Olympus has announced a prototype of three dimensional camera made from Japanese evergreen wood at Photokina 2006. It is made by three dimensional compression of the wood using latest technology. Japanese cypress wood was compressed for the model. The hardness of the compressed wood exceeds that of plastic. The camera uses microscope lens A Japanese cypress is an evergreen that grows to between 100 and 130 feet tall with a base diameter from two to five feet. No word yet on if this camera will go into production. Two more pics after the jump!

Via HackedGadget.

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TrustedReviews has a deep review of Canon’s PowerShot A710 IS. It combines advanced features with a compact design. The camera supports a 7.1MP CCD, powerful 6x optical zoom with Image Stabilizer (IS) technology, 20 shooting modes, SDHC card slot, and a 2.5 inch LCD display. Here’s the verdict:

The Canon PowerShot A710 IS is expensive for a compact camera, although it does offer a wide range of features for the money. Overall performance is outstanding, however build quality and more importantly image quality are not up to the standards we’ve come to expect from Canon, and the possible flash fault is damning. The latter may be an issue with our review sample, but as things stand, it’s a bit of a disappointment.

Via TrustedReviews.

Earlier on TechFresh a video of the NV10 by Samsung was posted, well here’s a review of the camera. For those that don’t follow this camera it features 10.1 megapixel lens, 2.5 inch LCD touch screen, 3x zoom and much more. Via Photography Blog.

Sadly, although the NV10 offers a truly unique user experience, the images that it produces do not match the high quality of the rest of the camera. High levels of noise at ISO 200 and faster is the main problem, but the NV10 also suffers from obvious purple fringing and a very limited anti-shake mode. It’s a real shame, as the NV10 is otherwise a joy to use

Hitachi unveils several prototypes of Blu-ray disc full HD camcorder at the CEATEC 2006. These camcorders would use the mini Blu-Ray discs, which are apparently in the works. There is also a model with a hard disk or Flash memory. The design of the future video camcorder is pretty stylish and clean with a touch of retro. We hope that Hitachi will get these products to the market soon. Find out more pictures after the jump!

Via Akihabaranews and Aving.

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Braun D800 is a compact camera equipped with a large 2.4 inch preview LCD. The camera comes with a 6.2MP image sensor, but can interpolate to give you images at 8MP resolution, a 3x optical zoom, voice recorder, self timer functionalities, and 32MB of flash memory storage which is expandable using an SD/MMC card. Sadly, no word on the pricing availability yet, or when it will hit US shores.

Via Engadget.