Agfa Press Release 19/03/04

Cologne/Hannover, March 2004 (Hall 1, Stand 4C)

Well Positioned for Photos from all Media

“Digital” prints are growing twice as fast as digital cameras

Digital photography is booming. The sales of digital cameras in Germany, around 4.8 million units in 2003, have doubled in one year. And there is no doubt that the success story of digital photography will continue. Camera-phones will bring a new impetus to the market: an estimated 30% of mobile phones in Germany are equipped with a camera, while the figure for Japan has already reached 90%.

Agfa-Gevaert, the leading European photographic company, is confident of its strong position in the world of digital imaging - even though Agfa sells neither digital cameras nor camera-phones.

The reason why? Agfa is a leading supplier of professional systems for printing images onto photographic paper. And the number of digital images captured on photographic paper is currently growing more than twice as fast as the sales of the digital cameras themselves.

Konica Minolta Press Release 19/03/04

Konica Minolta to Cut Back on Digital-Camera Business Despite Growth

[Kyodo News International, Tokyo. Distributed by Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News.]

Kyodo News International via NewsEdge Corporation : Mar. 18—TOKYO—Konica Minolta Holdings Inc. said Thursday it will cut back on its digital camera business despite continuing growth of the market in order to avoid the adverse effects of intensifying competition.

“While digital cameras are in a period of growth, price reduction and competition are accelerating,” Konica Minolta President Fumio Iwai said when he released his company’s medium-term business plan at a press conference.

Demand for digital cameras is expected to “peak next year,” Iwai added.

Konica Minolta has captured 8 percent to 9 percent of the global market for digital cameras.

The company’s market share will become “very small in single-digit figures” due to unexpectedly tough competition, Iwai said.

According to the business plan, Konica Minolta expects sales of 120 billion yen in the camera business in fiscal 2006, down about 18 percent from 146.2 billion yen projected for fiscal 2003 to March 31.

Digital camera shipments are forecast to level off in fiscal 2004 from the 3.1 million units forecast for fiscal 2003.

Samsung Electro-Mechanics (SEMCO) selects Varioptic’s electrowetting technology for its camera module products

World Premiere at CeBIT (March 18-24, 2004)

SEMCO to unveil electrowetting lens demonstration of fully running hard-coded auto-focus camera module

Hannover, Germany; 18 March 2004
Samsung Electro-Mechanics Co (SEMCO - www.sem.samsung.com), a major global player in electronic components industry, and Varioptic (www.varioptic.com) a pioneer in electrowetting technology, have signed a collaborative agreement for the joint development of the advanced liquid lenses based on Varioptic?s patented technology, which is being applied to SEMCO’s auto-focused camera module.

A fully implemented auto-focus camera module demonstration with liquid lenses and electrowetting driver IC will be shown at Cebit on SEMCO?s booth (Hall #13, booth #B24)

Varioptic?s technology is the result of a 10 years research at Universit? Joseph Fourier and at Ecole Normale Sup?rieure de Lyon. The founder and inventor of the technology is Bruno Berge, former research scientist at CNRS (National Center for Scientific Research) and then professor at Ecole Normale Sup?rieure de Lyon.

Varioptic Press Release 17/03/04

Lyon, 17th March 2004

Varioptic (www.varioptic.com) today announced its intentions to actively enforce the patents it holds on the use of electrowetting technology to create variable focus lenses. This decision follows the announcement on March 3 2004 by Philips Electronics that it planned to demonstrate fluid lens based on electrowetting technology that can be manufactured in high volumes.

On March 9 2004, Varioptic officially informed Philips about its patents and asked Philips on what basis it considers itself eligible to create any product incorporating this fluid-lens technology. Varioptic’s lawyers are convinced that the technology incorporated in the Philips’ demonstration product is covered by the scope of protection of Varioptic’s patents and that any of Philips’ products incorporating such technology will infringe Varioptic’s patents.
With patents for the electrowetting technology deposited in Europe, US and Asia in 1997 and 1999, Varioptic has been the pioneer and innovator of electrowetting technology and its founder Bruno Berge is the established world authority in this area of scientific research. Varioptic has already entered into an early production stage for fluid-focus lenses and agreed on commercial relationships with component manufacturers.

