DCResource have reviewed the 4 megapixel Olympus Stylus 400 digital camera.

”...the Olympus Stylus 400 is a very nice point-and-shoot compact camera with a twist—it’s weatherproof. The 400 offers very good photo quality, an easy-to-use interface, responsive performance, an included remote control, and support for an underwater case, all in a stylish metal body. It’s not a perfect camera by any means, though.”

Website: DCResource - Olympus Stylus 400 Review

Website: Read my review of the Olympus Stylus 400

CNET have reviewed the 2 megapixel entry-level Nikon Coolpix 2100.

“The Coolpix 2100 produces some of the best images we’ve seen from a 2-megapixel model. It delivers excellent white balance and color reproduction, as well as a broad dynamic range with very little noise. However, it does display slightly more purple fringing than we’d like, and as with most low-end cameras, you’ll spot some noise in shots taken under dim lights or in dense shadows. In the sharpness department, the 2100’s pictures are above average but not the greatest you can get from digicams in this class.”

Website: CNET - Nikon Coolpix 2100 Review

Canon UK have announced that the following products have been officially discontinued:

- Canon CP10 Direct Card Photo Printer
- Canon PowerShot A200 digital camera
- Canon BJC-85 Bubble Jet printer

Canon (UK) Ltd’s stocks of each of these 3 products are now exhausted, although there may still be limited stock in the channel with some dealers and retailers. The nearest equivalent Canon models are the CP200 and CP300 Photo Printers, PowerShot A300 digital camera and Bubble Jet i70 portable printer respectively.

Due to the 3-day Jazz Marathon which was held during the weekend of my visit, there was only one night when the Grand Place was empty of a) hundreds of people and b) a huge music stage. Luckily the weather held and I was able to take these shots, including one when the Town Hall was illuminated with different coloured lights in time to classical music…

Brussels at Night #1	Brussels at Night #2	Brussels at Night #3
Brussels at Night #4	Brussels at Night #5	Brussels at Night #6

FOllowing on from the recent article at Petteri’s Pontifications which compared various 50mm lenses in Canon’s lens line-up, Photo.net has published a very similar article which compares the Canon EF 50mm f/1.4 and the f/1.8 MK II lenses.

“Is there any difference between these 2 lenses other than the price and f-stop? This is a common question that pops up frequently on forums everywhere. While the general consensus is that these 2 lenses are almost identically sharp, there are other factors that have not been fully explained or readily available. And there are lots of wordy discussions but hardly any picture to illustrate. Since I happened to have a new f1.4 together with my old f1.8, I decided to do some tests to find out the answers myself.”

Website: Photo.net - Canon EF 50mm ? F1.4 vs F1.8 MK II

Imaging Resource have reviewed the Sony Mavica CD500, a digital camera that uses CDs for storage and an LCD display instead of an optical viewfinder.

“The CD500 is really one of the most “universal” cameras Sony has yet created, offering easy, fully automatic exposure and “scene” modes when you want them, or full manual control when you don’t. It’s really a camera that could be used about as well by a rank novice as by an advanced amateur, a fact I think will contribute to its popularity in the marketplace.”

Website: Imaging Resource - Sony Mavica CD500 Review

Meanwhile, Steve’s Digicams have reviewed the 3.2 megapixel version of the same camera, the Sony Mavica CD350, which retails for about $200 less than the 5 megapixel CD500.

“The bottom line is image quality and thanks to a very good lens and well-refined image processing hardware, the CD350 delivers sharp, colorful and properly exposed images.”

Website: Steve’s Digicams - Sony Mavica CD350 Review

The view from the back window of my house is not what you would conventionally call picturesque or beautiful, but it does give a great view of the sunset. Last night’s was spectacular in a muted, British kind of way, so I very quickly set up camera and tripod and exposed a few frames. These images were taken with the Canon 10D and Tamron 75-300mm lens, with an aperture of f/22 and shutter speed of 6-20 seconds.

Urban Sunset #1	Urban Sunset #2	Urban Sunset #3

Samsung have just announced 2 new additions to their digital camera range, in the form of the Digimax 420 and Digimax 360. The 420 is a 4-megapixel model which retails for ?300, and the 320 has 3 megapixels with a price-tag of ?250.

Website: Samsung UK Press Release

A Digital Eye have published the first part of their review of the image-managment software Picasa.

“Picasa is truly a great way to name and organize your photo library.  If you?re a digi or regular camera shooter Picasa is for you.  On a scale of 1 to 10 (1- being best) I give Picasa a 9.  Now that all my photos are in order it will make running my business a snap!  No more hunting for just the right photos.”

Website: A Digital Eye - Picasa Review

Torontopics have added 2 new pages to their site which include a list of helpful links for the recently announded Nikon Coolpix 5400 and Canon Powershot G5 cameras.

