DIWA member LetsGoDigital have reviewed the Panasonic DMC-TZ3 camera, which fits a 10x optical zoom, 7.2 megapixels and 3 inch LCD screen into a compact, stylish body.

“The Leica optical zoom lens is proof of an incredibly well carried out development technique that enabled fitting it into a compact housing like the Panasonic Lumix TZ3 camera. An innovative design enabled keeping the zoom lens this compact. Often the quality suffers from this but not in the case of the Leica lens that really keeps up and offers great performance. Only slight distortion is visible in wide angle and in telephoto range we find some soft sharpness. The sharpness and colour rendering in general are great and we can ascertain the fact that the Leica lens and the Panasonic TZ3 are an excellent combination.”

Website: LetsGoDigital - Panasonic Lumix DMC-TZ3 Review

Website: Read our Panasonic Lumix DMC-TZ3 Review

Megapixel.net have reviewed the Panasonic DMC-FZ18 digital camera, which features a 18x optical zoom lens, equivalent to 28-504mm on a 35mm film camera.

“Left to its default settings for JPEG images, there is a chance that the DMC-FZ18 could disappoint its purchaser when the images are inspected closely. However, a bit of experimentation with the Picture Adjustment option of the REC. menu — regrettably only available when the camera is set to one of the advanced modes and the Program mode — should remedy that situation permanently. The DMC-FZ18 offers a lot of capability for the money, and those looking to a bridge camera would be well-advised to check it out.”

Website: Megapixel.net - Panasonic DMC-FZ18 Review

Website: Read our Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ18 Review

PCMag have just reviewed the HP Photosmart A626 compact printer, which features the world’s first 4.8-inch color touchscreen LCD, built-in handle, foldup tray and, optional battery.

“In most ways, the HP Photosmart A626 Compact Photo Printer ($179.99 direct) is only a small step up from last year’s crop of dedicated photo printers from HP. But give HP credit for trying new things, because the A626 offers something new and different: a 4.8-inch touch screen that turns the A626 into a kind of mini-photo kiosk and makes it unique among small-format, portable, dedicated photo printers.”

Website: PCMag - HP Photosmart A626 Review

Prototypes of the new Canon 200mm f/2L IS USM and Canon 800mm f/5.6L IS USM lenses will be shown PhotoPlus Expo this week. The Canon 800mm f/5.6L IS USM delivers telephoto performance surpassing the current top-of-the-line EF 600mm f/4L IS USM super telephoto lens. The Canon EF 200mm f/2L IS USM is targeting users seeking a brighter lens for portraiture and indoor sports photography. “These new lenses demonstrate that Canon is continuing to respond actively and flexibly to the wide-ranging needs of professional and advanced amateur users, with the aim of contributing to the expansion of photographic possibilities for SLR cameras,”  said Yuichi Ishizuka, senior vice president and general manager, Consumer Imaging Group, Canon U.S.A. As these new lenses are currently under development, pricing and availability information is not yet available.

The Jobo GIGA One Ultra is an affordable portable storage device featuring ultra quick download speeds. The GIGA One Ultra can transfer 1 GB of data in about three minutes, reaching speeds of up to up to 5.47 MB per second. Available in four hard disc capacities (40, 80, 120 and 200 GB), the new GIGA one ultra is USB 2.0 compatible, features a large 2” LCD screen, a sturdy aluminium casing, and covered media card slots for protection against dust and dirt. The Jobo GIGA One Ultra is available at the end of October 2007 for €149, €199, €229, and €329 respectively.

Canon has launched a second cash back promotion to run across the Christmas selling period. You have the chance to save over £1,000/€1,500 across 24 products, including the EOS 400D (£50/€70), the EOS 40D (£50/€70) and the EOS 5D (£135/€200) DSLR cameras. The promotion also includes aselection of lenses and accessories. The cash back offer also applies across all of Canon’s Photo Kits. A full breakdown of all the various offers is available by clicking the link below.

Harman Technology has bought Kentmere Photographic Limited, best known for its extensive range of black and white papers. Following the buy-out, HARMAN is keen to stress that the Kentmere brand will remain relatively unchanged.  “HARMAN has an acquisitive growth policy and is keen to be seen as the natural home for high-quality imaging products. We have bought Kentmere recognising it is a strong brand with a massive amount of potential and knowing we can add what’s required to help bring that potential to fruition.” commented Chairman and Managing Director, Phil Harris.

Canon USA is providing free custom online profiles for its imagePROGRAF iPF6100 and imagePROGRAF iPF5000 printers. Covering the company’s most popular fine art and photographic media, the paper profiles are free and available on the Professional Printer section of Canon’s Digital Learning Center. There are currently 40 profiles available for download for 10 different media types, with more to come in the future.

The Angkor Photography Festival 2007 sees the temples of Angkor become a hub for both famous and passionate photographers from across the world. The Festival covers two genres, “concerned” documentary photography and fine art photography, organizes free workshops for emerging Asian photographers, and runs workshops for street children, amongst other endeavours. The Angkor Photography Festival is held from November 17th - 28th, at Siem Reap in Cambodia.

The World Firefighters Games 2008 photo contest is open to keen photographers of all ages. The competition challenges photographers to create images they think will amuse, inspire and enlighten. There are four different categories - Operational Incidents, Vehicles and Equipment, Previous World Firefighters Games and Heat. There are two age categories (under 16s and over 16s), and submissions are now being accepted, with an entrance fee of £10. The closing date is 12pm on June 1, 2008, with the winners being announced on August 24, 2008.

