Leica owners can now submit their best photos to the London Fotografie International (LFI) gallery. Images taken with a LEICA M8, C-Lux, or D-Lux camera can be submitted, and the best submissions will be chosen by a jury and exhibited on the website. Photographers of entries that are of particular interest to the jury will be contacted personally by Leica to discuss photographic opportunities in the future. To submit entries or to view images online, visit http://www.lfi-online.de

The Fujifilm FinePix S2000HD is the first ever Fujifilm camera to feature High Definition movies and still photos. The S2000HD shoots movies at 1280 x 720 pixels and wide screen stills at 1920 x 1080 pixels. You can then connect the Fujifilm S2000HD to a HD TV using the supplied remote control and cable. Other features include 15x optical zoom lens (27.6 - 414mm), 10 megapixel sensor, 2.7 inch LCD and electronic viewfinder. The FinePix S2000HD will be available from September 2008 for $299.95.

The Fujifilm FinePix F60fd is an updated version of the 12 megapixel F50fd. Featuring the same megapixel count,Super CCD sensor and 3x zoom lens, the new Fujifilm F60fd adds a larger 3 inch LCD screen, upgraded Face Detection system which can recognise faces at more extreme angles, and a new Scene Recognition-AUTO mode. The FinePix F60fd will be available from September 2008 for $299.95.

The J150W, J120, J110W, J100 are four new additions to Fujifilm’s range of high quality J series compacts. Each of the new models has a 10 megapixel sensor and 5x optical lens, but varies the LCD size and focal range. The J100 and J110W have a 2.7” LCD screen and the FinePix J150W and J120 offer a bigger 3” LCD screen. The J110W and J150W offer a focal range of 28mm-140mm, whilst the FinePix J100 and J120 are extended to 175mm. In the UK, the Fujifilm J100, J110W, J120, J150W will be available from September, pricing to be announced. In the US, only the J150W is being released, priced at $199.95.

The Nikon Coolpix P6000 is a new 13.5 megapixel compact camera with built-in GPS and RAW support. Successor to the P5100 and Nikon’s latest attempt at a “serious” compact, the P6000 also features a 4x wide-angle zoom lens (28-112 mm), built-in Ethernet connector and a 2.7 inch LCD screen. Mark Pekelharing, Product Manager Consumer Products at Nikon Europe B.V: “This new compact camera sets new standards for the compact camera market. Nikon is known for introducing advanced features in both its D-SLR and compact cameras. With the introduction of this GPS model, Nikon once again proves to be at the forefront of technology. The high-quality materials and feature list otherwise only found in high-end cameras will appeal to the discerning user.” The Nikon Coolpix P6000 will be available in mid-September for €499 / £429.99 / $499.95.

The Nikon Coolpix S60 is a 10 megapixel compact camera with a 3.5-inch wide-screen LCD monitor with unique touch-panel control. The S60 also offers a 5x zoom lens with Vibration Reduction capability, Scene Auto Selector, enhanced Face Recognition, Smile Timer with blink detection, time-lapse movies, in-camera retouch and HDMi output. Mark Pekelharing, Product Manager Consumer Products at Nikon Europe B.V: “The COOLPIX S60 is the perfect marriage between technology and style. Nikon has introduced a host of features to make this camera easy to use and packed it with superb innovations derived from our professional D-SLR line for optimal imaging. We are confident that the numerous colour options will appeal to those looking for the combination of quality and good looks in a single package.” The Nikon Coolpix S60 will be available at the end of September 2008 for €349 / £299.99 / $349.95.

The Nikon S710, S610C, S610 and S560 are four new additions to the now extensive Coolpix range of compact camera. The S710 offers 14.5 megapixels, 12 fps shooting, 3.6x optical zoom and a sensitivity range up to ISO 12800. The S610 and S610C feature the world’s fastest start-up time in their class, 10 megapixel sensors and a 4x wide-angle zoom (the S610C also offers wireless LAN connectivity). The S560 is the world’s smallest camera in its class, with 10 megapixels, a 5x zoom lens and advanced features such as Smile Mode. The Nikon The S710 will cost €329 / £299.99 / $379.95, available mid-September. The Nikon S610C and S610 will cost €319 / £249.99 / $329.95 and €299 / £249.99 / $279.95 respectively and be available in September. The Nikon S560 will retail for €249 / £179.99 / $249.95, available at the end of August.

