Though Olympus has been in the waterproof rugged camera business longer than most, its Tough series of shockproof, freezeproof, dustproof, and splashproof cameras has been eclipsed by newer entrants to the field from the likes of Panasonic and Sony. Well, it looks like Olympus is aiming to take things up a notch with its latest rugged model, the Olympus Tough TG-1 iHS, announced today.

Not only does the new model sport an 25-100mm zoom lens that's brighter than that of any other rugged camera at the wide angle setting(f/2.0), but it also boasts higher end features than most, such as its high sensitivity backlit CMOS sensor (which the company wisely limits to 12 megapixels); 3-inch, 610,000-dot OLED display; and the same advanced autofocus system used in the Olympus PEN series of mirrorless interchangeable lens compact (ILCs) cameras.

Of course the camera is also super durable, being waterproof down to an impressive 40 feet, shockproof to 6.6 feet, freezeproof to 14F, as well as able to withstand 220 pounds of pressure. Additionally, Olympus plans to offer a new underwater housing for the camera that further increases the waterproof rating to 135 feet. A built-in manometer records elevation and water depth, alerting you with a warning if you approach a 40-foot depth. There's also an LED illuminator light (in addition to the built-in flash) that is helpful for underwater closeups, or any other low-light macro shooting.

The camera also sports a converter ring that will accept a lens converter adapter, enabling you to add converter lenses such as a fish-eye or teleconverter lens (both waterproof to 40 feet as well).

Other features include:

• Built-in GPS
• 1080p HD video recording
• 10x "Super-resolution" zoom
• Shutter speeds of up to 1/2000
• Burst-mode shooting up to 60 fps (3 megapixel) and slow-motion playback
• 30 scene modes

The Olympus Tough TG-1 iHS will ship in July for $399.99 (in only one body color choice: silver).

Related links:

• Panasonic announces Lumix TS4 and TS20 waterproof compact cameras
• Tiny Olympus PEN E-PM1 interchangeable lens compact will sell for under $500
• Olympus OM-D E-M5 mirrorless compact resurrects classic OM style

Although the new subscription-based version of Adobe Creative Suite 6 won't be available until May 11, folks who are ready to dish out the cash upfront for Adobe's latest and greatest software suite can pick up the final release today—that is, if you can find it as it's already sold out in some outlets. Of course you can always download it from Adobe if you have five to 10 hours to spare (depending on the speed of your connection): the full CS6 Master Collection is a 6.4GB download that Adobe estimates will take nine hours and 46 minutes over a 1.5Mbps connection, four hours and 53 minutes on a 3Mbps connection, or 88 minutes on a 10Mbps connection (e.g., a corporate LAN).

Pricing for the four available bundles is as follows:CS6 Design & Web Premium ($1,899), Design Standard ($1,299), Production Premium ($1,899), and Master Collection ($2,599). Upgrade pricing is $299 for Design Standard, $399 for the two Premium editions and $549 for Master Collection.

If you're an education customer, you can snag CS6 Student and Teacher Editions at a significant discount:CS6 Design & Web Premium ($449), Design Standard ($349), Production Premium ($449), and Master Collection ($799). Plus, if you order before June 30, Adobe tosses in shipping for free.

Other limited-time offers include getting a full version of Adobe Photoshop Lightroom 4 for $99 with the purchase of any CS6 bundle (as well as Photoshop CS6 or CS6 Extended).

Related links on ZDNet:

• Adobe introduces Creative Suite 6 (with Photoshop CS6) and Creative Cloud
• Adobe Photoshop CS6 and CS6 Extended ramp up speed and features
• Adobe's Creative Cloud: A route to bring laggards up to speed
• Adobe releases public beta of Photoshop CS6
• Top analyst slams Adobe over expected expensive changes to Creative Suite upgrade policy
• Adobe launches Photoshop Touch for the iPad
• Adobe begins shipping Creative Suite 5, including Photoshop CS5 and Photoshop Extended
• Best new feature for photographers in Adobe Photoshop CS4
• Photoshop plug-in developer onOne acquires Liquid Resize technology

I've been a long-time fan of the Lensbaby line of selective-focus lenses for digital SLRs (and more recently, Micro Four-Thirds cameras and even PL-mountprofessional movie cameras). But for any serious shooter who hasn't experienced the fun of using these cool accessory lenses for getting a tilt-shift look out of an SLR, now's a good time to take the plunge. Lensbaby has just announced a special Pro Effects Kit that bundles its top-of-the-line lens—the Composer Pro (with a Sweet 35 adjustable aperture optic installed)—along with its highest-end optic (the Edge 80) and two macro lens converters (8mm and 16mm converters that can be stacked to make a 24mm converter).

The Pro Effects Kit is currently selling at the Lensbaby Webstore for $750, which is what you'd pay to buy the ComposerPro with Sweet 35, Edge 80, and the macro converters separately, butthe company throws in a Lensbaby System bag and cleaning cloth (a $55 value) to sweeten the deal. Not a bad way to get the whole kit and kaboodle in aconvenientpackage.

