Another day, another Ricoh GX100 firmware update! Ricoh have released firmware update v1.14 for the Ricoh GX100 digital camera.

1. Improved accuracy of the AF algorithm.
2. Modified the following display phenomena.
• If you switch between AF and MF with the Fn (Function) button, a part of the grid guide may disappear.
• If you turn a camera power with set to the [LANDSCAPE] in the SCENE mode, the message, ‘Settings have been changed’ will appear.
• If you use AAA type batteries in the Multi AF mode, even if you focus on the subject, a focus frame size will not change.
3. After you register the Spot AF in the MySettings, if you turn the Mode dial to change a setting, a focusing mode may change from the Spot AF to the Multi AF.
4. Found some errors in the shooting information in a DNG file, such as a value of the exposure compensation. Modified to record a DNG file correctly.
5. Modified the phenomenon that the skew correction feature may not work properly.
6. Revise a level of the image compensation in a long exposure.

Website: Ricoh GX100 1.14 Firmware Update

CameraLabs have reviewed the new Olympus E-410 DSLR camera.

“It may be small, light and styled like an SLR of the 80s, but Olympus has packed the E-410 with the latest technology. The Live View facility may be clunky at times and not as smooth as a consumer compact, but we found it invaluable on several occasions, whether delivering 100% coverage, overlaid guidelines or a depth-of-field preview.”

Website: CameraLabs - Olympus E-410 Review

Website: Read our Olympus E-410 Review

DIWA member LetsGoDigital have just reviewed the new Panasonic DMC-FZ8 camera.

“Despite our positive results, there is still some room for improvement. Although Panasonic has once more renewed the Venus Engine and is now at version 3, this processor is not able to iron out all the creases. Noise is still too dominant and although Panasonic has brought on the heavy artillery to deal with it, this has been at the expense of detail. There is no problem up to and including 400 ISO, but the higher ISOs do not contribute anything of much use.”

Website: LetsGoDigital - Panasonic DMC-FZ8 Review

Shutterbug have reviewed the Tamron 18-250mm F/3.5-6.3 Di-II LD Aspherical (IF) Macro lens.

“Tamron set out to design a compact power zoom that would not skimp on quality or range and for the most part have succeeded in delivering both. There’s no question that a 13.9x tele is a remarkable feat, albeit at the price of an f/6.3 maximum aperture at the tele end. Were this a lens for a film camera this max aperture might eliminate it from consideration, but with digital it can be compensated for by simply raising ISO to a reasonably high speed.”

Website: Shutterbug - Tamron 18-250mm Lens Review

DigiCamReview have reviewed the Panasonic DMC-FX30, the world’s slimmest digital camera with a 28mm wide-angle lens.

“Images have good saturation and contrast, with fairly low noise at the lower ISO settings. The higher ISO settings of ISO400 and above are probably best avoided as detail is lacking from images. Indoors photos were good, although noise was noticeable in some shots and red-eye occurred occassionally.”

Website: DigiCamReview - Panasonic DMC-FX30 Review

CNET have reviewed the Panasonic DMC-FX10 digital camera which offers a 3x optical zoom (35-105mm) Leica DC lens with f/2.8, 2.5 inch LCD screen, optical image stabiliser and Intelligent ISO Control, plus ISO 1250 at full resolution.

“Image quality is pleasing, especially at lower ISOs. Colors look accurate, though perhaps a bit oversaturated, and the automatic white balance does a good job of neutralizing colors in most lighting conditions, including incandescent settings. Exposures are generally accurate, though occasionally underexposed, which is generally better than the opposite, since shadow detail tends to be more salvageable in image editing software than highlight detail.”

Website: CNET - Panasonic DMC-FX10 Review

LightZone 3.0 is a new version of the image analysis and editing software from Light Crafts. “LightZone 3.0, with its intelligent styles, gives photographers instant access to the most powerful photo editing capabilities available, at a price one third of its closest competitor.” said Georges van Hoegaerden, CEO of Light Crafts. LightZone 3 is available now for $249.95.

BenQ has sold its digital camera business to Ability Enterprise, a Taiwan-based manufacturer of digital cameras. All of BenQ’s digital camera-related R&D and manufacturing facilities are included in the deal, including around 70 employees. “Ability will remain as one of our most important strategic suppliers for future BenQ branded digital cameras” said Sheaffer Lee, President of BenQ Corporation.

Photo-i have started an interactive group test of three pigment based printer - the HP B9180 (pictured), Canon Pro 9500 and Epson 2400.

“Generally I hate doing group tests, I prefer to cover each printer in greater depth. However, over the last three years I have covered all three printers with their own interactive reviews. Believe it or not the Epson was reviewed in June 2005, which makes this printer the oldest in the group. Perhaps it may be unfair to include the Epson against the other two, but I have confidence that it will hold its own. This review is a supplement to the individual reviews, I will be giving scores as I go along. Please don’t compare my results next to those from the original reviews as these marks may no longer be valid, technology has moved on and I will mark them against today’s bench mark.”

