Canon has just released its most advanced consumer digital SLR camera to date. If you are a keen amateur professional, this is probably the best bit of kit you can get your hands on right now. The EOS 550D comes from Canon's acclaimed EOS range and melds some impressive features with a compact, light-weight body.

The camera has 18 Megapixel resolution and a 9-point Auto Focus (AF) system giving extraordinary detail in large prints. DIGIC 4 image processing means the images are saved and stored with minimum noise.

From the user's point of view, it's also one of the lightest digital SLRs out there.

A few nice features:
Shooting in the dark - Shooting in low light is made easy thanks to the advanced ISO range of up to 6400. Summer parties, weddings and barbeques can be difficult to capture when light levels drop, but the EOS 550D makes it simple to capture excellent images in the dark without using the flash

High definition video - EOS 550D also shoots High Definition videos in full 1080p resolution. Full manual control allows users to creatively tune settings to suit the subject, providing the flexibility to capture all kinds of action, from family gatherings to fast-moving sports.

Those features in full:

• Capture large, detailed prints with the 18 Megapixel APS-C CMOS sensor
• Exceptional speed, colour and low noise with DIGIC 4 image processing
• Outstanding quality video with Full HD (1920x1080p) recording
• Extreme low light shooting with 100 - 6400 ISO, expandable to 12800
• Never miss a thing with high-speed 3.7fps continuous shooting
• Crystal clear playback on the high-resolution, 7.7cm (3.0") 3:2 Clear View LCD
• Enjoy detail across the frame with the 9-point AF system
• Dust-free shots with the EOS Integrated Cleaning System
• All day shooting with the new LP-E8 high capacity battery

The Canon EOS 550D available from 24th February 2010

Glimmering in metallic candy colours, Canon have released a few new additions to their IXUS range of small sleek user-friendly cameras. The IXUS 130 and 105 have some fun features thrown into their slender colourful cases:

Both models feature a 28mm wide angle 4x zoom lens - allowing you to fit everyone in the frame or zoom in for close ups, while Canon's Face Detection Technology ensures everyone looks their best, according to the press release. The IXUS 130 also offers fun, inventive ways to take the perfect picture - using a smile or a simple wink of an eye to release the shutter when you're in position. A nice touch eh? I imagine there a few hitches with getting it to work in practice, but still, good.

The IXUS 130 is the thinnest IXUS to date, measuring 17.8mm at its thickest point and is available in four eye-catching colours: silver, black, pink and orange. The more affordable IXUS 105 is available in pink, silver, brown and aqua.

Other features in the new cameras include:
- Smart Auto with Scene Detection Technology which automatically selects settings for 18 different shooting scenes in the IXUS 105 and 22 in the IXUS 130.
- Optical Image Stabilizer and Motion Detection Technology which counteracts the effect of camera shake and subject movement, allowing you to capture crystal clear images.
- Both models offer Movie mode, with a YouTube upload function in the bundled software making it easy to share videos online.

The IXUS 130 also delivers HD quality footage that can be watched with friends on an HDTV.

IXUS 130 - key features:
• Ultra-slim metal IXUS
• 14.1 Megapixels
• 28mm wide-angle, 4x zoom with optical IS
• 6.9 cm (2.7") PureColor II G LCD
• Smart Auto, Face Detection. Hints & Tips
• HD movies. HDMI

IXUS 105 - key features:
• Slim 12.1 Megapixel IXUS
• 28mm wide-angle, 4x zoom with optical IS
• 6.8 cm (2.7") PureColor LCD II
• Smart Auto, Smart Flash Exposure
• Face Detection, FaceSelf-Timer, Auto Red-Eye Correction

Both cameras available from March 2010, see www.canon.co.uk
IXUS 130 - £279.00
IXUS 105 - £189.00

We covered the cunning digital image storing and sharing card before when it launched in the UK a few months ago, now news comes that the updated version of the Eye-Fi card, the 8GB Eye-Fi Pro X2 will arrive in the UK in April.

Eye-Fi memory cards work like normal SD memory cards - slot them into your camera's memory card slot and they give you lots of extra storage space for images and videos. What makes Eye-Fi special is that Eye-Fi cards are internet-ennabled.

Put them somewhere with a wifi connection (one that's either open or that you've logged into) and the Eye-Fi will go about uploading your new work. Users can set the account settings on the central Eye-Fi website and uploaded photos are sent from there to up to photo sharing sites, including Flickr, Facebook and Picassa.

It works with pretty much any camera with a SD slot.

The new Eye-Fi cards the 8GB Eye-Fi Pro X2 - unveiled at CES do just a little bit extra too compared to the previous top of the range Eye-Fi Pro. It can now upload to up to 25 photo-sharing sites, geo-tagging has been improved and a new feature - Endless Memory - means that the card will never get full. When the card reaches a certain level of memory, Endless Memory deletes files that have been safely uploaded, starting with the oldest first.