Related links on ZDNet:

New Lensbaby Edge 80 Optic brings high-quality optics and sharp tilt-shift

Lensbaby announces Sweet 35 optic with adjustable aperture

Lensbaby's top-of-the-line Control Freak selective focus lens finally ships

After last month's public beta of Adobe Photoshop CS6, the latest version of Adobe's flagship photo-editing behemoth announced today doesn't really hold any big surprises.As with the rest of the applications included in the new Adobe Creative Suite 6, Photoshop CS6 and Photoshop CS6 Extended can be purchased as standalone applications ($699 and $999 respectively), as part of the various CS6 bundles, or as part of Adobe's new Creative Cloud subscription service. With such a big beta program, the application has been previewed and new features have already been much discussed, so without further ado, here's a quick rundown of the highlights:

The most noticeable changes up front are the completely overhauled (and much improved) user interface, that defaults to a dark gray (like Adobe Lightroom) but can be customized and sports all new redesigned icons. Overall performance has been drastically improved through hardware acceleration (changes and effects are immediately applied and appear without delay in real time), there's better raw image processing, and there is a slew of new and improved features, including:

New Crop Tool: The completely overhauled and much more intuitive crop tool is my personal favorite improvement. Firstly, when you select the crop tool, your whole image is selected (duh!). Various presets and overlays let you crop images more easily and precisely and best of all, the tool is non-destructive, so you don't have to start all over if you change your mind.

Content-aware Move and Patch: These new features are based on the magical content-aware technology Adobe debuted in CS4. Content-aware Patch, adds the technology to the patch tool and allows you use content-aware algorithms while patching (using content-aware fill as you patch your image). Content-aware Move allows you to select an object in your image and move it within your image easily and seamlessly by using content-aware fill to fill in the area that you've moved the object from as well as fix up the pixels around the object in its new location.

Blur Gallery: This new group of blur filters allows you to add various blurring effects, including Iris Blur (which gives you a shallow depth of field effect, even if your camera lens can't produce one—think iPhone shots), Tilt-Shift (which gives you a Lensbaby-like tilt-shift effect), and Field Blur (which gives you a graduated blur).

Improved auto-correction tools: Auto Curves, Levels, and Brightness/Contrast controls have been improved significantly. Rather than simply picking a handful of points and make auto adjustments based on those as in previous versions, this version dynamically creates auto adjustments based on your image, by comparing your image to histograms in a library of hundreds of thousands of images.

Adaptive Wide-Angle: This feature lets you quickly and easily straighten curved objects and areas in images, such as those shot with a fish-eye or wide-angle lens, or panoramic shots.

Skin-tone-aware selections and masking: These features make it easier for you to make precise selections and masks of people in images by detecting skin-tones.

Improved video editing tools: The other big change is that video editing features are now included in the standard edition, rather than only the Extended version of Photoshop (which now mainly includes the addition of 3D tools). You can now use the full range of Photoshop image-editing tools (including the new Blur Gallery effects, for instance) to enhance video clips.

Though there have been plenty of previews of Adobe Creative Suite 6 before today's big product announcement (not the least of which was the public beta of Photoshop CS6), Adobe has now unveiled not only all 14 updated applications, but also its new and much-debated Creative Cloud subscription service. The $75 per month Creative Cloud offering (or $50 per month with an annual membership), serves up all the CS6 applications as well as Adobe Muse and Edge Preview, two new HTML5 products. Originally introduced last fall in conjunction with the original Adobe Touch tablet-based apps, the subscription service not only lets you download and install the Adobe desktop applications to your PC, but it also includes connectivity to Adobe Touch apps and provides 20GB of cloud-based storage so you can access your files from any web browser, and view, synchronize, and share your files across multiple computing devices (e.g., tablet and desktop PCs). Existing users of CS3, CS4, CS5, and CS5.5 are being offered a discounted introductory price of $30 per month and there's also a free membership with only 2GB of storage space that lets you synchronize and share files across devices, and includes 30-day free trials of all the desktop applications included in the paid membership.

For the folks who balk at the idea of a monthly subscription, of course, you can still buy the CS6 apps on their own the traditional way: by coughing up a lot of cash up front. As usual, there are a number of different bundles available-the four this time around comprise CS6 Design & Web Premium ($1,899), Design Standard ($1,299), Production Premium ($1,899), and Master Collection ($2,599). Upgrade pricing is $299 for Design Standard, $399 for the two Premium editions and $549 for Master Collection.

Key application updates include:

Adobe Photoshop CS6: Photoshop (and Photoshop Extended) has been revamped significantly, most noticeably with its darker (though customizable) and more modern interface and major performance increases enabled by hardware acceleration. New features abound as well (see related post), with even more tools that take advantage of content-aware technology. Also significantly, video features that were previously available only in Photoshop Extended have been moved to the standard version, though 3D tools remain in the Extended version.

Adobe Illustrator CS6: Like Photoshop, Illustrator has been updated with a more modern look (dark gray by default, but customizable) and performance boosts via GPU acceleration. Key features include a new image tracing engine, a new pattern creation tool, and the ability to apply gradients to strokes. The new version also includes 64-bit support for both Windows and Mac (as Photoshop has since CS5).

