PMA 2007: The Nikon D40x DSLR 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 D40x offers near instant power-up and a continuous shooting mode of 100 jpeg images at 3 frames per second. The Nikon D40x is fully compatible (autofocus is supported) with AF-S and AF-I Nikkor lenses which are equipped with an autofocus motor. The D40x and AF-S 18-55mm DX lens kit will cost £599.99 / $799 and be available from 29th March 2007.

PMA 2007: The Nikon AF-S DX VR Zoom-Nikkor 55-200mm f/4-5.6G IF-ED is a compact telephoto zoom lens featuring Vibration Reduction at a budget price point. This new 3.6x (82.5-300mm) zoom lens is designed specifically to work with the new Nikon D40x and existing D80 / D40 DSLR cameras. The Silent Wave Motor promises quiet autofocusing, whilst an ED glass element helps minimize chromatic aberrations. The Nikon AF-S DX VR 55-200mm f/4-5.6 lens costs £249.99 and will be available from 29th March 2007.

PMA 2007: PhotoShelter now offers one terabyte of redundant storage at a cost of $1,000 per year to all Standard and Professional PhotoShelter account subscribers. The PhotoShelter system allows for 24-hour online accessibility, while simultaneously serving as a sales platform that enables photographers to create galleries, determine fair market value, sell images, add search capabilities to personal sites and create RSS syndication feeds. This extra storage space can be added to any of these accounts at the following prices - One Terabyte of storage: $1,000 per year, or 500 Gigabytes of storage: $600 per year.

After the Beta version was released back in December 2007, Adobe have now unveiled the official launch date for Adobe Creative Suite 3. March 27th 2007 is the date to add to your calendars. Adobe will be celebrating the global launch at an event in New York City that will be webcast live at 8.30 pm UK time on that date. On March 27th, Adobe will reveal in detail the features and suite configurations that make this the largest software release in Adobe’s 25 year history. As with major new product launches recently (or so it seems), Adobe have posted a promotional CS3 YouTube video, which doesn’t give too much away…

PMA 2007: The Olympus P-1 professional DSLR is on its way - that’s the message from Olympus ahead of this year’s PMA show, as official photos and a tentative “later this year” target for the DSLR camera have been released today. The much anticipated Olympus P1 was first shown in early prototype form at Photokina in the Autumn of 2006, so perhaps March 2007 was always going to be a little too early for the full launch. After news of the consumer E-510 and E-410 DSLRs yesterday, Olympus have sought to underline their committment to the professional side of the E-System by issuing these P-1 photos, which looks quite a lot different to the E-1, with a rotating/flip-out screen, chunky battery grip and lower height. There’s also news of the development of 4 new Zuiko Digital lenses, 3 of which feature the new Supersonic Wave Drive focusing system. Exciting times for pro-Olympus DSLR users, if you can bear to wait another 6 months or so…

PMA 2007: The development of four new Olympus ZUIKO DIGITAL lenses and a 2.0x teleconverter have also been announced ahead of PMA. Interestingly three of the lenses will feature newly-developed, high-speed SWD (Supersonic Wave Drive) autofocusing system, bringing Olympus inline with other competitor’s systems (Canon’s USM, for example). The 14-35mm (28-70mm) f/2.0 offers a standard zoom with extremely fast constant aperture, whilst the non-SWD 70-300mm is equivalent to 140-600mm! Olympus have also briefly stated that the introduction of the successor to the E-1, named as the P-1, is scheduled for later this year, disappointing all those Olympus users who are patiently waiting for the company’s pro camera to be launched.

Olympus UK plan to create a dedicated division focussed on the DSLR market, announcing the appointment of Greg Connell as General Sales Manager for Digital SLR from April 2nd. Olympus UK’s Sales Director Andy Cochrane commented “Olympus are committed to photography of the highest standard and are putting in place the products and people to achieve our goals.”

PMA 2007: The new Ricoh R6 is (still) the the world’s slimmest digital camera with a 28mm wide-angle, 7.1x zoom lens. Changes from the older R5 model, include a larger 2.7 inch LCD screen, new face recognition mode (following the trend set by most other 2007 compact cameras), a slimmer body at just 20.6mm thick and 54Mb internal memory. The R6 otherwise retains the stand-out features of its predecessor, including a 7.24 megapixel CCD and vibration correction function. The Ricoh R6 will be available in mid-March 2007 in Silver, Black and Red for £229.99 (inc. VAT).

I’ve just arrived in Las Vegas for PMA 2007, to find the news that Focus on Imaging, Europe’s largest annual photography show, has got even bigger this year with record numbers of visitors. More than 32,000 visited the UK-based show during its 4 days, an increase of 3700 over the 2006 total. The show, which took place at the NEC between February 25th and 28th, featured well over 200 individual exhibitors. You can read my Focus 2007 Report to remind yourself of what happened.

