So let's break it down a bit...

Nikon D4
The Nikon D4 ($6,000 body w/o lens) is an update to the 2007 D3. This is Nikon's high-end, full-frame sensor camera and is a beast to behold. This version provides a modest uptick in resolution and frame-rate and adds a hefty dose of horsepower in the auto-focus, high-iso, low light category as well as video capture. Nikon has really suffered behind Canon in the area of video capture and this is a their attempt to steal some of that thunder away. I'd have to venture to say that Nikon is targeting professional news and sports photographers for the most part. If you are into landscape photography and the like, you'll probably be more interested in the new D800 I'll talk about in a bit due to its substantially higher resolution.

I'm not going to get into the technicals, I did cover that in my original write-up when the D4 was announced last month. Look for its release in February and more details after getting to spend more time with the camera beyond my 15 minutes at CES.

Nikon COOLPIX P510

Nikon COOLPIX Line-up
Nikon's latest COOLPIX line-up is becoming available for pre-order online. One standout in the line-up is the new COOLPIX P510 superzoom camera featuring a 16.1 megapixel sensor (geek note: 1/2.3-inch CMOS) and a spectacular 42x Zoom NIKKOR ED Glass Lens.

We are talking about a camera that can shoot from 24mm wide-angle then zoom to an amazing 1,000mm to capture distant images. In addition it has the ability to do close-up macro mode allowing you to focus as close as 0.4 inches away from the lens for real close-ups.

To put this level of zoom into perspective, check out the picture to the right.


Expect the P510 to be shipping on March 22nd at $430. Be sure to check out all the new Nikon COOLPIX cameras.

Nikon D800
And the big news of the day is the introduction of the Nikon D800...the pro-sumer, full-frame sensor replacement for the aged D700. The D800, like the D4 mentioned above are FX-Format sensors. This means that they accept pretty much all of Nikon's lenses including full-frame or cropped sensor (DX) lenses as well as old film camera lenses. Of course, if you use a cropped DX lens you are only using a small part of the full sensor inside of the D800 but at least you are not throwing the lens away.

The excitement around this camera starts with its all-new 36.3 million-pixel resolution sensor and its EXPEED3 processing unit designed to handle all those pixels.

• Wide sensitivity range of ISO 100 to 6400, expandable to Lo 1 (ISO 50 equivalent) or Hi 2 (ISO 25600 equivalent)
• 51-point AF system with enhanced performance in subject acquisition and focusing in low-light situations
• Glass pentaprism viewfinder with approx. 100% frame coverage (FX format) 
• Approx. 921k-dot, wide-viewing angle, 8-cm (3.2-in.) LCD monitor 
• Newly developed shutter unit tested for over 200,000 cycles; shutter speed up to 1/8,000
• Continuous shooting at approx. 4 fps* (FX, 5:4) and approx. 5 fps* (1.2x, DX)
  • *With EN-EL15 Rechargeable Li-ion Battery
• MB-D12 Multi-Power Battery Pack (optional) that enables high-speed continuous shooting at approx. 6 fps* in DX format
  • *When using batteries other than EN-EL15 Rechargeable Li-ion Battery.
• The D800E option is a unique alternative that realizes the sharpest images possible but can introduce moire patterns if not careful

Not only does this system focus on high-pixel photography but it has a strong focus on video clearly targeting the Canon 5DMKII and 7D's dominance on the DSLR cinematography realm...

"Recording of 1920 x 1080p/30-fps full-HD movies is supported, and users can choose to record using the FX-based movie format or the DX-based movie format according to recording conditions. The FX-based movie format offers a shallow depth-of-field with an emphasis on blur characteristics while the DX-based movie format enables recording of movies that bring subjects closer when lenses with short focal lengths are used. The D800 is also equipped with a headphone jack and supports precise adjustment of microphone sensitivity. In addition, it supports simultaneous display of movies or the movie live view display in the camera monitor and on an external monitor. Further, the D800 responds to the needs of professionals who require uncompressed movie files with the ability to record movies directly to an external HDMI recorder in movie live view mode."

Matter of fact, some early video we have seen really shows a lot of promise. Here's a film short produced with the D800.


The D800 seems to really fill a Nikon market gap nicely, providing amateurs and professional studio/landscape photographers with a nice-sized, powerful full-frame camera. Nikon has provided some sample photography and more details if you are interested in checking them out.

