Konica Minolta have also issued an advisory notice about the CCD issue on some of its older models, which seems to have affected most of the major manufacturers.

Konica Minolta USA - Digital Camera Service Advisory

We have recently been made aware that a component in a limited number of products may, in some instances, fail affecting camera performance and /or operability. The symptom may appear as a freezing or distortion of the electronic analog exposure display. The following digital products may be affected; A1, 7i, 7Hi, Xi, Xt, X20, S414 and F300.

While only a limited number of cameras are affected by this advisory, if your camera is experiencing the above problem, Konica Minolta will service it free of charge even if your standard one year limited warranty has expired. If your camera is beyond the standard one year, limited warranty period, you will receive a written estimate for any additional damages or malfunctions not listed in this service advisory.

To obtain complimentary service for cameras affected by this advisory please print the service return form below and follow the instructions on the form. We apologize for any inconvenience this may have caused.

Website: Konica Minolta USA Service Advisory

Website: Konica Minolta Europe Service Advisory

Following on from Canon, Nikon and Fujifilm last week, Sony have now issued a notice to its customers about a potential problem with the CCD sensor used in many of its products.

Sony UK - Important Notice for Customers

Notice to Owners of Sony Digital Still Camera, Camcorder, PDA CLIÉ and Professional Camcorders & Cameras

October 3, 2005

Thank you for your support and patronage of Sony Digital Still Cameras.

It has recently come to our attention that a limited number of Sony Digital Still Cameras that incorporate an image sensor device, CCD Chip, manufactured from October 2002 through March 2004 may exhibit the following condition:

When the Digital Still Camera is used in camera mode, the LCD panel and/or electronic viewfinder will show either a distorted image or no image.

We have determined that this condition only occurs to a limited number of units.

DesignTechnica have reviewed the HP Photosmart 475 compact photo printer, which can store up to a thousand photos internally on an internal hard drive, eliminating the need to store images on a PC or camera.

“At first it was enough for photo printer makers to add a portable model to their mix. Now that most companies sell one, a little more creativity is required to separate one from the pack. HP has stepped up to the challenge with the Photosmart 475 ($279), a.k.a. GoGo, an unabashedly cute tagalong that prints not only the requisite 4 x 6 prints but 5 x 7 enlargements too. GoGo went a step further, adding 1.5 gigabytes of internal storage that can pack up to 1,000 images. Take it to the next family party, hook it up to a TV and you can run a slide show that lasts all afternoon.”

Website: DesignTechnica - HP Photosmart 475 Review

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The Slovenian website Slo-Foto have published their review of the waterproof Pentax OptioWP digital camera.

Website: Slo-Foto - Pentax OptioWP Review

Check the Latest Prices for the Pentax OptioWP

Write a Review of the Pentax OptioWP

Luminous Landscape have taken a look at the curiously named Arctic Butterfly, a new digital SLR sensor cleaning solution from the company VisibleDust.

“I’ve been trying to think of a good pun or some other humorous lead in, given this product’s whimsical name. But nothing comes to mind. Instead I’m simply going to start by saying that the Arctic Butterfly from VisibleDust is hands-down the finest sensor cleaning tool yet developed, particularly for anyone that travels by air. To my mind the best sensor cleaning tools on the market are from VisibleDust. My review of their products describes how they work and what they do. They have been the mainstay of my sensor cleaning since they first came to market in late 2004.”

Website: Luminous Landscape - Arctic Butterfly Review

DIWA member and Slovenian website e-fotografija have published a joint review of the Fujifilm FinePix S9500 Zoom and the Panasonic DMC-FZ30 ultra-zoom digital cameras.

Website: e-fotografija - Fujifilm FinePix S9500 Zoom / Panasonic DMC-FZ30 Review

Website: Read my Fujifilm Finepix S9500 Zoom Review

Check the Latest Prices for the Fujifilm FinePix S9500 Zoom

Write a Review of the Fujifilm FinePix S9500 Zoom

DCResource review the Canon PowerShot A410 compact digital camera, an entry level model with 3.2 megapixels and 1.5 inch LCD screen which replaces the A400. The Canon A410 offers a 3.2x optical zoom lens and includes Canon’s renowned DIGIC II image processor as used in their high-end digital SLR cameras.

