Matsushita Electric (Panasonic) Develops the Industry Smallest Pixel Sized Image Sensors for Mobile Phone Use

Tokyo, Japan, Feb 13, 2004 16:23 (JST) - (JCN Newswire) - Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd., best known for its Panasonic brand of consumer electronics and digital communication products, today announced the development of the next-generation image sensor “v(nu)MAICOVICON” which is the smallest in the industry suitable for mobile phone use to achieve both high picture quality and low power consumption. Compared to the conventional image sensors, the new product has advantages such as less power consumption than the CCD (Charge Coupled Device) image sensors, and higher quality image production compared to CMOS (Complementary Metal Oxide Semiconductor) image sensors. Mass production of the
v(nu)MAICOVICON sensors will start this month.

Newsline International Press Release 17/02/04

Eastman Kodak Co., Rochester, N.Y., USA; Sony Corp., Tokyo, Japan; and Canon Inc., Tokyo, Japan; were the companies leading digital-camera sales in the fourth quarter—a period that saw explosive sales growth and widespread acceptance of filmless photography by average shutterbugs, The Wall Street Journal reported.

Total U.S. shipments of digital still cameras soared to 7.5 million units in the period, an 85 percent gain from a year earlier, according to market researcher International Data Corp. of Framingham, Mass., USA.

For the year, market researcher NPD Group of Port Washington, N.Y., USA, estimated digital-camera sales grew 29 percent to $3.6 billion in the United States, excluding Wal-Mart Stores Inc., which doesn’t participate in the survey. Worldwide rankings for the year aren’t available.

Kodak, with strong sales of its EasyShare cameras, gained eight points of market share to become the No. 2 shipper of digital cameras in the United States in the quarter with 20 percent, trailing Japan’s Sony Corp. at 22 percent. Japan’s Canon gained four points of share and moved up to the No. 3 ranking, at 16 percent. Kodak and Canon moved past the previous No. 2, Olympus Corp., which slipped to No. 4 with a 10 percent share, said the article.

Imacon Press Release 16/02/04

Imacon enter market with Ixpress 528C digital camera back - 16 Feb 2004
 
The new back, capable of shooting raw uninterpolated images of up to 528Mb using Imacon’s unique micro-step 4*Res capture process, completes the company’s successful Ixpress digital camera back family, which has made Imacon one of the world leaders in high-end digital camera back manufacturers in terms of both technology and sales.

Says Christian Poulsen, founder and managing director, Imacon: “We have been immensely encouraged by market interest in, and sales of, our range of digital backs over the past two years. Even we at Imacon underestimated the depth to which the market would embrace our technology. The launch of the new Ixpress 528C is the next step in our concept of ‘Unlimited Photography.”

“With the introduction of our Ixpress 528C and its unique 4*Res module (patent pending) - a major technological advance for the industry - we are now providing the photographer with even greater flexibility, and once again proving Imacon is at the cutting edge of digital back technology.

“There have been questions posed as to whether there is an industry need for a 528 MB digital back. However, we believe in developing technology that suits not only today’s requirements, but those of the future. What we have developed with the 528C is a virtually future-proof digital back.”

HP UK Press Release 16/02/04

Make an impression with the new HP Photosmart R707

Sleek and modern ergonomic styling plus a host of advanced features set the HP Photosmart R707 digital camera apart from the crowd  

London, FEBRUARY 16TH 2004 - HP (NYSE: HPQ) today announces the HP Photosmart R707, the first of the brand new R-series range, which deliver a combination of sleek design and high-functioning technical innovations, offering outstanding digital photography to all users.

The HP Photosmart R707 digital camera, with an impressive 5.1 MP, is a compact model, introducing HP?s distinctive new styling. With its brushed stainless steel front, asymmetric body styling, signature curves and “wave-style” fingergrip, this model features a well designed modern look and a host of unique elements, contributing to a fully featured digital camera which makes digital photography even more easy and enjoyable.

Gateway Communications Press Release 16/02/04

New SnapChecker Target color reference is specially designed for performing color correction and control on digital imaging.