Website: Canon Powershot G5 Page

Website: Nikon Coolpix 5400 Page

I’ve added a new Brussels gallery to the Travel section of my other personal website, www.markgoldstein.co.uk. At the moment it contains the best images from the first two days of my recent 5-day trip to the Belgian capital, including some that haven’t been previously published. I will be adding more photos during the course of the next week.

Website: Travel Gallery

This week Mike Johnston continues to investigate how to avoid photographic clich?s by sharing and responding to some of the reader’s email that he received after last week’s article.

“Good morning! Today I’d like to do something I do every once in a while, when it’s merited ? share some reader mail. Every week I get responses to the columns I write here on The Luminous Landscape. The responses to last week’s column, Eschew Clich?s, were so interesting that it would be a pity not to let you read a few of them.”

Website: Luminous Landscape - Sunday Morning Photographer

Petteri’s Pontifications has an interesting report on the various 50mm lenses in Canon’s lens line-up, which is of particular interest to Canon 10D owners, who tend to buy a cheap 50mm as one of their first lenses. Find out which particular 50mm lens you should buy by reading Petteri’s new report.

“Fifties are cult lenses. There’s probably more variety in Fifties than any other prime. This is a shoot-out between two of Canon’s best: the long-discontinued 50/1.8 Mk I and the top-of-the-line (now that the 1.0L’s discontinued too) 50/1.4 USM.”

Website: Petteri’s Pontifications - Fifty vs Fifty

Steve’s Digicams are the first to take a look at the Canon G5 digital camera that was announced earlier this week. This isn’t a full review, but if you’re at all interested in the camera then Steve’s First looks are always an excellent way to find out more about the general specification.

Website: Steve’s DigiCams - Canon G5 First Look

They may be late in delivering the Pentax D*ist to market, but Pentax have released some compact digital cameras recently that are gaining some excellent reviews. CNET are the latest to lavish praise, this time on the Pentax Optio 550.

“We’re still not sure how, but Pentax has managed to shoehorn a 5-megapixel CCD, a 5X zoom lens, and gobs of advanced features into the very compact dimensions of the Optio 550. And its images stand out from the crowd, too. If you are a serious photographer and want to cut some weight and bulk, take a close look at this Pentax.”

Website: CNET - Pentax Optio 550 Review

One of the travel guides that we took to Brussels (the Rough Guide, I think) contains a route around various street murals in the heart of the city, which we followed on Day 2 of our visit. The weather hadn’t improved - it was still overcast, cold and wet - but the murals were a good way to see some of the less-touristy areas of the city.

Street Mural #1	Street Mural #2	Street Mural #3
Street Mural #4	Street Mural #5	Street Mural #6
Street Mural #7	Street Mural #8	Street Mural #9

Steve’s Digicams have the scoop on 2 new digital cameras from Kyocera, the Finecam L3v and L4v (3 and 4 megapixels respectively). Normally this wouldn’t be the most exciting news in the world due to the large number of similar cameras in the market, but the 2 new Finecam’s both have huge 2.5inch LCD displays on the back. As Steve says “the 2.5? LCD is more like having a Home Theatre in your digital camera!”. Take a look at the product images on Steve’s site to see what he means…

Website: Steve’s Digicams - Kyocera Finecam L3v and L4v

Rob Galbraith has reported that the Contax N Digital SLR has been discontinued and is no longer being manufactured by parent company Kyocera. The 6-megapixel Contax N Digital SLR is one of the few DSLRs with a sensor that is the same size as a 35mm film frame, but with an RRP of $7000 that hasn’t dropped since launch a year ago, it now competes with the 11-megapixel Canon EOS 1Ds and the cheaper 14-megapixel Kodak DSC-14N. It’s no surprise then that Kyocera are halting production.

Website: Rob Galbraith - Contax N Digital SLR Discontinued

Luminous Landscape have posted the World’s first review of Fuji’s new ISO 100 slide film, Fuji Velvia 100F, due to be released in the UK in August. Nick Rains, an Australian professional landscape photographer, takes a look at the new, faster version of the classic Velvia 50, and directly compares it to Provia 100 and Velvia 50.

“Before I get to the details I must stress that this is not a scientific test with densitometer readings etc., but a simple test comparing 3 images of precisely the same subject shot at the same time, with the same lens and processed at the same time with the same chemistry. All I am looking at is the relationship between the 3 images and to what degree they differ.”

Website: Luminous Landscape - Fuji Velvia 100F Review

For anyone who’s currently considering buying a 5-megapixel camera, DCRP’s unique shootout between 2 new kids on the block, the Canon PowerShot G5 and Sony Cyber-shot DSC-V1, is essential viewing. In the shootout, Jeff Keller takes indentical shots with each camera using default camera settings; there are 8 different photos in total for you to compare and contrast the 2 cameras.

Website: DCRP: 5 Megapixel Shootout