Imaging Resource have reviewed the Kodak Z885 digital cameras, which boasts a 5x optical zoom lens (36-180mm) and 8.1 megapixel resolution.

“Overall, it was a mixed bag. The Kodak Z885 was able to make some good snapshots for a low priced camera, but its high ISO feature and supposed digital image stabilization left much to be desired. Movie mode was good, and so was the camera’s connectivity to the many EasyShare printer docks. Image quality is good up to about ISO 400, with reasonable clarity considering the 8-megapixel resolution, but noise suppression starts to tamp detail down from ISO 200 on up.”

Website: Imaging Resource - Kodak Z885 Review

TrustedReviews have reviewed the Pentax Optio E40, an 8 megapixel camera with a 3x optical zoom lens, 2.4 inch LCD and Face Recognition.

“Picture quality is much improved over the E30, although it is still not without its problems, some of them quite serious. Exposure and colour rendition are better, and dynamic range is also good, especially with highlight detail, something that was a weak spot for the E30, however I found image noise to be a major problem at all ISO settings, even the minimum of 80 ISO. There was visible image noise in the darker areas of every shot, which robbed the images of a lot of fine detail and introduced colour irregularities.”

Website: TrustedReviews - Pentax Optio E40 Review

The Brickfish Photography Shoot Out photo contest is offering a $1000 grand prize. Whether it’s black-and-white or color, a portrait of a pet or a candid photo of children at play, Brickfish want to see it all. Interested shutterbugs can go to http://www.brickfish.com/Lifestyles/PhotographyContest to enter their photograph and to view and vote for their favorite among current entries. The grand-prize winner will be chosen by Brickfish staff and will receive their choice of a $1000 scholarship or $1000 cash. There will also be four Kodak EASYSHARE All-In-One printers given to the most viral entry and three sweepstakes winners.

Website: Brickfish Photography Shoot Out

The new Digital Foci Pocket Album is a digital keychain photo viewer with a 1.5-inch color LCD screen. Pocket Album holds a selection of up to 74 pictures with its 8MB internal memory. Photos can be viewed by scrolling manually or through an automatic photo slideshow with adjustable slideshow intervals. Available in black, silver, and blue, Pocket Album costs $39.95 and is available now.

“Fear and Loathing in Mexico… Hunter S. Thompson” is a new exhibition from photographer Al Satterwhite. The images at the show will represent the time Al spent with Hunter in Cozumel., Mexico, in 1974. Most of the images will be printed on Hahnemuhle papers. The show is presented by East Village Collective and The Woodstock Film Festival and will run from October 10th November 10th.

myPhotopipe.com is providing a “print-your-image” option on the popular stock imagery and video website iStockphoto. Members will be able to order prints of any image on the site that is made available for Prints by the artist. In most cases, prints offered through iStockphoto will be available at prices approximately 20 percent below the pricing for comparable products at professional labs. “iStockphoto wanted to provide its customers with access to the very best digital print product available. We wanted iStockphoto’s razor-sharp pricing. And we both wanted a great online experience. I believe we have accomplished all three of these objectives in this relationship.” stated L. Douglas Keeney, chief executive officer of myPhotopipe.com, Inc.

Inside Digital Photo has been named as the official broadcast partner for the PhotoPlus Conference and Expo, held from October 18th-20th in New York. “This is the hottest photography event of the year and we’re delighted that our partnership with Inside Digital Photo will allow people all over the world to get in on all the excitement.” stated Jeff McQuilkin, Show Director, PDN PhotoPlus Expo. Online versions of the radio and video programs will be made available after the broadcasts.

PopPhoto have reviewed the Canon EOS 40D digital SLR camera, which offers a 10.1 megapixel sensor, 6.5 fps continuous shooting and 3 inch LCD screen.

“Excellent image quality in the lab translates to excellent image quality in the field if a camera’s autofocus, exposure and metering systems, and viewfinder are all top notch. And here, the 40D is hard to beat. Its AF system is among the fastest and most sensitive we’ve tested, capable of extremely high speeds in bright to moderate light, and decent performance down to EV-2.”

Website: PopPhoto - Canon EOS 40D Review

Website: Read our Canon EOS 40D Review

CNET have reviewed the new 12 megapixel Sony A700 DSLR camera.

“As for photo quality, the A700 fares quite well. Metering, exposure, contrast, and saturation look excellent under a variety of lighting conditions, and the photos exhibit a broad tonal range. Automatic white balance generally works well, though photos render a bit too warm under strong incandescent or fluorescent lights, and like many cameras, the A700’s auto white balance doesn’t deal well with mixed light sources such as shots taken under fluorescents near a window. Under daylight, balance is extremely good, however.”

Website: CNET - Sony A700 Review

DigitalCameraInfo have reviewed the new Canon SD870 IS camera, which offers 8 megapixels and a 3.8x, 28mm wide zoom.

“The Canon PowerShot SD870 IS offers a few practical upgrades from its predecessor. The 3-inch screen makes it easier to read menus and check out pictures. It has a wider 28mm lens that can fit larger portraits. The SD870 also boasts a new face detection system that recognizes up to 35 faces at a time – but how often do users photograph that many people? And in general, the SD870’s autofocus system is a bit pokey. There are few weaknesses to the camera’s performance though. Its colors are very accurate and its movies are among the best we’ve seen.”

