Three Great New Cameras of 2012

June 11th, 2012

Best New Cameras of 2012

Tiny pocketable camera, slightly larger than a Canon S100
13.2mm Sensor is 3x the size as a Canon S100/g12 sensor, 20 megapixels!
Claims much faster focusing than other compact cameras
1080p 60fps video, full manual controls during video
Bright F1.8-4.9 28-100mm lens
Great HDR, Panorama modes; macro mode is much better than the Canon G1x
Look for housings from Ikelite, Nauticam & Recsea. The Recsea Sony RX100 is already out!
Downsides - price ($649) is a little higher than other compacts
Available now! Read the complete UWPG Sony RX-100 review
See the great results from our Sony RX-100 wet lens tests

16 megapixel sensor, fast focusing, 1/250th sync speed
Still much smaller than dSLR cameras, good lens selection
Twin control dials, very customizable
Great image stabilization during video
Extensive weather proofing
Look for housings from Olympus & Nauticam. We'll have the Nauticam OM-D housing in early July!
Downsides - price ($999 body) is much higher than other mirrorless cameras, lowest ISO is still ISO 200
Available now, but back-ordered most places

Not much has changed from the Canon T3i, still a solid choice at its price point
Same 18 megapixel CMOS sensor
Biggest change is improved auto-focus during video, using hybrid phase-detection and contrast-detection - this is a great feature for people who want to take video and get amazing stills underwater
Priced at $949 with kit lens; Canon T3i is $749 with kit lens, looking very attractive
Dimensions appear to be almost the same as the Canon T3i, so maybe it will work in the T3i housings? We'll let you know!
Available July 1st