Sony Japan are launching a new black version of the already very stylish 5 megapixel Sony Cyber-shot DSC-T1 digital camera. There’s no indication yet whether this model will make it outside Japan (found via the new blog Engadget).

Website: Sony Japan - Sony Cyber-shot DSC-T1 (Black)

Luminous Landscape is the first website that I know of to review the new 8-megapixel Olympus C-8080 Wide Zoom digital camera. Unfortunately it doesn’t impress Michael Reichmann…

“Like the Sony F828 the Olympus C-8080 is able to shoot in RAW mode. But as with the Sony this mode is almost unusable because the camera takes forever (actually about 20 seconds ? a bit slower than the Sony) to write a RAW file to disk. During this time the camera is unusable. Sorry Olympus and Sony ? that’s not the way I do photography. Shooting Degeurotypes is faster. Spend a few more dollars and put in a bit more buffer memory and also a microprocessor that’s able to walk and chew gum at the same time. Totally frustrating!”

Website: Luminous Landscape - Olympus C-8080 Wide Zoom Review

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

In a fairly interesting article, the website SFGate has compared the financial fortunes of the memory-maker Sandisk with the ailing giant Kodak (found via Digital Photography Blog):

“The momentum is on the Silicon Valley firm’s side. Sales of digital cameras, which use memory cards to store images, surpassed those of 35mm cameras for the first time in the United States last year. The market grew so fast that it not only outpaced one industry research firm’s 2003 forecast, but also its estimate for this year.

That’s all good news for SanDisk, the largest supplier of memory cards, which some have dubbed the “digital Kodak.”

Website: SFGate.com - “SanDisk, the leading maker of memory cards, tries to be the Kodak of the digital age”

As part of the preview of the Canon Powershot Pro 1, Steves Digicams have published the same 6 shots taken with the Nikon 8700, Sony DSC-F828 and Canon Powershot Pro 1 8-megapixel digital cameras. It’s a great way to compare the image quality of these 3 cameras, and Steve will be adding samples from the Konica Minolta DiMAGE A2 and Olympus C-8080 later.

Website: Steves Digicams - Canon Powershot Pro 1 Gallery

Photographer Carsten Rasmussen has posted a couple of sample images from the new 8 megapixel professional DSLR from Canon, the EOS 1D Mark II, taken at a Canon event in Copenhagen, Denmark (found via digicamera.net).

Website: Canon EOS 1D Mark II Sample Images

The Czech digital photography website Digineff published its review yesterday of the new Canon PowerShot S1 IS, which was announced by Canon just before the start of the PMA 2004 trade show.

Website: Digineff - Canon PowerShot S1 IS Review

Walt Mossberg of the Wall Street Journal has reviewed 4 ultra-compact digital cameras from Casio, Sony, Konica Minolta and Pentax. Thanks to Phil Baker for letting me know about the article.

“All four cameras took good pictures, and deciding which did best is necessarily a subjective judgment. But, after comparing similar pictures from the four cameras side by side on a computer screen, Katie and I consistently found the images from the low-end $299 Konica Minolta Dimage Xg to be the best overall.”

Website: Wall Street Journal - “Honey, They Shrunk the Cameras”

HardwareZone has posted an extensive 13 page review of the Nikon D70 digital SLR. As far as I know this is the first ever completed review of Nikon’s new entry-level DSLR (please correct me if I’m wrong). Thanks to R.I. Pienaar for bringing it to my attention.

“Contrary to the silver plastic bodied Canon EOS-300D DIGITAL, the Nikon D70 looks more professional with its all black polycarbonate assemble which feels and looks almost similar to the sturdy magnesium alloy body on the Nikon D100. Its mirror slap is also much more muted as compared to the Canon EOS-300D DIGITAL though still louder than that of the Nikon D100. Towering over the Canon EOS-300D DIGITAL is the Nikon D70 with its plethora of extra functions in terms of manual control and wider range of adjustable values.”

