New Aleratec CD Digital Photo Copy Station Copies from Memory Card to CD and is a CD Duplicator

Windows and Macintosh Support

CHATSWORTH, Calif., Jan. 3, 2005—Alera Technologies, developer and manufacturer of Aleratec Advanced DVD and CD Recording Solutions announced today its advanced new CD Digital Photo Copy Station(tm) that copies digital photos directly to CD from camera memory cards, without a computer, and does much more. The new CD Digital Photo Copy Station is also a stand alone 1:1 CD duplicator as well as a USB 2.0 external CD recorder that records CDs from Windows or Macintosh and an external memory card reader for use with your computer. This is an enhanced version of the Award Winning CD Copy Cruiser(tm) that has become the standard for performance, ease of use, and reliability in desktop CD duplicators.

Japan Today has a very interesting interview (in English) with Fujio Mitarai, president of Canon Corp.

”Do you think the digital camera market is saturated?
Sales of digital cameras more than doubled in 2003 and 2004. Research shows that 70% of families in Japan have a digital camera. Some digital camera manufacturers have excessive stocks of products.

Canon’s sales of digital cameras increased 70% in 2004. We are still doing unusually well. It is a reasonable view to suggest that market is about to mature. However, I can still see room for growth.”

Website: Japan Today - Unstoppable Canon

The Danish website Akamera.dk have published their review of the 5 megapixel Panasonic DMC-FX7.

Website: Akamera.dk - Panasonic DMC-FX7 Review

Check the Latest Prices for the Panasonic DMC-FX7

Ricoh Japan have already announced this new model - now it’s the turn of Ricoh UK to introduce the Caplio R1V, which will be available in retail from February. Price to be confirmed.

Ricoh UK Press Release

Successor to the popular Caplio R1, the Caplio R1V is a powerful 5.0 megapixel digital camera with a 28mm wide-angle, 4.8x optical zoom in an exceptionally slim 25mm body

Northampton 2004. Ricoh is extremely proud to announce the launch of the Caplio R1V 5.0 megapixel digital camera, the successor to the award winning Caplio R1. The Caplio R1V features an innovative lens retracting system that enables 4.8x optical zoom lens with 28mm wide-angle shooting capacity to be housed in a 25mm ultra slim, aluminium body. The lens generates the finest quality images capable of being offered by this class of compact digital cameras. Moreover, with the world’s fastest shutter response* and Ricoh’s exceptional 1cm wide macro technology, the Caplio R1V incorporates all the latest high-end features to satisfy even the most discerning professional. At the same time, it offers user-friendly functionality that everyone who enjoys taking pictures will love. Even more impressive, is that the Caplio R1V’s powerful features are encased in a sleek body as thin as 25mm and weighing just 150 grams.

*As of

, 2004 for all auto focus digital cameras.

Verbatim Corporation Press Release

Verbatim Digital CD Photo Album Kit, All of the Tools Digital Camera Users Need to Save, Share Memories in One Convenient Package

Complete Solution for Creating Entertaining Slide Shows, Includes Photo Burning Software, CDs, Label Kit and CD Storage Album

LAS VEGAS, NV (January 3, 2005) – In response to the growing number of consumers switching from film to digital photos, Verbatim Corporation is now shipping Digital CD Photo Album, a new all-in-one digital photo kit.  Digital CD Photo Album includes everything consumers need to import digital photos, create entertaining slide shows, burn them to CDs, produce label artwork and safely store the CDs in an attractive album. With the new kit, even inexperienced users can quickly and easily turn their photos into high-resolution slide shows that can be viewed on virtually any TV equipped with a DVD player.

Verbatim Corporation Press Release

Combines with Leading Printers to Economically Produce Edge-to-Edge, Custom-printed Discs with Clean, Crisp Graphics and Error-free Recording

Las Vegas, NV (January 3, 2005) –Verbatim® Corporation, a leading producer of printable CD-R media, announced today that it is now shipping 1-52x-speed White and Silver Inkjet Hub-printable CD-R media in 50-disc spindles. The new media is designed to meet the needs of small businesses and consumers who want to give their CDs a professional look for sharing and distribution. By combining the ultra-reliability of Verbatim CD-R technology with an advanced inkjet-printable surface, users can produce clean, crisp photographic-quality text and images across the entire disc without having to worry about the quality of the recording.

Brother Introduces New Ultra Compact Personal Laser Printers Starting at under $150.00

Brother International Corporation Press Release

LAS VEGAS—(Business Wire)—Jan. 3, 2005 New HL-2040 and Network-Ready HL-2070N Set the Pace for Compact, Affordable, No Compromise Stand-Alone and Network Printers

Brother International Corporation today introduces its newest personal laser printers, the ultra-compact HL-2040 and HL-2070N. The HL-2040 ($149.99 estimated street price) is the successor to the award-winning HL-1440 personal laser printer, with even faster print speeds and a space-saving design almost 40% smaller than its predecessor. The HL-2070N ($229.99 estimated street price) features the same small footprint and print speeds and adds a built-in Ethernet print server for sharing on home and home office wired or wireless networks. The new models will be available starting in January 2005.

