Name: Epson Photo Fine Player P-7000
Category: photo viewer
Price: About JPY80,000
Release date in Japan: September 4, 2008

Here's a gadget category that isn't too well known outside professional photographers. But it's an interesting item that even hobbyist fotogs could find really handy on those longer shooting excursions.

Photo viewers are compact little combinations of hard drive and display. Their simple purpose is displaying photos, though in a photographer's work environment (as opposed to recently-popular digital photo frames that show pics as decorations). It's a tool that lets the photographer transfer shots to a hard drive to free up storage on the camera (or as a backup), and then study those shots on a larger screen than the camera's.

A good example is the new Epson P-7000 Photo Fine Player. The 433-gram device combines a 160-GB hard drive with a wide-angle 4-inch LCD. The screen displays over JPEG and RAW format images in 16.7 million colors, encompassing 94% of the Adobe RGB color space, so you can expect detailed color reproduction (advance reviewers have raved about its brightness and sharpness). Although it's a compact screen, zoom functions let you confirm details up close. Basic editing tools let you play with brightness, contrast cropping, etc., or add text; organization tools allow photo rating and creation of collections and slideshows. A new jog wheel makes it all easy too, says Epson.

There's support for audio (MP3, AAC) and video (MPEG4, Motion JPEG, H.264); video and audio outputs let you also display things on a big screen. (These additions are the reason Epson adds "Multimedia" to the product line's name overseas. Yes, you can use it as an expensive iPod if you like.)

The new model boasts data transfer (via CF or SD memory card) up to 35% faster than its predecessors: transferring 1GB of data from CF card to the hard drive takes 100 seconds. A full battery charge allows around 75 such 1GB transfers. All in all, the drive will hold about 9000 10-megapixel RAW photos (almost 4 times as many if JPEG), or 166 hours of 2Mbps MPEG4 video.

Also included is a battery charger and car adapter for travel, plus software to transfer Fine Player data to a PC.

A good photo viewer isn't an inexpensive addition to a weekend shooter's collection. (If the JPY80,000 tag is a tad more than you can afford, there's also a new P-6000 model with 80GB hard drive for JPY70,000.) But for anyone taking and reviewing lots of shots on the go, it's a more refined tool than a clumsy, expensive laptop with iffy battery life and disk space largely eaten up by data and software.

More info: http://www.epson.jp/products/colorio/photoviewer_digitalcamera/p7000_p60... (Japanese)

Name: Panasonic TH-50PZR900
Category: Hi-Def TV
Price: About JPY540,000
Release date in Japan: September 10, 2008

Panasonic Corporation's latest Viera Hi-Def TV further narrows the gap between TV sets and PCs: it boasts a 1-terabyte drive for recording shows and a LAN Ethernet port to access Internet content, particularly YouTube.

What will a terabyte of storage hold? Not quite as much as you might expect, given the heavy storage needs of digital broadcast: about 86 hours of BS digital TV, or 121 hours of terrestrial digital TV. (That same 1 TB drive could store several hundred hours of current analog broadcast TV; alas, that's what's being phased out in Japan by mid-2011, and the Viera won't even deign to record such old-timey signals.)

There's no dual-recording capability, so you can record only one channel at a time; there's also no external DVD player/recorder. So while the built-in hard drive is a nice feature, you'll probably end up getting a dedicated HDD/DVD recorder to go with the Viera. (Panasonic suggests its own line of DIGA BluRay DVD recorders.)

The flat-panel wide-screen plasma display with "Dynamic Black Layer" technology has an impressive contrast ratio of 30,000:1. Supporting that is a huge laundry list of color management technologies that Panasonic says provide the best picture you've seen in a plasma screen that size.  

On the network side, a custom built-in YouTube player (like that on the iPhone) brings funny cat videos and the like to your Viera starting September 30. (What does YouTube video, which is grainy even on an iPod screen, look like at 50 inches? One shudders to imagine.) The Internet connection also brings in expected features such as electronic program guide and viewing recommendations, though there's no general web browser, video/music store, etc.

Other specs: Full-HD (1920x1080) resolution, digital and analog TV tuners, 36W speakers, and connection ports for HDMI, i.Link (FireWire), composite video, S-video, analog audio, monitor, optical audio, analog RGB, and headphones.  

Panasonic introduced two smaller models at the same time: the 46-inch TH-46PZR900 and the 42-inch TH-42PZR900, with key tech specs the same as the 50-incher. The former is available from September 10 for JPY480,000; the latter, from September 20 for JPY420,000. (And if none of that impresses you, ask your Panasonic dealer about the new special-order TH-103PZ800: 103 inches (!) of plasma goodness for about JPY5.6 million, before considerable shipping and set-up fees.)

