The 46th PhotographyBLOG Portfolio has been submitted by Niel Hirjee.

“My name is Niel Hirjee, I’m from Kolkata (formerly Calcutta), India. I’m an amateur photographer and a web designer by profession. I have been a keen photographer since my teens and have started photographing seriously from early this year, 2004. I am currently doing a cityscape project on Kolkata and am experimenting with digiscoping.”

My work is online at:
http://www.indiax.com/photogallery/showgallery.php?cat=500&ppuser=2

Website: Portfolios: Niel Hirjee

DIWA member and Norwegian website DigIT have posted their review of the new Konica Minolta Dynax 7D DSLR.

Website: DigIT - Konica Minolta Dynax 7D Review

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Lastolite Press Release

The Covelite - Making Lite Work Of Difficult Subjects!

As all photographers are aware, highly reflective subjects like chrome and glass are notoriously difficult to photograph.

The new Covelite from Lastolite Ltd can now handle these items with ease. The Covelite is cleverly designed as a cove-like shape and has a smooth coated interior surface so that it encloses the subject in soft, white reflections. It also has a minimum number of seams (and those that are present are very subtle and carefully placed) so as not to interfere with the photograph.

My flight and hotel tickets are booked, bags are nearly packed, camera is at the ready. Yes, its nearly time for PMA 2005, the biggest annual photography show in the world. The Photo Marketing Association (PMA) Annual Convention and Trade Show takes place in Orlando, Florida USA and runs from 20th-23rd February 2005. This is the world’s largest annual photo imaging trade show, with more than 30,000 attendees from nearly 100 countries last year. More than 83% of exhibitors responding to the PMA survey plan to launch a new product or service at PMA 2005, so expect a lot of announcements to be made in the weeks leading up to the show. PhotographyBLOG will be there to bring you all the latest product news live from the show floor, with pictures and info on all the hot new photography products for 2005. To help you cope with the massive number of announcements that will be made both before, during (and probably after) the show, visit this webpage which will be constantly updated as new products surface:

Website: PMA 2005 Show Report

Cardmedia have announced the Super X USB OTG, the second portable storage device with the “On-the-go” label featured on PhotographBLOG today.

Cardmedia (Europe) Ltd Press Release

SUPER X USB OTG DATA STORAGE

- Portable Hard disk -
- USB Bridge -
- OTG connection -

Copy direct from a Digital Camera, USB Pen drive or any USB device to the internal Hard disk or to another USB device!

Cardmedia (Europe) Ltd, has announced the availability of the Super X USB OTG, a new Portable storage device providing from 20 to 80GB of storage.

This portable storage device which allows you to copy directly from a Digital camera, USB pen drive or USB Card reader to the internal hard drive using the USB OTG (On The Go) technology.

For the photographer with many cameras - Hama have announced what must surely be the world’s most format-compatible memory card reader - the new TravelDrive Card Reader supports no less than 22 formats!

Hama Press Release

22 Format TravelDrive Card Reader from Hama

Card reader and more

16-in-1, 20-in-1 and now – 22-in-1. Hama will introduce a card reader at CeBIT that can process 22 card formats. In addition to CF (type I & II), this includes Microdrive, SD, SM, MM, Memory Stick, Memory Stick MagicGate, Memory Stick Select, Memory Stick Duo, Memory Stick Duo MagicGate, Memory Stick Pro, Memory Stick Pro MagicGate, Memory Stick Pro Duo, Memory Stick Pro Duo MagicGate and xD and the new MagicStore, MMC 4.0, RS-MMC, RS-MMC 4.0 and Mini-SD formats. Even the small TransFlash cards are no problem for the right adapter that is usually already provided with the cards.

Hama have announced the Mobile DataSafe On-The-Go portable storage device. This is a product that was introduced at the CES show a couple of weeks ago, but which I missed in the flurry of press activity that surrounded the show.

