In September 2011, Nikon officially stepped into the ring to offer up its first compact system cameras, leaving long-time rival Canon as the only major, current maker of interchangeable-lens cameras not to offer a mirrorless model. The simultaneously-announced Nikon J1 and V1 system cameras–which comprise the initial entries in what the company is calling the Nikon 1 System–together debut a brand-new lens mount, a new sensor and hybrid autofocus system, and another generation of the company’s EXPEED image processing engine.

Price :

The Nikon J1 is expected to ship in the US market from October 2011. The J1 will be sold in a kit including a 10-30mm zoom lens, and suggested retail pricing is set at around US$650

Optics :

Nikon’s new 1 System cameras debut a new mount dubbed the 1-mount, designed to accommodate a CX-format image sensor and the reduced backfocus distance of a mirrorless design. As noted, the Nikon J1 will ship in a kit with a 10-30mm f/3.5-5.6 stabilized zoom lens. This lens will yield 35mm-equivalent focal lengths ranging from 27 to 81mm.

Sensor  :

Nikon J1 is based around a new CX-format image sensor with an effective resolution of 10.1 megapixels. Said to have been developed in-house, the sensor has a 2.7x focal length crop, for a diagonal of approximately 16mm. That equates to a 1″-type chip, using the arcane video camera tube size system typically referred to in compact camera spec sheets, although it actually has somewhere in the region of a 0.62-inch diagonal.

Autofocus :

Nikon J1′s AF system is swift indeed. The speed of the AF system comes thanks to the fact that, unlike competing mirrorless cameras which rely solely on contrast detection to determine focus, the Nikon J1 has a hybrid system that combines both phase-detection and contrast-detection capability. The operating mode is chosen automatically as appropriate to the shooting conditions, and a generous array of 73 phase detection AF points are available.

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The specs of the Panasonic Lumix FZ100 are impressive, with a newly developed Leica DC Vario-Elmarit-branded 24x optical zoom lens that covers a generous 25mm wide-angle to a powerful 600mm telephoto. However, we’ll tell you right up front that despite great technological effort, the Panasonic FZ100 has a problem with sensor noise that muddies the picture, quite literally.

The Lumix FZ100 also includes the latest generation of Venus image processing technology, incorporating three processing cores, and bearing the name “Venus Full HD,” a nod to its HDTV processing prowess.

Performance

hutter Lag: Full autofocus shutter lag is very good, at 0.34 second at wide-angle and 0.29 second at telephoto. Enabling the flash increases lag to 0.55 second, which is still pretty good. Prefocused shutter lag is 0.017 second, which is quite zippy.

Cycle Time: Cycle time is also very good, capturing a large/fine JPEG frame every 0.98 seconds in single-shot mode, with no apparent buffer limit and only 2 seconds to clear after 20 frames. Single-shot cycle times for RAW + L/F JPEG frames are also quite good, at 0.99 seconds for 13 frames, though buffer clearing is slow at 34 seconds. The FZ100′s continuous mode speed is outstanding, able to capture 15 L/F JPEGs at 11.2 frames per second with 10 seconds to clear. RAW + L/F JPEG performance is similar at 11 frames per second for 11 frames, but takes 41 seconds to clear with our fast 30MB/s card. (Note that increasing ISO to 200 slows down the frame rate to about 4.9 frames per second.)

Flash Recycle: The Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ100′s flash recycles in about 5.7 seconds after a full-power discharge, about average.

Low Light AF: The camera’s AF system was able to focus down to just above the 1/4 foot-candle light level without AF assist enabled, though the camera was able to focus in complete darkness with the AF assist lamp enabled.

USB Transfer Speed: Connected to a computer or printer with USB 2.0, the Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ100′s download speeds are quick. We measured 6,722 KBytes/sec.

In the Box

The retail package contains the following items:

• Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ100 camera
• Battery pack
• Battery charger
• AV cable
• USB cable
• Lens cap
• Lens cap string
• Shoulder strap
• Lens hood
• Operating instructions
• CD-ROM with PHOTOfunSTUDIO 5.2 HD Edition, SILKYPIX Developer Studio 3.1 SE

With a resolutions of  18.00 Megapixels,the camera has got quite a lot to offer.

