Ulead Press Release

Ulead Introduces New Version of PhotoImpact Image Editing Software

PhotoImpact 10 Brings Image Editing Software up to the Level of Today’s Digital Cameras with Novice-Friendly Professional Quality Tools

TORRANCE,Calif. - (BUSINESS WIRE) - Sept. 27, 2004 - Ulead Systems, Inc., a 15-year, industry-leader in digital media software development, announces Ulead(R) PhotoImpact(R) 10, the newest version of PhotoImpact, Ulead’s flagship PC image editing software. PhotoImpact 10 continues to be the most comprehensive software product under $100 for digital photography, graphic design and Web graphic/page creation. This latest version offers new tools and layouts to make it easier for novices and casual users to navigate the rich feature set within PhotoImpact, while still providing imaging aficionados with sophisticated creative design tools and effects for professional results. Over the years PhotoImpact has garnered notable reviews and awards in a variety of publications including BusinessWeek, CNET, Entrepreneur, PCPhoto, and Technology & Learning.

“Ulead always takes tremendous pride in the sophistication and power of the features we include in our new releases,” says Lewis Liaw, president of Ulead Systems, North America. “We love to deliver plenty of get-up-and-go under the hood. What’s special about PhotoImpact 10 is that we have made equal or even greater strides in making the product easier and more intuitive to use. Digital cameras today are capable of producing images only pros could have just last year. We are very excited to be able to deliver software that lets hobbyists, casual and business users take full advantage of their cameras and achieve professional quality results without having to spend a lot of time or learn complex software.”

Lexar Press Release 27/09/04

Lexar’s Multi-Card Readers Enhanced To Include Newest Digital Media Card Formats

Consumers Can Capitalize on Wide Compatibility That Now Includes Consumer-Friendly Reduced-Size MMC, Mini Secure Digital and Memory Stick Duo

COLOGNE, Germany, September 27, 2004 - Lexar Media, Inc. (Nasdaq: LEXR), a leading marketer and manufacturer of high-performance digital media and accessories, today at Photokina (Hall 1.2, B-058), announced the expanding compatibility of its line of USB 2.0 multi-card readers to include Reduced-Size MultiMediaCard (RS-MMC), Mini Secure Digital (miniSD) and Memory Stick Duo flash memory card formats to address the demand of consumers looking for readers compatible with the widest range of media cards. By adding a new multi-card reader to its line, and updating its single slot card reader, Lexar delivers valuable functionality to consumers who store important images, music and other data on a variety of media card formats.

“Consumers look to us to provide options when they need a quick and easy method for transferring captured images from their media cards to their desktops,” said Dave Klenske, director of product marketing, Lexar. “Consumers are buying a variety of imaging and entertainment devices that use a variety of media formats. As a result, our multi-card reader is an ideal solution as it works with all popular digital media card formats, and provides high-speed information transfer and ease-of-use,” he added.

Lexar Media Press Release 27/09/04

Lexar Revolutionizes Professional Digital Photography Workflow with New ActiveMemory System

COLOGNE, Germany, September 27, 2004 - Lexar Media, Inc. (Nasdaq: LEXR), a leading marketer and manufacturer of high-performance digital media and accessories, today at Photokina (Hall 1.2, Booth-058) introduced the ActiveMemory TM System, a technology designed to optimize digital photography workflow to achieve enhanced productivity in and out of the photo studio. The first products to support the ActiveMemory System are certain Professional CompactFlash TM cards, new Lexar Professional FireWire and USB 2.0 card readers, and Photo Mechanic TM 4.5 professional image browsing software.

At the center of the ActiveMemory System are ActiveMemory-enabled Professional CompactFlash cards that can store user preferences and host device settings in a protected area on the card. These settings can only be modified by the host application that created them and can be used to auto-configure multiple ActiveMemory-enabled products within the system. These settings are preserved even when the card is formatted or other data files on the card are deleted, because the ActiveMemory data is stored outside the standard DOS file structure on the card.

Adobe Press Release 27/09/04

Adobe Unifies Raw Photo Formats with Introduction of Digital Negative Specification  
 
Free Converter Tool Kick Starts New Digital Negative File Format by Translating Raw Formats into Easy-to-Use, Archive-Ready Files

SAN JOSE, Calif. - Sept. 27, 2004 - Adobe Systems Incorporated (Nasdaq:ADBE) today introduced the Digital Negative Specification, a new unified public format for raw digital camera files. The company also launched a free software tool, Adobe DNG Converter, which translates many of today’s popular raw photo formats into the new .DNG file format, compliant with the Digital Negative Specification.

