The Canon PowerShot A1000 IS is a new 10 megapixel camera with a 4x optical zoom lens. The A1000 IS replaces the A580, adding image stabilisation to help prevent blurred photos, an optical viewfinder, DIGIC III image processing engine, and 17 shooting modes including the new Easy mode for point-and-shoot operation. The Canon A1000 IS is available in Blue, Brown or Silver for £169.99 in the UK and $199.99 in the US. In the World’s first online review, we find out if the Canon PowerShot A1000 IS is a worthwhile alternative to the more expensive A2000 model.

Website: Canon PowerShot A1000 IS Review

The Sony DSLR-A900 is a new 24.6 megapixel, 35mm full-frame digital SLR camera. Featuring a body-integrated image stabilization system and new dual BIONZ processing engines, the Sony A900 also offers a bright, clear optical viewfinder with 100% field of view coverage. The Alpha 900’s newly-developed autofocus system consists of nine wide-area sensors with 10 assist points for improved tracking of moving subjects. High-speed continuous shooting of 24.6 megapixel images at five frames per second and a 3-inch Xtra Fine LCD screen with 921,000 dots complete the headline specs. The Sony DSLR-A900 body will be available in November 2008 for about $3,000 / 2800 Euros / £2100.

Sony has launched 2 new lenses to accompany the A900 DSLR - the 70-400mm f/4-5.6 and Carl Zeiss 16-35mm f/2.8. The new 70-400mm f/4-5.6 is a 5.7x super telephoto zoom lens ideally suited for sports, action and wildlife photography. The Vario Sonnar T* 16-35mm f/2.8 ZA Carl Zeiss Series is a super wide angle 16-35mm f/2.8 constant aperture zoom lens suited for landscape, snapshot and indoor photography. For both lenses, when attached to the Alpha 900 camera body, the AF hold buttons can be customized to activate the camera’s intelligent preview function. The Vario-Sonnar T* 16-35mm f/2.8 ZA and 70-400mm f/4-5.6 G lens will ship in January 2009 for about $1,800 and $1,500, respectively.

The IDP-100 is Sony Ericsson’s first ever digital photo frame. With a sleek dark grey finish, the stylish 7” IDP-100 photo frame will let you display photos in either landscape or portrait format and can be mounted on a wall or sat on a bedside table or office desk. You can transfer your favourite images in a variety of ways, via Bluetooth, USB flash memory, M2 card, micro SD, SD or MS Duo. “The IDP-100 Digital Photo Frame is the perfect companion to your Cyber-shot phone and lets you display your favourite moments easily and in high quality for all to see. However, it’s not just mobile phone users that can benefit from the IDP-100. We are proud that the frame receives stores and displays up to 500 still images through a variety of options. Once uploaded they are automatically rotated, enhanced and re-sized to fit the frame - so that you can enjoy your memories instantly.” said Jacob Sten, Head of the accessories division at Sony Ericsson.

The Lexar Professional UDMA 300x 16GB CompactFlash is a new memory card designed for professional photographers and photo enthusiasts. The new card is speed-rated at 300x, which represents a minimum sustained write speed of 45MB per second. “Our new Lexar Professional UDMA 300x 16GB CompactFlash card allows photographers to think less about having to change cards during a shoot, while giving them the ability to shoot more and download images faster.” commented Jeff Cable, director of marketing, Lexar. Available later this month, the new Lexar Professional UDMA 16GB CF card includes a limited lifetime warranty, free dedicated technical support, and the full version of Lexar Image Rescue 3. Pricing to be announced.

Epson have introduced three new sub-$100 ink jet all-in-ones, the NX300, NX200 and NX100. Joining the flagship Epson Stylus NX400 model, the three newcomers are priced from $69.99 to $89.99. The 4-in-1 Epson Stylus NX300 is Epson’s first ever sub-$100 all-in-one with fax and an Auto Document Feeder (ADF). The Epson NX100 prints up to 26 ppm for black text documents, while the Epson NX200 produces even faster black and color documents at up to 32 ppm. In addition, the Epson NX200 adds card slots and PictBridge compatibility for PC-Free photo printing.

Adobe have previewed Photoshop CS4 at the Photoshop World show in Las Vegas. Adobe’s Terry White has kindly provided a video of the presentation for everyone who couldn’t be there, which includes a look at Photoshop CS4’s new interface and features, plus a glimpse at what Adobe has planned beyond CS4. Adobe Creative Suite 4 will be officially launched on 23rd September.

