Imaging Resource have reviewed the Sony T10, a 7 slim megapixel digital camera with a 3x zoom lens, 2.5 inch LCD screen, optical image stabilization and a fastest ISO speed of 1000.

“Even if the T10 looked like debris from a Soviet space capsule, its image stabilization would make it a winner. Toss in sensitivity that goes into orbit at ISO 1000 and you have a serious toy. And add that fashion statement to make it too compelling to ignore. “I always liked Sony,” Mom said. She could be on to something there.”

Website: Imaging Resource - Sony DSC-T10 Review

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Bibble Labs Press Release

Bibble Labs Releases Version 4.9 Upgrade, Including Clone & Healing Tool, Sensor Correction and 5-Star Ratings - Last major upgrade before 5.0 supports Sony Alpha a100, Nikon D80, Canon 400D Rebel XTi, and localized interface. 

Photokina 2006 Cologne, Germany (Sept 22, 2006) - Bibble Labs, Inc announces the immediate availability of version 4.9 of Bibble Pro and Bibble Lite. This upgrade to the Bibble 4 product line includes the frequently requested Clone / Spot Healing tool, sensor defect correction, image rating and support for the latest cameras. Provided as a free upgrade download for all current Bibble 4 customers, version 4.9 represents the ultimate version of Bibble 4. Digital photographers have been asking for a single tool to perform all their image adjustments - not several tools for specific jobs. Adding Noise Ninja technology and one-touch image optimization with Perfectly Clear in releases 4.6 and 4.7 went a long way to building a single tool for all digital darkroom needs; and with the Cloning & Healing tool in 4.9, Bibble Pro and Bibble Lite now offer the most complete and self contained workflow. “Many customers were telling us that cloning to remove blemishes and dust spots was the only correction they needed to perform in another application” says Eric Hyman, president and CEO of Bibble Labs. “Including Cloning and Healing, lens distortion correction, and stuck-pixel removal in one RAW-enabled application makes Bibble Pro and Lite the one-stop-shop for the digital darkroom.”

FotoNation Press Release

September 21, 2006, Galway, Ireland—FotoNation®  (www.fotonation.com), one of the world’s leading embedded imaging and connectivity companies, announced today that it will demonstrate its new patented FotoNation Dust Removal Technology at Photokina 2006, held in Cologne, Germany from September 26 - October 1st, 2006. The FotoNation Dust Removal Technology completely and automatically removes dust from digital images. FotoNation has been awarded a U.S. patent for this technology and has 10 additional patents pending in the U.S., Europe, and Japan.  FotoNation eliminates dust from images using in-camera software which distinguishes between dust and real detail in the photo.  The software dynamically builds a map of every dust-spec and then tracks changes and movement of the dust particles to distinguish dust from the details of the photograph.  The technology has been designed to scale across multiple platforms is optimized to run as embedded software in digital cameras and mobile phone cameras as part of image acquisition.

Extensis Press Release

PORTLAND, Ore. — September 21, 2006 — Extensis, a division of Celartem Inc., today released free updates to Portfolio 8 –– the leading Digital Asset Management (DAM) solution for creative professionals. The updates bring improved stability and performance,
updated Raw camera support, added InDesign CS2 support, and a QuarkXPress 7 Drag-and-Drop support filter for Mac users. Registered owners of Portfolio 8 are eligible to receive the free upgrades immediately through the Extensis website at http://www.extensis.com/portfolio .

Smartparts Press Release

Englewood, NJ (September 22, 2006) – Smartparts, Inc. (www.smartpartsproducts.com), one of the pioneers of the quickly growing Digital Picture Frame product category, announces an affordable easy-to-use Digital Picture Frame with a 5.6-inch LCD display that clearly showcases standard (JPEG) images and movie (.avi) files. Featuring three interchangeable 8” x 7” frames including a genuine walnut wood frame, automatic variable-speed slide show capability, infrared (IR) remote control for easy and interactive use, USB cable and AC adapter, this 8” x 7” digital picture frame is compatible with all memory cards including SecureDigital (SD), SmartMedia (SM), Memory Stick (MS), MultiMediaCard (MMC), CompactFlash (CF) and xD Picture Cards. It can easily be displayed on a desk or countertop.

