Pentax has a new toy in their K line and it’s worth a second look. It’s the Pentax K-7. Compact, rugged, with a whole new body design, the 14.6 megapixel DSLR may be all new and improved, but it still works with every Pentax lens out there.

Pentax is designing this one with an obvious push towards serious photographers who know their way around a camera, but don’t want to necessarily pay the uber-high end ticket price of a professional DSLR system.

When it comes to cameras, there is a great big variety to choose from, from camera phones to point and shoot to those fancy SLRs. It seems like every company is trying to sell you on the fact that you need their model. So, how do you know which one is right for you?

It’s about you

What it boils down to is what you are actually going to be doing with your camera. Are you just going to be taking a few pictures to email to your friends of you guys hanging out in the dorm partying? Do you want one that you can use to take shots of little Johnny playing soccer? Are you into wildlife photography? Do you want one where it does all the work for you, or do you want to have full control over the settings?

There’s plenty more after the break. Gadgetell’s resident photography expert, Jodie Andrefski, lays it all out for you. Plus, get some tips on how to make any of your photos better.

Despite the bland overall performance of consumer electronics last holiday season, research firm IDC reports that bargain deals helped boost digital camera shipments in the 4th quarter of 2007 and consequently lifted full year performance to exceed expectations.

Full-year shipments of digital point-and-shoot and SLR cameras in the US market last year reached 37.7 million units or 23% growth while 4th quarter of 2007 posted 16.6 million units or 31% growth compared to the same quarter in 2006.

Fujifilm FinePix S1000fd is touted as the world’s smallest digital camera with a 12x optical zoom, created as an affordable alternative for advanced amateur photographers looking for a great deal of flexibility and range. One of its key features is the proprietary technology called “Face Detection with Automatic Red Eye Removal” which can automatically identify up to 6 faces in a framed scene and instantly render red eye correction. Also, its Panorama Shooting Mode helps capture beautiful sceneries easily by combining 3 consecutive shots set at 3-megapixel resolution each and automatically saving it to the memory as panoramic image.

In addition to the recently announced K20D, Pentax has also introduced the K200D, a 10.2-megapixel digital SLR. Similar to the K20D, the K200D also features a large 2.7-inch LCD monitor, improved PRIME image processor, Shake Reduction and a weather and dust resistant body. The K200 also features:

Pentax has announced the 14.6-megapixel K20D digital SLR, which is a follow up to the current K10D. The Pentax K20D features a large 2.7-inch LCD monitor, improved PRIME image processor, Shake Reduction and a weather and dust resistant body. Other notable features of the K20D include: A new CMOS image sensor that brings out the more »