CES 2013 – Cameras

CES logo

Yes, CES has been over for a week now, but I’ve finally gotten past my first week back at work and allotting time to getting my coverage of what I saw at the show posted.

For years, I’ve loved seeing the digital cameras at the show and what new models are out or coming out for the new year. Here’s several of the cameras I saw that made an impression on me.

Samsung Galaxy Camera

Samsung Galaxy Camera

For years, digital cameras have gotten smaller and thiner. The Samsung Galaxy Camera reverses that trend, but with good reason. It’s essentially an Android phone with a point and shoot camera attached to it. The zoom is all optical, meaning no digital degradation, you can send photos to a connected cloud storage like DropBox for sharing. It’s not cheap ($500 with a two year Verizon contract), but it might just be ushering in the expanded connectivity of how non-smartphone cameras share their photos with the world.

Below is a video of my brief hands on with this camera.

GoPro

HERO3
GoPro’s new HERO3

I have the GoPro HERO2 and love it. But this new HERO3 is heads above the HERO2 in many ways. It’s thinner, the buttons and controls are easier to use, there is less of a fish eye effect to the captured video, it had built-in Wifi, and can link up to mobile apps for controlling up to 100 of these.

I’m sure one of these will find it’s way into my arsenal of video equipment this year. This is available now in many stores, both retail and online for as little as $199. The top of the line black edition is $399 and supports higher resolutions, like shooting video at 4K.

Canon Powershot N

powershot n
Canon’s Powershot N

Here’s Canon’s small Powershot N, which uses a wifi connection to send photos to (via a mobile app) to your smartphone. It’s a way that the digital handheld cameras can compete with the incredible advances that iPhone and Android phones have made this last year in the quality of photos they take. I liked the handle of this camera, although the shutter button has been moved from the top of the camera to the top of the silver lens ring. An odd move, but I’m sure it’s something you could get used to after spending time with this mini marvel.

powershot n
the flip up LCD touch screen

The screen flips up allowing you to hold the camera at an angle for certain shots. Once you take the photo, you can send it your smartphone and share it to your Instagram list of buddies. While this is not the first wifi connected point & shoot digital, the size and operation is something I’ve not seen before. The mobile apps and this camera are available in April 2013. Price is $299.

Pentax MX-1

Pentax M1
Pentax’s retro/digital MX-1

It seems like there is a retro style that is taking hold in the consumer brand of digital cameras. Pentax has their offering in the form of the MX-1. Styled like the ME-Super and K-1000 traditional film cameras of yesteryear, this is a solid camera in both feel and features.

4x optical, 12 megapixels, an ISO rating of 12800 and the ability to shoot full 1080p movies, this almost 1 pound camera is a dream to use. I would opt for the optional wireless remote so that this can sit on a tripod for filming and taking breathtaking photos. It’s not cheap at $500 and will be available in February in the all black or with the classic silver top.

Next up in my CES 2013 recap: Last Gadget Standing, which is an annual contest of the top rated consumer electronics.

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