HP Press Release 17/06/04

HP to teach eBay marketplace users how to easily capture, share and print high-quality digital photos

PALO ALTO, Calif., June 17, 2004
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HP today announced that it will provide digital photography content and products to the eBay community, sharing expert tips and techniques with the nearly 105 million registered eBay users.

To back this effort, HP will develop the HP Digital Photography Zone area on eBay.com (www.hp.com/go/ebay), which is designed to provide a total digital photography educational experience. The Zone will highlight how digital photography solutions can make it simpler and easier for consumers to capture, share, manage and print digital images at home for their eBay business, as well as their personal use.

Approximately 59 percent of eBay users own a digital camera and the digital images they take are often a vital part of the online buying and selling process. Buyers frequently prefer to see a picture of the product they are considering before making a purchase.

“Together with eBay, HP is leading the charge in delivering a simple and rewarding photography experience for consumers,” said Kathy Stromberg, vice president, Consumer Segment Marketing - Americas, HP. “The HP Digital Photography Zone is an incredible channel to share our digital photography expertise with these consumers and the millions of others who are online and already living in the digital world. Our classes, as well as the innovation of our products and solutions, will empower eBay users to make their postings - and all their digital images - stand out.”

I didn’t have the opportunity to take many photos during my recent visit to Holland, as I was sitting rather gingerly on a bike saddle for most of the 4 days. We did a brief walking tour around the old part of Amsterdam on the final day - I will definitely have to go back for a longer stay.

Fujifilm UK Press Release 17/06/04

Fujifilm’s FinePix F440 Zoom and FinePix F450 Zoom: new standards in compact camera design

Release Date: 17 June 2004

Four and five megapixel resolution and 3.4x optical zoom set a new standard in ultra-compact housing

Fujifilm today announced the FinePix F440 Zoom and FinePix F450 Zoom: five and four megapixel resolutions, with a 3.4 times optical zoom, two inch LCD screen, and housed in a design so small that it can be hidden behind a single Post-It Note.

Borrowing the good looks of their predecessors - the popular FinePix F410 and F420 Zoom - the trim figures of these new models are possible thanks to a newly developed lens structure. The clever lens design makes these cameras’ enviable vital statistics achievable (W 74.5 x H 62.3 x D 21.3 mm and a body weight of just 150g).

Digital Photography Blog have produced a useful guide to histograms, rounding up 10 of the best resources on the Web.

“The Histogram is one of the most useful tools in Digital Photography yet it is one of the least understood and utilized. We’ve searched the web for ten of the best Histogram Tips and Tutorials to help us all to get the best possible exposure for our digital images. These tutorials focus upon both in camera histograms and histogram tools in imaging editing software.”

Website: Digital Photography Blog - Histograms Tips

TheTechLounge has just published the final part of its “Beyond Megapixels” series of articles, which examines current digital photography hardware and gives the author’s views of what is to come in the near-future.

“The average photographer will be relying on the automatic systems of the camera to provide the correct focus, metering and white balance when taking a picture. In difficult or tricky shooting situations, the photographer may choose to manually adjust these settings. Before delving into the specifics of these variables, it is important to first make certain that a camera has the ability to manually control these settings. When you are first purchasing your shiny new camera, you may not think that you?ll ever venture beyond the automatic settings of the camera, but as you become more and more addicted to digital photography there is a great chance that you?ll find yourself wanting more control over the shot.”

Website: TheTechLounge - Beyond Megapixels - Part I

Website: TheTechLounge - Beyond Megapixels - Part II

Website: TheTechLounge - Beyond Megapixels - Part III

Luminous Landscape have just published their review of the 5 megapixel Leica Digilux 2 and Panasonic LC1 digital cameras.

“After just a few hundred frames with the LC1 it occurred to me - using it was like shooting with a real camera, not a computer with a lens attached - which is what so many digicams remind me of. Not to disparage all digicams. Some are very good, and though the paradigm is different, one gets used to it. But for long-time photographers who enjoy the feel of shutter speed knobs and aperture rings and the control that a manual focus ring gives, the LC1 / Digilux twins will feel like coming home again.”

Website: Luminous Landscape - Leica Digilux 2/Panasonic LC1 Review

The Hungarian website Index Digicam have just reviewed the Sanyo Xacti VPC-J4 EX digital camera. This is a 4-megapixel ultra-compact camera with a brushed aluminium body, 1.8-inch TFT LCD and zoom lens with a 35mm-equivalent focal length of 37-104mm. The Xacti VPC-J4 EX will be available in 3 different colors.

