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

“Armed with a 7X Canon professional-series zoom lens and an 8-megapixel CCD, the Canon PowerShot Pro1 takes pictures sure to please even the pickiest shooters. But its great images only partly offset the disadvantages imposed by some poorly implemented features and mixed performance.”

Website: CNET - Canon PowerShot Pro1 Review

PENTAX Press Release 12/05/04

OptioMX Delivers Digital Still Images And High Resolution Movies At An Affordable Price

GOLDEN, Colorado (May 12, 2004) - PENTAX Imaging Company announced it will ship the first PENTAX combined high resolution digital camera and video movie camera, the OptioMX, in June 2004.  The innovative, palm-sized OptioMX features 3.2 effective megapixels and 10X optical zoom to capture still images and high resolution (VGA) full-motion movies on MPEG-4 format with zoom capability. The camera will be available for $399.95.

The PENTAX OptioMX offers a new concept in digital imaging by delivering high-quality digital still images and movies. With advanced design and compact dimensions, the OptioMX features a large 1.8 inch LCD monitor that swivels 180 degrees horizontally and 210 degrees vertically to capture images and movies from new and exciting angles. The versatile and ergonomic handle grip of the OptioMX rotates 180 degrees to accommodate a broad range of shooting positions.  The OptioMX is compatible with an SD memory card.

PENTAX Press Release 12/05/04

Compact, Lightweight 14mm DA-Series Lens for *ist D

GOLDEN, Colorado (May 12, 2004) - PENTAX Imaging Company has announced a second lens designed for the *ist D digital SLR will ship later this month.  The smc PENTAX-DA 14mm F2.8 ED [IF] interchangeable wide-angle lens was developed as a second model of the new DA-series lineup.  At 14.8 ounces and measuring just 2.7 inches long and 3.3 inches in diameter, the lens is one of the lightest in its category.  The lens features a standardized DA-series design incorporating high-grade metallic components with green accents. 

Featuring a focal length of 14mm (equivalent to 21mm in the 35mm format) and a 90-degree angle of view, this high-performance wide-angle lens incorporates a high-refraction, low-dispersion glass element and an Extra-low Dispersion (ED) glass element to produce high-resolution, true-to-life images in advanced digital photography.  The lens offers a minimum focusing distance of .56 ft. for a maximum magnification of approximately 0.19 times. The image circle is designed to perfectly match the 23.5mm x 15.7mm size of the CCD used in the *ist D, contributing to a drastic reduction in size, weight and production cost.

The Norwegian website Akamera.no has 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: Akamera.no - Olympus Mju 410 Digital Review

Website: Read my review of the Olympus Mju 410 Digital

Sigma Corporation Press Release 12/05/04

A compact zoom lens with large aperture from 24mm super-wide-angle

Sigma Corporation is pleased to announce the launch of the new 24-60mm F2.8 EX DG lens.

From super-wide-angle of 24mm this lens has a very compact design as well as a large-aperture. By effective arrangement of Special Low Dispersion (SLD) and aspherical glass elements, this lens has compact dimensions of 83.6mm (3.3in.) maximum diameter, and 84.5mm (3.3in.) length. It is capable of taking pictures from a close distance, minimum focusing distance is 38cm(15.0in.) at all focal lengths, and has a maximum magnification ratio of 1:5.8. Two Special Low Dispersion (SLD) glass elements are provided for effective compensation of color aberration, which is a common problem with super-wide angle lenses. One piece of Glass Mold Aspherical and three pieces of Hybrid Aspherical, total four pieces of aspherical lenses offer excellent correction for distortion as well as all types of aberration. The new lens coating reduces flare and ghost, which is a common problem of digital cameras and also creates an optimum color balance.

The sixth PhotographyBLOG Portfolio has been submitted by Mario Martino.

“All these images were taken in windows of fashion shops in Milano or Monza during last two years. The doubt between false and true is the theme of this Portfolio.”

Website: Portfolios: Mario Martino

Ken Rockwell has written an informative and opionated article that compares point and shoot digital cameras with digital SLRs (found via Digital Photography Blog).

“If you want to spend a grand for serious digital photography forget the expensive p/s cameras and go straight to any DSLR. Since you can get a far superior DSLR for what you used to have to pay for just a p/s as of 2004 I see no need for the expensive p/s digital cameras.”

