DCResource has just reviewed the compact 4.1 Megapixel Fuji FinePix F440 Zoom (which is the bigger brother of the F420 that I reviewed at the weekend).

“Autofocus speeds on the F440 were average. Halfway-pressing the shutter release button resulted in focus lock in 0.6 - 0.8 seconds in most cases. Focusing in low light wasn’t great—here’s where an AF-assist lamp would’ve helped. In addition, the LCD becomes virtually useless in dim light.

Shutter lag wasn’t an issue at fast shutter speeds but it was quite noticeable at slower ones (e.g. 1/2 second). Then again, you shouldn’t be handholding the camera at that shutter speed anyhow.”

Website: DCResource - Fuji FinePix F440 Zoom Review

The voting for the 37th Photo of the Week contest has now finished.

The winner is “Life is a stretch” by Gramper.

Congratulations to the winner!

You can view all of the entries that were submitted in this gallery.

The 39th Photo of the Week contest is now open. This is a weekly photography contest with no set theme and you can enter as many photos as you like.

Click here to read the Photo of the Week Rules.

The FujiFilm FinePix F420 is by far the smallest camera that I have ever reviewed, measuring just 7.7cm wide and 6.9 cm high. Despite its diminutive stature, Fuji have still managed to fit in a 1.8 inch LCD screen on the rear of the camera and their 4th Generation Super CCD HR sensor inside it, which can realise 3 million effective pixels, producing 6 million recorded pixels. The FinePix F420 has a 3x optical zoom lens, equivalent to 36-108mm on a 35mm camera, which is housed inside a stylish brushed aluminum body. A stand-out feature is the ability to record movies at 30 frames per second, a frame-rate that should ensure silky-smooth movie clips. So does all of this add up to a great pocketable camera? Read my review to find out the answer.

Website: Fuji Finepix F420 Zoom Review

Don’t ask me - I have no idea! It’s a good thing then that About Photography editor Peter Marshall has decided to publish a 5 page guide to deciding if a photo cuts the mustard, or whether it should be thrown in the waste-paper / recycle bin.

“Within the overall intention, I like to explore how they (and I and others) feel this particular image matches the intention. Why did they chose that particular subject, position, moment and point of view? It really does surprise me how often I find that when pressed, people often start to make excuses. The picture presented is not quite what they would have liked to take, but they were just too late, or couldn’t get any closer or ... Excuses don’t make for good pictures!”

Website: About Photography - What Makes a Picture Good ?

We’ve recently had Bob Atkins’ Canon Rumours page, which have largely turned out to be true. Now it’s the turn of Lonestardigital.com to make some Nikon predictions - will they be as accurate? If so, then we should see a 15 megapixel Nikon D3, 8.25 megapixel Nikon D200 and an 8.2 megapixel Nikon D2X by the end of 2004.

Website: John’s September through November 2004 Nikon SLR Predictions

Agfa has decided to sell its consumer imaging business, which includes film, finishing products and lab equipment, in a management buy-out for 175.5 million Euros. A new company, called AgfaPhoto, has been born, which will continue to serve all of Agfa’s consumer imaging markets and customers worldwide. So it’s not the end of film, more the end of Agfa as a provider of film-based photographic services.

Website: Agfa Press Release

“Close-Up Photography” is one of four books in the Digital Photography Expert range, all written by professional photographer Michael Freeman and published by Ilex. As the name suggests, this particular book concentrates on the world of close-up, still-life and macro photography from a digital point of view. The book is aimed at the photographer who wants to learn as much as possible about the theory, techniques and beauty of the close-up world. There are 160 pages brimming with 400 full colour photographs, lots of technical tips and real-life case studies to help illustrate the author’s points. It’s certainly a very well-presented book that belies its £17.95 price-tag, but will the advice inside actually help to improve your photography skills? Read my short review to find out.

Website: Close-Up Photography Review

Ricoh UK Press Release 20/08/04

Ricoh launches the Caplio R1 - a powerful 4.0 megapixel digital camera that offers a 28mm wide-angle 4.8x optical zoom lens in a 25mm super slim body

Ricoh is proud to announce the release of the Caplio R1, a powerful 4.0 megapixel digital camera featuring an innovative lens retracting system that allows an incredible 4.8x optical zoom lens with 28mm wide-angle shooting capability to be stored in a 25mm super slim aluminium body. The 28mm wide-angle 4.8x optical zoom lens produces the finest quality images that compact digital cameras in this class can offer. The Caplio R1 features the world?s fastest shutter response* and Ricoh?s outstanding 1cm wide macro technology. The Caplio R1 incorporates all the latest high-end features of the digital camera to satisfy even the most discerning professional, whilst offering user-friendly functionality that is sure to capture the hearts of all photo enthusiasts. That these powerful features?and more! ?are encased in an elegantly sleek body as thin as 25mm and weighing a mere 150 grams is simply amazing in and of itself.

