You can now rent the Hasselblad H3D-39 digital medium format camera through Calumet Photographic for $699 per month. Trade in an 18 megapixel or larger medium format back, and at the end of the 36-month lease, the H3D can be purchased for one dollar. “We’re thrilled to provide this opportunity to own a camera that raises the standard of digital photography to a new level,” said Michael Miller, president of Calumet Photographic. This special trade-in leasing offer is good through August 31, 2007 and is limited to quantities on hand.

PMA 2007: The JOBO Spectator is a mid-range, affordable way of backing up, storing and viewing your digital images. Available in Spring 2007, the JOBO Spectator will be available in three sizes - 40GB, 80GB and 120GB - for €249, €299 and €379 respectively. Also new is the JOBO photoGPS, a Global Positioning System (GPS) for digital camera users which writes GPS data to each digital picture’s EXIF file. JOBO photoGPS will be available in Summer 2007 for €149.

Update June 30th 2007: UK pricing has just been announced. Available mid July, the Jobo Spectator will be offered in 40GB, 80GB and 120GB capacities with suggested retail prices of £199, £229 and £279 respectively including Vat.

SanDisk has has begun providing 8Gb and 6Gb microSDHC cards to phone manufacturers and mobile network operators. An 8GB microSDHC card can store more than 2,000 digital songs, or more than 5,000 high-resolution pictures, or up to 5 hours of high-quality MPEG 4 video. Retail versions of the new SanDisk microSDHC cards are planned for later in 2007.

The Mercury On-The-Go 200GB is the highest capacity 7200 RPM portable hard drive currently available. Equipped with FireWire 800/400, USB2, and eSATA interfaces the Mercury On-The-Go 200GB is up to 50% faster than other 7200 RPM drives and offers 25% higher capacity than the competition. Priced at $359.99, the Mercury On-The-Go 200GB is available now.

The Iomega eGo is a new 160GB 2.5 inch portable hard drive. “The Iomega eGo Portable Hard Drive calls attention to itself with its beautiful red contoured case, while its automatic backup software works transparently to protect your digital life,” said Ashley Ettwein, HDD Product Manager, Iomega Corporation. The Iomega 160GB eGo Portable Hard Drive USB 2.0 is now available for $159.95.

The LaCie d2 SAFE Hard Drive is now available in 1TB capacity. The hard drive is equipped with a biometric sensor, 128-bit AES hardware encryption technology, and chain lock port for maximum protection against unauthorized use. “It is ideal for guarding top secret files or intellectual property, giving complete control to anyone working with original creations over who sees projects and when. It’s the only secure storage solution with professional performance thanks to three security levels and three interfaces.” said Marie Renouard, LaCie Product Manager. The LaCie d2 SAFE Hard Drive 1TB is available end of June at the suggested retail price of $579.

The Online Photographer has interviewed Kodak scientist John Hamilton about the new image sensor technology that Kodak announced last week, which claims to improve performance in low light conditions.

“T.O.P.: The human eye puts an emphasis on luminance information for the sake of image detail. Is the new sensor likely to increase the level of real detail in digital images?
John Hamilton: Not really. The panchromatic pixels function just like the green pixels of the Bayer pattern except that they are photographically faster. However, under low light conditions, the new patterns will outperform Bayer because of improved signal-to-noise.”

Website: The Online Photographer - A Brief Interview With John Hamilton

Kodak have developed a new image sensor technology that promises a one to two photographic stop increase in sensitivity, improving performance in low light. Kodak have achieved this by adding panchromatic, or “clear” pixels to the red, green, and blue pixels on the sensor. These clear pixels are sensitive to all wavelengths of visible light, and therefore collect a significantly higher proportion of the light striking the sensor. “This represents a new generation of image sensor technology and addresses one of the great challenges facing our industry how to capture crisp, clear digital images in a poorly lit environment,” said Chris McNiffe, General Manager of Kodak’s Image Sensor Solutions group. The first Kodak sensor to use this technology is expected to be available for sampling in the first quarter of 2008.

The new 24 inch EIZO CG241W LCD monitor offers 12-bit hardware calibration and a 6 ms gray-to-gray response time. The wide gamut LCD panel reproduces 92% of NTSC and 96% of the Adobe RGB color space. The maximum brightness is 300 cd/m², contrast ratio is 850:1, and horizontal and vertical viewing angles are 178°. The EIZO CG241W will be available in mid to late July in the United States.

