PMA 2006: The Sigma 30mm F1.4 EX DC HSM lens for Four Thirds is announced at PMA today.

Sigma UK Press Release

The Sigma Corporation is pleased to announce the new 30mm F1.4 EX DC HSM for the Four Thirds fitting. Two SLD glass elements are especially effective in the compensation of magnification chromatic aberration. A molded glass aspherical lens at the rear lens group reduces colour aberration and provides high-quality image results. The lens creates exceptionally sharp images of high contrast from its minimum focusing distance of 40cm to infinity. The HSM design provides quiet high-speed auto-focus with full-time manual focus override. The large maximum aperture of F1.4 produces a versatile lens that performs superbly in a great range of applications including portraiture, indoor and studio work and landscape photography.

PMA 2006: The Sony DSC-H5 and Sony DSC-H2 ultra-zooms digital cameras are announced at PMA today. 12x optical zoom lenses, 7.2 and 6 megapixels respectively, 3 inch and 2 inch LCD screens. The Cyber-shot DSC-H5 camera will be available in May for about $500 and the DSC-H2 model ships in April for about $400.

Sony USA Press Release

ORLANDO, Fla., (PMA 2006, Booth #4150), Feb. 25, 2006 — Sony is expanding its high-zoom digital still camera line with two new Cyber-shot® models that are sure to zero in on the subjects you most desire. Clad in black, the new DSC-H5 model has a 7.2-megapixel CCD imager and extra-large, three-inch LCD screen. It also shimmers in silver along with the stage-worthy DSC-H2 model, which has a six-megapixel imager and two-inch LCD. Both cameras flaunt Carl Zeiss® Vario-Tessar 12x optical zoom lenses and focal length ranges of 36 to 432 millimeters (35 mm equivalence). “High-zoom cameras are one of the fastest-growing segments in the industry,” said James Neal, director of digital imaging products at Sony Electronics. “They are powerful enough to get those hard-to-see distant shots, and have the easy-to-use functionality of point-and-shoot cameras.

PMA 2006: The Sony DSC-W100 and Sony DSC-W70 digital cameras are announced at PMA today. 8 and 7 megapixels respectively, 3x zoom lenses, up to ISO 1250 on the W100. The Cyber-shot DSC-W100 camera ships in April for about $350, and the DSC-W70 model will also be available in April for about $300. Both models are available in black and silver.

Sony USA Press Release

ORLANDO, Fla. (PMA 2006, Booth #4150), Feb. 25, 2006 — Sony rounds out its new W-series line of digital still cameras with two top-end models packed with powerful features—the Cyber-shot® DSC-W100 and DSC-W70. “Our W-series feature intelligent functions that work behind the scenes, said James Neal, director of digital imaging products at Sony Electronics. “Users can focus on those moments of inspiration that make great photographs without the hassle of worrying about camera settings.” The DSC-W100 model packs in an eight-megapixel imaging sensor, and has a compact metal body with a stylized finish in black and silver. It features a manual exposure mode with extended control for up to 46 steps of adjustable shutter speeds (30 - 1/1000 sec.) and two steps of aperture control.

PMA 2006: Sony USA Press Release

ORLANDO, Fla. (PMA, Booth #4150), Feb. 25, 2006- Sony Electronics is transforming static, digital images into a rich audio visual experience with the world’s first dedicated photo storage unit with high-definition output. Featuring eight slideshow styles with image transitions synchronized to pre-installed background music and high-definition video output, the new HDPS-L1 hard drive photo storage unit offers an interactive way to view and share high-resolution photos from holidays, reunions and birthday parties on a home theatre system. “We expect all sorts of people will take advantage of this new photo storage device to rescue treasured memories buried in their computers and on memory cards, and bring them to life with its built-in slideshow feature,” said Jim Leahey, general manager of peripherals and enhancements at Sony Electronics. “It finally gives high-resolution still pictures the visual realism usually reserved for motion-pictures.”

The Panasonic Lumix DMC-LZ5 is a new compact digital camera that is positioned in the middle of Panasonic’s range for 2006. That’s not to say that the LZ5 is in any way mundane - in the usual Panasonic tradition of innovative products, the 6 megapixel DMC-LZ5 offers a 6x optical zoom lens, equivalent to 37-222mm in 35mm format. Other stand-out features include a large 2.5 inch LCD screen, optical image stabilisation for blur-free photos, and a new High Sensitivity mode that extends the ISO range to 1600. Find out if this all adds up to make a great camera by reading my review of the Panasonic Lumix DMC-LZ5.