More info: http://panasonic.co.jp/corp/news/official.data/data.dir/jn080826-3/jn080... (Japanese)

(Incidentally, if you're still using the name Matsushita Electric Industrial Co, you've got just one month left. From October 1, it's officially Panasonic, with both the Matsushita company name and the National home appliances brand disappearing under the Panasonic nameplate.)

Name: Nikon D90
Category: digital still and movie SLR camera
Price: About JPY120,000 (body only)
Release date in Japan: September 9, 2008

It's the norm now that digital still cameras include some sort of video recording feature, and video cameras offer still-shot capability. Nikon's adding a new twist to the combination, with what it calls "the world's first digital SLR movie function that delivers genuinely cinematic results".

The D90 is the latest in Nikon's popular D line of digital SLRs, featuring 12.3-megapixel still shots. Its movie function records video at resolutions of 320 x 216, 640 x 424, or HD720p (1,280 x 720) in motion JPEG format, at 24 frames per second. (Sorry, no higher-resolution HD1080 video.)

What makes that exciting is not just the combination of a great still cam and decent HD video cam in one unit, but the ability to use Nikon's array of interchangeable lenses for video shooting. Fish-eye, wide-angle, telephoto... you'll swap lenses like a Hollywood movie-maker, something you can't do with general consumer video cams.

Aiding the moviemaker is a large DX-format 23.6 x 15.8mm CMOS sensor ("far larger than that in typical camcorders", says Nikon) with a sensitivity range of ISO 200 to 3200. A microphone and built-in speakers handle audio recording and playback. (There's speculation that the D90 will function as an audio player if you load it with MP3s, though Nikon itself doesn't say this.)

Still, this may not be your tool for feature films. When shooting video, you lose both autofocus and the viewfinder (use the LCD panel on back instead, via Live View previews). You can't go beyond 24 fps, which is fast enough for many but not all shooting purposes. Some pros are also wondering about the maximum video scene length before sensor overheating (hastened by Live View) becomes a problem.

In addition to that Live View preview in the 3-inch LCD display, other functions include Nikon Vibration Reduction (when used with compatible lenses), Multi-CAM 1000 autofocus module with 11-point AF system, face recognition, built-in flash, Image Sensor Cleaning, 0.15-second quick start-up time, and comprehensive image editing tools. Body weight 620g.

More info: http://nikon.com/about/news/2008/0827_d90_01.htm (English)

Name: CASIO EXILIM EX-Z300 and EX-Z250
Category: digital still camera
Price: About JPY40,000 (EX-Z300), JPY35,000 (EX-Z250)
Release date in Japan: August 29, 2008

Every week there's a new twist in what face-recognition software offers to do for us. This time it's the "Make-up Function" in the new CASIO EXILIM EX-series "kondeji" (compact digital cams).

Cameras that automatically detect and flatter faces with ideal focus and exposure are old news already, as is smile-recognition that snaps grins only. The EXILIM models further add the ability to analyze and smooth out variations in skin tone, hiding flaws from winkles to moles to harsh sunlight shadows. You choose the degree of "make-up" to apply, from among 12 levels of processing. It's like Photoshop fakery without the hassle!

Another trick of the EXILIMs' face-recognition engine is the ability to register the mugs of family and friends. Take a group shot, and the EXILIM will place priority on showing those favored faces in the best light.

Want one more trick? All right: Say you want a "two-shot" of you and your date, but there's no stranger around to bother with the request. So you resort to one of those self-portraits with the camera at arm's length, right? But it's hard to hold the cam still, and your spotty aim can leave out half a face. Here the EXILIM will play the role of the missing stranger, waiting for both faces to come solidly into view and then firing automatically. Hai, po-zu!

Other "do all the work for you" features include heavy digital processing to best expose both subject and backgrounds in those difficult night shots and backlit shots; automatic selection of ideal shooting mode; vibration reduction coupled with automatic ISO selection; and automatic focus adjustment for moving subjects. The EXILIM even knows when you're using a tripod, and adjusts its automatic settings accordingly.

Other specs: 10 megapixels (EX-Z300) / 9 megapixels (EX-Z250); 4x optical zoom (28-112mm); 3.0-inch display; H.264 video (1280x720); 38MB internal memory; SD/SDHC and MultiMedia memory card slot.

