Are you a fan of cameras? Lots and lots of cameras? (Sure you are, we know that’s a rhetorical question.) Well this is the time for you, because PMA is here and new camera models are dropping from heaven.

PMA is the annual photography industry trade show that is once again being held in Las Vegas. At past conventions, all the camera manufacturers descended on PMA to announce their upcoming year’s lineup of gear, but over the last few years it has been the run up to PMA that has been the exciting part.

Since the invention of the Internet more and more people have been skipping the trade show floor for online information about the latest gear. As a result, the companies started to announce things before PMA to get the jump on their competitors. As a result, everyone now shows off their goodies before getting to the roulette table.

Which brings us back to cameras. Here is a quick run-down on some of the announcements:

Pentax took the wraps off of two digital SLR cameras today, the K20D which sports a 14mp sensor and the K200D which sports a 10mp one. There are also five new lenses including a nice 200mm f/2.8 and a 300mm f/4. The company also has three new Optio compact digital cameras on offer.

Sony is now brandishing a 10x zoom 8mp camera, a Cyber-shot T300 (with Carl Zeiss lens), four W-series digicams and two new S-series Cyber-shots. That’s eight new models from Sony alone.

Olympus also got into the early-to-announce race with a new xD card (the oddly named “Type M+” which sounds to me like a rare genetic blood disorder (as in “I’ve got xD Type M+ blood”) as well as a 20x zoom camera. Holy cow, that’s not a typo, that’s a 26-520mm equivalent lens with f/2.8 to-4.5 performance. At $500 I might just pick one up the next time I want to see what my neighbors are watching on TV, a half-mile away. The company also announced four new FE series cameras and three new Stylus cameras.

More news to come as PMA draws near. We can hardly wait for the actual event.

PMA Pentax K20D Video Report by Calumet Photographic