The German website PhotoWorld have reviewed the Sony DSC-P120, a Special Edition black body version of the DSC-P100 digital camera, with a black leather case and 2 InfoLITHIUM batteries supplied. Available now in the UK for £379.00.

Website: PhotoWorld - Sony DSC-P120 Review

DCViews have published their review of the new Olympus C-765 Ultra Zoom digital camera.

“With its all-glass zoom lens of 38 to 380mm as the most striking feature, the C-765 offers an enormous range of image possibilities. The wide angle is about average but the tele end is what really sets this camera apart from the competition. At 380mm sport and nature photographers can really draw distant subjects close for a full frame image. The f2.8 - f3.7 Olympus lens, which uses ED elements and is constructed with 11 elements in seven groups, delivers strikingly sharp and detailed results throughout its zoom range. There is some barrel distortion at wide angle, but this gradually disappears once you zoom in a bit and there is no vignetting to speak of.”

Website: DCViews - Olympus C-765 Ultra Zoom Review

The Spanish website quesabesde.com have just reviewed the 4-megapixel, 10x zoom Konica Minolta DiMAGE Z2.

Website: quesabesde.com - Konica Minolta DiMAGE Z2 Review

ByteSector have posted a review of the Panasonic Lumix DMC-LC1, a rangefinder-like digital camera which is exactly the same as the Leica Digilux 2 in terms of camera design.

“Unfortunately I am not too impressed by the image quality of this camera. When Panasonic sent me their Lumix FZ10 4 megapixel camera, the image quality impressed me. But this camera produces too much noticeable noise in the image, especially if you are taking pictures in macro mode. I have not seen a 5 megapixel camera produce this much noise before; not to the extent that it is easily noticeable.”

Website: ByteSector - Panasonic Lumix DMC-LC1 Review

Press Release 29/07/04

EventCam(TM) to Use Ten Canon PowerShot S60 Digital Cameras to Capture High Resolution Interactive Panoramic Convention Images at One Point in Time

NEW YORK, Jul 29, 2004 (BUSINESS WIRE)—NYTimes.com, Canon U.S.A., Inc. and Kaidan, Inc. today announced that they are using Kaidan’s EventCam(TM) and Immersive Imaging solutions to capture and publish 360-degree interactive panoramic images from this week’s Democratic National Convention in Boston and the upcoming Republican National Convention in New York City. EventCam(TM) uses ten Canon PowerShot S60 digital cameras to simultaneously capture a panoramic image. The PowerShot S60 is outfitted with Canon’s high-quality optics and comes equipped with a wide-angle focal length of 28mm, a useful feature for this environment. The images are available at NYTimes.com/conventions and require QuickTime Player for viewing (available for free at http://www.apple.com/quicktime/).

Wacom Press Release 28/07/04

Industry-leading imaging companies partner to educate and inspire digital photographers

Nationwide “Just Show Me How” seminar tour will showcase some of the best digital photography tools and techniques for advanced amateurs and professionals

Vancouver, WA, July 28—Leading digital imaging companies, including Extensis, GretagMacbeth, Lexar Media, Mirra, Nik Multimedia, and Wacom, are coming together to address a critical market need to educate digital photographers on the best tools and techniques for managing, enhancing and processing digital photographs. The Just Show Me How seminar tour, for advanced amateur photographers, is scheduled to begin in September 2004 and will visit 20 cities through December 2004. The Just Show Me How - Professional tour, for professional photographers, will visit 10 cities beginning in January 2005.
Digital photography has evolved over the past few years to the point where it provides photographers with more control and flexibility than ever before. However, it is also now more complex. While a well-informed photographer is empowered by the new possibilities, others face frustration, poor results, and lost images. Most photography seminars focus only on the traditional topics of capturing, printing, and editing images, but miss other important steps in the digital photography process. The Just Show Me How tour fills this major gap.

Epson Press Release 30/07/04

Epson Introduces PRINT Image Matching III for Improved Digital Images

- TOKYO, Japan, July 30, 2004 -

Seiko Epson Corporation (“Epson”) today announced that it has developed PRINT Image Matching III, advanced technology that provides users of digital cameras an easy way to consistently produce the best quality prints, prints that accurately reflect the photographer’s intent.

