The new ATP 2GB microSD flash card is aimed at mobile phones which offer MP3 playback, video recording, and higher megapixel photographic capabilities. ATP have also announced a 2Gb version of the Trio Professional Plus, which allows for compatibility and direct transferability of data with all three SD formats, plus a new microSD to MS PRO Duo Reader. ATP’s new 2GB microSD, SD Trio, and microSD to MS PRO Duo Reader are available immediately.

DPreview have the first review of the new Panasonic DMC-FZ8 camera.

“I’m not going to dwell on the noise / noise reduction issue here; we’ve done it to death and there are plenty of examples in the review and the gallery to allow you to make your own mind up. At ISO 100 and 200, if you turn the noise reduction to low (or shoot raw) the FZ8 is a little noisy, but the overall quality of output is excellent, and it produces superb prints. At higher ISO settings you’re never going to get amazing results from a 1/2.5” 7MP sensor.”

Website: DPReview - Panasonic DMC-FZ8 Review

Thom Hogan has published his review of the new Nikon D40 entry level DSLR camera.

“Color accuracy for the default sRGB Color Space is about the same as previous Nikons that use the same sensor: nearly perfect in most greens, browns, and some of the blues, a bit exaggerated in the deep blues and some of the yellow/red colors. Most people will find that pleasing (warmer skin tones, deeper sky colors). AdobeRGB Color Space is closer to correct, and requires very little correction in a converter to get fairly “neutral” coloration.”

Website: Thom Hogan - Nikon D40 Review

Website: Read our Nikon D40 Review

Latest Prices / User Reviews

CNET have reviewed the Sony W35 which offers 7.2 megapixels, Real Imaging Processor, ISO 1000 and a 3x optical zoom lens.

“The camera performed quite well in our tests, considering its low price tag. After a mere 1.4-second startup time, we were rattling off shots every 1.4 seconds. With the onboard flash enabled, that time slightly increased to 1.7 seconds. Shutter lag was a peppy 0.4 seconds in bright light, though the lag increased to 1.7 seconds in dim environments. Burst mode was acceptable, snapping four full-resolution shots in just under three seconds for a rate of 1.34 frames per second.”

Website: CNET - Sony W35 Review

DigitalCameraInfo have reviewed the 7 megapixel, dual-lens Kodak Easyshare V705 camera.

“Kodak priced the EasyShare V705 at $349 and that isn’t outrageously overpriced but certainly rides the line. The camera’s specs certainly justify the price. The dual lens system lets users enjoy a wide 23mm focal length and a total zoom of 5x, something that just can’t be found on many ultra-compact digital cameras. The dual lens system requires two image sensors, each with 7.1 megapixels. A 2.5-inch high-resolution LCD screen and 32 MB of internal memory round out the specs. $349 sounds fair enough until you consider the awful color reproduction, inability to snap even halfway decent pictures in low light, the furry look of most pictures, and overall poor image quality.”

Website: DigitalCameraInfo - Kodak Easyshare V705 Review

Website: Read our Kodak Easyshare V705 Review

Latest Prices / User Reviews

Kodak All-in-One printers promise to save customers up to 50% on everything they print. For every £10 / $15 spent on colour ink and £7 / $10 spent on black ink, you can print the same number of pages at half the cost of other consumer inkjet printers. When the KODAK Photo Value Pack is purchased, a 4 x 6-inch photo costs as little as 7 pence / 10 cents per print. In the UK, the Kodak 5300 AiO will be available in May 2007; the Kodak 5500 is expected to begin shipping in June 2007. In the USA, beginning in March 2007, the Kodak 5100 and Kodak 5300 AiO Printers will retail exclusively at Best Buy, whilst the Kodak 5500 is expected to begin shipping in May 2007.

Update: We now have some photos of pre-production printers taken at the UK press launch in London earlier today. Kodak have spent $500 million and 3.5 years of development time to enter the inkjet market, aiming to provide quality and ease-of-use at up to half the cost of their rivals. Interestingly, Kodak don’t make money on their digital cameras, hence the move into inkjet printing. Expect to see more models in 2007.

Corel Painter X, the world’s most powerful painting and illustration software, is now available for pre-order from www.corel.co.uk/painterx (shipping in English version late February 2007). Corel Painter X includes the RealBristle Painting System that provides an organic painting and illustration experience – right down to the individual bristles on the brush. Corel Painter X is £229 / €349 for full, £119 / €179 for upgrade. The Limited Edition Painter Can is available for £259 / €379.

Scanning Negatives and Slides: Digitizing Your Photographic Archives is a new book that bridges the gap between analog (traditional) and digital photography. The most common software tools for scanning (SilverFast, VueScan, NikonScan) are provided on a companion DVD. Scanning Negatives and Slides costs $44.95 in the US.

