Panasonic Press Release

Panasonic today introduced two new interchangeable lenses designed specifically for the digital SLR camera. Both the LEICA D VARIO-ELMARIT 14-50mm/F2.8-3.5 ASPH. and the LEICA D SUMMILUX 25mm/F1.4 ASPH. comply with the Four Thirds System.

The LEICA D VARIO-ELMARIT 14-50mm/F2.8-3.5 lens (35mm equivalent: 28-100mm) is a bright F2.8 standard zoom lens that was previously sold with the LUMIX L1 package and is now offered separately. It delivers an outstanding optical performance and incorporates Panasonic’s MEGA O.I.S. – an optical image stabilization system that can add up to three additional exposure stops when shooting. Also equipped with an aperture ring, the D VARIO-ELMARIT lens provides easy, intuitive shooting when used in-conjunction with Panasonic’s first digital SLR camera LUMIX DMC-L1. The new LEICA D SUMMILUX 25mm/F1.4 lens (35mm equivalent: 50mm) is a bright, large-diameter F1.4 standard lens. Like the D VARIO-ELMARIT lens, it incorporates an aperture ring. It boasts as many as 10 lens elements in 9 groups, including a large-diameter aspherical lens, which assure a superb optical performance and F1.4 brightness, while three ED (extra-low dispersion) lenses reduce color bleeding to an absolute minimum.

Kodak Press Release

ROCHESTER NY and COLOGNE GERMANY, September 26—Taking a bold new step in wireless printing technology, Eastman Kodak Company today announced the KODAK EASYSHARE Photo Printer 350—an affordable, innovative, and easy-to-use printing solution ideal for camera-equipped mobile phones. Using state-of-the-art BLUETOOTH® wireless technology, the Photo Printer 350 can wirelessly print 4x6-inch photos directly from BLUETOOTH technology-enabled devices.  Additionally, the Photo Printer 350 works with any PICTBRIDGE-enabled digital camera or camera phone and can quickly print pictures from personal computers using USB 2.0. “As the latest addition to Kodak’s award-winning line of EASYSHARE printers, we are proud to introduce the EASYSHARE Photo Printer 350.  Kodak is committed to offering consumers a smart and simple photo printing solution at an affordable price that does not sacrifice quality,” said Lisa Vandemark, Worldwide Marketing Director, Kodak’s Home Printing.  “Helping to free pictures wirelessly from their mobile phone, the Photo Printer 350 is an essential companion to any BLUETOOTH technology-enabled camera phone and part of a cool, interactive printing experience.”

Hasselblad Press Release

Hasselblad Launches World’s First 48mm Full-Frame DSLR Camera System - With a new, fully digital strategy, Hasselblad sets new benchmark in high-end DSLR camera systems for professional photographers.

Hasselblad is today firmly positioning itself as the pre-eminent provider of high-end digital cameras with the launch of the Hasselblad H3D, the world’s first 48mm full-frame DSLR camera system.  The H3D is the result of Hasselblad’s strategy of taking photographic flexibility and image quality to new levels, as yet unseen in any competing product.  When compared with high-end 35mm DSLRs, the H3D delivers unmatched pixel resolution, better colors and detail rendering and a new choice of viewfinders for creative image composition.  In comparison with digital backs, the H3D delivers image quality with a higher level of detail and true sharpness thanks to Hasselblad’s Digital APO Correction (DAC) and the advances of its new Ultra-Focus functionality.  The H3D’s full-frame concept offers unique control of image composition and with its new 28mm lens, the H3D allows photographers for the first time ever to take wide angle shots on a 36 x 48mm sensor.

Carl Zeiss Press Release

Oberkochen, 25.09.2006. - Victor Hasselblad’s world-famous medium format camera with its distinct cube-shaped body and elegant, chrome-plated contours has become a real icon. Many experienced photographers across the globe consider the Hasselblad with its Carl Zeiss lenses to be the best camera ever – particularly when it comes to image quality. This is also why NASA opted for this camera for their photos of the moon landing. At Photokina 2006, Carl Zeiss presents its new ZV lenses which are particularly tailored to the aesthetic design of this classic camera. They provide everything demanding photographers expect of lenses of a particularly high quality.

Carl Zeiss Press Release

Oberkochen, 25.09.2006. - Tailor-made for the Zeiss Ikon rangefinder camera and other cameras with Leica M-bayonet, Carl Zeiss will launch two new, particularly compact super wide angle lenses at Photokina 2006: Distagon T* 4/18 ZM and C Biogon T* 4.5/21 ZM. Both lenses are based on highly sophisticated optical designs from Carl Zeiss and provide high image definition in high purity colors – without flare and ghosting. They both cover the full 24x36mm format and are suitable for both analog and digital photography. Even with digital sensors in the small APS-C format, they still cover very wide field angles. Both lenses are remarkably compact and light and are therefore ideal for mobile photography.