In 2001, Epson developed the introduction of PRINT Image Matching, a technology to help ensure faithful output of the colors captured by digital cameras. Many digital camera manufacturers agreed to support the new technology, and Epson succeeded in driving further expansion of the digital photography market. Over one hundred models of cameras equipped with PRINT Image Matching have arrived on the market, including digital still cameras, digital video cameras, and camera-equipped mobile phones. On the printer side, this technology is supported by all Epson inkjet printers currently on the market (as of July 30, 2004). As digital cameras and camera-equipped mobile phones deliver ever-increasing image quality and resolution, user requirements such as the desire to create attractive, faithful reproductions and prints of their photographs, are growing, as well. To respond to this demand, Epson has developed PRINT Image Matching III, with improved color-correction functionality.

PC Magazine have reviewed the Panasonic DMC-FX5, which features a 1/2.5” CCD with a total of 4.23 mega pixels and interestingly a stabilized 3X zoom lens.

“Our simulated-daylight shot showed adequate detail and good exposure, though colors were decidedly warm. When we invoked the flash, it blew out foreground whites and yellows slightly, giving them a posterized look, and we detected some noise in darker areas of the image. So while the DMC-FX5 has some notable features, it doesn’t match the best in the 4MP point-and-shoot field.”

Website: PC Magazine - Panasonic DMC-FX5 Review

PC Magazine have just reviewed the Kodak Easyshare Printer Dock that was first announced back in April.

“Although the printer is obviously of most interest if you have a Kodak camera that’s designed to fit into the docking area on top of the unit, like the EasyShare LS600/700 series, you can also print from a PictBridge camera, a memory card (with an external adapter), or a computer. The instructions for printing from a PictBridge camera lack important details, but we managed to figure it out on our own. We also successfully printed from a computer and from a SanDisk memory card reader, even though the printer officially supports only Kodak memory card readers.”

Website: PCMagazine - Kodak Easyshare Printer Dock Review

The Hungarian website Index Digicam have reviewed the 3 megapixel, entry-level Pentax Optio S30 digital camera.

Website: Index Digicam - Pentax Optio S30 Review

Coincidentally, the Slovenian website eFotoGrafija have also published a comparative review of high-speed memory cards, this time Compact Flash, testing them in conjunction with the Canon EOS 1D Mk II digital SLR. The 100x speed Apacer Photo STENO ProII card is one of the 5 cards in the test.

“Manufacturers mark speed with X values, which indicates the speed 150KB/s. The larger the number in front of X, the faster the transfer rate should be. Few years old memory cards have 4x or 8x transfer rates and many new cards still maintain this speed. This is perfectly acceptable for average users shooting family or travel photos, where read and write speed are not so crucial. However when using cameras with more million pixels, more frames per second and longer video clips, we encounter first troubles. This is the moment when we need to consider faster memory cards.”

Website: eFotoGrafija - Compact Flash cards and transfer rates

The website Digital Media Thoughts have published a comparative review of 4 different high-speed SD memory cards, testing which one is the quickest and how that relates to its overall value.

“In the realm of flash memory cards, most vendors offer two or more types of cards: the regular version, and a professional version that’s said to be much faster than the normal version of the card. I always thought that those “high speed” memory cards were something you could only take advantage of if you had a high-end professional camera, and that the extra top-end speed was wasted when used in a PDA, phone, or consumer-level device. Imagine my surprise when performing a test on a Pocket PC and I saw different numbers when using a high speed Sandisk memory card! This prompted me to do some further investigating, so I created a simple test to see how several cards from top vendors measure up against each other.”

Website: Digital Media Thoughts - Memory Card Shoot-Out: Four 512 MB Secure Digital Cards Compared

A forum user over on Photohobby.net has got hold of a production Konica Minolta DiMAGE Z3 and posted some pictures of the camera and sample photos.

Website: Photohobby.net -  Konica Minolta DiMAGE Z3 Preview

Josh Waller has just reviewed the 5 megapixel BenQ DC C50 digital camera.

“Everything else (the camera as a whole): Everyone I handed the camera to reacted positively to the camera - they were able to use the camera within minutes. They often would remark that the screen is very clear and the pictures viewed in playback mode have good colour. The battery life is a bit dissapointing, as it may be necessary for you to purchase another battery depending on your usage (and unfortunately you can’t just put in some AA batteries from the local corner shop).”

Website: Josh Waller - BenQ DC C50 Review

Website: BenQ Europe -  DC C50 Camera

Nikon Europe Press Release 28/07/04

A number of Nikon D70 digital SLR camera kits destined for Spain have been stolen from Schiphol Airport, Amsterdam, The Netherlands, on July 17, 2004.

The kits comprised of a D70 body with AF-S DX Nikkor 18-70G lens, battery, charger and English and Spanish language User manuals. Importantly they also carry a Warranty Card carrying the following address of Nikon’s Spanish distributor Finicon S.A.

