dial which will be familiar in its
facilities to those who have used earlier Fuji digital cameras. Short
battery life is a problem with digital cameras which use LCD displays
so Fuji have provided a rechargeable Lithium Ion battery which will
last much longer than NiCads while being smaller and lighter. The
weight of this 3.15 x 4 x 1.3 inch item of silicon jewellery, in its
aluminum body, is just under 10 ounces. 'Estimated' price is
$799.
THE "BIG JOB"
From the sublime to the faintly ridiculous, Fuji also showed a chunky, ruggedized version of the MX-700, the DS250HD "Big Job". The relationship of the two cameras is not obvious and we hear that the "Big Job" may not be released outside Japan.
SMARTMEDIA FLOPPY DISK ADAPTER
The Smartmedia Floppy Disk Adapter FD-A1 is one of those neat ideas which at first seem either impossible, or just too good to be true. Insert the SmartMedia card into the floppy adapter, then insert the floppy adapter into the computer's 3.5 inch floppy drive to transfer the images. Estimated retail price is $99.
Also on the horizon from Fuji is a 'High Capacity' 3.5 inch floppy disk which holds 200MB. The drive is even backward compatible with today's 1.44MB floppies.