Carl Zeiss Press Release

Oberkochen/Germany, 25.09.2006. - Carl Zeiss introduces two completely new wide-angle lenses with Nikon F mount. They cover full 35mm frame and can be used on both analog and digital SLRs. They focus manually and can produce sharpness well beyond the capabilities of the best color films available today. Both lenses feature a long-life all-metal barrel of very high precision. The Distagon T* 2/35 ZF is a versatile all-round lens with moderate wide-angle coverage and high speed, a classical standard for photojournalistic work. Due to its high performance this lens can capture very detailed scenes with high accuracy and information content.

Carl Zeiss Press Release

Oberkochen/Germany, 25.09.2006. - At f/2, the new ZEISS Makro-Planar T* 2/50 ZF and Makro-Planar T* 2/100 ZF are the fastest macro lenses for 35mm full-frame photography today - whether for film or digital capture. The two new lenses focus manually from infinity to ½-life size, capturing an object field of approximately 50x70mm at the close-focus limit. All of the ZEISS ZF lenses feature precision metal mechanics, providing the photographer with a durable, reliable tool of lasting value. A ‘floating element’ optical system enables the Makro-Planar T* 2/50 ZF to deliver very high image quality over the entire focusing range. The Makro-Planar T* 2/100 ZF goes several steps further by employing an optical design originally developed for the ARRI/ZEISS Master Prime T* 1.2/100 – an ultra-high performance lens for big budget feature films. Thus, the Makro-Planar T* 2/100 ZF lens offers an optical performance never before available for still photography, especially at wide-open apertures and in macro applications. This lens allows photographers to use selective focus on important details with unprecedented clarity, effectively isolating the subject from distracting surroundings. This is a common technique used by Directors of Photography in the Cine industry to direct the viewer’s attention and create what admirers call the ‘film look’.

Carl Zeiss Press Release

Oberkochen/Germany, 25.09.2006. - Never before has the world of photography seen such a lens. The ZEISS Apo Sonnar T* 4/1700 was developed by Carl Zeiss for a customer with very high demands and a special interest in long distance wildlife photography. To achieve the highest possible image quality, the customer decided on the Hasselblad 203FE 6x6cm medium format camera and ZEISS lenses as the best combination for his special needs. At a focal length of 1700mm and a speed of f/4, this project even challenged the manufacture of the optical glass. The delicate, special glass types required for this unique design had never been cast before in such huge dimensions. Some of the resulting lens blanks weighed more than 25 kg (55 lbs.) and were valued more than a luxury sedan! Turning these blanks into the finished lens elements added even more to their value.

Canon UK Press Release

Canon, one of the world’s leading photographic brands, has joined forces with Experience Seminars to offer consumers who purchase the Canon EOS 400D a £50 saving on a bespoke course designed to help consumers maximise the potential of their purchase. The promotion will run both in-store and online from 1st October 2006 through until 31st January 2007. Experience Seminars, the leading training organisation in EOS photography, has developed a new course to complement Canon’s latest consumer Digital SLR product which is already proving to be a worthy successor to the EOS 350D. Mark Robinson, Trade Marketing Manager for Canon is confident of continued success between the two organisations, “This promotion, which through its aspirational nature, will encourage consumers to take their photography to the next level, and with the EOS 400D they already have the camera to do this. Through the added expertise that Experience Seminars has to offer, I have no doubt that consumers soon be producing images that before they could only have dreamed about.”

LaCie Press Release

PORTLAND, OR (September 2006) – Today LaCie unleashed the d2 SATA II 3Gbits Hard Drive Series, ultra-speedy desktop hard drives with interface speeds up to 3Gbit/s—twice as fast as LaCie’s first-generation SATA I 1.5Gbits drives. Faster interface transfer rates provide enough bandwidth for even the most demanding audio/video applications and small server/IT workstations, especially when multiple drives are striped together in a software RAID. Boot Windows or Mac natively from the drive or use it as a cost-effective back up solution with included LaCie software. LaCie d2 SATA II 3Gbits Hard Drives Series offer up to an amazing 500GB on one disk for ultimate capacity and speed in a sleek d2 case. “LaCie has lead the way with making external SATA hard drives accessible and affordable for early adopters,” said Olivier Mirloup, LaCie Hard Drive Business Unit Manager. “Our new d2 SATA II 3Gbits Hard Drives are faster than the previous generation and the best alternative to high-priced SCSI. You’ll see more adoption of eSATA in 2007 as many desktop and even laptop computers adopt this new external interface natively, or with optional cards.”