Adobe InDesign CS6: Key features in the updated version of Adobe's page-layout application include new Adaptive Design Tools, including Alternate Layout (lets you easily create multiple layouts of the same document for different devices or prints), Liquid Layout (lets you apply page rules that automatically adapt content as you change layout size, orientation, etc.) , Content Collector Tools (lets you grab multiple pieces of content from an existing layout and repurpose them the same document or different documents), and Linked Content (lets you link content from document to document, or layout to layout within the same document, so changes are applied across the linked text or objects).

Adobe Premiere Pro CS6: As with Photoshop and Illustrator, Adobe's video editing application sports a new interface and big hardware acceleration performance boosts. The streamlined interface includes a new Project Panel with large (and resizable) 16x9 thumbnails that allow you to preview clips by what Adobe calls Hover Scrub (i.e., hovering and sliding your mouse across the thumbnail to scrub through the video) and even click inside the clip to set in and out points. New advanced trimming tools allow you to trim clips directly in the timeline using keyboard shortcuts or dynamically inside the Program Monitor. New adjustment layers let you apply effects across multiple clips (similar to layers in Photoshop) and create masks to make changes to a selected area of a shot.

Adobe is currently taking pre-orders on CS6 and Creative Cloud, both of which are scheduled to be available within 30 days.

We've been seeing a lot of action among high-end digital SLRs lately (with announcements for the Nikon D4 and D800 as well as the Canon EOS 5D Mark III and 1D C already this year). But entry-level offerings have been scarce, with their market slowly but surely being eroded by interchangeable lens compact cameras (like the Olympus OM-D among a slew of others) and full-featured high-end compacts (such as the Canon PowerShot G1 X). In fact, Sony is the only camera maker to have announced entry-level dSLRs in the last year (with the Nikon D5100 announced just about a year ago and my most-recommended entry-level dSLR, the Canon EOS Rebel T3i, having been announced in February of last year).

So, today's announcement of the Nikon D3200 is ready to take the entry-level market up a notch. Perhaps most notably, Nikon ramped up resolution from the 14.2-megapixel sensor of its predecessor the D3100, to 24.2 megapixels, while still ratcheting up continuous shooting speed to 4 fps at full resolution (from 3fps in the 3100). The other big news is the optional WiFi connectivity. In addition to compatibility with Eye-Fi wireless SD cards, the D3200 also accepts Nikon's new WU-1 Wireless Mobile Adapter ($59.95), which attaches to the cameras USB port and can send images to other devices via WiFi, as well as allowing you to preview images and control the camera remotely.

Other key improvements include:

• Full 1080p HD video recordingat 24-, 25-, and 30fps
• Full autofocus and manual exposure controls while shooting video
• Stereo microphone input jack
• 3-inch, 921,000-dot LCD
• New red body-color option

The Nikon D3200 will ship with an 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 kit lens for $699.95 in late April.

After reports of a possible defect in the Canon EOS 5D Mark III professional dSLR circulated for a few weeks, Canon has issued a product advisory for the product, acknowledging the problem. In Canon's words:

The phenomenon described below has been confirmed when using the Canon EOS 5D Mark III Digital SLR Camera. Canon is now examining the countermeasures and once the countermeasures are decided, we will post the information on our Web site.

Phenomenon - In extremely dark environments, if the LCD panel illuminates, the displayed exposure value may change as a result of the AE sensor's detection of light from the LCD panel.

The defect seems to indicate that light is somehow leaking through the top LCD panel area to the AE sensor, and therefore affecting the exposure value. Posts on Petapixel and Canon Watch include videos that highlight the defect. One shows how turning the LCD panel's backlight on in a dark environment (or with the lens cap on) alters the exposure value displayed. The other shows a similar effect as it occurs in bright light, when the LCD is shaded or exposed to the light.

Canon Watch also printed an email response that a 5D Mark III owner claims to have received from Canon that further confirms the issue and indicates that it is due to the AE sensor detecting light from the LCD panel.

Though many won't find the problem to be a big issue (turning off the LCD backlighting can be a simple solution), it doesn't seem like a problem that can be resolved with an easy fix like a firmware update. If it turns out that a physical manufacturing defect has to be repaired, the only way to do so would be to have owners send their products back for servicing, not something Canon would look forward to, obviously.

[Via Petapixel and Canon Watch]

Depending on how you look at it, either thenewlyannouncedCanonEOS-1D C digital SLR isa beefed up version of the company'supcomingEOS-1D X, or the 1D X is a shortchanged version of the 1D C. Whatever way you slice it, though, you'll pay an extra eight grand or so for the 1D C's high-end video features—most notably the ability to record 4K (4096x2160-pixel) video at up to 24fps or full HD 1920x1080 video at 24/25/30/50- or 60fps. As with the 1D X, the 1D C uses an 18.1-megapixel, full-frame CMOS sensor and offers pretty much an identical still-camera feature set and design. To achieve 4K recording, the 1D C uses an APS-H-sized crop of the full sensor (while full HD uses either the full 36mm width of the sensor, or an optional Super 35 crop). Other new professional video features include:

• Support for Canon Log Gamma settings
• Uncompressed HDMI output for 1920x1080 HD video
• Built-in headphone jack
• Ability to view LCD when connected to external monitor via HDMI

According to Canon, the EOS-1D C should ship within 2012, with a suggested retail price of $15,000.

