Digital Camera News Bits for 10/18/2007

Sandisk 8 GB Extreme III SDHC Card Announced

Sandisk has announced a new Extreme III SDHC card with an 8GB capacity. The card will be bundled with a SanDisk MicroMate USB 2.0 Reader. The card and reader are expected to ship to retailers within 30 days to be sold at a suggested price of $180.

The Extreme III line of SDHC cards from Sandisk comply with the Class 6 speed rating from the SDHC specifications which guarantees a minimum transfer rate of 6MB/sec. Sandisk reports that their new card has a read/write speed of 20MB/sec.

All SanDisk Extreme III cards offer ESP Technology to streamline data transfer, and Sandisk includes RescuePRO software to recover accidentally deleted files and images. The cards can handle extreme temperatures (-13 to 185 degrees Fahrenheit or -25 to 85 degrees Celsius).

Canon Showing Off Prototype Telephoto L Lenses

During PhotoPlus this week, Canon will be showing off prototypes of two lenses that they have still in development. If you're at the show, you can check out the EF200mm f/2L IS USM and the EF800mm f/5.6L IS USM.

Both lenses are in Canon's coveted "L" line, have image stabilization and USM motors. Since both lenses are still under development, there is no pricing or availability information available yet.

Nikon Digital SLRs Highest In Customer Satisfaction

In the latest J.D. Power and Associate 2007 Digital Camera Satisfaction Study, Nikon D series cameras scored 822 points (out of 1000). The study probed customers in four areas: picture quality, performance, operation, and appearance and styling. The study included 7000 response from people who have purchased a camera within the last 12 months.