The Epson R285 an affordable six-colour A4 photo printer which uses Epson Claria Photographic Ink. Premium quality photos that look better than the lab are produced in just 27 seconds. The R285 offers print life of up to 200 years when stored in an album or 98 years when displayed in a photo frame. The R825 will cost £69.99, available September 2007.

The Epson DX8400 and Epson DX7400 are new all-in-one four colour inkjet printers featuring Epson’s DURABrite Ultra Ink. Both models offer fast print speeds of up to 32ppm and it takes 26 seconds for a 10x15cm photo in draft, borderless mode. The Epson DX8400 Series additionally features a 6.3cm LCD viewer. The DX7400 will cost £79.99 and the DX8400 £99.99, available from 3rd September 2007.

The Epson D120 is a high-speed, high-quality printer for the home and the office. It offers print speeds up to 37ppm in black and white and 20ppm in colour and uses Epson’s individual ink cartridge system. The Epson D120 is also suitable for photos, with a 10x15cm printed in just 49 seconds. The Epson D120 will cost £69.99 and is available from 3rd September. A D120 Network edition costs £99.99, available from 1st October.

No less than Amazon.com have leaked the US specifications, price and availability of the much-rumoured Canon 40D and Canon 1Ds Mark III DSLR cameras. Available on September 10th for $1,299, the Canon EOS 40D has a 10 megapixel sensor, 3 inch LCD screen, 6.5 fps continuous shooting, new sRAW mode, 35-zone metering system and integrated Self-Cleaning Sensor Unit. New accessories for the 40D include a revised BG-E2N battery grip and WFT-E3A wireless transmitter. A new lens - the Canon EF-S 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 IS USM - has also been listed by Amazon, available November 15th for $199.99.

Meanwhile the professional Canon 1Ds Mark III will cost $7,999 and be available on December 10th. It’s headline features are a 21.1-megapixel full-frame CMOS sensor, 3 inch LCD display with Live View, 5 fps at shutter speeds 1/500 second or faster, sRAW mode, 45-point AF and integrated Self-Cleaning Sensor Unit. Also mentioned on the Amazon page is a new Canon EF 14mm f2.8L II USM Lens, providing a a 114-degree diagonal angle of view on the Canon 1Ds Mark III.

Of course, none of this is official yet, even though it comes from one of the world’s biggest online retailers, but you probably won’t have to wait too long for Canon to make their announcement…

Website: Amazon.com - Canon EOS 1Ds Mark III

Website: Amazon.com - Canon EOS 40D

Website: Amazon.com - Canon EF-S 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 IS USM SLR Lens

The curvaceous Canon Digital IXUS 950 IS (also known as the Canon SD850 IS) is currently Canon’s flagship point and shoot compact digital camera. An image-stabilized, 4x zoom lens equivalent to 35-140mm, 2.5 inch LCD screen and fast Digic III image processor are just a few of the features offered by the IXUS 950 IS. Notable changes from its predecessor, the IXUS 800 IS, include an extended ISO range of 80-1600, time lapse movies and new creative light effects. With a recommended price tag of £329, can the Canon 950 IS remain competitive? Gavin Stoker finds out…

Website: Canon Digital IXUS 950 IS Review

CameraLabs have just reviewed the Sony DT 16-80mm lens.

“In use the DT 16-80mm can certainly deliver excellent results. The range is much more flexible than the kit lens, and perfect as a single general purpose zoom. The optical quality is also of a much higher standard, with our Outdoor Results and Gallery pages revealing very well-corrected images with high contrast, sharp corners and minimal coloured fringing. It also managed to squeeze a little more resolution out of the A100 in our studio tests.”

Website: CameraLabs - Sony DT 16-80mm Review

Imaging Resource have just reviewed the Panasonic DMC-FZ8 ultra-zoom compact digital camera.

“Although the FZ8’s 12x optical zoom and effective MEGA O.I.S. play a major role in its litany of attributes, the camera’s real strength lies in the sum of its parts. Compact, easy to handle, and easy to use, the Panasonic FZ8 has a feature set that not only puts amateur and inexperienced photographers at ease, but also gives enthusiasts and advanced amateurs plenty of imaging tools to keep them happy.”

Website: Imaging Resource - Panasonic DMC-FZ8 Review

ePhotoZine have reviewed the weatherproof Olympus mju 780 compact digital camera, which features a 7.1 megapixel sensor, metal body in silver or black, and 5x optical zoom with mechanical image stabiliser.

“Rather surprisingly there is noise evident on the grey and black cards on the ISO80 test, and in the shadow areas it’s green and purple. This is easily the worst low ISO results we’ve seen on a compact. However, the detail is still good and it won’t be too dramatic on full scale pictures. ISO100 is only slightly worse as might be expected.”

