Now, it’s not that we’re a sucker for all things 3D – in fact it’s becoming slightly tedious that barely a day goes past without outlandish industry predictions of how many 3D TVs will be sold this year or pretty pointless 3D gaming peripherals hitting the market – but news that Panasonic is about to unveil a consumer-level 3D camcorder definitely sits in the cool column.

Slashgear reports that  Panasonic is yet to provide details about the new model, but has confirmed a Tokyo press event on July 28th and that it will be far more in line with their current, 2D range in terms of bulk, than their existing AG-3DA1 professional 3D camcorder. Continue Reading

Considering the company’s current concentration on all things 3D, it’s no surprise that Sony has announced its new point-and-shoot digital cameras, due to launch in August, can take 3D panoramic photos.

Sony Cyber-Shot DSC-TX9.

Though 3D-capable cameras are nothing new, two new additions to Sony’s 2010 Cyber-shot line – the Sony Cyber-shot DSC-WX5 and Cyber-shot DSC-TX9 – are notable for their 3D-shooting capabilities. According to Sony, they’re the first everyday point-and-shoot cameras that offer 3D imaging capabilities, and they create 3D photos with a single lens. Continue Reading

Space enthusiast Robert Harrison is making plenty of headlines this morning after he managed to send a home-made contraption that included a digital camera taped to a helium balloon, 22 miles – or 116,160 feet – above the earth’s surface from his back garden.

Just one of Harrison’s excellent pics.

The device has captured some stunning photography of the planet from space, and in fact the results are so good, NASA has been in touch to see just how he managed it. The Daily Mail reports that Harrison used a GPS tracking device to follow the balloon’s progress and also attached radio transmitter to find it when it parachutes back to earth.

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Released last year to almost uniformly good reviews, the ultra slim-line 12.1-megapixel Canon IXUS 100 IS is the kind of unobtrusive, light, high-spec option the majority of people are after when choosing a new digital camera these days. You want it for holidays, you want it for weekends away, you want it for taking pictures for insurance claims… y’know the usual usage. Well the 100 IS ticks all those boxes, it’s “a gem” in fact as CNet puts it.

Initially pegged as a model that might be more about style than features – and it does look good to be fair to the people at Canon – a glance through the reviews that have crept out on the 100 IS since it began selling last spring thankfully reveals that while the you get a slimmer, lighter model than previous Canon digitals, there’s no sacrifice on the overall quality of the product.

Hairy arms, slimline cameras - the unveiling of the Canon Digital IXUS 100 IS line last year.

Camera.co.uk summed up the general mood of the reviewing public calling the 100 IS a very good, pocket sized option that “scores highly for picture quality, style and features”. Continue Reading

Good afternoon all, we’ve been asked lately about the digital cameras we carry and what we’d recommend for people picking up cameras for anyone who’s getting someone one as a present or just for people to take snaps with over the Christmas block; there’s always lots on that people will wish they had a camera for, so it’s worth being the one with the camera on them.

Anyway, this piece is for those who wanted a little detail on the cameras we carry and which might be best for them to have a look at now that we’re coming into photo-season.

Remember, if you’re the one with the camera, you get to be aggressive with bad pictures of you, but take an open source approach to bad pictures of everyone else

Samsung PL50:

Samsung’s PL50 is a cheerful little device. The black model is probably the best looking, and it shows some signs of the same flare for design that makes Samsung displays and optical drives, though the silver model somehow lacks the same panache.

Click through to see our page for the Samsung PL50

The PL50 boasts a 10.2MP resolution, 3x opticam zoom and its own 2.7” LCD, which means you won’t be sitting around squinting at photos to hunt out the good ones if you encounter a situation where you need to delete a few photos, whether that’s because of a capacity emergency or a series of botched pictures.

The good news is that the PL50 is both cheap and portable. It weighs in at the 116g mark and measures 89.cm x 2.2cm x 5.7cm, so it won’t break your back to throw it in a bag or drop it into a jacket pocket. Similarly at €95 it’s not so expensive that it’d be a total tragedy is something were to happen to it (and let’s face it, small cameras tend to lead high-risk lives). It’s also worth noting that it has a lithium-ion battery, something that’s taken a bit longer than many might have expected to really gain traction in the world of digital cameras.

If you’re at all interested, you should check out our product page for the Samsung PL50; it’s a solid camera for anyone looking to just take some snaps over the holidays without cleaning out their bank account. You’ll also need to pick up an SD card or SDHC, since there’s only 9MB of on board memory.

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