Hama Press Release

Mobile DataSafe OTG with 20 GB hard drive by Hama

Mobile mini-master
“Just like a small portable PC” would be a good description of the new Mobile DataSafe On-The-Go (OTG) which Hama will introduce at this year’s CeBIT. Housed in a case slightly bigger than a cigarette box, it manages the data of most connected removable media as a portable “commander”. It imports images from digital cameras, adds tracks to MP3 players or copies files from a USB stick. This is made possible by the DataSafe’s OTG interface. The device, which weighs only 134 grams, acts as a so-called master and can perform many tasks which could normally only be implemented via USB on a PC.

Liquid Mirror Enterprises Press Release

Affordable Photo Manipulation Powerhouse

Liquid Mirror Enterprises has released Images: In Context!, a powerful Windows application that lets computer novices turn snapshots into stunning images. Without having to read a 600-page manual or spend weeks learning complicated photo manipulation techniques, applying more than 70 extraordinary image filters and effects can be as simple as right-clicking the image in Windows File Explorer.

It’s easy to color-correct, resize, crop, stylize, or remove red-eye from your pictures, without buying an expensive, confusing photo enhancement program. There’s no need to learn about alpha channels or bezier curves. Simply right-click an image, and select the effect that you’d like to apply.

You can select multiple images, and turn them into a slide show or web page with a single click. You can even rename groups of images, taking the work out of managing your vacation photos.

CNET have today reviewed the new 7 megapixel Sony DSC-P150 digital compact camera.

“If this camera were a DVD, we’d rate it an enjoyable flick but skimpy on the special features. Sony crams 7 megapixels into a compact package that delivers good photo quality, great performance, and outstanding battery life but includes none of the extras found in other, similarly priced 7-megapixel models.”

Website: CNET - Sony DSC-P150 Review

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Snapfish Press Release

SAN FRANCISCO—(BUSINESS WIRE)—Jan. 25, 2005—Snapfish, a leading online photo service, today announced the offering of complete Snapfish photo services on Circuitcity.com.

The new offering, currently live at www.circuitcity.com/photocenter, provides consumers access to the value, ease of use and selection of Snapfish’s online services. The new relationship also demonstrates how Snapfish’s online services can be easily incorporated into a retailer’s existing offerings to improve customer choice, while also exposing potential new customers to the retail brand through the incredible ease of online photo sharing.

Ampex Corporation Press Release

Jan. 24, 2005 Ampex Corporation (OTCBB:AEXCA) today announced that it has concluded license agreements with three manufacturers of digital still cameras based in Japan: PENTAX Corporation, Matsushita Electric Industrial Co. Ltd., which markets to consumers under the PANASONIC and other brands, and Victor Company of Japan, Ltd. which markets under the JVC brand.

The agreements permit the use of several United States and foreign patents held by Ampex in the manufacture and sale of digital still cameras. The licenses provide that their terms are confidential.

Pentax have unveiled the Pocket Jet 3 Series of mobile printers, with 300dpi printing available on the PocketJet 3 Plus model. Measuring just 10.04 inches wide and weighing less than one pound, the new series of printers will offer high quality text and graphics, rather than photo quality prints. The printers can accommodate letter, legal, or A4 width paper.

Pentax USA Press Release

January 24, 2005

PENTAX EXPANDS MOBILITY PRINTER LINE WITH POCKETJET 3 SERIES:

Latest Mobile Printers Feature Usability and Functionality Enhancements

Golden, CO. (January 24, 2005)…PENTAX Imaging Company, a leading worldwide provider of rugged mobile printers, has introduced the PocketJet 3 and 3 Plus portable printers to its product line. With more than ten years of mobile printing market expertise, PENTAX designed the PocketJet 3 family of printers to support mobile professionals who require highly reliable devices in rugged environmental settings such as sales automation, field service, public safety, utilities, insurance, federal, military as well as business travel.

The M¼-Card is a new memory card being proposed by a Taiwanese technology consortium. The The M¼-Card, which stands for micro ¼ card, is said to be twice as fast as the USB 2.0 standard and compatible with the SecureDigital (SD) and MultiMediaCard (MMC) formats. Will this new card see the light of day? Yes - fully functional cards will be available by the end of 2005. Do we actually need another new format? Hmmmmm.