Sigma User Press Release

The quality and popularity of SIGMA’s lenses, flashguns and other accessories along with their SD series of cameras goes hand in hand with the huge increase in the use of Digital SLR cameras over the last few years. Sigma are now leading the way with third party optics designed for these modern electronic cameras. With this vastly increased quality, along with the number of ‘new’ photographers, we at SigmaUser.co.uk thought it was about time for a dedicated, independent website where users of Sigma’s equipment can exchange views, techniques, ideas and generally share their knowledge and show off their images. So we have put one together!

Nik Software Press Release

The new Nik Professional Suite bundles the complete versions of Nik Software’s award-winning Nik Color Efex Pro™ 2.0, Nik Sharpener Pro™ 2.0 and Dfine® 1.0 and will be presented for the first time at photokina in Cologne. Come see us in hall 4.1, booth E-011/F-019, on 26th September – 1st October 2006. It is now easier and more affordable then ever for all photographers and digital artists to benefit from all that digital photography has to offer.

DIWA member and Norwegian website Digit.no have published their review of the new Panasonic DMC-L1 DSLR camera.

“Considering that the Lumix DMC-L1 is a digital SLR camera, its appearance is quite unique. Behind its classic design that resembles an “old-fashioned” rangefinder camera, the L1 combines traditional camera controls with the latest digital technologies in a masterly fashion. Built on the stainless steel base of the Olympus E-330, strengthened with a magnesium alloy exterior shell, it is indeed a robust camera that meets professional requirements. Add to this a top-ranked Leica Vario-Elmarit zoom lens with optical stabiliser, a Live View NMOS image sensor with 7.5 MP resolution, a 2.2” LCD screen and a multitude of manual overrides, together making the L1 a desirable camera for many experienced photographers. Unfortunately, Panasonic has overlooked a few quite annoying details, and some useful features from the E-330 are missing. Despite of this, the Lumix L1 is a “one of the kind” camera that it is easy to fall in love with, if not by first sight, certainly after getting acquainted with its many good qualities.”

Website: Digit.no - Panasonic DMC-L1 Review

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ThinkCamera have published their review of the 12.8 megapixel Canon EOS 5D digital SLR.

“The low level of apparent noise on this camera is astounding. There’s very little noise even at ISO 800 and 1600, so you’ll be able to print your images at large sizes or crop into details without having to shrink the print size too far. Set the camera to ISO 800 and the files look like those shot on some other DSLRs at ISO 400. ISO 1600 starts to get a little noisy but no worse than many competitors at ISO 800 and even ISO 3200 could be considered “usable” for some purposes”

Website: ThinkCamera - Canon EOS 5D Review

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PCMagazine have just reviewed the Casio EXILIM ZOOM EX-Z850 camera, which offers 8.1 megapixels, 3x optical zoom lens, manual exposure and advanced flash options.

“A nice-looking ultracompact camera, the Casio Exilim EX-Z850 ($399.99 list) is both small and sleek. Even so, it includes special features like antishake DSPs (digital signal processors) and the ability to control aperture and shutter speed settings manually. For a basic point-and-shoot, though, there was a steep learning curve—partly due to confusing, unintuitive menus and a lack of on-screen guides. Image quality was good overall. Still, I expected photos to be sharper, given the camera’s 8-megapixel resolution.”

Website: PCMagazine - Casio EX-Z850 Review

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Luminous Landscape have reviewed the Sigma APO 300-800mm F5.6 EX DG HSM lens, nicknamed the Sigmonster!

“If you are still paying attention, you must like what you see. Image quality is superb. What about focus speed? The Sigma HSM focusing motor is the match of Canon’s Ultrasonic USM motor at f5.6. The Canon system is faster at f4, but that’s always the case. A larger maximum aperture will allow for faster focusing speeds. Focusing accuracy is also, at least in my sample very, very good. I almost never override and use manual focus, and I’m a stickler for focus accuracy.”

Website: Luminous Landscape - Sigma 300-800mm Lens Review

Photokina Show have just reviewed the new SanDisk Extreme IV CompactFlash card and Firewire reader.

“The SanDisk Extreme IV memory card has immediate benefits for professional digital SLR photographers working with digital equipment like the Hasselblad H2D or high resolution digital SLR cameras like the Canon EOS 1Ds Mark II 16 Megapixel DSLR camera. When we conducted our tests with cameras like the Canon EOS 1D Mark II N and Nikon D200 we had to admit that these fairly new cameras were not able to get the most out of the Extreme IV memory card. The bottleneck is the digital SLR camera that doesn’t (yet) support the fast Ultra DMA and this is a limitation.”

