PMA 2006: The MINOX DC 6011 is announced today. 5 megapixels, 3x optical zoom lens, 2.5 inch LCD.

Minox Press Release

MINOX DC 5011: an ideal all-round camera - This new compact digital camera with its 5-megapixel sensor and 2.5 inch screen is at the sharp end of camera technology

The new Minox DC 5011 digital camera is a first class all-round performer with highly sensible features set in an elegant body and all at an attractive price. These include the superb 2.5 inch TFT colour screen, one of the largest available today, that makes mode selection easy and image viewing very convenient for more than one person at a time. The anti-reflection coating of the screen makes for comfortable viewing even in sunlight. The CCD image sensor built into an attractive but sturdy camera body delivers a resolution of up to 5 million pixels - the accepted average pixel rating for to-days compact digitals - will deliver high resolution images with plenty of ability for detailed enlargements as required.

Corel Press Release

Further details of Corel at Focus on Imaging 2006

Maidenhead, UK - 15 February 2006 - Corel Corporation today announced details of an amazing 20% discount offer on Corel Paint Shop Pro X, its latest flagship digital imaging software, which will run for one month from 15 February to 15 March 2006. For one month from 15 February, customers can purchase Corel Paint Shop Pro X and receive 20% off the standard SRP (£85) or 10% off the upgrade SRP (£41) - all prices exclude VAT.

Extensis Press Release

Extensis Portfolio Achieves Its Largest Revenue Quarter in Company’s Twelve-Year History - Release of digital asset management solution – Portfolio 8 – fuels record sales for Extensis.

Portland, Ore. – February 14, 2006 – Extensis, a division of Celartem Inc., today announced sales for its digital asset management (DAM) solution – Portfolio, have surpassed Extensis’ existing record for quarterly net revenue. Extensis finished the 2005 calendar year with a 39 percent growth over the preceding year for Portfolio sales while increasing the product’s total corporate workgroup revenue 204 percent over the same period.

OnAsia Images Press Release

OnAsia Images Announces Distribution Partnership with laif in Germany

BANGKOK, Thailand. – Feb. 15, 2006 – OnAsia Images (www.onasia.com) has announced a new distribution partnership with leading German photo agency laif (www.laif.de). Under the agreement laif, which is one of Germany’s most established agencies, will represent OnAsia’s growing archive of Asian images and features in the German speaking market. With a network of over 100 member photographers throughout the region and over 90,000 high resolution images available for download online, OnAsia offers unparalleled coverage of Asia.

Sony Europe Press Release

Sony launch customisable CD-R and DVD-R printable media range for a more professional finish

Paris, 15th February 2006 - Sony Europe’s Recording Media & Energy (RME) division today announced it has launched its new CD-R and DVD-R printable media range for users who wish to customise discs with their own unique designs. Sony’s new comprehensive printable media range is easy to use, providing a top quality, professional finish, not achievable with adhesive labels.

Tamron Press Release

Tamron SP AF 17-50mm F2.8 XR Di ll LD Aspherical (IF) Lens introduced

A lightweight, compact, fast standard zoom lens, designed for exclusive use with digital SLR cameras (APS-C Size), featuring true wide angle.

Two years after Tamron launched the SP AF28-75mm F/2.8 XR Di lens as a standard, compact, fast standard zoom lenses, it remains highly popular with advanced amateur and professional photographers alike. Now Tamron, moving with market trends, has unveiled a new design for fast standard zoom lenses used exclusively for digital SLR cameras that covers the easy to use angles of view: the focal length is equivalent to 26-78mm* when converted to a 35mm format. In particular, the wide-angle focal length is established at 17mm (26mm equivalent) to obtain a wider angle of view than ordinary standard zoom lenses, while maintaining the remarkably lightweight and compact size of the earlier full frame zoom lens model.
*Tamron’s conversion ratio is 1.55 x.

Tamron Press Release

AF 28-200mm – High Power Zoom & AF 70-300mm Telephoto Zoom now available in Di Series

TAMRON announces the introduction of two up-graded popular Tamron lenses, both feature a Di optical sysem for use with digital and film cameras. Di (Digitally Integrated) is a designation Tamron gives lenses featuring optical systems designed to meet the performance chatacteristics of digital SLR cameras as well as film cameras. The 28-200mm was the first generation of high-powered zoom lenses originally introduced in 1992. The current 28-200mm model makes use of XR (Extra Refractive Index) glass to achieve a remarkably lightweight and compact product that has won wide acclaim and this new version incorporates improved multi-coating for digital SLR cameras as well as film cameras. The 70-300mm offers a lightweight and compact zoom lens with macro capability that can now be used with digital cameras. By flipping a macro switch in the focal length range of 180mm to 300mm, a maximum magnification ratio of 1:2 at a minimum focus distance as short as 95cm is obtained, enabling close-up shots of objects that normally require the use of a specially designed macro lens.