Andy Rouse Press Release

Wiltshire, September 2006: the UK professional wildlife photographer Andy Rouse will be bringing his latest African adventures directly to his popular website BLOG as they happen. Every night from October 8th – 14th he will update the BLOG live from the wilds of the African bush with images taken during that day and the stories that accompany them. This will provide a unique insight into the work of one of the most prolific wildlife photographers in the world and will provide an educational experience for photographers and animal lovers alike.

This week’s Gary’s Parries topics are:

1. Vacationing In Beautiful Atlantic City
2. Windows Laptop for Photo Processing

Introducing this week’s Gary’s Parries column. Everything you always wanted to know about digital cameras, but were afraid to ask. No question too difficult, or too easy. As a Senior Principal Software Engineer, and a former Assistant Professor of Computer Information Systems, as well as a recording studio owner/operator, inventor, and now, a digital camera enthusiast, GARY has more digital camera knowledge in his entire brain than most people have in their little finger. In the unlikely event that GARY would not know the answer to your question, he will answer it anyway, true to the spirit of the word “Parries”, a fencing term which, in this context, implies “cleverly evasive answers”. So let your imagination run wild. Email all your nagging digital camera questions to: [email protected] , and then, En Garde!

You may also attach to your email an ORIGINAL PHOTO of your choosing. A preview of the photo will be displayed with your question, and a full-sized version will be just a click away. No personal information will be published with your question unless you specifically include it in the text or attached photo of your email, which may be further edited for grammar, content, or other reasons.

The new Canon G7 features a 10 megapixel, 1/1.8 inch sensor, DIGIC III image processor, Face Detection, 35-210mm lens and optical image stabilization system. The Canon G7 will be available in October 2006 for $599.99 / £449.00 / €649.99.

Canon USA Press Release

Canon Combines Top-Tier Tech and Classic Camera Design into Line Leading 10-Megapixel Canon PowerShot G7 Digital Camera

LAKE SUCCESS, N.Y.—Sept. 14, 2006—The Canon PowerShot G7 digital camera, the new flagship of Canon’s ever popular fleet of PowerShot digital cameras will be sailing into stores beginning in October, equipped with a boatload of Canon’s newest technological achievements and user-friendly features and carrying an estimated selling price of $599.99.* Designed to delight even the most die-hard photo enthusiast, the 10-megapixel Canon G7 digital camera continues the tradition of imaging excellence, innovation and ease of use that began when the PowerShot G1 was introduced a mere six years ago.

Photokina Update: We now have some product photos live from Photokina 2006 - just click the link below to view them.

The Pentax K10D DSLR camera is announced today. The K10D 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. There is also a new D-BG2 Battery Grip for the K10D, and a new range of supersonic motor-driven lenses are currently being developed. Price and availability of the Pentax K10D is still to be confirmed.

Pentax UK Press Release

PENTAX will be unveiling their new flagship product, the Pentax K10D lens-interchangeable digital SLR camera on September 14th 2006. The new Pentax K10D digital SLR camera combines 10.2 effective megapixels with a host of advanced technologies — including the PENTAX-original Shake Reduction (SR) system. The K10D combines 10.2 effective megapixels with an array of new advanced technology to make this camera a true class leader. These include the PENTAX-developed Shake Reduction (SR) system to minimise the adverse effects of camera shake, a newly developed A/D converter designed to convert a large volume of data more accurately and swiftly, and a new high-performance imaging engine designed exclusively for the Pentax K10D. The Pentax K10D also comes equipped with a host of features and functions designed to assist the photographer in all aspects of high-quality digital SLR photography. They include a new Dust Removal (DR) system to keep dust off the CCD surface, a PENTAX-original exposure system for accurate reproduction of the photographer’s creative intentions, and a dependable dust-proof, water-resistant body construction meaning photographers don’t have to stop taking pictures when the rain starts. All combined, the Pentax K10D delivers exceptionally high image quality and responds brilliantly to the exacting demands of advanced photographers and keen amateurs alike.

Photokina Update: We now have some product photos of the Pentax K10D with the 21mm, 40mm and 70mm pancake lenses, live from Photokina 2006 - just click the link below to view them.

