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Tuesday, October 31, 2006

IlfordILFORD Press Release

As the 10 million dollar investment programme in the ILFORD Swiss manufacturing site reaches its final stages, ILFORD looks back over an eventful year and towards a rosy future.

Marly, Switzerland, 30 October, 2006 – the future of ILFORD, a major player in the development and manufacture of photo quality media for inkjet printing and photographic processes, has never looked better. Following the overwhelming success at this year’s Photokina and the launch of several exciting new inkjet products, ILFORD is now in the final stages of part one of its expansion programme currently underway in Switzerland. Part two of the investment programme will begin in early 2007.

ILFORD Press Release As the 10 million dollar investment programme in the ILFORD Swiss manufacturing site reaches its final stages, ILFORD looks back over an eventful year and towards a rosy future. Marly, Switzerland, 30 October, 2006 – the future of ILFORD, a major player in the development and manufacture…

Practical Color ManagementO’Reilly Press Release

Sebastopol, CA—Taking photos during a morning sunrise on a New Mexican mesa can be a once in a lifetime chance. Yet once you’ve captured the painterly image, how do you share the true colors and emotional veracity of the near outer-worldly palette with others? Because no matter which type of digital camera is used to shoot an image, the computer, software, monitor, and output device (printer, projector, or on the Web) must work together to reproduce the actual and intended color for display. Sound complicated? According to 2006 Photoshop Hall of Famer Eddie Tapp there’s no reason to get discouraged. The Georgia native, widely admired for his knack for making the photo editing process easier and more transparent, shares his expertise in his newly published “Practical Color Management” (O’Reilly, US $29.99).

O’Reilly Press Release Sebastopol, CA—Taking photos during a morning sunrise on a New Mexican mesa can be a once in a lifetime chance. Yet once you’ve captured the painterly image, how do you share the true colors and emotional veracity of the near outer-worldly palette with others? Because no matter…

Casio EX-Z1000DIWA member Digit.no have reviewed the Casio EX-Z1000 compact digicam, which offers 10 megapixels, 2.8 inch LCD screen, and IS0 3200.

“Casio Exilim EX-Z1000 is one of the most attractive mini cameras available. Beautiful design and elegant finish in a robust stainless steel body is the optimum base for building a good camera. Unfortunately, Casio have failed to maintain this excellent quality throuhout the process. For marketing reasons, they have fallen into the same pit as too many others, concentrating too much on megapixels and other sales promoting features rather that image quality. The lens suffers from considerable colour fringing, distorsion and lack of edge sharpness. It is also unable to define 10 MP resolution, making this fine camera delivering only 7 MP images in 10 MP files. What a waste! Furthermore, to meet other hot topics in todays camera market; image stabilisation and high sensititvity, Casio have pushed the limits beyond the conceivable. All ISO values above ISO 400 is practically worthless, either due to excessive image noise or lack of detail. My advice would be to leave the camera body unchanged, but replace its lens and interiour with optimised 7 MP components, rather than overambitious specifications with no other mission than to fool the public.”

Website: Digit.no - Casio EX-Z1000 Review

Website: Read our Casio Exilim EX-Z1000 Review

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DIWA member Digit.no have reviewed the Casio EX-Z1000 compact digicam, which offers 10 megapixels, 2.8 inch LCD screen, and IS0 3200. “Casio Exilim EX-Z1000 is one of the most attractive mini cameras available. Beautiful design and elegant finish in a robust stainless steel body is the optimum base for building…

Leica M8Luminous Landscape have reviewed the Leica M8 digital rangefinder camera, which has a 10 megapixel sensor, focal factor of 1.33x and an ISO range of 160-2500.

“As far as shooting speed goes, the M8 isn’t going to win any contests against most current DSLRs in terms of frame rate, but it’s no slouch. In continuous mode it can shoot raw plus JPG at 2 FPS for up to 10 frames. Using a 2GB Lexar 133X SD card it took about 23 seconds to shoot 10 frames and have them completely saved to the card. A Canon 1Ds MKII took 22 seconds to similarly take 10 shots and save them. Naturally, the Canon shots at a higher frame rate, but overall wasn’t any faster in executing the entire shoot – save to card routine.”

Website: Luminous Landscape - Leica M8 Review

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Luminous Landscape have reviewed the Leica M8 digital rangefinder camera, which has a 10 megapixel sensor, focal factor of 1.33x and an ISO range of 160-2500. “As far as shooting speed goes, the M8 isn’t going to win any contests against most current DSLRs in terms of frame rate, but…

Pentax Optio S7Megapixel.net have just reviewed the new Pentax Optio S7 digital camera, which features an easy-to-use Blur Reduction High ISO mode, Face Recognition AF & AE and 7 megapixel sensor.