Nikon Europe Press Release

Nikon Digital Imaging Software Business enhanced by Collaboration with American Developer, Nik Software, Inc.

Amsterdam, 14 February 2006. Michio Kariya, President of Nikon Corporation, is pleased to announce collaboration in the field of imaging software for digital cameras with American software developer, Nik Software, Inc., formerly nik multimedia, Inc. with Headquarters in San Diego, California. With this collaboration, the technologies of both companies will be merged to develop and market innovative software products based on new concepts.  This new relationship will enable a stronger presence and guarantee a leading role in the imaging software market. To further the success of this collaboration, Nikon has also made equity investment in Nik Software, Inc..

O’Reilly Press Release

Mimic the Masters of Fine Art with Photoshop CS2 O’Reilly Releases “Photoshop Fine Art Effects Cookbook”

Sebastopol, CA—For anyone who wants to shoot like Adams, print like Warhol, or paint like Van Gogh, “Photoshop Fine Art Effects Cookbook” (Beardsworth, O’Reilly, US $29.99) explains how to use Photoshop CS2 to transform everyday images into masterpieces that echo the genius of the world’s greatest photographers, printmakers, and painters. Readers don’t have to be trained artists or Photoshop experts to take advantage of Photoshop tools, techniques, and tricks of the trade for recreating the classic styles of favorite photographers and artists.

Square Group Press Release

Square to host FREE Aperture seminar in conjunction with Apple - All you need to know about post-production software for photographers

Monday 13th February 2006 – Due to overwhelming interest in Aperture, a post-production tool for photographers, Square Group is hosting a free seminar on the software in conjunction with Apple.  The event will take place on Thursday 16th March 2006 at The Design Museum, London. Designed from the ground up for professional photographers, Aperture provides everything you need after the shoot, delivering the first all-in-one post-production tool for photographers. Whether you are a fashion, wedding, sports, portrait, fine art, commercial or editorial photographer, Aperture’s colour managed workflow and flexible design tools will help you easily create stunning prints, customised contact sheets, elegant books and web pages as beautiful as the images you capture.

PMA 2006: The Panasonic Lumix DMC-TZ1 is announced today. 5 megapixels, 10x Leica optical zoom lens, 2.5 inch LCD, available in April.

Panasonic UK Press Release

Another world first from Panasonic: The Panasonic Lumix DMC-TZ1 - the world’s smallest 10x optical zoom digital still camera

Panasonic Lumix cameras go from strength to strength with technological advancements designed to offer the ultimate in picture performance and user convenience.  Building on its digital still camera achievements, Panasonic presents you with the world’s smallest 10x optical zoom digital still camera, made possible by the world’s first integrated retractable lens system with folded optics technology. The lens part of the super-compact Panasonic TZ1 features the integration of a retractable lens system with folded optics technology, realized by the inclusion of a prism.  Incorporating three aspherical lenses, the crystallization of Panasonic optics technology, results in an amazingly powerful 10x optical zoom LEICA DC VARIO-ELMARIT lens contained within a slim and stylish body.  The zoom ratio can be extended up to 12.5x in 3 megapixel resolution mode with minimal deterioration thanks to the Extra Optical Zoom. Furthermore, in combination with the 4x digital zoom, a zoom factor of up to 50x can be achieved.

PMA 2006: The Panasonic Lumix DMC-FX01 is announced today. 6 megapixels, 28mm wide-angle Leica optical zoom lens, 2.5 inch LCD, available in March.