OptiML WLC from Tessera Technologies is a new wafer-level camera technology which reduces the size and cost of camera modules. OptiML WLC delivers up to 50% size reductions over conventional camera modules in camera phones today. Using OptiML WLC technology, thousands of lenses are manufactured simultaneously on a wafer, and then bonded at the wafer level to create the optical element of the camera.

The Epson R-D1 and R-D1s digital rangefinder cameras are no more, according to a report by UK magazine Amateur Photographer. Both cameras offered 6 megapixel APS-C sensors and support for Leica lenses, and both were far more popular than Epson anticipated. The Epson R-D1s is still available in Japan, but completely sold out in Europe. Epson will instead be concentrating on other areas of the business, presumably a lot more profitable than digital rangefinders (however popular).

Website: Amateur Photographer

Apple has refreshed the MacBook Pro laptop with the latest Intel Core 2 Duo processors. Other improvements include up to 4GB of memory and NVIDIA GeForce 8600M GT graphics card. The 15-inch model has a new mercury-free, power-efficient LED-backlit display. Prices range from £1,299 for the 2.2GHz, 15-inch MacBook Pro to £1,799 for the 2.4GHz, 17-inch model.

JOBO GIGA one and JOBO Spectator mobile storage devices now include MAGIX Photos on CD for free. MAGIX Photos creates presentations and slideshows with digital images and video which can be saved to a CD. “These combined products provide our customers with the solutions they need for safely storing their precious memories and sharing those memories with others.” said Johannes Bockemuehl-Simon, JOBO’s CEO.

Canon has designed a new CMOS sensor for use in a surveillance camera that has no less than 50 megapixels. Even more interesting, the 50mp sensor is exactly the same size as those used in some of their DSLR cameras. The current incarnation is targeted at industrial surveillance of car parks and theme parks, but who knows where it could end up eventually?

Website: Engadget - Canon crams 50 megapixels into a CMOS prototype

SanDisk has expanded its line-up of solid state drives (SSDs) with the introduction of a 64 gigabyte model. Solid state drives are designed to replace conventional hard drives still found in most notebook computers. Gartner projects global consumption of SSDs in consumer and business notebooks to leap from about 4 million units in 2007 to 32 million units in 2010.

The miCARD memory card combines the popular MMC and USB 2.0 standard interfaces into a single memory card. When used in cameras, smart phones and PDAs, miCARD takes advantage of the low power consumption and high performance characteristics of the MMC interface. For transfer, the card is inserted directly into a devices’ USB connector, removing the need for dedicated card slots or separate card readers. “MMCA developed the miCARD specification to provide manufacturers a solution that is adaptable and convenient for consumers,” said Yves Leonard, MMCA chairman. “Adding USB 2.0 capability to a memory card provides an interface that is compatible with existing products and widely recognized by general consumers.”

The Mamiya ZD 645AFD II Digital System consists of the Mamiya 645AFD II Medium Format Camera with 80mm f/2.8 F lens and the newly introduced Mamiya ZD 22 Megapixel Digital Back. Mamiya have also introduced two new digital lenses – the Mamiya Sekor AF 75-150mm f/4.5 D and a full-frame 28mm f/4.5 D Aspherical – that are designed to work on the 645AFD II with both film and digital backs. The Mamiya ZD 645AFD II Digital System will cost $9,999 / £7,500 (including VAT). To celebrate the launch in the UK, JP Distribution will be supporting a special introductory price of just £6000 including VAT. This offer will be available until the end of November 2007.

The new Mamiya ZD 22 megapixel Digital Back is compatible with the Mamiya 645AFD II, 645AFD and RZ67 Pro IID cameras. The Mamiya ZD Back offer 1.2 fps, simultaneous RAW & JPEG recording, and ships with Adobe Lightroom. The street price of the Mamiya ZD Back is $6,999.

Lacie has expanded the capacity of its Ethernet Big Disk to 2TBs. “No other solution on the market offers such large capacity in a single, compact device for easily storing your personal digital library.” said Marie Renouard, LaCie Product Manager. The LaCie Ethernet Big Disk 2TB is available end of May at the suggested retail price of $1,099.

Microsoft Surface offers interaction with information using touch, natural gestures and physical objects. Surface is a 30-inch display in a table-like form factor that small groups can use at the same time. “With Surface, we are creating more intuitive ways for people to interact with technology,” Ballmer said. “We see this as a multibillion dollar category, and we envision a time when surface computing technologies will be pervasive, from tabletops and counters to the hallway mirror. Surface is the first step in realizing that vision.”