ePhotoZine have reviewed the new Canon EF-S 60mm f/2.8 Macro USM lens, which is equivalent in focal length to the popular EF 100mm f/2.8 Macro USM when used on the EOS 20D, EOS 300D and the new EOS 350D digtal SLR cameras.

“One of the problems emerging with Canon’s EF-S series of lenses is that you don’t really know what you are getting in performance terms apart from going by the price differences. They all have the same nomenclature so the EF-S 18-55mm ‘kit’ lens is grouped with the excellent EF-S 10-22mm and no one will argue that that they are not worlds apart. This offering of the EF-S 60mm Macro, like it’s price, falls somewhere in between the two. Distortion has been well handled with a figure of –0.237% indicating a very slight pincushion that is almost undetectable with the Mk 1 eyeball.”

Website: ePhotoZine - Canon EF-S 60mm f/2.8 Macro USM Lens Review

ePhotoZine have reviewed the new Canon EF-S 60mm f/2.8 Macro USM lens, which is equivalent in focal length to the popular EF 100mm f/2.8 Macro USM when used on the EOS 20D, EOS 300D and the new EOS 350D digtal SLR cameras.

“One of the problems emerging with Canon’s EF-S series of lenses is that you don’t really know what you are getting in performance terms apart from going by the price differences. They all have the same nomenclature so the EF-S 18-55mm ‘kit’ lens is grouped with the excellent EF-S 10-22mm and no one will argue that that they are not worlds apart. This offering of the EF-S 60mm Macro, like it’s price, falls somewhere in between the two. Distortion has been well handled with a figure of –0.237% indicating a very slight pincushion that is almost undetectable with the Mk 1 eyeball.”

Website: ePhotoZine - Canon EF-S 60mm f/2.8 Macro USM Lens Review

DIWA member Digitalkamera.de have reviewed the new entry-level Konica Minolta Dynax 5D digital SLR camera.

Website: Digitalkamera.de - Konica Minolta Dynax 5D Review

Website: Read my Konica Minolta Dynax 5D Review

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CNET have published their review of the 4 megapixel Nikon Coolpix 4600.

“The Coolpix 4600’s photos were similar to the Coolpix 5600’s, except for the lower resolution. Overall, the image quality was quite good. The colors in our exterior shots looked a bit oversaturated, even for a point-and-shoot camera. This was especially evident with the brighter hues, though less obvious with more subdued colors, such as skin tones, that need to be more realistic. Image noise, sharpness, and exposure accuracy were better than average in our well-lit exterior shots.”

Website: CNET - Nikon Coolpix 4600 Review

Website: Read my Nikon Coolpix 4600 Review

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CNET have published their review of the Kodak EasyShare Z700, a 4 megapixel digital camera with 5x optical zoom lens.

“What makes the Kodak EasyShare Z700 a viable offering in the universe of low-cost, noncompact, non-EVF 4-megapixel cameras is what you get for the price. The surprising amount of manual control with programmed, aperture-priority, and shutter-priority modes, the 5X zoom lens with unexpected telephoto reach, and the Z700’s decent image quality all exceed what you might expect from a camera in this class. And for just a little more than the camera-only price, you can buy it packaged with a handy Kodak Printer Dock 3.”

Website: CNET - Kodak EasyShare Z700 Review

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Photobird.com have reviewed the new Canon IXUS 55 compact digital camera (also known as the SD450), which has 5.0 megapixels, 2.5 inch LCD screen and 3x optical zoom lens.

“The SD550 is about $100 more.  My advice is to save your $100, buy the 5-megapixel SD450, and use the $100 to buy a tripod ($25), a large 512MB Secure Digital memory card ($35), a copy of “Understanding Exposure” or “Amphoto’s Complete Book of Photography” ($15) to improve your photography skills, and a subscription to a website where you can easily share your photos online, such as Photobird.com ($25).  You’ll get a tremendous amount more usage and benefits from this combination of products than you would from an extra 2 megapixels in your camera.”

Website: Photobird.com - Canon IXUS 55 Review

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Pocket-Lint have published a review of the Fujifilm FinePix S5600 Zoom, a 5 megapixel compact digital camera with Fujifilm’s new 5th Generation Super CCD HR sensor with Real Photo Technology.