Raw files, which contain the original information captured by a camera sensor prior to any in-camera processing, have become popular due to their promise of greater flexibility and image quality. Until today there has been no standard format for these files, which vary between manufacturers and individual cameras. The Digital Negative Specification solves this problem by introducing a single format that can store information from a diverse range of cameras. Technology leaders, major customers, and professional photographers today also endorsed the new specification (see separate quote sheet).

“Professional photographers and other creative professionals are moving to raw camera workflows because of the outstanding creative control they get over digital images,” said Bryan Lamkin, senior vice president of Digital Imaging and Digital Video products at Adobe. “However, clients and publishers have difficulty working with disparate raw file formats and nobody can be sure that today’s raw formats will be supported ten years from now. Adobe customers asked us to work on a unified, public format for raw files and that’s what we’ve delivered with the new Digital Negative Specification.”

Adobe Press Release 27/09/04

Adobe Adds Support for New Digital Negative Specification in Updated Camera Raw Plug-in For Photoshop CS  
 
.DNG Files and Raw Formats from New Batch of Pro Cameras Now Accessible in Photoshop CS

SAN JOSE, Calif. - Sept. 27, 2004 - Adobe Systems Incorporated (Nasdaq:ADBE) today announced an update to the Camera Raw Plug-in, extending raw file support in Photoshop CS to more than 65 digital camera models and enabling Photoshop CS to handle files in the new .DNG format, also announced today (see separate release). Available as a free download from Adobe’s Web site, the plug-in builds on the raw file functionality already available in Photoshop CS, adding new support for the latest digital cameras from leading manufacturers, such as Canon, Epson, Fujifilm, and Nikon.

Raw files, which contain the original information captured by a camera sensor prior to any in-camera processing, have become popular in recent years, due to their promise of greater flexibility and image quality. Adobe Photoshop pioneered the integration of raw files directly into digital imaging workflows through previous plug-in releases and by integrating raw file functionality into Photoshop CS. The company today also launched a free software tool, the Adobe DNG Converter that translates the raw formats supported by Photoshop CS and the Camera Raw Plug-in into the new .DNG file format (see separate release). Adding .DNG support allows Photoshop CS users to work with files created with the new DNG Converter - giving them a single unified file format in which to archive their raw files.

Adobe Press Release 27/09/04

Adobe Photoshop Services Introduced; Integrates Ofoto Picture Sharing and Printing in Consumer Software Products  
 
Tight Integration With Adobe Photoshop Elements 3.0 and Adobe Photoshop Album 2.0 Provides Simple Way to Share Pictures and Order Prints and Specialty Photo Products

SAN JOSE, Calif. and COLOGNE, Germany - Sept. 27, 2004 - Two of the world’s leading imaging companies, Adobe Systems Incorporated (Nasdaq:ADBE) and Eastman Kodak Company (NYSE: EK) today announced Adobe Photoshop Services provided by Ofoto, Inc. - Kodak’s online photo service subsidiary. Adobe Photoshop Services are now integrated into Adobe Photoshop Elements 3.0 software for Windows and Adobe Photoshop Album 2.0 software for Windows - bringing consumers high-quality KODAK prints, online sharing and photo merchandise directly from the software.

With Adobe Photoshop Services people can save time by placing online orders with Ofoto from within their image editing and organization applications, with just a few clicks. Customers also can create beautiful professionally bound, archival-quality Photo Books within Photoshop Elements 3.0 and Photoshop Album 2.0, and then send the entire project to Ofoto to be printed and delivered to their door, or sent as a gift directly to friends and family.

FujiFilm Press Release 27/09/04

- New wireless mobile printer for sharing real photos from camera-phones -

PHOTOKINA 2004, COLOGNE, GERMANY, SEPTEMBER 28, 2004 ? Fuji Photo Film Co., Ltd. is proud to announce the Digital Mobile Printer MP-100, a wireless mobile printer for use with camera-phones. Using infrared transmission, MP-100 enables users to get real photos from their camera-phones anytime, anywhere.

The MP-100 is expected to be commercially available in this autumn.

Worldwide unit sales of camera-phones are expected to reach nearly 150 million in 2004, or just over a quarter of all mobile-phone sales (source: Info Trends Research Group). With the rapid expansion of the camera-phone market and the introduction of high-spec models with image resolution of 1 megapixel or higher, demand has been increasing for printing of pictures taken with camera-phones. To meet this demand, Fujifilm unveils a new concept printer, the Digital Mobile Printer MP-100, designed specifically for use with camera-phones. Some of the attractive features of the MP-100 are ease of use, the convenience of infrared transmission, the mobility of its compact & stylish body, and high quality prints. Not in the same category as other home printers (inkjet printers) or retail print services, the MP-100 creates a new market category of “anytime, any place printing” for camera-phones.

