The Kodak Easyshare V705 is a unique digital camera that has two lenses and two 7 megapixel sensors. The first lens is a fixed ultrawide 23mm, whilst the second covers 39-117mm. Furthermore, neither lens actually extends from the 23mm thick V705 at any point, making this a truly pocketable model with a 5x zoom range. The Kodak V705 is an upgrade of the V570 and adds more megapixels and a wider ISO range (50-1000). Read our review to find out if the Kodak V705 is a worthy successor.

Website: Kodak Easyshare V705 Review

This month sees PhotographyBLOG team up with leading Flash memory manufacturer, SanDisk, to offer one lucky reader the chance to win an Extreme IV 2Gb compact flash memory card and Firewire reader. There are also two chances to win the fantastic new book, The Art of RAW Conversion, from No Starch Press.

On Monday 30th October 2006 2006, three names will be randomly selected from the list of PhotographyBLOG Newsletter subscribers.

First Prize - SanDisk Extreme IV 2Gb Compact Flash Card and Firewire Reader
The new SanDisk Extreme IV line is targeted at photographers who require the highest possible performance and the largest capacities for their medium format and high-end digital single lens reflex (SLR) cameras.
Kindly donated by Sandisk

Second and Third Prizes - The Art of RAW Conversion
The Art of RAW Conversion is a new book that demonstrates how to regain creative control of photos by working directly with the RAW file format.
Kindly donated by No Starch Press

All you have to do to enter is subscribe to the PhotographyBLOG Newsletter before 30th October 2006.

Here are the sample photos from our upcoming review of the Canon A710 IS, the first A-series PowerShot model to feature built-in image stabilisation. Other features include a 7 megapixel sensor, 6x zoom lens (35-210mm) and large 2.5 inch LCD screen.

Website: Canon A710 IS Photos

Here are the sample photos from our upcoming review of the Kodak Z710, a 7 megapixel, 10x zoom digital camera that was announced at Photokina at the end of September.

Website: Kodak Z710 Photos

In the latest installment of this regular series, we cast the spotlight on members of the PhotographyBLOG Gallery and ask them about their photography. The 16th member to sit in the interview chair is Jogi.

“I suppose most importantly the support and advice within the gallery has helped to motivate me to be more dedicated to photography and therefore the learning process is continuous and ultimately more rewarding.”

Website: Gallery Member Spotlight - Jogi

The Fujifilm F20 is a cheaper version of the popular 6 megapixel, 3x zoom F30 compact digital camera. Offering a reduced maximum ISO speed of 2000, no manual exposure controls and a shorter battery life of 300 shots, is the Fujifilm F20 still worth considering? Read our latest review to find out.

Website: Fujifilm Finepix F20 Review

In the latest installment of this regular series, we cast the spotlight on members of the PhotographyBLOG Gallery and ask them about their photography. The 15th member to sit in the interview chair is pacificphoto.

“I now think much more about things such as horizon levels, extraneous objects, whether a subject is served best by monochrome or color, and any other factors. Also, when there comes an opportunity to share something I know with somebody else, it helps me re-learn the craft.”

Website: Gallery Member Spotlight - pacificphoto

The Panasonic LX2 is a 10 megapixel digital camera with a unique twist - it offers a true 16:9 wide-screen sensor and a 2.8 inch widescreen LCD to match. Panasonic originally conceived the LX series of wide-screen cameras to be used in tandem with their 16:9 televisions. More recently they have been promoting the printing side of things, with a joint announcement with Epson last month. The Panasonic LX2 is also a camera for the discerning photographer, with a 4x zoom lens starting at 28mm wide, support for the RAW file format and full manual, aperture-priority and shutter-priority exposure modes. Add an improved ISO range of 100-1600, a High Sensitivity mode, pop-up flash and optical image stabilisation, and you have the makings of a great pocket camera. But can the Panasonic LX2 deliver on those promises, and more importantly does it improve on the noisy images of the original DMC-LX1? Read our extensive review now to find out.

Website: Panasonic Lumix DMC-LX2 Review

In the latest installment of this regular series, we cast the spotlight on members of the PhotographyBLOG Gallery and ask them about their photography. The 14th member to sit in the interview chair is aderixon.

“I’m not sure it has had a strong influence, but the odd positive comment is always encouraging providing one doesn’t become dependent on receiving them. (Often I love shots that others seem to find unremarkable.)”