Related stories on ZDNet:

• Canon EOS-1D X pro dSLR replaces both 1Ds Mark III and 1D Mark IV
• Canon 5D Mark III is finally announced and doesn't disappoint

• CNET Crave: Canon hits 4K at NAB 2012
• CNET Crave:Canon loads EOS-1D X with new tech, hopes, and dreams
• Canon EOS-1D C press release

The Panasonic Lumix DMC-GF5 interchangeable lens compact (ILC) camera announced today is one of those consumer-friendly updates: The new features are attractive enough to keep it competitive in its class but not so significant that it makes buyers of its predecessor (last year's DMC-GF3) regret pulling the trigger.

Take for instance the most obvious change when you pick up the camera: The new model sports the same curvy and compact design as the GF3, but adds a rubberized grip that makes for a subtle but very likeable addition (especially useful for single-handed shooting). The most obvious change when you turn on the camera is the GF5's gorgeous new 3.0-inch, 920,000-dot touch screen (compared with the GF3's 460,000-dot model) and the redesigned user interface to match. I really liked the look of the Olympus E-PL3's redesigned interface, and the GF5's looks similarly clean and modern (though I still find Olympus' a bit prettier).

The GF5 sticks with a 12.1-megapixel Live MOS sensor, but sports a new processor that helps bump burst-mode shooting speed slightly to 4 fps (up from 3.8). Other updates include a higher extended ISO sensitivity rating of 12800 (vs. 6400 in the GF3) and a slew of new filter options in the Creative Control Mode (up from six to 14) as well as a new Scene Guide that offers 23 professionally shot sample photos to help you choose among preset scene modes. The Scene Guide also offers some hand-holding in the form of technical advice and recommendations for newbies who are upgrading from a point-and-shoot.

Last, but not least, the full 1080i HD video recording has been augmented with the option to save in MP4 format, in addition to the AVCHD format supported by the GF3.

The Panasonic Lumix DMC-GF5 will ship later this year for $599, including a 14-42mm standard kit lens or $749 bundled with a 14-42mm power zoom lens, and will come in black, white, and red body color options.

Related links on ZDNet:

• Panasonic's new Lumix DMC-GF3 interchangeable lens camera is compact and curvy
• Olympus PEN E-PL3 interchangeable lens compact camera to ship in September

Related links:

• Panasonic Lumix DMC-GF5 press release
• Panasonic Lumix DMC-GF5 product page
• CNET Crave: Lumix GF5: Panasonic fine-tunes its entry-level ILC (hands-on)

Available as a free download (Mac or Windows) from the Adobe Labs site, the beta requires online registration activation and at least 2GB of free disk space on the Mac, or 1GB in Windows XP or 7. It includes features from both the standard and extended versions of Photoshop that will ship this spring, such as two new tools that take advantage of the very cool content-aware technology Adobe debuted in CS4, Content-Aware Move and Content-Aware Patch. Other cool improvements include a revamped crop tool, the ability to migrate presets (as well as import and export them), improved raw image processing, and a new Blur Gallery that allows you to add Tilt-Shift, Iris, and Field blur effects easily.

For a complete list of new features, check out the installation and feature notes for the Photoshop CS6 beta, and for a great hands-on take, don't miss Lori Grunin's post at our sister site, CNET Crave.

Related links on ZDNet:

• Adobe launches Photoshop Touch for the iPad
• Adobe begins shipping Creative Suite 5, including Photoshop CS5 and Photoshop Extended
• Best new feature for photographers in Adobe Photoshop CS4
• Photoshop plug-in developer onOne acquires Liquid Resize technology

Other related links:

• Adobe Photoshop CS6 Beta Launch Center

Earlier this week, Sony announced the new Sony Alpha A57, an update to its original A55 Single Lens Translucent (SLT) camera, which utilizes a special semi-transparent stationary mirror rather than the flip-up mirrors in conventional SLRs. The technology allows SLT cameras to quickly and continuously autofocus while shooting stills and videos without having to wait for the raising and lowering of the mirror in a traditional SLR.

The new A57 has been redesigned with a larger body that's similar to last year's higher end models, the SLT-A77 and SLT-A65, but retains the same resolution and pricing as the A55. The sensor has been updated to a 16.1 megapixel Exmor APS HD CMOS model and combined with the new processing engine. The camera is capable of 10 fps continuous shooting at full resolution and 12 fps in a cropped 8.4-megapixel mode.

Unlike the A55, the A57 no longer has built-in GPS, but has picked up better video capabilities (full 1080p HD at 60 or 24 fps) and more creative features. In addition to a slew of creative art filters such as Pop Color, HDR Painting, and Miniature Mode, the A57 also offers a new Auto Portrait Framing feature, which uses face detection and rule of thirds compositional framing to create portrait-studio-like crops of your people shots (saving the original full-resolution/uncropped photo as well).

Other new features include:

• 1.4 million-dot EVF with 100% field of view
• ISO 100 to 16,000 sensitivity range
• 11 picture effects and 15 variations
• 3-inch, 921,000-dot articulating LCD

The Sony Alpha A57 will ship in April for $700 (body only) or $800 with an 18-55mm kit lens.