“Like many other compact cameras on the market nowadays, the Optio S7 is noticeably sensitive to noise, and at the highest image quality uses a compression that is stronger than we would prefer to see; both facets of a camera’s image quality that are most noticeable when the images are seen at 100% size. This said, just like many others, once The Optio S7’s images are printed, the flaws that are visible on a monitor, tend to disappear.”

Website: Megapixel.net - Pentax Optio S7 Review

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Megapixel.net have just reviewed the new Pentax Optio S7 digital camera, which features an easy-to-use Blur Reduction High ISO mode, Face Recognition AF & AE and 7 megapixel sensor. “Like many other compact cameras on the market nowadays, the Optio S7 is noticeably sensitive to noise, and at the highest…

Nikon Coolpix S10TrustedReviews have reviewed the new Nikon Coolpix S10, which has 6 megapixels, Vibration Reduction and a 10x, 38-380mm swivel lens.

“The S10 has a good range of ISO settings, and noise control is exceptionally good. Even at the maximum 800 ISO image noise and colour distortion are kept to an acceptable minimum, producing usable shots even at this setting. The only real problem with image quality is the amount of compression. The image files are about 2/3rds the size of those produced by most 6MP cameras, and some images have heavy artefacting as a result.”

Website: TrustedReviews - Nikon Coolpix S10 Review

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TrustedReviews have reviewed the new Nikon Coolpix S10, which has 6 megapixels, Vibration Reduction and a 10x, 38-380mm swivel lens. “The S10 has a good range of ISO settings, and noise control is exceptionally good. Even at the maximum 800 ISO image noise and colour distortion are kept to an…

Fujifilm FinePix S9600CNET have reviewed the new Fujifilm S9600 (called the FinePix S9100 in the USA), which is a 9 megapixel camera with a 10x zoom lens.

“At the top of Fujifilm’s line of consumer cameras sits the FinePix S9100, a 9-megapixel superzoom with a 10.7X optical, 28mm-to-300mm (35mm equivalent) f/2.8-to-f/4.9 zoom lens, and more features than you can shake an ultracompact at. But even with all those features, it is missing a very important one: image stabilization. Fuji talks big about its Picture Stabilization shooting mode, useful since it keeps your shutter speed fast and prevents blur. But it’s no substitute for optical or mechanical image stabilization, which can be found in numerous other superzooms.”

Website: CNET - Fujifilm FinePix S9100 Review

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CNET have reviewed the new Fujifilm S9600 (called the FinePix S9100 in the USA), which is a 9 megapixel camera with a 10x zoom lens. “At the top of Fujifilm’s line of consumer cameras sits the FinePix S9100, a 9-megapixel superzoom with a 10.7X optical, 28mm-to-300mm (35mm equivalent) f/2.8-to-f/4.9 zoom…

Casio EX-S770CNET have just reviewed the slim Casio EX-S770 camera, which offers 7.2 megapixel still images and records high-quality movies in MPEG-4 format.

“Despite a few quirks, the S770’s performance was excellent. The camera powers up in only 1.2 seconds and can take a shot every 1.3 seconds thereafter. With the onboard flash enabled, shot-to-shot time increases to a still satisfying 2.4 seconds. Shutter lag measures a speedy 0.4 second in bright light and only 1 second in dim light. Burst mode was sluggish, pumping out 24 full-resolution images in 33 seconds for a rate of 0.7 frame per second.”

Website: CNET - Casio EX-S770 Review

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CNET have just reviewed the slim Casio EX-S770 camera, which offers 7.2 megapixel still images and records high-quality movies in MPEG-4 format. “Despite a few quirks, the S770’s performance was excellent. The camera powers up in only 1.2 seconds and can take a shot every 1.3 seconds thereafter. With the…

Nikon Coolpix L6CNET have the first online review of the new 6 megapixel Nikon Coolpix L6 camera.

“While we were not pleased with the inability to select ISO, the Coolpix L6’s biggest drawback is its glacially slow performance, especially with flash enabled. If you can get past the fact that you’ll have to wait anywhere from 2.5 to 8.1 seconds between shots, and you like the idea of fully automated shooting, the Coolpix L6 could be a good choice. But your best bet is to spend a little extra cash and step up to a faster camera.”

Website: CNET - Nikon Coolpix L6 Review

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CNET have the first online review of the new 6 megapixel Nikon Coolpix L6 camera. “While we were not pleased with the inability to select ISO, the Coolpix L6’s biggest drawback is its glacially slow performance, especially with flash enabled. If you can get past the fact that you’ll have…

Casio EX-Z700CNET have reviewed the Casio EX-Z700, a 7.2 megapixel update of the EX-Z600, with a large 2.7 inch LCD screen with a brightness of 1200cd/m2 and 2 new Best Shot modes.