Website: ePhotoZine - Olympus mju 780 Review

ePhotoZine have reviewed the Samsung L74 Wide digital camera, which features a 3.0 inch touch screen LCD, 7 megapixels, 3.6x optical zoom and 28mm wide-angle lens.

“The colour chart test shows a quite considerable difference between the image and the chart itself. For starters, the blues are much brighter and the reds are much pinker. The browns also appear to be much darker and this also affects the resulting mixes such as skin tones. Yellows are quite accurate though. The landscape shot shows good, accurate detail and there is only mild colour fringing where the skyline meets the landscape, for example at the tops of the trees.”

Website: ePhotoZine - Samsung L74 Wide Review

The Pentax K10D has been selected as the EISA European Camera of the Year 2007-2008. The EISA panel concluded that the Pentax K10D is the ideal camera for enthusiast and advanced users. Other industry awards for the K10D this year include Best D-SLR Expert in Europe 2007 (TIPA) and the Camera Grand Prix 2007 by (CJPC) in Japan.

The Fujifilm S5 Pro has been voted European Advanced Camera of the Year 2007-2008. The special qualities of Fujifilm’s Super CCD SR Pro Sensor provide the wide dynamic range, low image noise and contrast control that make this camera stand out from the general DSLR market.” commented the EISA panel.

The Nokia N95 multimedia computer has been voted the European Media Phone of the Year 2007-2008 by EISA. “It’s no mere mobile phone and no mere status symbol. Pick up a Nokia N95 and you hold in your hands a state-of-the-art communication tool” the EISA jury commented.

The new JOBO Spectator mobile storage device is now shipping and available for sale. The Spectator device is an affordable solution for backing up, storing and viewing digital images. The JOBO Spectator is available with three different storage capabilities – 40GB, 80GB and 120GB. Retail prices are $249, $299 and $379 respectively.

The LightScribe Travel Kit includes DVD / CD label tips, templates, and resources for adding a personal touch to DVD and CD label designs. With the new kit, travelers can create personalized custom designs that integrate travel photos with text. This free download is available to all owners of LightScribe-enabled drives.

The Corsair Flash Padlock USB drive features a simple touch-pad security PIN entry system. The Flash Padlock will also automatically lock and protect itself after removal from a computer. Flash Padlock 1GB costs $29.99 USD, and Flash Padlock 2GB costs $39.99 USD. Both versions are available now.

Samsung Camera has completely redesigned its website with exciting new interactive controls and enhanced flash animation. A new Product Showroom provides visitors with either an interactive 3D tour or a flash presentation of each camera. Other new features include Club SOA, an enhanced product support section, and e-commerce capability. “This was a significant project for the Samsung Web development team and we are very proud of what they were able to accomplish,” said Stewart Henderson, Vice President Marketing, Samsung Opto Electronics America.

Version 3.2.0 of Image Genius Professional now includes added support for opening images in various RAW and CMYK formats, enhanced support for 64 bit operating systems and additional printing support. Image Genius Professional is available at http://www.pixeldragons.com . A trial version is available and a one-user licence costs £59.99.

Bogen Café is a new imaging workshop environment offered to college students in the USA. Steven Katzman, a self-taught photographer, author, and professor of photography at Ringling College of Art and Design, will give an evening lecture at each workshop. Highlighting a special selection of products from Bogen Imaging and the program’s sponsors, Bogen Café will visit 20 colleges and 20 dealerships per year for the next four years, beginning August 2007.

Photography 2.0 is a series of town hall meetings which will discuss the impact of the Internet on the photography business. Held in the USA, Photography 2.0 will bring together more than 30 image buyers and photographers to discuss online marketing, image selling and distribution. “What makes ‘Photography 2.0’ so exciting is that it will bring together buyers, established photographers and undiscovered talent and hopefully expand boundaries of creativity for commercial photography overall.” said Jennifer Miller, former Director of Photography, JANE. There is no cost to register for Photography 2.0.

The Epson CX7400, Epson CX8400 and Epson CX9400Fax are three new all-in-ones aimed at the the small office and home office environments. They are also well suited to novice digital camera owners who occasionally want to print photos on photo paper with or without a computer. “Head-to-head, this lineup offers more features and better image quality than competitive models. For all your day-to-day printing needs, whether text or photo, these are the products you want.” said Tom Piche, product manager, Consumer Ink Jet Printers, Epson. The Epson CX7400 and Epson CX8400 are now shipping and will be available for $69.99 and $99.99 respectively, while the Epson CX9400Fax will be shipping in October for $149.99.