Related links on ZDNet:

• Sony SLT-A55V and A33 translucent-mirror dSLRs deliver fast still and video autofocus

Related links:

• Sony Alpha A57 press release
• CNET Crave: Sony debuts above-entry-level Alpha
• DPReview: Sony SLT A57 hands-on preview

It's a sure sign of spring when cameras announced at CES start appearing on store shelves. Samsung kicked off the CES camera announcement deluge in January with its DualView DV300F, a WiFi-enabled addition to the vendor's line of dual-LCD point-and-shooters, and followed up with three more WiFi cameras with long zooms, including the WB150F 18x compact megazoom. This week, the electronics giant rolled out the DV300F and WB150F and announced pricing of$199.99 and $229.99 for the DV300F and WB150F respectively.

With Internet-connected smartphones and tablets (such as the new iPad) continuing to improve their built-in camera specs, and threatening to replace point-and-shoot cameras as primary photo-taking devices, Samsung hopes to stave off the insurgency with its new WiFi models (which the company calls smart cameras—sound familiar?). Models like the DV300F and WB150F offer the image quality, features, and specs you get in a dedicated camera, along with direct connectivity to the Internet via WiFi, enabling you to email or share photos and videos via various social networking sites, directly from the camera.

Related:

• New Samsung DV300F DualView compact shooter adds built-in WiFi
• The best news about the new iPad's camera? There's an app for that.
• Digital cameras to watch for in 2012: A recap of CES announcements
• CEA says phones replacing point-and-shoot as primary photo device

The big news about Apple's new iPad, announced earlier today, was clearly the new high-definition retina display, with its quadrupling of display resolution to 2,048x1,536 pixels (i.e., 3.1 million pixels at 264 pixels per inch) and 44 percent improvement in color saturation. To take better advantage of the gorgeous display, the built-in backside camera has been upgraded from the measly 0.7-megapixel camera in the iPad 2, to a 5-megapixel model.

Despite the big jump in resolution, though, it's hardly thrilling when you consider that the iPhone 4S has an 8-megapixel camera. While it remains to be seen how the image quality will compare to photos you snap with the iPhone (more megapixels on a tiny sensor isn't always a good thing), the new iPad's photo capabilities are plainly good enough. The fact of the matter is that the iPad is just not designed to be a primary device for snapping lots of photos or videos. I rarely take photos with my iPad 2, and that's not because of the weak camera (I happily snapped a ton of photos with the lame little 2-megapixel camera in my first-generation iPhone) — it's just plain unwieldy and weird to shoot with an iPad.

Nevertheless, the sweet display would only serve to highlight the camera's weaknesses, so an upgrade was certainly in order. The backside camera (now dubbed the "iSight" camera, vs. the front-facing "FaceTime" camera) not only sports a 5-megapixel backside illuminated sensor, but it also borrows the higher-end optic system of the iPhone 4S, with a five-element lens and hybrid IR filter. Other camera features include:

• Auto exposure
• Autofocus
• Auto face detection
• Autoexposure lock
• Autofocus lock
• Auto white balance
• 1080p HD video recording
• Video image stabilization
• Temporal noise reduction (to help improve low-light quality)

To further entice you to snap more photos with the device, Apple also announced a new edition of iPhoto for the iPad (just $4.99 in the iTunes App Store), which is much more interesting than the camera itself. The new app does much of what the desktop version of iPhoto does, but is enhanced with a sweet new interface (albums look like they're sitting on glass shelves) that offers new ways to browse through your image collection, as well as slick image editing, both of which take full advantage of the multi-touch screen and use intuitive gestures. There are a slew of features including professional-quality effects and brushes (just in time to compete with Adobe Photoshop Touch), online sharing options for easy uploading to Facebook, Twitter, etc., a cool Photo Journal feature that lets you share photo galleries via iCloud, and my personal favorite: Photo Beaming, which allows you to automatically transfer photos from other iOS devices. To get a good overview of the new iPhoto for iPad, queue up the video of today's launch event keynote to minute 62:15 and watch the demo by Randy Ubillos, Apple's Chief Architect for Photo and Video Applications.

Related:

• The new iPad
• Meet Apple's new iPad, now with a Retina Display
• Photos: Raising curtain on new iPad
• Webcast: ZDNet analysis of the new Apple iPad announcement
• iPad 3 set to launch with 4G LTE: Expect an iPhone version?
• Apple iPad fastest-growing SMB technology, data suggests
• Can Apple bully its way to a streaming TV service?
• The case for and against removing the iPad 3 Home button
• CNET's live blog | Full coverage: iPad event

It's been well over three years since Canon released the EOS 5D Mark II, its super-popular midrange professional digital SLR, and 5D owners around the world have been anxiously awaiting today's announcement of the new Canon EOS 5D Mark III. As expected, the specs have been much improved over the 5D Mark II across the board, bringing the full-frame 5D back in line with current dSLR technology (and then some), including many of the key features Canon introduced in the recently announced top-of-the-line EOS-1D X. Rather than replacing the 5D Mark II, though, Canon has priced the 5D Mark III significantly higher than its predecessor, at a steep $3,499 (body only)—presumably in order to keep the Mark II on the market for photographers that want the full-frame image quality but aren't ready to cough up the $3,000-plus that this camera (or the recently announced Nikon D800 and 800E) will set you back.