SanDisk Corporation Press Release 18/03/04

Baltic, Balkan Countries Are Moving to Digital Cameras and Multimedia Cell Phones

HANNOVER, GERMANY, March 18, 2004 - SanDisk Corporation (NASDAQ:SNDK) today announced that it has started selling flash memory cards and related products in eight Baltic and Balkan nations. These countries represent nearly 35 million people and range from highly-developed to newly-emerging digital electronics markets. The announcement was made at CeBIT 2004 trade show where SanDisk is demonstrating products in Hall 1, Stand 3D 2 and Stand 2A14.

SanDisk products are now available, or will be in early Q-2, in Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania, which border the Baltic Sea, and in the Balkan Peninsula countries of Bulgaria, Slovenia and the joint republic of Serbia/Montenegro. Throughout the region there is growing demand for digital cameras and an expected demand for the new generation of multi-functional cellular phones that will have slots for removable flash memory cards, according to SanDisk?s new distributors.

SanDisk Corporation Press Release 18/03/04

SANDISK STARTS WORLDWIDE RETAIL SALES OF miniSD; COMPANY CITES GROWING DEMAND FOR MOBILE PHONES

First To Market With miniSD, SanDisk Offers Broadest Range of Capacities

HANNOVER, Germany, March 18, 2004 - SanDisk Corporation (NASDAQ:SNDK), the world’s largest supplier of flash memory storage card products, announced today that it has expanded the availability of its miniSDO flash memory cards by offering them through its retail channels worldwide. SanDisk offers the industry?s broadest range of capacities for miniSD cards with capacities that range from 64 megabytes (MB) to 256MB. miniSD cards are used to store digital images, video, MP3 files and other data in multimedia mobile phones. The announcement was made at the CeBIT tradeshow where SanDisk is demonstrating products.

SanDisk Corporation Press Release 18/03/04

Tiny, Versatile Flash Memory Card is Used in Mobile Phones

HANNOVER, GERMANY, March 18, 2004 - SanDisk Corporation (NASDAQ:SNDK) today introduced a Reduced-Size MultiMediaCard (RS-MMC) aimed at meeting the needs of some of the new multimedia cell phones that require a smaller card. The announcement was made at the CeBIT 2004 trade show where SanDisk is demonstrating products in Hall 1, Stand 2A14 and Stand 3D 2.

As one of the world?s smallest flash memory form factors, this solid-state card is about half the size of a postage stamp (and of a standard MultiMediaCard), measures 24x18x1.4 mm, and is removable. With a mechanical extender, it can be used in any full-sized MultiMediaCard slot as well as SD host devices that support the MultiMediaCard.

Lexar Media, Inc. 17/03/04

Lexar Media’s JumpDrive 2.0 Pro 80X Sets New Precedent for Professional-Level USB Flash Drive Performance

Hannover, Germany, March 14, 2004 (CEBIT Hall 20, Stand D28)—Lexar Media, Inc. (Nasdaq: LEXR), a leading manufacturer and marketer of high-performance digital media and accessories, oday introduced JumpDrive? 2.0 Pro 80X, the most recent addition to the company’s market-leading line of USB flash drives. Featuring a minimum sustained read and write speed capability equal to that of twelve megabytes per second, JumpDrive 2.0 Pro 80X is designed for professionals who need to move stored information from one location to another, instantly. Shipping in April in capacities of 256MB, 512MB and 1GB, JumpDrive 2.0 Pro 80X further satisfies the speed and capacity demands of professional users.

Lexar Media, Inc. 17/03/04

Addresses the Professional Photographer’s Need for High-Speed Data Transfer and Large Storage Capacity in a Compact, Durable Design; Value-Added Package Includes Image Rescue 2.0, Lexar Media’s Award-Winning Image Recovery Software

HANNOVER, GERMANY, March 17, 2004 (CEBIT Hall 20, Stand D28) Lexar Media, Inc. (Nasdaq: LEXR), a leading marketer and manufacturer of high-performance digital media and accessories, today introduced JumpDrive? Photo, a 40X speed-rated, large capacity USB 2.0 flash drive designed to satisfy the needs of photographers who require professional-level performance, in a rugged industrial design. JumpDrive Photo is an ideal storage solution for professionals who share their digital images, presentations and other important information in the office and on the road, as the unit allows for an immediate transfer of data to PCs and Macs without requiring drivers or any other software support. In addition, all capacities of JumpDrive Photo ship with Image Rescue 2.0, Lexar Media’s award-winning software that allows for the immediate recovery of seemingly “lost” or deleted images from memory cards and JumpDrive Photo. Like JumpDrive Photo, Image Rescue 2.0 is a ‘must-have’ tool for professional photographers worldwide.