The Sony Cyber-shot T700 and T77 are two new digital cameras with “intelligent” shooting functions. The 10 megapixel Sony T77 camera is Sony’s thinnest model at less than 5/8 of an inch with a 3-inch, 16 x 9 touch panel LCD screen. The Sony T700 has all the features of the T77 plus 4GB of internal memory and a larger 3.5-inch, wide touch panel Xtra Fine LCD. Both models feature intelligent scene recognition technology, Smile Shutter and face detection with child and adult priority, high sensitivity shooting (up to ISO 3200), eleven scene modes, and in-camera image management. “Sony is taking the lead in developing “intelligent” cameras so that taking great pictures is an automatic function and not a complicated process,” said Phil Lubell, director of digital camera marketing at Sony Electronics. “This is part of our effort to enhance the camera experience for customers by offering new functionality.” The Sony Cyber-shot T77 camera replaces the T70 model and will be available in brown, green, pink, black and silver in late September for about $300. The new Sony Cyber-shot T700 cameras ships at the same time in red, champagne gold, pink, dark gray and silver for about $400.

NewerTech miniStack v2.5 is a powered hub storage solution that’s ideal for data intensive uses such as digital photography. miniStack v2.5 uses the latest generation Oxford 934 bridge chipset, a 7200RPM Serial ATA (SATA) drive, up to 1.0TB of storage capacity, and up to 32MB of disk cache to quickly store and retrieve up to 1 million JPEG photos. It also functions as a centralized desktop hub for connecting multiple digital devices, such as scanners, printers, memory card readers, and digital cameras. NewerTech miniStack v2.5 is available immediately in seven pre-configured models priced starting at $104.99.

Sigma have released a new firmware update, v1.08, for the Sigma SD14 DSLR camera. Improvements include:

  1. Corrects the occasional phenomenon of an image recorded in RAW format appearing to have an unnaturally large file size.
  2. Corrects the rarely occurring error of camera freeze and image recording failure when shooting continuously or if the shutter button is pressed when the CF Card Busy Light is blinking.
  3. When Bulb Mode is used Sigma Photo Pro now displays the actual shutter speed used in the exposure rather than just showing the word “Bulb”.

Website: Sigma SD14 v1.08 Firmware Update

Imaging Resource have reviewed the Olympus mju 1030 SW, a 10 megapixel shock and waterproof digital camera.

“Before I launch into the ups and downs of the Olympus 1030SW’s image quality, let’s get one thing straight: if you’re looking for the ultimate in image quality, you’re not going to find it here. However, depending in the images, you should be able to make prints up to 8x10 inches that will look fine hanging on the wall or sitting on the coffee table in a frame. Just don’t look too closely.”

Website: Imaging Resource - Olympus mju 1030 SW Review

Website: Read our Olympus Mju 1030 SW Review

Steves Digicams have reviewed the Kodak M1033 digital camera, a bright and colourful, thin and stylish, 10-megapixel camera.

“When we reviewed the M883 last year, we found it had real problems with image noise, even at the lowest settings. This is not the case with the M1033. Noise levels are below average from ISO 64 all the way up to 1600. The M1033’s noise reduction system does well, only adding a bit of detail loss or softness to the image at 800 and above. I feel that ISO 800 can still make large prints without any problems, as long as it is a well lit image. Even 1600 has the potential to create a usable 8x10 or larger. While there is also a 3200 settings, there is still a lot of noise as well as detail loss due to the heavy NR. I was very glad to see that Kodak corrected this issue with great high ISO performance on this new model.”

