Sony, Canon and Nikon New Digital Camera Announcements - August 2010 News

It was a very interesting month (August, 2010) for digital photography. As Photokina-show gets closer, we can see new digital cameras, lenses, accessories and software emerge. No doubt that Canon EOS 60D & Sony SLT-A55/A33 has gotten the most attention. Many photographers were eagerly waiting for the announcement of the Canon 60D. After all, not everyday we can see a new Canon DSLR camera. Even so, it seems that there are many disappointed customers out there. The Canon EOS 60D wasn't THE digital SLR camera we have all been waiting for.



Sony SLT-A55 & A33 Translucent Mirror DSLR Cameras

Sony's new Translucent Mirror DSLR Camera - Goes 10fps!

Whether Canon failed to innovate or not, Sony was the one to steel the show, with its brand new Translucent-Mirror digital cameras. Sony Alpha SLT-A55V and A33, both are really amazing photography tools, especially for amateur photographers. A55 allows 10fps continuous shooting, 1080p/60i HD movie recording, has a swivel  3-inch LCD screen, and offers an in-camera GPS receiver for geotagging your digital photos automatically. Photographers all over the world, were very excited to see that Sony was the one to innovate this time. It seems that if one company fails to impress, there is always another company that will. This is the beauty of competition, and we all earn from that.

An affordable 70-300mm F/4-5.6L lens from Canon

Even though that Canon failed to impress us with the Canon 60D, it did it with 6 new lenses and 2 extenders. Announcing the following products:

• Canon Ef 8-15mm f/4 L USM
• Canon EF 300mm f/2.8 L IS II USM
• Canon EF 400mm f/2.8 IS II USM
• Canon EF 500mm f/4 L IS II USM
• Canon EF 600mm f/4 L IS II USM
• Canon EF 70-300mm f/4-5.6L IS USM
• EF Extender 1.4 III
• EF Extender 2x III

Nice bunch of new lenses & extenders' upgrades, but what it wrong with that picture?
Well, you can see from the above listing, that we are talking about professional-grade L (Luxury) lenses. But if you look closely, there is one lens that should probably fit to your budget, and this is the Canon EF 70-300mm f/4-5.6L IS USM lens. We all love our EF 17-40mm F4L lens, because its affordable and has high optical image quality. Now Canon has added a new affordable telephoto-zoom lens into the long list of high quality L lenses range. This is a great chance to upgrade you current "older/non-L" 70-300mm IS lens, with this new baby L lens. It is both compact, offers a very popular focal range. Inside you can find Canon's best ingredients, that will make taking photographs a joy.

Should We Expect more Entry-Level DSLRs?
Sony has also released two consumer DSLR cameras, the DSLR-A580 and A560 cameras. The fight in the consumer-level DSLR market is pretty aggressive. This is a long growing market  In Japan, we can already see that Mirrorless (EVIL) cameras are becoming very popular among photographers. The demand for consumer-level DSLRs continues its growth. We are expected to see more consumer-level digital SLR cameras announcements until the end of 2010. Probably the most anticipated cameras will be announce at Photokina, or prior to the Photokina Show 2010. Even so, we can already see both Nikon and Canon, preparing to conquer the market with new cameras, lenses and hopefully, new technology innovations.

Nikon D3100

Nikon D3100 - 1080p/24p HD Movies at your fingertips

Nikon still didn't say the final word in 2010. It has introduced the Nikon D3100 entry-level DSLR, that it's the first Nikon camera to offer 1080p (24p) HD movie recording feature. It is a great entry-level compact camera, with 14.2-megapixel CMOS sensor EXPEED 2 image processor & Active D-lighting (YES!). You are probably asking yourself, if Nikon has manages to improve the movie image quality? Well, you can look at my previous Nikon D3100 movie samples blog post, in order to find out.

2010 - A time to switch your gear?

When we are at the fourth quarter of every year, many photographers are basing their buying decision, according to the latest models. It is probably the best time to switch from one company to the other. Many customers want to buy a new digital camera, really close after it is announced. There is probably a psychological explanation for that. Customers don't want to buy a camera that is at the end of its life-cycle, only to find out that a new replacement had come out.  To many customers, save their money for the end of the year, when all the big-guns shows what they have been cooking for us all year long.

Sony A55 vs The Competition
I am pretty sure that Sony has grabbed most of the attention in 2010. And I think that it will continue to do it until after Photokina 2010. Now both amateur & enthusiast photographers, have a large collection of DSLR to choose from. If you are having time to decide, which one you want to buy, from Sony A55, Canon 550D or Nikon D90, read my Sony A55 vs Canon 550d vs Nikon D90 comparison article.  But maybe you should  prolong your buying decision just a little longer, at least after the announcement of the Nikon D90 replacement.

Rumors & Predictions, 2010

Camera's Rumors websites are probably the most popular ones right now. Whether it is a Canon rumors or Nikon rumors websites, all of them are full with speculations, predictions and announcements (oh, and some leaked photos too!).

Canon PowerShot S95
Canon's new Advanced compact digital camera, the Canon PowerShot S95, also refreshes the line of premium compact cameras. Canon S95 is a premium compact digital camera, which is favorable in the consumer market. It features 720p HD video recording, Hybrid IS, support RAW files, has F/2 fast lens, its slim, has HDMI port and it's utilizing Canon's Motion detection, HS system and face detection technologies. 

This is only the starting point for new digital camera announcement. We are still waiting for Pentax, Olympus and Nikon's new announcements. No doubt that 2010 will be a great year for digital photography.
With new digital cameras that are being announced, I will post news & reviews about them as soon as they are announced.