About 200 SnapChecker’s have been tested for various applications for over a year. Also limited test marketing has been done. “After very positive feedback from the field, we feel that the product is ready for the market” says Antti Taskinen of Gateway Communications.

The basic principle behind SnapChecker Target is the use of precise neutral grays with carefully selected colors that are close to “memory colors” for the human eye. SnapChecker colors have been selected to approximate skin color, reddish light brown and dark brown, as well as a green and blue that closely resemble natural grass and sky hues. By selecting colors more meaningful to human perception, the need for a complex and expensive target is eliminated, whilst at the same time allowing a very portable size.

Samsung Camera Press Release 12/02/04

THE DIGIMAX I-PACK RECHARGEABLE LITHIUM ION BATTERY - ANOTHER WORLD’S FIRST FROM SAMSUNG CAMERA

SECAUCUS, N.J., (February 12, 2004) - Samsung is proud to announce the world’s first rechargeable Lithium-Ion CR-series battery pack. Known as the Digimax Battery I-Pack, it can replace two conventional AA cells or a single CR-V3 battery in today’s digital cameras while providing the high voltage and low temperature performance they demand.  The I-Pack is compatible with numerous cameras yet is specifically designed as a power source for the Digimax series of digital cameras, including the V50, V5, 530, V40, V4, 430, 401, 370, V3, 250 and 202.

“No matter what kind of electronic devices consumers use today, the need for a reliable, long-lasting power source is universal,” said Ken Gerb, senior vice president of sales for Samsung Opto-Electronics America, Inc. “With the introduction of the new I-Pack rechargeable battery, we?ve delivered an ideal power solution for the majority of the cameras within the Digimax line.”

DIMA Press Release 13/02/04

Nine digital cameras were named winners in the 2004 DIMA Digital Camera Shoot-Out today at the PMA 2004 Convention and Trade Show in Las Vegas, Nev., USA.

Over 50 digital camera entries and 13 manufacturers participated in the 8th Annual DIMA Digital Camera Shoot-Out, which took place on Friday, Feb. 13, at the DIMA Annual Conference in Las Vegas, Nev. Participating camera manufacturers captured images in four live-model studios.

Images from the point-and-shoot cameras were printed on three different digital minilab systems including the Agfa D-Lab 2 Plus supplied by Agfa Corp., the Fuji Frontier 370 supplied by Fuji Photo Film U.S.A. Inc., and the Noritsu 3101 supplied by Noritsu America.

Images from the Prosumer/Professional category were output through a G4 Power Mac running Adobe PhotoShop CS and printed on an Epson Photo Stylus 9600 inkjet printer, supplied by Epson America Inc. Color management support for the DIMA Digital Camera Shoot-Out was provided by GretagMacbeth, using Sony Artisan displays donated by Sony Electronics.

GretagMacbeth Press Release 13/02/04

Two new ColorChecker targets from GretagMacbeth help digital photographers improve process to capture great color

Las Vegas, NV; February 12, 2004 - GretagMacbeth, the worldwide technological leader in color measurement and management solutions, today announced two new color targets - the GretagMacbeth ColorChecker White Balance card and ColorChecker three-step Grayscale card - designed to help digital photographers easily and efficiently achieve accurate, consistent color results by providing quick reference points to balance color and establish optimum lighting from the start of a photo session. The two new targets are aimed at professional and high end prosumer photographers as well as professionals in the video cinematography and graphics arts markets.

GretagMacbeth Press Release 13/02/04

GretagMacbeth announces new ProfileMaker 5 professional color management solutions at PMA 2004

Three new vertically focused ProfileMaker 5 packages designed for best price/performance, targeting specific color management workflows for studio photography, prepress-publishing and multicolor packaging-textile printing markets

Las Vegas, NV; February 12, 2004 - In booth R114 here at PMA 2004, GretagMacbeth, the worldwide technological leader in color measurement and management solutions, is introducing ProfileMaker 5, the latest generation of its comprehensive, high-end color management solution for professionals in color critical environments.

