Steves Digicams have reviewed the new Canon SD850 IS (also known as the IXUS 950 IS), an 8 megapixel digital camera with 4x zoom, image stabilized lens equivalent to 35-140mm.

“Unlike most consumer models that feature the typical 3x zoom, the SD850 features a nice Canon 4x optical zoom lens. It offers greater versatility in composing your shots than most in its class, with a 35mm equivalent focal range of approx. 35mm - 140mm. At the 35mm wide angle extreme, you’ll be able to capture nice landscapes and group portraits, while the telephoto capabilities will help fill the frame with your subject for close-up portraits or macro shots as well as bring your distant subjects a bit closer. Overall, I noticed moderate amount of barrel distortion at full wide angle, but relatively no pincushioning at telephoto end.”

Website: Steves Digicams - Canon SD850 IS Review

Website: Read our Canon Digital IXUS 950 IS Review

Steves Digicams have reviewed the Fujifilm S700 digital camera, which features 7 megapixels, a 10x optical zoom, 2.5 inch LCD plus electronic viewfinder, ISO 1600 and Picture Stabilization mode.

“The overall image quality of the S700’s 7-megapixel imagers is very nice. Even the 7M normal mode produces great photos. The majority of our outdoors shots were sharp and well exposed, and as with most Fuji models, colors are richly saturated. When shooting indoors, the S700 produces beautiful people photos when using the dedicated Portrait scene mode. Fuji claims a flash range of 20 feet at wide-angle using ISO Auto. Remember, as you increase the focal range as well as decrease the sensitivity (lower ISO number), the flash range will fall off noticeably. I achieved great results in both portrait mode and aperture priority.”

Website: Steves Digicams - Fujifilm S700 Review

The 8.1 megapixel Casio EX-S880 and the 7.2 megapixel Casio EX-Z77 cameras add enhanced movie functionality and a YouTube Best Shot scene mode. Both the Casio S880 and Z77 have a movie function that uses the next-generation H.264 compression technology, whilst the YouTube mode saves movies at the optimum size, quality and other settings for YouTube. Other standout features include a blur reduction function that uses motion analysis technology, an auto-tracking AF system, and face detection technology. The Casio EX-S880 is available in red and black with an MSRP of $299.99. The Casio EX-Z77 is available in black, blue, pink and silver with an MSRP of $229.99. Both cameras will be available in August.

DxO Optics 4.5 now supports the the Canon EOS 1D Mark III and Nikon D40x Digital SLR camera bodies,plus the Tokina AT-X 107 AF DX Fish-Eye AF 10-17mm f/3.5-4.5 lens. DxO Optics Pro software improves the image quality of Digital SLR cameras and advanced digicams. “We are very excited to add support in DxO Optics Pro for this exciting lens by Tokina. Properly supporting full-frame fisheye lenses is a challenge in itself and doing so for the first time with this Tokina fisheye zoom lens was a ground-breaking achievement by our technical team.” commented Luc Marin, vice president of the DxO Labs Photography Business unit. DxO Optics Pro v4.5 is available immediately.

Sony Photo Go digital photo editing and management software has been updated and is now Windows Vista compatible. Sony Photo Go costs US $24.95 and will be available this fall in North America. Photo Go will not be available outside this region.

Hahnemuhle Fine Art Baryta is a premium replacement for traditional Baryta papers from analogue laboratories. Hahnemuhle Baryta inkjet paper offers a high Dmax, fine grey tones and an outstanding glossy finish. Market launch of Hahnemuhle Fine Art Baryta is set for Autumn 2007.

DIWA member Photoxels have reviewed the Nikon Coolpix S500, a 7.1 megapixel camera with a 3x zoom lens (35-105mm), Vibration Reduction to combat camera shake, ISO 2000 capability, 2.5 inch monitor and One-touch portrait button.

“I really enjoyed using the Nikon Coolpix S500. It’s compact enough to carry in my trousers pocket, always available for a quick shot. The controls are very intuitive and I personally find the Rotary multi selector to be fun to use. Though it is a point-and-shoot digital camera, I find the manual options (preset WB, Area AF, ISO, exposure compensation) enough to allow me to adjust the exposure to obtain correctly exposed pictures.”

Website: Photoxels - Nikon Coolpix S500 Review

ePhotoZine have reviewed the entry-level Pentax Optio E30 digital compact, with 7.1 megapixels, 2.4 inch LCD monitor and powered by AA-size batteries.

“This is a budget camera, so don’t expect miracles. The burst test output five images in the 10 second burst with downloading taking longer. The camera managed three images before having to download and then managed to squeeze two more in. Autofocus is slow and in the macro mode I tried to shoot a bee taking pollen from a flower, but by the time the camera had focused the bee had moved on. They’re not as vain as people say they are. The macro is also not very close at 15cm.”

Website: ePhotoZine - Pentax Optio E30 Review

DCResource have reviewed the Sanyo HD2, which combines the functionality of a 720p high-definition digital camcorder and 7.1-megapixel digital still camera into a single device.

“The Sanyo Xacti VPC-HD2 is the fourth “hybrid” camera/camcorder that I’ve reviewed on the DCRP, the others being the Sony Cyber-shot DSC-M1/M2 and the Canon PowerShot TX1. All four of these cameras have disappointed me in terms of ergonomics, with the HD2 also throwing in sub-par image quality and a clunky menu system, which firmly puts it in into my “mediocre” category. It has its nice features, but it was never really much fun to use.”