Website: Photokina Show - SanDisk Extreme IV Review

ThinkCamera have reviewed the Canon Digital IXUS 60, a 6 megapixel digital camera with a 3x zoom lens, ISO 800, Widescreen (16:9) mode, and 2.5 inch LCD screen.

“If you’ve ever picked up an Ixus then you’ll know exactly what this camera looks like - they hit a design 10 years ago and stuck to it because it’s a great design. The camera is almost exactly credit card sized but thicker than a couple of the ultra slim models we’ve seen. Most of the body appears to be plastic. There’s just enough metal on there to keep to the Ixus ethic. The Ixus 65 feels heavier than you expect though - it’s only 145g but something about it feels solid. It’s also nicely balanced - without the battery you can tell the left side is much heavier than the right. Pop the battery in and it’s perfectly balanced.”

Website: ThinkCamera - Canon Digital IXUS 65 Review

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Pentax have revealed that they will be showing 3 new SLR lenses - smc PENTAX-DA* 16-50mm F2.8ED AL[IF], smc PENTAX-DA* 50-135mm F2.8ED [IF] and smc PENTAX-DA* 60-250mm F4ED [IF], at Photokina next week, along with the 18 megapixel PENTAX 645 Digital medium-format camera (first shown as a prototype back at PMA in February). The company have also announced that the 645 Digital will be upgraded with new sensors throughout its life, reaching an expected final resolution of 30 megapixels.

Pentax UK Press Release

Thursday 21st September 2006, London - Pentax will be exhibiting three new interchangeable digital SLR camera lenses, as well as a new medium-format camera, at this year’s Photokina in Cologne.  Still in pre-production, Photokina will represent the first opportunity for anyone outside of Pentax’s engineering team to view these exciting new products. Also on demonstration at the show will be the recently launched K10D - Pentax’s flagship digital SLR camera, featuring 10 megapixels, Pentax’s proprietary shake reduction system and a host of other innovative features.  These in turn will be supported by Pentax’s current digital compact line-up, which includes marketing leading cameras such as the Optio A20, Optio W20 and Optio T20.

The Seitz 6x17 Digital is a 160 megapixel (yes, 160!) digital panorama camera. The price for the Seitz 6x17 Digital panorama camera with its Seitz D3 scan back (mobile version) is 45,500 Swiss Francs (28,900 Euro) and for the studio version 42,300 Swiss Francs (26,900 Euro). Peanuts…

Seitz Press Release

Seitz 6x17 Digital – 160 Million Pixels In One Second – The Digital Revolution in 6x17 Panoramic Photography

Swiss company Seitz Phototechnik AG expands the current boundaries in digital photography. With the new Seitz D3 scan technology it is possible to create a digital 6x17 image with impressive resolution (160 million pixels) in one second. The new Seitz 6x17 digital camera with its D3 digital back is equipped with the first high-speed scanning sensor developed specifically for photography. Over the last years Seitz has worked closely with specialists of DALSA Corporation from sensor design to prototyping and production. In this way, it has been possible to tailor the capabilities of the new sensor to the exact needs of the photographer: very high speed, increased sensitivity and very high image quality as required for photography applications. The new camera system is fully mobile and easy to operate thanks to a handheld device with a graphical touch-screen. For data transfer and communication the latest computer technologies are used. World-class lenses by Schneider, Rodenstock or other large-format brands can be used with the new camera and can be used interchangeably with the new camera. The Seitz D3 sensor cassette can also be fitted to other cameras, such as our new Roundshot D3 360° Panorama camera, which makes the investment in the Seitz D3 technology truly rewarding.

The price for the 470 megapixel Roundshot D3 panorama camera with its Seitz D3 scan back (mobile version) is 46,900 Swiss Francs (29,800 Euro) and for the studio version 43,700 Swiss Francs (28,800 Euro).

Seitz Press Release

Roundshot D3 – 470 Million Pixels In 2 Seconds – The Digital Revolution In 360° Panorama Photography

Swiss company Seitz Phototechnik AG expands the current boundaries in digital photography. With the new Seitz D3 scan technology it is possible to create a digital 360° panorama of impressive resolution in only 2 seconds and with very high image quality. The new rotating Roundshot D3 digital camera with its D3 digital back is equipped with the first high-speed scanning sensor developed specifically for photography. Over the last years Seitz has worked closely with specialists of DALSA Corporation from sensor design to prototyping and production. In this way, Seitz has been able to tailor the capabilities of the new sensor the exact needs of the photographer: very high speed, increased sensitivity and very high image quality as required for photography applications. The new camera system is fully mobile and easy to operate thanks to a handheld device with a graphical touch-screen. For data transfer and communication the latest computer technologies are used. World-class medium or large format lenses of Schneider, Rodenstock, Hasselblad, Pentax 67 or other brands can be used interchangeably with the new camera. The Seitz D3 sensor cassette can also be fitted to other cameras, such as the new Seitz 6x17 Digital panorama camera, which makes the investment in the Seitz D3 technology truly rewarding.

