CES 2011: The Best New Photography Gear

Casio Tryx To look at it, you might think that Casio’s interesting new compact is one of those flash-memory video cameras, but it’s a lot more. It’s powered by a 12.1-megapixel back-illuminated CMOS sensor and has some of Casio’s best bells and whistles like their high-speed video and an internal HDR mode. All the navigation is handled by touchscreen, leaving room for just two buttons on the body. We got some hands-on time with it on the show floor and were impressed by how solid and sturdy the whole rotating package felt. Stan Horaczek

Timbuk2 Snoop Camera Backpack The original Snoop camera bag was a traditional messenger bag, but in July, the company will be releasing a backpack version for those who need to carry more gear. Since it’s from Timbuk2, it’s predictably fashionable, coming in two different color-ways and boasting enough room inside to fit two bodies and a gaggle of lenses. Stan Horaczek

Case Logic Interchangeable Lens Compact Cases The introductory model in Case Logic’s ILC case line is meant to hold and protect an ILC with a standard kit lens. It will cost only $20. It comes with a body strap to haul it around and a back pocket for storing all of the necessary accessories. The backside of it is covered in rigid EVA padding to keep everything safe. The other two models add room for more accessories. The top of the line $35 case also has room for a zoom lens in the main compartment. Stan Horaczek

Samsung SH100 Connectivity is a big theme here at CES 2011 and Samsung’s new wireless compact is as social as they come. You can use the built-in WiFi to transfer your files to a PC or the web or even sync it up with an Android mobile device which can be used as a remote control. It’s also equipped with GPS for geotagging, all for just under $200.
Read more about the Samsung SH100 Stan Horaczek

Olympus PEN E-PL2 This week’s announcements have been very heavy in the compact camera department, but Olympus did unleash an update to their Micro Four Thirds line in the form of the E-PL2. The changes from its predecessor aren’t exactly monumental, but they are smart. Updates include redesigned ergonomics and an extremely cool new LED Macro Light rig that can neurotically be adjusted to provide the perfect lighting situation for close-up shooting. It also makes the camera look kind of like an alien space ship.
Read more about the Olympus E-PL2 Stan Horaczek

Sony Cyber-shot TX10 The first of two ruggedized compacts on our list can survive up to 16-feet under water and laugh off impacts from up to five-feet. But the most notable improvement is the inclusion of the linear AF system, which uses magnetic coils to move the optics back and forth, rather than gears to rotate them. This should offer noticeable improvements when it comes to performance.
Read more about the Sony TX10

Olympus TG-610 It wasn’t announced here at CES, but the latest rugged model from Olympus is built to take all the beatings you’d expect. It also has a built-in method for letting you take true 3D still images without adding an extra lens. The process is, admittedly, a little cumbersome. Take one shot and the camera shows a semi-transparent version of it on the screen. You then move the camera to match the overlay on the screen and snap another shot. It obviously doesn’t work for moving subjects, but the result is a true 3D image file. Stan Horaczek

Lexar Professional 128 GB SDXC The megapixel wars are over, but when it comes to storage, bigger and faster is still the name of the game. Lexar’s class 10 128 GB SD card is part of the company’s Professional series and offers speeds up to 20 MB/s. It comes with a price tag of $699, but you can step down to the 64 GB version for $399 as well.
Read more about the Lexar 128 GB SDXC card

Sandisk Extreme Pro 128 GB CF Remember what we said about bigger and faster being better? Sandisk knows it too. Their top shelf CF card offers crazy storage and ridiculous speeds of up to 100 MB/s. It’s obviously geared more toward those shooting tons of video, but photographers can also surely appreciate that kind of read/write speed when trying to dump a lot of images in a hurry. Stan Horaczek

Eye-Fi Direct Mode The more they tweak Eye-Fi, the more we like it. With a firmware update that’s coming soon, Eye-Fi cards will be able to send full-res images to smartphones or tablets without the need for a PC or an online storage service. There, you can edit them and send them wherever you’d like. It brings us one step closer to never needing another wire ever again.

Sony HDR-TD10 3D Camcorder Sony was 3D crazy at this year’s CES, even introducing a tiny 3D Bloggie camera with two lenses for just $250. But, they also dropped a true consumer-grade 3D camcorder. It uses two lenses and two sensors to get optimal HD video quality, which you can be previewed on the 3.5-inch 3D screen that doesn’t require those dorky glasses.

Canon A1200 A viewfinder is one of the more requested elements we hear about in terms of compact cameras and, despite its budget-friendly price of just $109, the A1200 offers just that. Sure, the coverage isn’t perfect and it’s relatively tiny, but for those who swear by the optical method of composition, it’s a welcomed rarity.
Read more about the Canon A1200