Photo agency VII’s new European lecture series will be sponsored by Canon. 10 photographers on VII’s roster will take part in two days of presentations and discussions. “The opinions of professional photographers have always played a big part in the evolution of EOS, the world’s leading SLR system – the European VII Seminar now gives photographers new opportunities to talk about their craft.” said Barry van Vuuren, Team Leader, Professional Imaging Department, Canon Europa N.V. For more information about the European VII Seminar programme and to reserve tickets, visit www.viiphoto.com/event.html

Pixinfo.com have published the very interesting results of an 11 month fade test of various printer and paper combinations, with the Vivera ink technology coming out on top.

“We have taped one of the copies from all prints to the south window of our office on the 9th floor (inside and facing to the sun, of course). This happened on April 24, 2006. The prints were in the window for 11 months when I thought that their time was up and removed them a day before I realized that it was a month too early. Since the images were already showing the results, I decided not to reinstall the prints to the window. We had the images printed on 7 paper types with 6 printers.”

Website: Pixinfo.com - Fade resistance test

LetsGoDigital have just published sample test images taken with the new Nikon D40x DSLR, which features a 10.2 megapixel sensor, producing 3,872 x 2,592-pixel images, 3D Colour Matrix Metering II system and 2.5 inch LCD screen, all in the most compact Nikon DSLR ever.

“The compact size of the Nikon D40x digital SLR camera is ideal to take it with you all the time. The weight of the Nikon 55-200 mm AF-S DX VR zoom lens is approximately 335 g which brings the combination to a total weight of approximately 850 g (Nikon D40x + AF-S DX VR Zoom-Nikkor 55-200mm f/4-5.6G IF-ED + battery). Compared to the Nikon D100, weighing 700 g (body only) and one of the first consumer Nikon DSLR cameras in 2002, the difference in weight of the body is already approximately 200 g. The Nikon D40x image samples are taken by a full production model camera and should be judged accordingly.”

Website: LetsGoDigital - Nikon D40x Test Images

Samsung have announced an 8.4 megapixel CMOS image sensor with a 1.4? pixel size. The new sensor uses just one-tenth the power of an equivalent CCD image sensor. An extended photo diode technology was implemented to achieve higher light sensitivity and saturation levels.

The biggest software release in Adobe’s 25 year history unites the best of Adobe’s and Macromedia’s products. There are six all-new configurations of Adobe Creative Suite 3, including Adobe Creative Suite 3 Design Premium and Design Standard editions,  Adobe Creative Suite 3 Web Premium and Web Standard editions, Adobe Creative Suite 3 Production Premium and Adobe Creative Suite Master Collection. “Creative Suite 3 is the biggest launch in Adobe’s 25 year history and a milestone for the creative industry,” said Bruce Chizen, chief executive officer at Adobe. “This release reflects the powerful integration between Adobe and Macromedia and how our products bridge the gap between designers and developers. With new workflows that streamline collaboration and impact the development of rich content, designers and developers now have the creative license to engage audiences across virtually every medium.”

Adobe have launched not one but two versions of Photoshop CS3 today. Photoshop CS3 and Photoshop CS3 Extended will be available as stand-alone applications or part of the Creative Suite 3 family of products. Photoshop CS3 Extended includes everything in Photoshop CS3 plus additional specialised features such as support for 3-D and video workflows, animation and in-depth image analysis. The latest version of Camera Raw provides support for over 150 raw formats, JPEG and TIFF files, compatibility with Adobe Photoshop Lightroom, and new tools such as Fill Light and Dust Busting. The estimated street price for Adobe Photoshop CS3 is £485 / US$649 and £755 / US$999 for Photoshop CS3 Extended.

