Friday, January 30, 2009

UK photographic retailer Jessops has reported a loss of £19.1 Million for 2008. This follows a loss in 2007 of £9.3m. Like for like sales for the year ended 30 September 2008 were down 6.5% year on year. The compact camera market was up 7.3% in volume but down 5% in value and the DSLR market was up 16.1% in volume and 19.3% in value. David Adams, Executive Chairman, said: “It is not clear when economic conditions will improve but the combination of our strong market position, solid relationships with suppliers and continuing cost reductions should ensure that Jessops is in the best position operationally to deal with the very difficult economic conditions in which we are operating.”

Kodak is cutting upto 4,500 jobs during 2009, after reporting a fourth-quarter loss of $133 million. Fourth-quarter sales were $2.433 billion, a 24% decline from the year-ago quarter. Digital sales for the fourth quarter were $1.779 billion, a 23% decline from the year-ago quarter, and traditional revenues were $652 million, a 27% decline from the year-ago quarter.

“The second half of 2008 will go down in history as one of the most challenging periods we have seen in decades,” said Antonio M. Perez, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Eastman Kodak Company. “We built significant momentum following the completion of our corporate transformation and our business results were on track through most of 2008, with digital revenue up 10% in the first half of the year, following double-digit growth in the second-half of 2007. However, during the last three months of the year, we experienced dramatic declines in several of our key businesses due to the slowdown in consumer spending and significantly reduced demand for capital equipment.”

Website: Kodak Press Release

Panasonic is closing two factories in Malaysia and the Philippines with the loss of 560 jobs. Blaming a “a rapid change in the global electronics market,” workers at the electronics parts plant and battery factory are affected. In a separate development, the Nikkei paper has reported that Panasonic will report a a net loss of about 100 billion yen ($1.1 billion) for 2008/9, its first loss for 6 years.

Website: Panasonic to cut 560 jobs, close Asian plants

The GigaPan Epic capture detailed panoramas with almost any point-and-shoot digital camera. The Epic is a small robotic mount that automates the picture taking process, includes fully integrated software and works seamlessly with GigaPan.org. The GigaPan Epic, complete with the GigaPan Stitcher software, is available now for $379. The GigaPan Epic 100, available soon for $449, is a second model designed for larger point-and-shoot digital camera models.

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The Hoodman HoodEYE is a new accessory eyecup for DSLR cameras that seals out ambient light for improved viewfinder viewing. HoodEYE is a rubber camera eyecup which easily replaces your digital SLR camera’s rubber eyepiece surround and provides improved viewfinder clarity by preventing stray light from entering. Currently available in the UK for Nikon cameras, the H-EYEN22R HoodEYE for Nikon round eyepieces (D3 and D2X) retails at £ 26.99. The H-EYEN22S HoodEYE for Nikon Square eyepieces for all other Nikon’s and the Olympus E3 retails at £ 26.99.

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LG’s “Your moments. Shared” website aims to celebrate photography with regular competitions for the best football photographs. Each week the £1,000 prize will go to the person who takes the most memorable match-day image as voted for before by other users. To add an extra dimension to the competition, members are competing against a Pro Sports Photographer as part of Loop’s ‘Pro V Joe’ challenge. The Pro’s shots are submitted anonymously to avoid any favouritism and add excitement to the competition.

Website: LG Loop

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Thursday, January 29, 2009

Want to be able to shoot video on your DSLR, but don’t have the money to buy a Nikon D90 or Canon EOS 5D Mark II? Then some enterprising programmers might have just the (completely unofficial and at your own risk) solution for you. Canon Rumors has linked to a downloadable Russian program that apparently enables video on any Canon DSLR that has Live View, whilst Olivier Giroux has captured video using the Nikon D700 (pictured). The catch? (of course there’s a catch). The camera has to be connected to a computer via the USB port, which then captures the signal from Live View mode and converts it to video. So it’s not exactly the most portable video camera in the world. Still, it is free (and as we said before, completely unofficial).

Canon,the world’s biggest digital camera manufacturer, has just reported an 81% decline in quarterly profits, blaming the strong yen and slowing demand for cameras and office equipment. “A substantial recovery in the economy is unlikely in 2009. Our operating environment will be even harder this year than it was last year,” commented Canon’s Managing Director Masahiro Osawa. Digital camera sales are expected to fall by 7% from a year earlier to 23.9 million units in 2009. Canon now predicts that its operating profit will fall 68% to 160 billion yen in 2009, the lowest in the last 14 years. Canon is aiming to cut costs by 70 billion yen in a bid to cope with the current economic crisis.

Website: Reuters - Canon profit tumbles, predicts further slide

Corel Paint Shop Pro Photo X2 Ultimate will be available for just £57 at this year’s Focus on Imaging show. “With the current economic environment putting additional pressure on finances, customers are looking for even better value for money than ever before. Visitors to the Corel stand at Focus on Imaging will be able to see for themselves that our products offer exceptional value,” said Chris Boba, product manager for Corel. Focus on Imaging takes place at the NEC, Birmingham, UK on February 22nd-25th.

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The California Sunbounce Pro is a new reflector system for sports and action photography. The 51”x74 inch (130x190 cm) size Sunbounce Pro reflector can illuminate a space of 20x27 ft (6x10 meters) using only bright sunlight. The 3-dimensional frame is handcrafted in Germany and made from best aluminum,weighing less than a professional camera. Pricing for the California Sunbounce Pro starts at $364.00.

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