Website: Index Digicam - Sanyo Xacti VPC-J4 EX Review

The Polish website Fotopolis have today reviewed the new 8-megapixel Olympus C-8080 Wide Zoom digital camera.

Website: Fotopolis - Olympus C-8080 Wide Zoom Review

Website: Read my review of the Olympus C-8080 Wide Zoom

Imaging Resource yesterday published their review of the new Olympus C-765 Ultra Zoom digital camera.

“Overall, the C-765 produced accurate, pleasing color, under a wide variety of shooting conditions. Hue was accurate in most instances, saturation appropriate (although strong reds and blues tended to oversaturate slightly), and skin tones looked very natural. As is the case with most cameras I test, the C-765’s auto white balance system had a hard time with the household incandescent lighting that’s so common in the US, but its Incandescent and Manual white balance options did very well indeed. All in all, a very nice performance.”

Website: Imaging Resource - Olympus C-765 Ultra Zoom Review

ePhotoZine have just published their review of the new Nikon Super Coolscan 9000 ED film scanner.

“The Nikon Super Coolscan LS9000 is a superb machine, though pricey. In commercial terms its cost can be justified in time savings and its multi-format capability.”

Website: ePhotoZine - Nikon Super Coolscan 9000 ED Review

Samsung Press Release

THE DIGIMAX I-PACK RECHARGEABLE LITHIUM ION BATTERY - ANOTHER WORLD’S FIRST FROM SAMSUNG CAMERA

Samsung is proud to announce the world’s first rechargeable Lithium-Ion CR-series battery pack. Known as the Digimax Battery I-Pack, it can replace two conventional AA cells or a single CR-V3 battery in today’s digital cameras while providing the high voltage and low temperature performance they demand. The I-Pack is compatible with numerous cameras yet is specifically designed as a power source for the Digimax series of digital cameras, including the V50, V5, 530, V40, V4, 430, 401, 370, V3, 250 and 202.

“No matter what kind of electronic devices consumers use today, the need for a reliable, long-lasting power source is universal,” said Gary Sutton, Sales manager for Samsung Camera. “With the introduction of the new I-Pack rechargeable battery, we’ve delivered an ideal power solution for the majority of the cameras within the Digimax line.”

Future Image Press Release 17/06/04

CAMERA-PHONES MAKE BETTER PRINTS THAN SINGLE-USE CAMERAS

NOORDWIJK, THE NETHERLANDS, and SAN MATEO, Calif. - June 17, 2004—Prints made from camera-phone images are significantly better than those from single-use cameras - both film and digital - and comparable to those from standalone consumer digital cameras, according to a new study released today.

On the opening day of its Mobile Imaging Summit Europe executive conference, Future Image, Inc., the leading provider of information and analysis on business and technology trends in the imaging industry, announced the results of its evaluation of the quality of consumer prints made from camera-phone pictures. For its report ?4 x 6 Shoot-Out: Are Camera-Phones Ready To Make Consumer Prints??, the research firm photographed six representative test subjects with nine different consumer cameras - four camera-phones, two one-time use cameras (OTUCs), and three point & shoot digital cameras - and evaluated prints of the images made using an online service, retail kiosk, and home printing equipment.

Epson Press Release 17/06/04

Canon, Epson, HP, and Lexmark, Support New ISO Standard that Helps Customers Evaluate Printer and Print Cartridge Yield

- Consensus-driven standard for measuring monochrome toner print cartridge yield is technically robust, international in scope -

- TOKYO, Japan; PALO ALTO, Calif.; LEXINGTON, Ky.; June 16, 2004 -

Canon (NYSE: CAJ), Epson, HP (NYSE: HPQ), and Lexmark (NYSE: LXK), today announced their support of the new International Organization for Standardization (ISO) standard, ISO/IEC 19752, for monochrome toner cartridge yield in monochrome laser printers. Canon, Epson, HP, and Lexmark are leading proponents of industry standards and believe a single, rigorous, worldwide ISO standard to measure monochrome toner cartridge yield will help customers more objectively and accurately evaluate printer and print cartridge yield.

The Danish website Akamera.dk have just reviewed the 8 megapixel Canon PowerShot Pro1, which was announced by Canon just before the start of the PMA 2004 trade show.

Website: Akamera.dk - Canon PowerShot Pro1 Review

The Fuji FinePix S5000 Zoom looks very much like a traditional SLR camera in terms of styling, but it is actually more like a compact camera in size and weight. Despite its diminutive dimensions, the Fuji FinePix S5000 Zoom has a massive 10x optical zoom which is equivalent to 37-370mm on a 35mm camera. It also features Fuji’s new 4th Generation Super CCD HR sensor and can record images in RAW mode as well as the JPEG file format. And all of this is available for just over ?200! So is the FinePix S5000 Zoom a bit of a bargain? Find out in my review.

