Lexar Press Release

Lexar Expands Award-Winning Professional Series Flash Memory Cards and Accessories

Line-Up Now Features Speed-Rated SD Card and Memory Stick PRO in Newly Designed Packaging

ORLANDO, FL, February 20, 2005 (PMA booth #4132) – Lexar Media, Inc. (Nasdaq: LEXR), a world leader in advanced digital media technologies, today announced the expansion of the company’s Professional Series of flash memory cards and accessories by adding Professional Memory Stick PRO™, speed rated at 80X, and Professional Secure Digital™ (SD), speed rated at 60X, to its award-winning professional line of products. In addition, the company also announced that the complete line of Professional Series flash memory cards and accessories is now available in newly designed, eye-catching packaging designed to drive customer attention at retail sales locations.

Lexar’s Platinum Series Flash Memory Cards Provide Consumers with High-Speed Performance and Superior Reliability

Complete Platinum Series of Cards Now Speed-Rated at 40X, Including Memory Stick PRO and Secure Digital (SD) Formats

ORLANDO, FL, February 20, 2005 (PMA booth #4132) – Lexar Media, Inc. (Nasdaq: LEXR), a world leader in advanced digital media technologies, today announced that the company’s full line of Platinum Series flash memory cards are speed-rated at 40X, equivalent to a minimum sustained data read and write speed capability of 6MB per second, and provide consumers with superior performance. Available in recently updated, contemporary packaging designed to drive consumer interest at retail sales locations worldwide, Lexar’s Platinum Series now includes Memory Stick PRO™ and Secure Digital™ (SD) flash media formats as well as CompactFlash®.

Lexar Press Release

Lexar Unveils Website Designed to Inform and Educate Digital Photographers

ORLANDO, FL, February 20, 2005 (PMA booth #4132) – Lexar Media, Inc. (Nasdaq: LEXR), a world leader in advanced digital media technologies, today announced a new web site designed specifically for digital photographers. Located at www.lexar.com/dp, the new site includes valuable information and tutorials to help photographers more fully utilize the unique features Lexar products offer and achieve a more rewarding experience shooting and working with digital images. Additionally, this new site provides detailed information about new photography techniques, products and services, as well as interesting feature stories and background information about the many professionals who count on Lexar’s flash memory cards and accessories to help them succeed.

Kodak Press Release

Picture Archiving and Sharing Standard (PASS) Specification v1.0 Now Complete

Specification will facilitate the development of compatible products and services to help ensure consumer’s future enjoyment of digital pictures and videos

ORLANDO, Fla., Feb. 20—Eastman Kodak Company, Fuji Photo Film Co., Ltd., and Konica Minolta Photo Imaging, Inc. today announced the completion of a set of standards for the consumer imaging and electronics industries, setting a path to help ensure compatibility of digital photos and motion images on CDs, DVDs or other media with a broad range of consumer products.

Kodak Press Release

Kodak Updates Film Portfolio with Enhancements to Consumer and Professional Films

New Enhancements to KODAK MAX Versatility 400-Speed Film and KODAK PROFESSIONAL PORTRA Film Deliver Outstanding Color Quality and Picture Clarity

ORLANDO, Fla., Feb. 20—Eastman Kodak Company today announced enhancements to its consumer and professional film portfolios. Delivering on primary consumer needs the enhanced KODAK MAX Versatility is now the world’s most versatile 400-speed film available and gives consumers better pictures in a wider variety of lighting conditions. Improved KODAK PROFESSIONAL PORTRA film is now better suited for digital scanning, further enhancing the capabilities of Kodak’s industry-renowned PORTRA film family.

Kodak Press Release

Kodak Leads Imaging Industry in Driving Wireless Picture Sharing and Printing

KODAK EASYSHARE-ONE, WiFi-Enabled EASYSHARE Printer Dock Plus Add to Growing Kodak Portfolio of Wireless Products and Services

ORLANDO, Fla., Feb. 20—Building on its leadership role in making digital photography easy, Eastman Kodak Company is highlighting a range of new wireless-enabled digital photography products and services at this week’s 2005 Photo Marketing Association International Show (Kodak Booth #3544; OCCC West Building), bringing to life the ability to share pictures whenever and wherever people wish.