“Simplicity derives from the use of USB protocols for the digital portion. But the speed is twice that of USB, and the low-power consumption is only one-third or one-fourth that of USB 2.0, said Liu Chih-yuan, who directed the project at ITRI and is chairman of the M¼-Card Alliance. “That’s our strength. It’s a very low-power, high speed USB compatible interface. So we are complementary to the MMC.”

Website: EETimes - Taiwan consortium readying new memory card format

Luminous Landscape has enthusiastically reviewed the image management software program IMatch from photools.com.

“Some software just ‘clicks’ with you when you start using it, Imatch is one of those utilities that feels right, tools are where you expect them to be and the whole package is somehow logical. Right away, Imatch is a snap to use. There are a series of detailed ‘coaching’ popups which explain everything you do for the first time and after reading each one you can dismiss it permanently, or reactivate them later if you forget how to do something.”

Website: Luminous Landscape - IMatch Review

The Spanish website Quesabesde have just reviewed the 5 megapixel Kodak Easyshare LS753, which was first announced back in January.

Website: Quesabesde - Kodak Easyshare LS753 Review

Check the Latest Prices for the Kodak Easyshare LS753

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DIWA member website LetsGoDigital have just posted their review of the new 8 megapixel Nikon Coolpix 8800.

“In general the image quality is perfect, visible is the rich detail rendition due to the high resolution. The quality of the 10x optical zoom lens is undisputable and is in spite of its minor beauty spots like chromatic aberration at wide angle, a valuable tool on this camera. Working with an electronic viewfinder can differ from camera to camera and ones experiences with it can differ completely. Sometimes it is utterly annoying, in fact diminishing the ease of use, and sometimes it’s incredibly satisfying, like we experienced when working with the Coolpix 8800.”

Website: LetsGoDigital - Nikon Coolpix 8800 Review

Check the Latest Prices for the Nikon Coolpix 8800

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The Tech Zone have just reviewed the Canon Powershot S1 IS digital camera, which offers 10x image stablised zoom, 3 megapixels and high-quality 640 x 480 video at 30 frames/second with sound.

“The Canon S1 IS is the perfect trade show camera. Not only does it take fantastic photos but it can double as a camcorder. The video quality of the S1 is so good, I had a hard time telling it apart from video made with my JVC camcorder . Add in 10X optical zoom with image stabilizer and you have the perfect camera for getting up close and personal with the booth babes.”

Website: The Tech Zone - Canon PowerShot S1 IS Review

Following my enthusiastic review of the Lensbaby a few months ago, Photofocus Magazine have posted their review of this unique product.

“The lens works like a bellows camera. You don’t twist a focusing knob; you simply move the focusing collar out by compressing the lens tubing until you get the image you want. You can bend the lens in any direction. Yes that’s right, you can BEND the lens. You can bend it up, down, left and right or any twisted combination that you can contort your fingers to make.”

Website: Photofocus Magazine - Lensbaby Review

Website: Read my review of the Lensbaby

After yesterday’s review of the HP Designjet 30 and HP Designjet 130 printers by Digital Outback Photo, there’s another new review today by Photofocus Magazine of the Designjet 130 (found via Digicamera.net).

“HP’s DesignJet 130 is a direct competitor to the Epson 4000. But because it is priced between the Epson 2200 and the 4000, it can actually steal sales from Epson in both markets. Normally, I would assume it has no chance against giant Epson. But in this case, I’d be wrong. Photographers who want to make large prints should strongly consider this sleek and impressive printer.”

Website: Photofocus Magazine - HP Designjet 130 Review

Leica Press Release

Leica Camera AG, Solms, will establish a new Japanese subsidiary on March 1, 2005. The subsidiary, to be named Leica Camera Japan Co., Ltd., will take care of the promotion and distribution of Leica products in the important Japanese market. To date, these tasks have been performed by the independent distributor Nihon SiberHegner K.K. Leica products are already held in high esteem by Japanese customers for their quality, precision, and solidity. The Company’s creation of its own Japanese sales organisation will reinforce its service to the customers and will also stimulate sales increases.