Website: DCResource - Sanyo HD2 Review

CNET have reviewed the GE G1 digital camera, which features 3x optical zoom, 2.5-inch LCD screen and 7 megapixels.

“Stop. Do not pass Go. Do not give General Electric $200 for the G1. With so many mediocre snapshot cameras on the market, ya gotta wonder why anyone would feel compelled to offer another—unless the people behind GE’s new camera line are drinking some doctored Kool-Aid.”

Website: CNET - GE G1 Review

Ilford Studio Professional 7 is a new software RIP that allows photographers to take complete control of the digital printing process. Ilford Studio 7 features an advanced profile range with improved colour fidelity, faster ripping, and an auto-rotate function that can slot images into available spaces more efficiently and therefore save on media. ILFORD STUDIO 7 currently supports Epson StylusPro series printers, and will soon include the Canon ProGraphics range and HP Z series. Ilford Studio Professional 7 costs £399 in the UK.

Vincent Versace, Photographer, Author and Trainer joins host Scott Sheppard on Inside Digital Photo radio to discuss his insight into what it takes to be a photographer or simply an image maker. Hear Vincent’s insights and philosophies about the techniques he uses to capture the moment and angle of the image rather than just a record of an object. Vincent recently taught a class to Navy/Coast Guard Photographers on how to take be better photojournalists and document historical events. Taking pictures historically has provided records, the difference between a picture and capturing the moment lies in the eye of the photographer. Using the right equipment for the assignment, being prepared for anything, and having the confidence in your vision are all concepts that impact your ability to take outstanding images.

PMA 2007: Delkin have announced its new CardBus 32 UDMA reader which transfers images at over 40 MB/s to a computer using UDMA enabled memory cards. Eric Richter, Delkin’s Marketing Manager explained, “Digital photographers are used to working with laptops as a critical part of their workflow process. Each wave of the latest DSLRs produces ever-increasing file sizes, and that slows image transfers. UDMA CompactFlash cards are already being introduced and our goal is to provide photographers with the fastest and easiest way to transfer images from these cards to their computer.” The Delkin CardBus UDMA will sell for $59.99.

Update July 9th 2007: The Delkin CardBus 32 UDMA reader is now shipping worldwide.

PicMe Photo Sharing is the first digital photo sharing service to feature an interactive 3-D desktop experience. PicMe Photo Sharing offers a a unique 3D perspective of all the photos in your collection. The PicMe service is free to use and allows for sharing of hundreds of photos. Premium accounts are available starting at $9.95/year.

Samsung have released a new firmware update, v706221, for the Samsung L74 Wide digital camera. The update adds support for SDHC cards. This model features a 3.0 inch touch screen LCD, 7 megapixels, 3.6x optical zoom and 28mm wide-angle lens.

Website: Samsung L74 Wide Firmware Update v706221

Samsung have released a new firmware update, v706221, for the Samsung i7 digital camera. The update adds support for SDHC cards. This model features a 3.0 inch touch screen LCD which rotates through 180 degrees, 7 megapixels, 3x optical zoom and integrated Portable Multimedia Player.

Website: Samsung i7 Wide Firmware Update v706221

DigiCamReview have reviewed the Olympus E-510 DSLR camera, which features a built-in image stabiliser in the camera body. The E510 also has a new image processing engine that offers excellent noise performance and 3fps with a seven image RAW buffer in burst mode.

“Image quality is very good to excellent, the images have excellent colour, with good saturation, contrast and detail, with low noise except for high iso images (can be altered to your tastes). Images were slightly soft straight from the camera on default settings but can be improved by setting the Noise Filter to Low. For maximum detail and colour control RAW images should be taken, although JPEG images straight from the camera were still very impressive.”

Website: DigiCamReview - Olympus E-510 Review

Website: Read our Olympus E-510 Review

Imaging Resource have reviewed the Panasonic DMC-TZ3 camera, which fits a 10x optical zoom, 7.2 megapixels and 3 inch LCD screen into a compact, stylish body.

“Despite some image quality issues, the Panasonic TZ3 has many strengths, most notably its 10x optical zoom lens and its MEGA O.I.S. Add good performance, an above average feature set, a compact body, and an affordable price, and it’s easy to see why this camera is so appealing regardless of the type of shooting you like to do.”

Website: Imaging Resource - Panasonic Lumix DMC-TZ3 Review

Website: Read our Panasonic Lumix DMC-TZ3 Review

The Huey Pro colour calibration device features the world’s first built-in ambient light sensor, can calibrate multiple monitors and offers customizable Whitepoint and Gamma combinations. New color patches have been added to the Huey Pro‘s calibration process for greater accuracy than the original Huey, and an Advanced Help system provide step-by-step instructions. Jon Canfield discovers if the Huey Pro is the best monitor calibration device for the digital photographer.

Website: Huey Pro Review

The MINOX DC 7022 slim is a 7 megapixel digital camera with 4x zoom lens and 3 inch LCD screen. The DC7022 measures 94.5 x 55 x 23 mm and weighs 124 grams, and features a smooth, black anodized aluminum body. The MINOX DC 7022 slim costs 249 Euros and is available now.