With the PMA photography trade show just around the corner and aggressive Christmas competition driving down prices, it’s surprising what kind of camera you can buy for less than £150 / $300. Take the Nikon Coolpix P50 for example - 8 megapixels, 28-102mm wide-angle lens, vibration reduction, ISO 2000 and face detection is an impressive feature set for this price-point. We reviewed the Nikon P50’s more expensive brother, the P5100, a couple of months ago, and while it promised a lot on paper, it failed to really wow us. Can the Coolpix P50 avoid a similar fate? Gavin Stoker found out.

Website: Nikon Coolpix P50 Review

Bibble Pro 4.9.9 adds support for the Nikon D300, Nikon D3, Canon 1Ds Mark 3, Canon G9, Olympus E-3 and Sony A700 cameras. This release also adds tethered shooting support for all Nikon SLR’s on Intel Macs. Bibble 4 is available in both “Pro” ($129.95) and “Lite” ($69.95) versions for Windows, Macintosh (PPC/Intel as a Universal Binary) and Linux.  The Bibble 4.9.9 update is free for all current Bibble 4 customers, and new customers will also receive a free upgrade to Bibble 5, when available.

Wang Feng from China has beaten over 74,000 entrants to win the Sony Ericsson World View 2007 cameraphone photo contest. Commenting on Wang’s image, judge David Viggers said: ‘It’s a very high quality, sharp and well framed image, which blends a sense of humour with technical ability. It’s a simple, spontaneous moment captured on a camera phone to produce a visually striking, unusual image.” Merran Wrigley, Head of External Relations at Sony Ericsson, said: “Camera phone photography is being taken more and more seriously as the quality of images improve to that comparable with stand alone digital cameras. People are now using their camera phone to capture spontaneous moments that occur when they probably wouldn’t have their traditional camera.” Wang Feng has won a once in a life time photography trip for two.

The RIDATA Yego Drive is now available in 8GB capacity. This hub drive allows users to securely store data and add on more USB powered devices. Harvey Liu, Advanced Media president explains “It allows easy connection of additional USB devices. Users now have access to a virtually endless stream of data, photos, or music without running out of USB ports or continually changing devices. Additionally, units may be linked together for even greater USB connectivity and storage capacity.” The RIDATA USB Yego Drives are now available in 1GB to 4GB capacities and “are competitively street priced”.

The winners of Tamron’s “An Emotional Appeal” 2007 photo competition have been announced. “Mixed Emotions” by Lance Taylor was chosen as the Grand Prize Picture and wins a Tamron AF 18-250mm lens for a picture of his wife Jacqueline and 3-year old daughter Jillian at a beach near Corolla, North Carolina. Tamron has also just announced the “An Emotional Appeal” 2008 Photo Contest - the deadline for entries is 11/30/08.

Panasonic have released a new firmware update for the DMC-L10 DSLR camera. Version 1.1 adds the following improvements:

  1. Improved the performance of AF(Auto Focus) with Panasonic lenses. (Model Number L-ES014050,L-RS014150).
  2. Improved the performance of AE (An accuracy improvement of Auto Exposure at night scene).
  3. Improved the performance of AWB(Auto White Balance).
  4. Shortened the minimum shooting intervals on the single shooting mode.
  5. Enabled the Front/Rear dial operations in the fine white balance adjustment and the change of magnifying position on the MF Assist in Live View mode.

Website: Panasonic DMC-L10 v1.1 Firmware Update

Canon will announce new imaging products on January 24th 2008, a week before the PMA trade show starts in Las Vegas, USA. An interview with Robert Westin of Canon Sweden on the Swedish website Kamerabild.se reveals that 2008 is set to be an even bigger year for Canon than 2007, with more products being released. Westin doesn’t give any details away about what exactly will be released - recent internet rumours have suggested replacements for the Digital Rebel XTi / EOS 400D and the EOS 5D (pictured) DSLR cameras.

Website: Kamerabild.se

CameraLabs have reviewed the Olympus Stylus 790 SW, a new shockproof, waterproof digital camera.

“The Olympus 790 SW lets you confidently take photos in situations where you’d worry about other cameras, or simply be unable to take them at all. Raining? No problem. Splashes from a canoe or kayak? Fine. Dropped in the snow while skiing or boarding? No sweat. Complete submersion underwater? Why not? This makes it the ultimate type of camera for anyone who works or plays in adventurous environments, but it’s equally ideal for kids – or indeed anyone – who might knock a camera around.”

Website: CameraLabs - Olympus Stylus 790 SW Review

CNET have reviewed the Samsung L830, a new 8 megapixel entry-level digital camera with 3x optical zoom, 2.5” LCD display, Face Recognition and compact aluminium body.

“The L830’s pictures generally look good enough for e-mailing and Web sites, but you should be careful when making prints; pictures shot at ISO 200 or below might look okay at sizes up to 8x10 inches, though ISO 400 or higher shots shouldn’t be blown up beyond 4x6 inches. Besides noise and softened details, the L830 suffers from significant barrel distortion when shooting at the wide end of the lens.”

Website: CNET - Samsung L830 Review

DIWA member Photoxels have reviewed the Olympus Stylus 830, a weatherproof digital camera offers a 5x optical zoom lens (36-180mm) and 8 megapixel resolution.