More info: http://dc.casio.jp/product/exilim/ex_z300/ (Japanese)
http://dc.casio.jp/product/exilim/ex_z250/ (Japanese)

One feature you won't find on a Macintosh computer is a television tuner. The fairly recent Apple TV peripheral, for all its capabilities, still doesn't bring in actual television. Hence a variety of third-party peripherals for TV-loving Mac users, including the upcoming GV-MACTV from Kanazawa-based I-O DATA. An update of the earlier GV-MVP/H for Windows, the small, slim white box will connect to a Mac's USB port to pull in Hi-Vision-quality terrestrial digital TV for viewing and recording to hard drive or DVD. The unit will hold the B-CAS cards used in Japan to decode digital broadcasts, and will ship with TV management software that will work with an Apple Remote. Available by the end of the year; no price yet. (The Windows device is JPY15,700.)

Press release: http://www.iodata.jp/news/2008/08/08_pr014.htm (Japanese)
GV-MVP/H for Windows: http://www.tekronomicon.com/gadget/2008/07/io_data_tuner_s_record_multip... (English)

Name: Hanwha UDCM301
Category: scuba gear / underwater camera
Price: JPY12,800
Release date in Japan: August 8, 2008

Why do divers get this cool head-mounted camera, while we land people have to hold our cams the regular way? Hmm, I suppose it's because divers are already wearing head gear, and we normally aren't. Plus, our hands are usually available for things like photography, while they need their hands free for stuff like swimming and fending off sharks and making that funny I'm-out-of-air sign.

So we'll let the divers have this one. What exactly is it? A spiffy-looking, silicone and tempered-glass scuba mask with a 3-megapixel camera built into the brow, waterproof at depths up to 5 meters. In addition to 2048x1536 JPEG snaps (minimum shooting distance: 50cm), the camera will record 640x480 MotionJPEG video at 15fps. Those image specs won't impress National Geographic, but sound fine for casual scuba shooting.

Nice extras include regular or rechargeable AAA batteries as the power supply, so you don't need to worry about charging proprietary batteries, and a mini USB 1.1 port, so you don't need to remember to take a memory card reader on that beach vacation. There's a built-in 16MB memory, plus a slot for MicroSD cards up to 2GB, which should hold well over an hour of video (though topped-off rechargeable batteries will last through only about 30 minutes of video).

How do you use the camera? At the top of the mask is a control for mode switching and a shutter release, so you will need to keep a hand free to shoot. Crosshairs printed on the lenses act as viewfinders for aiming your forehead. Behind the camera is a small LCD panel showing battery status, shot counter, and shooting mode, plus LED lights indicating current shooting activity; it's all visible with a glance upward.

The UDCM301 is a limited model available only online, says seller Hanwha Japan, so move fast if you want to try what looks to be a really convenient gadget for underwater photography.  

More info: http://www.hanwha-japan.com/products/udcm301/ (Japanese)
Purchase: https://item.rakuten.co.jp/hanwha/10000048/

Name: Nikon COOLPIX S60
Category: digital still camera
Price: About JPY40,000
Release date in Japan: September, 2008

It's all about touch these days, from the iPhone and its imitators to new desktop computers boasting touch-panel screens. And now you'll be swiping and poking at the back of your kondeji (compact digital camera), if Nikon has its way.

The COOLPIX S60 is a 145-g flat rectangle of a camera with a 3.5-inch "real wide angle" LCD touch screen on its back that takes over for nearly all controls. (On/off and shutter release remain physical buttons.) As you'd expect, icons appearing on the panel let you access set-up options, photo and movie playback, shooting options like zoom and flash, and so on.

What's more interesting is touch-based interaction not with the camera but with the scene. Just touch your subject on the screen, and the camera will set its exposure and focus on that subject. It's an operation that many users will find far easier than the traditional way of handling off-center subjects with automatic cameras (center on sobject, half-press and hold shutter release, re-frame shot, press shutter release). Another feature: once the built-in face-recognition has a face targeted, a press on the panel's "Portrait One-touch Zoom" icon will zoom in to an optimal full-face portrait size.  

iPhone-like photo playback tricks include photo orientation that rotates with camera orientation, "swiping" to view successive photos, and touch-based closeups (though from a demo video this appears to use one-finger taps, not two-finger "pinching"). There's a new shtick too: you can use the included stylus to draw or write on your photos in multiple colors.

Other specs: 10 megapixels, 5x optical zoom, ISO up to 3200, smile-detection timer, HDMI connector for playback to HiVision TV.

More info: http://www.nikon-coolpix.com/j/s60.html (Japanese)