the Danish website Akamera.dk have reviewed one of Nikon’s top-of-the-range prosumer digital cameras, the 5 megapixel CoolPix 5400.

Website: Akamera.dk - Nikon Coolpix 5400 Review

Epson Press Release 01/02/04

EPSON(r) enhances range to deliver high quality, economy and durability to home photo printing with the Stylus Photo R200

The EPSON Stylus Photo R200 features a unique 6-colour inkjet system, high resolution and new ink formula in individual cartridges, to deliver long lasting, quality prints

1st February 2004: Launched today, the Stylus Photo R200 extends EPSON’s Stylus Photo printer range to offer a cost-effective device that delivers premium quality, durable photographs.  The device features a new 6-colour inkjet system for glossy, highly detailed photographs, an ultra-high print resolution for maximum definition and a new ink formula for long lasting quality prints. With the Stylus Photo R200, EPSON is the first vendor to bring cost saving benefits of individual cartridges and CD/DVD printing1 to the home and digital camera user at this price.

Responding to the growth of the digital camera market and the increased demand for printing photos at home, this printer has been designed for recent digital converts with an eye for premium quality at an affordable price.  EPSON’s MicroPiezoTM print head offers users an optimised print resolution of 5760 x 1440 dpi - the highest in the market, combined with dot sizes as small as 3 picolitres. With 90 nozzles used per colour the results provide fine detail, smoother gradations, vivid and detailed photographs at fast speeds - a 10x15” photo can be printed in approximately 36 seconds.
   

Pentax Press Release 02/02/04

NO EXPERIENCE REQUIRED: LATEST PENTAX DIGITAL CAMERA JUST THE FIT FOR NEWCOMERS

GOLDEN, Colorado (February 2, 2004)...Feeling a little daunted by digital?  Help is on the way inside the new PENTAX Optio30 digital camera.  This latest PENTAX camera is designed for newcomers with little or no digital photography experience making it a perfect answer for a growing demand for quality, easy-to-use digital. 

In addition to 3.2 megapixels, a 3X optical zoom, and the signature, compact dimensions of the PENTAX digital brand, the Optio30 sports a simple, but revolutionary, menu prompt that provides helpful, tutorial messages about frequently used digital camera functions.  With a simple touch, this feature will guide new, and old, hands through the camera?s array of digital features.  Expertise is the last thing you need to go digital with PENTAX—just turn on the Optio30 and shoot! 

The PENTAX Optio30 makes digital easy and fun!  Equipped with PictBridge, a new direct-print standard released by the Camera and Imaging Products Association (CIPA), the Optio30 connects directly to your printer so you may print images without a personal computer!  You also may record a favorite shot on the start-up screen and select customized wallpaper choices for the menu screen on the ample 1.6 inch LCD monitor.  In addition to a variety of conventional picture modes (Landscape, Nightscene, Nightscene Portrait, Portrait, Surf and Snow, Flower), the innovative Optio30 virtual mode dial features new lifestyle-oriented modes including Pet, Party, and Food.

Pentax Press Release 02/02/04

PENTAX PACKS BIG MONITOR ON A LITTLE DIGITAL: NEW OPTIO S4i CAMERA BOASTS FIRST PENTAX CRADLE CHARGE

GOLDEN, Colorado (February 2, 2004)  PENTAX USA packs a hefty 1.8 inch LCD monitor for larger viewing and focusing on the tiny, new Optio S4i digital camera. With 4.0 megapixels and a 3X optical zoom, this latest Optio digital camera also features the first PENTAX digital cradle-style lithium ion recharge base unit.  The rechargeable unit design makes it so easy to recharge the Optio S4i.  Simply set the camera in the recharge base until it ready to use again.

Featuring the legendary smc PENTAX lens and the unique PENTAX Sliding Lens system that allows the lens to retract fully when the camera is off lens, the Optio S4i is sleek and compact enough to carry everywhere.  With the optional, acrylic waterproof housing that is newly-designed for the Optio S4i, everywhere may well include the exciting world of underwater digital photography!  For optimal results, the Optio S4i now features both Marine Picture and Marine Movie modes to capture drama of blue underwater hues.

