In my earlier post, I ranted that 2009 has started with rocket ship speed.

? One of the big reasons why I feel this is way is because I am part of the digital camera team here at gap intelligence.? Apparently, digital camera makers are not overly concerned with our suffering economy and have flooded the US market with 262 new models since January 1, 2009.?

That is an average of just over 1 new camera a day.

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The digital camera industry is much like the movie industry. ?Like studios who copy cat blockbuster story lines from other production houses, digital camera manufacturers duplicate whatever the flavor of the month is.

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Panoramic shooting, digital image stabilization, optical image stabilization, face detection, smile detection, blink detection, and dynamic range can pretty much summarize the last four years of digital cameras.?

This year the theme is waterproof. ?

Once a segment occupied by just two manufacturers, just about every camera maker now offers a waterproof camera in one form or another. ? Canon has one that looks like a , Olympus has one that can be , and .??

There were also a number of improvements in technologies that give digital cameras the power to let the most untalented photographer (like myself) capture some amazing pictures. ?

Just a few off the top of my head include that allows users to capture a 220 degree photograph by casually panning the camera across a field. ? ships with embedded art filters that shooters can use to apply visual affects that would otherwise require a very good background in Photoshop. ?

Panasonic has improved on its face detection to not only detect a person?s face, but recognize the person in future portraits.

Waterproof, panning, scanning, and identifying are all good for the novice shooter like me and you, but today?s advancements are making the biggest impact on professional photographers. ?

Today?s professional DSLRs are designed to give still photographers the widest breadth of control, speed, and clarity ever offered in a camera, but can now double as high definition video cameras. ?

Of all of the technological advancements that I have seen in the last two months, one of the most impressive is this concert video captured by Canon?s new EOS 5D Mark II, a DSLR still camera that can ?

record high definition video.

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Yes, I am a Nine in Nails fan.

from on .

The DSLR?s ability to record high quality video and the growing prevalence of online video marketing have made advertisers ask their professional photographer if they can cut a video too.

?This will be huge for your local photographer, who has essentially doubled his potential marketplace for both still and video shoots. ?

These innovations are already trickling down to consumer models and a good number of today?s cameras can capture high definition video. ?

While some argue that camcorders will eventually swallow the digital camera market, I believe that these waterproof, face detecting, high definition cameras are the bigger fish.?

Regardless, the good news for you is that you won?t need to hire two different teams to capture your daughter?s wedding, the photographer has the video and stills covered.