Website: Ken Rockwell - The Two Classes of Digital Cameras

It’s only just been announced, but Luminous Landscape already have a review online of DXO Optics Pro.

“DxO Optics Pro is an impressive product, and given what it does the price / performance ratio is attractive. For anyone using a consumer-grade lenses, an extra one or two hundred dollars spent on Optics Pro will elevate the image quality produced to close to that of a much more expensive lens. Of course anyone with one of these expensive lenses can also buy Optics Pro and move their image quality up to an even higher level, so it’s a mugs game to think that this is the holy grail of photography. But it works, it works well, and its not unreasonably priced for what it does.”

Website: Luminous Landscape - DXO Optics Pro Review

DO Labs Press Release 11/05/04

DO LABS RELEASES DXO OPTICS PRO SOFTWARE THROUGH E-STORE OPENING MAY 24TH

Breakthrough software application for serious photographers boosts image quality of digital cameras and lenses

Paris, France (May 11, 2004) - DO Labs, a software company focused on applied mathematics for image enhancement, announces the availability of DxO Optics Pro - its revolutionary software solution for dramatically improving digital image quality.

Designed for use by professional and discerning amateur photographers, DxO Optics Pro software delivers genuine and perceptible quality improvements by automatically correcting images for the following major optical faults:
- Distortion
- Vignetting*
- Blur (lack of sharpness)
- Lateral chromatic aberration

The modular design of DxO Optics Pro allows photographers to maximize performance of their existing and future equipment. In particular, DxO Optics Pro optimizes image quality when shooting conditions are difficult: wide aperture, extreme focal lengths on zooms, lowlight, image edges, wide format sensors, etc? Traditional compromises no longer apply with DxO Optics Pro, photographers can now take full advantage of the possibilities their expensive digital single-lens reflex (DSLR) cameras and lenses offer.

ByteSector.com has reviewed the dye-sublimation Olympus P-10 Digital Photo Printer, which produces a photo-lab quality 6x4” print in less than 45 seconds. The Olympus P-10 Digital Photo Printer has a street price of $199.

“The pictures printed from the P-10 are clean, vivid, and free of noise and distortions. If you are worrying about seeing lines or distortion, rest assured you will not find any downsides in print quality.”

Website: ByteSector.com - Olympus P-10 Digital Photo Printer Review

The Fuji FinePix A205S Zoom (also known as the A205 Zoom) is a compact digital camera that is aimed squarely at the new digital photographer, and even the new photographer for that matter. Fuji claims that its “as easy to use as your TV remote” and will “tame even the most timid technophobe”. With a 2 megapixel CCD sensor and a 3x optical zoom, the Fuji FinePix A205S Zoom doesn’t offer much in the way of innovation, but then you can buy one for less than ?100. Ease of use is the name of the game with this camera, so have Fuji delivered on their promises? Find out in my review.

Website: Fuji FinePix A205S Review

The winners of the April 2004 PhotographyBLOG Competition have now been decided. The theme for April was “Happiness” - you can view all of the entries in this gallery.

The panel of judges thought long and hard before deciding on the three winners:

1st Place
“Love” by ologram
View this entry

Judges Comments:
“I thought this photograph was interesting because it is in black and white. It captures the feeling of happiness without depending on vibrant colors to give it an upbeat feel.  The photo is close up on the mother and child which give a personal feel and immediately make me smile.”

“This really depicts the feeling of happiness as well as being a great image.”

Prize: Photobird.com one-year subscription with 100 megabytes of storage space, kindly donated by Photobird.com.
http://www.photobird.com

2nd Place
“First Snow” by amorin
View this entry

Judges Comments:
“Beautiful, rich colors and great exposure.  Wonderful expressions on their faces that show that they are happy and having the time of their lives.”

“This is a beautifully colored photograph. The strong red, yellow and blue in the center draw my attention quickly.  The feeling of happiness is clearly portrayed by both the colors and boys photographed.”

Prize: 1 copy of Ulead PhotoImpact XL, kindly donated by Ulead Systems.
http://www.ulead.co.uk

3rd Place
“My Happiest Time” by gallery1905
View this entry

Judges Comments:
“This photograph caught my attention immediately due to the stark contrast between black and white.  The overpowering white is just balanced by the black of the ground and figures creating a striking image.  It evokes the feeling of happiness subtly.”

