What to expect in 2010: Digital cameras

Consumer Reports News: January 13, 2010 06:08 AM

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Cameras

The Samsung NX10
Photo: Samsung

Although this year's CES was abuzz with e-readers and 3D HDTVs, one thing you didn't hear all that much about was interesting new digital cameras. It's not to say there weren't dozens of models announced from Sony, Canon, Panasonic and others. But aside from Samsung's NX10—a new digital camera to go head-to-head with the Micro Four-thirds models—many new cameras were simply updates or tweaks to existing models. Even the one SLR announcement, a category that usually draws lots of interest from the tech community, was more or less just a tweak: Sony's new Alpha a450 (no price was announced at the show), seems to be a stripped down version of some of their other sub-$1000 models.

What does this all mean? No more interesting cameras? No. I just think the camera manufacturers are saving the more intriguing and higher-end models for a much smaller camera trade show, PMA, which will take place in Anaheim, California from Feb. 21-23.

Here are some of the trends I'm expecting from those cameras:

More innovative Micro Four-thirds cameras, along with broader ranges of lenses to fit these system cameras and lower prices.
More cameras that are WiFi and Bluetooth enabled as well as models that will be able to accept the newest high-capacity memory cards that are beginning to appear in the marketplace.
Better graphical interfaces that are as simple and direct as the iPhone. (Perhaps a camera manufacturer might build an app store, similar to Apple's.)
Enhanced burst modes, similar to what's available on Casio point-and-shoots.
Less noise on high ISO settings.

So, be sure to keep checking back to our electronics blog for new pre-PMA camera and SLR announcements and our coverage of the trade show itself.

–Terry Sullivan