Panasonic UK Press Release

Panasonic’s launches the Lumix DMC-FX01 - the world’s smallest camera[1] with 28mm wide angle lens[2]

The world renowned Panasonic Lumix range offers sophistication in technology and style, evidence of which lies in the new 6.0 megapixel Panasonic FX01. The latest addition to the award winning FX series boasts a whole host of features including a 28mm wide angle LEICA DC lens with 3.6x optical zoom, all encompassed within a beautifully slim and compact design - thanks to the incorporation of an Extra High Refractive Index Lens. This new lens allows photographers to easily capture a large group of people, or expansive architectural structures and landscapes with dynamic width and rich perspective.  The lens part of the DMC-FX01 comprises of seven elements in six groups, incorporating four aspherical lenses to generate high optical performance.  The zoom ratio can be extended up to 5x in 3megapixel resolution mode with minimal deterioration thanks to the Extra Optical Zoom. By using the central part of the CCD, this powerful zooming function allows you to easily capture and magnify distant subjects.

Panasonic Press Release

New Home Photo Printers Ideal Companion for LUMIX digital cameras

February 2006 Panasonic is pleased to introduce two, new, easy-to-use home photo printers, the Panasonic KX-PX1 and Panasonic KX-PX10: Superb for printing images captured by your LUMIX* digital camera in clear and beautiful detail. As household penetration of digital cameras continues to increase on a global scale, consumer demand for an easy-to-use home printing solution is also starting to rise. In response to these market trends, Panasonic has developed two new compact-sized, easy-to-use home photo printers, the KX-PX1 and KX-PX10, both of which are equipped with Panasonic original image processing technology and a faster print engine** for high speed, high quality prints. Now, images captured by LUMIX digital cameras can be processed and reproduced to achieve prints of a quality that rivals that of traditional analogue photos. Furthermore, thanks to a new over-coating process performed by these two new printers, your prints can now keep their quality for up to 100 years***

Panasonic Press Release

The World’s Smallest, Lightest LCD Projector with a Built-in SD Card Slot

Panasonic is introducing the world’s smallest, lightest LCD projector with a builtin SD memory card slot. Called the Panasonic PT-P1SD, the new projector gives users a new way to enjoy pictures taken with a digital still camera that uses SD Memory Cards. Simply slip an SD card into the slot, and the Panasonic PT-P1SD projects clear, bright, beautiful images onto a huge screen. The Panasonic PT-P1SD is also exceptionally small and lightweight and easy to use.

PMA 2006: The Sony DSC W50 and Sony DSC W30 are announced today. 6 megapixels, 3x optical zoom lenses, 2.5 inch LCD for the W50, 2 inch for the W30, W50 available in early March for about $250, and the W30 this month for about $230.

Sony Press Release

SONY’S NEW CYBER-SHOT W-SERIES CAMERAS BRING ADDED PERFORMANCE AND EYE-CATCHING DESIGN

SAN DIEGO, Feb. 13, 2006 — Sony has re-engineered its W-series of top-performing Cyber-shot® digital still cameras to embody the virtues of a traditional camera style and satisfy modern tastes for sleek, compact design. In addition to sporting eye-level viewfinders in the fashion of traditional cameras, the new Sony DSC-W50 and Sony DSC-W30 models have large LCD screens and are significantly more compact than previous W-series models. Both new cameras offer six-megapixel image resolution for high-quality prints, high-light sensitivity for fast-action shooting and more natural-looking pictures in low-light conditions, precision Carl Zeiss® Vario-Tessar 3x optical zoom lenses, and MPEG1 movie recording. Available in silver, the Sony DSC-W50 model features a 2.5-inch, easy-to-view LCD screen wrapped in a metal-alloy body with sophisticated etching and details. The Sony DSC-W30 model also comes in silver with a two-inch LCD.

Fujifilm UK Press Release

The Fujifilm FinePix F650 Zoom: slim, but fully-loaded - A neat compact camera boasting six megapixels, a 5x optical zoom and super-size 3-inch LCD screen

Fujifilm today announced the launch of the FinePix F650 Zoom – an ultra-smart compact merging strength and elegance to form a neat and enviable package. The latest addition to Fujifilm’s well-established ‘F’ series, the Fujifilm F650 Zoom delivers six megapixels, handy for those keen to enlarge images.  What’s more, this stylish and functional camera is the first Fujifilm compact to contain a 5x optical zoom lens, ensuring its owners are never far from the action. The Fujifilm F650 Zoom is a sociable, picture-taking companion, thanks to its super-size 3-inch LCD screen – ideal for viewing menu options and sharing images with friends on the spot.  What’s more, there’s added capacity for storing precious pictures, as this all-rounder comes equipped with built-in internal memory.

PMA 2006: The Fujifilm FinePix F30 Zoom is announced today. ISO 3200, 6 megapixels, 3x optical zoom lens, 2.5 inch LCD.