*  As of August 2004 for all auto focus digitalcamera

The 28th PhotographyBLOG Portfolio has been submitted by Steven Mansour.

“Here is a small collection of landscape, urban and architecture photographs I’ve taken over the past couple of years. I work part time as a semi-pro wedding photographer, and have only recently started to really learn more about landscape and architecture photography.

There isn’t a very apparent “theme” to the photos apart from the fact that many of them were taken on trips abroad, and all of them seem to convey an emotion.

Most of them were taken with a Canon EOS 10D, although some of them are from a Canon G2.”

Website: http://stevesgallery.com/

Website: Portfolios: Steven Mansour

At least according to all you PhotographyBLOG readers anyway! You voted in your hundreds to say that cameraphones will definitely not be the new digital cameras of the future, with 450 people expressing their disagreement with the question “Will cameraphones be the new digital cameras of the future?”. Only 75 people thought that camera phones would replace conventional digicams.

The new PhotographyBLOG poll is a topical one: “Are you excited by the new Canon announcements?”

Canon Japan have made available 3 sample images from the 8 megapixel Canon EOS 20D DSLR. All three JPGs are available to download (4.5mb - 6.5mb each). The new EF-S lenses weren’t actually used with the 20D - instead the EF50mm f/1.4 USM and EF35mm f/1.4L USM prime lenses were used instead.

Canon Japan - Official Canon EOS 20D Sample Images

Canon UK Press Release 19/08/04

Canon announces the EOS 20D A new digital freedom
 
Canon, leader in photographic and imaging technology, today announces its latest Digital SLR: the EOS 20D. With a newly developed second generation APS-C size 8.2 Megapixel CMOS sensor, 5fps shooting speed, 9-point AF and Canon?s new distance-linked ETTL II flash system, the EOS 20D is the first semi-professional camera to deliver all the performance, speed and flexibility of high-end film SLR cameras.

Replacing the critically acclaimed EOS 10D, the EOS 20D is powered by the same DIGIC II processor found in Canon?s professional series EOS-1D Mark II. Second generation DIGIC improves on Canon?s already class-leading colour rendition accuracy and increases the speed of processing and start-up times. A rugged magnesium alloy body completes the EOS 20D?s professional look and feel.

Canon UK Press Release 19/08/04

Canon announces new EF-S lenses for its D-SLR cameras
 
Canon, leader in photographic and imaging technology, today announces the EF-S 17-85mm f/4-5.6 IS USM and EF-S 10-22mm f/3.5-4.5 USM wide-angle EF-S zoom lenses. Targeted at advanced digital photographers, both lenses are designed to work exclusively with Canon?s EOS 20D and EOS 300D digital SLR cameras. The focal length ranges of the new lenses are equivalent to 27-136mm and 16-35mm respectively in 35mm film format ? a spread carefully chosen by Canon to reflect the needs of its rapidly growing base of advanced D-SLR photographers.

Both lenses feature Canon?s ring-type Ultra Sonic Motors (USM) for fast, near-silent auto focus, and a range of features designed to deliver a level of image quality approaching that of Canon?s revered L-Series professional lenses.

Canon UK Press Release 19/08/04

New Canon professional model Speedlite flash ideal for digital photography
 
Canon, leader in photographic and imaging technology, today announces a new flagship model in its EX Speedlite range: the Canon Speedlite 580EX. Now Canon’s most powerful flash unit, the Speedlite 580EX has a guide number of 58 (m/ISO 100 at 105mm) and an adjustable angle of coverage suitable for wide lenses to 14mm. 

Replacing the popular Canon Speedlite 550EX, the Speedlite 580EX improves on many specifications of its predecessor, and includes new features to improve digital EOS SLR flash results. These include transfer of colour temperature data to optimise the white balance compensation, and auto-adjustment of the zoom flash position to best compliment the sensor size of the camera to which the unit is attached.

Circuitry modifications improve on the Speedlite 550EX recycle times by approximately 25%. An ultra-bright 3-LED configuration focus assist-beam has been designed to be compatible with all focus points within the frame of all EOS AF systems, including the new EOS 20D 9-point AF. The unit has improved exposure stability, with a tolerance of just ?0.3 stops.