The 5D Mark III announcement coincides with the 25th anniversary of Canon's EOS SLR system and rounds out an increasingly differentiated product line that now includes 10 dSLRs ranging from the 1D X to the entry-level Rebel series. The Mark III sports Canon's latest Digic 5+ processor and a 22.3-megapixel full-frame CMOS sensor (letting Nikon keep the high-resolution crown) and inherits the 1D X's new 61-point autofocus system, ramping its continuous shooting speed to 6 fps (compared with 3.9 fps in the Mark II). Video features have also been improved, with better noise reduction, new compressions, and longer recording times of up to almost 30 minutes, with automatic file-splitting across 4GB files. Unlike the both the 5D Mark II and the 1D X, the 5D Mark III sports dual Compact Flash Type I/UDMA and SD/SDHC/SDXC card slots. There's also a new built-in headphone jack and manual audio level control with 64 levels that can be adjusted during movie recording.

The body design hasn't changed in appearance significantly from the 5D Mark II, but it has been updated with improved dust and weather resistance (though it's still not as weatherproof as the 1D X).

Other new features include:

• ISO sensitivity range from 100 to 25,600 (50 to 102,400 extended)
• HDR and Multiple Exposure modes
• In-camera RAW processing
• Comparative playback function (view two images side-by-side on LCD)
• Scene Intelligent Auto mode
• Support for high-speed UDMA 7 Compact Flash memory cards
• 3.2-inch, 1.04 million-dot LCD
• Optical viewfinder with 100% coverage

The Canon EOS 5D Mark III will ship in late March for $3,499 (body only) or for $4,299 with 24-105mm kit lens, and is being introduced with several new optional accessories, such as a wireless file transmitter, a GPS receiver, a battery grip that accepts one or two lithium-ion battery packs or six AA-size batteries, and a new Speedlite with built-in wireless radio transmitter as well as a new Speedlite transmitter. The accessories will be released in March and April.

Here's a quick basic specs comparison with the 5D Mark II and 1D X, as well as the competing Nikon D800:

	Canon EOS 5D Mark III	Canon EOS 5D Mark II	Nikon D800	Canon EOS-1D X
Price	$3,499 (body only), shipping late March; $4,299 with 24-105mm kit lens	$2,499 (body only)	$2,999.95 (body only), shipping in late March; $3,299.95 for D800E, shipping in mid April	$6,800 (body only), shipping in March
Sensor	22.3 megapixels, 36x24mm CMOS	21.1 megapixels, 36x24mm CMOS	36.3 megapixels, 35.9x24mm CMOS	18.1 megapixels, 36x24mm CMOS
Continuous Shooting Speed	6 fps	3.9 fps	4 fps (6 fps in DX mode with battery pack)	14 fps
LCD	3.2-inch, 1.04 million-dot	3-inch, 920,000-dot	3.2-inch, 921,000-dot	3.2-inch, 1.04 million-dot
Autofocus	61-point	9-point (1 cross-type)	51-point (15 cross-type)	61-point
Sensitivity	ISO 100-25,600 (50-102,400 expanded)	ISO 100-6400 (50-25,600 expanded)	ISO 100-6400 (50-25,600 expanded)	ISO 100-51,200 (50-204,800 expanded)
Storage Media	Compact Flash Type I/UDMA; SD, SDHC, SDXC	Compact Flash Type I/II	Compact Flash Type I, SD, SDHC, SDXC	2 CompactFlash (Type I/II)
Movie Mode	1920x1080 (30/25/24 fps)/1280x720 (60/50 fps)/640x480 (30/25 fps)	1920x1080 (30/25/24 fps), 1280x720 (30/24 fps)	1920x1080 (30/24 fps), 1280x720 (60/30/24 fps)	1920x1080 (30/25/24 fps)/1280x720 (60/50 fps)/640x480 (30/25 fps)
Dimensions	6.0x4.6x3.0 inches	6.0x4.5x3.0 inches	5.7x4.8x3.2 inches	6.2x6.4x3.3 inches
Weight	30.3 oz (body)	28.6 oz (body)	31.7 oz (body)	Not available

Related stories on ZDNet:

• Canon EOS-1D X pro dSLR replaces both 1Ds Mark III and 1D Mark IV
• New Nikon D800 and D800E are highest resolution full-frame dSLRs
• Canon finally announces 5D Mark II, as predicted
• More details on Canon EOS 5D Mark II

Related links:

• Canon EOS 5D Mark III press release
• Canon EOS 5D Mark III product page
• CNET Crave: The long wait ends: Canon 5D Mark III (hands on) (includes video)

I'm still waiting to be proved wrong about the Lytro Light Field Camera that is generating so much buzz for a third time—first in June 2011, when Silicon Valley start-up Lytro announced development of an innovative light-field camera, and again in October when the actual product was revealed, and now that the camera has begun shipping. Don't get me wrong. I'm totally excited by the idea of the camera—both the feel-good Lytro backstory and the potentially revolutionary technology. I mean, what's not to like about a cutting-edge imaging technology that captures the entire light field of a scene, recording color, light intensity, and vector direction of every ray of light so that you can focus and refocus on different parts of a photo after the shot has already been taken? Just take a look at the photos in this gallery to get a taste of why everyone from Walt Mossberg to my father-in-law is sitting up and taking notice.

