This must be the first time that I’ve ever linked to the website Space.com :-) They have a very interesting article that should prove once and for all that megapixels are not the be all and end all of image quality. Apparently NASA’s Spirit Rover is using a digital camera with a CCD that has a mere 1 megapixel resolution. There’s a technical explanation of how it all works if you’re interested…

“The technology used to make Spirit’s Panoramic Camera, or Pancam, is essentially the same as what goes into a Casio or Pentax digital camera.

But the Pancam’s lenses—there are two, which provides stereo imaging capability—are crafted more finely than anything you’d probably want to plunk down a Visa for. And the light-capturing chunk of silicon, called a charged coupled device, or CCD, was manufactured with no tolerance for the minor flaws that are inherent in mass-produced consumer cameras.”

Website: Space.com - Digital Secrets: How Spirit Makes Great Photos

Michael Reichmann’s latest article over at the Luminous Landscape website revisits his controversial review of the Sony DSC-F828 digital camera:

“This is where the cognitive dissonance comes in. Digicams are for snapshots, beginners and hobbyists. DSLRs are for serious photographers. Well, maybe that’s been the case till now, but the game is changing. It could be that there are other models currently available (early 2004) that might fall into the same camp as the Sony F828. I don’t know, as I haven’t tested them all. But that’s not the point. The real issue is that we are about to enter a new era where the line between interchangeable lens DSLRs and fixed lens digicams starts to blur, and where measurable parameters like pixel count and sensor size are becoming increasingly of lesser importance than how suitable the device is for its intended task. And the things that determine suitability can’t always be quantified.”

Website: Luminous Landscape - Why The Sony F828 Produces Consumer Angst

The Slovenian website e-Fotografija have posted a review of the Nikkor AF-S VR 70 - 200mm f/2,8G IF-ED lens, with lots of pictures of the lens and samples showing how it performs at slow shutter speeds.

Website: e-Fotografija - Nikkor AF-S VR 70 - 200mm f/2,8G IF-ED Review

Website: Slovenian Translator

Aiwa, best known for its home stereo systems, has announced its very first digital camera. The 2.1 megapixel AZ-C7 is going after the fashionable, quirky part of the market, with a round camera body and proprietary 32MB Pavit USB flash drive as storage. It has a 42mm fixed lens and a 1.5” LCD screen. The AZ-C7 ships in May 2004 - no news yet about the price (found via Gizmodo).

Website: PCWorld - Aiwa AZ-C7

The UK-based digital photography website DP-Now have completed their interactive review of the 5-megapixel Olympus E-1 digital SLR camera.

“Regulars to dp-now may recall this article started off as an interactive preview of the Olympus E-1 based on hands-on time with late pre-production cameras provided by Olympus Europe. Since then I have been provided with a production sample and I have now updated this article to full review status.

This is a slightly unusual article in that the subject of the review is not just a new camera but a new system and system philosphy, so there are several pages that cover more general aspects of the E-system.”

Website: DP-Now - Olympus E-1 Review

ByteSector.com has posted new reviews of the Olympus C-740 Ultra-Zoom digital camera, which offers an optical 10x zoom lens.

“The 10X optical zoom works great when combined with the 3.2 Megapixels. Although 3.2 is not the best quality available on the market, it is decent and provides good pictures. Pictures printed at 12? x 18? or close to that range won?t be the best in sharpness and quality at when taken with a 3.2 megapixel camera though. Pictures taken with the c-740 come out great with and without the 10X zoom.”

Website: ByteSector.com - Olympus C-740 Ultra Zoom Review

Konica Minolta Press Release 16/01/04

Langenhagen, Germany, January 2004
In January 2003 Konica and Minolta announced their world-wide management integration. Now the Konica and Minolta European headquarters have been officially registered and are operating under Konica Minolta. The new companies have taken over all rights and obligations of the former Konica Business Machines Deutschland GmbH, Konica Europe GmbH and Minolta Europe GmbH.

The new companies are Konica Minolta Business Solutions Europe GmbH, located in Langenhagen, and Konica Minolta Photo Imaging Europe GmbH, located in Hohenbrunn. The shareholders are Konica Minolta Business Technology, Inc. and Konica Minolta Photo Imaging, Inc. in Japan.