Website: DigitalCameraInfo - Canon SD870 IS Review

Website: Read our Canon SD870 IS Review

DPReview have reviewed the Sony Cyber-Shot DSC-W80, which offers 8 megapixels, 3x optical zoom lens, metal body, 2.5-inch LCD screen and an eye-level viewfinder.

“Whilst I had no issues with focus or exposure at all when shooting outdoors in sunlight, once I was indoors the W80’s ‘hit rate’ fell dramatically, and friends and family got sick of being blinded by the (very) bright AF assist light and long wait for the picture to be taken. And if I tried to use the zoom at anything but the widest setting I started to get far more focus errors than I would expect from a Sony camera in 2007.”

Website: DPReview - Sony Cyber-Shot DSC-W80 Review

CameraLabs 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.

“It’s certainly a little galling you can get the G9’s sensor and a flip-out screen on the cheaper PowerShot A650 IS. Finally we should also mention while the G9 takes a sensible minimal approach to noise reduction, retaining as much detail as possible, it’s still not going to perform miracles at 400 ISO and above. Like all non-DSLRs, you’d be advised to operate it at the lowest sensitivities.”

Website: CameraLabs - Canon G9 Review

Website: Read our Canon Powershot G9 Review

At a press event held this week in Barcelona, Spain, Kodak outlined its future plans, admitting that it had no current intentions to enter the digital SLR market. Instead the company will focus its efforts on the general consumer and attempt to strengthen its position as the 3rd biggest manufacturer worldwide for digital still cameras. The new CMOS sensor that was launched back in July on the entry-level C513 camera was heralded as a “huge breakthrough” for Kodak by John O’Grady, the MD of Europe, strongly hinting that future models will employ the same technology.

Kodak also backed-up its claims of 50% cheaper inkjet printing with a new independent report from QualityLogic that verifies the cost savings. The report concluded that prints made on Kodak’s 5500 and 5300 all-in-one printers were up to 3 times less expensive than the industry average, across three different categories of printing. For black prints, Kodak’s prints costs 0.023 Euros per page, against 0.060 Euros average industry cost. For colour prints, Kodak cost 0.069 Euros versus 0.130 Euros. Finally, for a 10x15cm photo, a Kodak print cost 0.096 Euros, with the industry average much higher at 0.306 Euros.

For a three month period only, Epson is offering up to 50% off selected media whilst stocks last. A wide range of paper sizes of Premium Luster Roll paper has up to 41% reduction, and a selection of A2 cut sheet papers 50%. The offers start this month.

The Hama Panorama Kit aims to make achieving amazing panoramic results possible even without professional photography equipment. The Panorama Kit includes a panorama plate that has a 360° index wheel and integrated spirit level. The panoramic plate turns the camera frame by frame while the camera shoots one shot after the other. Software from Arcsoft then accurately merges the individual pictures on your computer. The Hama Panorama Kit costs 29.99 Eruos and is available now.

From November 16 through to December 15 Think Tank Photo are giving away one of their camera bags every day. Enter the “Bag A Day” drawing and yo could win any of the bags available at www.thinktankphoto.com (Note: the only bag not eligible as a prize is the Airport Security roller). There is no purchase necessary and you only need to enter once. If your name isn’t drawn on one day, it is still eligible to be drawn on subsequent days.

Website: Think Tank Photo Prize Draw

The PhotoVu PV2265w is a 22” wireless digital picture frame, sporting a a 16:10 wide format and 1680x1050 pixel display. Whether for digital signage use in a business, displaying art and photos in a gallery, or enjoying your digital photo collection within your home, this big digital picture frame with its huge 22” LCD display is one that you won’t miss” said Robert Jordan, Partner, PhotoVu. The PhotoVu PV2265w is available now for $1299.

You can win a Tamron AF18-250mm Di II All-In-One Zoom Lens as part of Digital Scrapbooking Day, held this year on November 3rd. Triscape created Digital Scrapbooking Day to encourage scrapbookers, photographers, crafters, and genealogists to set aside some time to preserve, document, and archive their memories digitally. You can enter to win the lens at http://www.tamron.com/lenses/digital_scrapbook07.asp , until the contest closes on 12/10/07.

Website: Tamron 18-250mm Lens Prize Draw

The SyncPix digital picture frame from Smartparts includes image sorting, automatic download and resizing and an energy saving motion detector. SyncPix also plays video clips from most digital cameras without the need of specialized video modes and that can store up to 3,000 images. “At Smartparts, we want to people to share and display all their digital photos,” explained Stefan Guelpen, president and co-founder of Smartparts. “We’re proud of the new SyncPix line, by far the most elegant and easy-to-use digital picture frames available.” The 8-inch SyncPix digital picture frame retails for $179.99 and is available in an Espresso colored frame with beige matting.

AKVIS Chameleon 5 makes it easy and entertaining to create a photo collage. The new “Montage” mode allows copying an object, for example, a group of people, a monument, a flower, etc into a new background. The Macintosh version is now Universal Binary. AKVIS Chameleon is compatible with Adobe Photoshop and Photoshop Elements, Corel (Jasc) Paint Shop Pro, Ulead PhotoImpact, Corel Photo-Paint and other popular software. AKVIS Chameleon sells for $75, with a free 10 day trial version available.