Vincent Oliver over at Photo-i has just started an interactive review of the Epson Stylus Pro 4000 17” wide desktop printer.

“I should point out that the Pro 4000 is a lot bigger than you might expect. The two delivery men had considerable difficulty in manoeuvring the box through the front door (my door isn?t small either) the printer had to be unpacked in the lobby. It also took two men to carry the printer upstairs to my studio and it dominates a large portion of my office desk. Just in case you thought of picking one up on your way home after your Saturday shopping, then forget it. The box won?t fit in your car boot/trunk unless of course you drive a truck. “

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

Stephen Voss’ article “On Digital Photography” in Digital Web Magazine is a well-written personal perspective on the megapixel race, colour management, professional photographers and publishing images on the web (found via Digital Photography Blog).

“Unfortunately, just like late night infomercials, it’s easy to get sucked into fancy descriptions and “cutting edge” technology with these claims of increased megapixels. Just because a camera is advertised as having 3 megapixels doesn’t mean that it’s using all 3 of those megapixels to capture an image. Furthermore, the size and shape of these pixels play a huge part in the quality of the information they capture. As an example, a professional 3 megapixel will often outperform (in terms of detail, color captured and overall image quality) a consumer-grade 5 megapixel camera due to having a larger imaging chip, in addition to better in-camera image processing.”

Website: Digital Web Magazine - On Digital Photography

The German website digitalkamera.de have posted their review of the Panasonic DMC-FZ10 Lumix ultrazoom digital camera.

Website: digitalkamera.de - Panasonic DMC-FZ10 Lumix Review

PictoColor Corporation Press Release 30/04/04

An easy-to-use tool kit for managing, correcting, preserving and sharing digital photos featuring award-winning iCorrect point-and-click color correction technology

April 30, 2004-Burnsville, MN, USA, PictoColor Corporation has released CorrectPhoto, an easy to use digital photo tool kit for managing, correcting, preserving and sharing digital photos.  With its built-in Windows Explorer, CorrectPhoto provides direct access to Windows XP file management and digital media tools enabling users to transfer their photos to their computer in a snap, find and view their photos as well as copy, rename, or move to new working folders for a truly organized workflow.

With CorrectPhoto’s complete set of photo correction tools, photo enthusiasts can do amazing things like improve a photos composition by zeroing in on the heart of the subject and cropping to standard print sizes, correct for red-eye, and sharpen out-of-focus photos.  And with CorrectPhoto?s award winning iCorrect “point-and-click” color correction technology, users can give every photo the color of life by increasing vibrancy, removing unwanted color cast, correcting exposure and beautifying skin tones and other reference colors.

Olympus USA Press Release 01/05/04

Olympus Announced Rebate for Zuiko Digital Specific LensesTM for The E-System and New Price for E-1 Digital SLR Body (U.S.)

- Rebate Offer on Lenses Valid From May 1 to July 31, 2004
Melville, New York, May 1, 2004 - Olympus America today announced a rebate on five Zuiko Digital Specific Lenses for the E-1 Digital SLR System. Starting May 1 and continuing through to July 31, 2004, purchase one of the select Zuiko Digital Specific Lenses from an authorized E-Professional System Dealer and get cash back from Olympus. The company also announced today a new estimated street price for the E-1 Digital SLR body of $1499.00, down from $1799.00.

A rebate form for this special offer is available from an authorized E-Professional dealer, or online at www.olympusamerica.com/rebate.

Olympus UK Press Release 01/05/04

New price structure for Olympus E-1 offers professional system at consumer value

Olympus announces a new price for the multi award-winning Olympus E-1 digital SLR camera.

From the 1st May 2004 the camera will be available at new RRPs of:
Olympus E-1 body only: ?999.00 (inc VAT)
Olympus E-1 kit (body and 14-54mm lens): ?1,399.00 (inc VAT)

The camera has scooped numerous awards, including the TIPA (Technical Image Press Association) award for Best Innovative Technology 2003/2004, the DIWA (Digital Imaging Websites Association) awards for Best Professional System 2003 and Best Innovation 2003, and the BIPP (British Institute of Professional Photography) award for Best New Product 2003.