Finicon S.A.
C/ Ciencias, 81 Nave-8
Poligono Pedrosa
08908 L’Hospitalet de LLobregat
Barcelona
Spain

A spokesman said: “Nikon would like to take the opportunity to warn the trade and customers to be wary about unrealistically low prices being offered for D70 bodies, 18-70mm lenses, batteries or chargers without retail packaging or valid warranty cards or manuals. Should anyone become aware of these products being made available, they are advised to contact their national Nikon office.”

Canon Inc. Press Release 28/07/04

Canon Inc. Reports Results for First Half 2004

LAKE SUCCESS, N.Y.—(Business Wire)—July 28, 2004 Canon U.S.A., Inc., a subsidiary of Canon Inc. (NYSE: CAJ - news) and a leader in imaging technologies, today announced Canon Inc. first half 2004 consolidated net sales of 1,648.4 billion yen (US$ 15,263 million), which represents an increase of 7.3% over the first half of fiscal year 2003.

Canon reported first half net income of 160.8 billion yen (US$ 1,489 million), a significant increase of 25.8% over the same period last year and an earning per share of 181.84 yen (US$ 1.68).

Canon Inc. also reported second-quarter revenue of 850.4 billion yen (US$ 7,874 million), 5.8% higher than second-quarter 2003 with net income of 76.5 billion yen (US$ 708 million), 36.2% higher than second-quarter 2003.

“Although the yen was a negative factor, we were able to achieve this through continued strong sales growth of both digital cameras and color copying machines and higher sales of IC steppers along with a recovery in the semiconductor market. Consequently, we achieved our eighth consecutive quarter of year-on-year growth in both net sales and profit,” said Toshizo Tanaka, Senior Managing Director and Group Executive for Finance and Accounting Headquarters, Canon Inc.

For more detailed information and tables, please refer to our Announcement of First Half 2004 financial results at http://www.canon.com/finance/index.html.

Eastman Kodak Company Press Release 25/07/04

Free Trial version of the DIGITAL GEM Professional Plug-In now available at www.asf.com

Rochester, N.Y., July 25—Eastman Kodak Company today introduced the new DIGITAL GEM Professional Plug-In, which enables users to dramatically reduce both visual noise and film grain in their digital images without excessive softening.  This new, professional plug-in has the same basic features and functionality as the award-winning DIGITAL GEM Plug-In, plus it offers 16 bit support, more control and improved results for automatic noise and grain reduction.In conjunction with the release of the new DIGITAL GEM Professional Plug-In, the original DIGITAL GEM Plug-In price has been reduced from $79.95 to $49.95. The recently released DIGITAL GEM Airbrush Professional Plug-In which automatically smoothes and renews skin surfaces without affecting prominent details like hair, eyes, lashes, etc, rounds out the family of DIGITAL GEM products. 

FortuneCity Inc. Press Release 27/07/04

ONLINE PHOTO ALBUM SERVICE TEAMS UP WITH PREMIER BLOG DIRECTORY

New York, NY, July 27, 2004 - MyPhotoAlbum, a service from the leading web-hosting provider, FortuneCity Inc., has teamed up Blogarama.com, an active directory of thousands of web blogs.  Blogarama.com has named MyPhotoAlbum the “Official Online Photo Album of Blogarama.com.”  MyPhotoAlbum is providing online photo album services, printing services and community based photo sharing for Blogarama. 

Colin Cheung, owner of Blogarama.com states, “Blogging has gone mainstream and is here to stay. It’s everywhere and everyone is doing it. For those that think blogging is confined to just text based diaries, then think photoblogs! MyPhotoAlbum will open the world of photoblogs to our users.”

Innova Art Press Release 28/07/04

Beyond the creative boundary

Making its Photokina debut, newly launched fine art media supplier Innova Art will be mounting an exclusive presentation of The Passion Exhibition by internationally acclaimed photographer Ken Duncan on its stand D019, Hall 14.1.

The show of limited edition photographic prints taken from Mel Gibson’s masterpiece, The Passion of The Christ, is in itself a first, as the images have not previously been seen outside Duncan’s native Australia.

The project marks the summation of long cherished ambitions for all three parties involved. Mel Gibson’s devotion to recreating the life of Christ on the big screen, in all its horror, pathos and transcendent power, astounded the critics and drew audiences by the millions. For Duncan - invited on set by his boyhood friend, Gibson, to interpret the film through his trademark Panographs - the experience inspired some of the most moving, masterful images he has yet produced. And for Innova Art, onto whose papers the exhibition prints were made, it has meant an extraordinary start to their entry into the fine art market.