New ProfileMaker 5 software is now packaged in three, vertically focused solutions - PM5 Photostudio Pro, PM5 Publish Pro and PM5 Packaging Pro - that provide optimal price/performance levels for professional studio photography, prepress-publishing and multicolor packaging-textile printing. Each solution is tailor designed to provide only the functionality for each specific workflow maintaining ease of use, while also providing the capability to expand the package as the needs of the users grow.

Leica Press Release 12/10/04

The Leica Camera Group is working on digital solutions for Leica M and Leica R systems

Convertible bonds will provide the financial framework for the innovation strategy

The Leica Camera Group of Solms, Germany, plans to use the proceeds of the sale of convertible bonds to create the financial basis for its innovation and distribution strategy. The emphasis of the development work that is already in progress is on hybrid concepts that combine digital technology with proven analog products.

“Well over one million high-grade Leica lenses for the Leica R- and Leica M systems await a solution for being used optimally in conjunction with digital technology.

Our approach to digital cameras for existing lenses conforms to our philosophy of decades-long system compatibility and to our belief that the optics are the decisive elements for outstanding photographs - not the analog or digital path to those photographs”, states chief of technology Ralf Coenen.

Lexar Media Press Release 12/02/04

Lexar Media Announces World’s Highest Capacity Memory Card with 8GB CompactFlash

Lexar Doubles the Highest Capacity of CompactFlash, Allowing Professional Photographers to Shoot and Store Over 1,000 High-Resolution RAW Image Files on One Memory Card

Las Vegas, February 12, 2004 (PMA Booth H100)—Lexar Media, Inc. (Nasdaq: LEXR), a leading manufacturer and marketer of high-performance digital media and accessories, today announced its 8GB Professional Series CompactFlash? card, the highest capacity memory card available in the world today. In addition to delivering extraordinary capacity in a matchbook-sized memory card, Lexar?s new 8GB CompactFlash card delivers a 40X speed-rating, signifying a minimum sustained write speed capability of 6MB/s. By maintaining a close alignment with manufacturers who offer high-end digital cameras that create high-resolution files - which can be over 8MB each, Lexar?s new 8GB memory card meets the needs of professional photographers who require capacity, speed and reliability - in an easy-to-handle removable media format.

Lexar Media Press Release 12/02/04

Lexar Media Announces 80X Professional CompactFlash Cards with 12MB/s Minimum Sustained Write Speed

Professional Memory Cards Include New Write Acceleration with Optimized Firmware for Increased In-Camera Performance

Las Vegas, February 12, 2004 (PMA Booth H100)—Lexar Media, Inc. (Nasdaq: LEXR), a leading manufacturer and marketer of high-performance digital media and accessories, today doubled the minimum sustained write speed capability of its Professional Series CompactFlash (CF) product line to 80X, or 12MB per second. With this introduction, Lexar Media is providing the fastest CompactFlash with guaranteed write speeds available, serving the needs of professional photographers and all digital camera users requiring faster image write times. Lexar is offering its 80X Professional Series CompactFlash cards in five different capacities, including 256MB, 512MB, 1GB, 2GB and 4GB. Lexar Media today also announced a 8GB 40X Professional Series CompactFlash card, extending the company?s CF line with the highest capacity CompactFlash card on the market.

Lexar Media Press Release 12/02/04

Lexar Media Announces its 1 Gigabyte Secure Digital Memory Cards

Las Vegas, February 12, 2004 (PMA, Booth H100)—Lexar Media, Inc. (Nasdaq: LEXR), a leading manufacturer and marketer of high-performance digital media and accessories, today announced that it has doubled its highest capacity Secure Digital (SD) memory card to 1 gigabyte. Lexar?s new larger capacity Secure Digital card allows users of SD compatible devices to capture more digital pictures, store more digital video, and listen to MP3s for longer periods of time. In a form factor roughly the size of a postage stamp, Secure Digital memory cards will now be available from Lexar Media in capacities from 32MB to 1GB.

