POLAROID HAS announced the launch of its x530 digital camera, the world's first 4.5 megapixel point-and-shoot model to incorporate the award-winning three-layer Foveon X3 direct image sensor. It will be available this month.
Especially designed with user-friendly features combined with advanced functions, the camera offers the image quality essence of 35mm film and makes sharp 8x10 inch prints.
It also offers auto/manual white balance, a 10cm to infinity macro range, movie clip recording capability, 3x optical zoom, 4x digital zoom, auto-focus lens, a two-inch colour TFT LCD display and four flash modes.
The automatic settings make picture taking for first-time digital camera users a snap. Advanced users will fall in love with its sophisticated features, like the RAW file format capture, X3 Full Light, and In-camera editing.
The camera has a Foveon X3 direct image sensor - the first time this has been used in a consumer camera - so I am surprised it is not more expensive (HK$3,180 including bundled CD-Rom software and some accessories).
Foveon X3 direct image sensors are the world's only image sensors that directly capture red, green and blue light at every pixel location. Consequently, the x530 boasts higher colour accuracy than most cameras of a similar class.
Users can capture images in jpeg and X3F RAW 'digital negative' file format which can be processed with the bundled Polaroid PhotoLab application (compatible for PC and Mac), to maximise the colour capabilities and fine tune images of the Foveon X3 direct image sensor.