“Image quality. The S5600 easily lives up to the standards set by its forbears with sharp colourful images. A vivid ‘Chrome’ setting allows for extra saturation of shots (there’s a black and white mode too and I’ve included a shot in that mode in this test for you too), ideal for vivid greens and reds. Noise is well controlled as we’ve discussed but highlights become lost quickly if there’s a bright background in a scene for example. All almost identical problems I found with the 5500. Over processing for noise is an issue on this model however, but shooting RAW allows you to control this with even more precision.”

Website: Pocket-Lint - Fujifilm FinePix S5600 Zoom Review

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There are some fantastic prizes on offer in our Great Christmas Giveaway, worth a total of £1,200!!!

Three people will each win a copy of REALVIZ Stitcher 5 (worth £340 each).
Kindly donated by Realviz.
http://www.realviz.com

One person will win a copy of Paint Shop Pro X (worth £99).
Kindly donated by Corel.
http://www.corel.co.uk

One person will win copies of Ulead PhotoImpact 11 and PictureShow 3 (worth £80).
Kindly donated by Ulead.
http://www.ulead.co.uk

On Thursday December 15th 2005, 5 names will be randomly selected from the list of PhotographyBLOG Newsletter subscribers.

All you have to do to enter is subscribe to the PhotographyBLOG Newsletter before December 15th.

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

Improvements in Nikon Capture v4.4.0:
- Support for D200 RAW images has been added.
- A B&W (black-and-white) option has been added to the Color Mode item in the Advanced RAW tool palette.
- Improvements to the method used to reproduce tones in highlight areas, preventing a loss of detail when Exp Comp is set to a negative value. (Does not apply to RAW images captured with the D1 or COOLPIX-series cameras.)

Images edited using the Exp Comp with a negative value with Nikon Capture 4 version 4.3.2 and earlier are opened in Nikon Capture 4 Ver. 4.4.0 or later, the results of highlights may differ.

Website: Nikon Capture 4.4.0 (Windows)

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

Improvements in Nikon Capture v4.4.1:
An issue that caused a Type 3 error to occur and Nikon Capture 4 to unexpectedly quit when attempting to print from Nikon Capture 4.4.0 has been addressed. (Mac OS 9 only)

Website: Nikon Capture 4.4.1 (Mac)

Casio have released a new firmware update, v1.02, for the 7 megapixel Casio EX-Z750 digital camera.

Improvements Provided by This Update:

V1.01-V1.02
Adds old photo scene “Revive Shot” to snapshot BEST SHOT scenes.

Website: Download the Casio EX-Z750 v1.02 Firmware

DataColor Press Release

Integrated C3 module provides direct access to compatible High-end Displays such as selected models of the Pioneer 6G PURE Vision Black Plasma TV Series

Zurich/Munich 14. December 2005 - Datacolor, world-wide leader of color management technologies announces market-launch of the ColorFacts professional color calibration system version 6.0. In addition to a new sensor and extended measuring functions the new, integrated C3 software module offers advanced calibration functions on the device control software which expand the factory defaults. The ColorFacts C3 method for optimizing the image parameters has been certified by the Imaging Science Foundation (ISF). Already at this stage, a number of display manufacturers, such as Pioneer with a selection of its new 6th Generation Plasma TV series, offer direct interfaces for ColorFacts Professional 6.0, allowing individual customization of the panel settings.

Eynsford Photographic Image Club Press Release

Kent residents, of all ages, get snap happy competing for fabulous prizes!

Eynsford Photographic Image Club (EPIC), organisers of the inaugural countywide search to find the ‘Best Amateur Photographer in Kent 2006’ sponsored by Kent Life magazine, are declaring loudly that Kent is officially obsessed with snapping!

The competition to find Kent’s best snappers (Under 16 and Adult) is a precursor to the main event – a two day festival of photography focusing on the fastest growing art form in the UK – photography.  EPIC are keen to focus attention on their May 2006 event the : EPIC Photography Festival (May 28th-29th).  The festival is the first of it’s kind dedicated to photography in the UK, open to both amateur and professional photographers with no age bar.

HP Press Release

PALO ALTO, Calif., Dec. 13, 2005 – HP today announced it has signed a definitive agreement to acquire bilderservice.de GmbH, which operates PIXACO – a leading online photo services and products site in Europe.
 
The acquisition of the privately-held company will enable HP to rapidly extend the reach of its online photo services throughout Europe, building on the purchase of Snapfish earlier this year. HP plans to extend many of its Snapfish capabilities to the PIXACO service – bringing European customers greater choices for printing, sharing and storing their photos.
 