Adobe Creative Suite 3 Web Premium and Standard editions are two new software collections aimed at web designers and developers. Adobe Creative Suite 3 Web Premium includes new versions of Adobe Dreamweaver CS3, Adobe Flash CS3 Professional, Adobe Fireworks CS3, Adobe Contribute CS3, Adobe Photoshop CS3 Extended, Adobe Illustrator CS3, and Adobe Acrobat 8 Professional. “Adobe Creative Suite 3 Web editions cut across designer and developer workflows to deliver a must-have release for anyone serious about bringing their creative vision to the web,” said John Loiacono, senior vice president of Creative Solutions at Adobe. Estimated street pricing is £1,195 / US$1599 for Adobe Creative Suite 3 Web Premium and £705 / US$999 for Adobe Creative Suite 3 Web Standard. There are numerous upgrade paths available for customers who own prior versions of Adobe or Macromedia products.

Adobe Creative Suite 3 Design Premium and Standard are two new software collections aimed at print, web, interactive and mobile designers. Adobe Creative Suite 3 Design Premium includes new versions of Adobe InDesign CS3, Adobe Photoshop CS3 Extended, Adobe Illustrator CS3, Adobe Flash CS3 Professional, and Adobe Dreamweaver CS3, plus Adobe Acrobat 8 Professional. Adobe Creative Suite Design editions will be available as Universal applications for both PowerPC and Intel-based Macs. “Our new Design editions are anchored by powerhouse upgrades to InDesign, Photoshop, and Illustrator,” said John Loiacono, senior vice president of Creative Solutions at Adobe. “And by bringing Flash and Dreamweaver into the mix, we’re ensuring that interactive design is now front and center in today’s creative workflows.” Estimated street price for the Adobe Creative Suite 3 Design Premium edition is £1,409 / US$1799 and £895 / US$1199 for Creative Suite 3 Design Standard edition.

Adobe Creative Suite 3 Production Premium is a new software collection aimed at the video editing professional. Adobe Creative Suite 3 Production Premium includes new versions of Adobe After Effects CS3 Professional, Adobe Premiere Pro CS3, Adobe Encore CS3, Adobe Photoshop CS3 Extended, Adobe Illustrator CS3, Adobe Flash CS3 Professional, and Adobe Soundbooth CS3. “With Adobe Creative Suite 3 Production Premium the video editing market just got a whole lot more interesting,” said John Loiacono, senior vice president of Creative Solutions at Adobe. Estimated street price for Adobe Creative Suite 3 Production Premium is £1,409 / US$1,699.

Adobe Device Central CS3 allows users to design engaging interfaces, mobile assets, applications and video content for mobile phones and hand-held consumer electronic devices. “Adobe Device Central is a remarkable tool that makes it extremely easy to bring innovative design to the mobile space,” said Scott Nourse, vice president of production, Sony Pictures Digital Entertainment. “Device Central is promising to revolutionise the way in which content is being developed and tested for mobile devices and we are excited to have its help in delivering our content to mobile customers worldwide.” Adobe Device Central CS3 is included in all Creative Suite 3 editions as well as individual products.

Adobe InDesign CS3 is the latest version of its award-winning professional page layout program. InDesign CS3 will be available as a stand-alone application or as part of Adobe Creative Suite 3 Design Premium and Standard editions. “InDesign CS3 was shaped by customer-inspired requests and is packed with new features that respond to today’s demanding workflows, including lightning performance and added support for Intel-based Macintosh systems and Vista-based PCs,” said Mark Hilton, vice president of Creative Solutions at Adobe. Estimated street price for Adobe InDesign CS3 is £715.58 / US$699.

The Think Tank Photo Urban Disguise is a range of new shoulder bags intentionally designed not to look like camera bags. Available in 6 different sizes, the Urban Disguise bags are specifically designed for Digital SLRs.  “Whether you are a professional who wishes to maintain a lower profile in potentially dangerous situations or a serious amateur who wishes to lessen the risk of having your gear ripped off, the Urban Disguise’s low profile design allows you to carry the right gear with less fear.” said Think Tank Photo founder and lead designer Doug Murdoch. Prices range from $69 to $189.