Website: Steves Digicams - Kodak M1033 Review

The DataTraveler Mini Slim is a new small and stylish USB Flash drive. Available in black, blue or pink with gray bottom casings, the DataTraveler Mini Slim is one of the smallest USB drives available on the market and can store up to 4GB of content. Kingston’s new DataTraveler Mini Slim USB drives are available in 2GB and 4GB capacities with a suggested retail price of $11.00 and $19.00 respectively.

Eastern Europe, the Middle East and Africa will boost sales of camera phones to more than 1.3 billion in 2012, according to a new report from InfoTrends. “The developing countries are less congested, with fewer competitors and price wars, making this an excellent time to take the camera phone to those consumers” commented InfoTrends’ Senior Research Analyst Carrie Sylvester. Higher resolution phones will produce additional growth, with 5+ megapixels causing an increase in the taking, sharing, printing, and storing of photos.

TrustedReviews have reviewed the new Samsung NV30 digital camera, which features dual image stabilization and improved noise reduction.

“Picture quality is generally good, but perhaps a little disappointing given the overall quality of the camera. As I mentioned earlier, the lens is very good, producing very little wide-angle distortion and excellent corner-to-corner sharpness, with only a tiny hint of chromatic aberration at the far corners of the frame.”

Website: TrustedReviews - Samsung NV30 Review

NeoCamera have reviewed the Panasonic DMC-FZ18 digital camera, which features a 18x optical zoom lens, equivalent to 28-504mm on a 35mm film camera.

“The versatility of an 18X optical zoom should be weighed carefully versus the value of higher image quality when deciding or not on the Panasonic FZ18. If an 18X zoom is preferred, then the FZ18 will not disappoint. Otherwise, a higher quality camera such as the Fuji Finepix S100FS can produce much better results. There are several other ultra-zooms with at least 18X optical zoom. Unfortunately, those were not reviewed here yet but one current favorite is the Fuji Finepix S8100fd which is worth checking out along the Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ18.”

Website: NeoCamera - Panasonic DMC-FZ18 Review

Website: Read our Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ18 Review

The lucky winner of our fantastic July 2008 Newsletter contest has been randomly selected from the PhotographyBLOG Newsletter subscriber list.

Anne Hoffmann wins a Ricoh GX200 digital camera kit, worth a total of £399.

The Epson P-6000 and P-7000 are new multimedia photo viewers offering bigger hard drive capacities, faster download speeds and an advanced LCD screen. Billed by Epson as a “compact, premium on-location back-up and viewing solution”, the P7000 and P6000 both feature a 4-inch, 640x480 Photo Fine Premia screen which displays 94% of the Adobe RGB colour gamut. Download speeds are up to 35 percent faster than previous models, and 80Gb and 160Gb versions are available. Available in September, the Epson P-6000 costs $599.99 / £449.99 and the Epson P-7000 $799.99 / £549.99.

PictureCode have released a plug-in version of Noise Ninja for Apple’s Aperture photo editing and management software. The Aperture plug-in (version 2.0.0) of Noise Ninja allows users to take advantage of powerful noise reduction technology without having to leave Aperture. Noise Ninja 2 requires Aperture 2.1 or later to be installed, and costs $ 79.95.

Olympus and Panasonic have jointly developed the “Micro Four Thirds System standard”, producing significantly lighter and more compact cameras. The Micro Four Thirds sensor will remain the same size (18x13.5mm) as the current Four Thirds standard, but the optical viewfinder and mirror box are completely removed so that a Micro Four Thirds camera is 50% thinner. Also lenses are smaller, due to the 6mm smaller lens mount outer diameter, and movies are also set to feature.  Olympus is developing a range of Micro Four Thirds System lenses and accessories, and Micro Four Thirds System camera bodies smaller than the E-420. Likewise, Panasonic are also working on ultra-portable camera bodies, interchangeable lenses, and related system accessories, so we’d expect new product announcements shortly before Photokina in September. Both companies will continue to develop “normal” Four Thirds DSLR products. So what do you make of the new Micro Four Thirds System standard - is a tiny DSLR-like camera without an optical viewfinder that can also shoot movies the camera for you?