Associated Press have published a short review of the 6 megapixel Nikon D70 DSLR.

“Our overnight backpacking trip was supposed to be bare bones ? just enough food for 48 hours, no extra socks, no bulky books. We considered ditching the tent to shed pounds.

But I couldn’t resist one weighty indulgence. I had become addicted to the Nikon D70, a 6.1-megapixel digital camera that costs about $1,300 with an 18-70 mm lens.”

Thanks to Sanj for the link.

Website: Associated Press (via Yahoo News) - Nikon Camera Makes Shots Sparkle

The German website Photoworld.de have reviewed the Olympus Mju 410 Digital camera. The Mju 410 is encased in a full metal body with a silver finish, offers 4 megapixels and a 3x optical zoom. The Mju 410 is the first Mju Digital model to feature TruePic Turbo, a new image processor which sharpens image clarity, contrast and colour for life-like results. Available now for ?299.99 (inc VAT).

Website: Photoworld.de - Olympus Mju 410 Digital Review

Website: Read my review of the Olympus Mju 410 Digital

The latest Luminous Landscape article looks at creating panoramic photographs using two software programs called PanoTools and PTAssembler.

“I dream about being able to afford 22 megapixel medium format backs.  I think that it would be great to be able to capture that much detail with one click of the shutter.  Heck, I?d love to be able to afford a Canon 1Ds.  However, for most amateur photographers that type of hardware is out of reach.  But, with a little bit of practice, you can get some of the same eye popping detail using much more modest equipment.  The answer is to take multiple exposures and stitch them together using software that costs as much as a somewhat nice dinner.”

Website: Luminous Landscape - Getting Started with Digital Panoramas

There have been several press release recently from various manufacturers whose products have just won a TIPA (Technical Image Press Association) award. The full list of 26 awards for 2004 is now on the TIPA website. Notable winners include the Sony Cyber-shot DSC T-1 as the Best Digital Consumer Compact Camera, and the Nikon D70 as the Best Consumer Digital SLR Camera.

Website: TIPA Awards 2004

digitalreview.ca have posted a short but interesting article that looks at using the Nikon D2H DSLR, in conjunction with the WT-1 wireless LAN pack and a Regional-BGAN portable satellite modem, to wirelessly transmit images via satellite. You can’t get much more cutting edge than that!

Website: digitalreview.ca - Using the Nikon D2H SLR Wirelessly via Satellite Communications

Digital Secrets have published their review of the new 5 megapixel Nikon Coolpix 5200 compact digital camera.

“Do I like it? You bet. It’s more camera in a less-camera package than any other 5-megger I’ve seen and it is very capable. Physical packaging is superb. Most of its image qualities are fine (detail, colorimetry). Most operations are fast, intuitive and easy to understand. Nikon has gone out of its way to improve and streamline menu functions with their recent cameras and it’s appreciated.”

Website: Digital Secrets - Nikon Coolpix 5200 Review

Digital Secrets have just reviewed the 8-megapixel Olympus C-8080 Wide Zoom digital camera.

“Somewhere along the line—perhaps several places along the line—choices were made and compromises were accepted. Sadly, the image that the 8080 delivers is a full step lower in quality than the one delivered by the Sony 828. Not quite as much detail, laid back tonality, less vivid color tracking into shadows and apparently less overall dynamic range come out of this camera, even at its most optimum f-stops in a head to head comparison.”

Website: Digital Secrets - Olympus C-8080 Wide Zoom Review

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

Bytesector have reviewed the Olympus D-580 Zoom which has 4 megapixels and a 3x optical zoom lens.

“On the LCD screen on the back of the camera, the images looked sharp, well defined and well balanced. I can happily report that this picture quality holds up when the picture is viewed on your PC. Even if the image looks dark on the LCD screen, the camera?s software automatically adjusts the image. When the pictures are loaded into an editor, and viewed at full size, some users reported a little over sharpening. As most users will just be using this camera for taking pictures and printing them, this will not be an issue for most users.”

Website: Bytesector - Olympus D-580 Zoom Review

O’Reilly Media Press Release 26/05/04

“Digital Photography Hacks”: Transform Your Camera into a Magic Photo Machine

Sebastopol, CA—The excitement that most of us felt at owning our first camera was often tempered by the pressure to take “good” photographs. Unless money was no object or you were extraordinarily gifted, the cost and inconvenience of developing film precluded taking photos just for the heck of it. Digital cameras have changed that, offering new outlets for creativity: the ability to experiment without worrying about expense, the instant gratification of seeing your photos immediately, the technology to fine-tune your work with advanced professional techniques, and the means to share your photos instantly with anyone, anyplace in the world. With a digital camera in hand, you can easily capture the moment when baby pulls herself to standing for the first time (and subsequently discovers gravity), or memorialize that rare exhibition of fire dancing with puppets you witnessed while on vacation. And if the photo doesn’t work? Tweak it, or delete it and move on.