“The A410 is a boxy, midsized 3.2 Megapixel camera made of high grade plastic. It’s well put together, though I’m not a fan of having the zoom controls relegated to the four-way controller. The camera features a 3.2X zoom lens which starts at 41 mm, which makes it unsuitable for wide-angle photography. Other features on the camera include a small and somewhat dark 1.5” LCD display, point-and-shoot operation, Canon’s unique My Colors feature, and a super macro mode that lets you get 1.5 cm from your subject. One feature missing from the A410 is USB 2.0 High Speed support, which most of Canon’s other 2005 cameras have. There’s no video out port, either.”

Website: DCResource - Canon PowerShot A410 Review

Check the Latest Prices for the Canon PowerShot A410

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DigitalCameraInfo have reviewed the Kodak Easyshare C340, a 5 megapixel digicam with 3x optical zoom lens.

“The Kodak EasyShare C340 takes its 5 megapixel images with a 1/2.5” CCD and a 3x optical zoom lens. Captured images can then be viewed on the camera’s 72,000 pixel 1.6” LCD or in print form using the camera’s Print/Share button and a compatible printer dock or PictBridge compliant printer. Still images can be shot with 12 shooting presets, and video can be captured at 640 x 480 at 13 fps or 320 x 240 at 20 fps. With a suggested retail price of $249.95, the C340 is less expensive than competitors with similar resolution and optics, though it lacks some of the amenities and style of more expensive compacts. The EasyShare C340 does however continue Kodak’s tradition of simple, easy-to-use cameras and can currently be found online for under $200.”

Website: DigitalCameraInfo - Kodak Easyshare C340 Review

Check the Latest Prices for the Kodak Easyshare C340

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The Czech website Digineff have published their review of the Kodak Easyshare V550, a 5 megapixel camera with 3x optical zoom lens and 2.5inch LCD screen.

Website: Digineff - Kodak Easyshare V550 Review

Check the Latest Prices for the Kodak Easyshare V550

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Norwegian website Akam.no have published the first online review of the Samsung Digimax L50, a 5 megapixel digital camera with a 3x optical zoom lens and 2.5 inch LCD screen with 230,000 pixels.

Website: Akam.no - Samsung Digimax L50 Review

Check the Latest Prices for the Samsung Digimax L50

Write a Review of the Samsung Digimax L50

BIOS have published a review of the new Sanyo Xacti Digital Movie C5, which has 5 megapixels, 2 inch LCD screen and can record MPEG4 format movies with VGA resolution at 30 frames per second.

“The new Sanyo Xacti C5 digital camcorder is one of the smallest devices of its type. In fact, it’s so compact that you’ll probably mistake it for a digital camera. If you’re looking for an ultra-portable digital movie camera for capturing spontaneous moments, such as night outs and family shindigs, the Xacti C5 would make a good choice. It’s not exactly great value for money (its manual controls and format support are very limited), but it comes with a 1GB SD Card and is available in a choice of three colours (silver, bronze or white).”

Website: BIOS - Sanyo Xacti Digital Movie C5 Review

Check the Latest Prices for the Sanyo Xacti Digital Movie C5

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The winners of the September 2005 PhotographyBLOG Competition have now been decided. The theme for September was “Churches” - you can view all of the entries in this gallery. Here are the 5 winners:

1st Place
“Protect us from Evil” by potto
View this entry

1 x 36x24” Artist Canvas Print of a Photo of Your Choice
Kindly donated by Pixel Outpost.
http://www.pixeloutpost.com

2nd Place
“Peace through stormy skies” by spookygonk
View this entry

Prize: Photobird.com one-year subscription with 100 megabytes of storage space
Kindly donated by Photobird.com.
http://www.photobird.com