Kodak added to its growing portfolio of wireless products and services with the unveiling of EASYSHARE-ONE (US$599) in January 2005, the first WiFi digital camera of its kind that allows consumers to carry and instantly share up to 1,500 digital pictures with friends across the table, or across the globe.

Kodak Imagelink Print System is announced today at PMA 2005. Imagelink is a new printing system that allows one-touch picture printing from snapshot printers and is supported by a number of different manufacturers (see below). Kodak haven’t released too much information about their new Imagelink Print System - I will call by their stand tomorrow and find out more.

Kodak Press Release

Consumer Web Site Created for New IMAGELINK Print System

One-Touch, At-Home Picture Printing System Supported by Kodak, Konica Minolta, Nikon, Olympus, Pentax, Ricoh and Sanyo

ORLANDO, Fla., Feb. 20—A consumer Web site dedicated to the IMAGELINK print system, the new, multi-manufacturer specification designed to simplify at-home picture printing, will go live this March. The site—www.imagelinkprintsystem.com—includes links to compatible digital camera and printer information, an animated presentation to help people visualize the camera-printer connection, frequently asked questions, and news related to the specification.

JVC GZ-MC500 Digital Media Camera is launched today at PMA 2005. The JVC GZ-MC500 is a 5 megapixel digital camera that records both still and moving images. The JVC GZ-MC500 uses three CCDs rather than one, dedicating 1.33 megapixel CCD to the red, green and blue colour channels, which JVC claims broadens dynamic range and produces sharp, vivid color with good contrast and low light performance. The JVC Everio GZ-MC500 will be available in March for $1,799.95.

ORLANDO, FL, February 20, 2005 – Just months after its launch of the world’s first hard disk camcorders, JVC today announced a 3-CCD version that offers high quality 5-megapixel performance when shooting digital stills.

The new GZ-MC500 Digital Media Camera is the newest member of the JVC Everio family – the only currently available camcorders that record onto a hard disk. Like the single-CCD Everio camcorders launched last fall, the GZ-MC500 records 60 minutes of DVD-quality video or thousands of photo-quality stills to a Microdrive® removable hard disk. With this newest Everio, JVC combines these benefits with 3-CCD/5-megapixel performance.

Kodak Easyshare C300 and Kodak Easyshare C340 are announced today at PMA 2005. The C300 is an entry-level 3 megapixel digital camera with a fixed-focus lens, priced at just $99.95 and available in May. The C340 is a 5 megapixel digicam with 3x optical zoom lens, priced at $249.95 and also available in May. You can see exclusive shots of the Kodak Easyshare C300 and Kodak Easyshare C340 from the PMA Show floor in my Kodak Booth to Booth feature.

Kodak Press Release

KODAK EASYSHARE C300 and C340 Digital Cameras Combine New Compact Design, On-Camera Cropping and High Image Quality, Resulting in Great Pictures

ORLANDO, Fla., Feb. 20—Eastman Kodak Company today introduced two new, compact digital cameras to its KODAK EASYSHARE line: the EASYSHARE C340 zoom digital camera, with 5 megapixel (MP) resolution, 3X optical zoom and on-camera cropping; and the EASYSHARE C300 digital camera, with 3 MP resolution and a fixed-focus lens. Both models provide people with an affordable entry point to the KODAK EASYSHARE consumer digital photography system for simplified shooting, sharing, organizing and printing of high-quality digital pictures.

Kodak occupied a large area at PMA in the centre of the show floor, with a large majority of the space taken up by the photo-finishing sections of the company, rather than the camera side. New digital camera models included the new Z series cameras the Kodak Easyshare Z7590and Kodak EasyShare Z730, and the more basic Kodak EasyShare CS340 and Kodak EasyShare CS300 models.

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Kodak EasyShare CS340

Casio’s presence at PMA 2005 was quite large, but situated quite a long way from the centre of the show where the other major camera manufacturers were located. New digital camera models included the Casio Exilim Pro EX-P505, Casio Exilim Zoom EX-Z750 and Casio Exilim Zoom EX-Z57.

