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Top 5 innovations at Photokina

By Leonard Goh
Oct 01, 2008

Camera makers were certainly out in full force at this year's Photokina tradeshow, with many of them showcasing impressive lineups of technological innovations and products over the six-day event. Visitors to the show were also wowed by the new imaging formats and standards which are set to become the benchmarks for others to follow. Among all the announcements made, five of them caught our attention. Here they are in no particular order.

1) Micro Four Thirds Standard
Jointly developed by Olympus and Panasonic, this new format promises smaller cameras with interchangeable lens system. Panasonic has unveiled the Lumix DMC-G1, the world's first camera to utilize this system. Olympus is not too far behind with its retro-looking concept shooter.

Related stories:
Olympus goes retro with Micro Four Thirds concept camera
First Take: Panasonic Lumix DMC-G1



2) dSLRs with HD-quality movie capture
With the D90, Nikon was the first to introduce HD-quality movie recording to dSLRs. However, the shooter can capture only 720p-quality (1,280 x 720 pixels) movies, and this was soon overshadowed by Canon with its EOS 5D Mark II, which is capable of recording 1080p-quality (1,920 x 1,080) clips. We are guessing it won't be long before this feature becomes a standard in entry-level dSLRs, too.

Related stories:
First Take: Nikon D90
Canon on mark with new 5D, other shooters



3) Fujifilm's 3D ambitions
Fujifilm is pioneering a new digital camera system that allows shutterbugs to capture 3D images easily. With the shooter, the company is also envisioning a 3D picture frame and 3D printing service, as well. Will it take off? You will find out next year when the camera is launched.

Related stories:
Digital 3D photography made easy by Fujifilm
New Fujifilm CCD sensor announced



4) Leica S2: Highest resolution dSLR
Sony's Alpha A900 had the honor of being the highest-resolution dSLR for a brief moment before being overpowered by Leica's S2. The German company has engineered its dSLR with a mean 37-megapixel sensor developed by Kodak. The CCD's unconventional dimensions put the S2 between 35mm full-frame dSLRs and medium format digital systems.

Related stories:
Leica introduces new imaging format and boasts resolution



5) World's largest capacity 100GB CF card
Pretec has launched a CompactFlash with a staggering 100GB of memory space. This can easily fit 4,000 25MB RAW images from Canon's EOS 1Ds Mark III, and is probably targeted at photographers who are using advanced camera systems that generate big picture files.

Related stories:
World's highest capacity 100GB CF card

For more Photokina stories, click here.


 

 
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