Website: Adobe Photoshop World Keynote ‘08

Leaf have today announced no less than 6 new digital medium format cameras. The new Leaf AFi-II 10, 7 and 6 are available either as a full camera system, or as the Leaf Aptus-II digital camera backs. The 6x6 format Leaf AFi-II 10 camera uses an exclusive new 56x36 millimeter, 56 megapixel True Wide Frame sensor (also available in the Leaf Aptus-II 10 camera back). The Leaf AFi-II 7 and 10 are the first medium format cameras to sport a 90° tilting touch screen LCD display. All of the new Leaf AFi-II camera systems and Leaf Aptus-II camera backs boast a 12 f-stop dynamic range, 50-800 ISO range and 16-bit color images. Leaf has also introduced a new version of its capture software, Leaf Capture version 11.2. Pricing for the new Leaf product line will range from $20,995 to $39,995.

Digital is dead, long live film - Kodak Professional Ektar 100 is a brand new, smooth-grain colour film. According to Kodak this new film, with ISO 100 speed, high saturation and ultra-vivid colour, offers the finest, smoothest grain of any colour negative film available today. “With our new EKTAR 100 film, we’ve created a film that helps the photographer capture unprecedented detail in remarkably vivid colour. This film continues a Kodak tradition of providing photographers with the highest quality films that expand the range over which they can create outstanding images.” said Mary Jane Hellyar, president, Film, Photofinishing & Entertainment Group and executive vice president, Eastman Kodak Company. Kodak Professional Ektar 100 will be available throughout Europe from the beginning of November, 2008.

The LaCie 730, 724 and 720 monitors are aimed at creative professionals needing superior colour accuracy. Available as the 20-inch LaCie 720, 24-inch LaCie 724, and the 30-inch LaCie 730, the new LaCie 700 series offers ultra-wide gamuts of up to 123 percent of Adobe RGB colourspace. They are able to produce purer red, green and blue primaries that result in a larger range of vibrant colours previously not obtainable with more common LCD displays. The LaCie 720, 724, and 730 monitors are available now starting at £949 / $2040.

Corel Paint Shop Pro Photo X2 Ultimate Edition features increased raw camera support and new creative content. The latest version of this popular graphics program now supports more than 250 raw camera formats, and also adds150 brand-new, custom-made photo frames, photo edges and Picture Tubes. Paint Shop Pro Photo X2 Ultimate is also now fully certified for Windows Vista. With a suggested retail price of £79, Corel Paint Shop Pro Photo X2 Ultimate is available starting today. Registered users of Paint Shop Pro Photo X2 can purchase the Ultimate Update Kit for £34.

iLovePhotos is free desktop software for Macs that uses facial detection to manage your digital photos. As users import pictures, the software automatically detects the faces of the individuals in each picture. This allows users to easily filter their library to show only photos of specific people. The iLovePhotos Mac software can both complement and synchronize with iPhoto or act as a standalone photo manager. iLovePhotos can also create intelligent personalized slideshows based on how often people appear in photos, who they appear next to most frequently, and many other attributes.

DIWA member LetsGoDigital have reviewed the Sony Cyber-Shot DSC-W170 a10.1 megapixel camera with 5x optical zoom lens and 2.7 inch LCD screen.

“One of the effects is the signal/noise ratio. From the technical tests, it becomes clear time and time again that an increase of resolution on a small image sensor equals a diminishing of performance and in particular at high ISO values. For the Sony W170 this applies clearly from ISO 400, however, below 400 ISO is not that rosy either. The performance at 200 ISO and lower is reasonable to good. Still, it is obvious that this should and can improve drastically. Furthermore, the lens suffers from chromatic aberration in a way we would call a Carl Zeiss lens unworthy.”

Website: LetsGoDigital - Sony Cyber-shot DSC-W170 Review

Megapixel.net have reviewed the new Sony Cyber-Shot DSC-W120 camera which features Sony’s new “Smile shutter"mode.

“This model takes above average photos for pocketcams in this category. For snapjacks looking for a totally automated experience, the shuterbox will capture decent images in most situations. For the more adventuresome, the ability to modify exposure settings, focusing modes, light sensitivity and flash output will give them more flexibility in their photographic endeavors.”

Website: Megapixel.net - Sony Cyber-Shot DSC-W120 Review

DigitalCameraInfo have reviewed the Canon Digital Rebel XS, a new entry-level, 10 megapixel DSLR camera with Live View mode.

