Samsung Digimax A55W is announced. The Samsung Digimax A55W is a 5 megapixel digital camera with a a 4.8X optical zoom and 2.5 inch LCD screen. The Samsung A55W supports the MPEG-4 video format and can record in VGA(640X480) format at 30 fps. The Digimax A55W offers movie stabilization, which helps maintain steady recording of a subject. Price and availability of the Samsung Digimax A55W to be announced.

Samsung Press Release

Samsung Techwin widens its 5 mega-pixel digital camera portfolio with the Digimax A55W

The Digimax A55W provides 5X digital zoom in addition to a 4.8X optical zoom, achieving 24X total zoom when used at the same time. It also provides 8X zoom during playback, so you can really check the detail of the shots you have taken. The Digimax A55W is equipped with a large 2.5” 200K high-resolution LCD to offer superb image quality for both photography and image playback.

Samsung Digimax A502 is introduced. The Samsun Digimax A502 is a 5 megapixel digital camera with a fixed optical zoom lens and 5x digital zoom. With a a 1.8” colour TFT LCD monitor and an easy to use menu system, the Samsung A502 is aimed firmly at the beginner camera user. The Digimax A502 supports video recording in VGA resolution at 24/15 frames per second. Price and availability of the A502 to be announced.

Samsung Press Release

Samsung Camera releases a 5 mega-pixel digital camera - the Digimax A502

Samsung Camera has announced that it will release a 5 mega-pixel high-resolution digital camera with 5X digital zoom(model name: Digimax A502) to drive penetration of the important 5 mega-pixel sector.

The Digimax A502 is a 5 mega-pixel high-resolution digital camera with 5X digital zoom(7X zoom during playback) that can be used for a wide range of photographic purposes. Its compact design makes it easy to carry it around as well(dimensions: 96.5 (L) X 52.5 (H) X 29.7 (W) Weight: approximately 105 grams).

ATP Press Release

ATP Showcases Latest Flash Card Innovation at Computex 2005

New ProMax Super High Speed (133X) SD cards up to 2GB and MMCmicroTM cards up to 512MB for Latest Mobile Phones

Sunnyvale, CA (May 30, 2005) - ATP, a leading manufacturer of quality memory products, will showcase its latest flash media products at Computex Taipei 2005 from May 31 to June 4, in Taipei Taiwan. The ATP booth is located in Hall 1, Area C, Booth # C1100, C1102, C1199, and C1201, where ATP will debut both its ProMaxTM series of super high speed SD cards and MMCmicroTM cards. Both product unveilings are expected to solidify ATP’s leading expertise in the design and manufacture of the highest capacity, performance and quality flash cards in ultra small form factors.

BenQ have announced the E510 and E520, two 5 megapixel digital cameras with a 3x optical zoom lens. Both the BenQ E510 and BenQ E520 feature an innovative touch screen, which allows you to tap the screen to zoom in on a photo. The E520 offers a 2.5 inch LCD screen, whilst the E510 has a 2 inch screen.

BenQ Press Release

BenQ Releases DC E510 Digital Camera

Europe, May 31, 2005 – BenQ has released a digital camera aimed at users that require both quality and fun in one package. The DC E510 features a 5 megapixel CCD sensor, 3x optical zoom, and an oversized 2” LTPS touch screen with innovative “tap to enlarge” and creative photo frame and stamp options.

“The DC E510 adds a dimension of fun to BenQ’s digital camera line,” commented Peter Chen, BenQ Vice-President and Digital Media Business Group General Manager. “The DC E510 lets you take quality photos, add your own personal flourishes and transfer or print them out easily.”

DCViews have published their review of the new Nikon D70s DSLR camera.

“Seeing that Nikon already had a very good DSLR in the D70, it is interesting to see that they still managed to improve the camera with a number of welcome features. Among these is the new 1500mAh battery with a capacity of up to 2500 images per charge. Flash angle coverage has been improved to cover lenses up to 18mm and a comfortable rubber eye cup is now supplied as standard. Best of all is that existing D70 owners do not have to trade in their “old” camera but can bring it up to D70s standards by installing the new free firmware. With this the same performance updates that make the D70s stand out from the crowd become available to existing owners. These include improved auto focus, easier to read menu system and an in-camera menu page to support PictBridge direct printing.”

Website: DCViews - Nikon D70s Review

Website: Read my Nikon D70s Review

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Rob Galbraith have a fascinating article about Alex Majoli, a Magnum photojournalist who uses point and shoot Olympus digicams instead of the usual DSLR cameras.

“Beginning with the C-5050, Olympus began fitting its so-called prosumer cameras with LCD monitors that either tilt or tilt and swivel. Majoli loves this capability, using it often to take pictures without holding the camera to his eye.

