We can say with pretty high confidence that a 5D successor, the 5D Mk II, will be hitting before '08 is out, and with Photokina coming up later this month, rumours are beginning to fly. Canon Rumors is vouching for their source that just dropped them the following tasty-looking specs on the new full-frame sensor, top-end Canon EOS DSLR: 21.1 MP, DIGIC IV, and an HD movie mode (like the D90's), among others.

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As we saw in the Sony IFA 2008 Liveblog, these new Sony Cybershot digital 10.1 megapixel cameras also shoot HD video (720p, though that's not mentioned in the press release.) The T500 has a Carl Zeiss Vario-Tessar lens with 5x optical zoom, 3.5-inch touchscreen, eight-person face tracking, and something called "Double Anti-blur" technology which combines high sensitivity (for fast shutter times) with optical image-shake reduction. It can also connect directly to your HDTV and do slideshows, music and video shows without needing a PC. It's due October, price info still to be announced. Press release below.

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Everyone's excited about Nikon's new D90 DSLR. Well, everybody except Canon fanboys, that is. And it makes sense - it's the first DSLR that lets you record video, after all. If you're hanging out for some Australian info, the price of the body-only kit will be $1,549, with lens kits likely to cost a few hundred dollars more when they launch mid to late September.

But the other piece of exciting news is that in addition to launching the D90 (and a new 18-105mm f/3.5-5.6 G ED VR lens for $479), Nikon are also dropping the price off a heap of their current lenses, which could be particularly useful for some creative videos.

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As rumored, Nikon's D90 is the first-ever DSLR with HD video recording, but maybe more importantly for actual photographers, Nikon is promising much of the same low-noise performance of their higher end DSLRs. The brand new 12.3-megapixel image sensor was developed in-house like the D3 and D700's (the D300 uses a Sony sensor) and you can crank the ISO up to 6400, so we're hopeful. It's a mutant DSLR (not in a bad way) bringing down features from the higher-end cameras at the same time it cribs more hold-your-hand consumer stuff from the point-and-shoots. Now about that HD video.

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Good ol' Circuit City has jumped the gun on the official D90 announcement and has put it up for pre-order. Release date is listed as September 5, and the price and most of the specs listed on the product page we already knew, but CC's page confirms that the movie mode will in fact record in HD (aspect ratio and actual resolution we still don't know), as was rumoured. Also we learn that the sensor is a 12.3 MP CMOS, not a CCD as was used in the D80, D60 and down the line--so that looks like a good sign in the noise-reduction department, if the amazing D700's larger CMOS is any indication. Bounce all of that on top of the great specs we saw before, and it's a pretty solid D80 upgrade at US$1299. This thing is bound to go official before the week is up, possibly as soon as tomorrow. See the full product description below. UPDATE: It's been pulled. [Thanks, Dan!]

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Canon's clearly trying to add a certain girly appeal to some of its latest digital cameras, since compared to the gruff, black 50D the upcoming E1 is particularly curvy and comes in vanilla, powder blue and baby pink. It's no optical slouch though, despite its simple looks, with 10-megapixels, 4x optical zoom and optical image stabilisation, macro mode, ISO80-1600 (with 3200 scene mode) and a 2.5-inch TFT display. It also takes AA batteries for convenience and weighs just 158g. Available in September for around $200. [Canon]

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Even though the big Canon news of the moment is the official announcement of the 50D (which you can expect in AU from October 1 for a price still to be determined, incidentally), they've actually flooded the market with new product releases, from scanners and printers to these new PowerShot models (My inbox literally has 7 emails from Canon in a row).

The new Powershot range, including the A1000, A2000, SX110 and E1 models, all take a much more streamlined approach to design, so much so in the case of the E1 that journalists were asking why they weren't branded IXUS instead.

Aside from the engaging design, each of the new Powershot models is powered by AA batteries, plus the E1 comes in a selection of colours (including pink - huzzah!). They're all packed with Megapixels and zoom, as well as some of the more useful features like face detect and optical image stabilisation.

Prices atart at $249 for the A1000, the A2000 costs $299 and the E1 will cost $229. The SX110 IS is yet to be priced, but my money's on it being a similar price to the others.

This Christmas looks like it's going to be very competitive in the digital compact market, with Fujifilm and Olympus also offering low-cost cameras that are packed with features.

For the full release, head south:

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Canon's EOS 50D probably isn't the DSLR you were praying they would unveil at Photokina, but it does fill a gaping hole in their lineup between the low-end prosumer 40D and semi-pro 5D. The 15-megapixel shooter is their first DSLR with the Digic 4 processor, which has a few new light-oriented tricks up its sleeve, like lens peripheral illumination correction--it corrects for light fall-off at the edges of the lens--and it can more automagically brighten things, like pretty faces (and ugly ones, if you really want it to). Since you can crank the ISO speed up to 12,800--Canon's highest yet--presumably its noise-reduction capabilities are formidable, especially since Nikon has succeeded in making noise the new battleground in prosumer and higher level DSLRs.

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Nikon Rumors and Neutral Day have more on the D90, well, mostly just these product shots being touted as "100% legit." That, and a few more "official" specs--12.3 megapixels, movie mode (still no resolution confirmation), 3" LCD, an ISO range of 100-6400 and 11 AF points (same as the D80). The confirmed AF-S 18-105 mm f/3.5-5.6 VR lens is not a big one, so the body is looking nice and compact here. The shots seem to match what we've already seen (the added GPS-in there on the bottom), all coming in at US$1300, so yeah, looks like bona fide D90 release is just a few days away. Hit the jump for a few more angles, and check out the rest of the shots over at: [Nikon Rumors, Neutral Day]

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Olympus' tough-as-nails Stylus 1050 SW updates the 1030 SW with a tap-control feature that makes it easy to take pictures in extreme environments. While the specs are nearly identical to the 1030—10.1MP, 1.5 metre shockproof, 3 metres waterproof, -10°C freezeproof—the 1050 uses an accelerometer to allow button-free control. Tapping the top, back or sides of the camera cycle through different options, so you can make adjustments to your pictures even if you're wearing gloves. It'll be out in October, and for US$300, I'd tap that. The Stylus 1040, one of the best looking Olympus point-and-shoots we've seen, down below.

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