“It arrives into an already crowded marketplace, full of affordable, starter SLRs. The XS performed competently in most of our tests, and proved itself able to handle low light situations well, and boasting an impressive dynamic range. For an entry-level SLR, it would easily handle nighttime and indoor shooting well. At the same time it’s only barely cheaper than the Rebel XSi, and is more expensive than two of its major competitors, the Sony Alpha 200 and the Nikon D60. The former generally scored worse than the XS, but is significantly cheaper, and the latter offers roughly similar performance for a slightly lower price tag.”

Website: DigitalCameraInfo - Canon Digital Rebel XS Review

Website: Read our Canon Digital Rebel XS Review

Minox will launch a digital spy camera, the Minox DSC, at Photokina in September. Miniature optics specialists from Wetzlar have helped design this new 5 megapixel digital camera that continues the Minox tradition of being the “dream tool of undercover agents for almost 75 years”. Measuring just 86x29x20mm (3.5”x1.25”x0.75”), the Minox digital spy camera is accompanied by a flash unit which has a 1.5” TFT colour monitor on top of it and is activated automatically when attached to the camera and used in poor light. The Minox DSC takes Micro SD cards in addition to onboard internal memory, and comes complete with leather case, metal chain, USB cable and manual. Minox will also be presenting everything the future “private-eye” needs for capturing spontaneous, candid digital images, from belt buckle cameras to a filming fountain pen. All would-be James Bonds, get in line now…

Update 26th November 2008: The Minox DSC Digital Spy Camera and its flash module with screen will be available in the UK during the middle of December 2008 for £219.00 complete. The range of ‘Spy’ accessories that were also showcased at Photokina 2008 (digital pen camera, digital sunglasses camera, digital belt camera and special backward looking sunglasses) will not be produced, due to the overall world-wide economic conditions.

DCResource have just reviewed the new 14.6 megapixel Pentax K20D DSLR camera.

“The Pentax K20D is a very good digital SLR that offers the same resolution, build quality, and feature set of cameras costing hundreds of dollars more. Its highlights include a 14.6 Megapixel CMOS sensor, built-in image stabilization, and a weather-sealed, sturdy body. While the K20D needs work in certain areas, it’s a definite improvement over its predecessor, and a D-SLR that I can recommend. “

Website: DCResource - Pentax K20D Review

Website: Read our Pentax K20D Review

Imaging Resource have reviewed the Canon PowerShot SD790 IS, a compact 10 megapixel camera with 3x zoom lens.

“The Canon SD790 IS has only one strike against it and that’s its 3x optical zoom. You might think the lack of a Manual mode would be another, but the Canon SD790 IS is designed for taking great snapshots. With its DIGIC III processor, it does just that.”

Website: Imaging Resource - Canon PowerShot SD790 IS Review

Read our Canon PowerShot SD790 IS Review

Steves Digicams have reviewed the Sony Cyber-shot DSC-H10, a new 8 megapixel compact digicam with a 10x optical zoom lens.

“Image quality from our outdoor images is very good. We see excellent exposures and rich colors. And just like the H50, the only real problem are the slight chromatic aberrations that show up in the museum shot. The 10x optical zoom has a 35mm range of 38-380mm giving you the ability to shoot group portrait and landscape photography with the wide end and still be able to get up close and personal with a distant subject or single out a person in a large group photograph. As with all wide angle shots, you will see some slight barrel distortion as well as the aforementioned chromatic aberrations”

Website: Steves Digicams - Sony Cyber-shot DSC-H10 Review

Website: Read our Sony Cyber-shot DSC-H10 Review

Sony will unveil a new DSLR camera on Wednesday September 10th, according to a PCWorld/MACWorld report. Likely to be the 24.8 megapixel, full-frame professional DSLR camera that was shown in prototype form at PMA back in February (pictured), the new Alpha camera will be announced at a Sony event in Tokyo.

Website: PCWorld - Sony, Panasonic to Unveil New Digital SLRs Next Week

Update! A series of leaked magazine adverts have revealed the name and some of the key specs of the new Sony DSLR.

It will be called the A900 (no surprise there), and will feature: 24.6 megapixel Full Frame Exmor CMOS Sensor, Dual BIONZ Image Processing Engine, Intelligent Preview, 100% Viewfinder, 0.74x Magnification, 3.0”, 921K-out Hybrid LCD, 9-point Centre Dual-cross AF (with f2.8 sensor and wide-area 10-point assist), 5 fps Continuous Shooting, SteadyShot INSIDE