Imation Press Release

No Matter Your Digital Storage Need, Imation Has a Flash Drive for You - Company premieres new Pivot Flash Drive, Clip Flash Drive and Customized Flash Wristbands at MobileFocus

LAS VEGAS (April 5, 2006) – Need instant access to your information? Imation Corp (NYSE: IMN) has the solution. Highlighted by a diverse portfolio of flash drives, Imation continues to improve the process of sharing, carrying and storing digital files. These products are on display at this year’s MobileFocus event, prior to CTIA Wireless IT & Entertainment 2006, on Wednesday, April 5, in Las Vegas. “Imation continues providing innovative and trusted data storage products that meet the growing and changing needs of our customers,” said Tom Lally, U.S. executive director of sales and marketing, Imation. “Imation’s flash offerings, for example, provide a wide range of options for security, productivity and portability in various capacities, sizes and colors. Whether you’re a student looking for a low-capacity, cool-colored flash drive to wear on your wrist or a busy professional who needs a high-capacity, sleek-looking flash drive to encrypt your confidential files, Imation has a drive for you.”

ProFotoSoftware Press Release

London United Kingdom, 5th April 2006 - ProFotoSoftware Ltd have today released PFS Browser - a free image browser for Windows. PFS Browser supports all the major image formats, including the RAW formats from most camera manufacturers, including Canon, Nikon, Kodak, Pentax and Olympus. PFS Browser features rapid thumbnail generation and caches thumbnails to increase performance. Additionally, PFS Browser supportc ICC profiles for printing and viewing images. Image enahancement is provided by the built in Levels and Curves tools and images can be saved in variety of formats. A number of plugins for PFS Browser will be released in the near future, expanding its capabilities further.

For full details, visit http://www.profotosoftware.com

InfoTrends Press Release

WEYMOUTH, Mass.—(BUSINESS WIRE)—April 5, 2006—According to a recent U.S. consumer study from InfoTrends, the use of retail photo printing services continues to grow. Retail services might involve ordering prints from a photo kiosk print station, ordering them over-the-counter at a retail store, or placing an order through a retailer’s online site for pickup in the store. The study confirms that digital camera owners continue to use multiple sources for obtaining prints, but more people are shifting to retail. Not only is usage increasing, but frequency is as well. While only 13% of digital camera owners reported printing at retail most often during 2004, this percentage had increased to 23% in 2005.

WnSoft Graphics Press Release

PixBuilder Studio Professional Instrument For Digital Photo Editing And Images Manipulations

April 6, 2006 – WnSoft Graphics announces the release of PixBuilder Studio 1.25. The saying goes, “A picture speaks a thousand words.”, and with advances in digital photography and software for image production, one photo can have a thousand uses. WnSoft Graphics has captured this idea and designed PixBuilder Studio as a multi-faceted graphics editor in a compact package. PixBuilder Studio is an ideal tool for working with digital photos with a focus on ease of use, speed and exceptional image quality. All the professional functions are accessed through a simple interface, including layering, adjustment of levels, curves, color balance, brightness and contrast, application of effects, image resizing and rotation, all with instant preview on-the-fly, in real time. This application offers multi-step undo, printing and saving with preview, text operations, and creation of icons. All the features of PixBuilder Studio are described at http://www.wnsoft.com/pbs/index.html.

DigitalCameraReview have reviewed the Nikon Coolpix L2, a 6 megapixel camera with 3x optical zoom lens and 2 inch LCD.

“I was impressed with the image quality. Colors were accurate and skin tones looked good and weren’t too warm or reddish. Exposure was good outside and handled tough lighting well (full sunlight and shaded areas). Indoor shots were typically underexposed, but I have a hunch that this was done on purpose so that the results of applying D-Lighting to the image would work out. It’s always possible to lighten an under-exposed image than it is to darken an over-exposed image. When images are over-exposed, details are completely lost. If you don’t like the under-exposure, just bump up the exposure compensation via the shooting Menu. If you have a lot of fine details around the edges of your frame, you may notice some softness around the margins of the image. Chromatic aberration was well controlled.”

