Here are a few more photographs of the new 8 megapixel Konica Minolta DiMAGE A2 digital camera:

Here are a few more photographs of the new Konica Minolta DiMAGE Z2 digital camera:

The German website Photoworld have just reviewed the new Epson Perfection 4870 flatbed scanner, which should be in your local store right now.

Website: Photoworld.de - Epson Perfection 4870 Scanner Review

Lexar Media Press Release 12/02/04

Lexar Media Announces World’s Highest Capacity Memory Card with 8GB CompactFlash

Lexar Doubles the Highest Capacity of CompactFlash, Allowing Professional Photographers to Shoot and Store Over 1,000 High-Resolution RAW Image Files on One Memory Card

Las Vegas, February 12, 2004 (PMA Booth H100)—Lexar Media, Inc. (Nasdaq: LEXR), a leading manufacturer and marketer of high-performance digital media and accessories, today announced its 8GB Professional Series CompactFlash? card, the highest capacity memory card available in the world today. In addition to delivering extraordinary capacity in a matchbook-sized memory card, Lexar?s new 8GB CompactFlash card delivers a 40X speed-rating, signifying a minimum sustained write speed capability of 6MB/s. By maintaining a close alignment with manufacturers who offer high-end digital cameras that create high-resolution files - which can be over 8MB each, Lexar?s new 8GB memory card meets the needs of professional photographers who require capacity, speed and reliability - in an easy-to-handle removable media format.

Lexar Media Press Release 12/02/04

Lexar Media Announces 80X Professional CompactFlash Cards with 12MB/s Minimum Sustained Write Speed

Professional Memory Cards Include New Write Acceleration with Optimized Firmware for Increased In-Camera Performance

Las Vegas, February 12, 2004 (PMA Booth H100)—Lexar Media, Inc. (Nasdaq: LEXR), a leading manufacturer and marketer of high-performance digital media and accessories, today doubled the minimum sustained write speed capability of its Professional Series CompactFlash (CF) product line to 80X, or 12MB per second. With this introduction, Lexar Media is providing the fastest CompactFlash with guaranteed write speeds available, serving the needs of professional photographers and all digital camera users requiring faster image write times. Lexar is offering its 80X Professional Series CompactFlash cards in five different capacities, including 256MB, 512MB, 1GB, 2GB and 4GB. Lexar Media today also announced a 8GB 40X Professional Series CompactFlash card, extending the company?s CF line with the highest capacity CompactFlash card on the market.

Lexar Media Press Release 12/02/04

Lexar Media Announces its 1 Gigabyte Secure Digital Memory Cards

Las Vegas, February 12, 2004 (PMA, Booth H100)—Lexar Media, Inc. (Nasdaq: LEXR), a leading manufacturer and marketer of high-performance digital media and accessories, today announced that it has doubled its highest capacity Secure Digital (SD) memory card to 1 gigabyte. Lexar?s new larger capacity Secure Digital card allows users of SD compatible devices to capture more digital pictures, store more digital video, and listen to MP3s for longer periods of time. In a form factor roughly the size of a postage stamp, Secure Digital memory cards will now be available from Lexar Media in capacities from 32MB to 1GB.

1GB of memory capacity is equivalent to storing over 500 high-resolution JPEG images (with a 4 megapixel digital camera), 16 CDs worth of music, or close to 6 hours of MPEG 4 digital video ? on one compact, interchangeable memory card.

Lexar Media Press Release 12/02/04

Lexar Media Introduces High Speed 60X Secure Digital Memory Cards for Reliable and Continuous Capture of Digital Video

Las Vegas, February 12, 2004 (PMA Booth H100)—Lexar Media, Inc. (Nasdaq:LEXR), a leading manufacturer and marketer of high-performance digital media and accessories, today introduced Secure Digital (SD) memory cards speed-rated at 60X, which signifies a minimum sustained write speed capability of 9MB per second. Lexar?s high-speed Secure Digital memory cards are ideal for digital imaging applications requiring sustained high speed, such as shooting digital photographs in high resolution burst mode and shooting digital video.

Secure Digital cards are popular in digital photography and digital video applications, which require extremely fast and reliable memory card performance. If the memory card in a digital camcorder or digital still camera with video capture mode is too slow, the device will slow down or stop recording to wait for the information to clear the camera buffer before continuing to capture video. The 60X speed of Lexar Media?s new Secure Digital cards provides fast sustained write speeds to enable uninterrupted shooting - even when capturing digital video in full-motion JPEG or MPEG 4 formats.