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Casio Exilim Pro EX-P505

Casio Exilim Zoom EX-Z750

The Sony DSC-H1 is the star of the PMA Show as far as Sony is concerned. The DSC-H1 is the company’s first entry into the ultra-zoom market, with a 12x optical zoom lens equivalent to 36-432 millimeters. Following the likes of Panasonic with their image stabilization system, the Sony DSC-H1 has an equivalent feature called Super Steady Shot. Other features include a 5 megapixel sensor and, following the recent trend, a large 2.5-inch LCD screen. The DSC-H1 is quite compact for an ultra-zoom camera, as shown above, well-made like most Sony digicams, and is sure to be a real contender (albeit a late one) when it launches in June for $500.

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The Fujifilm FinePix Z1 Zoom surprised me by being lot smaller than I’d imagined - it’s considerably smaller than a comparable camera like the Casio Exilim EX-Z55 or Konica Minolta DiMAGE X50. The lens is right in the top corner of the camera, which has a sliding lens cover like many of its competitors. Very neat. The Z1 Zoom is a 5 megapixel compact digital camera with a large 2.5inch LCD screen and 3x optical zoom.

HP are really promoting their new HP Photosmart printer, the the 8750, at PMA 2005. At a lunchtime conference today, HP presented their overall package for the 8750 and the higher-end DesignJet 90 via 3 key speakers. Henry Wilhelm, who is heavily involved with testing digital print lifespan, Iris Mangelschots from GretagMacbeth, who are providing colour management solutions bundled with the new HP printers, and Joel Meyerowitz, a professional photographer who has converted to selling digital prints in the last year made with the HP DesignJet series, abandoning conventional silver halide. (Click on each picture to see a larger version)

The HP PhotoSmart 8750 supports print sizes up to 13x19 inches, offers a lightfastness of up to 108 years, and has a new 9 colour inkset which now includes blue for more, well, vibrant blues. There is also a built-in memory card reader which HP are positioning more as a way to proof your photos, rather than the usual selling point of being able to bypass the computer entirely (reasoning that prosumer photographers will edit their photos on a computer in Adobe Photoshop before printing).
The black and white print that HP were showing was stunning - true black and white quality out of the box with no need to profile the printer, due to HP’s dedicated Gray inkjet cartridge. This technology has featured on their smaller printers like the PhotoSmart 7960 - the real challenge for HP will be the colour side of things. Will the new Blue cartridge be enough to convince buyers that HP can beat their competitiors in terms of colour? Pro photographer Joel Meyerowitz certainly seemed to think so - Meyerowitz claimed that using the DesignJet series and the 8750 was “a life changing experience”. Strong words indeed. A competitive price-tag of $499 will no doubt help HP’s cause. I was personally very interested in the Epson R1800 when it was announced a few days ago - now the HP PhotoSmart 8750 is making me think again.

Update: Henry Wilhelm’s report for the HP Photosmart 8750 is now online:

http://www.wilhelm-research.com/hp/8750.html

Pixel Genius Press Release

Chicago, IL ­ February, 21st, 2005 - Pixel Genius LLC announces the release of PhotoKit-EL3.

PhotoKit-EL3 is a Photoshop® Elements® 3.0 Automate Plug-in that gives you all the wonders of a darkroom without the chemicals, letting you achieve the same effects on digital images that you once could only do in a darkroom, With a retail price of $39.95, PhotoKit-EL3 offers a comprehensive toolkit for all Elements 3.0 users on both Macintosh and Windows.

Pretec 133X Secure Digital Card is unveiled today at the PMA SHow 2005. The Pretec 133X is available in 256MB, 512MB and 1Gb capacities. The Pretec 1GB 133X SD Card can transfer 1GB of 5MP high resolution digital images in under one minute. Price and availability to be announced.

Pretec Press Release

ORLANDO, Fla.—(BUSINESS WIRE)—Feb. 20, 2005—PRETEC Electronics Corp., the leading company offering flash memory cards since 1993 is announcing today their 133X (20MB/sec.) secure digital (SD) card with capacities of 256MB, 512MB and 1GB at PMA (booth # 2025 & 2027) in Orlando.