Website: Fuji FinePix S5000 Review

Canon UK Press Release 16/06/04

Canon wins four TIPA awards for best photographic and imaging products of 2004

Canon, leader in photographic and imaging technology, has received four Technical Image Press Association (TIPA) awards for the following products:

“Best D-SLR Professional Camera 2004” - EOS-1D Mark II
“Breakthrough Award 2004” - EOS 300D
“Best 35mm SLR Camera 2004” for the - EOS 30V Date / 33V
“Best Technology 2004” - DVK-E2 Data Verification Kit software

Pentax has announced plans to start production of 2 and 3 megapixel modules for the cameraphone market. In a brief report on NE Asia Online, this move is part of a wider strategy to boost non-camera based revenue - “Noncamera operations are expected to account for 75% of operating profit for fiscal 2006 if the three-year business plan goes ahead as projected, the officials added.

Website: NE Asia Online - Pentax to Make Camera Phone Parts to Expand Profit Base

In an interview with Reuters yesterday, Nikon has said that it intends to increase production of the D70 DSLR to above 90,000 units by September/October 2004, compared to 70,000 when the camera was launched in March. At the same time Nikon also announced that it has “no plans to stop producing film SLRs, but that it may next year start considering pulling out of the film compact camera business due to a sharp plunge in demand.” Sales of compact film cameras have slipped to 50,000 units worldwide in the current business year to March, compared with 1.3 million in 2002.

Website: Yahoo.com - Nikon Boosts Digital Cameras, Eyes Exit from Film

A new version of Qimage has just been released.

Qimage v2004.300 (06/15/04):

New Features:

Freehand by page: Take full control of the placement of images on any page at any time by just clicking and dragging your prints on the page. Unlike old versions which required switching the entire document to “Freehand” placement mode, v2004.300 allows freehand placement on a page-by-page basis, allowing you to fine tune individual pages while leaving the rest of the document in an auto-placement mode such as center, optimal, etc. Simply use the automatic placement method of your choice and click/drag at will. A small “F” button at the upper/right corner of the page shows you which pages are in freehand placement mode and allows you to control freehand/automatic placement for that page with just a click of the mouse. Be sure to check the “Listing of Major Functions”, “Freehand” section of the help for more info.

Print rotation: Take full control over the orientation of your prints by highlighting prints and clicking the “Rotate Left” or “Rotate Right” buttons which replace the old portrait/landscape buttons. You can even right click and select a rotation with respect to the thumbnail (original image), such as selecting a print and rotating to 180 degrees (thumbnail upside down). Manual rotations “stick” until you change them or set the rotation back to “automatic”. Prints that have been manually rotated show with a small rotation symbol at the upper right corner of the print on the preview page. Check the “Listing of Major Functions”, “Print Rotation” section of the help for more info.

Click/drag on the preview page: You can now click and drag to move/size images directly on the small preview page on the main window. The full page editor is still available for high precision adjustments, placement at specific locations, and print cropping should you need it.

New nudge feature: Go to the full page editor and highlight a print. Hold the Ctrl key while pressing the left/right/up/down arrows on the keyboard to nudge the current print up against the next logical edge on the page: either the edge of another print or the edge of the page. This allows quick and easy alignment to other prints or the edge of the page.

Fixes:

Some minor bugs from v2004.211 were fixed along the way, most of which were cosmetic or related to certain window areas not updating or showing the latest information/status. The most significant issue was a fix where the page editor was not utilizing the monitor profile when “All Images” or “HQ Preview” was selected.

Website: Qimage

Steves Digicams have reviewed the new HP Photosmart R707, a stylish 5 megapixel digital camera.

“Overall the image quality in 5MP *** mode was great for a camera in this class. Outdoors, the camera does very well, and its 3x optical zoom lens produces sharp results through out its range. The majority of our test shots were well exposed, and colors were nicely saturated, although I did notice an average amount of noise in High/Low contrast areas. I found the Adaptive Lighting feature to be useful when shooting either indoors or outdoors, the camera increases the gamma of the image to better enhance the detail of objects in low contrast (shadow) areas, but the image quality does suffer a little, if you’re not going to print anything larger than an 8x10” you should be fine. I was also happy with our indoor samples, images were properly exposed and skin tones appeared very natural.”

Website: Steves Digicams - HP Photosmart R707 Review