The companies are operating in four business fields: business technologies, photo imaging, cameras, and measuring. With operative bases in 23 European countries the companies have a total workforce of around 6,000 employees.

Konica Minolta Business Solutions Europe places major emphasis on the business of photocopiers and printers, especially in the field of colour output, as well as on business solutions, facsimiles and related supplies. Konica Minolta Photo Imaging Europe is a leading provider of consumer and commercial photographic materials, photographic equipment such as analogue and digital cameras and measuring instruments. Building on its strong core of optical technologies developed over many years as a camera manufacturer, the Konica Minolta Group in Europe aims to be a corporation offering products and services that are essential to all areas of digital imaging.

The German-based Business Solutions sales operations of both Konica and Minolta was spun-off to a new German sales company, Konica Minolta Business Solutions Deutschland GmbH, which is also based in Langenhagen. The domestic German sales operations of photo imaging and cameras are operating under Konica Minolta Photo Imaging Europe GmbH and based in Hohenbrunn.

[The Record, Hackensack, N.J. Distributed by Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News.]
The Record via NewsEdge Corporation : Jan. 14—Professor Frank Viggiano thinks the early years of the digital camera revolution could become known as the “lost years”—the years of the lost first birthday pictures, the lost Christmas pictures, and the lost vacation pictures.

Americans took those pictures, lots of them, on their brand new digital cameras in 2001, 2002, and 2003, but never printed them. And, says Viggiano, professor of consumer products at Indiana University of Pennsylvania, until retailers and photo processing labs do a better job of persuading consumers to make those prints, there are going to be a lot of gaps in America’s photo albums.

“What we are learning is that people are taking a whole bunch of digital pictures and not printing them,” he said. “Look at the number of digital cameras sold, and the prints made, and it’s pretty easy to figure out that people are not printing as much as they should.”

Those “lost” photographs also represent losses for traditional film processing labs.

The Photo Marketing Association International (PMAI) reported last month that consumer film processing dropped by nearly 10 percent from October 2002 to October 2003. The association blamed the decline largely on the fact that “more members of the most active consumer photographic segment—young parents—use digital cameras.”

Olympus UK Press Release 15/01/04

A bright, high performance wide zoom lens for the Olympus E-System

The ZUIKO DIGITAL 11-22mm, F2.8-3.5

With its very wide-angle capabilities, the ZUIKO DIGITAL 11-22mm, F2.8-3.5 lens (35mm camera equivalent: 22-44mm) opens up yet more creative possibilities for Olympus E-1 digital SLR users. With remarkable light gathering power (F2.8 at the wide setting), it also permits shooting within a wider range of shutter speeds in low light conditions. Through full compatibility with the TIPA Award-winning FourThirds standard, this latest addition to the Olympus E-System delivers the excellent quality that professionals demand.

Superior optical performance is further aided by two aspherical lens elements, which minimise distortion as well as spherical and coma aberration. The latter is caused by light rays entering the periphery of a lens at an angle and converging in the form of a comet instead of a point. Furthermore, to help avoid ghosting or image flare, both problems which are particularly associated with wide-angle lenses, a new multi-coating has been applied to the first two lenses. The focusing system?s floating mechanism delivers sharp, high contrast images up to a shortest range of 28cm at any zoom setting.

CNET have reviewed the 5 megapixel Minolta DiMAGE G500, which has a 3x zoom lens with a range that is equivalent to 39 - 117mm on a 35mm camera.

“Despite its point-and-shoot feature set, the G500 takes impressive photos that will look good at print sizes of 8x10 and even a bit larger. Sharpness and detail are excellent, noise at ISO 50 and ISO 100 is low, colors are vivid, there are few processing artifacts, and skin tones look natural.”

Website: CNET - Minolta DiMAGE G500 Review

Olympus Europe Press Release 14/01/04

PhotoImpact 7 SE as application software for digital cameras

Hamburg, January 2004 ? Ulead Systems, a leading developer of image and video editing, 3D animation and DVD authoring software, and Olympus Europa GmbH continue their successful cooperation in product bundling. Ulead?s multiple-award-winning digital image editing software, Ulead PhotoImpact 7 in the SE version, is now bundled in Europe with the new OLYMPUS digital camera, CAMEDIA C-5060 WIDE ZOOM.