Website: Panasonic Lumix DMC-LZ5 Review

PMA 2006: The HP Photosmart Pro B9180 Photo Printer is announced today. The HP B9180 is an 8 colour, A3+ printer that uses Vivera pigment inks for waterproof photos that resist fading for more than 200 years. The HP B9180 has an estimated street price of $699 (US).

HP Press Release

The HP Photosmart Pro B9180 Photo Printer delivers exceptional image quality and the best photo permanence on the market. HP Vivera pigment ink technology, combined with the printer’s professional colors, enables accurate and consistent color reproduction. HP’s third-generation gray ink is more neutral than ever before, allowing for exceptionally smooth transitions and detail. Eight individual high-capacity ink cartridges enable high-volume printing with efficient printing speeds – producing 4 x 6-inch photos in as fast as 10 seconds and 13 x 19-inch photos as fast as 1.5 minutes – ideal for professional photographers and advanced amateurs. Users can print exceptional photos on digital fine art media including canvas, photo rag, watercolor, stiff pre-matte and film up to 1.5-mm thick, as well as improved HP Advanced Photo Paper.

PMA 2006: Pentax have unveiled plans to launch a 10 megapixel DSLR camera, 21mm wide-angle lens and PENTAX 645 Digital medium format DSLR. All 3 products will be shown at PMA 2006. I have just arrived in Orlando, Florida (where it’s raining, just like London), and PhotographyBLOG will bring you more news about the Pentax 10mp DSLR on Sunday when PMA officially opens.

Pentax Press Release

PENTAX to Exhibit Upcoming Digital SLR Camera Products at PMA 2006 in the U.S.A.

PENTAX Corporation is pleased to announce the exhibition of three upcoming digital SLR camera products, all currently under development, at major trade shows in the U.S.A. They will be showcased at PMA 2006, America’s largest annual photographic merchandise trade show, to be held from February 26 to March 1 in Orlando, Florida.
 
1. [ Product type ]  Lens-interchangeable digital SLR camera
Model name : To be announced
Product information :
  * High-quality digital image reproduction with 10 effective megapixels
  * Market launch tentatively scheduled for autumn 2006

PMA 2006: EIZO Introduces Creator Edition (CE) Series with Two Additions to the ColorEdge(R) Line of High-End Professional LCDs - ColorEdge CE210W and CE240W

CYPRESS, Calif.—Feb. 24, 2006—Eizo Nanao Technologies Inc. (“EIZO”) is further extending its range of LCD monitors for professionals engaged in all forms of graphics with the introduction of two wide-format LCD monitors, the 21” ColorEdge CE210W and the 24” ColorEdge CE240W. Both CE monitors feature increased horizontal viewing space with their widescreen format complemented by features such as an 8 ms mid-tone response time, an ergonomic design, and an industry-leading five-year warranty. In addition to their extended space, they have extended versatility and reliability with color management capabilities making the CE monitors an ideal solution for a wider range of professionals like graphic artists, printers, gamers, video editors, multimedia creators, 3-D CAD professionals and digital photographers.

PMA Show: Phase One Press Release

Phase One Capture One PRO and New iView MediaPro Bundled to Streamline Digital Photographers’ RAW Workflow

Photo Marketers Association (PMA) Convention, Florida, USA (26/02/06) - Phase One, the world leader in digital imaging solutions, and digital asset management pioneer iView Multimedia Ltd.™ (iView) today announce a chance for photographers to take advantage of a software bundling offer that combines two professional-grade tools designed to streamline RAW workflows. The pairing of Capture One PRO and the new version of iView MediaPro empowers photographers to work the way they want to. For a limited time only, iView MediaPro and Capture One PRO will be available for purchase together for $499 – this is $199 off the total price if each application were purchased separately. The offer will run until April 15th, 2006, and will be available as a download from each of the companies’ respective sites: www.iview-multimedia.com and www.phaseone.com. An accompanying RAW workflow guide detailing how the two programs can be used together is also available for download.