Adobe Press Release 27/09/04 

SAN JOSE, Calif. - Sept. 27, 2004 - Adobe Systems Incorporated (Nasdaq:ADBE) today introduced the Digital Negative Specification, a new unified public format for raw digital camera files.The company also launched a free software tool, Adobe DNG Converter, that translates many of today’s popular raw photo formats into the new .DNG file format, compliant with the Digital Negative Specification (see separate press release). Technology leaders, major customers and professional photographers today endorsed the new specification.

Companies
“We believe this new Digital Negative Initiative specification from Adobe will help to move the imaging industry forward and enable more efficient digital imaging workflows. We hope to see DNG adopted widely by all major vendors of digital cameras, equipment and imaging software.”—William Radcliffe, director of technology development, Corbis

“Microsoft has long supported technologies that make it easier for our customers to enjoy digital media on the PC. Adobe’s leadership in proposing a universal format for raw digital camera images will do just that. We believe that standards such as DNG are essential to the future growth of digital photography.”—Josh Weisberg, group product manger, Windows digital media group, Microsoft

Adobe Press Release 27/09/04 

SAN JOSE, Calif. - Sept. 27, 2004 - Adobe Systems Incorporated (Nasdaq:ADBE) today introduced the Digital Negative Specification, a new unified public format for raw digital camera files.The company also launched a free software tool, Adobe DNG Converter, that translates many of today’s popular raw photo formats into the new .DNG file format, compliant with the Digital Negative Specification (see separate press release). Technology leaders, major customers and professional photographers today endorsed the new specification.

Companies
“We believe this new Digital Negative Initiative specification from Adobe will help to move the imaging industry forward and enable more efficient digital imaging workflows. We hope to see DNG adopted widely by all major vendors of digital cameras, equipment and imaging software.”—William Radcliffe, director of technology development, Corbis

“Microsoft has long supported technologies that make it easier for our customers to enjoy digital media on the PC. Adobe’s leadership in proposing a universal format for raw digital camera images will do just that. We believe that standards such as DNG are essential to the future growth of digital photography.”—Josh Weisberg, group product manger, Windows digital media group, Microsoft

Breeze Systems have just released a beta version of BreezeBrowser with Canon EOS 20D raw conversion support.

BreezeBrowser 2.11 beta 1 can be downloaded from:

http://www.breezesys.com/BreezeBrowser/support.htm#20D

You need to install Canon’s EOS Viewer Utility v1.1 software for this to work. A full release is planned for early November after Canon have released a new SDK for the 20D.

Nikon have released a new model in their Coolpix range of digital cameras, but rather strangely it is only being released in Japan and Canada. LetsGoDigital have the exclusive news:

“The new Coolpix 5100 is a lightweight digital camera with slim dimensions, 5.1-megapixel performance and surprisingly simple operation. Building on the success and capabilities of the previously released Coolpix 4100, it features the same stylish grip for handling comfort and an enhanced Graphic User Interface (GUI), which displays easy-to-see menus on a bright, adjustable1.6-inch TFT LCD monitor. All controls are placed on the back of the camera for convenient access. Common with several current-release cameras in the Nikon’s range, the Coolpix 5100 has the advantage of 14.5MB of internal memory.”

Website: LetsGoDigital - Nikon Coolpix 5100

Brought to you by Digital Outback Photo, fotoespresso is a brand new, hot off the virtual press, newsletter that reports news, trends, new techniques and tools for digital photography. Its focus is on digital photography workflow and making the life of digital photographers easier. There’s not much content there at the moment, but it’s definitely worth signing up for and keeping an eye on.

Website: fotoespresso.com

Digital Outback Photo’s have got hold of the new Canon EOS 20D and have started their usual diary-like Experience Report about Canon’s 8 megapixel DSLR.

“Finally we received our 20D review sample. This is a very interesting camera. Not so much because of the 2MP more compared to the Canon EOS 10D but because it seems that this camera gets close in terms of low noise to the much more expensive EOS 1D Mark II which we own and like. We will do lot of comparisons between the 20D and the 1D Mark II.

We also take the 20D to Photokina as our only camera and then after Photokina we will focus mainly gaining real world experience. Please be patient.”

Website: Digital Outback Photo - Canon EOS 20D Experience Report

DCResource have today reviewed Canon’s new entry-level digital camera, the PowerShot A400.

“Despite its low price, the Canon PowerShot A400 doesn’t compromise on image quality. Aside from the occasional fuzzy background detail, the A400 takes very good photos, not bad for a camera costing about 150 bucks! While not the smallest camera around, the A400 (in your choice of four colors) is easy to take wherever you go. It’s well-designed and doesn’t feel cheap like some other entry-level cameras. Probably the biggest flaw on the A400 (if you can call it one) is the lens. It’s not the 2.2X zoom that bothers me; rather, it’s the fact that the lens starts at 45 mm—not great for indoor shots.”

