Steves Digicams have reviewed the entry-level Canon PowerShot A460 camera, which offers a 2 inch LCD screen and 4x zoom lens.

“Like the A430, the A460’s image quality results were excellent, especially for such an affordably priced camera. In fact it sometimes rivals that of more expensive cameras with similar resolution.”

Website: Steves Digicams - Canon PowerShot A460 Review

More Sigma SD14 news for you this week, as the 6th March 2007 is revealed as the date of availability for the delayed DSLR camera. So it looks like the SD14 will be making an appearance at PMA after all. Sigma have also announced the following dates:

SD14 Sales Date: 6th March 2007.

Availability date of accessories for the SD-14.
AC-Adapter SAC-2 6th March. 2007
Battery Charger BC-21 6th March. 2007
Battery Pack BP-21 6th March. 2007
Power Grip PG-21 Second half of April. 2007
Remote Controller RS-31 22nd March. 2007
Cable Release CR-21 22nd March. 2007

PMA 2007: Lexar Professional UDMA (Ultra Direct Memory Access) memory cards are speed-rated at 300x, or capable of a minimum sustained write speed of 45MB per second. The cards have to be used with a UDMA-enabled device, such as Lexar’s new Professional FireWire 800 Reader, to achieve this speed. Intriguingly Lexar have also revealed that “several UDMA-enabled digital camera backs and digital SLR cameras (are) expected to be announced later this year”. Lexar Professional 300x speed-rated flash memory cards will be available in April in capacities of 2GB, 4GB, and 8GB.

PMA 2007: The Lexar Professional UDMA FireWire 800 Reader and Lexar Professional Dual-Slot Reader are two new flash memory card readers designed to deliver increased download speeds from the card to a computer. The Professional UDMA FireWire 800 Reader is compatible with all CompactFlash (Type I and Type II), MicroDrives, and UDMA-enabled CompactFlash cards. The Lexar Professional Dual-Slot Reader is USB 2.0-enabled and fully compatible with SD, SDHC, CompactFlash and UDMA-enabled CompactFlash memory cards. The Lexar UDMA FireWire 800 Reader will be available in April for $79.99, while the Lexar Dual-Slot USB Reader will be available in June for $49.99.

PMA 2007: The Nikon Coolpix P5000 is a new addition to Nikon’s Performance range of compact digital cameras. The Nikon P5000 offers 10 megapixels, 3.5x zoom lens (36-126mm), Vibration Reduction to combat camera shake, ISO 3200 capability and a 2.5 inch LCD screen. The Nikon P5000 will cost £329.99 / €489 / $399.95 and be available at the end of March.

PMA 2007: The Nikon Coolpix S50c and Nikon Coolpix S50 digital cameras both offer 7.2 megapixels, a 3x zoom lens (38-114mm), Vibration Reduction to help combat camera shake, Face-priority AF, In-Camera Red-Eye Fix and D-Lighting, plus a 3 inch wide-angle LCD monitor. The Nikon S50c differs from the S50 because of its Wi-Fi capabilities. The Nikon S50c is exclusive to Amazon, and the Nikon S50 to to DSG International PLC in the UK, availability to be confirmed. Prices in the US are $299.95 for the S50 and $349.95 for the S50c.

PMA 2007: The Nikon Coolpix S500 is 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. The Nikon S500 will cost £249.99 / €369 / $299.95 and be available at the end of March.

PMA 2007: The Nikon Coolpix S200 digital camera offers 7.1 megapixels, 3x zoom lens (38-114mm), electronic Vibration Reduction to help combat camera shake, ISO 1000 and a 2.5 inch LCD screen. The Nikon S200 will cost £199.99 / €299 / $249.95 and be available at the end of March.

PMA 2007: The Nikon Coolpix L12 is a 7.1 megapixel digital camera with a 3x optical zoom lens (35-105mm), Vibration Reduction to combat camera shake, Face-priority AF, D-Lighting and Red-Eye Fix, and a 2.5 inch LCD monitor. The Nikon L12 will cost £149.99 / €219 / $199.95 and be available at the beginning of April.

PMA 2007: The Nikon Coolpix L11 and Nikon Coolpix L10 are entry-level additions to the Coolpix range of compact digital cameras. The Nikon L11 offers 6 megapixels and a 2.4 inch LCD screen, and the Nikon L10 5 megapixels and a 2 inch LCD screen. Both cameras have a 3x zoom lens (37.5-112.5mm), maximum ISO of 800 and a choice of 16 Scene modes. The Nikon Coolpix L11 will cost £129.99 / $149.95, Nikon Coolpix L10 price $119.95, both available at the end of February.