DxO Labs Press Release

Paris, France — February 24, 2006 — DxO Labs, a software company focused on research in image generation and enhancement for digital capture devices, announced today that Alpha Digital Services Ltd. will be responsible for distributing DxO Optics Pro software in the UK. DxO Optics Pro, the award-winning software tool for serious amateur and professional photographers, takes camera and lens performance enhancement to a new level with the incorporation of several new DxO technologies. DxO Optics Pro is available in three editions—Starter, Standard and Elite—and provides image correction capabilities for a wide range of digital cameras from high-end digicams to professional Digital-SLRs.

ExpressDigital Press Release

ExpressDigital Extends Darkroom Software with Retouching Tools, Advanced RAW Workflow, and Quick Set-Up Wizards

ENGLEWOOD, CO—February 24, 2006—ExpressDigital, the leader in digital workflow software, internet storefronts, and lab solutions, announced today an enhanced version of its flagship software,
ExpressDigital Darkroom. The enhancements include new built-in retouching tools, advanced RAW workflow, quick-and-easy set-up wizards, and proactive online marketing campaigns. “Ease-of-use combined with new money-making and time-saving features defines this release of Darkroom,” explained Graham McFarland, President and CEO of ExpressDigital. “With over 16,000 professional photographers relying on our solutions everyday, this new release was custom built for the digital professional.

PMA Show 2006: PhotoVu™ Announces Compatibility with Leading Photo Sharing Portals Apple® iPhoto® 6 Photocasts, flickr™, MSN® Spaces, and SmugMug™

Orlando, FL—February 24, 2006—Today PhotoVu™, the leading wireless digital picture frame company, announced a major new software release enabling PhotoVu owners to download public content from four popular photo sharing services. Using RSS technology available from these select services, the PhotoVu can automatically download and synchronize an unbelievably diverse variety of photo content which is freely available in the public domain. “Whether it’s downloading beautiful nature and travel photos from a “public group feed,” or having a friend or family’s PhotoVu automatically retrieve a special album of pictures you’ve uploaded for them to see, this new software adds a whole new and very powerful capability to the PhotoVu line of digital picture frames,” said Robert Jordan, Partner, PhotoVu. “The response from our early beta customers has been extremely positive and we look forward to making this new software available to all of our existing and new customers in the coming weeks.”

Lastolite Press Release

Direct the light with one hand whilst operating the camera with the other! Following the success of the TriGrip and the Ezybalance, Lastolite have now released the TriBalance. A double-sided Trigrip, same shape and size as the original, with the same technicality as the Ezybalance! A reflector on one side for filling in those shadows and on the other is one black/white/grey side and is therefore an ideal location tool which can be used pre-capture to white balance your camera or to accurately set your exposure and post capture for colour correction.

Lastolite Press Release

Spend more time capturing the moment and less worrying about exposure and calibration! The new XpoBalance is the perfect location tool which can be used pre capture to white balance your camera or to set your exposure more accurately and in post capture for colour correction and bracketing. The XpoBalance is double sided and collapses into a handy 15cm (6in) pocket size bag making it a must have. It is perfect for the photographer working under pressure. Weddings, catwalks etc. It’s simple. Take a photo in each different lighting situation and adjust exposure and calibration post capture in your image editing software. You only need to do this to one photo taken in each lighting situation, save the settings and apply to all of your other photos and batch them!

PMA 2006: Epson, HP, IDS, Olympus, PortalPlayer and Samsung Electronics Announce PictSync Guidelines for Easy Photo Sharing Between Cameras, Phones and Portable Media Players

PictSync(TM) Enables Easy Transfer of Digital Photos Between Camera Phones, Digital Cameras, and Portable Media Players; Industry Leaders Announce Pre-Release Interoperability Guidelines for Industry Comment

ORLANDO, Fla., Feb. 23 /PRNewswire/—Epson, HP, IDS, Olympus, PortalPlayer and Samsung Electronics, working together as the PictSync Promoters Group, announced today that they have jointly developed guidelines to increase interoperability between digital cameras, camera phones and portable media players. The guidelines, dubbed PictSync(TM), will enable the easy transfer of digital photos between two portable devices that are able to capture or store images, without requiring a personal computer. A licensing program is under development to allow for broad industry adoption of the PictSync guidelines.

