General Imaging

Newcomer General Imaging (the photo division of General Electric) is using PMA 2007 to officially unveil an almost bewildering range of compacts (eight in total), and a direct-connect photo printer, the P1. The cameras, which we had a chance to play with, are certainly well-specified, though the all-plastic construction suggests that they are likely to be 'priced to sell' rather than premium products. There are four new ranges, starting with the G series, which is currently only one model, the G1 - a very compact 7MP / 3x optical with a nice 2.5-inch LCD screen and ISO 1600. Next up is the A series (entry-level). Here there are two models, the A730 and A830 (7MP and 8MP respectively), both sporting 3x zooms and 2.5-inch screens. The E series has four models (E850, E1030, E1040, E1240) covering resolutions from 8-12MP and zooms from 3x to 5x. All but the E1030 have 3.0 inch screens (the E1030's is 2.7-inch) and most go all the way to ISO 3200.

Last, and certainly most interesting for us, is the X1, an 8MP 'SLR-like' super zoom compact with 12x zoom, 2.5-inch screen and optical image stabilization.

All models - even those at the entry-level - have pretty solid feature sets, including panorama stitching and this year's must-have (face detection AF/AE) and most have rechargeable Li-Ion batteries. It will be interesting to see if this new kid on the block has what it takes to carve a little share of this most competitive of markets. We'll get full information on the news page as soon as we have it.