Technical info :

Processors :

The camera is capable of capturing up to 8 frames per second, with a burst depth up to 94 JPEGs. With a UDMA CompactFlash card, that average goes up to 126 JPEGs. You can also get 15 RAW images, or 6 RAW+JPEG shots. All of these speeds are possible in the Canon 7D’s native 14-bit A/D conversion mode, while the competing Nikon D300S slows from 7 frames per second in 12-bit mode to 2.7 frames per second in 14-bit mode.

Sensitivity :

The canon EOS 7D ranges from ISO 100 to 6,400, plus a Hi setting of 12,800.Canon 7D’s features are Highlight Tone Priority, which biases the dynamic range to retain more detail in the highlight areas, important for wedding photographs, where typically white dresses often have blown detail. The ISO range for HTP has been expanded to include the range from 200 to 6,400 in the Canon 7D.

Shutter :

Canon 7D has a shutter mechanism that’s rated at 150,000 cycles. Further, it’s described as a rotary magnet shutter, the same design used in the Canon EOS 1v and the EOS 1D Mark II N and Mark III, but resized to fit the Canon 7D’s APS-C sensor.The shutter sound is quick and relatively quiet, without a bunch of winding and whirring, something which the Gadgetfriends would like to appreciate.

Autofocus :

New to the Canon 7D is the ability to cluster AF points, and move them around the screen. You can also select a finer point than usual, called a Spot point, choosing from all 19 across the screen.

Flash :

The Canon 7D’s built-in flash is able to cover a wider angle of up to 15mm, though its range is limited as a result, with a guide number of 39 (12 meters) at ISO 100. The Canon 50D’s flash had a guide number of 42 (13 meters), but the extra wide-angle coverage will be appreciated nonetheless.

The Canon EOS 7D comes with the following items :

• Canon 7D digital SLR camera body
• Body cap
• EF 28-135mm f/3.5-5.6 IS Lens (if purchased as a kit)
• Lens caps (if purchased as a kit; front and back)
• Wide strap EW-EOS7D
• Battery charger LC-E6
• Battery pack LP-E6
• Video cable
• USB cable
• Software CD
• Instruction manuals and registration information

With a resolutions of  24.30 Megapixels,the camera has got quite a lot to offer.

Technical info :

Sensor and processor

It has a very fast top frame rate; full-time phase-detect autofocus; Full 60p HD video with a very good high-resolution sensor.
An impressively high-resolution 24.3 megapixel Exmor APS HD CMOS image sensor with the sensor’s dimensions of 23.5 x 15.6mm, yielding a 1.5x focal length crop when compared with 35mm lenses.
With a 3:2 aspect ratio, the SLT-A77 can provide maximum image dimensions of 6,000 x 4,000 pixels at full resolution. Two further 3:2 aspect ratio resolutions are available: 4,240 x 2,832 pixels, or 3,008 x 2,000 pixels. The SLT-A77 also provides a choice of three 16:9 aspect ratio shooting modes, each of which has the same pixel width as its 3:2 aspect counterpart, but with heights of 3,376, 2,400 or 1,688 pixels respectively.

Optics.

The Sony A77 retains the same Alpha lens mount and translucent mirror design seen in the previous A33, A35, and A55 models. The company currently offers a selection of 33 Alpha mount interchangeable lenses, all compatible with the A77, and the camera will also accept historic Minolta or Konica Minolta Maxxum lenses.

Stabilization

the Sony A77 includes the company’s SteadyShot sensor-shift image stabilization system. The current iteration of the system is now said to be good for a 2.5 – 4.5 stop correction, and is available with any mounted lens, regardless of focal length.

Olympus annouced its new mju-7050 (µ-7050) compact digital camera with a slim, stylish design. The new camera is equipped with TruePic III image processing engine, a 14 Megapixel CCD image sensor, a 7x zoom lens with 28mm wide angle and a 3-inch LCD display.

The mju-7050 features six Magic Filters for adding effect to still imges and four Magic Movie which can apply the Magic Filters effects to movie recordings. It also comes with a built-in “DUAL IS” image stabilization based on high-sensitivity shooting and CCD-shift image stabilization mechanism compensates for image blur due to camera shake by adjusting the direction of the CCD. Other features include face detection, iAUTO function, in-body panorama composition, Beauty Mode and scene modes.

