Konica Minolta UK Press Release

Konica Minolta AF DT ZOOM 18-70mm F3.5-5.6 (D), AF DT ZOOM 11-18mm F4.5-5.6 (D), and AF DT ZOOM 18-200mm F3.5-6.3 (D) lenses to become available in Autumn 2005

Konica Minolta announces the development of three new “DT” lenses – interchangeable Digital Technology (DT) lenses designed for the Dynax Series digital SLR cameras, including the Dynax 7D.

These new zoom lenses will expand the line up of Konica Minolta interchangeable lenses for Dynax Series cameras. The DT lenses employ a new optical system that is specifically designed for digital SLR cameras, including the Dynax 7D, which incorporate an APS-C size CCD image sensor. Konica Minolta plans to launch these Digital Technology (DT) Lenses Worldwide in the Autumn of 2005.

Providing interchangeable lenses for digital SLR cameras with an optical system optimised for the popular Dynax 7D, meets the needs of users who would prefer to take ultra-wide-angle pictures, users who would like to take pictures with a compact standard zoom, and users who would like to easily take telephoto shots without interchanging the lens.

“Today’s digital photographers require the same versatility and high quality images that they’ve come to expect with their previous Dynax 35mm cameras” said Paul Genge, Product Manager, Konica Minolta Photo Imaging (UK) Limited. “The announcement of these new DT lenses confirms our message to photographers everywhere that Konica Minolta recognises the importance of the Dynax 7D SLR as a central building block for their digital camera systems.”

The HP Photosmart 375 allows you to print 6x4 inch colour and black and white borderless photos at up to 4800x1200-optimized dpi in the comfort of your own home. The HP Photosmart 375 is a thermal inkjet printer that can be used without a computer. It has a built-in memory card reader (supporting 7 different formats) and can also be connected to any PictBridge-compatible camera. Using the supplied HP Bluetooth Wireless Adapter, you can make prints from any Bluetooth compatible device. So is the HP Photosmart 375 the ultimate portable 6x4 inch printer? Read my review to find out.

Website: HP Photosmart 375 Review

Adobe Press Release

SAN JOSE, Calif.—(BUSINESS WIRE)—March 8, 2005—Adobe Systems Incorporated (Nasdaq:ADBE - News) today announced that Hasselblad and Leica Camera AG are among the first camera manufacturers to commit to support the Digital Negative Specification (DNG). Hasselblad will work to allow export to the Digital Negative (.DNG) file format and Leica plans to include native support within their new camera models. Just a few months after Adobe announced the free Adobe DNG Converter, which translates all Photoshop® supported raw photo formats into the new universal .DNG file format, Hasselblad and Leica, along with respected software companies Phase One (Capture One), DxO Labs, Extensis Portfolio and iView, have rallied around this single unified file format for archiving raw files.

Thanks to Dave Trayers for letting me know.

Mike Johnston’s “Sunday Morning Photographer” column this month urges you to forget digital and go buy yourself a film camera instead…

“The F100 is a superb used buy. Being a Nikon and being so clearly the near-pro, hyper-hobbyist body in the film lineup, it’s just the kind of camera that was lapped up in the thousands by well-heeled amateurs who love photography but may not get to shoot much. In that these are just the sort of folks who are offloading their film gear lately to finance the digital wallet drain, the used market is awash with good used F100s. $600 will get you a fine one almost anywhere, and I’ve even seen perfectly good ones dip into the high $400 range. The F100 might not be quite the perfect modern camera (that’s the F6’s role), but it’s the most perfect modern camera anybody’s ever been able to buy for five hundred bucks.”

Website: The Sunday Morning Photographer: Just to be Contrary

Fujifilm have released a new firmware update for the 4.1 Megapixel Fuji FinePix F450 Zoom.

This Firmware (Ver.2.10) update incorporates the following issues:
- LCD monitor automatically increases gain in dark scenes for easier composition.

Website: Fuji FinePix F450 Zoom Firmware Update

Check the Latest Prices for the Fuji FinePix F450 Zoom

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Fujifilm have released a new firmware update for the 4.1 megapixel Fuji FinePix F440 Zoom.

This Firmware (Ver.2.10) update incorporates the following issues:
- LCD monitor automatically increases gain in dark scenes for easier composition.

Website: Fuji FinePix F440 Zoom Firmware

Check the Latest Prices for the Fuji FinePix F440 Zoom

Write a Review of the Fuji FinePix F440 Zoom

Kodak Press Release

Kodak Introduces Free Professional Plug-In Actions for ADOBE PHOTOSHOP CS Software Users, and Updates DIGITAL SHO Professional Plug-In to Support 16-bit Images

ROCHESTER, N.Y., March 8—Eastman Kodak Company today introduced new Actions for its professional suite of image correction and enhancement plug-ins that work in Adobe Photoshop CS Software. The Actions expand automatic image correction capabilities by optimizing the plug-ins for creating unique effects and more beautiful pictures.  The Actions require Adobe PHOTOSHOP CS Software and the professional versions of the plug-ins. Once the Actions are loaded into the Actions Palette and played, they perform in a fully automatic mode but can be modified by advanced users for custom results. With this introduction, there is a unique Action available for each of the four professional plug-ins: DIGITAL ROC Professional Plug-In for color restoration; DIGITAL SHO Professional Plug-In for revealing details hidden in shadows and highlights; DIGITAL GEM Professional Plug-In for reduction of noise and grain; and DIGITAL GEM Airbrush Professional Plug-In for smoothing skin surfaces.

