The Transcend StoreJet 25 mobile is a new shock-resistant high capacity portable hard drive. Lightweight (206g) and easy to carry around, with compact measurements of just 134mm by 80.8mm by 18.8mm, the Transcend StoreJet 25 mobile can store up to 250GB of data. It uses a high-speed USB 2.0 interface, which provides data transfer rates up to 480Mb per second. The StoreJet 25 mobile meets U.S.military drop-test standards with advanced two-stage anti-shock technology. The “OneTouch” Auto-Backup button and bundled StoreJet elite software offer intelligent backup scheduling, security, and file compression functions.

The Transcend 32GB JetFlash V60 is the company’s latest high-capacity USB flash drive. About the size of an AA battery, the JetFlash V60 is small and light enough to be taken anywhere, and is available in an assortment of bright, pearl-accented colors. The JetFlash elite software suite can be installed to run directly from the JetFlash drive when you plug it in, and includes seven time-saving data management functions.

The Transcend 16GB JetFlash V85 is a new high-capacity USB flash drive. It measures just 49.5mm long by 15.8mm wide, and is thin enough (7.4mm) to slide into tight-fitting stacked USB ports. Each JetFlash V85 comes with a classy metal carrying chain and has a compact zinc-alloy body. Transcend’s JetFlash elite software package includes seven useful tools specifically developed to help you manage your mobile data more efficiently.

The famous Yashica camera brand has been reborn, with 8 new digital models on the way. Production of Yashica cameras stopped in 2005 when parent company Kyocera withdrew from manufacturing both Yashica and Contax models. Now Hong-Kong based JNC Datum Tech. International Ltd have revived the Yashica name with a new range of 7 and 8 megapixel cameras in the USA. There are even 4 film cameras available for the analog purist. According to Amateur Photographer, 5 of the digital models will make it to the UK, price from £49 - £120.

Got $699 to spare? How about a 32Gb SDHC card from Panasonic?! Announced last month, this is a speedy Class 6 card offering maximum data transfer speeds up to 20MB/s. The new card incorporates an industrial-grade flash memory and works in temperatures ranging from -13°F to +185°F. The Panasonic 32GB SDHC card is scheduled for a global release in April 2008.

Samsung have provided us with some detailed information about their new 14 megapixel CMOS sensor, as used in the recently announced GX-20 DSLR camera (and the Pentax K20D). To recap, the 14.6 megapixel sensor inside the GX-20 has been developed in a joint-venture with Pentax, with Samsung responsible for the fabrication. Click the link below to view the detailed information.

A report by the Camera & Imaging Products Association (CIPA) states that over 100 million cameras were shipped in 2007. Sales of DSLRs were particularly strong, up 43% from 2006 to 12.51 million units. In stark contrast, the total shipment of film cameras for 2007 was approximately 0.79 million units. For the future, continued overall growth at a gradually declining sales growth rate is predicted for digital cameras. Sales of SLR cameras with interchangeable lens are forecasted to grow at a faster rate than sales of digital cameras with built-in lens.

Panasonic have this week demonstrated a new sensor technology that captures up to three times more dynamic range than a conventional sensor. According to the report by CNET News, Panasonic’s Tokayoshi Yamada has demoed a 177x144 pixel image sensor that takes three photos at different shutter speeds and combines them into a single image that can span a dynamic range of 140 decibels (“ordinary” sensors achieve 60 decibels).

“In his presentation, Yamada showed a resulting image taken of a regular incandescent light bulb. With conventional sensor technology, a few of the words printed on the bulb were visible, but most were washed out in a blown-out white patch near the bulb’s filament. In the Panasonic sensor’s image, not only were most of the words visible, but also the helical coil of the filament was.”

Website: CNET News - Panasonic sensor tackles key photo problem—dynamic range

WD My Passport Essential Portable USB Drives put almost a third of a terabyte of digital storage in the palm of your hand. Weighing in at less than 5 ounces, My Passport Essential Drives are light and compact to carry because they are bus powered. “The newly designed My Passport Essential drives are the perfect travel-friendly storage device to hold the rich media content generated by higher resolution photos and HD videos and music,” said Jim Welsh, vice president and general manager of WD’s branded products group. The WD Passport Essential USB Drive 320 GB is $199.99.

Geotate has announced the commercial availability of a radical geotagging solution for the digital camera market. Geotate’s new GPS solution, “Capture and Process”, captures raw GPS satellite signals in available memory, a low-cost and low-power method of handling GPS signals. Hans Streng, CEO of Geotate, said: “We expect in the region of four million cameras in the next 18 months to two years to come with embedded geotagging functionality.” Geotate’s “Capture and Process” GPS technology will become commercially available in two modules in the first quarter of 2008.

