CNET have published a review of the 8 megapixel Nikon Coolpix P1 Wi-Fi digital camera.

“Image quality is very good on the Nikon Coolpix P1, with neutral color balance and minimal lens and processing artifacts. Flesh tones are pleasing and warm, showing little ruddiness even with flash. The lens-and-sensor combination provides fairly sharp images. The smart exposure system makes it very hard to blow out highlights, though unfortunately, its compression of the dynamic range means shadow detail suffers. Flaws are minor; we noticed a bit of vignetting and barrel distortion in our test shots, but it was hard to see in everyday snapshots. We did see purple fringing in backlit scenes when viewing photos at full size, though.”

Website: CNET - Nikon Coolpix P1 Review

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Research and Markets Press Release

‘Image Sensors 2005 Report’ Provides a Complete Review of the 2004 Market for Image Sensors, as Well as Annual Forecast Numbers Through 2009

DUBLIN, Ireland—(BUSINESS WIRE)—Nov. 11, 2005—Research and Markets (http://www.researchandmarkets.com/reports/c27583) has announced the addition of Image Sensors 2005: Camera Phones Drive CMOS Past CCDs in 2004 to their offering.

The image sensor market has continued to show sharp growth over the past year. CMOS sensors have ridden the camera phone wave to surpass CCDs in 2004. Camera phones shipped well over three times the volume of the next most successful image sensor application, digital still cameras. CMOS sensors have also been successful in low-end digital still cameras and web cameras.

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

“The Canon EOS 5D’s design and performance are only fair, and its feature set is unexceptional for the price. But its high-resolution images offer superb detail, rich tonality, and incredibly low noise. If image quality is your paramount concern, or you’re one of those full-frame nuts—er, aficionados—then buy this camera, and you’ve just saved 4,000 bucks.”

Website: CNET - Canon EOS 5D Review

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Archos Press Release

New ARCHOS Gmini 402 Camcorder is the Premier Audio and Video Podcast Device with 50 Hours of Video Capture

IRVINE, Calif.—(BUSINESS WIRE)—Nov. 11, 2005—With Audio and Video Recording, Editing and Playback, the Gmini 402 Camcorder is the First Portable Media Player to Let Consumers Create and Enjoy Any Content, Anytime, Anywhere

Today at the Portable Media Expo and Podcasting Conference in Ontario, Calif., ARCHOS(R), Inc., the global consumer electronics manufacturer and leader in portable digital entertainment solutions, showcases two new podcast and videoblog devices aimed at consumers who want not only to play back audio and video content, but create personal feeds as well. The new Gmini(TM) 402 Camcorder and AV 500 Mobile Digital Video Recorder with video capture accessory are the first portable media players to provide audio and video recording, editing and playback functionality directly on the device. The Gmini 402 Camcorder features a 20GB hard drive while the AV 500 is offered in 30GB or 100GB capacities and both are available today.

DigitalCameraInfo have published their review of the Konica Minolta Z6, which updates the popular Z5 and features a 6 megapixel sensor, 12x zoom lens and 2 inch LCD screen.

“The DiMAGE Z6 is a budget compact camera with a 12x lens. It’s not budget in terms of construction – Konica Minolta’s Anti-Shake mechanism moves the CCD, not a lens element, after all. It performs like a budget camera, though. An ultra zoom should have more serious capability than the Z6 offers. The displays aren’t good enough to check the images; they’re small, and low-resolution. The ISO ratings are limiting, too. ISO 320 just isn’t good enough for available light shooting indoors. A fair number of bird watchers use super zooms, and ISO 320 sure won’t be good enough to catch the twilight-feeding warblers and finches. “

Website: DigitalCameraInfo - Konica Minolta Z6 Review

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Leica Press Release

The Leica Camera Group, Solms, has closed the first half year of fiscal 2005/2006(FY end March 31) with sales growing by 6.7 % on the previous year period, to € 48.0 million.

The largest sales growth was recorded by the binoculars, scopes and rangefinders of the Leica sports optics division, which increased by 34.4 % to € 17.7 million. The main driving force behind this positive development were the LEICA GEOVID BRF high performance binoculars with their integrated laser rangefinder. The integration of digital technology into the existing product range was also decisive for the 30.5 % growth experienced in the Leica system cameras division, which posted sales of € 16.6 million. The delivery of the LEICA DIGITAL-MODUL-R had a favourable effect on the sales of this division. The module is a globally unique digital complement to existing 35mm SLR cameras, as well as an example of the combination of classic Leica values and useful system complements. The demand for LEICA DIGITAL-MODUL-R will continue to exceed the Company’s manufacturing capacities. In addition, the analogue reportage cameras and lenses of the Leica rangefinder system experienced a slightly positive development.

