This Week In Digital Imaging is a feature here on Obsessable that helps keep you up-to-date on all the freshest news in digital imaging. This week we saw seven new cameras, new photo software from Apple, and a new bill hit congress suggesting all cameraphones make noise when they take photos.

New Products:

Panasonic announced six new additions to its Lumix line of cameras this week, all set to go on sale in April. New additions to the line include a waterproof model, as well as the first camera ever to support the new AVCHD Lite video format.

DMC-TS1

• Panasonic touts the 10-megapixel TS1 as “the world’s first waterproof, shockproof, and dustproof digital camera to also feature AVCHD Lite High Definition video recording capabilities.” Although there have been waterproof and shockproof digital cameras in the past, when you add together all four of those things, then that might be a true statement. The camera can handle being submerged in up to 10 feet of water (for catching underwater shots), or dropped five feet — thanks to rubber padding, reinforced glass, and an airtight camera body design. The TS1 will be available in orange, silver and green for an MSRP of $399.95.

FX580

• The 3-inch touchscreen is what sets the 12.1-megapixel FX580 apart from its siblings. The screen has a “Touch-View” feature that allows you to advance through your pictures by swiping a finger across the screen (similar to an iPhone), as well as a mode that allows you to point out your subject to the camera by literally pointing to it on the screen. The camera can record 720p high-definition video, has a 5x optical zoom, and will be available in black and silver for the same price as the TS1.

DMC-FX48

• If you like the sound of the FX580, but touchscreens aren’t your thing — then the FX48 may be just what you’re looking for. The FX48 has the same specs as the FX580 except it doesn’t have the touchscreen, and has a 2.5-inch LCD rather than a 3-inch. The camera will be available in silver and black for an MSRP of $350.

DMC-ZS3

• The ZS3 takes pictures at a 10.1-megapixel resolution and supports the new "AVCHD Lite," format. Much like traditional AVCHD, the format compresses video to allow you to store more high-definition video (720p) on a memory card than was previously possible. The camera also has a face recognition feature that "remembers" faces that were in previous shots. The idea being if you take a lot of pictures of your daughter, and then take a picture of your daughter playing in the school band, the camera will prioritize your daughter's face in the picture over others because it recognizes her, and will adjust the focus and exposure in shot to make her look her best. The camera has a 12x optical zoom, HDMI out, a 3-inch LCD, and will be available in red, blue, silver and black for $399.95.

DMC ZS1

• The ZS1 sports most of the same features as the ZS3 except it doesn't have the face detection mode, and has a 2.7-inch LCD rather than the 3-inch found on the ZS3. The camera will be available in black and silver for $299.95.

DMC-FS25

• If you're not that into video and want to save a little money, the FS25 is expected to run $249.95, takes pictures at a 12.1-megapixel resolution, and records 840x480 standard definition video rather than the 720p high-definition video the other cameras can handle.

 

Kodak EasyShare C180

• With very little fanfare whatsoever, Kodak introduced one new camera this week, the Kodak EasyShare C180. The 10.2-megapixel camera has a 2.4-inch LCD, 3x optical zoom, and can upload video clips recorded on the camera directly to YouTube through the included EasyShare software.

Software:

• Apple introduced iPhoto '09 this week as part of Apple's iLife '09 package. In addition to the ability to upload, organize, and mildly edit pictures this year's version of the program added the ability to organize photos by "Faces and Places." The program can detect the same faces in your photographs and group them together. So for instance if you're looking for a good picture of your brother for a family album you can do a search in the program for just your brother, and Faces will find all the pictures in your library that contain his face. Places uses the geotagging feature already part of your camera to identify where you took it, or if your camera doesn't have geotagging — allows you to add information about where you took a particular photograph. iPhoto '09 also added a new slideshow option which allows you to create slideshows of your pictures and save them directly to iTunes to play back on your iPod or iPhone while you're on the go, and the ability to easily upload your photos to Facebook and Flickr.

Photography in the News:

• If you like taking candid shots of people with your cameraphone without them knowing, you may soon have a problem. The Camera Phone Predator Alert Act was announced in congress this week, which suggests that every cameraphone should be legally required to make that sweet clicking noise whenever it takes a shot in order to protect people from being caught on virtual film without their knowledge.
• Sony filed a patent this week for an interesting new printer. From the looks of things, your pictures would be downloaded to the printer's internal memory by simply placing it on a large touchscreen on top of the printer. After being downloaded, you can then navigate through your pictures via the screen and determine what images you're interested in printing.