1GB of memory capacity is equivalent to storing over 500 high-resolution JPEG images (with a 4 megapixel digital camera), 16 CDs worth of music, or close to 6 hours of MPEG 4 digital video ? on one compact, interchangeable memory card.

Lexar Media Press Release 12/02/04

Lexar Media Introduces High Speed 60X Secure Digital Memory Cards for Reliable and Continuous Capture of Digital Video

Las Vegas, February 12, 2004 (PMA Booth H100)—Lexar Media, Inc. (Nasdaq:LEXR), a leading manufacturer and marketer of high-performance digital media and accessories, today introduced Secure Digital (SD) memory cards speed-rated at 60X, which signifies a minimum sustained write speed capability of 9MB per second. Lexar?s high-speed Secure Digital memory cards are ideal for digital imaging applications requiring sustained high speed, such as shooting digital photographs in high resolution burst mode and shooting digital video.

Secure Digital cards are popular in digital photography and digital video applications, which require extremely fast and reliable memory card performance. If the memory card in a digital camcorder or digital still camera with video capture mode is too slow, the device will slow down or stop recording to wait for the information to clear the camera buffer before continuing to capture video. The 60X speed of Lexar Media?s new Secure Digital cards provides fast sustained write speeds to enable uninterrupted shooting - even when capturing digital video in full-motion JPEG or MPEG 4 formats.

Lexar Media Press Release 12/02/04

Lexar Media Announces Enhanced Memory Stick Media with Read Speeds Up to Four Times Faster

Faster Read Speed Equates to Faster Downloading and Access to Data

Las Vegas, February 12, 2004 (PMA Booth H100)—Lexar Media, Inc. (Nasdaq: LEXR), a leading manufacturer and marketer of high-performance digital media and accessories, today announced a new line of updated Memory Stick products that will have significantly increased read speeds. Available this spring in capacities of 64MB, 128MB and 256MB (total 128MBx2), the enhanced Memory Stick delivers data read speeds that are up to four times faster than current cards, when used with compatible (4-pin parallel), high-speed Memory Stick-enabled devices. The new Memory Stick cards are also compatible with serial interface Memory Stick-enabled products.

“Lexar is pleased to provide this advancement in Memory Stick technology,” said Dave Klenske, Director of Product Marketing, Lexar Media. “These new cards will improve consumer experience because with faster read speeds, users will have shorter download times and faster access to information stored on the card.”

Lexar Media Press Release 12/02/04

Lexar Media Introduces High-Speed 32-bit CardBus CompactFlash Reader For Macintosh and Windows Operating Systems

32-bit CardBus Reader Offers Mobile Photographers the Ability to Quickly and Conveniently Transfer Digital Images

Las Vegas, February 12, 2004 (PMA Booth H100)—Lexar Media, Inc. (Nasdaq: LEXR), a leading marketer and manufacturer of high-performance digital media and accessories, today introduced a 32-bit CompactFlash? (CF) CardBus reader, designed to enable the quick and convenient transfer of digital images to notebook computers. Lexar Media?s new 32-bit CardBus CompactFlash reader boasts high speed data transfer rates similar to FireWire and USB 2.0 readers, and 4 to 6 times faster than 16-bit PCMCIA card adaptors, which are commonly used with laptop computers. Lexar?s 32-bit CardBus reader offers support for both Windows and Macintosh operating systems, extending the portable, high-speed solution to Macintosh users for the first time.

Microsoft Brings Digital Imaging Software Into Focus at PMA 2004

Leading Vendors, Award-Winning Photographers and Acclaimed Experts Demonstrate Imaging Scenarios and Industry Opportunities Using Windows XP

LAS VEGAS - Feb. 12, 2004 - Signaling its commitment to the digital imaging industry, Microsoft Corp. today will make its first appearance at PMA 2004, the annual convention and trade show of the Photo Marketing Association International, being held in Las Vegas Feb. 12-15. At the show, Microsoft is demonstrating its breadth of digital imaging products and technologies for hardware and software developers, retailers, professional photographers and consumers.