The Think Tank Photo Digital Holster is a new camera bag designed for just one digital SLR body and a lens. Available in 5 different sizes, the Digital Holster bag features an expandable “Pop Down” bottom section which allows it to hold lenses of two different vertical heights with the hood in position or with it reversed. The Think Tank Photo Digital Holster is priced from $45 to $79.

CNET have reviewed the Casio EX-V7, the world’s slimmest digital camera with a 7X optical zoom lens (equivalent to 38-266mm on a 35mm film camera).

“Given this camera’s price range, we would’ve liked to see better image quality. While adequately sharp, images still appeared just slightly soft when viewed at full size and we also spied a minor amount of image artifacts unrelated to ISO noise. Colors, while generally accurate, seemed a bit washed out.”

Website: CNET - Casio EX-V7 Review

Website: Read our Casio EX-V7 Review

CNET have reviewed the Kodak V1003 camera, which offers 10 megapixels, 2.5 inch LCD screen, 3x optical zoom lens and up to ISO 1600.

“Like its little brother, the EasyShare V803, noise and artifacts plagued the V1003’s images, softening and obscuring fine details. Photos shot at settings as low as ISO 400 displayed notable amounts of grain, which only grew worse at higher ISO settings. At ISO 1600, static-like speckles completely covered the image, softening all but the largest and most prominent details and rendering it almost completely unusable.”

Website: CNET - Kodak V1003 Review

DPReview have reviewed the new Olympus SP-550 UZ. This is the first digital camera to offer an 18x optical zoom lens, equivalent to 28-504mm.

“Olympus decided it had to come back with a bang, and that the marketing men looked at the existing market leaders and decreed that the SP-550UZ had to be bigger and better in every respect - even if doing so required more than a little smoke and mirrors. And so we got a camera with the highest sensitivity (albeit at massively reduced resolution), the highest frame rate (erm, albeit at reduced resolution) and, of course, the biggest zoom range (albeit one that struggles to focus at the long end).”

Website: DPReview - Olympus SP-550 UZ Review

Website: Read our Olympus SP-550 UZ Review

Olympus have released a firmware update, v1.1, for the SP-550 UZ.

Changes in v1.1:
Improved exposure accuracy when shooting in Manual Mode with the ISO set between 800 and 1600.

Website: Olympus SP-550 UZ v1.1 Firmware Update

Olympus have released a firmware update, v1.2, for the 7 megapixel, 10x optical zoom SP-510 UZ camera.

Changes in v1.2:
- The compression ratio for SQ1 High resolution (2304 x 1708) has been corrected.
- When opening images in OLYMPUS Master 1.42, the focal length will be displayed in 35mm equivalent.

Website: Olympus SP-510 UZ v1.2 Firmware Update

DCResource have reviewed the 7.1 megapixel Canon PowerShot A550, which has a 2 inch LCD screen, and 4x zoom lens.

“The Canon PowerShot A550 is a very good entry-level digital camera, and one that I can recommend easily. I’m going to do something a little unusual, though: I’m going to recommend that you pay $30 more for its big brother, the PowerShot A560. Why? For the speed and improved photo quality of the DIGIC III processor, a larger/sharper LCD, longer movie record times, and a tool that ends the annoying redeye problem that has plagued the A-series cameras for some time.”

Website: DCResource - Canon PowerShot A550 Review

Megapixel.net have reviewed the new Olympus SP-550 UZ. This is the first digital camera to offer an 18x optical zoom lens, equivalent to 28-504mm.

“We can only hope that with its excellent image quality and convincing optical performance, the SP-550 UZ is also a herald of a new class of bridge cameras that will place a strong emphasis on image quality and overall capabilities, and which will, in turn, offer many people with an alternative to bulkier digital SLR cameras.”

Website: Megapixel.net - Olympus SP-550 UZ Review

Website: Read our Olympus SP-550 UZ Review