“This acquisition gives HP the ability to quickly become Europe’s largest online photo service, just as it is in the U.S. today,” said Ben Nelson, vice president and general manager, Snapfish, Digital Photography and Entertainment, HP. “Together, Snapfish and PIXACO have the experience and scope to provide a world-class online photo experience that will uniquely meet the needs of consumers in Europe.”

Edge Tech Press Release

EDGE Tech Corp Announces Portable Flash Drive with Muscle - the New 8GB DiskGO!™ Now Available

Swap and go with this secure thumb-sized flash drive

Dallas, TX - December 13, 2005 - EDGE Tech Corp (www.edgetechcorp.com), a leading supplier of DRAM and flash memory upgrades, portable computing products, storage devices, and other personal technology solutions is pleased to announce the latest USB flash drive addition to the company’s DiskGO!™ line - the new 8GB DiskGO! USB 2.0 Flash Drive. With a sleek silver design, the eight-gigabyte unit is approximately the size of a thumb and can hold thousands of pictures, music files, data files, or documents from a user’s computer—all with one “plug-and-go” step. The unit is priced at $599 and will be sold to the channel and from the company’s Web site.

DCResource have taken a look at the new Kodak Easyshare Printer Dock Series 3 compact photo printer.

“The Kodak EasyShare Printer Dock Plus Series 3 (PD+s3) is a dye-transfer, a.k.a. dye-sublimation, compact photo printer with simple, stylish looks and an army of communication features (including wireless from camera/computer to printer). While its rambling product name won’t win any branding awards, it more than makes up for that with a simple and straightforward user interface (for the most part). The “easy” part of EasyShare applies best to using the printer when paired with a Kodak EasyShare digital camera.”

Website: DCResource - Kodak Easyshare Printer Dock Series 3 Review

BIOS Magazine have just reviewed the new Canon PIXMA iP8500, which is is Canon’s first ChromaPLUS eight-color ink A4 format photo printer.

“All of the new PIXMA photo printers feature Canon’s exclusive FINE high-performance printheads. FINE technology (Full-photolithography Inkjet Nozzle Engineering) delivers sub-micron level precision during the manufacturing process. FINE print heads are also the only consumer-oriented print heads to achieve an actual 1200dpi nozzle pitch. The iP8500’s FINE printhead has 6144 micro nozzles, capable of ejecting a staggering 147 million 2-picolitre droplets per second. This gets more ink on the page in less time and with greater accuracy for grain-free prints of superb clarity, contrast, colour range and smoothness of tone.”

Website: BIOS Magazine - Canon PIXMA iP8500 Review

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Phase One Press Release

Phase One Starts Shipping The Ultimate Digital Camera Back — The P 45

The first and only 39 MP digital camera back — the best image quality in the industry

Phase One A/S, Copenhagen, (Tuesday, December 13, 2005): Phase One®, today begins shipping the highest quality digital camera back ever — the P 45. The P 45 — the world’s only digital camera back with a 39 Mega Pixel sensor — captures images that are sharper and more detailed than ever before. It is the latest release of Phase One’s revolutionary P-series digital camera backs. Offering unsurpassed image quality, the P 45 is the ultimate in medium and large format digital photography equipment.

Phase One Press Release

Capture One 3.7.3 has been released on December 12, 2005.

Amongst the highlights in this release are:

Support for new cameras
The DB and PRO versions of Capture One will include support for the brand new Phase One Digital Backs P 30 and P 45, featuring 31 and 39 mega pixels respectively.

The PRO and LE versions of Capture One will now also support the cameras listed below:
•      Canon EOS 5D
•      Canon EOS-1D Mark II N
•      Konica Minolta Alpha / Dynax / Maxxum 5D
•      Olympus E-500 EVOLT
•      Leica Digital Module R for R8 and R9 cameras
•      Beta support for Nikon D200 pre-production models

Olympus UK Press Release

Olympus releases first firmware update for E-500

12 December 2005 - A firmware update is now available for the Olympus E-500 digital SLR. Changes to the previous version include the addition of a three-step adjustable button timer, a white balance off option and a security mode to protect against the unintentional erasing of both JPG and RAW versions of the one image.

Dedicated to ensuring users enjoy the best possible photography experience, Olympus now releases firmware version 1.1 for the Olympus E-500 digital SLR.