My skepticism lies in the fact that at four or five hundred bucks a pop, the current incarnation still feels too much like an expensive gee-whiz toy (like you'd buy from Hammacher Schlemmer). I don't see the real utility of the current camera especially in comparison to the high-end point-and-shoots, interchangeable lens compacts, or even dSLRs you can buy for the money. Sure it's fun to click back and forth between foreground and background subjects in an image and watch as they magically come into focus. But after a while, that gets a bit old, and the limitations of printing and even sharing the images—you need a (Mac-only) desktop app to process and then have to upload to Lytro.com before sharing on Facebook, Twitter, etc.—in the current incarnation of the camera start to set in.

So I'm waiting for Lytro 2.0 before I start hooting and hollering. But, hey, I'd be happy to be proved wrong.

Related:

• Lytro Light Field Camera lets you focus after taking your shot

More info:

• CNET Reviews: Editor' Take
• New York Times: Inside the Lytro graphic
• AllThingsD: Radical Camera Lets You Pick What's Blurry And What's Not
• Lytro Light Field Camera press release
• Lytro backstory
• Lytro CEO and Founder Ren Ng’s on digital light field photography

It's official: Smartphones are replacing digital point-and-shoot cameras as the primary photo-taking device for an increasing number of people. With smartphone sales rising and camera sales down, it's not a huge shocker, but results from a new study by the Consumer Electronics Association indicate that while the digital point-and-shoot is still the primary image capture device for more consumers, the numbers are dropping, while the number of people who consider the smartphone as their primary photo-taking device is rising.

In a study conducted this past December, "The Changing Landscape of Digital Photography," the CEA discovered that although 55 percent of consumers who shoot digital images consider a point-and-shoot as their primary photo device, that number is down from 69 percent in 2009, while the smartphone percentages have tripled from 6 percent in 2009 to 18 percent. That's even higher than the 11 percent of consumers who consider a digital SLR as their primary photo device, although that percentage is up from 8 percent in 2009.

Though significant improvement in smartphone camera quality over the past few years is an obvious reason that smartphones are increasingly replacing dedicated cameras, a look at what consumers do with their photos after snapping them is also telling: The CEA study indicates that the most common "typical" usage is emailing photos (58 percent), followed by posting to social networks (48 percent), both of which are much easier to do with a smartphone.

I know I often reach for my iPhone 4S over a dedicated camera (even if I have a camera on me) if what I want to do is email or share a photo quickly. What about you?

[poll id="32"]

You've come a long way, Lensbaby. I've been a fan of theLensbaby line of selective-focus lenses for digital SLR cameras since the Lensbaby 2.0. It was essentially a toy lens that let youmanually select an area of sharp focus while leaving the rest of your image blurry, bringing a tilt-shift-esque effect to your SLR (minus the price and precision). In 2008, the company added itsOptic Swap system that let you swap out optics to change the creative look of your images. With yesterday's announcement of the newest optic, the Lensbaby Edge 80, it looks as though the Lensbaby is all grown up.

The Edge 80 Optic brings the Lensbaby system to a whole new level, offering the closest thing to a real dSLR lens that we've seen from the company so far. The Edge 80 works with all the current dSLR-compatible Lensbaby tiltable lens bodies (i.e., the Composer, Composer Pro, Control Freak, Muse, and Scout) and offers the same 12-blade aperture design as last year's 35mmSweet 35 Optic, but is an80mm, f/2.8 flat field-of-focus optic. This means that rather than delivering a round "sweet spot" of focus like the Sweet 35, the Edge 80 delivers a sharp "slice" of tilt-shift focus (horizontally, vertically, or diagonally, depending on how you tilt the lens), similar to what you get from the Miniature art filters you see on many cameras these days (only better and more versatile). Because it uses significantly better optics than previous versions (with five glass elements in four groups), the Edge 80 is capable of delivering much better color and contrast. In fact, it could probably double as a straight lens, save for the fact that unless you have the fixed Scout lens (or maybe the Control Freak which offers more precision control), it will be hard to set the tilt at dead center (i.e., no tilt) to give you a real edge-to-edge sharp image.

Besides the optics, the new Edge 80 also shows off a new and improved overall design. Like the Sweet 35, it offers apertures from f/2.8 to f/22, but the new rotating dial aperture ring makes it easier to adjust. The optic can also be pulled out and extended for a close focus mode and the swapping mechanism has been improved, making it even easier to insert and remove than the Sweet 35. Of course, the price has also been jacked up, so all that awesomeness will set you back a cool $300.

To get an idea of the kind of effects you can get with the Edge 80, check out the Edge 80 Optic simulator at the Lensbaby site.

It's a move that makes sense, given that after dragging its feet in the transition to digital (despite the fact that the digital camera was invented at Kodak), the companywas never really able to catch up to its competitors who embraced the new medium earlier. Though its pocket camcorder line gave the market-creating Flip camcorder a run for its money...well, you know what happened to the Flip. And there haven't been many real stand-out digital cameras from Kodak, though I used to favor them for folks like my parents for their press-here-dummy ease of use, and I really did like the innovative, but short-lived dual-lens V series cameras that combined a fixed wide-angle lens and a zoom (and turned out to be too expensive to make for the company to keep on the market). Nowadays, there are plenty of even easier to use budget shooters and compact megazooms with wide-angle lenses are a dime a dozen.