3rd Place
“Stands the Test of Time” by helsinki
View this entry

Prize: 1 copy of Powerretouche Full Pro Pack
Kindly donated by Powerretouche.
http://powerretouche.com

4th Place
“Night Mass” by goswell
View this entry

ShutterPoint.com one-year subscription with 100 megabytes of storage space
Kindly donated by ShutterPoint.
http://www.shutterpoint.com

5th Place
“Brentor-Sky-Added” by alfiebasher
View this entry

1 x 24x24” or 24x18” Canvas Print of a Photo of Your Choice
Kindly donated by Photo Artistry.
http://www.photoartistry.co.uk

Congratulations to the 5 winners and thanks to everyone who took part!

The October 2005 Competition is now open for entries. This is a monthly photography competition with a specific theme and prizes for the top 5 photos. The winning entries will be decided by a panel of judges. You just have to submit one photograph to the Competition Gallery that best interprets October’s theme, which is “Long Exposures”.

The HP Photosmart R817 is HP’s latest digital camera and it attempts to emulate the success of the well-received R707 and R717 models. Despite the higher model number, the HP R817 actually has less megapixels (5 rather than 6) and a smaller image sensor than its predecessors. So what new features does it have to offer? The main one is a 5x optical lens, equivalent to 36-180mm, which instantly sets it apart from most of the competition, which typically have 3x zoom lenses. The R817 is also quite a lot smaller than the older models, although this does come at the expense of a smaller CCD sensor and the omission of an optical viewfinder. So is the HP R817 better than its predecessors, and how does it match up against the dozens of other 5 megapixel digital cameras?

Website: HP Photosmart R817 Review

Serif Press Release

Outstanding new desktop publishing package with PDF Editing

Serif (Europe) Ltd – the UK’s leading independent desktop publishing, design and graphics software developer – today announced the launch of PagePlus 11, the powerful new version of their flagship desktop publishing package.

PagePlus 11 (List Price £99.99; upgrade prices available*) is the new version of Serif’s highly acclaimed desktop publisher, offering unparalleled page layout and design tools for the price, as well as retaining its trademark ease of use and accessibility for all abilities of user. Now with the capability to import and fully edit PDFs, PagePlus 11 is in a league of its own, even offering features not found in rival packages costing many times more.

The Sigma 8mm F4 EX DG Circular fisheye lens is unveiled today. A new coating technology on the Sigma 8mm fisheye lens reduces flare and ghosting. The Sigma 8mm F4 EX DG lens offers a 180 degree angle of view and can be used to create circular images. Price is £579.88 - availability to be announced.

Sigma Press Release

Digitally optimized circular fisheye auto-focus lens - 8mm F4 EX DG CIRCULAR FISHEYE

2005.10.07 - The Sigma Corporation is pleased to announce the launch of the new 8mm F4 EX DG CIRCULAR FISHEYE lens.

This circular fisheye lens is used to produce circular images, creating vast distortion with an angle of view of 180° when attached to a full-frame digital or 35mm film SLR camera. This auto focus lens is equipped with a new multi-layer coating technology that reduces both flare and ghosting and ensures accurate color balance and high image quality for both film and digital SLR cameras. This lens can be used for the scientific applications such as the solid angle measurements of cloud distribution over the sky, the vegetation distribution of the forest, etc., due to the quantifiable angle/area relationship it produces. Also supplied with the lens is a fitted padded case and a gelatin filter holder at the rear, allowing the use of gelatin filters.

The Sigma 15mm F2.8 EX DG Diagonal fisheye lens is announced today. This new Sigma 15mm fisheye lens has been digitally optimised to reduce flare and ghosting. The angle of view offered by the Sigma 15mm F2.8 EX DG Diagonal is 180 degrees, minimum aperture is f/22 and weight is 370 grams. Price is £449.99 - availability to be announced.

Sigma Press Release

Digitally optimized circular fisheye auto-focus lens - 15mm F2.8 EX DG DIAGONAL FISHEYE

2005.10.07 - The Sigma Corporation is pleased to announce the launch of the new 15mm F2.8 EX DG DIAGONAL FISHEYE lens.