Lexar Media Press Release 12/02/04

Lexar Media Announces Enhanced Memory Stick Media with Read Speeds Up to Four Times Faster

Faster Read Speed Equates to Faster Downloading and Access to Data

Las Vegas, February 12, 2004 (PMA Booth H100)—Lexar Media, Inc. (Nasdaq: LEXR), a leading manufacturer and marketer of high-performance digital media and accessories, today announced a new line of updated Memory Stick products that will have significantly increased read speeds. Available this spring in capacities of 64MB, 128MB and 256MB (total 128MBx2), the enhanced Memory Stick delivers data read speeds that are up to four times faster than current cards, when used with compatible (4-pin parallel), high-speed Memory Stick-enabled devices. The new Memory Stick cards are also compatible with serial interface Memory Stick-enabled products.

“Lexar is pleased to provide this advancement in Memory Stick technology,” said Dave Klenske, Director of Product Marketing, Lexar Media. “These new cards will improve consumer experience because with faster read speeds, users will have shorter download times and faster access to information stored on the card.”

Lexar Media Press Release 12/02/04

Lexar Media Announces Exclusive Retail Distribution Agreement For Camera Bits’ Popular Photo Mechanic Software

Las Vegas, February 12, 2004 (PMA Booth H100—Lexar Media, Inc. (Nasdaq: LEXR), a leading manufacturer and marketer of high-performance digital media and accessories, today announced an exclusive distribution agreement with Camera Bits, Inc., maker of the popular image management software Photo Mechanic. With shipments beginning next month, Lexar will be the exclusive retail distributor of Photo Mechanic and Photo Mechanic LE, offering the software to its extensive network of photographic retailers and distributors.

Photo Mechanic software is a digital camera image browser commonly used by professional photographers to easily view, organize and process digital images on a computer. The software offers batch captioning, image renaming, speedy browsing, and automatic collection of meta-data, with an easy-to-use interface that has made it the image management software of choice for thousands of photojournalists and professional photographers worldwide.

Lexar Media Press Release 12/02/04

Lexar Media Introduces High-Speed 32-bit CardBus CompactFlash Reader For Macintosh and Windows Operating Systems

32-bit CardBus Reader Offers Mobile Photographers the Ability to Quickly and Conveniently Transfer Digital Images

Las Vegas, February 12, 2004 (PMA Booth H100)—Lexar Media, Inc. (Nasdaq: LEXR), a leading marketer and manufacturer of high-performance digital media and accessories, today introduced a 32-bit CompactFlash? (CF) CardBus reader, designed to enable the quick and convenient transfer of digital images to notebook computers. Lexar Media?s new 32-bit CardBus CompactFlash reader boasts high speed data transfer rates similar to FireWire and USB 2.0 readers, and 4 to 6 times faster than 16-bit PCMCIA card adaptors, which are commonly used with laptop computers. Lexar?s 32-bit CardBus reader offers support for both Windows and Macintosh operating systems, extending the portable, high-speed solution to Macintosh users for the first time.

Ricoh Press Release 12/02/04

Ricoh launches user friendly Caplio RR330, 3.1 Megapixel camera at a competitive price

February 2003, Ricoh is pleased to announce the release of the Caplio RR330 - a 3.1 megapixel, easy to use, digital camera that offers consumers a tempting introduction to the world of digital photography.

The Caplio RR330 is the latest addition to the Ricoh Caplio series - a series that encompasses the concept of delivering high quality performance, excellent value and style to its users. With a 3x optical zoom, and 2x digital zoom giving a combined performance of 6x zoom, the RR330 produces sharp, good quality images that are hard to beat by other cameras in this class, at this price.

Kodak Press Release 12/02/04

New KODAK Photo Printer 6800 Delivers Durable, High-Quality 5x7 Photos for Professional Photographers

High-Speed System Offers ‘While You Wait’ Printing at a Competitive Price

LAS VEGAS, Feb. 12 Eastman Kodak Company brings even more speed and exceptional performance to thermal printing technology with the introduction of its KODAK Photo Printer 6800. The robust, transportable system delivers a high-quality 5x7-inch photo in only 20 seconds and as many as 375 5x7 prints without operator intervention.