“What differentiates the Stylus 830 from other 8MP P&S digital cameras is that it is weatherproof, which means it can keep taking pictures even when it starts to rain or in conditions the camera can get wet or dusty. It can therefore be used at the beach, boating on the lake or ocean, hiking, skiing, or just traveling—without worrying about rain, sand or dust! Though splashproof, it is, however, not waterproof and cannot be soaked under water, like the Stylus 790 SW can.”

Website: Photoxels - Olympus Stylus 830 Review

The lucky winner of our fantastic Christmas Newsletter contest has been randomly selected from the PhotographyBLOG Newsletter subscriber list.

Fergus Wernham wins a 12 megapixel Kodak Easyshare V1253 digital camera, worth £199 / $299.

Research from Samsung Cameras reveals that more women are buying gadgets this Christmas than men. Six out of ten families said looking through pictures of friends and family was the number one Christmas family activity. Hannah Perry, News Editor of Heat magazine commented on the research; “Gadgets are no longer the preserve of the tech hungry male – we see women embracing technology all of the time without fear of them compromising on style or beauty. Cameras look so stylish now and the latest range from Samsung which are available in various colours make them ideal fashion accessories for today’s fashion conscious women.” The survey was carried out on 1766 UK adults throughout November 2007.

The Stock Artists Alliance (SAA) has called on Photolibrary to answer serious allegations that the company has not paid $2.2 million in commissions due to Index Stock image contributors. Four major North American photographer associations have affirmed their support for SAA’s actions to seek full accounting and payments of any monies owed to contributors. Advertising Photographers of America (APA) National President Martin Trailer stated, “APA supports the actions of SAA to investigate the accounting procedures of Photolibrary, parent of recently acquired Index Stock. APA believes the allegations made by Photolibrary’s controller are serious enough to justify a full review of the company’s accounting practices.”

UK magazine Amateur Photographer are giving away a rare Leica model O replica kit worth over £2,000 in its Christmas issue. The model O is a replica of the Prototype 2 camera, of which only 20 were made in 1923. The limited-edition kit was put together by Leica Camera AG to mark the 125-year anniversary of the death of Leica inventor Oskar Barnack. To enter the prize draw readers must collect four special tokens from AP issues. The closing date for the competition is Friday, 1 February 2008.

AKVIS Frame Suite 2.6, a program that applies frames and edge effects to pictures, now includes new Christmas decorations in the Pattern Library. You can now decorate a personalized Christmas greeting card. It’s also possible to generate a unique frame out of your own samples. Just save a square or rectangular pattern as a graphic file and use it to generate an original photo frame. AKVIS Frame Suite 2.6 costs $49 USD and a free 10-day trial version is available.

Kodak has recalled a novelty torch that was sold with multi packs of Kodak Max AA batteries. In a small number of cases the torch overheated causing a small part of the plastic housing at the bottom to melt. Customers will be provided with a replacement twelve pack of batteries. This product was sold in UK, Germany, Italy, Spain, Austria, Bulgaria, Cameroon, Cyprus, Ireland, Portugal, Poland, Romania, Greece, South Africa and Switzerland.

TrustedReviews have reviewed the Pentax K10D, which offers 10.2 megapixels, shake-reduction, dust removal system, 22-bit colour, three new shooting modes, 2.5 inch LCD screen and 11 point auto-focusing.

“Despite being over a year old, the Pentax K10D still compares well with other current mid-range enthusiast’s DSLRs. It is one of the few digital SLRs on the market with a weatherproof body, and combines this with outstanding build quality and design, superb performance and excellent image quality. Add moving-sensor image stabilisation and an effective anti-dust mechanism and you have what is unquestionably one of the best mid-range DSLRs on the market.”

Website: TrustedReviews - Pentax K10D Review

Website: Read our Pentax K10D Review

TrustedReviews have reviewed the Epson PictureMate 290 compact photo printer, which can produce a 10x15cm borderless lab-quality photo in just 37 seconds.

“Epson’s PictureMate PM290 is a neat and effective small-format photo printer. With its built-in CD rewriter and Bluetooth capabilities, it can handle most needs of any enthusiastic photo taker. Improvements could be made, such as bundling in the battery which makes this machine fully portable and redesigning the printer so both paper and power supply are carried internally. Even so, it stands up well against its competition and running costs remain low.”

Website: TrustedReviews - Epson PictureMate 290 Review

Digital Astrophotography is a new book from Rocky Nook that teaches you how to capture the night sky in all its glory. The book helps you sort out which cameras are best for the various celestial subjects, what to look for when buying a camera, and what accessories you really need. Digital Astrophotography by Stefan Seip costs $29.95 USD, £18.50 GBP.

The Kingston Media Reader is an external, hi-speed reader that supports 19 popular types of Flash memory cards. “The new media reader handles so many different card types that it’s ideal for the consumer or business professional who uses multiple card formats to transfer data, music, photos, videos and other files between mobile phones, cameras, PCs and other devices,” said Jean Wong, Flash memory product manager, Kingston. The Kingston Media Reader has a unique retractable chassis that keeps inserted cards safe. It also houses a short, compact USB cable for use on the go with a notebook. The Kingston Media Reader has a two-year warranty and costs $17.00.