At booth P111, Microsoft is showcasing the Windows XP operating system as a key platform for digital imaging and high-quality digital media creation and playback via a series of demonstrations using products from leading imaging software, hardware and service vendors including Adobe Systems Inc., Canon USA Inc., EPSON America Inc., Fuji Photo Film U.S.A. Inc., HP, Eastman Kodak Co., Nikon USA and Sony Electronics e-Solutions Company LLC.

“We’re excited to showcase how Windows XP supports new digital photography scenarios for consumers and professionals, and enables the industry to further capitalize on the PC as an important component of the digital imaging value chain,” said Amir Majidimehr, vice president for the Windows Digital Media Division at Microsoft. “Our goal is to work cooperatively with industry participants to make it easier for everyone to get the most out of digital photography.”

PNY Technologies Press Release 12/02/04

PNY Introduces Optima Secure Digital and Higher Performing Optima CompactFlash Cards; High-Speed Removable Storage Cards for Portable Digital Devices Capture Information Faster

LAS VEGAS—(Business Wire)—Feb. 12, 2004 Professional photographers and photo enthusiasts alike can capture and transfer images faster with PNY Technologies’ high-speed, Optima(TM) Secure Digital(TM) (SD) and Optima CompactFlash(TM) (CF) cards. Announced today at PMA, PNY’s new Optima SD and CF cards store digital information at blazing, sustained write speeds of up to 5 (33X) and 6 (40X) megabytes per second (MBps), respectively.

American Recorder Press Release 12/02/04

AMERICAN RECORDER TECHNOLOGIES, INC. NOW OFFERS SIX DIGITAL SENSOR CLEANING KITS

Las Vegas, NV - February 12, 2004; American Recorder Technologies, Inc., has added a full line of kits for cleaning digital camera CCDs.  The new products consist of six models, all include a bottle of genuine ECLIPSE Optical Cleaning Fluid with SENSOR SWABS with three deluxe kits built around the popular CO2 Dust & Particle Remover.

The CO2 Dust & Particle Remover uses carbon dioxide gas instead of dangerous chemicals commonly found in aerosol sprays.  Carbon dioxide is a non-flammable, non-toxic, residue free gas well suited for blowing away dirt, dust and other contaminants from sensors, lenses and electronics. In addition, carbon dioxide is a safe, natural, environmentally and health friendly gas. ECLIPSE Cleaning Fluid is the highest purity sensor cleaner available.  It contains no silicones and dries instantly, leaving no residue.  The SENSOR SWABS are designed for cleaning CCD chips and other delicate or hard to reach optical and imaging surfaces. They are available in 3 different sizes for application with virtually all brands of digital cameras.  Currently recommended by Eastman Kodak DCS and Fuji S1/S2 cameras, these swabs are clean room
manufactured and sealed and offer the ultimate in purity.

Olympus Enhances Digital Cameras with New ‘TruePic TURBO’ Image Processor

MELVILLE, N.Y.—(Business Wire)—Feb. 12, 2004 Superior Imaging Quality and Faster Processing Speed Instantly Deliver Remarkable Images

Olympus today announced that its latest digital camera models - the C-8080 Wide Zoom, C-770 Ultra Zoom, C-765 Ultra Zoom, Stylus 410 Digital, D-580 Zoom and D-540 Zoom - now incorporate TruePic TURBO(TM), an innovative new image processor that significantly improves image quality and delivers faster overall processing speeds for rapid startup, shutter release and playback.

“Digital camera image quality and performance are directly affected by three main components: the camera lens, the image sensor, and the image processor,” said Richard Campbell, product marketing director for digital, Olympus America Inc. “Of these components the image processor plays a pivotal role as the ‘brains’ of the digital camera. Olympus cameras with TruePic TURBO produce clearer and more color-accurate photos and have noticeably faster startup and shot-to-shot recycle times.”

The major benefits of the Olympus TruePic TURBO(TM) Image Processor are enhanced image quality and processing speed. The name TruePic TURBO itself communicates these attributes - the “true-to-life” high image quality that produces sharp, clear, and realistic images, and the high-speed “turbo” response that enables users to capture images of fast-paced action.