PMA 2007: Digital Foci’s new Photo Safe portable hard-drives come in 40GB, 80GB, 120GB capacities with built-in memory card readers. Photo Safe provides the fastest copy speed on the market as compared to similarly priced products. Priced starting at $139 and available in in April 2007, Photo Safe is a lower-cost alternative to the Digital Foci Picture Porter Elite.

PMA 2007: The Olympus E-510 DSLR camera 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. Based on the Four Thirds Standard, the Olympus E-510 replaces the older E-500 model and offers a new 10 megapixel Live MOS sensor, Live Preview on the 2.5 inch LCD screen and a Supersonic Wave Filter for dust protection. The Olympus E510 will be available in June 2007 for around £600 body only, £700 in a kit with the 14-42mm lens, and £800 with the 14-42mm and 40-150mm lenses.

PMA 2007: The Olympus E-410 is one of the world’s most compact DSLR cameras with Live Preview. Based on the Four Thirds Standard, the Olympus E-410 replaces the E-400 and features a a new, professional-grade 10 megapixel Live MOS sensor. There’s also a new image processing engine which provides sequential shooting at up to 3fps with a seven image RAW buffer in burst mode. Both CompactFlash and xD-Picture Cards can be used with the E410, whilst you can use either the optical viewfinder or the 2.5 inch LCD to frame your shot. The new Olympus E-410 will be available from June 2007 for around £500 body only, £600 in a kit with the 14-42mm lens, and £700 with the 14-42mm and 40-150mm lenses.

PMA 2007: The weatherproof Olympus mju 780 compact digital camera features a 7.1 megapixel sensor, metal body in silver or black, and 5x optical zoom with mechanical image stabiliser. The Olympus 780 also offers ISO 1600, Shadow Adjustment Technology (which optimises the exposure of scenes with shadowy or other dark areas) and a 2.5 inch LCD screen. The Olympus mju 780 will be available in late April 2007 for around £250.

Olympus Europe, USA and the E-System website are all currently running a teaser advert for two new Olympus DSLR cameras, which will apparently be unveiled on March 5th, just a few days before the PMA show in Las Vegas. The three ads gives very little away - could one of the featured cameras be the professional successor to the E-1 that was first shown in prototype form at Photokina last year? We will have all the news about the future of the E-System, so make sure to visit PhotographyBLOG tomorrow…

Olympus Europe
Olympus USA
Olympus E-System

The new 7.2 megapixel Panasonic DMC-FX12 ultra-compact digital camera offers a 3x optical zoom (35-105mm) Leica DC lens, 2.5 inch LCD screen, optical image stabiliser and Intelligent ISO Control, plus ISO 1250 at full resolution. Perhaps more interesting is Panasonic’s claim that the latest Lumix models offer better noise performance than the previous generation of cameras. Read my review to find out if the Panasonic Lumix DMC-FX12 lives up to those claims.

Website: Panasonic Lumix DMC-FX12 Review

The new Kodak EasyShare V803 is an affordable 8 megapixel compact digital camera with a 2.5 inch LCD screen, 3x optical zoom lens and up to ISO 1600. There is a choice of no less than 8 different colours (I reviewed the black version), and the Kodak V803 costs just $199.95 / £149.99. Find out if the V803 is the perfect point and shoot digicam.

Website: Kodak EasyShare V803 Review

PMA 2007: Image Moments 6 is a new 5.7” high-resolution digital LCD photo frame with the highest pixel density available (640 x 480). Image Moments 6 supports all popular memory cards - CompactFlash, MicroDrive, SD card, MMC, Memory Stick, MS PRO, xD-Picture Card, and even MS Duo/MS PRO Duo directly without needing an adapter. It also has a USB slot to support USB thumb drives. Image Moments 6 comes with a brushed chrome frame with polished chrome highlights, a remote control, AC power adapter, User’s Guide, and Quick Start Guide.  Image Moments 6 (Model IMT-062) will be available in June for $159.

PMA 2007: The DXG Roadster is a combination of 5 Megapixel digital and video camera, video game and music player with FM radio, voice recorder and storage device, with 32MB of internal storage and an SD slot for additional memory. The DXG Roadster has a suggested retail price of $199 and is available immediately.

The winners of the February 2007 PhotographyBLOG Competition have been selected by a panel of judges. The theme for February was “Self Portrait” - you can view all of the entries in this gallery. Here are the 5 winners:

1st Place
read between the lines by soulfluxzero

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

An article by CNET News claims that Adobe will introduce a simplified, online version of Photoshop within the next 6 months. The free service will be similar to the Adobe Remix web-based video application, and Adobe plans to expand in the hosted services area. Google’s Picasa software is an obvious target for Adobe (although that is a desktop program, not hosted).