Nikon's great comeback
Don't get me wrong. Nikon makes great camera gear. The Nikon D5100 is a wonderful DSLR for under $1,000. Definitely one of my favorites pick of the last year. And of course, loyal Nikon purchasers have always had something new and interesting to keep their eye on. But Nikon has lacked a bit of sex appeal of late to help them garner new consumers or steal people away from Canon or the other manufacturers camps. After reading all the hot news captured here, you have to give Nikon credit, in the last 30 days they have provided details on a really powerful line-up for 2012! I am glad to see Nikon back in the game with some impressive gear. Canon has really dominated the innovation in this space for quite some time. Speaking of time, I guess time will tell if these latest introductions will all pan out well and deliver on the promise but I'm looking forward to testing some of these out in the coming months and providing you with more insights as they unfold.

Looks like a good year for photography lovers!

Larry Pacey, award-winning designer tracks the latest news on consumer products, electronics, appliances, smart devices, networking and the gadget lifestyle.

For the latest news follow me on: ------------------------------ OR ------------------------------- Follow me on Twitter @WouldntMindThis Please comment below and share your thoughts. If you have any feedback or questions, feel free to email me at wouldntmind@gmail.com. Just my 2-cents, Larry

Panasonic spent a great deal of time talking about their infrastructure and technology projects that span well beyond our focus of consumer products. But there were several key product discussed that are very interesting.

The year of 3D Content
Panasonic highlighted the importance of 3D and the rapid adoption of 3D televisions. While all manufactures are pointing out that people are transitioning to 3D faster than they did High-Def...don't let a good story get in the way...the truth is the manufacturers are more rapidly offering the 3D on a greater percentage of the pricing chain. Especially since they are looking for selling propositions to drive TV sales in a flat segment of the marketplace and in the introduction of some low price competitors namely Vizio.

The other area of import for all the 3D television manufacturers is the lack of content. This is an area that all manufactures are getting out of the shells and trying to partner or drive additional channels of 3D content.

90% of Panasonic's plasma televisions. 40% of their LCDs and 4 out of 6 BluRay players will feature 3D capabilities.

3D was clearly the focus and Panasonic demonstrated their HDC-Z10000 3D camcorder that will retail for over $3,000! But that product is really geared for the up and coming film makers that I am sure you all will become. The exciting first's is that this camcorder is Broadcast quality and has a very short focal range for offering 3D. You can focus on objects only 18 inches in front of the 3D lenses.

Home Theater
Already talked about the importance of 3D for Panasonic but let's look at the televisions...
In 2012, Panasonic will continue to push plasma technology with three product lines; GT, VT and ST. They will have two product lines of LCD televisions; WT and DT. More specific details as we can checkout the booth tomorrow.

The big news in the television line-up is the evolution of Panasonic's internet connected services that includes Skype functionality and some exclusive applications including Flixter, a new interactive children's book series in partnership with Disney and a Miramax movie app. The televisions appear to be gaining enough processing power to finally multitask some of the apps in concern with your TV viewing.

On top of that, the team from the original social network, MySpace announced a social platform on Panasonic televisions called MySpaceTV that allows you to dialog and share content with your friends on and off the television. Imagine chatting with your friends while watching your favorite show or sporting event. Or the ability to track what shows are more popular to your friends.


Tablets
Panasonic is taking their Toughbook rugged notebook strategy and applying it to the tablet marketplace with a Toughbook Android Tablet. It is so tough, they actually dropped it during the demo today and it really looked like it was unplanned.

We'll definitely get more details at the show and will update as more information becomes available.

84" 3D display at the LG CES 2012 Press Conference (as seen through the glasses)

LG opens up the first presentation of CES 2012, Wayne Park President and CEO of LG Electronics USA walks the packed crowd of press and analysts through the past year and introduces a wave of presenters to cover all through all the product categories. One business note worth mentioning is that LG USA grew 8% last year even in this challenging economy.

Home Entertainment

LG is focused on larger display sizes this coming year including 55, 60, 72 and 84 inch varieties. The 84"  includes an Ultra Definition with is equal to 4 x 42" high-definition televisions.