The Czech website FotoAparat.cz have posted their review of the 8-megapixel Sony DSC-F828 digital camera.

Website: FotoAparat.cz - Sony DSC-F828 Review

Leica Press Release 30/04/04

Exclusive offer at Amazon.de: Auction of unique black LEICA D-LUX model by Leica Camera AG and Bryan Adams

From May 17th to 25th, 2004, Leica Camera AG Solms will be auctioning a one-off model of the LEICA D-LUX with a unique range of accessories at Amazon.de. The world-famous artist and Leica photographer Bryan Adams has agreed to support this project. Besides a hand-signed self-portrait the singer photographed of himself with the LEICA D-LUX, the package also contains a photo of him and the black LEICA D-LUX. Both photos are framed in mounts that
were exclusively designed for this special offer.

Breeze Systems Press Release 30/04/04

BreezeBrowser v2.9 adds support for the new Canon EOS-1D Mark II and Sony DSC-F828

30 April 2004: Breeze Systems today released BreezeBrowser v2.9. Canon EOS-1D Mark II, Canon PowerShot Pro1, Sony DSC-F828 and Nikon D70 owners can use this popular workflow tool to view both raw and JPEG images. BreezeBrowser v2.9 now displays Paint Shop Pro files and introduces raw conversion for the Nikon D70, Pentax *ist D, Minolta DiMAGE 7i, A1 and A2 and Olympus E-1, C5050WZ, C5060WZ, C8080WZ cameras.

The first ever PhotographyBLOG Portfolio has been submitted by roadbuilder49.

“The theme of my submission is winter. The images are all taken along the Idaho side of Hells Canyon with digital cameras while snowmobiling.

I am a Civil Engineer and have been into digital photography for about 3 years. My current cameras are a Canon S50 and a Nikon 4500.”

Website: Portfolios: roadbuilder49

Freelance outdoor photographer Jean-Fran?ois Ma?on has been traveling around the world with photography as a main driver since the age of 14, specializing in landscape, adventure and travel photography. Jean-Fran?ois has kindly allowed me to publish his excellent article “Digital Photography in the Wilderness”:

Is digital photography up to the challenges of extended outdoor adventures in harsh conditions? A year ago, I would probably have answered: no.That is, until this spring, when I could not resist the call of the new EOS 10D. And when I embarked this autumn on a climbing expedition to the Himalayas, I intended to photograph digital. The purpose of this article is to share my planning process and conclusions, focusing on the specific questions and issues that outdoor photographers face on longer trips.

Website: PhotographyBLOG Article: “Digital Photography in the Wilderness”

Tuesday 27th April was Freedom Day, commemorating the 10th anniversary of freedom in South Africa. Crowds gathered in Trafalgar Square, London, to both remember and celebrate.

You can click on each image to view a larger / better quality version over on my personal website, markgoldstein.co.uk

You can also view the Freedom Day album of 34 photographs

Photo.net’s latest technique-based article looks at TCs (teleconverters, multipliers) and their effect on image quality.

“TCs are very useful accessories but they work best when low power TCs are used with high quality prime lenses. If you’re looking to preserve the maximum amount of image quality from your prime lens, use a 1.4x TC and preferably one made by the lens manufacturer. 3rd party TCs can be quite good, especially when used with digital cameras with small sensors since in that case the image quality at the edge of the full 43mm image circle used in full frame 35mm format isn’t seen by the sensor.”

Website: Photo.net - TC or not TC, that is the question…

Steves Digicams have posted their review of the new 5 megapixel Sony DSC-W1 digital compact camera.

“The overall image quality in 2592x1944/Fine mode is excellent, for the most part the default settings produce well saturated and properly exposed pictures. The user can control the saturation, contrast and sharpness so you can “dial in” just the right look for your images. I found that the automatic white balance did its job well and only under some very mixed lighting did I need to manually set the color temperature. I was pleased with our outdoor test shots. The images were sharp, well saturated, and there was very little noise in open blue sky areas.”