Fuji Photo Film U.S.A., Inc. Press Release

Fujifilm Drives Consumer Capture, Store, Print and Share Solutions; Under the Banner of `Fujifilm Means Digital,’ Fujifilm Showcases a Spectrum of Consumer Digital Technologies at CES 2005

VALHALLA, N.Y.—(Business Wire)—Jan. 3, 2005 Fuji Photo Film U.S.A., Inc., a leader in digital imaging and information solutions, is showcasing its full spectrum of consumer digital technologies at the 2005 International Consumer Electronics Show (CES) (booth #12606) - reinforcing its ongoing commitment to bringing digital technology solutions that help consumers quickly and easily capture, store, print and share pictures and data.
From digital cameras with advanced image sensor technology, to new environmentally friendly optical disc storage media, to photo printing solutions that offer consumers the flexibility of printing at home, from home or at retail, Fujifilm’s digital technology solutions let consumers conveniently capture, store, print and share.

Sanyo Press Release

SANYO VPC-C4 DIGITAL MEDIA CAMERA FEATURES DIGITAL IMAGE STABILIZER AND 8.0-MEGAPIXEL STILL IMAGE RECORDING WITH REAL-TIME INTERPOLATION

Next-Generation Digital Camera/Camcorder is a CES Innovations Award Honoree

LAS VEGAS, JANUARY 4, 2005, CES, Booth #9834 – It’s easy to be spontaneous when shooting photos and video with the new Sanyo VPC-C4 Digital Media Camera.

A pocket-sized, high-resolution 4.0 megapixel digital camera and full-motion MPEG-4 camcorder, the Sanyo VPC-C4 offers built-in digital image stabilization for accurate, steady shooting. Users can choose real-time interpolation to convert the CCD’s 4.0 effective megapixels to a recorded equivalent of 8.0 megapixels, ideal for clear printouts of large and detailed images. A trans-reflective 1.8-inch TFT LCD color monitor allows for easy shot framing and playback.

INKE Press Release

LAS VEGAS, Jan. 3 /Xinhua-PRNewswire/—CES INTERNATIONAL—INKE, manufacturer of the world’s first auto inkjet cartridge refilling system, will preview their latest models and a new form factor at the CES 2005. With INKE HS-56 for HP 56 (C6656) and HP 27 (C8727), INKE CN-03 for BCI-3e and BCI-6 for Black, Cyan, Magenta and Yellow cartridges, INKE LX-16 for Lexmark 16 (10N0016) and INKE LX-82 for Lexmark 82 (18L0032), INKE now covers 75% of inkjet printers in the world.

Hagiwara Sys-Com Press Release

Hagiwara Sys-Com Announces Live Demonstration of UD-RW (USB 2.0 High-Speed Flash Drive With CD-RW Capability) at 2005 International CES, Las Vegas

UD-RW Combines the Flexibility of USB Flash Drive and the Benefit of CD-RW Into One Compact Package

IRVINE, Calif., Jan. 3 /PRNewswire/—Hagiwara Sys-Com, the industry leader in semiconductor application products for cutting-edge consumer and industrial electronics—today announced their participation at 2005 International CES to demonstrate different applications of UD-RW, an USB Flash Drive with CD-RW Functionality. (Booth # 70533M, Innovation Plus USB TechZone)

The UD-RW’s innovative Dual Zone Technology combines the flexibility of a USB Flash Drive and the benefit of a CD-RW in one compact package. By inserting the UD-RW into a system’s USB port, two drive icons, a CD-ROM drive and a Removable drive, will appear under “My Computer.” This technology protects data in the Read Only Zone from accidental erase or deletion while still gives users the ability to modify the contents in the Flash Drive Zone.

30 Minute Photos Etc. Press Release

Kodak, Sony, Canon and all other Used Digital Camera Models Finding New Life and Bringing Military Families Closer Together

Irvine, CA (PRWEB) January 3, 2005—“Operation Photo” collecting all used digital cameras nationwide so military families can share family photos as a tool for boosting morale and staying close during the New Year.

Mitch Goldstone a well-known leader in the photo industry, is also recognized for his national grassroots campaigns, such as www.epiccusa.com , which brought thousands of people to New York City to support the airlines and commerce in the Big Apple after 9/11. Among other humanitarian campaigns was last summer’s www.supportthegames.org which was also organized with his partner, Carl Berman, to bring business leaders to Athens for the Olympic games.

This time, Goldstone is reaching out to picture-takers across the U.S. with “Operation Photo”—a program appealing for photographers to donate their older model digital cameras to families of service members distanced during the New Year.

Another new calendar year, another new article about the demise of film and the triumph of digital. This one is a little different, however, as it points out that many photographers are continuing to use film.

