Small cameras deliver big on high-definition video

— -- Camera makers are looking to high-definition video to revive point-and-shoot camera sales hit hard by the recession.

Digital cameras — on an upswing for a decade — finally hit a wall at the end of 2008. Unit sales rose 7% for the year but tumbled in the fourth quarter, when the industry sees 40% of its annual volume, says Chris Chute, an analyst at market tracker IDC.

IDC projects a sales decline of 10% for 2009, to 36.3 million cameras.

The photo industry meets in Las Vegas next week for the annual Photo Marketing Association trade show, where new cameras are introduced for late spring sales aimed at graduations and Father's Day. Canon, Panasonic, Sony, Casio and other manufacturers will tout new point-and-shoots that are more full-featured and lower-priced than last year — with greatly improved video features.

Canon lit up the blogosphere in November with the release of its $2,700 5D Mark II — a digital SLR (single lens reflex) camera that can shoot full 1080p high-def. Now it is bringing that feature to a point-and-shoot, the compact $599 PowerShot SX1.

Sony, Panasonic and Casio have new compacts that can shoot high-def video in the slightly lower 720p resolution.

High-def video can provide a boost for compact camera sales by permitting people to travel with just one camera, Chute says. "If I'm going to go on vacation, I don't want to carry a camcorder with me, too," he says.

The SX1 is Canon's first 1080p video/compact in the best-selling PowerShot line.

Canon technical manager Chuck Westfall says the growth of high-def TV sets encouraged the company to offer the feature. "Consumers can watch their videos directly on the TV easily," he says. Cameras plug directly into most modern TVs, many of which also have memory card or USB slots.

The SX1 can shoot about 24 minutes of 1080p video on an 8-gigabyte memory card. An 8 GB card can often be found on sale now for $20 to $40, down from $150 to $200 a year ago. An 8 GB card can capture about an hour of 720p video.

What's new

With over 100 million digital cameras sold over the last three years, one might think that every interested consumer had gotten around to purchasing a camera. True, Chute says, but people buy new ones as replacements (inexpensive cameras tend to break easily) and for new features.

For camera manufacturers, sales of digital SLRs — larger cameras that offer better controls — are still growing, though not by as much.

SLR sales rose 22% in 2008, and will increase 5% in 2009, according to IDC.

Camera manufacturers tend to unveil SLRs later in the year. But on Tuesday, Olympus announced a smaller SLR, the $799.99 E-620 that will ship in May. It offers creative controls such as the ability to shoot multiple exposures.

Point-and-shoots will make up the bulk of camera sales this year. Some other cool new features in the spring crop:

•Blink control. Last year Nikon introduced a feature in one camera that alerted you if a subject blinked. All 10 2009 Nikon Coolpix models have the feature. It is similar to Sony's "smile shutter," which disables the camera if you focus on a subject who isn't smiling. "We just warn you to get another shot," says Nikon technical manager Steve Heiner. "Our customers love it."

•Super face detection. Beyond blinks and smiles, many cameras now offer face detection that promises better focus and lighting when multiple human faces are in the frame. Sony has "selected face" memory on two new models, the $250 W290 and $280 H20, both shipping in April. You can focus on a particular face — say your child or loved one, and the camera will remember their characteristics for better lighting and focus.

•Super zooms. You know those huge lenses you see pro photographers using at sporting events? Manufacturers have figured out how to bring huge magnifications into smaller camera bodies. Recent "super zooms" have had 15X and 20X zooms (most point-and-shoot cameras come with a 3X zoom, for medium magnification). Olympus has a 26X zoom on its $449 SP-590UZ, shipping in March. Kodak's $399.95 Z980, also out in March, has a slightly smaller 24X zoom.

•Super rugged. Point-and-shoots are prone to breaking, so Olympus jumped in with its "Tough" line of waterproof, shockproof and freeze-proof cameras. Panasonic in April ships the $399.95 DMC-TS1, which also offers high-def video. Canon and Fuji just introduced new waterproof models. And Olympus is back with two more "Tough" cameras for $299 and $399, now available in a multitude of colors, including yellow, blue and brown.