Website: HardwareZone - Nikon D70 Review

The Spanish website Foto Imagen Digital has just posted an extensive 12-page review of the 8-megapixel Sony DSC-F828. There is a also a lengthy review of the Canon EOS 300D DSLR available. You can translate the reviews into English via the BabelFish link in the top right corner of the website.

Website: Foto Imagen Digital - Sony DSC-F828 Review

Website: Foto Imagen Digital - Canon EOS 300D Review

Amanda Gilligan has let me know about a photography project that she is running on St Patrick’s Day (Wednesday March 17th):

“I’ve started a new project just for St Patrick’s Day this year and I’d love you guys to participate in some form or another!

Check out the website info page here:
http://www.lyptonvillage.org/stpatricksdayproject.htm

and Lypton Village for more details:
http://www.lyptonvillage.org/mt/archives/000496.html”

Leica Press Release 01/03/04

LEICAVIT-M now also available with black chrome finish

Leica Camera AG, Solms is now offering customers of its LEICAVIT-M - a mechanical, battery-independent accessory for fast film winding - the alternative of a black chrome finish. This is in response to many requests of customers who have a black chrome model of the LEICA M7, LEICA M6TTL, LEICA M6, LEICA M4-P and LEICA M4-2 and would like to add this accessory to their outfit.

The LEICAVIT-M harmonizes perfectly with the LEICA M camera, making it only nine millimeters higher. The LEICAVIT-M is attached to the camera instead of the base plate. The easy-grip position of the winding lever under the camera permits fast, low-noise film transport without the photographer having to take his eye away from the camera.

This gives the user the possibility of reacting even more flexibly to spontaneous photographic situations.

Further information on the LEICAVIT-M
www.leica-camera.com

Nikon Press Release 26/02/04

The Picture Editors’ Awards, now in their 11th year, recognise the very best of photographic journalism throughout the UK and Ireland.

The awards are sponsored by BG Group, CETA Imaging, The Corporation of London, Diageo, Fujifilm, Getty Images and Nikon UK.

A jury of 30 picture editors from national and regional newspapers and agencies throughout the UK and Ireland met at the Foreign Press Association in London to nominate photographers for the 16 portfolio and single image categories.

Picture Editors across the UK and Ireland will now be invited to vote on the ultimate winners, which will be announced on Tuesday 18th May.

Please visit http://www.pictureawards.net to view the nominated images.

Kyocera Press Release 19/02/04

KYOCERA ADDS NEW FINECAM SL400R DIGITAL CAMERA

Ultra-Thin, World’s Fastest 4.0 Megapixel 3x Optical Zoom Digital Camera

RTUNETM Technology Ensures The Shortest Lag Time And Unlimited Continuous Shooting at 3.3 Frames Per Second

Somerset, NJ - Kyocera Optics, Inc., the imaging industry arm of Kyocera Corporation, advances its revolutionary line of RTUNE digital cameras with the new Kyocera Finecam SL400R. Targeted to serious photographers who demand greater resolution images, the 4 Megapixel Finecam SL400R with RTUNE image processing is the only solution for digital camera fans who have been frustrated by “missing the moment” due to the combination of the shutter speed lag time and slow “shot to shot” time. The world’s thinnest 3x optical zoom digital camera, the sleek SL400R features a new protective lens hood and sports Kyocera?s popular unique swivel lens for obtaining images from virtually any vantage point.

Kyocera Press Release 19/02/04

KYOCERA ANNOUNCES NEW CONTAX SL300R T* DIGITAL CAMERA

Newest Digital Camera With RTUNE Has Sophisticated Upscale Look Associated With Contax’s Award-Winning SLRs

Features Carl Zeiss T* Lens, Slim Swivel Body Design and Unlimited Continuous Shooting at 3.5 Frames Per Second

Somerset, NJ—Somerset, NJ - Kyocera Optics, Inc., the imaging industry arm of Kyocera Corporation, expands its breakthrough line of digital cameras with the new, upscale Contax SL300R T* featuring its revolutionary RTUNE imaging technology. Targeted for the discriminating photographer, the new 3.2 MegaPixel Contax SL300R T* is equipped with a Carl Zeiss Vario-Tessar T* 5.8-17.4mm F2.8-4.7 lens (which is equivalent to a 38mm to 115mm zoom in 35mm format). Kyocera?s RTUNE imaging engine virtually eliminates shutter lag time and allows the world?s fastest full-memory continuous shooting at 3.5 frames per second (fps) with outstanding image quality.