Kodak?s new thermal output system operates faster than similarly priced competitors? thermal and inkjet printers. Reflecting its dry, thermal technology, the 6800 printer meets the demanding needs of event photographers and photographic studios.

“The 6800 printer delivers high-quality photos faster than the photographer can set up the next image,” said Sue Gringer, Worldwide Marketing Manager, Studio Solutions. “It’s ideal because it blends exceptional printing speed with the outstanding quality and durability of KODAK prints.”

Adobe Press Release 12/02/04

SAN JOSE, Calif.—(Business Wire)—Feb. 12, 2004 Updated Camera Raw Plug-in Adds Support for Broad Range of New Digital Cameras from Fujifilm, Kodak, Leaf, Leica, Nikon, Olympus, Panasonic, Pentax and Sony

Adobe Systems Incorporated (Nasdaq:ADBE) today announced a new Camera Raw plug-in for Photoshop(R) CS, extending raw file support to 14 additional digital camera models. Available as a free download from Adobe’s Web site, the plug-in builds on the raw file functionality integrated in Photoshop CS, adding new support for digital cameras from leading manufacturers such as, Fujifilm, Kodak, Leaf, Leica, Nikon, Olympus, Panasonic, Pentax and Sony.

Congratulations to Mel Smith for being the first winner of the PhotographyBLOG Newsletter prize draw. Mel has won a 3-month subscription to the popular UK-based magazine Practical Photography. Find out how you could win a subscription here.

Microsoft Brings Digital Imaging Software Into Focus at PMA 2004

Leading Vendors, Award-Winning Photographers and Acclaimed Experts Demonstrate Imaging Scenarios and Industry Opportunities Using Windows XP

LAS VEGAS - Feb. 12, 2004 - Signaling its commitment to the digital imaging industry, Microsoft Corp. today will make its first appearance at PMA 2004, the annual convention and trade show of the Photo Marketing Association International, being held in Las Vegas Feb. 12-15. At the show, Microsoft is demonstrating its breadth of digital imaging products and technologies for hardware and software developers, retailers, professional photographers and consumers.

At booth P111, Microsoft is showcasing the Windows XP operating system as a key platform for digital imaging and high-quality digital media creation and playback via a series of demonstrations using products from leading imaging software, hardware and service vendors including Adobe Systems Inc., Canon USA Inc., EPSON America Inc., Fuji Photo Film U.S.A. Inc., HP, Eastman Kodak Co., Nikon USA and Sony Electronics e-Solutions Company LLC.

“We’re excited to showcase how Windows XP supports new digital photography scenarios for consumers and professionals, and enables the industry to further capitalize on the PC as an important component of the digital imaging value chain,” said Amir Majidimehr, vice president for the Windows Digital Media Division at Microsoft. “Our goal is to work cooperatively with industry participants to make it easier for everyone to get the most out of digital photography.”

Extensis Meets the Demands of Pro Photographers and Creative Professionals with the Release of Portfolio 7

LAS VEGAS—(Business Wire)—Feb. 12, 2004 Major Upgrade Includes Revolutionary NetPublish Module for Seamless Delivery of Image Catalogs to the Web

Extensis Inc. today announced Portfolio 7—a dramatic upgrade of the industry-leading, digital asset management (DAM) solution for organizing digital photos, illustrations, page layouts and presentations into visual catalogs that can be shared by workgroups or published to the Web with unprecedented ease of use.

The Portfolio 7 upgrade includes dozens of new features, many targeted at streamlining the process of importing, organizing, and distributing digital photos. The new features include built-in CD burning, batch image conversion, and the ability to embed IPTC metadata, such as captions and copyright information, directly into image files.

“This is industrial-strength asset management—the kind needed by pro photographers who generate hundreds of thousands of images,” said Joseph Schorr, senior product manager at Extensis. “With Portfolio, photographers can do more than simply browse photos. They can embed critical metadata, spin off low-resolution proofs for customers, burn archive CDs and publish them to the Web with just a few clicks.”

