The Sanyo DMX-CG65 hybrid digital camera uses the leading Web movie format MPEG-4 AVC/H.264, offering 10 hours total recording time for movies and a 6 megapixel sensor for still images. In addition four major web companies (SEEBOX, Mlog, Six Apart and VOICE-BANK) have agreed to jointly develop the “Xacti 2.0 Project” with Sanyo, with the aim of integrating high-resolution digital movie content on the Web.

The BenQ P860 is an 8 megapixel digital camera with a 6x optical zoom lens, full range of manual exposure modes and optical image stabilization. There’s a 2.5 inch LCD screen, ISO 50-1000 and 12 scene modes for beginners. The BenQ P860 has limited availability - only in Italy, Spain, Russia and China, released at the end of March.

FujiFilm have released a new firmware update, v1.04, for the S5 Pro DSLR.

The firmware update v1.04 incorporates the following issues.
1. Better white balance when setting FLASH-mode for the WHITE BLANCE.
2. Better white balance when setting AUTO-mode for the WHITE BLANCE and using Nikon non-CPU lenses.
*It requires to set the maximum aperture according to the FinePix S5 Pro Owener’s Manual(p.121-p.124).

Website: FujiFilm S5 Pro v1.04 Firmware Update

Hahnemühle Photo Rag Pearl (320 gsm) is a new fineart inkjet photo paper particularly well-suited to black and white photography. This natural white paper is 100% cotton and features a high Dmax and large colour gamut. Hahnemühle Photo Rag Pearl is extremely age resistant and conforms to the highest conservation requirements.

The latest Apple Mac OS/X 10.4.9 update adds support for the Leaf RAW file format. Adobe also recently announced that Leaf RAW files will be supported by Lightroom. Leaf are the first medium format photography company to encourage third party software developers to support their RAW files.

Steves Digicams 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.

“The Shake Reduction (SR) feature found in the K100D has been further improved, Pentax now claims a 2.5 - 4 stop advantage. We did see a slight improvement but noticeably sharp, blur- free images were more consistently seen within a maximum of 2.5 stops. The SR feature is effective for still subjects and is quite cost effective when compared to the expense of the lens-integral blur reduction solutions offered by Canon and Nikon. The downside is that the SR does not function well when you are panning with a moving subject. Pentax recommends turning the SR off for panning shots as well as whenever the camera is mounted on a tripod.”

Website: Steves Digicams - Pentax K10D Review

Latest Prices / User Reviews

DIWA member Photoxels have reviewed the new 10 megapixel Nikon D80 DSLR camera.

“The Nikon D80 is definitely the camera you want to “move up” to if you are using a family DSLR with some “missing” features. I really like the exceptional ergonomics of the Nikon D80; from the moment you pick the camera up, it feels right. A thorough read of The Nikon Guide to Digital Photography with the D80 (aka User Manual) is necessary to make the most of this versatile camera.”

Website: Photoxels - Nikon D80 Review

Website: Read our Nikon D80 Review

Latest Prices / User Reviews

DCResource have reviewed the new Olympus SP-550 UZ. This is the first digital camera to offer an 18x optical zoom lens, equivalent to 28-504mm.

“The Olympus SP-550 Ultra Zoom is a great example of a marketing-driven cameras. I’m just guessing here, but the marketing folks at Olympus probably got together and said “let’s make an ultra zoom camera with the biggest and baddest specs on the market”, and then the engineers had to make it work. And it works, for the most part—though plenty of compromises were made. While it’s not the best ultra zoom on the market, the SP-550 is still a very good one, and certainly worth a look.”

Website: DCResource - Olympus SP-550 UZ Review

Website: Read our Olympus SP-550 UZ Review

The-Digital-Picture has a detailed guide to that bane of the DSLR owner, cleaning the sensor.

“So how do we keep dust off of the sensor in the first place? Well, you may not be able to prevent it - DSLRs often have with dirty sensors right out of the box. But aside from that, a little care can minimally prolong a necessary sensor cleaning. I change lenses a great deal and generally need to clean my sensor every 5-10 weeks.”

Website: The-Digital-Picture - Sensor Cleaning

CameraTown have reviewed the Zap-Shot ZS-2 wireless RF remote.

“The ZAP-SHOT ZS-2 is a new wireless RF remote for Canon Digital Rebels, Pentax DSLRs and select Sony Cyber-shot digital cameras. Like the original ZAP-SHOT, the new ZS-2 uses Radio Frequency (RF) technology to provide a 100’ range and operation without needing line-of-sight (through walls, windows, floors, etc.). The ZAP-SHOT ZS-2 is a step-up from the original ZAP-SHOT ZS-1 and offers all of the features found in the original while adding a new 3-button remote (the original remote had 2-buttons) with added functionality and a bright activity LED on the receiver.”

Website: CameraTown - Zap-Shot ZS-2 Review

CameraTown have reviewed the Trekpod walking staff, monopod and tripod.

“The Trekpod is a combination Monopod, adjustable-height Walking Staff, and Tripod designed to support cameras, spotting scopes, binoculars, and virtually any tripod-mountable device. The best way to test a product is to use it in the environment that it was designed for. Since the Trekpod was designed for photographers that hike, sightsee, and love to photograph nature and wildlife I decided to test it on a recent trip to Utah and Nevada. The Trekpod was tested in a variety of settings from downtown Park City, UT to the roadside vistas of Bryce Canyon, inside the walls of Antelope Canyon, and while hiking near the Vortexes in Sedona. Read the review to find out how the Trekpod did during this week of testing.”