Mitsubishi Press Release 24/05/04

Mitsubishi Photo Imaging Introduces CP-9500DW Digital Color Thermal Printer With Ultra-Fast Print Speed And High Volume Capacity
 
IRVINE, Calif. - May 24, 2004—- Mitsubishi Digital Electronics’ Photo Imaging Products
has added the CP-9500DW Digital Color Thermal Printer to its extensive line of high quality photo printers. The CP-9500DW combines an ultra-fast print speed and large capacity print roll to provide an exceptional revenue generating source for professional event photographers.

Building on Mitsubishi?s established reputation for quality dye sublimation thermal transfer printing, the CP-9500DW features a unique roll-type mechanism for jam-free reliability and a color reproduction system developed specifically for digital printing technology. This new technology utilizes built-in Color Imaging Chips to accurately control color characteristics and deliver consistent print quality, regardless of ink sheet. A 346 dpi thermal head further enhances print quality at superior resolutions.

The latest issue of the monthly online photo magazine, Vivid Light Photography, has just been published. It’s packed to the rafters with some great articles - here are my highlights, in no particular order:

- Digital Shortcuts
“I’m letting you know the point of this article right up front. This is for you! It’s for all you folks out there who, like me, have had some doubts about digital and the new learning curve. It’s for those of you who either don’t have the time or the interest to learn every tool that Photoshop has to offer. It’s for those of you out there who don’t mind taking a little shortcut every now and then, and yet you want the confidence in knowing that you can take these Digital Shortcuts without sacrificing quality.”

- Fine Tuning Your Photography
“I’ll show you my seven-step mental check list that I use every time I take a picture to get you thinking of different ways to look at any given potential photograph and to be able to determine what it will take to capture your own vision. While seeing the potential for a great photograph is one thing, exercising good technical skills each time will be just as important. “Fine Tuning Your Photography” is like practicing the basics without any mistakes. It’s seeing great light and knowing what to do with it, or recognizing poor light and returning another day.”

I’ll leave you to enjoy the rest of this month’s issue.

Website: Vivid Light Photography - Issue #36

Sigma Press Release 20/05/04

12-24mm F4.5-5.6 EX DG ASPHERICAL HSM wins “Camera Grand Prix 2004” award from Camera Press Club.(2004.5.20)

We are glad to announce that the super-wide angle zoom lens 12-24mm F4.5-5.6 EX DG ASPHERICAL HSM introduced to market last November (first zoom lens that has 122 degree diagonal angle of view at 12mm focal length) was awarded Camera Grand Prix 2004 Special Prize by Camera Press Club.

Camera Grand Prix is the official prize of “Camera Press Club” which consists of 13 main Japanese Camera and Photography magazines.

This year marks the 15th anniversary of Camera Press Club’s Special Prize award given to popular, advanced imaging products.

Sigma wins “camera press club Special Prize” second time. First time, “SA-300” and Interchangeable lenses of Sigma have won this award in 1993.

Except fish-eye lenses, this super-wide angle lens is the only lens that has 12mm focal length and can be used with Digital SLR cameras as well as film SLR cameras. Special Low Dispersion (SLD) glass elements are provided for effective compensation of color aberration, which is a common problem with super-wide angle lenses.

Casio Japan have announced the Casio EWC-40, an underwater housing for the EX-Z40/30 digital cameras. The EWC-40 can be used down to a depth of 40 metres and will cost around $190 when it’s released in July. Availability outside Japan is unknown at this point.

Website: Casio Japan - EWC-40 Underwater Housing

Website: DPReview - Casio EWC-40 underwater housing for EX-Z40/30

Sony Japan have just announced a new 40Gb portable storage device. Called the HDPS-M1, the new device supports memory stick and compact flash card formats, has a 40Gb hard-drive and connects to a computer via USB 2. There is no LCD screen to view your images once they’re downloaded, so it operates in much the same way as my Vosonic XS-Drive. Price will be around $270 - no word yet if the HDPS-M1 will make it outside Japan or not.