Association of Photographers Press Release

The Association of Photographers is proud to announce that the presentation of the Photography Awards 2004 will take place at Sadler’s Wells Theatre, Rosebery Avenue, London EC1 from 6:30pm on Monday 22 March 2004. The Photography Awards 2004 will feature the 21st AOP Photographers’ Awards, the Fujifilm Assistants? Awards, and two new additions, the Zeitgeist and the AOP Bursary.

The evening will include complimentary drinks and a chance to view the images selected for the Photography Awards 2004, both in the exhibition and during the audio-visual presentation. Seating is theatre style and tickets will be numbered.

Tickets cost including VAT: ?40 (AOP members ?30). The book of the Awards will also be launched on the night and will be available at a special price of ?30 (normal price ?35).  Please note all AOP members will receive a copy of the Awards book free of charge.

Please note that your tickets will be sent out approximately 2 weeks before the events and no tickets will be issued until payment has been received.

Tickets may be purchased online using credit or debit cards ? if you experience any problems or wish to pay by cheque please contact Rachel Rogers on 020 7739 6669

http://www.the-aop.org/home.htm

Alera Technologies Press Release 01/03/04

New Alera Technologies’ Digital Photo Copy Cruiser with Features Most Demanded by Photographers - 8-in-1 Digital Photo to CD Copier Copies Memory

March 1, 2004, PrimeZone via NewsEdge Corporation : CHATSWORTH, Calif., March 1, 2004 (PRIMEZONE)—Alera Technologies, developer and manufacturer of Advanced DVD and CD Recording Solutions is excited to announce a major enhancement to the Digital Photo Copy Cruiser(tm) that copies digital photos directly to CD from camera memory cards of any capacity, without a computer, with no increase in price. The break through Digital Photo Copy Cruiser supports Disc Spanning allowing you to copy seamlessly photo files from one disc to the next, and so on, copying photo memory cards of any capacity. Now photographers can copy the 1GB memory cards and beyond making the Digital Photo Copy Cruiser truly the Prosumers’ Choice. Other Memory Card to CD Copiers are limited by the storage capacity of one 700MB CD.

You’ve probably already noticed that PhotographyBLOG has been updated today - I’ve arrived back in the UK after my very enjoyable 10-day trip to Tenerife (to be greeted last night by snow and sub-zero temperatures!). Normal service has now been resumed, although I still have to read the 1,900 emails in my inbox :-) (although about 90% of them will probably be spam). So if you’ve emailed me during the last 10 days, you should have a reply by tomorrow morning.

After 4 weeks and over 1,900 votes, the Canon EOS 1D MKII was voted as the camera that you are most excited about (793 votes), beating the Nikon D70 (625 votes) and Nikon Coolpix 8700 (140 votes).

The new PhotographyBLOG Poll poses the question: “Which 8 megapixel digicam would you buy?”. 2004 is supposed to be the year of the 8 megapixel digital camera - now that all of the major maufacturers have unveiled their models, which one would you go for?

The 14th Photo of the Week contest is now open. This is a weekly photography challenge where you decide who the winner is by voting for your favourite photos. It’s an open contest with no set theme and you can enter as many photos as you like. There are no prizes as such for this contest, but the winning photo is displayed on the PhotographyBLOG homepage for a week, and the winner can display the Photo of the Week logo on their website if they wish.

The March 2004 Competition is now open for entries. This is a monthly photography competition with a specific theme and prizes for the top 3 photos. The winning entries will be decided by a panel of judges.

You just have to submit one photograph to the Competition Gallery that best interprets March’s theme, which is “Springtime”.

Please note that you can only submit one photograph per Competition. There were a number of multiple entries made during the February competition.