Trusted Reviews have reviewed the Epson P-5000 Multimedia Storage Viewer, a new portable storage device that allows you to view, store and manage digital photos, music and movies.

“The data speaks for itself though, the P-5000 performed slower in every test, with the solitary exception of the Microdrive which wrote faster in all three tests. If you’re not too worried about access times or if you don’t have access to a computer, then these figures won’t mean much, after all they are only comparative, but since you can get a decent laptop for not much more than the cost of the P-5000 it’s worth thinking about.”

Website: Trusted Reviews - Epson P-5000 Review

Website: Read our Epson P-5000 Review

DigicamReview have reviewed the new Pentax Optio W20, a compact digital camera featuring waterproof performance with a slim, flat body design.

“The results from the Pentax Optio W20 are fairly typical - noise at the higher ISO settings - and less detail as the camera uses fairly heavy noise reduction. For noise free images it’s best to stick with the lower ISO settings, and only use the higher ISO settings (or blur reduction mode) when it’s absolutely necessary. The higher ISO settings may be useful it you want a quick photo, and aren’t too concerned about quality, and may be useful if you only intend to print at 6 x 4 inches.”

Website: DigicamReview - Pentax Optio W20 Review

Latest Prices / User Reviews

Adobe Photoshop Lightroom is now available to order from the Adobe website for a special introductory price of £125 (ex VAT) / $199. There’s also a 30-day trial version available if you want to find out exactly what Lightroom can do for your photography. The Beta version of Adobe Lightroom will expire on February 28, 2007.

Website: Adobe Photoshop Lightroom

The Plugin Site has released the MacOS X version of B/W Styler, a Photoshop plugin for B&W conversion. B/W Styler offers a whole range of black and white tools and related effects in a single plugin. B/W Styler costs $49.95.

Photographer Gerd Ludwig offers some tips about digital photography on Kingston Technology’s ‘Icons of Photography’ website. Ludwig comments “Shooting inside the Chernobyl reactor was probably the most challenging photographic situation I’ve ever encountered. It was dark, loud, and claustrophobic; the clock was ticking as our group rushed through dimly lit tunnels strewn with wires, pieces of shredded metal and other debris as I struggled not to trip; I was dodging the spray of sparks from the drillers in highly contaminated concrete dust; and I knew that I had less than 15 minutes to capture impacting images of an environment that few have ever seen, and that I might never access again.” Read our in-depth Gerd Ludwig interview to find out more.

Version 3.1.0 of Image Genius Professional incorporates enhancements aimed at improving the speed and ease of use and some additional functionality. Image Genius Professional is available at http://www.pixeldragons.com . A trial version is available and a one-user licence costs £59.99.

Loren Worthington’s “Rolling F-Stop” blog is aimed at improving the equipment available to photographers with disabilities.

“I have probably spent more time searching for adaptive photography equipment than I ever studied for all of my edjukashun combined and still I can’t find much.  So I created http://rollingfstop.blogspot.com/ .  Perhaps it can lead to some photographer contributions about their equipment and techniques.  Someday, I really think it would be great to have a disabled photographers workshop somewhere on this rock.”

Website: Rolling F-Stop

Adobe have released Camera Raw 3.7 for both Windows and Mac platforms. Support for the Nikon D40 and Pentax K10D DSLR cameras has been added in this update.

Website: Adobe Camera Raw 3.7 (Windows)

Website: Adobe Camera Raw 3.7 (MAC)

Sigma is keeping interest going for their new DSLR, the SD14, by releasing 25 sample photos spanning 6 different kinds of photography. Sigma comments “We feel these photographs clearly demonstrate the benefits of the world’s first and only direct image sensor.”, so take a look and see if you agree with them. Sigma recently announced that the release date of the SD14 was being pushed back to late Feb / early March, so the SD14 will hopefully be on show at PMA.

Website: Sigma SD14 Sample Photos

Minox UK’s website is listing the new Minox DC 7011, as the name would suggest a 7 megapixel camera. Details are scarce - the DC 7011 has a 3x optical zoom lens, 16MB of onboard memory and runs on ‘AA’ rechargeable batteries.

Website: Minox UK

Update: Minox have now issued a full press release (19/02/07).