It’s a technique that dovetails nicely with the virtually silent operation of these cameras when you turn off their indicator beeps and pre-recorded shutter sounds. “It’s really changed the way I shoot,” says the photographer. “People don’t realize I’m taking pictures. It’s fantastic. Fantastic.”

Website: Rob Galbraith - Alex Majoli points and shoots

Website: Read my review of the Olympus C-8080 Wide Zoom

Hungarian website Index Digicam have the first online review of the PENTAX Optio50, an easy to use and compact digital camera with a 3x zoom lens and 5 megapixels.

Website: Index Digicam - PENTAX Optio50 Review

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The-Digital-Picture.com have just reviewed 2 camera bags from Lowepro, the Lowepro Pro Trekker II AW Camera Backpack and the Lowepro Lens Trekker 600 AW Camera Backpack.

“The Lowepro Pro Trekker AW II Camera Backpack has a large amount of storage available in additional to the main cavity. Small/thin items can be stowed in the see-through rear lid/cover pocket. Anything with a SlipLock attachment (such as a Lens Case) can be added to the many side, back and belt SlipLock loops. The Lowepro Pro Trekker AW II Camera Backpack includes two long/tubular SlipLock cases (one padded and one non-padded). An included tripod foot holder and tripod clips allow a tripod to be mounted on the sides or front of this camera backpack. I suppose you could get two additional holders to mount three tripods if you wanted to. D-rings and loops are also in abundance.”

Website: The-Digital-Picture.com - Lowepro Pro Trekker II AW Camera Backpack Review

Website: The-Digital-Picture.com - Lowepro Lens Trekker 600 AW Camera Backpack Review

DIWA member and Czech website Fotoaparat have reviewed the Ricoh R2, a 5 megapixel digital camera with a 4.8x optical zoom and 2.5 inch LCD screen. The Ricoh Caplio R2 is less than 26mm thick and has a battery life of around 500 shots.

Website: Fotoaparat - Ricoh R2 Review

DigitalCameraInfo have published their review of the 8 megapixel Canon EOS 350D / Digital Rebel XT DSLR.

“Initially unveiled at PMA 2005, roughly a year and a half after its predecessor, the Canon Digital Rebel XT appears to be a real winner. Offering strong image quality, rapid shooting and processing speeds, and the ability to apply a range of Canon and independent lenses in a compressed package, the XT should have a wide appeal. Canon seems to have corrected the majority of the flaws apparent in the Original EOS Digital Rebel, with the only remaining question concerning the feel of the body. As with the original Digital Rebel, the XT is again formed out of an extremely lightweight polycarbonate, retaining the same consumer-grade frailty that forced some to denounce it as amateur. Although meager to some, the compact frame will unquestionably be an asset to other users, as the 17.1 oz. Rebel XT, currently the lightest digital SLR on the market, offers the portability of a compact camera, with the performance and flexibility provided by a prosumer grade model.”

Website: DigitalCameraInfo - Canon EOS 350D / Digital Rebel XT Review

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DigiCamReview have just reviewed the Sony DSC-S80, a digital camera that is exclusive to Europe.

“Image quality is good, the images have good colour, saturation, contrast and good detail with very low purple fringing - although images are a bit soft. The camera did a good job focusing. There is a good range of image sizes and a good choice of compression options. The macro mode is average. Auto white balance and metering seemed to be quite good. Red-eye was controlled well. The movie mode is very good as the resolution and framerate is 640x480 / 30fps with sound.”

Website: DigiCamReview - Sony Cyber-shot DSC-S80 Review

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Canon launches another season of mini documentaries – ‘The Shot’

Canon, leader in photographic and imaging technology, is pleased to announce four stunning new additions to the award-winning ‘The Shot’ mini documentary series. Featuring more of the world’s finest photographers, ‘The Shot’ continues to present the photographer as an expert in their field with each photographer explaining how they captured a certain image or series of images and their story behind it. ‘The Shot’ will air between mid May until the end of June on several Pan-European networks and is in association with the Canon EOS 350D digital SLR camera.

The Vosonic X’S Drive II Plus VP2160 is a portable storage device that is aimed at the digital photographer who wants something that is both easy to use and affordable. The VP2160 is a compact device thanks to its use of an internal 2.5 inch hard drive, but it still offers a generous 2.5 inch monochrome LCD screen that allows you to view the transfer status of your file downloads (there is no actual viewing of the images themselves). 12 different memory card formats are supported by the Vosonic VP2160 via two external memory card slots. As the Vosonic X’S Drive II Plus VP2160 is basically a hard-drive in a stylish metal case, any type of file that you would normally find on a computer can be stored on it. Copying your digital photos from a memory card onto the VP2160 takes just one button press, and copying them from the VP2160 onto your computer is via a speedy USB 2.0 Connection. With a price tag of under £150 for both the 20Gb and 40Gb versions, should the Vosonic X’S Drive II Plus VP2160 find a home in every photographer’s camera bag? Find out by reading my review.

