I apparently caught a “flu-like virus” according to the doctor (despite having had a flu shot this year) and have been sick as a dog since shortly after returning from Vegas, so apologies for the dirth of posts this week. In the meantime, check out this great News.com Q&A with Chuck Westfall, camera tech guru and the technical adviser for Canon USA’s professional products marketing division. Lots of great info, including his take on the competition, geotagging, battery technology developments, and more.

Eye-Fi, maker of one of my favorite camera accessories (a Wi-Fi enabled SD card), was at PMA announcing a couple of key partnerships and a new Smart Boost upgrade. I met with Eye-Fi CEO Jef Holove, who explained how the Smart Boost update will let the Eye-Fi card intelligently determine the most efficient way to upload your photos to one of 20 supported photo sharing sites. Without Smart Boost, the Eye-Fi transfers your images over your Wi-Fi network to the Web-based Eye-Fi service, which then forwards the images to your photo sharing service. With Smart Boost, the Eye-Fi can determine if your computer is on, and if so, it will upload photos via Wi-Fi to your PC and let the Eye-Fi Manager software on your PC do the rest of the work. Though Holove claims that Smart Boost can speed your uploads between two and four times, that seems unlikely to me, since both scenarios are limited by the speed of your network and your Internet connection. The main benefit seems to be a faster transfer of the photos off the card (not the ultimate arrival at your photo sharing site) which would reduce card activity and save battery life, which is no small benefit in and of itself. The update will be availabe by February 12 and will be a free download for existing users.

Eye-Fi also announced its first retail distribution through Ritz Camera outlets (and the addition of support for the RitzPix online photo printing/sharing service) as well as an even more interesting partnership with Nikon. As Holove explained to me, the company worked with Nikon to enhanced integration of the Eye-Fi card with the popular Nikon D60 DSLR. While the Eye-Fi works with any camera that uses SD memory cards, the Nikon D60 will detect when an Eye-Fi card is inserted and automatically adjust its power time-out settings so that the camera doesn’t power off while you’re uploading photos. Holove says that although the Eye-Fi card is smart enough to pick up your upload as soon as you power up the
camera again, the D60 integration will make for smoother, uninterrupted downloads without requiring you to change camera settings.

So what else was there to be found on the show floor today? In addition to the slew of previously announced cameras, I also got a quick hands-on look at Kodak’s latest megazoom, the EasyShare Z1012 IS, which was announced on the 29th. The 10-megapixel camera has a 12x optical zoom lens with optical image stabilization, ISO up to 3,200, and offers tons of automatic settings as well as a full manual mode. Holding it in my hands, it was smaller than I expected–a truly compact megazoom. The coolest features (besides the diminutive size) are the smart capture mode, which automatically identifies the type of scene and adjusts camera settings (essentially choosing a scene mode for you, based on the scene at hand), and the HD support for both stills and video (which, like the V1073 announced at CES, requires the separately available EasyShare HDTV dock to transmit photos and videos to your TV). The Z1012 IS ships in April for $250.

It’s the first official day at PMA 2008 and it seems as though all the major cameras have already been announced. The only real excitement today was at Sony’s press event where the company revealed some more details about the high-end Alpha DSLR announced last year, most significantly that it will be use Sony’s recently announced full-frame sensor. Read about it at CNET’s Crave blog and check out DPReview’s minute-by-minute coverage of the event.

There wasn’t much exciting at the PMA 08 Sneak Peek press event this afternoon (Fujifilm, Nikon, Olympus, Panasonic, Samsung, and Pentax all had tables showing the same cameras we already know all about). But Sony has sparked some excitement with two sub-$900 DSLR announcements today. On the heels of its Sony Alpha DSLR-A200 announcement a few weeks ago at CES, Sony has added the A300 and the A350. The A300 is priced at just $100 more than the A200 ($799 with a DT 18-70mm f3.5-5.6 standard zoom lens). What that C-Note buys you is the A300’s live-view shooting mode that allows you to frame, focus, and shoot using the 2.7-inch flip-out LCD, something you can do with all point-and shoots, but not all DSLRs (though that’s changing: Canon’s new Rebel XSi sports a live-view mode too, as does the Panasonic Lumix DMC-L10 among others). You’ll sacrifice magnification on the optical viewfinder (the A200 viewfinder’s magnification is 0.83x, while the A300’s is 0.74x), but presumably you’ll use the LCD more to make up for that. The extra cash you’ll dish out for the A350 bumps resolution from 10.2 megapixels (on the A200 and A300) to 14.2 megapixels, but the extra megapixels knock continuous shooting speed down to 2 frames per second (vs. 3 fps for the A200 and A300). The A350 has the same flip-out Live-View LCD and lower magnification optical viewfinder as the A300. The A300 will ship in April and the A350 (which is also available body-only for $800) will ship in March.`

CNET’s Lori Grunin posted a good comparison of Sony’s four DSLR offerings here and DPreview has a quickie hands-on with the A350.

