Thanks to an early jump in Japan, we already knew that Canon's VIXIA line was getting a refresh, but now we can rest easy knowing they'll be coming to America. The HF11 Dual Flash camcorder (32GB in addition to an SDHC slot) and HG20 (60GB) / HG21 (120GB) HDD camcorders all boast 1,920 x 1,080 capture modes, Instant AutoFocus, SuperRange Optical Image Stabilization and 24Mbps recording to the AVCHD format. The whole lot is expected to ship next month for $1,199, $949 and $1,299 in order of mention, and the increasingly intriguing HF11 has already spent some quality time on Camcorder Info's review bench. Check out the in-depth writeup below before pulling that trigger in the heat of the moment.

[Thanks, Robin]

Read - Canon VIXIA releases
Read - Canon VIXIA HF11 review

Yippee, it's T700 day at Sony. First they launched the DSC-T700 digicam, now the T700 cellphone. The T700 candybar is mostly phone though with a smattering of camera just for kicks. We're talking quad-band GSM and UMTS/HSDPA 2100 with 4.5-hours of 3G talk and a 3.2 megapixel camera with cell-id geotagging and photo light. It measures just 10-mm thin with Bluetooth A2DP, stereo speakers, 2-inch TFT LCD, and 512MB of Memory Stick Micro (M2) storage tossed in the box. Available in "select markets" in Q4 for what's expected to be a middling price tag.

Don't look now, but your point-and-shoot is about to get a whole lot smarter if it's rockin' a DSC-T700 or DSC-T77 label. Starting with the latter (which is Sony's thinnest model at less than 5/8 of an inch), you'll find a 10-megapixel sensor, ISO up to 3,200, eleven scene modes, in-camera image management, face detection and a 3-inch touchscreen to boot. Moving on, the brainy DSC-T700 does everything the T77 does but throws in 4GB of internal storage and a 3.5-inch LCD -- you know, so you can have a "photo album in your pocket." Both units sport a Carl Zeiss lens, 4x optical zoom, image stabilization and even an anti-blink function that snaps two successive shots if it notices anyone dozing during the capture. Also of note, the T700 packs a Picture Motion Browser application that "lets you downsize images from full-resolution to VGA and export them back to the camera's internal photo album." A bit gimmicky, sure, but a welcome addition nonetheless. Look for the T77 to land in brown, green, pink, black and silver in late September for about $300, while the T700 hits around the same time in red, champagne gold, pink, dark gray and silver for a Benjamin more.

Update: Gallery added. Inexplicably, no pics of that biggie 3.5-inch backside LCD were provided by Sony.

Update 2: Nabbed us a back-side photo of that hugeazz LCD. [Thanks, Sony Insider]

Update: The whole gang just got official. Check out the details here.

Read - Nikon's Coolpix P6000
Read - The rest of Nikon's stable

Some researchers at Northwestern University and University of Illinois have managed to build an eye-like camera that's actually shaped like an eye. Sure, that sounds a tad unimpressive, but the real contribution of this project is the idea of electronics on a curved, flexible surface. The researchers have developed a mesh-like material that carries the photodetectors and electronic components necessary, and they say the resulting camera has a better field of vision than a traditional camera, in addition to conveniently resembling a human eye. Of course, they're a long ways away from communicating with the brain well enough to make an actual fully bionic eyeball, but the curved electronics could have other medical -- and regular form factor-busting, we hope -- applications as well.

If you're the type of person looking to drop $600 to $800 on a photo viewer, you've probably got some pretty specialized needs for the thing, and Epson aims to please. A followup to its P-3000 and P-5000 photo viewers, the new P-6000 and P-7000 from Epson sport 640 x 480 4-inch LCDs, which have been newly enhanced with "Photo Fine Premia" tech to handle 94% of the Adobe RGB color space. The 6000 and 7000 models sport 80GB and 160GB of storage, respectively, and download shots up to 35% faster than before. The interface naturally allows you to browse through, sort and zoom in on your beautimous photography, supporting both JPEG and RAW files, and there's even a bit of PMP functionality for when you're bored of all that. They should be out in September for the aforementioned $600 and $800 price points.

Man, all these old camera rumors are just seeping out of the woodwork ahead of Photokina next month -- now it's the Nikon D90 getting the zombie rumor treatment. At least we're getting specs this time around, and they're not bad at all: 12 megapixels, Live View, video mode (necessitating a built-in mic), HDMI out, optional GPS, and a new 18-105mm f/3.5-5.6 VR lens. Sure, it's a worthy successor to the D80 -- but we'll believe it when we see it.