Apple Press Release

This November, Apple will host a series of free seminars to showcase Aperture, the first all-in-one post-production tool for photographers. Join us and find out how you can harness Aperture and Mac OS X Tiger to give you a complete workflow for today’s digital environment.

Designed for Professional Photographers
Built from the ground up for pros, and featuring a RAW-focused workflow, Aperture makes RAW as easy as JPEG, letting you import, edit, catalogue, organise, retouch, publish and archive your images more effectively and efficiently than ever before. From capture to output, you work directly with your RAW files, never having to first convert them into another format before viewing, adjusting, organising or printing them.

Aperture BoxAperture’s colour-managed workflow and flexible design tools will help you easily create stunning prints, customised contact sheets and Web pages as beautiful as the images you capture. Fine-tuned to maximise the advantages offered by Macintosh hardware and Mac OS X Tiger, Aperture offers breakthrough speed and quality — whether you’re working with RAW, JPEG or TIFF images.

ArkiPix I/S Press Release

ArkiPix I/S is now offering an update of their image archive management software ArkiPix in version 2.3

With this new and highly improved ArkiPix 2.3 for PC - photographers, companies and digital photography enthusiasts will find a wide range of functions for archiving, importing and searching for photos.

The new ArkiPix 2.3 includes a new slideshow option and now allmost all RAW formats are supported.
The Web and download page function has been updated with new features and has been optimized for better workflow

OnAsia Press Release

ONASIA LAUNCHES NEW DIGITAL IMAGING SERVICES AT ONASIADIGITAL.COM

BANGKOK, Thailand – November 10, 2005 – Asia’s leading online photo agency, OnAsia, has launched a new website (www.onasiadigital.com) to promote the growing digital services side of its business.

OnAsia Digital provides scanning, retouching, color-correction, keywording and clipping path/outlining services. The company says it will be mainly targeting image libraries, professional photographers and the pre-press industry. “These types of service are a natural extension of our photo agency background,” explains the agency’s Co-Director, Peter Charlesworth. “We’ve been providing scanning, retouching and other services for quite some time. Our proprietary keywording system has also been widely admired stimulating demand for our keywording service.”

Among the company’s top clients are Greenpeace, European Union and the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), for whom OnAsia Digital is currently digitizing their entire historical archive.

The Hungarian website Index Digicam have reviewed the Panasonic DMC-FX9, a 6 megapixel compact digital camera with optical image stabilizer, 3x Leica lens and 2.5-inch LCD screen with 207,000 pixels.

Website: Index Digicam - Panasonic DMC-FX9 Review

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5 winning names have been randomly selected from the list of PhotographyBLOG Newsletter subscribers. If you are one of the winners, you will already have received an email from me ([email protected]).

Todd Fisher has won a Vosonic XS Drive 2 XL (worth £145).
Kindly donated by Card Media.
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http://www.kinnovation.com

Don’t worry if you haven’t won - our Great Christmas Giveway is starting very soon!
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Mike Steward is the lucky winner of the fantastic Epson Stylus Photo R800 Printer in our special Bonfire Night contest.

Mike has won an Epson Stylus Photo R800 printer (worth £249):
The Epson Stylus Photo R800 sets a new benchmark for A4 photo printers. Its new UltraChrome Hi-Gloss pigment ink enables this premium printer to deliver groundbreaking quality, durability and flexibility in printing for the photographic world.
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Following Konica Minolta’s decision yesterday to sack over 10% of its worldwide work-force, Olympus have announced a strategic shift from compact digital cameras to digital SLR models, such as the new E-500 (pictured), which typically have higher profit margins. This comes hard on the heels of the Japanese manufacturer’s latest profits, or rather lack of them - net profit dropped to 2.17 billion yen in the first half of the financial year, down from 6.71 billion yen a year earlier. Olympus’ plans are pretty aggressive. Current SLR sales account for 3% of their camera sales, and Olympus aims to increase this to 30% within 5 years.