I’m headed off to PMA 2008 in Vegas tomorrow morning, but it’s obvious that what happens at PMA doesn’t stay at PMA…it often comes before PMA. So here’s a rundown of the pre-PMA camera announcements so far. Check back tomorrow evening for an update after I attend the PMA 08 Sneak Peek press briefing.

Canon
Canon Rebel XSi
Canon PowerShot SD1100 IS
Canon PowerShot A590 IS
Canon PowerShot A580
Canon PowerShot A470

Fujifilm
Fujifilm FinePix S100FS
Fujifilm FinePix S8100fd
Fujifilm FinePix S1000fd
Fujifilm FinePix F100fd
Fujifilm FinePix Z20
Fujifilm FinePix J50
Fujifilm FinePix J10

Nikon
Nikon D60
Nikon Coolpix P60
Nikon Coolpix S600
Nikon Coolpix S550
Nikon Coolpix S520
Nikon Coolpix S210
Nikon Coolpix L18

Olympus
Olympus SP-570UZ
Olympus Stylus 840
Olympus Stylus 1010
Olympus Stylus 1020
Olympus Stylus 850 SW
Olympus Stylus 1030 SW
Olympus FE-310
Olympus FE-340
Olympus FE-350 Wide

Panasonic
Panasonic Lumix DMC-LS80
Panasonic Lumix DMC-FS3
Panasonic Lumix DMC-FS5
Panasonic Lumix DMC-FS20
Panasonic Lumix DMC-LZ8
Panasonic Lumix DMC-LZ10
Panasonic Lumix DMC-TZ4
Panasonic Lumix DMC-TZ5
Panasonic Lumix DMC-FX35

Pentax
Pentax K20D
Pentax K200D
Pentax Optio S12
Pentax Optio M50
Pentax Optio E50 

Sony
Sony Cyber-shot DSC-H10
Sony Cyber-shot DSC-T300
Sony Cyber-shot DSC-W170
Sony Cyber-shot DSC-W150
Sony Cyber-shot DSC-W130
Sony Cyber-shot DSC-W120
Sony Cyber-shot DSC-S780
Sony Cyber-shot DSC-S750

There’s a lot to love about the newest digital ELPH, the Canon PowerShot SD 1100 IS, an update to the existing SD 1000. With the SD 1100 IS, Canon has upped resolution from 7.4 megapixels to 8.3 megapixels and, as you can guess from the IS in its name, added optical image stabilization. As with the SD 1000, the SD 1100 IS can detect up to 9 faces in a scene and use them to set exposure and focus. But it ups the ante by using face detection to remove red-eye automatically as you’re shooting and to calculate white balance for better skin tones. It can even let you choose a specific face in a scene to track as it moves around the scene you’re shooting. Another new feature, Canon’s Motion Detection Technology also uses the improved face detection to determine if your subject is moving and adjusts settings to prevent motion blur. The new model includes a 3x optical, 38-114mm f/2.8-4.9 zoom lens and has both an optical viewfinder as well as a 2.5-inch LCD. Canon plans to ship the SD 1100 IS in March for $250.

So has the SD 1100 IS taken over the SD 870 IS’s position as my favorite digital ELPH? Nope. While the SD 1100 IS is sleeker at just 4.41 ounces (vs. the 870’s 5.50 ounces) and comes in five colors (with goofy names like Rhythm & Blue, Swing Silver, Bohemian Brown, and Pink Melody, in contrast to the 870’s sensible “Silver” and “Black”) I still prefer the SD 870 IS for its wider lens (28-105mm f/2.8-5.8) and 3-inch LCD, although the latter sacrifices an optical viewfinder, a trade-off I’m okay even if others aren’t. You’ll also pay about $50 more for the 870 and you won’t get the newer face detection-based features, so you’ll have to decide if you’re okay with that as well.

(For a rundown of the rest of the digital ELPH line, click here.)