“The camera’s otherwise clear images had a few irritating flaws. Colors were reproduced well, and fine details could be easily spotted in our subjects, except on the extreme left side of our photos, which suffered from blurring and distortion. The distorted area is only on the left edge; it can be easily cropped, but it’s a bother. This lens issue also manifests in significant purple fringing on the edges of near-white objects.”

Website: CNET - Casio EX-Z700 Review

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CNET have reviewed the Casio EX-Z700, a 7.2 megapixel update of the EX-Z600, with a large 2.7 inch LCD screen with a brightness of 1200cd/m2 and 2 new Best Shot modes. “The camera’s otherwise clear images had a few irritating flaws. Colors were reproduced well, and fine details could be…

Panasonic LUMIX DMC-LX2PopPhoto have just reviewed the new 10 megapixel Panasonic LUMIX DMC-LX2.

“In all, the Lumix DMC-LX2 is the kind of upgrade we like. It overcomes most of the weaknesses of the LX1, except for the limited flash range. And with its improved low-light noise reduction and image stabilization, you might not even care about the flash. What you’re sure to care about: this camera’s excellent image quality, delightful LCD, super Leica lens, and $500 street price.”

Website: PopPhoto - Panasonic LUMIX DMC-LX2 Review

Website: Read our Panasonic Lumix DMC-LX2 Review

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PopPhoto have just reviewed the new 10 megapixel Panasonic LUMIX DMC-LX2. “In all, the Lumix DMC-LX2 is the kind of upgrade we like. It overcomes most of the weaknesses of the LX1, except for the limited flash range. And with its improved low-light noise reduction and image stabilization, you might…

Olympus mju 750PopPhoto have reviewed the new Olympus Stylus 750, which features a 5x optical zoom, image stabilisation and 7 megapixels.

“Overall, we were happy with the images produced by the 7.1-megapixel CCD sensor. On-screen the photos appear sharp and vivid. In addition, they can be output to large-formats—up to poster sizes as large as 15 x 20 inches. We think users will enjoy the 750’s thin, sleek, take anywhere, all-weather design and the powerful 5x optical zoom.”

Website: PopPhoto - Olympus Stylus 750 Review

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PopPhoto have reviewed the new Olympus Stylus 750, which features a 5x optical zoom, image stabilisation and 7 megapixels. “Overall, we were happy with the images produced by the 7.1-megapixel CCD sensor. On-screen the photos appear sharp and vivid. In addition, they can be output to large-formats—up to poster sizes…

Olympus SP-510 UZDigital Trends have reviewed the 7 megapixel, 10x optical zoom Olympus SP-510 UZ.

“After filling the xD Picture card a few times, it was time to make some prints to check the results. After cranking out many full-bleed 8.5x11s, it was time to make a judgment. First off, you’re probably wondering how an image taken with ISO 4000 looks. In a word, terrible but it would be foolish to think a $329 point-and-shoot digicam could actually capture a quality image at that setting. Worse still, noise reared its ugly head at ISO 200 and at 400 it was much worse. If you buy this camera, don’t push the ISO at all—leave it on Auto.”

Website: Digital Trends - Olympus SP-510 UZ Review

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Digital Trends have reviewed the 7 megapixel, 10x optical zoom Olympus SP-510 UZ. “After filling the xD Picture card a few times, it was time to make some prints to check the results. After cranking out many full-bleed 8.5x11s, it was time to make a judgment. First off, you’re probably…

Monday, October 30, 2006

tetleyjackrusselIn the latest installment of this regular series, we cast the spotlight on members of the PhotographyBLOG Gallery and ask them about their photography. The 17th member to sit in the interview chair is tetleyjackrussel.

”...my favourite at present is landscapes, I just love all of the colours, the shapes and especially clouds or sunsets and I find it amazing that I can revisit the same place throughout the year and find that I have ever changing subject matter.”

Website: Gallery Member Spotlight - tetleyjackrussel

In the latest installment of this regular series, we cast the spotlight on members of the PhotographyBLOG Gallery and ask them about their photography. The 17th member to sit in the interview chair is tetleyjackrussel. ”...my favourite at present is landscapes, I just love all of the colours, the shapes…

SanDisk Extreme IV BundleThe October 2006 Giveaway has now ended - here are the 3 lucky winners who each win a prize.