Lensbabies Press Release

Lensbabies Launches Lensbaby 3G - 3rd Generation Selective Focus SLR Lens Locks in Bent Position, Allows Precision Focusing

Cologne, Germany; Photokina Hall 5.2, Booth D028 (September 26, 2006) – Today Lensbabies, LLC launched its 3rd generation selective focus Single Lens-Reflex (SLR) lens, Lensbaby 3G, introducing new features that dramatically expand the Lensbaby product family’s capabilities. The Lensbaby 3G SLR lens allows photographers to lock the Lensbaby in a desired bent position simply by pressing a button. Then, using a traditional barrel focus mechanism, photographers can do fine focusing and precisely place the sweet spot of sharp focus before pressing the shutter release.  The Original Lensbaby lens and the Lensbaby 2.0 lens require the photographer to manually hold the Lensbaby in a bent position while pressing the shutter release. Lensbaby selective focus SLR camera lenses take photos with one area in sharp focus, with that ‘sweet spot’ surrounded by graduated blur. Photographers can move the sweet spot of sharp focus anywhere in the photo by bending the flexible lens tubing.

Photokina Update: We now have some product photos live from Photokina 2006 - just click the link below to view them.

Nokia Press Release

Nokia Open Studio 2006, New York, US - Nokia today introduced the Nokia N95, an all-in-one multimedia computer with a pioneering 2-way slide concept, integrated GPS functionality, a 5 megapixel camera and support for high-speed mobile networks, making it easier to watch and record videos, listen to songs, take high-quality photos, browse the internet, or catch up on email while on the move. “The Nokia N95 brings a range of multimedia ingredients together, such as a fantastic display, outstanding photo and video capability and high-speed connectivity, making it the ultimate multimedia computer,” said Anssi Vanjoki, Executive Vice President, Multimedia, Nokia. “This single device - which fits easily in your pocket - can replace stand-alone devices that you no longer need, whether it’s your music player, your digital camera, PDA or navigation device. Most importantly, the Nokia N95 is with you and connected when you want to use it.”

Photokina Update: We now have some product photos live from Photokina 2006 - just click the link below to view them.

Fujifilm USA have unveiled the FinePix S6000fd, a 6 megapixel digital camera with a 10.7x zoom lens equivalent to 28-300mm. The Fujifilm S6000fd will be available in September for $499.95. The FinePix S6500fd will be available from UK retailers in October 2006, price to be announced, and in Europe from mid-September for 499 €.

Fujifilm USA Press Release

Valhalla, NY, July 12, 2006 - Fujifilm continues to make top-quality picture-taking a snap for consumers with today’s introduction of the SLR-styled FinePix S6000fd, the first digital camera in Fujifilm’s line-up with the company’s new Face Detection Technology. Face Detection Technology operates exactly as its name implies, identifying up to 10 faces in a framed scene. Once faces are identified and prioritized, the 6.3 MegaPixel FinePix S6000fd adjusts its focus and exposure accordingly to ensure the sharpness and clarity of human subjects in the picture, regardless of background. And since it is hardware rather than software based, Fujifilm’s Face Detection Technology works in as little as 0.05 seconds, faster than similar in-camera detection systems currently on the market or soon to be available. Quicker operation reduces the likelihood of missed or blurry photos, frustrations often associated with digital photography.

Photokina Update: We now have some product photos live from Photokina 2006 - just click the link below to view them.

HP Press Release

The versatile HP Photosmart Pro B8350 Photo Printer is ideal for hobbyist photographers and offices who want to achieve professional lab-quality prints and documents – from 9x13cm to 33x48cm.  The printer produces rich and realistic, six-ink colour photos that resist fading longer than lab-processed photos – up to 108 years – using HP Vivera Inks.(1)  Additionally, the HP Photosmart Pro B8350 Photo Printer offers office and home users more printing options via a rear input tray, and easily handles thicker and stiffer papers.

HP Press Release

The HP Scanjet G4050 Photo Scanner provides breakthrough innovation with 6-colour/96-bit scanning for photos, slides and negatives which gives outstanding colour accuracy in scanning and reproduction, plus a transparent materials adapter that can hold up to sixteen 35mm slides or 30 negative frames for scanning of multiple images. The HP Scanjet G4050 features HP Real Life technologies for professional hardware dust and scratch removal, faded colour restoration and automatic red-eye removal, allowing users to easily restore valuable memories. Four one-touch task buttons, along with included HP Photosmart software and HP Photosmart Share, make it easy to restore, enhance and share photos.

HP Press Release

The HP Scanjet G4010 Photo Scanner gives home users who wish to digitise their memories and documents a new standard in resolution and colour reproduction. It provides breakthrough innovation with 6-colour/96-bit photo scanning, while a built-in adapter makes it easy to convert multiple 35mm slides and negatives into digital files at once. With included HP Real Life technologies, users can easily restore old or damaged photos, slides and negatives by removing dust and scratches, restoring faded colour, automatically removing red-eye and enhancing detail in dark areas of photos. Additionally, the HP Scanjet G4010 Photo Scanner features four one-touch task buttons to quickly organise, edit, share and save scans.