SmartParts has introduced the SP8PRT, the world’s first digital picture frame with a built-in photo printer. The new SmartParts SP8PRT can print any digital picture stored on the frame with the touch of a button. “...consumers can instantly create a 4x6-inch color print to share with friends or family all without having to boot up their PC, locate the photo, and use a large, cumbersome printer.” said Stefan Guelpen, president and co-founder of Smartparts. Incorporated into the body of the frame, the printer is concealed behind the SP8PRT’s LCD screen. The eight inch Smartparts SP8PRT will retail for $279.

Hasselblad are giving away a special bundle of extras and up to £1930 plus VAT off the price of the H3DII camera. Buy the H3DII before March 31st, 2008 and you get for a free case, choice of a Hasselblad HCD 28mm or HC 120mm lens, a 100 Gig ImageBank, and a one year’s subscription to Victor magazine. You need to register online to qualify for this special Hasselblad H3DII bundle and £1930 + VAT saving.

The Kodak KAC-05020 is the world’s first 1.4 micron, 5 megapixel CMOS image sensor designed for mobile phones. The KAC-05020 provides the highest resolution available in the popular ¼” optical format, and enables imagery up to ISO 3200 and support for full 720p video at 30 fps. Kodak are promising that the Kodak KAC-05020 sensor will produce image quality that surpasses current devices using larger, 1.75 micron pixel CMOS designs. “By completely rethinking the design of the CMOS pixel and leveraging our work with high sensitivity color filter patterns and algorithms, Kodak was able to develop this remarkable new sensor that will enable a level of imaging performance previously unavailable from CMOS devices.” said Chris McNiffe, General Manager of Kodak’s Image Sensor Solutions business.

Leica haven’t unveiled any new products at PMA, so we haven’t got a booth report for you. We are hearing exciting reports however that a full-frame Leica digital rangefinder camera will possibly be launched in 2008! According to a report by UK magazine Amateur Photographer, Leica’s chief executive officer, Steven Lee, hinted that a new Leica rangefinder based on a full-frame CCD sensor could appear at Photokina in September 2008. Click the link below to read all the details about the full-frame Leica digital rangefinder.

Website: Full-frame Leica Digital Rangefinder

SanDisk have unveiled 3 new memory cards at PMA, including the 32Gb Ultra II SDHC Card. Also announced was a 16Gb Ultra II card and an 8GB SDHC Plus card. The new cards offer faster read and write speeds of 15 megabytes per second. “These mega-capacities in our SanDisk Ultra II line give users the worry-free ability to capture thousands of their memories and hours of HiDef video on a single card, while the faster write speed can reduce the time between shots and the faster read speed reduces time spent waiting to copy those images to a computer” said Susan Park, senior product marketing manager for SanDisk Ultra II cards. The 32GB SanDisk Ultra II SDHC card with MicroMate USB 2.0 Reader has a manufacturer’s suggested retail price of $349.99. The 16GB card with reader has a suggested price of $179.99, and the 8GB SanDisk Ultra II SDHC Plus card has an MSRP of $99.99. The 16GB and 8GB cards are expected to be available worldwide in March, with the 32GB slated for shipping in April.

Leica has unveiled the M8 Upgrade Programme, a series of chargeable upgrades for the M8 camera, at PMA 2008. Available from March 2008, you can pay Leica to upgrade your M8 with either a further reduced shutter sound, a scratch-proof sapphire glass cover for the LCD monitor, the installation of latest firmware or a fresh two-year warranty. The first upgrades are due to be available from August 2008. From August the upgraded LEICA M8 is due to be available as a finished product option to compliment the current M8.

The new Kingston 16GB Class 4 SDHC card is the largest capacity in Kingston’s line of SDHC cards. “Our new 16GB Class 4 memory card answers the performance needs and expands Kingston’s product line to provide a memory solution for every application.” said Jaja Lin, Flash memory marketing manager, Kingston. The Kingston 16GB Class 4 SDHC card will cost $231.00.

The Sony GPS-CS1KASP GPS receiver is now able to trace video footage with GPS coordinates. Sony are bundling new versions of Picture Motion Browser software and Image Tracker software to add the extra functionality. The GPS-CS1KASP device can trace the GPS coordinates of your video footage to an online map, courtesy of Google. The Sony GPS-CS1KASP will be available next month for about $150.

Sony are introducing 3 new digital photo frames - the DPF-V900, DPF-V700 and DPF-D70 models. They all offer WVGA resolution (800 x 480 pixels) along with 15:9 aspect-ratio screens and can display images up to 48 megapixels in size. The 7-inch DPF-V700 and 9-inch DPF-V900 digital photo frames have 512MB of internal storage, while the 7—inch DPF-D70 model has 256MB of internal flash memory. The DPF-V900, PPF-V700 and DPF-V700 digital photo frames will be available for $250, $190 and $140, respectively. All three will ship in March.

Sony have thrown their hat into the full-frame ring by announcing the development of a 35mm, 24.81 megapixel, ultra-high speed, CMOS image sensor. Sony’s new CMOS sensor promises shooting speed of up to 6.3fps and low noise thanks to its Column-Parallel A/D Conversion technique. Sony are targeting mass production of this CMOS image sensor within 2008.