Eye-Fi In Endless Memory mode users can choose to have Eye-Fi automatically make space available on their Eye-Fi Pro X2. Using the card's ability to communicate with the Eye-Fi Service, it receives confirmation whenever photos and videos are safely delivered to the user's computer and/or online sharing site. When the card reaches the user's pre-determined amount of space used, it will remove files that have been safely uploaded, beginning with the oldest - even when the card is not connected to the network. If files have not yet been uploaded, the Pro X2 will not remove them. This option can be set up in the Eye-Fi Center.

See the Pro X2 specs on the Eye-Fi US site

Kodak has announced a waterproof pocket video camera and a new touch screen camera with an unusual search feature in its raft of products for CES.

The Kodak Slice is a touch screen digital camera which stores up to 5000 photos on the internal memory. It shoots photos and videos in HD. The interesting feature is a search function which uses facial recognition and stored information about location and time of the shot to let you sort photos according to who's in them and when and where you took them. The Slice is wifi-ennabled meaning that you can share photos from your camera instantly with Facebook, Flickr or Youtube.

The Slice Touchscreen Camera will be available in black, nickel and radish for £299.99 beginning in April 2010

Kodak's Playsport Video Camera shoots in HD and works underwater - up to a depth of 10ft. Meant for rugged adventurous video shooting, the one-button to record make the device very simple to use. You can buy accessories which let you mount the camera on your helmet, handlebars or just hang it around your neck.

The PLAYSPORT Video Camera will be available in Abyss (black), Wave Crash (blue) and Adrenaline Rush (purple) for £129.99 beginning in April 2010.

See www.kodak.com for more information on both

What's the smallest camera in the world? This one maybe? The keychain camera by Exemode is colourful and teeny-weeny at only 53×23×19mm. It redefines pocket camera and with a microSD card can store up to 2G of photos.

This keychain camera recharges via USB and can take 250 photos per battery charge.

The Exemode SQ28m keychain camera costs about $70 (£43) from Nikkei

[via i4u]

I'm always a fan of making things out lego. Especially things that actually work like this cute, chunky 3 mega pixel camera.

Okay, 3 megapixels isn't very impressive when most phones have 4 or 5 megapixel photo resolution... but - and this is a dealmaker for me - the Lego bricks on top and below the camera can actually be built into other lego structures. How great! You can stick little lego men on top of your camera, or build it into a car or a wall.
I say "you" I mean your 8 year-old child of course. Of course.

The camera has 4x digital zoom, and a built-in flash. The camera has 128MB capacity, allowing you to store up to 80 photographs, and an LCD screen on the back for viewing them. It's chunky, colourful and hard-wearing, making it a great present for kids.

The Lego camera runs on rechargeable lithium batteries and photos can be transferred to a computer via the supplied USB cable.
Suitable for 8+

£59.99 from iwantoneofthose

Casio's new Exilim, the EX-G1 claims to be the slimmest shock resistant camera ever. 19.9mm thick, it's waterproof, dustproof and doesn't break when you drop it from a height of 2.13 meters (7 feet) onto lauan plywood from any of 26 different angles.

That's how you test if a camera is shock-resistant apparently.

Built for athletes, mountaineers, and those whose daily lives take them 7ft above laun plywood on a daily basis, it is also freeze-proof and built from polycarbonate and stainless steel. The double layering of the steel and the fibre-glass polycarbonate absorbs shock and protects the camera body.

It's waterproof which is pretty cool and can be used at a water depth of three meters (10 feet) for 60 continuous minutes. "Water will not penetrate the camera even when directly sprayed with jets of water from every direction." God it must be fun testing these things.

The camera can be used at temperatures as low as -10 °C (14 °F) - though this reduces the battery life.

The Exilim-G1 also has a speaker, a microphone and an LCD panel.

Related: Casio's camera for golfers - Exilim Hi-Speed - improves your swing

If cameras on necklaces that let you record everything that happens to you sound like spy-fiction gimmickry, think again. A UK-company are launching a consumer camera that does just that - allowing you to create life-logs, or visual records of your day.

The New Scientist explains that the camera was originally invented to help people with Alzheimer's disease improve their memories, but that now Oxford-based company Vicon plan to sell it to the general public. It's likely to be on the consumer technology market by 2010.

by Genevieve Sibayan

Amateur video clips are everywhere these days, whether it's eye-witness videos of disturbing events / ranting tube workers / freak tornados or simple video clips of animals being dramatic. Having a video camera in your pocket is handy but if you envisage your clip getting shown on the News at 10, somehow a camera phone doesn't quite cut it. A new breed of camcorder has been steadily rising through the ranks and records HD quality on a device that would fit in a clutch bag.

With the announcement of a new and improved Next Generation Flip MinoHD here's a quick round up of five of the big pocket cams on the market at the moment.

Click on the image below to start the gallery

Launching into the pocket camera market, JVC has come out with the Picsio - a small camera which captures still images as 8 mega-pixel Jpegs and shoots High-Definition video.

This pocket cam beats the camera on most phones in terms of quality of images and video; and its size (same as a small cellphone) makes it easier to carry about compared with standard cameras.

Big in the US and finally arriving in Britain... Eye-Fi cards make it easy to transfer data - pictures whatever between your camera and your computer.

Eye-Fi cards look like normal memory cards but are capable of making any camera with a memory card slot internet-enabled.