Canon UK Press Release 19/08/04

Canon’s 7.1 Megapixel PowerShot G6: The professional’s super-compact

Canon, leader in photographic and imaging technology, today announces its latest camera in the popular PowerShot G-series: the remarkably small yet highly specified 7.1 Megapixel PowerShot G6. Successor to the popular PowerShot G5, the G6 features dramatically improved image quality through improvements to the fast f2.0 4x zoom lens and image processing algorithms. AF speed is up to 55% faster than its predecessor, while start-up time improves by approximately 30%.

Over 10% smaller than the G5, the G6 features 12 shooting modes and an ergonomic ‘one-touch’ design and jog-dial. All key controls fall under the fingertips of the right hand, which wraps around a comfortable rubberised grip. The clear, anti-reflective vari-angle LCD increases in size from 1.8” to 2.0”. The camera also offers simultaneous RAW and JPEG recording, with selectable JPEG file resolution.

Canon UK Press Release 19/08/04

New look PowerShot packs 7.1 Megapixels

Canon, leader in photographic and imaging technology, today announces the 7.1 Megapixel digital still compact PowerShot S70. Incorporating the same rich feature set as the 5.0 Megapixel PowerShot S60, the new S70 is distinguished by a stylish two-tone dark metallic and black body. New UA lens materials allow for a reduction in lens size, enabling an elegantly sleek body shape despite the lens’ impressive 28-100mm focal length and 4cm macro specification. 

The extensive list of high-end and semi-professional features include simultaneous RAW and JPEG file recording, 15 sec to 1/2000 sec shutter speeds, AF and AE lock, manual focusing and an intervalometer for automatic time-lapse photography. Optional accessories include a wireless controller, 2x tele-converter and a 40m depth waterproof case. Also included is a pre-set white balance mode for underwater photography, Print/Share button and the latest PowerShot S-series user-interface for fast, simple and intuitive navigation.

Canon UK Press Release 19/08/04

Canon launches new flagship A-series PowerShot

Canon, leader in photographic and imaging technology, today announces its latest high performance compact digital still camera, the PowerShot A95 - the new A-series flagship. Replacing the highly regarded PowerShot A80, the A95 builds on the success of its predecessor and features an increased sensor size of 5.0 Megapixels, and the addition of FlexiZone AF/AE, a larger 1.8” vari-angle LCD and VGA movie mode. Now including eight special scene presets, the A95 has a total of 21 shooting modes - more than any other Canon digital camera. 

The A95 includes many features found in Canon?s higher end ‘S’ and ‘G’ series cameras, offering users flexibility and creative control. It incorporates Canon’s advanced DIGIC and iSAPS technologies and 9-point AiAF for outstanding image quality and ease of use, as well as a 3x optical zoom with f/2.8 aperture. A complete range of accessories, including wide and tele-converters and waterproof case, enables photographic exploration. The camera also features a Print/Share button, PictBridge printing as well as ID photo and movie print. 

Canon UK Press Release 19/08/04

Canon upgrades most popular camera ever

Canon, leader in photographic and imaging technology, today adds the 4.0 Megapixel PowerShot A85 to its popular PowerShot range. The camera replaces the PowerShot A70, one of the most successful cameras in Canon’s seventy-year history. 

“The A70 was successful because it found the perfect balance between point-and-shoot economy and pro-sumer control features,” said Malcolm Hills, Head of Canon Consumer Imaging UK and Ireland. “The A85 builds on this success by adding new features that make it even easier to use, while at the same time giving the experienced user more options.”

As well as improved ergonomics and refreshed styling, the camera includes a large 1.8” LCD, 13 shooting modes (including a special scene mode with six selectable pre-set scenes), VGA movie clips with sound, 9-point AiAF auto focus, and a Print/Share button plus extended print functionality. A wide selection of accessories includes wide and tele converters, close-up lens, and a waterproof case.

Canon UK Press Release 19/08/04

Canon launches fun new PowerShots - in colour

Canon, leader in photographic and imaging technology, today announces the release of its new entry level digital camera - the PowerShot A400 - available, in four eye-catching colours. The 3.2 Megapixel camera features a 2.2x optical zoom and Canon’s DIGIC processor for superb image quality. The high performance 9-point AiAF autofocus, the Intelligent Orientation Sensor and 12 shooting modes make it easy to take great photos, even under challenging conditions.

This latest entry level model records to an SD memory card, allowing the camera body to be smaller and lighter. The A400 features an Intelligent Orientation Sensor, and can record up to 3-minute movie clips (new VGA quality up to 30 seconds). With a Print/Share button to simplify direct printing and uploading to Windows PCs, and a free 100 MB online photo album with Canon iMAGE GATEWAY, the A400 is designed to be fun and easy to use.