P.S.- Yes, that's another old, probably Photoshopped image that's been floating around, so don't get crazy -- like we said, these rumors aren't exactly new.

Seriously, we've been hearing about the EOS 7D for well over a year now, with the chatter predictably heating up before every major trade show -- and with just over a month before Photokina, it's happening all over again. Hopefully Canon actually has this semi-legendary $1,899 full-frame DSLR to show us this time -- the 5D is getting pretty ancient.

P.S.- We have no way of knowing if this image is real or not, so don't get too excited out there.

[Thanks, David]

Ready for this? Olympus and Panasonic just announced a new mirrorless format and lens mount based on the venerable Four Thirds standard. Dubbed Micro Four Thirds System, the enhanced standard uses the same 18 x 13.5-mm sensor but promises 50% slimmer cameras due to the removal of the mirror box. We're also looking at smaller lenses (while remaining compatible with existing Four Third lenses with an adapter) thanks in part to a new reduced lens mount which is now 6-mm smaller. With the mirror box gone, Micro Four Third cameras will lose the optical viewfinder so you'll have to frame up your subjects using a Live View LCD or an external viewfinder.

How big of a development is this? Huge. As Phil Askey, editor over at dpreview puts it, "This is without doubt the most exciting digital photography announcement this year. It's fair to say that this "extension / addition" to the Four Thirds standard is finally able to deliver on the original promise of that format; considerably smaller and lighter lenses and bodies."

Unfortunately, no products were announced so you've got plenty of time to debate the spec and pour over the illustrations we've dropped in after the break.

[Via 1001 Noisy Cameras]

Oddly enough, we've seen mouth-mounted cameras before, but those have typically been used more for sport and less for serious matters. Chinavasion, of all companies, has just introduced its very own wireless dental camera, which puts a 1.3-megapixel camera on the end of a toothbrush-like apparatus in order to snap shots and transmit them wirelessly to a nearby display. Trying to find a respectable way to talk your kid out of dental school? $103.13 should provide all the necessary grossness to sway their decision.

[Via CNET]

Tired of the fuzz body-checking you right off your bike during Critical Mass rides? Well lucky you, New York Police Commish Ray Kelly is responding by flipping the switch on user-generated crime reports, enabling ordinary citizens to submit photos and video as evidence of criminal activity. Granted, we think it's always been the case that people could dial-a-detective if they've got a hot lead on a crime, but here Kelly specifically referred to the "fact of life" that nowadays "everybody has a camera in their telephones. When people can record an event taking place that helps us during an investigation, it's helpful." Details are not yet clear, like how much manpower it's going to take to weed through the billions of tattle-tale clips that will inevitably be sent in of Sbux line-cutters, or what codecs the NYPD will support (fingers crossed for motion-JPEG and 3GPP).

[Via The Raw Feed]

The S2000HD a bit too large for your nimble hands? Fret not, as Fujifilm itself seems to have leaked information on a smattering of point-and-shoots. Up first is the $199.99 FinePix J150w (pictured), which features a 10-megapixel sensor, 5x optical zoom, 3-inch LCD monitor, face detection / red-eye removal and an SD / SDHC card slot. The $189.99 J110w steps down to a 2.7-inch LCD, while the J100 comes in at $179.99 with a few less extras. The J15 ($139.99) gets doused in black or silver and includes an 8.2-megapixel sensor and 3x optical zoom; there's a J12 slipped in there as well, though it was already available in the Great North. Who knows when Fujifilm plans on making these official and releasing them worldwide, but considering the specs, we know you won't lose too much sleep worrying over it.

[Via 1001noisycameras]

FujiFilm Canada seems to have jumped the gun and outed a whole suite of cameras this morning. Starting with the headliner, we've got this 10 megapixel FinePix S2000HD with 15x wide angle zoom and 2.7-inch LCD. Listing for a thrifty CA$300, the S2000HD features a 1/2.3-inch CCD capable of capturing 3 megapixel images at 13.5fps and up to 6400 ISO at 5 megapixels with the help of FujiFilm's dual image stabilization. And "HD" in the name can mean only one thing: this cam also shoots HD video (720p Motion JPEG) in a pinch. No delivery date but we expect that to get sorted just as soon as this becomes officially official.

[Via 1001noisycameras and dpReview]