Pentax Press Release 02/02/04

NEW PENTAX OPTIO S40 CAMERA PAVES THE WAY FOR DIGITAL NEWCOMERS

GOLDEN, Colorado (February 2, 2004)  Will 2004 be the year you go digital?  The new PENTAX Optio S40 is a 4 megapixel, 3X zoom digital camera that is loaded with the features to help you on your way!  Sporting a sleek aluminum design and the signature, compact dimensions of the PENTAX Optio digital brand, the Optio S40 features an exciting, new “help” function.  Offering simple-to-understand explanations in a regular or enlarged font for easier viewing, the “help” function guides new, and old hands, through the camera?s array of digital features with a simple touch. 

The PENTAX Optio S40 makes digital easy and fun!  The buttons and controls of the Optio S40 are placed in easy reach for ready-to-shoot positioning.  The shutter release button and all the manual buttons are enlarged for easy manipulation.  Featuring the legendary smc PENTAX lens and the unique PENTAX Sliding Lens system that allows the lens to retract fully when the camera is off lens, the Optio S40 is sleek and compact enough to carry everywhere. Plus, with the optional, acrylic waterproof housing that is newly-designed for the Optio S40, everywhere may include the exciting world of underwater digital photography! 

The New York Times has published a useful article today which gives a good overview of the current state of the memory card market, and which also considers its future (found via Visually Speaking).

“Even as the flash memory business is growing rapidly over all, however, some formats are losing market share. And within the next five years, analysts say, a few will disappear altogether.

“In the long term, two memory formats will survive, Memory Stick and SD,” said Nelson Chan, senior vice president for SanDisk, the only company licensed to make and sell every flash memory format, which includes MultiMediaCard, SmartMedia and xD-Picture Card.”

Not everybody agrees with that. But in the last year, the SD memory card’s monthly market share has surged. By last November, 42 percent of all aftermarket flash memory cards sold in the United States were in the SD format. CompactFlash, its closest competitor, accounted for under 26 percent, according to the NPD Group, a market analysis company.”

Website: New York Times - Memory Evolution: Survival of the Smallest

Nature Photographers Online Magazine has been updated for February with some new articles and an excellent cover photograph. “Out with the Old and In with the New” looks at the ritual of replacing old photography gear with new and improved gear, whilst I wish “Quick Lessons in Computer Maintenance, Disaster Recovery, and Data Backup: Part 2” had been published about a month ago, before my PC’s motherboard decided to give up the ghost…

Website: Nature Photographers Online Magazine

The website Nomads’ Land, run by photographer Jean-Francois Maion, has recently published an excellent article which looks at the challenges of taking a digital camera, in this case the Canon EOS 10D digital SLR, to an environment as extreme as the Himalayas:

“Is digital photography up to the challenges of extended outdoor adventures in harsh conditions? A year ago, I would probably have answered: no. As a trekker and mountain climber, it was actually the main reason why I stuck with my film SLR.

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.”

Website: Nomads’ Land - Digital Photography in the Wilderness

Ulead Systems Press Release 02/02/04

Photo Explorer 8 Digital Photo Album Offers a Complete Digital Photography and Media Management Tool for the PC for only £24.99

Northampton, January 2004 - Ulead Systems, Inc., a leading developer of image editing, video editing and DVD authoring software, today announced the retail launch the Ulead Photo Explorer 8 Digital Photo Album, the most complete media management tool for the PC for acquiring, organizing, converting and sharing images, video and other media files.

The renamed, Photo Explorer 8 Digital Photo Album, provides a new format for easily and conveniently managing and finding photos according to file name, prefix, personal rating and date.

The software’s ability to pre-scan a folder and create image thumbnails both from a hard drive and CD allows users to quickly browse thumbnails and create a CD catalogue that can be used as a reference without inserting the CD into the drive. Its new auto-slicing tool saves time by slicing multiple scanned images to separate them into single images. Vast improvements in speed and performance, along with enhanced slideshow capabilities, and new, multiple interface layouts, make Digital Photo Album a fine-tuned and dynamic tool for digital media management.

Kodak Press Release 02/02/04

New KODAK EASYSHARE CX7430, CX7300 and CX7220 Digital Cameras Simplify Picture-Taking, Sharing and Printing

Latest Models Pair High Image Quality with Great Value; Compatible with the KODAK EASYSHARE Printer Dock for At-Home Prints in as Little as 90 Seconds

ROCHESTER, N.Y., February 2 - Building upon its popular EASYSHARE consumer digital photography system, Eastman Kodak Company today introduced three new digital cameras in the EASYSHARE CX line: the CX7430 camera, with 4 megapixel (MP) resolution and 3X optical zoom; the CX7300 camera, with 3 MP resolution and a fixed-focus lens; and the CX7220 camera, with 2 MP resolution and 2X optical zoom. All offer one-touch picture sharing, outstanding picture quality and Kodak?s hallmark simplicity of operation.