Website: CameraTown - Trekpod Review

Saturday Shout is back! People have been telling me how much they miss this weekly column, so I’ve blown off the virtual cobwebs and kicked things off with this question: Is the new Sigma DP1 the ultimate compact camera? Consider these facts. The size of the image sensor used in the Sigma DP1 camera is 10 times larger than in a normal compact digital camera. Yes, that’s 10 times larger! the DP1 features the same 14 megapixel FOVEON X3, APS-C size image sensor (2652 × 1768 × 3 layers) that Sigma’s new DSLR camera uses, and can shoot in either JPEG or RAW. The DP1 has a fixed 28mm f/4 wide-angle lens. As well as a large 2.5 inch LCD screen, there’s even an optional viewfinder that fits into the camera’s flash hotshoe (did I mention that the DP1 has a dedicated hotshoe?). There’s even a dedicated dial for, get this, easy manual focusing! Sure, the price might be a bit steep (upwards of £500) and Sigma aren’t exactly renowned for making good compact digicams (errm, this is their first actually). But hey, you never know, the Sigma DP1 could turn out to be the compact digital camera that every serious shutterbug has been waiting for. What do you think - has the Sigma DP1 caught your eye, or is it fatally flawed? Shout out now…

PMA 2007: When General Electric announced shortly before PMA that they were going to enter the digital photography market, many people must have thought “Why?” and “Are they mad?” (myself included). But they actually had a large presence at the show, and a comprehensive range of well-designed, full-featured and perhaps most importantly, competitively priced compact digital cameras. General Electric have obviously invested quite a lot of money in getting their digital camera line-up up and running. If you want to read about the finer details of all 8 new models, take a look at the press release. I visited the booth and took some photos of the entire range and new photo printer (except the X1, which strangely wasn’t on the booth).

PMA 2007: For me the Canon TX1 was the most interesting product of the show from a Canon point of view, simply because it’s not being launched in Europe, so I’d not seen one before PMA. The Canon TX1 is a hybrid still/video camera with a retro, boxy design that’s reminiscent of cameras from several years ago. It’s certainly not as good-looking as the Sanyo Xacti series, reminding me of an IXUS with the zoom lens on top and a fold-out LCD screen on the side. It’ll be interesting to see just how much success Canon has with the TX1, as video and still images increasingly converge onto a single device.

PMA 2007: Crumpler were proudly showing off their pro photography Brazillian Dollar Home bag on what was the most distinctive booth of the whole show. Constructed entirely from recyclable cardboard (the booth, not the bag), apparently they had to have security guards present throughout the night, just in case it caught fire! Anyway, the Crumpler Brazillian Dollar bag is the result of a lot of consultation with pro photographers. With a price of $280, Crumpler’s new top-of-the-range shoulder bag holds 2 SLR bodies, up to 5 lenses and 3 flashguns. The Brazillian Dollar Home is available in two different colour schemes, gun metal/orange or black/orange. Strangely, there are actually 2 separate Crumpler companies, one in Europe and one in USA / Australia, which create and market different products. The Crumpler Brazillian Dollar Home bag on show at PMA will therefore not be available in Europe.

PMA 2007: Leica had a relatively small stand at PMA, hidden away in the German quarter upstairs on the second floor of the show. The only “new” product on display was the Leica C-Lux 2, which continues Leica’s relationship with Panasonic by taking the DMC-FX30 ultra-compact camera and giving it the usual Leica style makeover. The Leica rep didn’t have much to say about the new camera, other than it definitely wasn’t a Panasonic…honest.

PMA 2007: German company Jobo were showcasing their new mid-range Jobo Spectator portable storage device, plus a clever new Loupe function for their professional level Giga Vu Evolution. There was also an early prototype of a GPS unit designed to fit to the hotshoe of a DSLR. Unfortunately the unit is on the large size, and Jobo don’t currently plan to make it smaller.

Sharpcast Photos 1.0 is a free, automatic photo software and service combination that offers a completely new way to connect with people through photos. Sharpcast Photos keeps photo collections automatically backed up and in sync across multiple PCs, the web and mobile phones. With Sharpcast Photos, changes made anywhere are automatically synced everywhere else. For example, photos added using a web browser while away from home will be waiting on a person’s home PC when they return.

The SanDisk 8Gb SDHC card has been unveiled at the CeBIT in Germany.  This new 8GB SDHC card adheres to the SD Speed Class 2 rating, which guarantees a minimum data-transfer rate of 2MB/sec. The SanDisk 8GB SDHC card will come bundled with a SanDisk MicroMate USB 2.0 reader at no extra charge and will cost $189.99 / £82.66, available in April.

FaceFilter Studio 2.0 is the new and improved version of Reallusion’s award-winning photo enhancement software. The Smart Portrait feature auto-detects human face and skin tone to create vibrant colorful photos from imperfectly lit images. Automatic Red-Eye Reduction can simultaneously find red eyes on multiple faces in your photos. FaceFilter Studio 2.0 will be available in April for £29.99.