Website: Sony Japan - HDPS-M1

Website: DPReview - Sony HDPS-M1

A couple of months ago at the CeBIT show in Germany, Pretec announced that they would ship a 12Gb compact flash card in the 2nd half of 2004. Today DPReview have revealed exactly how much it will cost you to own the largest memory card in the world - a mere $14,900!! I bet that must have been an interesting discussion in Pretec’s marketing department…

DPReview have also published prices for Pretec’s other new cards:

3 GB card - 166,000 YEN ($1,490)
4 GB card - 207,00 YEN ($1,860)
6 GB card - 525,000 YEN ($4,700)
12 GB card - 1,659,000 YEN ($14,900).

Original Pretec Press Release

6GB CompactFlash card pricing reduced, 12GB CF card announced by Pretec

Hannover, Germany, March 18, 2004 - Pretec Electronics Corp. (Hall 19 Booth B06), the 2nd company in the world offering CompactFlash memory card (CF) card since 1995, dropped its pricing for 6GB CF memory card, the largest capacity flash memory card in the world of any small form factors which Pretec demonstrated and started shipping since September 2003, from $7499 to $3499. Pretec also announced 12GB CF card today at CeBIT 2004, 300% larger capacity than any of it??s closest competitors in the world, priced at $9999, to be delivered
by 2nd half of 2004.

DCResource have just reviewed the 6 megapixel Casio EXILIM PRO EX-P600 digital camera.

“I was quite impressed with the Exilim EX-P600—it may be Casio’s best camera yet. It’s not the best looking camera out there, but it takes good quality pictures, is very responsive, and is loaded with features (and some gimmicks too). The P600 takes nice pictures, with much less noise than I was expecting.”

Website: DCResource - Casio EXILIM PRO EX-P600 Review

Bytesector have reviewed the 8 megapixel Canon PowerShot Pro1, which was announced by Canon just before the start of the PMA 2004 trade show.

“It is by far the best camera I have come across. The image quality is realistic, the functions are easy to use, the design is appealing and the overall performance is satisfactory. This is one of the very few cameras I have the least complaints about. The only other grudge I have is that I cannot simply plug in the camera to a USB cable and use it as a storage device. Instead, I have to go through Canon?s provided software to transfer images. A minor downside for me, but it may not concern many consumers.”

Website: Bytesector - Canon PowerShot Pro1 Review

Josh Waller has reviewed the Casio QV-R40, a 4 megapixel digicam which has an amazing start-up time of one second and shutter-lag of 0.01 seconds. The Casio QV-R40 currently retails for around $300 / £200, but apparently is available refurbished at Dixons in the UK for just £99! 4 meagpixels for less than £100 - what a bargain! (sadly they’re out of stock at the moment, not that I checked or anything).

“It’s main selling points are the small size and very fast start up time. The camera is also fast in operation - it’s quick to focus, and quick to take the picture. This is very much a good thing, and has been one of the major drawbacks of using a digital camera, compared to using a film camera. The size of the camera is also very good, it will easily fit into a pocket, and therefore is more likely to be used, meaning you’re more likely to catch the moment.”

Website: Josh Waller - Casio QV-R40 Review

Not satisfied with the detail from your 35mm film SLR, digital camera or even your large-format camera? Then you may be interested in the R1, a 110-pound, 6-foot film camera that produces what experts say are some of the highest-resolution landscape photographs ever made.

“Details of the mountain’s snowcapped peak - 7 miles from the camera - are in sharp focus, as are individual blades of grass only 30 meters away. When sections of the image are magnified nearly four times, other details are clearly visible: the shingles on a barn 1,200 meters from the camera, a red bird in the grass 45 meters away.”

Thanks to Sanj (again) for the link.

Website: Yahoo News - Photographer Makes High-Resolution Camera

Dell isn’t the first name that springs to mind when photo inkjet printers are mentioned, epsecially here in the UK, but Michael Dell is apparently going all out to change that preconception. CNET News.com have taken a look at the forthcoming battle between Dell and HP in the printer marketplace.

“Lately, Dell has been making up for lost time. Since it started selling Dell-branded printers a little over a year ago, shipments have risen at an encouragingly rapid pace. The CEO predicts “tremendous growth” for his company’s computer printer business over the next five to 10 years and vows to change the economics of the industry. This week, Dell plans to announce that it will begin selling printers for the corporate and home market that it claims will reduce the cost of some printing jobs by 30 percent or more.”

Thanks to Sanj for the link.

Website: CNET News.com - The distributor vs. the innovator