At a lengthy seminar this morning, the marketing research firm, InfoTrends, presented a number of intriguing trends on digital camera and other digital imaging devices based on their research, polls, and interviews. Here's some of what they were predicting:

• As tech companies continue to reinvent imaging chips, the chips will get smaller and smaller. Some innovative designs will emerge, such as stacking thin wafers made up of many lenses (instead of just one big lens) over imaging wafers, which will in turn be read and decoded by internal software. This should result in very small cameras, which might fit in to cell phones. The analyst said these wouldn't be high-megapixel cameras, but more like 3 megapixels.

• Connectivity will continue to develop: cameras will include more WiFi, GPS and other features, such as DLNA, that let them interact with TVs and other devices. Although printing should level off, it won't drop. Connected, social-media style image viewing and uploading will continue to expand.

• HD Video in SLRs and Micro Four-thirds style cameras will continue to be very important. In InfoTrends research, nearly 50 percent of those polled said that HD video was either very important or somewhat important in their next camera purchase.

• Optical viewfinders on cameras have almost ceased to exist, with only one manufacturer including them in a camera line. Currently, only the Canon PowerShot A1100IS, SD1200IS, and SD780IS have viewfinders. But this trend doesn’t have the consumer in mind: About 25 percent of the people they interviewed said they still compose their photos using only the optical viewfinder. And 50 percent of those polled use both the optical viewfinder and LCD to compose shots.

• Photo frames and printers will become more connected, with frames including more WiFi, and some cellular, while printers add more downloadable apps or widgets.

—Terry Sullivan

HP V1020h pocket camcorder
Photo: HP

As I mentioned earlier, HP is back in the camera business with several new point-and-shoots. If this move to re-enter the highly competitive point-and-shoot market after a two-year absence weren’t puzzling enough, the company is also entering the crowded pocket camcorder market. Both the cameras and camcorders will be inexpensive, priced between $100 and $200.

As digital cameras go, most of the new point-and-shoots don’t offer any unique features or product designs, although HP says it has retooled them (and removed the designation “Photosmart”) to improve performance. For example, two 12-megapixel models, the CW450t, $110, and PW460t, $150, are probably the cheapest cameras on the market to offer touchscreen LCDs.

HP V5061u camcorder
Photo: HP

The new HP camcorders are a bit more intriguing. The HP V1020h, $109, is a nicely designed pocket camcorder with 720p HD recording and a rechargeable lithium-ion battery. Two larger camcorders have pocket camcorder-quality specs, but are more the size of a standard-definition camcorder. Both the V5061u and V5560u have a 3-inch, touch-screen display and can capture 1080p HD video. Like most pocket video recorders, the V5061u has only digital zoom. But the V5560u features a 5x optical zoom and lithium-ion battery. The V5061u provides a unique battery option: if the lithium-ion battery isn’t charged, you can install AA batteries. The V5560u and V5061u are priced at $199 and $169, respectively.

All the new cameras and camcorders will be available in the spring, except for the HP V1020h camcorder, which should be available this summer.

—Terry Sullivan