Foveon Press Release 12/02/04

FOVEON X3F RAW FILE FORMAT NOW SUPPORTED IN ADOBE PHOTOSHOP CS

LAS VEGAS, Nevada, February 10, 2004 - Foveon Inc., a technology leader in high-quality digital capture products, announced today that Adobe Systems Incorporated will provide Foveon X3F raw file format support in the Photoshop CS Camera Raw plug-in. Foveon X3F files are the raw format files from digital cameras that incorporate the Foveon X3 direct image sensor. Foveon X3 direct image sensors are the only image sensors that directly capture color in three layers, just like color film.

“Adobe’s Photoshop software is the core of virtually every digital image editing system used on personal computers today. Their decision to support our raw file format reflects the market’s growing desire to use the complete color capture provided by Foveon X3 based digital cameras,” said Federico Faggin, Foveon’s CEO.

Konica Minolta Press Release 12/02/04

Konica Minolta Interchangeable-Lens Digital SLR Camera

Langenhagen, February, 2004

Konica Minolta is very proud to announce the development of the interchangeable-lens digital single lens reflex cameras Dynax 7 Digital/Maxxum 7 Digital*. Both models are slated to go on sale in autumn of 2004.

The Dynax 7 Digital/Maxxum 7 Digital will accept the Minolta A mount, compatible with the full range of Minolta AF lenses, as well as Dynax/Maxxum system accessories. Combining the best of established 35mm system photography with digital photography affords photographers the ability to more fully express themselves than ever before.

The Dynax 7 Digital/Maxxum 7 Digital is also equipped with the same technically sophisticated and highly effective CCD Shift-type Anti-Shake function, which has earned an excellent reputation in the DiMAGE A1 (SLR- type digital camera with built-in lens). As the Anti-Shake function is built into the camera body and not the lens, it is effective for the entire range of Minolta AF lenses. Thanks to the intuitive control layout being carried over from the three-time international award winning** and popular 35mm film AF SLR camera Dynax 7/Maxxum 7, the Dynax 7 Digital/Maxxum 7 Digital is both a user-friendly and compatible design for 35mm film SLR camera users, enabling a smooth shift over to digital. Utilizing an APS-C sized 6 mega pixel CCD and advanced image processing technology, the resulting exquisite detail from highlights to shadows will satisfy even the most demanding photographers.

Konica Minolta is committed to develop additional digital SLR camera bodies, more interchangeable lenses, and other accessories to grow with both users’ needs and the progress of technology.

Konica Minolta Press Release 12/02/04

DiMAGE A2: Welcome to a second generation digital camera with Super Fine EVF

Langenhagen, February, 2004

Konica Minolta equipped the previous DiMAGE A1 an Anti-Shake function that used an innovative CCD-shift mechanism, as well as incorporating a 5.3-megapixel CCD, a high-definition 7X optical zoom lens, and 3D Autofocus (AF). The DiMAGE A1 delivered high standards of image quality and ease of operation in all-round shooting situations like landscapes, portrait and macro shooting.

In response to user needs for higher picture quality and greater shooting comfort, Konica Minolta released the DiMAGE A2 SLR-type digital camera, a camera that will inherit the quality and performance of the DiMAGE A1. The DiMAGE A2 incorporates a high-quality 8-megapixel CCD and Electronic Viewfinder (EVF) outperforming the previous model’s resolution by 4 times to achieve extremely clear images in both shooting and viewing.

The DiMAGE A2 comes equipped with an 8-megapixel 2/3-type progressive primary-color CCD with 8.0 million effective pixels for super-high-resolution, making even individual hairs or the stitches of a suit stand out in sharp detail. The Konica Minolta GT lens ensures that light gets to the CCD sensor with maximum fidelity. Plus, the CxProcess? II image processing technology ensures that the colors come out just the way you see them.

Konica Minolta Press Release 12/02/04

DiMAGE Z2: High-end functionality in an easy-to-use camera: 10X optical zoom with 4 megapixel performance

Langenhagen, February, 2004

The DiMAGE Z2 is the second in a series of easy-to-use, powerful SLR-type digital cameras and a step up from the groundbreaking DiMAGE Z1. The DiMAGE Z2 also boasts the Rapid AF (Autofocus) and high-quality VGA/SVGA movie functionality of its predecessor. This time, Konica Minolta has raised the bar with the adoption of a GT lens and a 4-megapixel resolution, delivering picture clarity at the very top end of the spectrum. The addition of a Predictive Focus Control has increased the speed of the AF function, which means that shooting sports events or any moving object are even more easy.