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Wow. Semi-pro hand-held video that matches – and betters – DSLRs. At a price, of course.

Sony Releases Updated NEX-VG20 Camcorder | Video News

First off, the camcorder has an upgraded sensor going from the VG10′s 14.2 megapixel Exmor APS HD to a new 16.1 megapixel Exmor R CMOS. As a result of this upgrade and an upgraded processor, Sony was able to include the ability to capture RAW stills. That’s right. RAW photographs have finally made their way to an affordable camcorder. That’s big news seeing as most camcorders just a few years ago could only take VGA resolution photos. Now if we could just get them to give us RAW video recording, we’d really be talking!

What more can I say?

The world’s first 39 megapixel digital SLR camera

Hasselblad is creating a new standard of digital image quality for professional photographers with the announcement of a new camera and three camera backs based on the combination of Hasselblad’s new, true 39 megapixel CCD sensor and its unique Digital APO Correction (DAC) technology. This new line of products features the new Hasselblad Natural Color Solution, which takes digital photographic color reproduction to an entirely new level. The new products also deliver images of unsurpassed sharpness and resolution and at the same time reduce any moiré effect to a minimum – a first in the history of digital photography.

Interesting upgrade but it still doesn’t tempt me away from Nikon and Pentax…

Sony updates alpha range with NEX-C3 and A35

Sony has announced a smaller and lighter replacement for the NEX-3 interchangeable lens camera announced last year, and a new member of its innovative translucent mirror Alpha camera range. The NEX-C3 gets more megapixels, has been given a new user interface with redefined photographic terminology and battery life – a weak spot on the first NEX models – is said to be up to a fifth longer. The A35 replaces the A33 and has also been given an image quality boost, gains some new live-shot effects and offer seven frames per second burst shooting (although at the expense of some resolution).

What’s not to like here? Whilst it’s not entirely new – for example SLRs have had detachable lenses for decades and higher-end cameras have had detachable, interchangeable “backs” for even longer. Indeed remote lens position and operation aren’t new either. What is new is the application of a glass-fronted smartphone-style back with wireless connectivity to the lens. So you can couple the 2 modules – electronic and optical – at varying distances, and control the servo-assisted Auto-Focus lens (again not new per se) from the remote back. The possibilities for thus virtualising “hard” camera controls onto a smartphone or similar object then open up in tandem with the remote lensing opportunity. Hopefully the wireless range will be good, maximising creative remote lens use whilst minimising those inevitable “OMG I’ve lost my lens” moments. (Some privacy issues may also arise of course…)

I’d love to try one, anyway

WVIL concept: Digital SLR meets mobile phone, with an ingenious twist

Given the suitable moniker of Camera Futura by its designers, the concept camera pivots around a patent-pending technology that the Artefact Group has called the Wireless Viewfinder Interchangeable Lens (WIVL) system. WIVL sees the camera benefiting from the same operating platform and connectivity as a smartphone – with the same access to a world of application development – but with the image processing power of a digital camera. A natural (and no doubt welcome) progression in the evolution of the digital camera, you might say, but perhaps not too much of a surprise.

And what a price. It won’t fit the bill for most pic-takers but it’s certainly a top-notch machine for the uber-pros.

Hasselblad ships 200 megapixel H4D-200MS camera

Hassleblad has announced that its new H4D-200MS camera is now available for shipping. Announced at last year’s Photokina, the 50 megapixel camera features the company’s own multi-shot image technology which allows it to combine multiple successive images into one 200 megapixel photo. The new professional-level camera has been given a suitably huge price tag but owners of the previous multi-shot system don’t have to buy a completely new system, H4D-50MS models can be returned to the Hasselblad’s factory for a refit.