Website: DCResource - Canon PowerShot A400 Review

Technology website AnandTech have just reviewed the new 5 megapixel Sony DSC-F88 digital camera.

“During our review, we discovered several strengths of the DSC-F88. We found it to have pretty good line resolution for a 5MP compact camera. It also proved itself to be very fast both in startup and shot-to-shot times. The battery life on this camera is incredible for a compact camera. Overall, we were impressed with the F88’s color reproduction as well. Like most current digicams, the F88 showed a slight yellowish cast when set to Auto WB in Tungsten lighting. However, when set to Incandescent, the color was pretty accurate. In our daylight WB samples, the F88 showed very accurate color reproduction. This camera showed very impressive noise control in low-light/long exposure scenarios. We also found the camera to have fairly intuitive menu layout.”

Website: AnandTech - Sony DSC-F88 Review

Depth of field is one of the most crucial things to understand if you ever want to become more than a snapshoot photographer. Bob Atkins has a decent article which attempts to explain what it is, with some info about how it works with digital SLRs like the EOS 10D.

“Depth of field is also NOT directly related to background blur. Depth of field equations tell you over what range of distances objects will appear to be acceptably sharp (or at least not unacceptably unsharp). It tells you nothing about how much blur there will be of objects well outside the depth of field. That’s governed by different physical parameters and determined using totally different equations, and it’s something I intend to address in a future article.”

Website: Bob Atkins- Digital Depth of Field

The Norwegian website Akam.no have published a review of the new Panasonic DMC-FZ20 digital camera, which has a 12x optical zoom lens from Leica.

Website: Akam.no - DMC-FZ20 Review

The 34th PhotographyBLOG Portfolio has been submitted by Jason Hawkes.

“Over the last fifteen years, Jason has produced over twenty books, and has been commissioned to photograph many prestigious advertising campaigns that have taken him around Europe and the US. Clients Include :

Nike, Nat West, Rolex, London Eye, BP, Royal Air Force, UBS Warburg, HM Land Registry, Hewlitt Packard, Anchor Butter, Railtrack, Ordanance Survey, Mobil, American Airlines, Orange, Hydro

His work has covered specific locations, such as London, Provence and South Carolina, to covering themes such as historical or pre-historical locations. His latest books include, The Low Country, capturing the state of South Carolina, and Aerial, a technical overview of his work.
He has won numerous awards including two D&AD awards, the Association of Photographers award. His work has been feature reviews in numerous publications such as The Times, Telegraph, Guardian, Independent, Creative Review , BJP etc

In the Summer / Autumn 2003 Jason held major exhibition of sixty of his images of Britain at the London Eye, on the bank of the Thames. The exhibition lasted five months and was fully sponsored by the British Airways London Eye.”

Website: www.jasonhawkes.com

Website: Portfolios: Jason Hawkes

Pocket Lint have just reviewed what is sure to be a popular digital camera, the 5 megapixel Canon PowerShot A95:

“We liked the camera better once we moved the shooting mode dial into what Canon calls the Creative Zone. This is where you can start playing with the aperture settings and shutter speed. Selecting a low aperture for portraits gave us our favourite shots. The beauty of any digital camera is being able to experiment. We ignored the rule book and took hundreds of shots with different settings, viewing the results on the LCD.”

Website: Pocket Lint - Canon PowerShot A95 Review

Dual DIWA Awards to Nikon: Gold Award to D70 and Silver to COOLPIX 8700

24. September, 2004: DIWA (Digital Imaging Websites Association), a world-wide organisation of collaborating digital imaging websites, today announced that two Nikon digital cameras have been awarded for outstanding test results. On all accounts, the Nikon D70 satisfied the DIWA testing experts, who honoured its overall performance with a DIWA Gold medal in the category of digital system cameras. Also another high-quality Nikon digital camera, the compact megazoom model COOLPIX 8700, has passed the rigorous DIWA tests with excellent results, qualifying for a DIWA Silver medal.

The Nikon D70 took the D-SLR market to new heights by introducing exceptional features and qualities at a very reasonable price. Although the camera is targeted for advanced amateurs, also numerous professional photographers have found the D70 to deliver exceptionally good value for money. The DIWA testing team confirms this impression. Numerous individual reviews conclude that the Nikon D70 qualities are indisputable, regardless of the price issue.

The Nikon COOLPIX range of high-performance digital compact cameras is topped by the 8 Megapixel COOLPIX 8700. Several reviews, based on the comprehensive DIWA testing procedure, confirmed that the camera performs better than many of its rivals, with scores well within the DIWA range for a Silver medal.