EASYSHARE camera owners can quickly select pictures for printing and e-mail - with up to 32 e-mail addresses stored right on the camera - with a touch of the exclusive, red-jeweled “Share” button. The CX7430 model also integrates Kodak?s new camera favorites feature for storing multiple pictures in an on-camera digital photo album. Each picture can then be shared anytime on the camera?s 1.6-inch indoor/outdoor LCD screen, or printed in as little as 90 seconds with the KODAK EASYSHARE printer dock 6000.

“Life moves at an incredibly fast pace these days, so capturing both everyday and once-in-a-lifetime moments with a digital picture becomes all the more important,” said Rowan Lawson, director of worldwide digital product marketing for Kodak?s Digital & Film Imaging Systems operation. “The newest additions to the KODAK EASYSHARE CX camera line give moms and others on the run great looking pictures without hassle, all at an affordable price. Whether those pictures are shared on the camera’s LCD screen, e-mailed, or printed, they’ll bring smiles to the faces of friends and family for years to come.”

Kodak Press Release 02/02/04

New KODAK EASYSHARE DX7630 Zoom Digital Camera Delivers Unsurpassed Consumer Image Quality

6-Megapixel Model Features the KODAK Color Science image processing chip, SCHNEIDER-KREUZNACH VARIOGON optics

ROCHESTER, N.Y., February 2 - Eastman Kodak Company today unveiled the Kodak EASYSHARE DX7630 zoom digital camera, which features unsurpassed image quality among 5- and 6-megapixel consumer digital cameras. With 6-megapixel resolution, a professional-quality SCHNEIDER-KREUZNACH VARIOGON 3x optical zoom lens, precision low-light autofocus system, and a host of creative controls, the camera is well suited for the avid photographer. It will be available in April 2004 for a suggested retail price of US$499.

“We’ve designed the DX7630 camera for people who need sophisticated control and performance features without sacrificing compact design and ease of use,” said Rowan Lawson, worldwide director of product marketing for Kodak?s Digital & Applied Imaging operation. “The picture quality produced by this camera is nothing short of stunning. The images can even be printed as large as 30 x 40 inches, or even cropped up to 80 percent while retaining a printable 4 x 6-inch or 5 x 7-inch picture.”

Casio have today announced a 4 megapixel version of the the QV-R51 digicam, logically called the QV-R41. It’s identical to the 5-megapixel QV-R51, with the same industry leading start-up time of just 1 second and a 0.01 second shutter release lag time, plus a large 2.0” LCD screen which enables easy viewing and editing of images.

The QV-R41 will be available in the UK from February - no word yet on how much it will cost, although LetsGoDigital are reporting that it will be 399 Euros.

Casio Press Release 02/02/04

February 2nd 2004 ? CASIO Electronics Co. Ltd, are today delighted to unveil the latest addition to their popular QV compact digital camera series, the new 4.0 megapixel QV-R41. Following last month?s announcement of the QV-R51, also with 3x optical zoom, both models are perfect for the first time user. With compact good looks and improved user-friendliness the QV-R models provide incredible response and convenience while offering CASIO?s exceptional quality and value for money.

CASIO is well known as a pioneer in the digital camera market, having consistently delivered products with better performance and refinement while reducing size and bringing great advances in usability. This philosophy is clearly evident in the QV-R41, which has even more functionality than previous CASIO cameras in this range.

Kodak launched a new inkjet photo paper at the end of January called “Ultima Picture Paper”. The company claims that “When used with the latest inks from various manufacturers, photos printed on the paper will last for more than 100 years in typical home display without protection from gas and humidity.” The owner of the excellent weblog Tommy Blogs has got hold of a pack and tested it with his Canon i9100 printer. Whilst Tommy obviously can’t testify to the longevity of the print, he has reported on the print quality:

“About the printing ? fantastic! I printed the target for Profile Prism around 1:00PM today and let it dry for nearly 8 hours. The profile came out great. The histogram was the best I?ve seen. The dynamic range and color space coverage numbers were slightly below the Canon Photo Paper Pro, but just barely. Although I haven?t tested a range of scenes, I have printed a photo that needs a lot of ink and the results were completely different from anything I have seen from Kodak paper in the past. It was dry to the touch when it came out of the printer and I put my straight edge on it and cut within minutes of that and had no smears, no stickiness, no problems.”

