New Imaging Products Debut at C.E.S.

January 7, 2005: Several major imaging companies announced new products at the annual Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas yesterday, in advance of the Photo Marketing Association’s Trade Show at the end of February.
Eastman Kodak led the charge with the introduction of a groundbreaking wireless digital photography system, based on the new Kodak EasyShare-One zoom digital camera.

The new camera can store up to 1,500 favourite pictures for instant display on its high-resolution, 3-inch touch screen display and offers direct picture e-mailing and online album viewing via a wireless connection to the Kodak EasyShare Gallery (formerly Ofoto). The same Kodak Wi-Fi card that provides the EasyShare-One camera with wireless capabilities can now be used with the recently introduced EasyShare Printer Dock Plus. The new camera is scheduled for release in North America in June, with the optional Kodak Wi-Fi card to be sold separately.
Canon unveiled nine new products, including a new line of MiniDV camcorders, a new compact photo printer (carrying the Selphy brand), a new addition to the Pixma printer range and a LIDE scanner with film scanning capabilities. Three of the new camcorders are entry-level models that are easy to use and affordable. The other three camcorders feature Canon’s DV Photo Plus system, which combines Canon’s optics and DiG!C DV image processor with a 1.33 megapixel CCD image sensor and the Print-And-Share function that provides fast image transfer from Canon camcorders to a compatible computer or printer.
Pentax has added the amphibious OptioWP digital camera to its waterproof camera line-up. With a 5.0 megapixel sensor and a 3x optical zoom lens, this new model has a JIS Class 8 water resistance rating and can be used to depths of 1.5 metres. The new model, which is due for release in March, has a 2-inch LCD screen, 10 MB of internal memory and a SD card slot.

Sanyo displayed its latest Xacti pocket-sized, high-resolution 4.0 megapixel digital camera and full-motion MPEG-4 camcorder. The new VPC-C4 offers built-in digital image stabilisation and includes an interpolation feature that allows users to convert the CCD’s 4-megapixel resolution (effective) to a recorded equivalent of eight megapixels. A trans-reflective 1.8-inch TFT LCD color monitor allows for shot framing and playback. Compact enough to fit into a pocket or purse, the VPC-C4 records both digital still images and video onto a standard SD flash memory card. Image files are uploaded via a USB 2.0 connection.

Sony announced two new Cyber-shot cameras, the 5.1-megapixel Cyber-shot DSC-T33 and the 7.2-megapixel Cyber-shot DSC-P200. Both feature only minor cosmetic changes upon previous models, the P200 being an upgrade to the P150 with a larger LCD screen and the T33 offering slight differences in colour and styling to the T3. Sony has also added a 4 GB Memory Stick Pro card to its line-up, doubling the capacity of its largest card. Due for release in March, its price is quoted at around $US900. A new MSAC-PC4 Memory Stick PC Card Adaptor was also announced. Due to ship in February, it will allow users to access Memory Stick media through the PC Card type II slot on a notebook computer.
Imation unveiled a new proprietary ForceField scratch-resistant coating that combines scratch and scuff resistance, anti-static dust resistance, and smear resistance and is designed to allow optical disks to resist everyday wear and tear. It will be launched on a new range of Imation CDs and DVDs, which will begin shipping in February.