Wednesday, October 31, 2007

Announced at the end of August, the new Nikon Coolpix P5100 camera arrives just 6 months after the P5000. Aimed at the enthusiast photographer who wants some control over what the camera is doing, the 12.1 megapixel Nikon P5100 offers Shutter-priority, Aperture-priority, and full Manual shooting modes. There’s a flash hotshoe which accepts external flashguns, 2.5 inch LCD screen combined with an optical viewfinder, optical image stabilization for blur-free images, and a 3.5x zoom lens (35-123mm). Billed as a backup to a DSLR, the Nikon P5100 costs £299.99 / €450 and competes with the likes of the Canon Powershot G9. Gavin Stoker took the Nikon Coolpix P5100 all the way to Japan in the 200th PhotographyBLOG review (!).

Website: Nikon Coolpix P5100 Review

The JOBO GIGA Vu extreme is a new digital image storage and viewing device with a 3.7” VGA resolution LCD screen and support for more then 100 RAW formats. Available in hard disk capacities up to 160 GB, the GIGA Vu extreme includes an SD/SDHC adapter and is compatible with JOBO’s new photoGPS unit. “JOBO understands the workflow needs of today’s digital photographers and the JOBO GIGA Vu extreme picks up where our award-winning GIGA Vu PRO evolution left off,” said Johannes Bockemuehl-Simon, JOBO’s CEO. Available with three different storage capacities - 80GB, 120GB and 160GB - the retail prices are $599, $749, and $899 respectively.

Click to continue...

The Eye-Fi Card is the world’s first wireless SD memory card for digital cameras. Eye-Fi uses home wireless networks to eliminate the time-consuming chore of dealing with cables, card readers or software plug-ins associated with uploading photos. The Eye-Fi Card works with existing and new SD-compatible digital cameras and stores photos like a conventional SD memory card. “The Eye-Fi Card removes the barriers and lets users get to the fun part of sharing and printing their memories. We’re putting the magic back into photography.” said Jef Holove, chief executive officer of Eye-Fi. Priced at $99.99 with 2GB of storage, the Eye-Fi Card is available now.

Click to continue...

Olympus is offering a free HLD-4 power grip and E-System pro backpack with the purchase of a new E-3 DSLR camera. All owners who register their new Olympus E-3 before 31 December 2007 are eligible to receive the free power grip. All purchasers of the new E-3 who sign on to express their interest between now and 30 November 2007, and then register their new camera by 31 December 2007, will be eligible for the free E-System pro backpack. Sales of the new Olympus E-3 will start in late November 2007.

Click to continue...

Olympus are launching six new E-410 and E-510 digital SLR kits customised for the needs of specific types of photography. The Olympus DSLR kits are: E-410 Underwater Pro Kit, E-510 Medical & Macro Pro Kit, E-510 Architecture Pro Kit, E-510 Travelling Pro Kit, E-510 Reportage Pro Kit, E-510 Nature Pro Kit. Pricing ranges from £1199 to £3459. 

Click to continue...

Epson has won a 2007 ecohitech award for the Epson Stylus Pro 3800 printer in the “Energy Saving and CO2 Reduction” category. ecohitech is Italy’s most prestigious recognition of environmental achievement by a technology company. This is the third time that Epson has received an ecohitech award. The jury stated “In comparison with the previous models, the estimated CO2 emissions during the whole product life are reduced by 44% and the amount of the resources used during the production is reduced by 55%. The printer is EcoLeaf certified.”

Click to continue...

DxO Optics Pro 5 will be released in the 2nd half of November 2007, following an extended testing and quality assurance phase. Version 5 of Optics Pro was originally slated for release at the end of October. A revised release date for the MAC version will be provided towards the end of November. DxO Optics Pro 5 will add dust/blemish removal, improved user interface, increased speed and expanded camera support, and is priced from £99. All purchasers of DxO Optics Pro v4.5 on or after August 1st, 2007 are eligible for a free upgrade to DxO Optics Pro v5.

Getty Images has acquired one of the world’s premier collections of imagery depicting the British Royal Family over the last 30 years. The collection, taken by Royal photographer, Tim Graham, spans four generations of the Royal Family and contains over 200,000 images. “Having photographed Royal occasions for three decades, it is now appropriate for me to look to the future,” comments Tim Graham. “I am aware of the historical significance of my archive and I want to ensure that my photographs will continue to be published worldwide for many years to come.” Tim Graham’s collection of 30 years of the best royal photography will be housed at Getty Images’ Hulton Archive in London.

Click to continue...

The Fantasea FS-51 underwater housing is fully compatible with the Nikon Coolpix S50, S50c, S51 and S51c cameras. Depth rated to 60 meters/200 feet, this housing also features Fantasea’s latest design and improved construction. The FS-51 housing has a double O-ring seal on all controls, anti-glare hood over LCD screen, and built-in flash diffuser and a 41mm lens port. The suggested retail price of the Fantasea FS-51 housing is US $245.

Click to continue...

Steves Digicams have reviewed the Olympus FE-300, a new 12 megapixel entry-level camera with a 3x optical zoom lens, large 6.4cm LCD screen and Face Detection technology.

“The image quality was right in line with the rest of the FE series cameras. It produced good color saturation and had well exposed images. The images are a little fuzzy on the outsides of the picture, but clear in the middle. With a 12-megapixel image sensor, this should still produce good looking images in smaller prints (8x10 and under). When shooting with the Digital Image Stabilization mode, there was noticeably more noise than without due to the camera increasing the ISO settings to eliminate blur from camera shake. Other ways to make up for the camera shake are to use a flash if possible or use a tripod or monopod to help steady the camera.”

Website: Steves Digicams - Olympus FE-300 Review