Core to much of LG's television line relies on a Nano Full LED (every pixel has its own small LED light source) and Cinema Screen design that enables these displays to approach nearly edge-to-edge display. 2012 models have a 1mm bezel and 28mm depth.

In an effort to push the capabilities beyond traditional internet/smart televisions, LG has developed their own high-performance L9 chipset that features a multi-core CPU/GPU (the brain and graphics technologies) to enable faster innovation on their solutions.

Magic Remote introduced last year has been highly successful and this year the new models go beyond just pointing by adding a wheel, pattern gesture (moving the wand around like a Nintendo Wii remote) and voice recognition for text input capabilities. And with an additional camera technology similar to the Microsoft Kinect, LG TVs will have an additional 3D Gesture Interface your body movements will control aspects of the user experience.

LG has also advanced their Smart Share Plus network technology inside of their home entertainment products by including a network file browser, wi-fi screen share for mobile devices, 2nd display configurations, MHL Mobile HD Link between devices and support for WiDi from Intel that allows WiDi-enabled laptops to share their content wireless on the TV.

With regards to 3D capabilities, LG was pretty much the lone voice last year talking about passive 3D glasses versus the active glasses. Passive glasses are similar to those you get when you go to a 3D movie at the theaters. Active glasses run on batteries and had a very fast flicker shutter that controlled the 3D affect. The passive glasses are lighter, don't require charging and are far more inexpensive. LG's predictions have proven correct and consumer trends are moving toward the passive solutions.

LG also announced their support for Google TV and in 2012 there will be two televisions that support those capabilities.


We also received a preview of future technologies with a look at the largest OLED at the show. LG's 55 inch creates stunning imagery and is a peek at where the world is going in the coming few years.


LG has demoed a glasses-free 3D display for personal experiences on smaller devices. This is definitely an area that many are pursuing to remove the glasses from the equation as some point once that technology evolves over the next decade.

You can read more about CES and Future product trends at WouldntMind.com.

Lenovo, the Chinese manufacturer that use to create the IBM computer line let us have a hands-on demo of their forthcoming 55-inch IPS 3D LCD television running Google's Android (a first!) Instead of using Google's TV operating system, Lenovo has created a full-blown Android device running Google's Ice Cream Sandwich OS originally designed for tablets and smartphones. The television comes with over 100 applications, an Apps store and cloud services offering a wide range of media consuming options. The TV promises voice controls and a 5 megapixel webcam.

This appears to be a rather robust platform for a television with a full range of potential capabilities. The trick will be how much they can fine-tune and simplify the user experience for a regular TV consumer. The television comes with two remotes for someone to lose under a couch cushion. One features a traditional clicker-style and the other has a touch surface to navigate the tablet-like interface.

The TV is targeting the Chinese-maker but seems to have some unique aspects that could make US consumers jealous!

More on this as details are release.

LG is the latest to join the GoogleTV camp and has released some images of their new televisions that feature a slightly tweaked user interface. The LG televisions according the their release will include the Cinema 3D FPR technology (3D glasses similar to those you experience at the movie theater) and a "Magic Remote QWERTY" which uses voice and a Nintendo Wii-like wand to control the system. And the reference of QWERTY means the remote will also feature a keyboard that is so critical for controlling the GoogleTV interface.


Sony and Vizio have also confirmed they will be demonstrating new offerings that support the Google teams latest efforts.

Below is Google's CES 2012 demo video...

Organic light emitting diode (OLED) displays have been around for a few years and offer stunning visuals but have been constrained to smaller cellphone sizes. This very respectable 55" OLED promises to be a real stunner. One aspect of this technology is how small the technical underpinnings are allowing for incredibly thin executions. We are talking about a 55 inch television that is a 1/6th of an inch deep and weights 16.5 pounds.

This type of OLED technology has a refresh rate a 1,000 times greater than most plasmas and LCDs. And a contrast level of 100,000,000:1 that results in deep, dark blacks and very vibrant colors. The bad news is there really isn't a lot of original content or distribution solutions that support this level of quality. That will need to mature over the coming years.



While the technology is maturing, this calendar year we'll be looking at smaller executions in the 30" or less category and even those will be retailing in the high four-digits! We'll get a better sense of timing and the commercial roadmap of this technology at the show next week. We expect "incredible resolutions and visual clarity" to be a hot topic at the show.