“The requirements of customers differ greatly, not just regards cameras but also the accompanying software. To meet their needs, we present buyers of high-end cameras a first-class tool for editing images. For us, PhotoImpact 7 SE offers the best possible value. It is a tool that is easy to use, opens up many possibilities and delivers perfect results. We are therefore delighted to continue our existing partnership,” comments Ulrich Beckedorf, European Product Manager Software, Olympus Europa GmbH.

“With Olympus, we have formed a successful partnership. Digital cameras are ever increasing in popularity and we have reacted to this market development. The high end cameras from Olympus, such as the C-5060 WIDE ZOOM, together with the image editing software PhotoImpact 7 SE offer customers a solution that straight away not only enables them to take photos, but also allows processing on the home computer,” says Dieter Modner, OEM Manager, Ulead Systems GmbH.

Photographic giant Kodak is to quit making cameras that use the Advanced Photo System (APS) format, as well as reloadable cameras that use 35-millimeter film, by the end of 2004. Kodak will completely stop selling traditional film cameras in the United States, Canada and Western Europe, but will continue to sell one-time use cameras in these territories. In expanding markets such as China, India, and Latin America, Kodak will carry on selling its film-based products for the forseeable future (found via Gizmodo).

Kodak Press Release 13/01/04

Kodak to Accelerate 35mm Consumer Film Effort in Emerging Markets
ROCHESTER, Jan. 13—Eastman Kodak Company today announced that it will accelerate its 35mm consumer film efforts in growing emerging markets, one of a series of moves that represents the continued implementation of the digitally oriented growth strategy announced by the company in September.

As part of that strategy, Kodak will manage its worldwide traditional photographic business through selective investments for growth that serve customers’ needs.

“Kodak is, and will remain, committed to manufacturing and marketing the world’s highest quality film,” said Bernard Masson, President, Digital & Film Imaging Systems, and a Senior Vice President, Eastman Kodak Company. “Consistent with our strategy, we will focus our film investments on opportunities that provide faster and attractive returns, while reducing investments where we see unsatisfactory returns.”

Finnish photographer Petteri Sulonen has published a comprehensive guide to the world of digital black and white photography. It’s an excellent article that’s well worth bookmarking and printing out for future reference.

“Black and white was what first got me “seriously” into photography. While I never attained real mastery in black and white printing, I have spent a long time in various darkrooms. I still enjoy the aesthetic of black and white a great deal, and of course have tried to get the “look” I like in digital as well. Thanks to a lot of experimentation, some reading up, and tips from people who are a lot better at it than I am, I’m finally starting to see the kinds of results I wanted. In particular, thanks to Jim Fuglestad, aka Shutter at DPReview, who thought up the “dodge and soft light” technique described in this essay.”

Website: Petteri’s Pontifications: Digital Black and White

The UK-based Digital Camera Magazine has just posted a number of new reviews on its website. In no particular order they are:

- Konica Minolta DiMAGE Z1
- Olympus E1
- Kodak EasyShare DX6490
- HP Photosmart 945
- Richo Caplio G4 Wide
- Epson L300
- Microtek Takeit D1

Website: Digital Camera Magazine

The German website Photoworld.de has posted a review of the Olympus CAMEDIA C-5060 Wide Zoom camera, an updated version of the popular Olympus CAMEDIA C-5050 model, with a wider-angle lens that is equivalent to a 27-110mm lens on a 35mm camera.

Website: Photoworld.de - Olympus C-5060 Wide Zoom Review

ByteSector.com have reviewed the 3-megapixel Olympus Stylus 300 Digital, a compact digital camera that is positioned in what Olympus call their “Stylish” category.

“The Stylus 300 makes it easy to take pictures anytime, anywhere. We found that this camera is a great unit for point and shoot photos, but it does not give the user much control over advanced options such as aperture size and shutter speed. The camera produces clear, crisp photos each and every time. We again found that the Stylus 300 does not capture audio while in movie mode. This is a fairly huge downside for this camera since many point and shoot photographers would like to take video clips.”

Website: ByteSector.com - Olympus Stylus 300 Digital Review

ByteSector.com have posted a review of the 5-megapixel Olympus CAMEDIA C-50 Zoom digital camera.