Website: Reuters - Japan’s Olympus to shrink compact camera business

Transcend Press Release

Transcend Releases its New, Enormous Memory Capacity Flash Drive, the 8GB Ultra-Speed JetFlash(tm) 2A USB 2.0 Flash Drive

Transcend Information, Inc. (Transcend) is due to release its latest Ultra-Speed JetFlash(tm) 2A USB 2.0 Flash Drive later this month, which has an enormous memory capacity of 8GB. This release will make the Transcend 8GB Ultra-Speed JetFlash(tm) 2A the highest capacity true USB 2.0 Flash Drive available in the world.

There is more to the Ultra-Speed JetFlash(tm) 2A, than just its huge 8GB memory capacity. As the 8GB JetFlash(tm) 2A is a Transcend product, it is capable of lightning fast USB 2.0 transfer speeds. Transcend has focused on the research and development of higher performance Flash memory technology for many years, so it should come as no surprise that our true USB 2.0 8GB JetFlash(tm) 2A with its Dual-Channel technology is capable of outstanding read speeds of up to 21MB/sec and write speeds of up to 11MB/sec.

The Pentax Optio50L is quietly introduced. The Optio 50L is yet another 5 megapixel camera with a 3x zoom lens from Pentax. The main difference between this new model and the existing Optio50 is the addition of a 2.5 inch LCD screen, although the optical viewfinder has been sacrificed. The Pentax Optio50L is available from December 2005, price and official press release to follow.

Fotolia Press Release

Fotolia Launches the first Social Marketplace for Digital Images

Royalty Free Digital Images Available Online for FREE or as Low as £1

London – November 9, 2005 – Fotolia launched today the first global online social marketplace for creative digital stock images in four languages, where photographers and designers of all levels can store, share and monetize their photographs and illustrations. Fotolia’s free membership allows graphics artists, web designers, art directors, and consumers to obtain legal royalty free stock images for use in electronic and print materials for free or starting as low as £1.

Fotolia serves as an international distribution and purchasing center for quality digital content. It is a place for professional photographers, student photographers, amateurs, and designers to create an online image gallery of their work, receive feedback from peers, and earn money, with no charge or long term contract. Unlike competing sites, photographers and designers who use Fotolia will keep all copyrights to their images.

Intro 2020 Press Release

Seculine ZIGVIEW-R - the world’s first TTL Motion Sensor shutter release, Interval & Exposure Timer, based on the original Zigview Digital Angle Finder.

Building on the success of Seculine’s Zigview Digital Angle Finder, the Zigview R incorporates a host of new features including a motion sensor trigger, a sophisticated interval timer and a Bulb exposure controller making it the ideal accessory for wildlife, nature and macro photography or any situation where a covert or accurately timed approach is required.

Simply attach the Zigview-R digital angle finder to the viewfinder of your camera, frame the subject area as required on the TFT colour display and input the required shutter trigger settings using the on screen menu’s.

Olympus UK Press Release

Hot on the heels of the launch of the E-500 Digital SLR, Olympus are announcing a new Magnifier Eyecup which increases the performance of the E-500’s view finder by 1.2 times.

Just attach the ME-1 eyecup magnifier to enjoy an even better view of your subject, significantly enhancing easy focussing and framing.

The eyecup incorporates two lenses and measures 40 mm x 30 mm x 12mm. Available from December 2005 at a price to be confirmed, the ME-1 also fits onto the E-500’s forerunner, the Olympus E-300.

Intemos Press Release

8th November 2005 - Intemos, the same company that make DSLRClean, the revolutionary Digital SLR Sensor cleaning kit, have launched DigiCamClean - the only cleaning system specifically designed to clean small lenses such as those found in mobile phone cameras and digicams.

DigiCamClean can be used to clean small lenses, viewfinders and any other small or hard to access optical surface.

The Sigma 170-500mm F5-6.3 APO DG lens is introduced. The Sigma 170-500mm lens features a new multi-layer lens coating and lens design to reduce flare and ghosting. will cost £629.99 and be available in Sigma AF, Canon AF, Nikon AF, Pentax AF and Konica Minolta AF fittings.

Sigma UK Press Release

An ultra-telephoto zoom up to 500mm producing high performance with digital or film SLR cameras.

- The new multi-layer lens coating and lens design reduces flare and ghosting.
- Aspherical lenses and SLD glass provide correction for all types of aberration throughout the entire zoom range.
- Rear focus system ensures fast auto focus.

The Sigma Corporation is pleased to announce the launch of the new 170-500mm F5-6.3 DG lens. This compact ultra telephoto zoom lens covers a useful range up to 500mm.