So it seems like Kodak might have cured some of the problems with their inkjet papers - now we just have to wait 100 years to see if they suffer from fading :-)

Website: Tommy Blogs

It was only announced just over 2 weeks ago at the CES show in the USA, but DCResource have got hold of the 5-megapixel Casio QV-R51 and have published their review.

“While I doubt the review I wrote two weeks before this one had anything to do with it, Casio’s QV-R51 addressed many of complaints I had with their QV-R40. First and foremost is noise. It was pretty bad on the R40, and now it’s gone—images have a nice smooth look to them. I also didn’t like the R40’s slow shutter speed limitations; now you can shoot for up to 4 seconds. As added bonuses, Casio upped the LCD size to 2 inches (though the resolution didn’t go up as well), and the longest movie you can record is up to 60 seconds (though still without sound).”

Website: DCResource - Casio QV-R51 Review

Long-time Nikon user Thom Hogan has posted his first impressions of the Nikon D70’s feature specification, comparing it with the D100:

“Note how many of the features in the above list are “better than D100” and how few are “worse than D100.” Given the lower price, the D70 effectively removes the D100 from the market and lowers the resale value of the D100. Note that this doesn’t mean the D100 is any less capable than it has been (which is to say “very”), just that the target for digital cameras moves forward.”

Website: Thom Hogan - Nikon D70 First Impressions

Lexar Media, Inc. Press Release 29/01/04

Fourth Quarter Revenues of $177 Million Increase 80% Sequentially and 171% Year-over-Year;
Fourth Quarter Earnings Total $0.21 per Diluted Share

FREMONT, Calif, January 29, 2004—Lexar Media, Inc. (Nasdaq: LEXR), a leading manufacturer and marketer of high-performance digital media and accessories, today reported record financial results for the fourth quarter and year ended December 31, 2003.

Total fourth quarter revenues of $177.5 million increased 80% sequentially from $98.7 million in the preceding quarter and 171% from $65.5 million in the same period last year. Product revenues of $172.8 million increased 83% from $94.3 million in the preceding quarter and 183% from $61.2 million in the same period last year. Gross margin for the quarter was 24%, compared to 27% in the preceding quarter and in the fourth quarter of last year. Net income was $18.9 million, or $0.21 per diluted share, as compared to $9.7 million, or $0.12 per diluted share, in the preceding quarter and $5.6 million, or $0.08 per diluted share, in the same period last year.

Revenues for the year ended December 31, 2003, were $412.3 million, a 137% increase from $174.0 million for the year ended December 31, 2002. Product revenues of $394.6 million for 2003 increased 152% from $156.7 million for 2002. Net income was $39.9 million, or $0.49 per diluted share in 2003, as compared to $4.0 million, or $0.06 per diluted share in 2002.

The snow has now completely disappeared from most of the UK - instead we now have gale-force winds and driving rain. That’s the beauty of living on such a comparitively small island. Just before it all melted away, I managed a quick lunchtime walk around the industrial estate where I work - these are the best of the handful of photos that I took.

The February 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 February’s theme, which is simply “Movement”.

Please make sure that you read the Monthly Competition Rules before submitting your entry. The competition is worldwide and open to everyone.

You can now start submitting entries to the February Compeitition here:
February 2004 Competition

The January 2004 PhotographyBLOG Competition has now closed. The theme for January was “Reflections” - you can view all 73 entries in this gallery.

The 1st / 2nd / 3rd place winners will be announced on Sunday 8th February, and the prizes will be sent out shortly after :-)

In this week’s Sunday morning column Mike Johnston talks about hi-fi systems, vinyl and a little bit about cameras:

“Digital makes all kinds of sense. It’s more fun that film. It’s easier than film. It’s more controllable than film. It’s more ecologically sound than film. It might require more money, but it requires a lot less space than a darkroom does, and, let’s face it, for some people space is more precious than money. With digital it might even be easier to make better pictures ? the advantages of instant feedback are that significant.

So why, then, do I keep resisting it?”

Website: Sunday Morning Photographer: Of Old Dogs and New Tricks