DCResource have reviewed the Panasonic DMC-FZ18 digital camera, which features a 18x optical zoom lens, equivalent to 28-504mm on a 35mm film camera.

“The FZ18 is only the second mega zoom camera I’ve tested (the other being the Olympus SP-550UZ) and it’s definitely the better of the two. That may change when I get my hands on the SP-560UZ or the Fuji FinePix S8000fd, but for now, the DMC-FZ18 is the best camera for those of you who can’t get enough zoom.”

Website: DCResource - Panasonic DMC-FZ18 Review

Website: Read our Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ18 Review

Steves Digicams have reviewed the Canon G9, a 12.1 megapixel update of the G7 compact camera, with a 6x zoom lens, 3 inch LCD screen and the return of RAW mode.

“Canon has done it yet again, produced another awesome “G” series Prosumer model. The G9 continues the traditions of this line, offering a slew of manual functions, great image quality, blazing fast performance, a durable exterior, and class leading specs (12-megapixels, 6x optical zoom, Canon’s OIS, Face Detection AF, etc.), not to mention plenty of automatic controls for beginners.”

Website: Steves Digicams - Canon G9 Review

Website: Read our Canon Powershot G9 Review

PCMag have reviewed the HP Photosmart A826, a compact photo printer that features a massive 7 inch color touchscreen. The HP A826 can print borderless 4x6 and 5x7 inch photos, holiday cards, wallets and panoramas.

“Every so often, I get to play with—uh, test—something new and different. The HP Photosmart A826 Home Photo Center ($249.99 direct) is a prime example. Think of it as a photo kiosk for your kitchen (or anywhere else you like). Modeled on the sort of kiosk you can find in your local drugstore, the A826 lets you plug in a memory card or USB key, then submit orders through a 7-inch touch screen while previewing photos at 4.2 inches diagonally—an enormous size by home photo printer standards.”

Website: PCMag - HP Photosmart A826 Review

Gigapan allows you to to capture stunning panoramic images using technology that is affordable to the ordinary consumer - just $279 for a beta unit. A partnership between Charmed Labs, Carnegie Mellon Robotics Institute, NASA Ames Intelligent Robotics Group, and Google, Gigapan can capture incredibly high-resolution panoramic images with a standard consumer digital camera. Charmed Labs are offering a limited number of beta units for an introductory price of $279. If you’re interested make sure to apply on or before October 19th 2007.

Website: Gigapan

Knoll Light Factory 3 allows you to create lens flares and other lighting effects, including lasers, explosions and suns. “Knoll Light Factory offers a great way of painting with light, when you need to add some flare and sparkle to an image. Improving and speeding up the workflow was a major emphasis for this release, because we know photographers don’t want to spend lots of time at the computer.” said Jim Tierney, president of Digital Anarchy. Light Factory was originally written by John Knoll, the co-creator of Photoshop, to create the Photon Torpedoes in Star Trek First Contact. Knoll Light Factory 3.0 is priced at $149 USD. The product is on sale for $129 through October 21, 2007.

VSO Software has added several new features to its range of photo software, including support for the Canon EOS 40D RAW format. VSO Image Resizer, PhotoDVD and PhotoOnWeb all now support the 40D camera.

The free online photo editor FotoFlexer has added three new features - Morph, Smart Resize and Insert-A-Face - that are not even available in expensive desktop image editing software. The FotoFlexer editing solution is based on patent-pending Predictive Pixel Partitioning (P³) artificial intelligence technology.

CNET have reviewed the Fujifilm Finepix F50fd compact digicam, which has a 12 megapixel sensor, Dual Image Stabilization, and Face Detection 2.0 technology with a a new Automatic Red-Eye Removal feature.

“As long as you don’t mind the between-shot sluggishness or slight texture that the noise creates, even at lower ISOs when viewed on a monitor, then the Fujifilm F50fd would make a nice choice for advanced photographers looking for a pocket camera to supplement an SLR.”

Website: CNET - Fujifilm Finepix F50fd Review

Website: Read our Fujifilm Finepix F50fd Review

PhotoReview have reviewed the Samsung i85, an all-in-one camera, MP3 player and portable media player with a large 3 inch touchscreen LCD.

“Photographs taken with the review camera appeared bright with natural-looking colours. Exposures were pitched to record shadow detail, leaving highlights blown-out. Unfortunately, coloured fringes were seen around the edges of outdoor shots with only modest magnification. Imatest confirmed the presence of severe chromatic aberration but showed overall colour accuracy to be reasonably good. Some shifts were seen in reds, where saturation was slightly elevated. Skin hues were generally accurate.”

Website: PhotoReview - Samsung i85 Review

CNET have reviewed the Nikon Coolpix L10, an entry-level compact digital camera with 5 megapixels and a 2 inch LCD screen.

“You don’t need a high-resolution camera to get good-looking pictures. If they’re made right, 5-megapixel cameras can produce great photos. If you’re on a tight budget, but still want to take some photos, consider the Nikon Coolpix L10. This little camera has few features, a very slow flash recycle time, and can only produce up to 5-megapixel stills, but its tiny price tag and decent picture quality make it a solid budget contender.”

Website: CNET - Nikon Coolpix L10 Review