Lexar Media, Inc. 17/03/04

Popular JumpDrive Now Includes Support for Microsoft Outlook

HANNOVER, GERMANY, March 17, 2004 (CEBIT Hall 20, Stand D28)—Lexar Media, Inc. (Nasdaq: LEXR), a leading manufacturer and marketer of high-performance digital media and accessories, today introduced JumpDrive? Traveler 2.0, a software enhancement for its popular JumpDrive Traveler USB flash drive that allows people to take their email and personal web settings with them when they move from one Internet connected PC to another. JumpDrive Traveler 2.0 offers expanded product capabilities including support for Microsoft Outlook. For customers purchasing the original JumpDrive Traveler, a software upgrade will be available for download from Lexar?s web site free of charge in April.

Rob Galbraith has a very interesting article that looks at the day in a life of Sport’s Illustrated magazine, focusing on its digital workflow at the recent US Superbowl.

“But Fine, who is Sports Illustrated’s Director of Photography, has a monstrous job in front of him, and there’s no such thing as too much computer. He’s chewing through SI’s take from Super Bowl XXXVIII, 16,183 digital pictures shot in Houston’s Reliant Stadium by eleven of the magazine’s staff photographers over the course of about six hours. It’s 11:00pm, an hour-and-a-half after the game has ended, and Fine is stashed in SI’s media trailer outside the stadium with six other SI employees. The photographers, their work done, left half an hour before.”

Website: Rob Galbraith - Sports Illustrated’s digital workflow

Steves Digicams have reviewed the X’S-Drive Pro VP300, which is a portable image storage device, 9-in-1 flash memory card reader/writer, MP3 player and USB 2.0 hard drive device.

“The VP-300 can use most any (9.5mm height) 2.5-inch IDE laptop hard disk drive. I upgraded a laptop a while back and had a 20GB IBM Travelstar hard drive sitting around doing nothing, it’s now in my VP-300. Laptop hard drives are plentiful and cheap these days, just pick the capacity you want and install it in the VP-300.”

Website: Steves Digicams - X’S-Drive Pro VP300 Review

Dirck Halstead over on The Digital Journalist website has taken a look back at this year’s PMA show in Las Vegas and assessed what it means for photography.

“Digital Photography is no longer special. It now is photography.

This year’s convention of the Photographic Marketing Association in Las Vegas, the annual industry rollout of new products firmly established that digital has now crossed over to become the dominant factor. For all effects and purposes, film is dead. “

Website: The Digital Journalist - The Cameras of PMA

Wired.com have an interesting story about the hacking of Creative Technology’s MuVo2 MP3 player. Apparently the MuVo2 contains a 4Gb Hitachi MicroDrive, which normally retails for around $500. The MuVo2 only costs $200 (how much markup are Hitachi making on the stand-alone drive?!) so photographers have been buying the MuVo2 and removing the MicroDrive to use in their digital cameras. Not surprisingly the MuVo2 is said to be in short supply at the moment…

“The Hitachi microdrive is the same size as a standard CompactFlash, or CF, card, a popular storage medium for digital cameras. In fact, the drive is designed to be interchangeable with CF cards. The drive can simply be inserted into the camera and formatted to store pictures. The drive can also be read with most CF card readers.”

If you’re interested in this hack then andymack.com has a step-by-step guide…

Thanks to Stephen Anstey for sending me the links :-)

UPDATED 08/03/04: Photo.net have also added a step-by-step guide to dismantling the MuVo 2.

Website: Wired.com - “Cannibals Descend on MP3 Players”

Website: andymack.com

Website: Photo.net

Microsoft are reportedly testing a prototype imaging device that automatically records a constant stream of images, up to 2,000 for 12 hours a day. Dubbed Sensecam, the new technology is being demonstrated at the annual TechFest, hosted by Microsoft Research (found via Engadget.

“The prototype responds to changes such as bright lights and sudden movements and might one day even respond to other stimuli such as heart rate or skin temperature - to track medical problems as easily as to record a Hawaiian vacation.”

