With BenQ's new E1260 HDR wide angle 12 megapixel compact, the company is offering snappers the opportunity to easily capture amazing images no matter the lighting conditions. The new model includes proprietary technology "designed bring out the finest details in the darkest and brightest parts of an image," along with 720p HD movie recording and user interface simplicity.
The latest model in the BenQ range offers HDR (high dynamic range) image enhancement technology to overcome high contrast lighting issues, helping to minimize over and under exposure by automatically adjusting image contrast.
The E1260 HDR also has an ISO range 100 to 6400 (depending on chosen image size) to complement the 12 megapixel 1/2.3-inch CCD sensor and 28mm wide angle 4x optical zoom lens (28~112mm equiv).
Other features include a bright 2.7 inch, 230,000 dot LCD display with an intuitive and simple user interface offering a dozen automatic scene modes and options including smart focus, face tracking, blink detector, plus self portrait and beauty enhancer modes. A smart file management system gives users control over how images are viewed in-camera and an included G-sensor automatically rotates the image on the display when taking a shot. This means that no matter which way up the camera, the image is always shown in the correct orientation (like the accelerometer on smartphones).
The 3.6 x 2.28 x 0.65 inch compact can also record 720p HD video to motion JPEG, but unfortunately there's no HDMI out for viewing through a HD television. Also lacking is SDXC card support, compatibility only being offered in SD/SDHC format.
The E1260 HDR will be available worldwide from May in “Metallic Gun-Metal Gray” and “Metallic Blue”, no word on pricing at the time of writing.
