Tuesday, September 29, 2009

Samsung has officially announced the Samsung SCH-W880, also called the Samsung AMOLED 12M - a 12-megapixel digital camera with 3x optical zoom and a phone inside. Alternatively, you could call it a 12-megapixel camera phone with optical zoom, but the SCH-W880 has real camera controls such as a mode dial and a zoom rocker encircling a shutter release button. The rear panel features a 3.3” AMOLED display that allegedly boasts a resolution of 800x480 pixels. Touch-sensitive autofocus, image stabilisation and 720p video capture round off the features list. The SCH-W880 has a generous 4GB of internal memory, expandable by up to 32GB via Micro SD cards. According to Engadget, the Samsung SCH-W880 is going to hit the [Korean] market in October, but there is no word on international availability or pricing.

Via Engadget

The Worldwide Community of Imaging Associations will host the first Southern California Photo Expo at the Anaheim Convention Center on Saturday, 20 February 2010. Based on the theme “Discover, Create, Share,” the photo expo will give consumers an opportunity to see the latest in digital imaging products from the world’s leading manufacturers and learn new and creative ways to capture, to print, and to share their photographs. In addition, the expo will present a special “Visual Living” area where leading experts will demonstrate effective ways to take great photos, software products that help improve your photos, use your camera phone and mobile devices, and proper ways to back-up and protect your valuable digital assets. All admission prices, which start at $4, include a welcome bag and access to all workshops and demonstrations.

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ACD Systems International Inc. today unveiled ACDSee Pro 3, a new version of their popular photo management software that introduces new image processing and publishing capabilities. The beta version of ACDSee Pro 3 has been available to interested photographers for awhile, but today marks the release of the full version. ACDSee Pro 3 provides photographers with the capability to manage digital assets to their own specifications using both folders and metadata. New additions allow users to distribute their creative work effortlessly through SMTP-enabled e-mail applications such as Gmail and Yahoo! Mail Plus. In view mode, images can be seen in full size at “unparalleled” speeds. Finally, ACDSee Pro 3’s new process mode integrates nondestructive image editing and precise pixel-level editing into one seamless application. ACDSee Pro 3 is available for a free 30-day trial and for purchase at $169.99 by visiting http://www.acdsee.com. Registered owners of ACDSee Pro, Pro 2 and Pro 2.5 are eligible to upgrade for less than $90. Purchasing a licence of ACDSee Pro 3 also gives you access to a 2GB account on the ACDSee Online Web site.

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This Autumn, a series of state of the art exhibitions will take place around Europe to showcase stunning images taken by Daniel Beltrá, the winner of this year’s Prince’s Rainforests Project Award at the Sony World Photography Awards. The exhibitions entitled, ‘Focus on the Rainforests’, will take place in London (Kew Gardens), Paris (Hotel de Ville) and Berlin (Alexa Centre). Opening in October, these interactive photographic experiences form the closing chapter of Daniel’s trip. The London exhibition will take place from 3 October through 6 December.

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Joby, the designer of the Gorillapod photo tripods, has announced the GorillaTORCH. It is an electric torch that casts a focused beam of intense light and allows you to illuminate any target, hands‐free. The GorillaTORCH is mounted on Joby’s award‐winning bendable and flexible legs comprised of medical‐grade ABS plastic and German TPE rubber. Combined with its powerful magnetic feet, the GorillaTORCH will grip to virtually anything, the manufacturer claims. The GorillaTORCH weighs under 197 gram, is 20 centimeters tall, has a suggested retail price of £29.99 including VAT. The product will be available from Amazon from October.

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General Imaging has announced two new digital cameras, the GE J1050 and the J1250 (pictured). Shared features include Pan-Capture Panorama; Auto Scene Detection; Blink, Smile and Face Detection; Image Stabilisation and in-camera Red-Eye Removal. Out of these, Pan-Capture Panorama is the most interesting, which allows the creation of seamless panoramic photographs without a need for stitching. Also, both cameras have a 35-175mm equivalent zoom lens and a 2.7”; 230,400-dot TFT LCD. They practically only differ in their pixel count and price: the GE J1050 is a ten-megapixel model costing $129, whereas the GE J1250 is a twelve-megapixel camera that sells for $149.

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iSyndica’s latest feature, called “Promotion,” enables users to securely distribute their portfolio on social media and photo-sharing sites for free, thereby gaining visibility without jeopardizing the rights to their work. Initial supported sites include Flickr, Picasa, Facebook and Twitter. The feature will also be available to videographers for seven popular video destinations, including BlipTV, Viddler, and YouTube. Historically, image theft made professional photographers anxious about sharing their images on social media sites. And for good reason - the Stock Artists Alliance estimated in 2007 that such theft resulted in $65 million of lost revenue for the industry. iSyndica’s Promotion feature addresses these concerns in a safe and easy way: distributed photographs are automatically watermarked and resized, effectively preventing their misuse, the company says.

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Giottos are now shipping the VH6011 two-way birding / video head. Described as a sturdy yet lightweight head, the VH6011 features smooth fluid pan & tilt movements and a counterbalance spring on the tilt function to improve the head performance.  To assist with balance, a sliding scope attachment thread and Arca-Swiss compatible sliding quick release plate allow up to 60mm of sliding forward movement. The MH658D quick release plate features a VHS locating pin and anti-twist blocks to help prevent scope movement whilst in use. Both pan & tilt movements can be locked independently of each other and the pan bar can be adjusted for left- or right-handed use. Manufactured from die cast aluminium, the VH6011 head weighs in at 0.57kg and has a maximum weight capacity of 4kg. The VH6011 is available now for approximately £80, and comes with a five-year warranty.

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Welshot Photographic Academy is staging an all-day event at Chester Zoo on Sunday, October 25. Attendees will have an opportunity to learn how to take stunning mains flash portraiture photographs, get up-close and personal with macro and floral photography, how to get your best photographs published and more. Leading professional photographers John Arnold, Will Cheung FRPS, Chris Noble and Steward Ellett will lead a series of informal yet instructive practical modules. The cost including zoo admission, lunch and all refreshments, is £45 for Welshot Photographic Academy members and £55 for non-members. Places are limited and booking is essential. You can register online at the website below.

Website: Welshot Imaging

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VSO Software has just released VSO Seam Carving, a freeware program offering the seam carving resizing method to shrink or enlarge an image while the important features stay unaffected. This smart “content aware” resizing technology optimizes the resizing of full pictures to a new resolution, by keeping the full content without distorting, stretching or removing part of the image. The program also allows users to remove an object or a person from a photo very easily and without any knowledge of Photoshop, the company claims. VSO Seam Carving will be also implemented in the forthcoming VSO Image Resizer 3.0. Click through / read on to learn where you can download the program.

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