Website: The Miami Herald - “Microsoft Gadget Keeps Record of Your Life”

Philips Press Release 03/03/04

At this year’s CeBIT Exhibition in Hannover Germany, Philips Research is demonstrating a unique variable-focus lens system that has no mechanical moving parts. Suited to a wide range of optical imaging applications, including such things as digital cameras, camera phones, endoscopes, home security systems and optical storage drives, Philips’ FluidFocus system mimics the action of the human eye using a fluid lens that alters its focal length by changing its shape. The new lens, which lends itself to high volume manufacturing, overcomes the fixed-focus disadvantages of many of today’s low-cost imaging systems.

The Philips FluidFocus lens consists of two immiscible (non-mixing) fluids of different refractive index (optical properties), one an electrically conducting aqueous solution and the other an electrically non-conducting oil, contained in a short tube with transparent end caps. The internal surfaces of the tube wall and one of its end caps are coated with a hydrophobic (water-repellent) coating that causes the aqueous solution to form itself into a hemispherical mass at the opposite end of the tube, where it acts as a spherically curved lens.

ZiO Corporation Press Release 03/03/04

ZiO Corporation today announced the full release of its ‘Hi Speed ZiO’ family of products across the UK, selling through Dixons, PC World and Currys.

ZiO Corporations new range of media card readers, the ‘Hi speed ZiO’ family offer digital camera users, new and old, the next generation of reader form and function, using USB2.0 technology. Dazzle?s original USB reader ?ZiO!? set the standard for simple plug and play portability.

ZiO Corporation, the company behind Hi Speed ZiO?s development was born through a management buy-out of the Dazzle* Digital Media arm of electronics giant SCM Microsystems. The familiar Dazzle* logo remains across the product range, but the company shows a new and exciting willingness to let some of today?s best industrial designers take a free hand in pulling together product look and feel that shows small really is beautiful.

Alera Technologies Press Release 01/03/04

New Alera Technologies’ Digital Photo Copy Cruiser with Features Most Demanded by Photographers - 8-in-1 Digital Photo to CD Copier Copies Memory

March 1, 2004, PrimeZone via NewsEdge Corporation : CHATSWORTH, Calif., March 1, 2004 (PRIMEZONE)—Alera Technologies, developer and manufacturer of Advanced DVD and CD Recording Solutions is excited to announce a major enhancement to the Digital Photo Copy Cruiser(tm) that copies digital photos directly to CD from camera memory cards of any capacity, without a computer, with no increase in price. The break through Digital Photo Copy Cruiser supports Disc Spanning allowing you to copy seamlessly photo files from one disc to the next, and so on, copying photo memory cards of any capacity. Now photographers can copy the 1GB memory cards and beyond making the Digital Photo Copy Cruiser truly the Prosumers’ Choice. Other Memory Card to CD Copiers are limited by the storage capacity of one 700MB CD.

The Danish website Akamera.dk have reviewed the X-S Drive II from Vosonic, a neat and inexpensive portable backup device for your digital images. I own the original version, which isn’t all that different to this new model, and have been using it without any problems for the last 9 months or so.

Website: Akamera.dk - X-Drive II Review

Pro Photographer Conversion to Digital Photography Creates New Opportunities, According to New InfoTrends Report

NORWELL, Mass Feb. 26, 2004—InfoTrends Research Group’s latest study of pro photographers shows that 79% of professional photographers are already using a digital camera. Of those that do not yet use a digital camera, nearly half plan to purchase a digital camera in 2004.

Complete immersion in digital photography occurs over time for pro photographers, because going digital requires a substantial investment in digital imaging equipment. While many pro photographers are using digital cameras, many are still in an early stage of a transition to digital photography.

“Our survey results show that most pro photographers have started using digital cameras, and that the longer they use digital, the more they integrate digital photography into their businesses/studios,” says Michelle Slaughter, Director of Digital Photography Trends at InfoTrends Research Group. “We see a significant amount of business opportunity in this segment of the market, not only for manufacturers of digital cameras, but also for those that offer printing solutions, storage solutions, and services for marketing photos via the Internet and managing photo assets. We expect 2004 to be a strong year for sales of professional digital photographic equipment.”

InfoTrends’ new survey report entitled 2004 Professional Photographer Survey is available immediately. It is based on a survey of 1,000 professional photographers in the United States. This 25-page study is accompanied by 73 pages of data tabulations. The report provides a detailed look at pro photographers’ usage of digital cameras, their equipment purchasing decisions, and their use of digital printing, photo archiving, image software tools, and more. Non-user preferences are also examined.