“At night, when the shooting is done,” he said, “I come back and I have loads of film. I put it away. I say, let’s go walk around. They say, no, we’re going back to the motel, and we’re downloading our images onto our laptop. ... I’m out there communing with nature and these guys are playing with zeroes and ones.”

So what are you currently using in 2005 - a film or digital camera?

Website: ColumbiaChronicle.com - Digital photography lightens up darkrooms

The Plugin Site Press Release

The Plugin Site Released LightMachine For Achieving Breathtaking Photo Corrections

January 3, 2005 - The Plugin Site (www.thepluginsite.com) is proud to announce the release of LightMachine, a plugin for performing all kinds of light adjustments in photos. It combines shadow/highlight, virtual lighting and color-based correction tools for performing sophisticated corrections without the need for time-consuming selections and layer stacks. It lets you selectively correct photos taken under bad light conditions or with inadequate camera settings and achieve results that rival photos taken under the best circumstances. Additionally LightMachine can achieve special effects like glows, sunsets, high key and selective b/w effects, replace one color with another and simulate polarizing filters. LightMachine works in dozens of graphics applications including Photoshop, Paint Shop Pro, IrfanView, Photoshop Elements, PhotoImpact, Photo-Paint and Fireworks. LightMachine can be applied to 8bit and 16bit RGB images.

Photoshop Elements Techniques Adds Exclusive Subscriber-Only Benefits To Their Website

KW Media Group Press Release

TAMPA, Fla.—(BUSINESS WIRE)—Dec. 31, 2004—KW Media Group has announced the launch of the much anticipated subscriber-only area of the Photoshop Elements Techniques website, http://www.photoshopelementsuser.com . This valuable benefit complements the newsletter and allows subscribers to take full advantage of exclusive Photoshop Elements tutorials, video tutorials, tips, and techniques written by leading Photoshop Elements instructors and authors. The content rich Photoshop Elements Techniques newsletter and website are the leading resources available to Photoshop Elements users today.

KW Media Group is a leading provider of Photoshop, Photoshop Elements and digital imaging education, training and news. The company publishes digital imaging and Photoshop magazines, books, DVDs, and conducts training seminars and conferences in the U.S. For more information about KW Media Group visit http://www.kwmediagroup.com, or call 813-433-5000.

About Photography have just published a review of the software package Panorama Factory.

“I started using Panorama Factory with some images I’d previously used testing panoramic software. The first was a simple two image scene on a canal, its rippling water giving a tricky blend with pictures a second apart, and a large modern warehouse with straight lines shows up any alignment problems. The wizard walked me through the process, and five minutes later I was looking at an almost perfect panorama.”

Website: About Photography - Panorama Factory v3.3 Review

The Spanish website Quesabesde have published their review of the 5 megapixel Pentax Optio S50 compact digital camera.

Website: Quesabesde - Pentax Optio S50 Review

Check the Latest Prices for the Pentax Optio S50

Panasonic Press Release

Panasonic’s Pro High Speed Series SD Memory Cards Achieve World’s Fastest Data Transfer Speed

Panasonic has recently introduced the new Pro High Speed Series 1GB and 512MB SD memory cards. These Memory Cards boast Panasonic’s new LSI architecture and proprietary high speed technology to double the data transfer speed from 10MB/s to the world’s fastest* data transfer speed of up to 20MB/s**.

The increased data transfer speed is important for handling larger content files due to the functions and performance of digital equipment becoming more and more advanced. The Panasonic Pro High Speed SD Cards provide the speed necessary to easily record and replay high quality video images. In the future, it is expected that more and more users will enjoy recording TV programs on SD memory cards for playback on different SD-enabled products. Since video data entails an extremely large file size, it stands to reason that there will be an increased need for high speed data transfer.

Digital Outback Photo have published a good article about correcting colour in your images using a gray card, a technique that works equally well for both digital and film cameras.

“In the real world, the lighting conditions are usually less than idea for color correction; outdoor or indoor lighting is seldom close to the photographic ideal color temperatures for ‘daylight’ or ‘tungsten’. This can be resolved fairly easily by capturing a photo of a gray card in the same lighting conditions and correcting to the gray.”

Website: Digital Outback Photo - Color Correction using a Gray Card

DigitalCameraInfo have just posted their review of the diminutive and stylish 4 megapixel Olympus Mju Mini digicam (called the Stylus Verve in the USA).

“The Olympus Stylus Verve contains an aspherical glass 35-70mm (equivalent) variable focal length lens with 2x optical and 4x digital zoom capabilities. The focal length is easily altered using the small zoom toggle controls on the back of the camera. While these control buttons are a bit cumbersome to access with their meager dimensions, application is simple and strait-forward and adjustments are registered almost instantly. For a pocket-sized point-and-shoot camera, the zoom range will offer the user some flexibility in the type of shot available; however, the fully extended telephoto view of the Verve does not quite parallel its competitors, many of which extend up to 114mm and beyond.”

Website: DigitalCameraInfo - Olympus Mju Mini Review

Check the Latest Prices for the Olympus Mju Mini