Website: Photo-i - Pigment Printers Review

ThinkCamera have reviewed the 10 megapixel Samsung GX-10 DSLR camera.

“Noise levels are pretty good, with ISO 100 and 200 very clean. At ISO 400, some luminance noise creeps in, but it’s still acceptable. ISO 800 starts showing the worst of the noise, with noticeable luminance noise and some hints of extra noise in the blue channel - by ISO 1600 the blue noise has become more pronounced in dark areas and starts putting a slight blue cast on parts of the picture.”

Website: ThinkCamera - Samsung GX-10 Review

TrustedReviews have just reviewed the Epson Stylus Photo 1400 A3+ six-colour photo printer.

“When we printed our photo tests, the main task of this class of printer, we saw high-quality photos with smooth colour gradations, sharp outlines and good detail in areas of shadow. The large format photo prints were clear and finely detailed and overall photo output from this machine is excellent.”

Website: TrustedReviews - Epson Stylus Photo 1400 Review

The Sanyo Xacti E1 is the world’s first waterproof camcorder. The E1 can record video and 6 megapixel stills under water to a depth of five feet for up to one hour at a time. The Sanyo E1 will be available in the USA in blue, yellow and white in mid-June 2007 for $499.99.

Epson Imaging WorkShop is a new workflow application software package for use with pigment ink printers handling A3 and A2 sizes. Imaging WorkShop is a software package designed to greatly enhance the efficiency of the printing workflow of advanced amateur and professional photographers. It supports RAW formats from various DSLR cameras and employs internal 16-bit image processing as well as nondestructive image processing. Imaging WorkShop will be available for purchase as downloadable software at the NewSoft website.

Fluid Mask 3 Beta has several new features, including enhanced blending power for hair and other problem objects and more intuitive workflow capabilities. Users can download a free 30 Day Trial of Fluid Mask 3 Beta. During the beta phase, Fluid Mask 3 will be available for $199 US.

Pentax have released a new version of Remote Assistant for the K10D digital camera. The Pentax Remote Assistant allows you to use your computer to control functions on the K10D camera, while it is connected via USB cable. Firmware version 1.20 or later must be installed on the K10D in order to use Pentax Remote Assistant 3.

Website: Pentax Remote Assistant 3 (Windows)

Website: Pentax Remote Assistant 3 (Mac)

Kodak are planning to leave the low-end digital camera market, instead concentrating on CMOS sensors for camera phones. In an article on CNET’s Crave website, Kodak revealed that they will release a 5 megapixel CMOS sensor for use in Motorola camera phones and their own camera. “We’re going to be abandoning the low-end of the digital camera business. As everyone knows, we’re not making much money there. Now we have our own CMOS sensors, so you might see us going down in price because we can make money,” said Kodak President Antonio Perez.

Kodak’s CMOS camera will be 5-megapixel

Sigma have released a new firmware update, v1.03, for the Sigma SD14 DSLR camera. Improvements include:

  1. Corrects the intermittent camera freeze while CF CARD BUSY LIGHT is on during continuous shooting.
  2. Corrects the remaining battery power display on the top LCD panel.

Website: Sigma SD14 v1.03 Firmware Update

Current Yahoo! Photos customers will get six months free service when they move their photos to Phanfare, plus unlimited storage. Yahoo recently announced that they were ending their Yahoo! Photos service at the end of this summer. “The photo-printing sites that Yahoo! Photos has highlighted as alternatives to their service offer excellent printing services but they are not focused on the sharing needs of families.  For those customers whose primary goal is to share their treasured photos and videos in a secure and private environment with no ads or storage limits, a Phanfare online album is the better choice.” said Andrew Erlichson, Phanfare’s CEO.

The Cubelite Light Table from Lastolite makes product photography even more versatile for Cubelite users. The Cubelite Light Table is the perfect solution for creating shadowless and instant ‘cut out’ images and is available in two sizes - 70cm x 70cm x 90cm for £159.99 and 100cm x 100cm x 90cm for £229.99.

Colour Confidence has just added PictoColor’s iCorrect EditLab ProApp 6 and iCorrect Portrait to its colour correction software range. “We feel the iCorrect range offers an excellent combination of ease of use and sophistication of features. With EditLab or Portrait, photographers can work quickly and efficiently without compromising the quality of their output - something which will appeal to users at all levels”. comments Geoffrey Clements, Managing Director of Colour Confidence. iCorrect EditLab ProApp 6 is priced at £85/€129 ex. VAT, and iCorrect Portrait at £65/€99 ex. VAT, both available now.