BIOS magazine have just reviewed the Lexmark P315 portable photo printer.

“Lexmark’s latest printer makes printing 6x4in. photos a snap. Competing directly with Epson’s excellent PictureMate (£127 ex. VAT), the P315 portable photo printer slightly undercuts Epson’s offering and still manages to integrate a 2.5in. LCD preview screen (the PictureMate’s LCD is fixed and monochrome only), but its build and output quality are equally poor. The P315 is a really disappointing offering from a company with so much printing experience.”

Website: BIOS Magazine - Lexmark P315 Printer Review

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DIWA member and Norwegian website digIT have published their review of the 7 megapixel Olympus C-70 Zoom (called the Olympus C-7000 Zoom in the USA).

“Although Olympus praise the model for high performance, the results were still quite surprising. I had not expected such good image quality from a compact model with 7.1 Megapixel and 5x zoom.”

Website: digIT - Olympus C-70 Zoom Review

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DIWA member and Norwegian website digIT have reviewed the new Casio Exilim Pro EX-P505, which features a 5X optical zoom, an imaging CCD with 5.0 megapixels, Casio’s “EXILIM engine”, and a large 2-inch TFT color rotating screen that makes angle shots a snap.

“My impression of the camera is quite positive, a userfriendly “mini-SLR” with 5x zoom and 5 megapixels. The only thing I really miss, is continuous shooting and auto bracketing. Higher LCD resolution and image stabiliser would also be appreciated.”

Website: digIT - Casio Exilim Pro EX-P505 Review

DigiCamReview have just reviewed the new flagship model of the Canon Digital IXUS range, the 5.0 megapixel Digital Ixus 500 (known as the Powershot S500 in North America), which was announced at the start of February 2004.

“he design is good, I especially like the zoom control. The camera is very small, and very pocketable; the camera is quite stylish as well. The 1.5” screen updates smoothly and has accurate colour making it easier to view and compose your pictures. The camera is easy to use, the menu system is fairly easy to use and there are is a good layout of buttons and controls. There is a good choice of features and options, such as 9-area focus, manual white balance, high-speed continous shooting with faslh - although there are no scene mode, and no live histogram. The camera speed is good, with a okay switch on time, okay focusing time, and okay shutter response - the speed can be increased by activating the quick shot mode.”

Website: DigiCamReview - Canon Digital Ixus 500 Review

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DigiCamReview have posted their review of the 5 megapixel, 10x optical zoom Kodak EASYSHARE DX7590 digital camera.

“Image quality is good, the images have good colour, saturation and contrast - however detail is average and images are a bit soft and “fuzzy”. The camera did a very good job focusing. Noise was controlled well. I didn’t notice any vignetting in the corners or purple fringing. There is an good range of image sizes and an okay range of compression options. The macro mode is very good. Auto white balance and metering seemed to be very good. There was some red-eye. The movie mode is slightly better than average, at 640x480/12fps, and 320x240/20fps with sound - recorded as MPEG4.”

Website: DigiCamReview - Kodak EasyShare DX7590 Review

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DIWA member and Norwegian website digIT have just reviewed the 5 megapixel, twistable Pentax Optio X.

Website: digIT - Pentax Optio X Review

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Slovenian website Slo-Foto.net have reviewed the 5 megapixel Pentax Optio S5i. With 5.0 effective megapixels and a 3X optical zoom lens, the Optio S5i features a stylish design in an ultra-compact, lightweight digital camera.

Website: Slo-Foto.net - Pentax Optio S5i Review

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CameraTown have published their review of the 7 megapixel Sony Cybershot DSC-V3.

“Holding the DSC-V3 for the first time felt very comfortable, almost as if I have used it before. Since my main camera is a Digital SLR, I think it’s the large grip and balance that I instantly noticed. I also liked the fact that the majority of controls I would use on a daily basis were accessible using buttons on the back of the camera body, instead of having to go deep into menus. Sony has also placed these control right where they should be; The scroll wheel for adjusting aperture, shutter, and exposure is conveniently placed above the zoom rocker and is easily controlled with your thumb, as is the flash on/off, macro, review, self-timer, and delete buttons. I also loved the the large 2.5-inch LCD display, which seemed like a jumbotron compared to the paltry 1.8-inch screen on my EOS-10D. I definitely love the camera so far, but how will I feel when I am done reviewing it? Read the review to find out!”

