Digital Camera Articles

Mermaid hunters (or merman hunters for that matter) have another photographic weapon to add to their arsenal.

The new Nikon Coolpix AW110 is waterproof down to 59 feet, shockproof from up to 6.7 feet, and freezeproof to 14 degrees Fahrenheit. Its predecessor, the AW100, was protected down to 33 feet, could survive 5-foot drops, and could also continue operating down to 14 degrees Fahrenheit.

It has built-in GPS that can be used to geotag photos as well as display and embed points-of-interest data and keep a log of your path while you shoot. Nikon also popped in Wi-Fi that, … Read more

Nikon hasn't lacked for full-frame wide-angle zoom lenses -- the 14-24mm f.8 is a yumburger -- but with the shipping of the D600 new Nikon adopters faced a rather limited choice of lenses that didn't cost as much as the camera. Nikon rectifies that with a new AF-S 18-35mm f3.5-4.5 FX lens which is better-priced to go with that camera at $749.95.

The lens is ostensibly designed to be compact and lightweight (about 13.6 ounces) to match the lighter D600 body as well. Other specs include a minimum focus distance of about 11 … Read more

Sony adds to its E-mount lens line for the Alpha NEX series of cameras with a 20mm f2.8 pancake (30mm equivalent) that will ship in April for $349.99. Sony currently only offers one other pancake lens, a 16mm f2.8 (24mm equivalent). From a size standpoint, the pancakes are a nice complement to the skinny NEX bodies, but you'll usually get better image quality --and faster apertures -- out of their not-so-slim counterparts.

Sony also took the opportunity to announce standalone pricing and availability for the 18-200mm f3.5-6.3 power zoom E-mount lens that it unveiled … Read more

LAS VEGAS--It's been an exceptionally busy and newsworthy past 12 months for cameras -- budget full-frame models, 4K action cameras and cinema cameras, full-frame compacts. Unfortunately for CES 2013, most of that happened at Photokina this past fall. So while this show brought a few nice, potentially ownworthy updates to existing product lines, none of it really stands out as particularly whizzy.

In advanced cameras, the most common update has been to autofocus systems, with combo phase-detection/contrast AF starting to take over in camera lines that have traditionally had rather slow performance -- new models like the Fujifilm X100S … Read more

Editors' note, February 22, 2013: Updated with price and availability date.

LAS VEGAS--The Sigma DP series of cameras, which are based on the Merrill generation of the Foveon sensor -- an effective 14.8-megapixel sensor array with stacked rather than staggered color filters -- are the closest competitors in spirit (and price) to Fujifilm's X100 and now X100S. Unlike Fujifilm, which combines photographic simplicity with high-tech power, Sigma concentrates on the simple and relies on the Foveon sensor to differentiate itself. The past few generations have seen some tweaks but essentially the DP series remains the same from generation … Read more

LAS VEGAS--A not-very-well-kept-secret of the new year, Polaroid is lending its name to a Sakar-manufactured series of interchangeable-lens cameras. One model, the Nikon CX-mount-size iM386, also runs Android 4.1 Jelly Bean, making it potentially the first ILC to do so (I say "potentially" because Polaroid never shipped the last Android "first" it announced last year this time). That model is based around a sensor the same size as Nikon's 1 series of ILCs, with the same 2.7x focal-length magnifier ratio; the non-Android iM1030 and iM1232 are based on a Micro Four Thirds mount. … Read more

LAS VEGAS--It seems like just a couple months ago Olympus announced the Tough TG-1 iHS, its first rugged compact with an f/2.0 lens. It was actually in May 2012, so I guess it's not completely out of the question that Olympus is launching its update.

The Olympus Stylus Tough TG-2 iHS doesn't appear to be all that different from its predecessor. It still has a 12-megapixel BSI CMOS sensor, a 4x f2.0-4.9 25-100mm lens with an adapter ring for add-on lenses, and a high-res 3-inch OLED screen.

It looks like the biggest differences are … Read more

LAS VEGAS--Nikon shipped the Nikon 1 J2 interchangeable-lens camera only five months ago and already it's obsolete. Given the lukewarm reception for such a meh update, especially given the flurry of competing products this past fall, it's neither surprising nor distressing that it's being superseded. Here at CES 2013, the company announced two new models in the Nikon 1 series: the Nikon 1 J3 and the cheaper entry-level model, the S1.

The J3 essentially has the same internals as the V2 in the body of the J2; the one physical difference is the mode dial has been … Read more

Editors' note, January 7, 2013: This was originally published on November 6, 2012, when the camera was announced in Europe. I've updated it to reflect the official U.S. pricing and availability.

LAS VEGAS--By our traffic metrics, the Nikon D5200 is the most popular unofficial-in-the-U.S. camera on our site. But the wait is over; Nikon has formally announced the camera's U.S. pricing and availability. Unsurprisingly, it's slated to cost the same as the D5100, and will be shipping by the end of January. (The rest that follows is my take from November. I will update … Read more