Surprisingly, the Olympus mju-7050 has 2GB internal memory, in addition to SD/SDHC card slot, that will be useful for storing 1280x720p HD video recordings. Videos are recorded in MPEG-4 AVC / H.264 format. You can find HDMI 1.3 output as well.

Alongside the 10x zoom Optio RZ10, Pentax also releases the Optio RS1000 digital camera that can be personalized using a choice of 11 standard skins that ship with it. Consumers can even use the included SKINIT gift card to design and order a free, high quality, pre-cut, 3M vinyl skin from skinit.com or download the PENTAX PERSONAL SKIN DESIGNER Adobe Air-based software to create their own skins.

At about the size of a credit card, the lightweight Optio RS1000 features 14 Megapixel sensor, 4x optical zoom lens with 27.5mm wide angle, and a 3-inch LCD screen. The customizable camera offers Face Detection AF & AE function, Auto Picture Mode, Digital Shake Reduction, Digital Panorama  mode, creative filters, and Burst Shooting at a speed of 16 images in two seconds. It can record 1280x720p HD video and comes with the Movie Shake Reduction mode.

The Pentax Optio RS1000 will be available in October for $149.95 and is now available for order at Amazon.com.

Nikon introduces the new CoolPix S80 touchscreen digital camera that gets a stylish and “fashion-forward” design, replacing the S70. The new S80 comes with a 3.5-inch OLED touchscreen display for touch control, featuring tab-type graphics to maximize screen space without cluttering it with icons.

The 14.1 Megapixel CoolPix S80 camera comes with a 5x Wide-Angle Optical Zoom-NIKKOR ED glass lens and the Nikon EXPEED C2 image processor. It sports 5-Way vibration reduction (VR) Image Stabilization System, including Optical and Hybrid VR, Motion Detection, ISO settings up to 6400 and Best Shot Selector, to reduce camera shake; in-camera editing function, Smart Portrait System with Face-Priority AF and In-Camera Red-Eye Fix; and Easy Auto Mode. The compact camera can record 720p HD video recording with optical zoom and stereo sound and offers HDMI output.

The Nikon CoolPix S80 will be available in fall 2010 for $329.95, in red, black, blue, pink, gold and silver/brown colors. You can order now on Amazon.

The candy-bar style PD1, just like the PD2, features Full HD video recording, 3x optical zoom lens, a 2-inch LCD display and stereo sound recording. It shoots 10 Megapixel still images and a High Speed Sequential Shooting Mode. The PD1 offers mini HDMI port and supports SD, SDHC and SDXC cards. The price will be Euro 149.

The 14 Megapixel SX30 IS comes with DIGIC 4 image processor, a 2.7-inch vari-angle LCD display, Intelligent Contrast Correction, Motion Detection Technology, ISO up to 1600, Face Detection and Smart Auto mode. The 35x ultra zoom camera also include the Zoom Framing Assist button that allows the user to zoom out, find the subject and then zoom back in.

Canon PowerShot SX30 IS will be released in September for $429.99.

Nikon announced the new D7000 digital SLR camera designed for “passionate photographers who demand exceptional performance, reliability, and unprecedented levels of control and versatility in a compact form factor”.

The D7000 is equipped with a new 16.2 Megapixel DX-format (APS-C) CMOS image sensor, the EXPEED 2 image processing engine, built-in i-TTL Speedlight flash and a 3-inch LCD display with 170-degree viewing angle. It features a 39-point AF System, which includes nine center cross-type sensors that operate with more than 60 NIKKOR lenses; Live View, a 50-millisecond shutter response, ISO range of 100-6400 and a six frame-per-second (fps) burst speed for up to 100 images.

Nikon’s D7000 includes the Scene Recognition System that reads data from a 2,016-pixel 3D Color Matrix Meter RGB sensor that examines the scene’s brightness and color data then optimizes the camera’s performance prior to the actual exposure. The DSLR records Full HD 1080p movie at 24fps with full-time autofocus and there is HDMI output. D7000 has two card slots for SD, SDHC, SDXC memory cards.

Coming in mid-October, the Nikon D7000 is priced at $1199.95 for body only and $1499.95 for body and lens outfit that includes the AF-S DX Zoom-NIKKOR 18-105mm f/3.5-5.6G ED VR lens.