Prize: 1 copy of Picasa, kindly donated by Picasa Inc.
http://www.picasa.net

Congratulations to the winners and thanks to everyone who took part!

The fifth PhotographyBLOG Portfolio has been submitted by Oscar CC.

“This is a collection of photos meant for a photography contest that took place at the Poble Espanyol (the Spanish Village) in Barcelona. Situated at the foot of Mount Montjuic, site of the 1992 Olympic Games, the Poble Espanyol is a watercolour painting which portrays the different peoples and cultures of Spain, represented in the form of streets and squares, monuments and buildings. Built in 1929 on the occasion of the Barcelona International Exhibition, the Poble Espanyol is the only initiative of its kind which has survived the test of time.

The theme of the competition was ‘Lights And Shadows’, so I thought black and white would suit the photos better. I hope you like them.”

Website: Portfolios: Oscar CC

Vincent Oliver over at Photo-i has now completed his interactive review of the Epson Stylus Pro 4000 17” wide desktop printer.

“This printer is going to appeal to many photographers - pro and amateur. For the professional it will give total control on every stage of the picture creation process, quality can be closely monitored. Amateurs who want something bigger than an A3, the 4000 will fit the bill. For the art photographer, this printer is an affordable means of producing limited edition prints and limited doesn’t mean the amount of time the print is going to last before fading. The success of this printer is already assured, there is already a large demand for this printer.”

Website: Photo-i - Epson Stylus Pro 4000 Interactive Review

The Hungarian website Index Digicam have posted their review of the new 6 megapixel Nikon D70 DSLR.

Website: Index Digicam - Nikon D70 Review

Imaging Resource have published a preview of the Canon PowerShot S60, a 5 megapixel digital camera with a wide-angle 28mm-100mm lens and a new thin body.

“Last year’s PowerShot S45 and S50 impressed me as well-built cameras with excellent image quality and rich feature sets. This year’s S60 model constitutes a significant upgrade to the S50, with a wider-angle zoom lens and improved control layout. Image quality will be the real issue though, given the new lens technology that Canon is using in the S60. With so many variables involved (a whole new lens design with thinner elements, high-index optical glass, and a new aspheric lens-molding technology), the result could be a camera with better, worse, or similar image quality to the earlier units. What I saw in the prototype unit was encouraging, but I’m refraining from making any final evaluation until I can put a production model through the wringer.”

Website: Imaging Resource - Canon PowerShot S60 Preview

The Polish website FotoPolis has reviewed the Olympus C-760 Ultra Zoom digital camera, which has 3.2 megapixels and a 10x zoom lens.

Website: FotoPolis - Olympus C-760 Ultra Zoom Review

The Slovenian website e-FotoGrafija have just reviewed the 6 megapixel Canon EOS 300D DSLR.

Website: e-FotoGrafija - Canon EOS 300D Review

Picasa, Inc. Press Release 10/05/04

Blogger Users Can Add Pictures to Their Blogs With Picasa’s Hello Software

Pasadena, Calif. - May 10, 2004 - Picasa, Inc., the leading developer of software which enables photographers to effortlessly organize, manage and share digital photos, announced today a product integration with Blogger, the free, fast and easy-to-use service for publishing and sharing information online. Through Picasa’s Hello photosharing application, Blogger users can now post photos and captions directly to their personal weblogs, or blogs.

Hello enables users to instantly share images securely over a peer-to-peer network and chat about them. The new Hello “BloggerBot” enables Hello users to post photos and captions to their Blogger blogs. The BloggerBot resizes the photo, uploads and publishes it to the web in seconds.

Digital Outback Photo have started their diary review of the 14 megapixel Kodak DCS Pro SLR/c.

“Recently Kodak announced to add a camera like the SLR/n that can take Canon lenses. We are one of the first getting our hands on a SLR/c production sample. Because the SLR/c uses the same chip and imaging electronics as the SLR/n (read our review)we actually know the image detail the SLR/c should be able to deliver. But now we will be able to use the same lens on a Canon 1Ds and the SLR/c.”

Website: Digital Outback Photo - Kodak DCS Pro SLR/c Review