Website: Steves Digicams - Sony DSC-W1 Review

Steves Digicams is the first website to review the new 5 megapixel Sony DSC-P100 digital camera.

“The P100 makes an excellent choice for those wanting an ultra-compact, high- performance camera that produces high-quality 5-megapixel images. That’s plenty of resolution to print photo-quality 8x10-inch or larger prints. With it’s rugged all-metal body and built in lens protector, you don’t have to worry about little bumps and scratches or losing the lens cap. If these are features you’re looking for in a digital camera, than the Cyber-shot DSC- P100 is just the ticket.”

Website: Steves Digicams - Sony DSC-P100 Review

Steves Digicams have reviewed the Contax SL300R T*, a 3.2 megapixel digital camera which features a Carl Zeiss T* Lens, slim swivel body design and unlimited continuous shooting at 3.5fps.

“Combining a 3 megapixel imager with a 3x zoom lens in an extremely compact, durable and stylish body, the Contax SL300R T* makes an attractive package. With an average image quality, excellent shooting performance, and versatile shooting modes, many style conscious people will find it a perfect answer to their digicam needs. With a street price of $499, the SL300R T* is priced a bit higher than its competitors, but maybe its unique size, style and performance justify that difference to many prospective buyers.”

Website: Steves Digicams - Contax SL300R T* Review

Steves Digicams have published a review of the Sony DPP-EX50 PictureStation printer. This is a dedicated, at-home photo printer that uses dye-sublimation technology, to create durable, lab-quality prints. The model incorporates both Memory Stick PRO and CompactFlash media slots, as well as two USB ports - one in the front for connection to a digital camera or camcorder and one in the back for connection to a PC.

“The print quality is like every other dye-sub printer that we’ve reviewed to date. This is not a bad thing as every dye-sub printer that we’ve reviewed has produced prints the equal of their wet-processed, film counterparts. This printing process is totally dry, no leaky ink cartridges to change, only a dry and clean ribbon cartridge and the special paper that it prints on. Dye-sub printers make four passes on the paper, three to lay down the primary colors (magenta, cyan and yellow) and the fourth pass puts a protective overcoat on the print that protects it from UV fading, fingerprints, scratches and moisture.”

Website: Steves Digicams - Sony DPP-EX50 PictureStation Review

Steves Digicams has just reviewed the Apacer Disc Steno CP-200 portable storage device, which can transfer image files or other data from flash memory cards to CD-R or CD-R/W discs without a computer.

“You’ve gotta love progress and the fact that the vastly improved CP-200 sells for the same $299 that the CP-100 sold for last year. It works very well and is simple to operate - what more can I say?  We want to use our digital cameras on vacation but we don’t want to have to bring a large and expensive laptop computer along. They make a very desirable target for thieves when sitting unattended in your hotel room or rental car. I’d rather risk a $299 CP-200 than my $3000 Sony VAIO—how about you?”

Website: Steves Digicams - Apacer Disc Steno CP-200 Review

Roger Cavanagh has published a short review of the A4 Epson Stylus Photo R800 printer. I have just received this printer from Epson and will be publishing my review in the next couple of weeks.

“The GO evens out the surface of the print, so there are no irregular reflections and no “etched effect”. Everyone I’ve shown prints to has said the same thing: words to the effect “they look just like real photos”. The results on matte paper are also excellent. I bought a sample box of fine art papers - mainly Hahnem?le - and the prints are delightful, even without custom profiles. (The GO is turned off by default for matte papers, and I haven’t experimented as there seems little point.)”

The R800 printer costs around ?299 and is available now. Cartridges cost ?11.90 each and ?6.35 for the Gloss Optimizer cartridge (inc. VAT).

Website: Roger Cavanagh - Epson Stylus Photo R800 Review

Website: Read my review of the Epson Stylus Photo R800

The Hungarian website Index Digicam have reviewed the Fuji FinePix F420 Zoom, the smallest Fujifilm camera to incorporate Super CCD HR technology and 30 frames per second video.

Website: Index Digicam - Fuji FinePix F420 Zoom Review