O’Reilly Press Release

Sebastopol, CA—“RAW data is the holy grail of digital photography,” says photographer Mikkel Aaland, a pioneer of digital photography and author of nine books, including O’Reilly’s “Photoshop for the Web” and the award-winning “Shooting Digital.” “Anyone who is serious about digital photography and wants to produce the best possible picture needs to shoot and process RAW.” And anyone who intends to do that needs Aaland’s new “Photoshop CS2 RAW” (O’Reilly, US $34.99). The RAW format is becoming more and more popular with professional and amateur digital photographers, because it affords unparalleled flexibility and control during the editing process. Adobe Photoshop is the most popular and widely-used digital image editing tool in the world, and its latest version, Adobe Photoshop CS2, is quickly emerging as the best place to edit RAW images. “RAW data must be touched, molded, and shaped before it takes form. It takes time and skill to do this right,” says Aaland, “and that is where this book comes in.”

O’Reilly Press Release

Sebastopol, CA—Art, technology, craft, and creativity meet and merge in Julieanne Kost’s “Window Seat: The Art of Digital Photography & Creative Thinking” (O’Reilly, US $39.99). Impossible to pigeonhole, this uniquely innovative book is part philosophical guide for creative thinking, part artist’s portfolio, and part technical tutorial. Photographer, creativity guru, and Adobe digital imaging evangelist, Julieanne Kost frequently travels on business by air. Constantly challenging herself to see the world with a fresh eye, she recognized the graphic potential of images seen from her window seat and shot thousands of photos over a five-year period. On one level, this book documents that process and presents a stunning portfolio of more than 150 evocative images of air, water, earth, light, and shadow.

PMA 2006: PNY Technologies announce their new lineup for PMA 2006. Highlights include a 4Gb SD card, SD card with USB connectivity and 512MB and 1GB xD-Picture cards.

PNY Technologies Press Release

PNY Technologies 4GB SD
New higher capacity 4GB Secure Digital™ (SD) flash media cards by PNY Technologies®, Inc. can store 788 images for photo enthusiasts with a 3 mega pixel digital camera, and even more images with higher mega pixel cameras.* Available in Q1 2006, PNY’s 4GB SD memory card comes with a lifetime warranty.

PNY Technologies SD USB
Eliminate the need for card readers with PNY Technologies’ new SD Card with built in USB connectivity. The new dual-function device works seamlessly in any SD card slot of digital cameras, PDAs, camcorders and camera phones. The device can be plugged directly into a USB port allowing users to easily transfer and store files. Available in Q2 2006, PNY’s SD Card with USB Connector will come in 256MB and 512MB capacities.

PMA 2006: The Samsung GX-1L DSLR is announced. 6-megapixels, five-point wide-area Auto Focus system, three-mode metering system, 8 scene modes. Available in March.

Samsung UK Press Release

Samsung is introducing a second digital SLR model for 2006 - the GX-1L - developed jointly with Pentax. The Samsung GX-1L is a 6-megapixel model is an interchangeable lens D-SLR that features world-renowned Schneider optics in a compact, lightweight, easy-to-hold body. Set to launch in March, the GX1L will be available with an 18-55mm lens and has been designed to offer fantastic ease-of-use with entry-level DSLR users in mind. The Samsung GX1L features a host of automatic functions including Auto Sensitivity, Auto Picture Mode and a newly designed operation system. This, combined with its full range of advanced manual functions, makes the GX-1L perfect for the beginner through to the more advanced DSLR user.

PMA 2006: The Samsung Digimax L85 is unveiled. 8-megapixels, 5x optical zoom (38-190mm - 35mm equivalent), 2.5-inch LCD display (230K pixels), full manual control, 11 preset scene modes. Available in March.

Samsung UK Press Release

Samsung Unveils the New High-Performance Samsung Digimax L85 with the World’s First High Definition Multimedia Interface. The new Digimax L85 is the latest addition to Samsung’s prestigious line of digital cameras.  It is the world’s first digital still camera to feature High Definition Multimedia Interface (HDMI) - a revolutionary new feature allowing users to view their photos on a high definition television with outstanding quality. Set to launch in April, the eight-mega-pixel Digimax L85 also includes a top-class Schneider Kreuznach lens with 5x optical zoom and a 2.5-inch LCD display (approximately 230K pixels), which provides the photographer with a greater zoom options and a vivid display.