The Sony Ericsson K810/K818 Cyber-shot phone features a 3.2 megapixel camera including auto focus and Xenon flash. New illuminated Camera Icons will allow the user to select advanced camera settings. The Sony Ericsson K550 / K550im is a compact (14mm thin) cameraphone with 2 megapixels with auto focus plus LED photo light.

Shuttertalk have just reviewed the Arctic Butterfly, a digital SLR sensor cleaning solution from the company VisibleDust.

“I found that it worked as advertised, with no problems picking up dust and leaving the my sensor spot-free. The spinning mechanism is a very novel way of self-cleaning and charging up the bristles, without having to resort to compressed air. As a result, it is very quick to use and put away, with minimum fuss and mess. I was very impressed too by the sturdiness and quality of the construction, and the hardy protective cases supplied.”

Website: Shuttertalk - Arctic Butterfly Review

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

1st Place
H u m b le - A b o d e by PZIG98

Prize: Photobird.com one-year subscription with 100 megabytes of storage space
Kindly donated by Photobird.com.
http://www.photobird.com

The winners of the January 2007 Prize Giveaway have been randomly selected from the current list of PhotographyBLOG Newsletter subscribers. Here are the 6 winners:

Dean Steele, Mark Bowman, Tim Foster and Rick Pali have each won a copy of ACDSee Pro, which allows you to view, process, edit, organize, catalog, publish, and archive your photo collections.

David Pithie and Peter Simmonds have each won a copy of Ulead PhotoImpact, which adds innovative features that allow beginners to immediately enjoy success in editing their digital photos.

The Ricoh 500SE is a GPS-ready digital camera, with an integrated precision GPS module. The 500SE can also receive NMEA data streams from external GPS devices via its on-board Bluetooth radio. The Ricoh 500SE is waterproof and shock-resistant and features an 8 megapixel sensor, 2.5 inch LCD screen, 28mm wide-angle lens and 1cm macro mode. The 500SE will be available for £549.99 and £599.99 for the WiFi version.

The DXG-506V is a 5.1 megapixel digital camera, camcorder, MP3 player, voice recorder and webcam, all in a camcorder-shaped design. The DXG 506V shoots video at 640x480 at 30 frames per second and can capture digital photos of up to 12 megapixels (via interpolation). The DXG-506V is available immediately in four colors, Deep-Sea Blue, Metallic Pink, Midnight Black, and Classic Silver for $149.

The controversial snapper photographs new domestic abuse campaign

International film director, fashion and portrait photographer Rankin has taken time out of his hectic schedule to work on a different kind of campaign. Today Women’s Aid, the national domestic violence charity, launches its new domestic abuse awareness campaign under the new brand Act and Rankin has shot the striking images. Famous female celebrity faces such as Anne-Marie Duff, Fiona Bruce, Honor Blackman and Anna Friel have all participated in the campaign which hopes to emphasise the fact that domestic violence can affect every woman, no matter her age or situation.

Kodak have announced a range of new Image Enhancement Plugins for Adobe Photoshop and compatible software. Available in professional and standard versions, the Kodak plugins cover noise reduction, airbrush effect, colour casts and exposure problems. You can download a free trial of the Image Enhancement Plug-Ins software by visiting http://www.asf.com/

PMA 2007: The new MyBook Photo Book Kit is an easy photo album creation kit, allowing you to produce traditional 8 ½” x 11” hard-cover bound books from your photos. MyBook Photo Book Kit includes 1 book with a window cut, 2 end sheets, and photo book layout software for under $20.00 and will be available in Q2 2007.

Nikon have just released a firmware update for the new Nikon D40 entry level DSLR camera. The following improvements have been made with firmware version 1.10.

- The camera will be Certified for Windows Vista adding support for the new USB Media Transfer Protocol (MTP). The PTP option in the setup menu’s USB item will be displayed as MTP/PTP.
- The range of years that can be selected in the Date option in the setup menu’s World time has been expanded to 2000 – 2099.

Nikon have just released a firmware update for the new 10 megapixel Nikon D80 DSLR camera. The following improvements have been made with firmware version 1.01.

- The viewfinder electronic analog exposure display will indicate if the brightness of the subject exceeds camera’s exposure control. This will occur in Program auto (P) exposure mode, this will also occur in Shutter-priority auto (S) or Aperture-priority auto (A) exposure modes if the built-in flash is raised.
- Effects of processing performed when the Long exp. NR item in the shooting menu is enabled have been improved.

PNY Optima is a new high speed range of memory cards, offering a minimum write speed of 9MB/sec, minimum read speed above 10MB/sec and up to 4GB storage capacity. The PNY Optima Secure Digital is available now in 1GB and 2GB capacities. The PNY Optima SDHC 4GB Optima version (class 6) will be available by the end of Q1 2007. The PNY Optima CompactFlash is available now in 1GB, 2GB, and 4GB capacities.