Website: CameraTown - Sony Cybershot DSC-V3 Review

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Sony Cyber-shot DSC-T7 is announced today. The DSC-T7 has a 2.5 inch LCD screen, 5 megapixels and a 3x optical zoom lens. The Sony Cyber-shot DSC-T7 also has a sliding lens cover and 180 shot battery life. The Sony T7 will be available in May for about $500.

Sony Press Release

SONY’S LATEST CYBER-SHOT T-SERIES CAMERA COMBINES OUTRAGEUOLSY SLIM DESIGN WITH HOT TECHNOLOGY

LAS VEGAS, March 8, 2005 - Sony’s new, incredibly thin Cyber-shot® DSC-T7 digital camera makes you the center of attention wherever you go.

Thanks to a highly efficient design, the Cyber-shot T7 is just over a third-of-an inch, making it Sony’s thinnest, fully-featured model yet. Though small in stature, the camera packs a powerful punch. It has a 2.5-inch `hybrid’ LCD screen, covering about two-thirds of the back of the camera, which is perfectly sized for framing, displaying and sharing pictures.

Through Sony’s distinctive miniaturization and high-density packaging technology, the camera incorporates virtually all the benefits of other T series models despite its amazing thinness. It features 5.1 effective megapixel resolution and an enhanced power management system for extended shooting time. Folded within the sleek body also lies a Carl Zeiss® Vario-Tessar® lens with 3x Optical Zoom.

Hitachi HDC-531 is announced on the Hitachi Japan website. Details about the new HDC-531 digital camera are limited at the moment. From looking at a couple of other websites, the HDC-531 seems to have a 5 megapixel sensor, 3x optical zoom lens and a 2.5 inch LCD screen. The Hitachi HDC-531 will be available in Japan from March 18th.

Read the Press Release (Japanese)

Sony Hi-MD Walkman now features the new “Hi-MD PHOTO” format. The top-of-the-range MZ-DH10P Hi-MD Walkman comes with a full 1.5” TFT colour LCD, 1.3-megapixel CMOS camera and a 4 x digital zoom. price and availablity of the MZ-DH10P to be announced.

Sony Europe Press Release

Berlin, 2 March 2005 - Sony continues to reinvent the MiniDisc format with a range of competitively priced new Hi-MD WALKMAN. The new line-up introduces the “Hi-MD PHOTO” format in a model that features digital still camera function in addition to music playback. And all the new models deliver direct MP3 playback in addition to high quality sound ATRAC3plus, and LinearPCM (Pulse Code Modulation). Strikingly re-imagined forms place the new Hi-MD at the leading edge of contemporary design with features such as full colour LCD and large Organic EL (electroluminescence) display.

“Hi-MD is now more versatile than ever,” comments Gregory Kukolj, General Manager for Personal Audio Europe at Sony, “Users can take pictures and enjoy music on the Hi-MD PHOTO compatible WALKMAN. The new developments on a format that’s removable, durable, and enables direct archiving through ‘plug and play’, make it the ideal media for users to build a library of their music, pictures or data on discs with a maximum capacity of 1GB. And its low cost and accessibility makes it easy to share favourite content with friends. As for the choice of true audio CD quality or MP3 – and plenty in-between – nothing else offers that.”

Pentax have released a firmware update for the *ist D digital SLR camera. These are the changes in version 1.12:

- Correspond to the media card that exceeded 4GB, also Version 1.12 contain the additional function which was released at Version 1.10 ~ 1.11.

Website: Pentax Japan

Sony Cyber-shot DSC-S80 is announced by Sony Europe. The DSC-S80 is exclusive to Europe (which is why I missed it during PMA…) - in the rest of the world the S60 seems to be being released instead. The Sony Cyber-shot DSC-S80 will ship throughout Europe in April 2005.

Sony Europe Press Release

Berlin, 19 February 2005 - Looking for your first digital still camera that is compact and easy to use? Look no further than the new 4.1 effective Megapixel Cyber-shot S40, S80 and S90. All featuring Carl Zeiss 3x Optical Zoom lenses, ideal for high-resolution digital images and prints, and superb STAMINA power efficiency.

Your next digital camera
There’s a model to suit everyone in Sony’s newest line-up - the Cyber-shot S40, S80 and S90 digital still cameras. Attractive features like 4.1 effective Megapixel resolution, with a high level of STAMINA and easy to use functions adding to the value of the new models. Ideal for beginners to digital photography, these compact Cyber-shot cameras each feature a high quality Carl Zeiss Vario-Tessar lens with 3x Optical Zoom. In addition the new cameras offer bright and clear LCD screens - with the huge 2.5-inch LCD screen on the Cyber-shot S90 being especially useful for framing shots, viewing the user-friendly menu screens, playing back and sharing your pictures with ease. The Cyber-shot S80 offers a large 2-inch LCD screen, and the Cyber-shot S40 a convenient 1.5-inch LCD screen.