Digital Camera News, 12/18/07

Rumors about pending Canon 400D, 5D updates circulate

The Swedish-language site Kamerabild is reporting that a Canon exec has hinted that an announcement about new DSLRs in Canon’s lineup will come the week before the PMA show in late January.

Rumors and logic suggest that the long-running EOS 400D (the Digital Rebel XTi) or the EOS 5D are the most likely candidates for a major update. Working on information from the Swedish site, courtesy of Canon’s Robert Westin, Photography Bay pins the anticipated announcement date on January 24. Read the full story here.

We’ll keep our eyes and ears open to see if more details trickle down on this one.

Firmware update improves L10’s AF performance

In a web announcement yesterday, Panasonic released a firmware update for its Lumix DMC-L10K digital SLR.

Stated changes include improved focusing speed with the camera’s 14-50mm and 14-150mm lenses, better exposure accuracy in night scene mode, and improvements to the white balance system.

Read about all the listed improvements or download the update here.

New Tamron AF18-250mm lens announced

Aftermarket lens manufacturer Tamron has just announced another addition to its line of “wide angle to long zoom” lenses for digital SLRs. The AF18-250mm, f/3.5-6.3 unit translates to an impressive zoom ratio of 13.9x.

Expected to hit store shelves in Japan later this month, the compact “all-in-one” lens is designed for a Nikon mount. No word yet on US delivery or pricing.

SanDisk Photo Album makes TV photo sharing easy

SanDisk’s Photo Album provides an easy solution for displaying photos from any camera on any television. With support for all the usual memory types, including SD, CF, Memory Stick, and xD, the Photo Album also claims serve as photo storage solution – but, oddly, only if you provide an additional 128 MB CF card or flash drive.

The box, which measures roughly the size of a VHS cassette, comes with a remote control as well, and can be used to play MPEGs and MP3 in additional to JPEGs.

An MSRP of less than $50 makes the Photo Album seem like a good idea. Our biggest complaint is the lack of HD outputs: connection to the TV is made via RCA only.