This is not to say you won't be seeing any cameras with the Kodak name on them anymore—the company plans toexpand its current brand licensing program, so you'll likely see more cameras (but of course the likelihood of these being any better than past Kodak cameras is pretty slim). Kodak will continue to produce inkjet printers and camera accessories, and its online and retail photo printing business will live on for now (including the Kodak Gallery online photo printing and sharing service). Plus, Kodak has a number of commercial businesses, focused on printing, graphics, and commercial film as well.

Yeah, it's been a while coming, but considering that the company was making consumer cameras since the 1800's (including the famous Kodak Brownie that sold for $1) it still makes me a little sad, kinda like this day did.

Related stories on ZDNet:

• Kodak issues panic warning over digital camera sales slump
• Kodak eyes Chapter 11: Patent sale or bust
• Kodak seeks online photo-sharing business sell-off after outlook panic warning
• CES 2012: Kodak tries to use Facebook as life support
• Hands-on review: Kodak Playfull HD mini-camcorder
• CES: Kodak introduces two new Pulse Digital Frames with social networking
• Digital cameras to watch for in 2012: A recap of CES announcements
• Digital photography in 1991 (and beyond)
• After 75 years, Kodachrome film processing comes to an end

Related links:

• Press release: Kodak Focuses Consumer Business On More Profitable Growth Opportunities
• Kodak consumer business site
• Kodak commercial business site
• Kodak Brownie history

What is it about cameras that brings out the nostalgia in us? Maybe it's some kind of karmic twist that makes us crave designs that conjure memories indevices we use to capture memories, but when it comes to camera design of late, the more retro-looking the better. In fact, it seems the more classic the look, the more high-end the camera feels (case in point: the Fujifilm FinePix X100 and X-Pro1). Olympus was among the first to revive an iconic design from its past when it launched its PEN series of interchangeable lens compact (ILC) cameras and with today's announcement of the Olympus OM-D E-M5, it has turned to the classic Olympus OM line of compact full-frame professional 35mm SLRs from the '70s for inspiration.

Like their film-based predecessors, theOM-D line is a step up from the PEN series, aimed squarely at advanced and professional photographers. Slightly larger than the top-of-the-line PEN E-P3, the new E-M5 is something of a cross between the E-P3 and Olympus' E-5 digital SLR, borrowing features from both. For example, like the E-5, the new E-M5 sports a dust-and splash-proof body design, using a magnesium alloy body and a number of internal seals. TheFL-LM2 electronic flash that will ship with the camera is dust- and splash-proof as well.

PEN series users have long been asking for an integrated electronic viewfinder (EVF), and the E-M5 essentially incorporates the PEN line's VF-2 removable EVF accessory into the camera, featuring a1.44 million-dot LCD with 100-percent field-of-view coverage and 1.15x maximum magnification. The EVF is located in a pyramid over the lens, positioning it perfectly where the film-based OM line's pentaprism viewfinder would be. Not only does this allow the E-M5 to closely mimic the design of the original OM cameras, but it also provides a location for an accessory port above the EVF.

The E-M5 uses a new 16-megapixel Live MOS sensor (compared with the 12.3-megapixel sensors in the E-P3 and E-5) with a maximum ISO 25,600, and offers five-axis image stabilization that compensates for five kinds of movement (i.e., horizontal shift, vertical shift, rotary motion, yaw, and pitch). The in-body image stabilization also helps improve video recording stability as well.

The new camera also incorporates the Fast AF system introduced in the PEN line, but is even faster, currently claiming to be the world's fastest autofocus (until the next competitor one-ups them anyway). The fast AF is improved in continuous AF speeds and 3D tracking performance as well, producing 4.2 fps sequential shooting with continuous autofocus.

Other key features include:

• Tilting 3.0-inch, 610,000-dot touch screen OLED
• Movie Effects (e.g., One Shot Echo, for a semi-transparent frame and Multi Echo, for a motion trail effect)
• Live Bulb (updates the OLED preview at pre-set intervals during long exposures)
• EVF Creative Control (produces a tone curve overlay on the viewfinder screen)
• 10 Art Filters, including the new Key Line, Cross Process II, and Dramatic Tone II
• Full HD 1080i movie recording
• Black or silver body options

The Olympus OM-D E-M5 is scheduled to ship in April for $999.99 (body only), $1,299.99 (with 12-50mm, f/3.5-6.3 lens), and $1,099.99 (with 14-42mm, f/3.5-5.6 lens, black body only)

Related stories on ZDNet:

• Olympus announces new top-of-the-line PEN E-P3 interchangeable lens compact camera
• Olympus announces E-5 midrange dSLR with tilt/swivel LCD and art filters
• Fujifilm announces March ship date for FinePix X100 high-end compact camera

Related links:

• Olympus OM-D E-M5 press release
• Olympus OM-D E-M5 product page
• Olympus OM-D site
• CNET Crave:Olympus brings OM series into the 21st century (hands-on)
• DPReview: Olympus OM-D E-M5 hands-on preview
• Imaging Resource: Olympus OM-D E-M5 hands-on preview