“The C-50 Zoom digital still camera is a great camera for any photographer. It provides a fair amount of control over the end result (the photo). The largest downside is the lack of audio capture in movie mode. Many other cameras come with this feature, but not the Olympus C-50 Zoom. With the amount of control this camera gives, we can fairly conclude that this is not a point and shoot camera that an amateur photographer will go out and purchase.”

Website: ByteSector.com - Olympus C-50 Zoom Review

Steves Digicams have reviewed the Sony Cyber-shot DSC-T1 digital camera, which should be in your local photography shop now.

“Packing a 5-megapixel imager into a sleek body weighing only 6.3 ounces including memory and battery, the SONY DSC-T1 sets a new standard for image resolution per ounce. Considering its stylish body, 3x optical zoom lens and a 640x480 30 frame per second movie mode with sound, the T1 sets a new benchmark for fun factor per ounce as well. Its Automatic exposure mode will appeal to beginners needing the ease of use of a point-n-shoot, while its Program and Scene modes provide features desired by intermediate photographers.”

Website: Steves Digicams - Sony Cyber-shot DSC-T1 Review

The UK website Photo-i, run by Vincent Oliver, has just completed its interactive review of the highly anticipated Epson Stylus Photo R800 printer.

“The R800 is for the creative photographer who wants the highest quality pigment ink printer currently available. I hope Epson don’t leave it too long before they introduce a larger format printer using the new UltraChrome inks and Gloss Optimizer. Wouldn’t it be nice if the delay on the 4000 printer was due to a re-design to incorporate the new inks. All we need now is the announcement of the Epson Stylus Pro 2300 - just wishful thinking.”

The R800 printer, which uses UltraChrome pigment inks, will cost $399 and will ship in February 2004. Cartridges will cost ?11.90 each and ?6.35 for the Gloss Optimizer cartridge (inc. VAT).

Website: Photo-i - Epson Stylus Photo R800 Interactive Review

Website: Read my review of the Epson Stylus Photo R800

Fujifilm FinePix S7000 Zoom: Possible power adjustment required for cameras manufactured prior to 15 December 2003

Fujifilm today announced that a number of early FinePix S7000 Zoom digital cameras may experience battery power depletion when used with some CompactFlash(tm) memory cards.

Fujifilm has already made the required internal modifications to cameras manufactured after 15 December 2003, and is no longer supplying affected units. However, the company advises that a limited number of cameras produced prior to this date were released to the UK market and may encounter this problem.

The nature of the fault is as follows:
Where certain CompactFlash(tm) cards are used within particular S7000s (see below), the batteries may exhaust fully in approximately 18 hours, whether or not the camera is in use.

This fault does not occur when the S7000 is used with either an xD-Picture Card(tm) or a Microdrive(tm), nor does it occur in any other Fujifilm products that offer a CompactFlash(tm) storage facility, such as the FinePix S2 Pro, S602, S602 Pro or M603 Zoom.

Cameras with serial numbers above 34L60001 (inclusive) were produced after 15 December 2003 and therefore will definitely not experience this battery drain problem.

In the short term, the problem can be avoided by unloading then re-loading the batteries just after the camera is switched off. The camera’s power supply will then perform normally.

Fujifilm is offering a priority replacement of the part / camera on affected units.  Naturally, this service is free and prioritised, and the camera will be picked up and returned by Fujifilm.  Customers can telephone 01234 245383 or email [email protected] to arrange collection of the camera.

In addition, Fujifilm will be pleased to carry out an assessment on any cameras purchased outside the UK, providing that the user is resident in the UK.

Explanation of power supply depletion
Some CompactFlash(tm) cards incorporate a large capacity condenser in the card. When the camera is switched off, the camera automatically discharges the condenser, but cannot fully discharge the large capacity condenser. The remaining charge in the card automatically switches on the internal electric circuit in the camera. Therefore, even if the camera is switched off, the battery is drained of power.

Adrian Clarke, Director of Consumer Products, Fujifilm UK, commented, “Fujifilm would like to apologise to anyone affected by this problem, but would like to assure customers that the issue has been resolved quickly. We would like to thank our customers for their continued support of our products, and should there be any cause for concern regarding the FinePix S7000 Zoom, we would encourage them to call the number quoted for more information.”