No big surprises here. Canon’s pre-PMA (mini) blitz serves up only five new models, all of which are incremental upgrades to existing Canon cameras. That’s not to say they’re not exciting new cameras–just not unexpected. The Canon Rebel XSi (an upgrade to the Canon Rebel XTi) has been spinning about the rumor mill for a while now, especially after the date of Canon’s spring announcements (today) was outed on Swedish site Kamera and Bild, which got the info from Robert Westin, VP for Canon Sweden. But even without the hint from Westin, it doesn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out that it’s been about a year and a half since the XTi was announced (which was a year and a half after the Rebel XT, which was a year and a half after the original Digital Rebel–you get the picture).

The Canon Rebel XSi (aka EOS 450D) ups resolution to 12.2 megapixels, increases the LCD size to 3 inches, and adds a LiveView mode so you can frame shots using the nice, big LCD. Another significant change from the XTi and earlier Rebels is that it uses SD memory cards rather than CompactFlash, which Canon hopes will make it a more appealing transition for upgrading point-and-shooters. Other key features include a higher-capacity battery, an improved nine-point autofocus sensor, the newer Digic III processor, 3.5 frames-per-second continuous shooting, and an optically image stabilized EF-S kit lens (EF-S18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 IS). Canon expects the new Rebel–which will come in silver and black finishes–to ship in April (body-only configuration for $800 or with the kit lens for $900). DPReview has posted a good hands-on look and CNET’s Crave has a detailed writeup here.

PMA 2008 doesn’t officially begin until January 31, but the onslaught of new camera announcements has already begun. Olympus announced 10 new cameras in the U.S. today ranging from four new models in its FE line of compact cameras to the much-ballyhooed SP-570 UZ (which Olympus describes as having the body of an ultrazoom and the soul of an SLR). Herewith are my two faves of the bunch:

Olympus SP-570 UZ
Well, where there’s smoke, there’s fire (sometimes). With this announcement, Olympus once again holds the title of the longest superzoom with a 20x zoom lens. It’ll come as no surprise that this replacement for the SP-560 UZ has upped the resolution from 8 to 10 megapixels, but what I really love is that they went wider as well as longer with the lens (26-520mm!!!). Another nice touch is the zoom ring, which may feel weird if you’re expecting it to act like the ring on a DSLR, but it should give you better control than the little zoom levers on most point-and-shoots. (Available in March for about $500.) Check out the hands-on previews at CNET’s Crave and e-photographia.com.

Olympus Stylus 1030 SW
Of the two shockproof, waterproof, freezeproof, dustproof cameras announced today, the 1030 SW is the clear winner to me. While I like the sleeker lines and broader color options offered with the 850 SW, and I really think its 8 megapixels for this level point-and-shoot is plenty, the 10-megapixel 1030 SW won me over with its extra-wide 3.6x optical zoom lens (28-102mm) as well as its greater waterproof depth of 33 feet (vs. the 850 SW’s 10 feet), which means you can really dive down if you’re snorkelling with the camera. Like the 850 SW, the 1030 SW is freezeproof to 14 degrees Fahrenheit, but it will withstand drops of up to 6.6 feet (vs. the 850’s 5 feet). Throw in the crushproof body–which can withstand 220 pounds of pressure–with a reinforced 2.7-inch LCD screen and you’ve got one tough camera. Some won’t like the lack of an optical viewfinder, but I’ll trade that for the bigger LCD in a heartbeat (but that’s just me). Lack of optical image stabilization is a drawback, but the biggest bummer is Olympus’ insistence on using xD-Picture Cards, which just might be a deal breaker for me. As with all its compact cameras this year, though, the 1030 SW will come with an adapter so you can use MicroSD cards as well. Available in March for about $400.

Calling all digital photographers: If you haven’t seen this video from Siggraph 2007, you must check it out. Ignore the monotonous voice of the narrator–he doesn’t sound nearly as excited as he should be–and watch his demo of “Seam Carving for Content-Aware Image Resizing” presented by Shai Avidan and Ariel Shamir from the Mitsubishi Electric Research Lab (I promise, it’s much more exciting than it sounds).

This very cool technology allows the resizing of images while retaining important features with a minimum of distortion. A husband and wife team from Vienna developed Avidan and Shamir’s work into a software application called Liquid Resize, which has just been acquired by onOne Software (of Genuine Fractals, PhotoFrame, and Mask Pro fame). onOne will be offering a free public beta of Liquid Resize as a standalone app for both Windows and Mac OS X users by the end of the month. The company plans to release a Photoshop plug-in version of Liquid Resize by the middle of the year.

[Via Slashgear]