Endowed with more than 2 times the access speed of current high speed SD 60X (9MB/sec), PRETEC SD 133X is now running at close to 20MB/sec allowing for a demanding new generation higher-resolution and higher-speed digital cameras and growing multimedia appliances. Implementing high speed flash algorithm controller design and “Dual Channel” technology, PRETEC SD 133X offers a 16-bit bus architecture for data transfer at an accelerated rate.

Concord 3047 and Concord 4042 are announced today at PMA Show. The Concord 3047 and Concord 4042 are positioned as impulse buy digital cameras and are priced at at $79 and $99. The Concord 3047 is a 3 megapixel digicam with 4x digital zoom and 1.5” color TFT LCD. The Concord 3047 is a 4 megapixel digicam with 4x digital zoom and 1.5” color TFT LCD. Both cameras will be available in March 2005.

Concord Camera Corp. Press Release

Orlando, FL, February 20, 2005 – Concord Camera Corp. (“Concord”) (Nasdaq:LENSE), a leader in award-winning, high-quality, affordably-priced cameras, announced today a new line of digital cameras positioned as “Impulse Buys” at the Photo Marketing Association Trade Show (PMA).  Designed to be the ideal camera for first time digital camera users as an excellent gift, Concord’s 3047 and 4042 take great pictures and are priced to sell at $79 and $99 respectively.

Panasonic Press Release

ORLANDO, FL (February 20, 2005) - Today from the Photo Marketing Association (PMA) 2005 Annual Convention & Tradeshow, Panasonic Consumer Electronics Company announced an alliance with Shutterfly, a leading online photo service provider, to provide an online photo center for consumers.  Beginning in March, Panasonic customers can take full advantage of Shutterfly’s award-winning products and services at the Panasonic Photo Center, created and managed by Shutterfly.  This reflects a broadening of the alliance between the companies, who both provide consumers with high-quality digital photography solutions.

Konica Minolta DiMAGE Scan Elite 5400 II film scanner is announced today, the successor to the popular Scan Elite 5400 model. The DiMAGE Scan Elite 5400 II has a new Film Expert Algorithm which faithfully reproduces colours in images with different exposure characteristics and a Quick Scan System to enable scanning at a rate of 25 seconds per frame. The Konica Minolta DiMAGE Scan Elite 5400 II film scanner has a provisional price of £599.99 and will be available in February.

Konica Minolta UK Press Release

Konica Minolta introduces the DiMAGE Scan Elite 5400 II film scanner for photography enthusiasts and professionals. As the successor model to the award winning DiMAGE Scan Elite 5400 which has been exceptionally popular thanks to its powerful 5400 dpi resolution, the DiMAGE Scan Elite 5400 II further improves colour reproduction with a new algorithm and delivers high speed scanning at a rate of 25 seconds* per frame. The DiMAGE Scan Elite 5400 II combines all of the technologies that Konica Minolta has come to know as a manufacturer of film, cameras, scanners and photofinishing equipment.

Sony DSC-H1 Cyber-shot is announced at the PMA Show 2005. The DSC-H1 has a 12x optical zoom lens (equivalent to 36-432 millimeters), 5 megapixel CCD and 2.5 inch LCD screen. The Sony DSC-H1 Cyber-shot is available in June for about $500.

Sony Press Release

ORLANDO (PMA 2005, Booth 3032), Feb. 19, 2005 — The adage that good things come to those who wait has never been more appropriate than with today’s introduction of Sony’s DSC-H1 Cyber-shot® digital camera.

A five megapixel, Super HAD™ CCD imager, 12X optical zoom lens and a large 2.5-inch LCD are just a few of the features on this model that are sure to please even the choosiest photo buff.

“We’ve responded to requests from enthusiasts for this type of camera,” said Hiro Takahashi, vice president for Sony Electronics’ digital imaging products. With the DSC-H1 model, we have fully leveraged Sony’s digital imaging expertise to offer a high-zoom camera worthy of the Cyber-shot brand.”