Website: Vosonic X’S Drive II Plus VP2160 Review

Lexmark X2350 All-in-One and Lexmark Z735 printers are announced. Both the X2350 and Z735 use a single ink cartridge, called the the Lexmark #1 cartridge, for all types of printing (inclduing photos). The Lexmark X2350 has an estimated retail price of $69 after a $30 mail-in rebate, while the Lexmark Z735 is expected to retail for $49 after a $30 mail-in rebate.

Lexmark Press Release

Lexmark’s new printers ‘uncomplicate’ printing at home

- Lexmark’s one-cartridge system redefines ease-of-use and affordability for high-quality printing -

Lexmark International, Inc. (NYSE: LXK) today announced two new printers that help redefine ease-of-use and affordability in the home printing market for a key group of consumers who want a basic, easy-to-use printer with low-cost supplies.

The Lexmark X2350 All-in-One (AIO) and the Lexmark Z735 use the specially designed #1 cartridge to produce brilliant photos, vibrant color graphics and text with a single technology-rich cartridge, eliminating the need for multiple cartridge “swapping.” In addition, with a larger swath and more nozzles than previous entry-level models, these printers feature one of the fastest color speeds available in their classes—up to 15 pages per minute (ppm) for color or text documents and 4-inch x 6-inch photos as fast as 38 seconds*.

DIWA member and Polish website Fotopolis have published the first online review of the new Sony DSC-H1 digital camera. The DSC-H1 has a 12x optical zoom lens (equivalent to 36-432 millimeters), 5 megapixel CCD and 2.5 inch LCD screen.

Fotopolis - Sony DSC-H1 Review

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Jessops Press Release

Jessops, the UK’s leading photographic retailer, has launched Britain’s first ‘order online, collect in-store’ photo printing service.

Customers using the company’s new look online photo centre – www.jessopsphotoexpress.com – can choose to have their prints delivered through the post, or to collect them from any of Jessops’ 270 stores nationwide.

Those using the collect in-store service simply select their preferred store from a drop down list, and benefit by saving on the usual postal delivery charge of £1.50, and getting a faster delivery time of only two days. Delivery using the postal service takes up to five days.

DCResource have published their review of the Fujifilm FinePix Z1 Zoom, a 5 megapixel compact digital camera with a large 2.5inch LCD screen and 3 optical zoom.

“The FinePix Z1 is a good performer, with near-instant startup, good focusing times (with high speed shooting turned on), no shutter lag, and good shot-to-shot speeds. Photo quality is good, though images have a fuzzy/grainy look to them which seems to be the norm for cameras with this lens design. The Z1 can perform better than the competition at high ISO settings, though you’ll probably want to use those photos for smaller-sized prints only. The natural light mode is especially handy for those low light shots that always turn out blurry. In terms of features the Z1 is fairly stripped—there are no manual controls of any kind and there’s not even a continuous shooting mode. In other words, it’s 100% point-and-shoot. One really nice feature on the Z1 is its VGA movie mode.”

DCResource - Fujifilm FinePix Z1 Zoom Review

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CNET have reviewed the Canon Digital IXUS 50, a 5 megapixel digital camera with stainless steel finish that is Canon’s smallest ever 5.0 Megapixel optical zoom camera (also known as the SD400).

“This camera’s image quality was marginally better than that of its 4-megapixel sibling, although both were a little disappointing. The Canon PowerShot SD400 produced photos that were sharper than the SD300’s, but other 5-megapixel cameras in this class have done better, particularly at the telephoto zoom position. On the plus side, there was a good range of detail in shadows and highlights, although it was often masked by JPEG artifacts. Color saturation was somewhat muted at the default setting, and flesh tones showed a tendency toward yellow casts.”

Website: CNET - Canon Digital IXUS 50 Review

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DIWA member and Norwegian website Digit.no have reviewed the 7 megapixel Olympus C-7070 Wide Zoom, which was announced at the CES show back in January.

Website: Digit.no - Olympus C-7070 Wide Zoom Review

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SpotPhoto have published their review of the 8 megapixel Canon EOS 350D / Digital Rebel XT DSLR.

“A week with new 8 megapixel Canon Rebel XT / EOS 350D convinced me that it’s really a tremendous camera for beginner and as a spare body for professional shooter alike. Handling, responsiveness, shooting speed and picture quality - this camera offers some serious competition to larger, heavier and more expensive cameras.”

Website: SpotPhoto - Canon EOS 350D / Digital Rebel XT Review

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