This digitally optimized diagonal fisheye lens is equipped with a new multi-layer coating technology that reduces both flare and ghosting. This also ensures an accurate color balance and high definition results.

With a minimum shooting distance of only 15cm (5.9 inch), this lens has a maximum magnification of 1:3.8. The close focusing capability together with a large depth of field allow close up photography that covers objects surrounding the photographic subject.

Canon Asia and Canon USA have announced that a problem exists with the CCD in 25 of its digital still and video cameras.

Canon Asia Advisory Notice
 
A problem has been discovered in some of the CCDs used in Canon digital camera and digital video camera products that causes images to appear distorted or not to appear at all. We apologize for the considerable inconvenience this represents for our customers. Along with our respectful apology, we would like to advise our customers of the details of this issue and our policy for handling it, which are as follows.
 
Affected Models
The CCDs in question are used in the following models.
 
Digital Cameras: PowerShot A60, PowerShot A70, PowerShot A75, PowerShot A300, PowerShot A310, Digital IXUS V3, Digital IXUS II, Digital IXUS IIs
 
Digital Video Cameras: MV600i, MV630i, MV650i, MV700i, MV730i, MV750i, MV5i, MV5i MC, MV6i MC, ZR60, ZR65 MC, ZR70 MC, ZR80, ZR85, ZR90, Elura 40 MC, Elura 50

Canon have launched a new website dedicated to Picture Styles, which Canon suggests is “like selecting the best film for the subject or desired photographic expression”. As well as being able to shoot pictures with the EOS 5D and EOS-1D Mark II N cameras using a specific Picture style, you can also apply them to RAW files from older Canon DSLR cameras (right back to the D30) using the newly-released Digital Photo Professional v2.0 software.

“Color creativity with digital cameras has undergone enormous development and evolution since the advent of EOS DIGITAL cameras. The results of that progress have now been incorporated into Picture Style. Many functions have traditionally had to be adjusted through the Color Matrix and Developing Parameters. Picture Style integrates these into a display that is intuitive and unambiguous for professionals working with photographic data. Selecting the optimal Picture Style is like selecting the best film for the subject or desired photographic expression. By making this selection, you can create digital data fine-tuned for certain characteristics the moment the shutter is released. Picture Style makes it possible to produce images with the same characteristics regardless of the EOS DIGITAL camera used.”

Website: Canon Picture Style Special Site

The Leaf Aptus 75 and Leaf Aptus 65 digital camera backs are announced. The Leaf Aptus 75 offers 6726 x 5040 pixels, whilst the the Leaf Aptus 65 offers 6144 x 4622 pixels. The Leaf Aptus 75 will be avilable in November, and the Leaf Aptus 65 in Q1 2006.

Leaf America Press Release

Leaf America is pleased to announce the next generation of Leaf digital camera backs for professional photographers: Leaf Aptus 75 and Leaf Aptus 65.

These two new models offer superior image quality, flexibility and control. The 6×7cm LCD touch screen provides complete control over the image capture process. From pre-shoot setups to image capture, gray balancing and saving files to managing the data after the shoot, the improved workflow allows photographers to work the way they want, the Leaf Aptus 75 and Leaf Aptus 65 adapt to their needs.

Luminous Landscape have published a brief comparative test of the new professional level Canon EF 24-105mm F/4L IS lens (pictured) and the older consumer Canon EF 28-135mm IS lens.

“For the past year I have been using the 28~135 IS USM because it is relatively inexpensive, portable, has good zoom range and is an eminently decent quality lens. I knew it wasn’t top-of-the-line Canon, but it worked well for me. Along came the 24~105 offering portability (only a wee bit heavier than the 28~135), good zoom range and top quality at three times the price. Quandary: is it worth sinking about USD $1250 on top of the $400 I spent last year on the 28~135? The solution: test and see.”

Website: Luminous Landscape - How I Decided to Up-Grade From a Canon 28-135 IS to a Canon 24-105 F/4L IS