Website: Gallery Member Spotlight - aderixon

The Samsung NV10 is a 10 megapixel compact digital camera with a 3x zoom lens equivalent to 35-105mm and a 2.5 inch LCD screen. Much more interesting is the innovative Smart Button touch-sensitive interface which attempts to make the traditional menu system more accessible. The NV10 also offers an anti-shake mode, ISO 100-1000, 300 shot battery life and a stylish black metal body. This is the first Samsung camera that we’ve reviewed, so did it impress us? Read on to find out…

Website: Samsung NV10 Review

The winners of the September 2006 PhotographyBLOG Competition have been announced. The theme for September was “Simplicity” - you can view all of the entries in this gallery. Here are the 5 winners:

1st Place
“Simplicity” by spookygonk
View this entry

Prize: 1 copy of Powerretouche Full Pro Pack
Kindly donated by Powerretouche.
http://powerretouche.com

Here are the sample photos from our upcoming review of the Panasonic LX2, which offers 10 megapixels, 16:9 format LCD and shooting mode, 300 shot battery life and 4x optical zoom lens.

Website: Panasonic LX2 Photos

Here are the sample photos from our upcoming review of the Kodak V705, a dual-lens, 5x optical zoom camera with 7 megapixels and 2.5 inch LCD screen.

Website: Kodak V705 Photos

Here are the sample photos from our upcoming review of the Samsung NV10, which offers 10.1 megapixels and a 2.5” wide-view LCD screen.

Website: Samsung NV10 Photos

I’ve now returned from Photokina 2006, after a long week of meetings, walking, and even more meetings and walking. We’ve now fully updated our Photokina Show Report, which takes a look at some of the new products in detail, nominates our Stars of the Show, and summarises all of the major announcements that were made both leading up to and during the week-long event. I’ll also be adding a comprehensive look-back at the show in the next few days. Finally, what did I find waiting on my desk when I got back? Only an invite to PMA 2007…

In the latest installment of this regular series, we cast the spotlight on members of the PhotographyBLOG Gallery and ask them about their photography. The 13th member to sit in the interview chair is snaphappy.

“As a wheelchair user it is often easier to take photographs of flowers, gardens, birds etc than to absail down cliffs to get that ‘perfect landscape’. As a result I have become a lot more interested in nature and find that there are many good photo opportunities right in front of me if I only take the time to look.”

Website: Gallery Member Spotlight - snaphappy

In the latest installment of this regular series, we cast the spotlight on members of the PhotographyBLOG Gallery and ask them about their photography. The 12th member to sit in the interview chair is Mark64.

“For me capturing a beautiful landscape as an image is an added bonus to actually being out there in that environment. Being there just seems to waken my senses to beyond that of what they are living day to day in a city.”

Website: Gallery Member Spotlight - Mark64

The Ricoh R5 is the latest version of Ricoh’s 7x wide-angle zoom compact cameras, with an upgrade to 7 megapixels and a new Smooth Imaging Engine II image processing engine which promises to reduce noise at faster ISO speeds (ISO 1600 is now available). The 2.5 inch LCD screen on the Ricoh R5 now has 230,000 pixels, battery life has increased to 380 shots and the improved video mode provides 640x480 movies. So is the Ricoh R5 worth considering if you’re looking for a point and shoot digicam, and is it any better than the 6-month old Caplio R4?

Website: Ricoh Caplio R5 Review

The Sony A100 is a new DSLR from a company better known for its digital compact cameras. Sony are taking on Nikon and Canon, boldy predicting that they will be the number 2 player very shortly, and the A100 has been heavily promoted by the Sony marketing machine. With good reason too - the list of technologies that the Sony A100 offers is certainly comprehensive. A 10 megapixel sensor, Bionz Image Processor, Dynamic Range Optimiser, and anti-dust, anti-shake and eye-start auto-focus systems are all here. But does the Sony A100 make the grade as a great DSLR camera? - read our review to find out.

Website: Sony A100 Review

The Panasonic DMC-FZ50 is a 10 megapixel digital camera with a 12x ultra-zoom lens equivalent to a focal length of 35-420mm. It also offers an optical image stabilisation system to help give you sharp results. The DMC-FZ50 has improved on its popular predecessor, the DMC-FZ30, with more megapixels, new Venus III processing engine, and ISO 800 and 1600 speeds at full image resolution. The Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ50 also offers a mechanical zoom and focus ring, which you won’t find on its competitors. Read our review to discover if the DMC-FZ50 makes the grade.

Website: Panasonic DMC-FZ50 Review