Lensbabies Press Release

Lensbabies is happy to announce today the launch of new Lensbaby branded accessory lenses, a Lensbaby Wide Angle/Macro Conversion Lens and a Lensbaby Wide Angle/Telephoto Lens kit. Most notable about the new wide angle accessory lens is that it is optimized for use with the Lensbaby - no other wide angle accessory on the market preserves the size of the sweet spot of focus the way the Lensbaby wide angle lens does. When a photographer uses an industry standard wide angle conversion lens with a Lensbaby it shrinks the size of the Sweet Spot.  The shrinking Sweet Spot makes it harder to shoot wide open at f/2.0 or f/2.8, because the Sweet Spot reduces to quite a small percentage of the photo.  Our new Lensbaby wide angle conversion lenses solve the problem of the shrinking Sweet Spot.

muvee Press Release

Free web service automatically creates finished video mixes out of users’ uploaded video clips, pictures and music for online enjoyment

muvee announces muveeMix.com, a brand new site that allows anyone to automatically create polished video montages – called muvees – online without having to do any video editing. muveeMix intelligently cuts highlights of a user’s video and pictures to the beat of personally selected music, and adds in other themed artistic elements based on the video creation style that the user chooses. As the pioneer and leader in Instant Personal Video, muvee has over five years’ experience developing its unique approach to consumer video production, and is now making this technology available through any web browser. Users go to www.muveeMix.com where, in a few quick steps, they can add in their video clips, pictures and a music track. They then choose a video style that comes complete with transitions, special effects and other graphical elements. Without further user intervention, muveeMix transforms the images into a stylish, professionally-cut video production that the user can embed in a blog or post to a favorite video hosting or community site.

Carl Zeiss Sports Optics / DxO Labs Press Release

Wetzlar, Germany, and Paris, France - September 20, 2006 – Carl Zeiss Sports Optics, the world famous manufacturer of binoculars, spotting scopes and riflescopes, and DxO Labs, the leading supplier of image processing technologies, today announce that the first digital camera developed by Carl Zeiss Sports Optics will be powered by DxO Labs’ breakthrough Image Signal Processing (ISP) technology. As a result, the ZEISS Camera Eyepiece DC 4 for spotting scopes will feature unrivalled image quality, including vivid colors, perfect contrast, along with sharp and noiseless detail. Extending the Carl Zeiss Sports Optics acclaimed spotting scopes product range, the Eyepiece DC 4 will ship in late 2006. “We want to provide the best possible imaging device for the users of our spotting scopes. Our target is unmatched imaging properties and ease of operation. Therefore, DxO Labs’ outstanding imaging technology perfectly supports the performance of our outstanding optics and the camera unit,” explains Dr. Manfred Klingel, managing director of Carl Zeiss Sports Optics.

Nikon have released a new version, 4.4.2, of their Capture 4 raw conversion software for Nikon digital SLR cameras.

Nikon Capture
  *    Supports D2Hs and D2X RAW/NEF files after firmware 2.0.0 firmware has been applied (available soon).
  *    Improvements have been made with the following processes: Image Dust OFF, Advanced RAW palette, Batch process, D-Lighting, LCH Editor, Save Progress, White Balance Palette, PictureProject Transfer Options, Fisheye-to-rectilinear conversion feature.

Nikon Capture Camera Control
  *    Supports new Custom Setting options applied with D2Hs and D2X firmware 2.0.0
  *    Images captured with the image-authentication feature enabled, the following settings are disabled when images are saved: Embed ICC Profile, Attach IPTC Information, Automatic rotation of images capture in tall (portrait) orientation.  When TIFF images are transferred to a computer with Camera Control Pro, the image-authentication feature will be disabled.
  *    Use for Camera Curve Sample has been improved
  *    Embed ICC Profile in Download Options dialog has been improved.
  *    When shooting in manual mode with the D200 shutter speed and aperture changes are reflected in Nikon Capture Camera Control window. (Windows version only)

Website: Nikon Capture 4.4.2 (Windows)

Website: Nikon Capture 4.4.2 (Mac)