Fujifilm UK Press Release

Fujifilm FinePix F30 Zoom: a low light landmark - Fujifilm’s revolutionary Fujifilm F30 compact works in the light conditions that other cameras hate

After almost a decade of obsession with pixel counts, Fujifilm is proud to announce the launch of the Fujifilm FinePix F30 Zoom, a camera which confirms a new stage in the evolution of digital camera technology.  Breaking away from the tired and irrelevant practice of pixel counting, the FinePix F30 Zoom is the world’s first digital compact camera to deliver ISO 3200 sensitivity at full resolution. Fujifilm has identified sensitivity as one of the major photographic benchmarks for the digital age, and this camera makes it possible to capture images of unrivalled quality, even in very dark conditions.

Building on the success of the award-winning FinePix F10 Zoom, the Fujifilm FinePix F30 Zoom pulls away from the pack with a sensitivity setting that is eight times as effective in low light as a conventional compact with ISO 400.  The product of many years of accumulated expertise in sensor technology, this is the closest that any digital compact camera has come to approximating the remarkable sensitivity of the human eye. In practical terms, it is a breakthrough in delivering crisp images, even at night-time, or with fast-moving subjects.

PMA 2006: The Fujfilm FinePix A600 Zoom is announced today. Super CCD sensor, 6.3 megapixels, 3x optical zoom lens, 2.4 inch LCD.

Fujifilm UK Press Release

The Fujfilm FinePix A600 Zoom: entry level moves up a level - The Fujfilm A600 Zoom, elegant, simple, but highly competent.

Fujifilm today announces the launch of the FinePix A600 Zoom, the next step forwards for Fujifilm’s highly successful ‘A’ series entry-level cameras. The FinePix A600 Zoom, designed in an attractive two-tone metallic finish, incorporates many features normally only found in higher end models. With an impressive 6.3 million pixels, featuring Fujifilm’s proprietary Super CCD, along with an extra-large 2.4-inch LCD monitor, the Fujfilm A600 Zoom is a delight for all those new to digital photography. Available for the first time in an entry-level ‘A’ series FinePix camera, the sophisticated Super CCD sensor means that image quality is the best possible standard, allowing the Fujfilm FinePix A600 Zoom to take shots that look more realistic, and more traditionally photographic. Skin tones look like skin, colours are more vibrant, and intricate landscapes appear sharper and more detailed.

The 12 member websites of the DIWA Awards organisation have re-evaluated all DIWA Gold Award winners from 2005 and selected the best of the best. Nikon D50 was considered to be ”Best Digital System Camera”, Panasonic LUMIX DMC-FZ30 as the ”Best Advanced Digital Camera”, and Fujifilm FinePix F10 won the title of ”Best Digital Amateur Camera” in 2005.

Amsterdam, 13. February, 2006: DIWA (Digital Imaging Websites Association), a world-wide organisation of collaborating websites, today has the pleasure of announcing the winners of the annual DIWA Platinum Award for 2005. DIWA members from Europe and America continuously test and review digital imaging products for their readers. For digital cameras, more than 200 details must be checked, tested and evaluated. Then, each review is carefully monitored and compared by DIWA to ensure error-free, reliable and comprehensive test results.

Top ranked products will receive DIWA Awards in the value of gold, silver or bronze, based on summarized average scores. At the end of each year, one of the gold winners from each of the three digital camera categories is selected by the members as the best of the best, honoured by a ”DIWA Platinum Award”.

This week’s Gary’s Parries topics are:

1. CMOS Image Sensors Explained
2. How To Include Yourself In Your Own Photos
3. Fashion Model Seeks Fun-Loving Digital Camera With Long Zoom

Introducing Gary’s Parries. Everything you’ve always wanted to know about digital cameras but were afraid to ask. No question is too difficult, or too easy. As a Principal Software Engineer, and a former Assistant Professor of Computer Information Systems, as well as a recording studio owner/operator, and now, a digital camera enthusiast, GARY has more digital camera knowledge in his entire brain than most people would have in their little finger. And, in the unlikely event GARY does 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, means “cleverly evasive answers”. So let your imaginations go wild. Email all of your nagging questions to: [email protected], and then, En Garde!

The best question of the week will receive a small prize from the PhotographyBLOG goody bag, so send your questions now. If you would like your name, location, email address, and/or website included in the column with your question, please expressly give your permission in the email, along with the information you would like included. No private information will be included without your consent.

Here are this week’s questions and answers.