The advantages are obvious: cameras can now automatically upload photos and videos from your camera to your computer or the web. All it requires is a Wi-Fi connection. You can of course set what online sharing sites you want your data to go to.
The device has been massively popular in the US - cutting out USB cables and the fiddly bits involved with transferring video and photos between cameras and computers.

Ah... a camcorder disguised as a clock. That's the sort of thing I like to hear about of a Thursday morning. With a 4gb memory as well as a cunning disguise, this spy camera is perfect for those secret camera exclusives, embarrassing clips of your friends caught unaware... or whatever other reasons you have for secretly filming someone.

Simply place the camera/clock on a desk or mantelpiece, switch it on underneath and let it unobtrusively film what's going on.

Of course, it would have to be your own room, you couldn't just casually bring a clock to your friend's house, or the pub, and leave it sitting around without raising suspicions or having to explain why you brought a clock.

But given a situation where you can have the SPY Camcorder Clock sitting in a good position, it would work nicely. It has a pinhole lens, captures sound and colour video at 640 x 480 pixel and can store up to 5 hours worth of a video in an AVI format. The battery is rechargeable.

Available for $47 from Brando

Related: The Obama belt buckle/spy camera and The Chewing Gum Spy Camera

Yesterday the latest Olympus Pen camera was revealed to the world, and we were on hand in sunny Berlin to get a good one on one with it. We marvelled at its sleek contours and retro styling, and I feel slightly in love with the uber kitsch white one. But will this camera really bridge the gap for digicam users wanting to dip their toe in the big world of DSLR models? That's what Olymous are aiming for, and why they've made this one so small and comparably light in relation to other models.

The inclusion of two lenses (you can opt for a pancake and a viewfinder or the 3x zoom lens) with the device gives you a lot of scope, and you can also purchase a Four Thirds adapter to use other lenses you might own with this camera.

It has been 50 years since the first ever Olympus Pen camera hit the stores, and they're back with a brand new model that celebrates their iconic design, and adds some modern touches of their own. Feast your eyes ont h brand new E-P1, the camera that aims to bridge the gap between DSLRs and compacts forever. They've created a retro looking cam that features a Micro Four Thirds lens, 20 shooting modes and a 12.3 Megapixel Live MOS Sensor - from July 2009 starting at £699.99.

More info later- feast your eyes on these images to start with and we'll be bringing you an update on specs and hands on in a bit. (FYI- Barbie is 50 years old as well, if you wondered what she was doing in the picture).

CLICK THE IMAGE BELOW TO START THE GALLERY

Ricoh's latest camera has a certain retro appeal with its chunky styling and over sized body, and I was seriously bowled away by the amount of features it packed in; -the CMOS sensor meant that pictures taking was a joy.

£299 from Ricoh

More cameras here

Last year we got pretty enthused about the Zink inkless printer from Polaroid; well they've just upped their game with the Polaroid Two. Say hello to a swish looking piece of digital equipment, which not only lets you take pics and print them in one device, but gives you editing options as well.

Samsung's latest offering into the camcorder market expands on its successful H series franchise, and adds a couple more features to boot. You can look forward to an easy to view 2.7 inch LCD screen that rotates, so you're able to get tricky shots. It also includes a 10x optical zoom with image stabilization,so should have you looking in focus no matter how wobbly your hands get.

It seems like every videocamera nowadays is trying to emulate the success of the Flip Mino, and turn a teeny weeny handheld into a piece of high definition shooting action. Well this baby manages all that, plus more, and manages to provide you all this for a very attractive price.

You get a 2.5 inch LCD screen which can rotate up to 270 degrees to make capturing that footage a doddle as well as a 5x digital zoom which can be used during recording. The camera includes Face detection software to make sure your subjects are always in focus, and EIS to combat those shaky hands.

It's been a few years since I've seen one of these old skool beauts, but it's not a roll of camera film in the traditional sense. No, this oversized 35mm film has been pimped up to pack camera capabilities. How capable it is as a camera I don't know, as its spec information appears to be a tad on the scant side, but it is pretty cool though. It could even be used in undercover stealth operations. Although, why you'd be carrying around an oversized 35mm roll of film would be anyone's guess - perhaps you should carry around a novelty retro camera as well to justify your covert operation.

You're not anyone in this town unless you have your own full HD pocket cam. Well, that's not entirely true, but I'm sure that's what all the people with compact HD cameras are saying. Forget it being the year of the Cow, this is truly the year of the HD camcorder. So far, Xacti, Toshiba and Samsung have all brought delectable HD offerings to the market. Today however, the spotlight shines bright on the Sony Handycam TG7VE.

But it's not just a good looking HD cam, it's the world's smallest full HD camcorder... with GPS capabilities. This means the camera comes with the ability to view image locations on its map (and forever remember where it was you saw that person doing that in public), complete with pinpoint graphics. With its 2.3 megapixels you can capture around six hours of video onto its 16GB internal brain space and view it all on its 2.7-inch LCD screen. Throw in a Carl Zeiss lens, a 1/5-inch CMOS sensor and a Bionz processor and you're onto an assured piece of quality camcording kit.