David McGloin has won a SanDisk Extreme IV 2Gb Compact Flash Card and Firewire Reader.
Kindly donated by Sandisk

Malcolm Black and Theodore Bruszewski have each won a copy of The Art of RAW Conversion
Kindly donated by No Starch Press

Don’t worry if you didn’t win this time - a brand new contest will be starting soon…

The October 2006 Giveaway has now ended - here are the 3 lucky winners who each win a prize. David McGloin has won a SanDisk Extreme IV 2Gb Compact Flash Card and Firewire Reader. Kindly donated by Sandisk Malcolm Black and Theodore Bruszewski have each won a copy of The…

DPNow have a very interesting article that considers how we should be appreciating our digital photography.

“I agree with many of your points - but I think the question has to be asked - if we are only going to print at a certain size or view at a certain size on screen then what is the purpose of 10mp - especially if the quality of the image when one crops or views the full 10mp worth of image at 100% is not very good. Surely we should slate *all* manufacturers that take this route in the hope they might channel their features and future efforts towards actual tangible and useful improvements – at the end of the day I don’t think anyone wants resolution that can’t be used.”

Website: DPNow - How you appreciate your digital photography?

DPNow have a very interesting article that considers how we should be appreciating our digital photography. “I agree with many of your points - but I think the question has to be asked - if we are only going to print at a certain size or view at a certain…

High Dynamic Range TutorialThe blog Daily Pete has an in-depth guide to High Dynamic Range photography, which is combining several shots of the same subject with differing exposures, to create one image with more detail in the highlights and shadows.

“There is a lot of talk on the Web about true HDR images. Lots of people argue that a HDRI from 1 RAW file isn’t a true HDRI. I personally believe that the end result is all that matters. If you sell a print in a gallery is the buyer really going to care if its a true HDR image or a “HDR” image? Are they really that bothered about how many bits of colour there are or just how much data there really is in the image? Probably not. They may ask how you created it out of a passing interest but are they really truely going to care? I doubt they will.”

Website: Daily Pete - HDR Tutorial: How to create ‘High Dynamic Range’ images using Photomatix

The blog Daily Pete has an in-depth guide to High Dynamic Range photography, which is combining several shots of the same subject with differing exposures, to create one image with more detail in the highlights and shadows. “There is a lot of talk on the Web about true HDR images…

What the Duck Photo ComicstripWhat the Duck is an often irreverent look at the world of photography, seen through the eyes of a comic strip duck. This may be the only online photography comic strip in the world - anyone know of any others?

Website: What the Duck

What the Duck is an often irreverent look at the world of photography, seen through the eyes of a comic strip duck. This may be the only online photography comic strip in the world - anyone know of any others? Website: What the Duck

Ferrania Compatible Print Kit for Epson PictureMateFerrania Technologies Press Release

Ferrania Technologies expands inkjet products line with Compatible Print Kit that delivers 4” x 6” prints for as low as 16¢ each

Chicago, Ill. — November 12, 2006 — Ferrania Technologies (Booth #4342) is here to help retailers attending the 2006 Private Label Manufacturers Association offer their consumers the first ever paper and ink compatible replacement print kit for EPSON PICTUREMATE*. “It is estimated that there are over 10 million of these printers in US homes,” stated Tom Zohn, Inkjet Director of Growth for Ferrania.  “We’re so pleased that we can offer retailers an attractive alternative to the current OEM product, at a price 45% less than what their consumer customers are currently paying.”

Ferrania Technologies Press Release Ferrania Technologies expands inkjet products line with Compatible Print Kit that delivers 4” x 6” prints for as low as 16¢ each Chicago, Ill. — November 12, 2006 — Ferrania Technologies (Booth #4342) is here to help retailers attending the 2006 Private Label Manufacturers Association offer…

Ferrania Illuminated Photo FramesFerrania Technologies Press Release

Chicago, Ill. — November 12, 2006 — Ferrania Technologies (Booth #4342) is here to help retailers attending the 2006 Private Label Manufacturers Association “switch on to a revolution!”  NEW Illuminated Photo Frames.  “These unique frames will enhance any traditional or digital imaging photo,” stated Don Cacciola, General Manager.  “They will put the light back in your favorite photo!”  These revolutionary frames use Back-Lit Flat Screen Thin Film Technology.  They are excellent “everyday” frames for use throughout the home and office, plus they make great gifts for any special occasion, like holidays, birthdays, weddings, anniversaries, Mother’s Day, and Father’s Day, as well as for corporate gifts.

Ferrania Technologies Press Release Chicago, Ill. — November 12, 2006 — Ferrania Technologies (Booth #4342) is here to help retailers attending the 2006 Private Label Manufacturers Association “switch on to a revolution!” NEW Illuminated Photo Frames. “These unique frames will enhance any traditional or digital imaging photo,” stated Don Cacciola…