It's been a long time since Sony released a full-frame camera. The A900 made its debut three years ago, and since then, the company has of course introduced the "SLT" translucent mirror technology. Rumours of an a950 have been swirling around the internet for some time now, with Sony Alpha Rumours first reporting speculation in November 2010. At the time the site suggested that the a950 would be released after Nikon had announced its latest full-frame camera.
Pentax has announced the Optio RZ18 - a compact superzoom camera with 18x zoom lens. The RZ18 combines a very flexible zoom range (25-450mm equivalent) with a 16MP image stabilized CCD sensor. It also features a 460,000 dot LCD and can shoot 720p HD video at 30 frames per second. The RZ18 will be available from October at a recommended price of $299.

DxO has released FilmPack 3, the third version of its sliver halide simulation processing software. The latest version, announced in June, now includes the ability to mimic up to 60 famous black and white, and color films, based on calibration from professional prints, giving what the company claims is the most precise film simulation on the market. Version 3 adds new film looks and color filters. It also brings a greater degree of control, including HSL sliders, a channel mixer for optimizing Black and White conversions and, at customer request, the ability to add vignetting. The software is available in two versions, 'Essentials' and 'Expert,' which offer different levels of function, with introductory pricing starting at $49/€49/£49 for the Essentials version.
Panasonic has introduced the Lumix DMC-FH7 digital compact camera (DMC-FS22 in Europe). Featuring a Leica 4x zoom lenses starting at 28mm and 720p HD video recording, the 16Mp FH7 comes with a similar feature set to the 6-month-old FH5 but boasts a 3" touch-sensitive LCD screen. Pricing and availability have yet to be announced.




Samsung has launched the WB750, a compact superzoom with an 18x zoom lens. The camera is built around what the company says is a proprietary 12.5MP back-illuminated CMOS sensor. Despite its slim dimensions, the camera offers a 24-432mm equivalent zoom range with its F3.2-5.8 image stabilized lens. As well as being able to shoot 10 full-resolution frames per second, it can also capture 1080p30 HD video.
Fujifilm has unveiled the X10 - an enthusiast compact with a F2.0-2.8, 28-112mm-equivalent lens. It's built around a 2/3" (6.6 x 8.8mm) CMOS sensor that uses Fujifilm's EXR pixel arrangement. The 12MP sensor can produce either 12MP images in high resolution mode, under-expose half its pixels to provide 6MP images with greater dynamic range, or combine neighboring pixels for a 6MP high sensitivity mode. The X10 borrows extensively from the styling of the X100 (though its zooming viewfinder means you lose the X100's hybrid viewfinder), to give a camera that sits conceptually between the Olympus XZ-1 and the Canon Powershot G12.