Website: DigitalCameraReview - Nikon Coolpix L2 Review

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CNET have reviewed the new Canon PowerShot A540, which offers 6 megapixels, ISO 800, 2.5 inch LCD and a 4x optical zoom lens.

“Solid image quality, usable ISO 800 performance, and a full set of manual controls make the Canon PowerShot A540 an excellent choice for photo enthusiasts looking for an almost-pocketable second camera, or for budding photographers who aren’t ready to move up to a superzoom EVF model or digital SLR.”

Website: CNET - Canon PowerShot A540 Review

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TrustedReviews have just reviewed the new 6 megapixel Nikon Coolpix S5 digital camera.

“Like all Nikon compacts the build quality is exemplary. The finish is protected by a scratch-resistant lacquer, and the LCD also has a scratch-resistant acrylic outer layer, so the camera should survive an accidental in-pocket encounter with you car keys without too much damage. For its size the S5 feels surprisingly substantial, and it has a feeling of real quality about it. As well it might, because with a list price of £299.99 and a street price of around £235 it is well above the average for a camera in this class. With cameras such as the smaller and lighter Casio EX-Z60, Sony DSC-W50 or Pentax Optio S6 available for under £200 the Coolpix S5 needs to be something special if it’s going to compete. The Nikon brand name alone, unimpeachably reputable though it may be, simply isn’t enough these days.”

Website: TrustedReviews - Nikon Coolpix S5 Review

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Epson have unveiled a number of Spring rebates, including $50 off the new 80Gb Epson P-4000 photo viewer and $150 off the RX620 printer. Here’s the full list:

Epson PictureMate - $20 off
Epson Stylus Photo R340 - $30 off
Epson Stylus Photo RX620 - $150 off
Epson Stylus CX4200 - $20 off
Epson Stylus CX4800 - $30 off
Epson Stylus CX5800F - $30 off
Epson Stylus CX7800 - $30 off
Epson P-4000 - $50 off
AcuLaser CX11N - $150 off

Website: Epson Spring Rebates

Casio have released a new firmware update for the Casio EX-S600 (pictured) and Casio EX-Z500 digital cameras.

Functions added by firmware update 1.01:

Keystone Correction
Correct the snapshot of a blackboard, document, poster, photograph, or other rectangular object that is out of square because it was recorded at an angle.
Performing keystone correction on an image causes a new (corrected) version (1600 × 1200 pixels) to be stored as a separate file

Lexar Press Release

Top Wedding and Portrait Photographers to Share Techniques in Lexar’s Booth at the WPPI Show in Las Vegas

Fremont, Ca., April 4, 2006 – Lexar Media, Inc. (Nasdaq: LEXR), a world leader in advanced digital media technologies, today announced that professional wedding photographers Paul Gero, Denis Reggie and Matt Mendelsohn will be demonstrating their award-winning digital photography techniques in conjunction with the company’s professional-level flash memory cards and accessories at the Wedding and Portrait Photographers International Show (WPPI), taking place April 7-11 in Las Vegas. These distinguished photographers will be giving presentations and sharing content about their favorite shooting, workflow and printing techniques and will include tips and answer questions on how Lexar’s professional products help them succeed in their wedding assignments. According to Rangefinder, the leading and fastest-growing magazine in professional photography and the official media outlet of the upcoming WPPI show, a recent reader survey found that more than 80 percent of all professional photographers now prefer digital imaging as their method of image capture.

Nikon Press Release

Nikon at the “Japan Design - Good Design Award 50 Years exhibition,” held in Milan to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Good Design Awards

April 4, 2006 - Nikon is pleased to announce that it will be displaying products from April 5 through 10, 2006 at the Japan Design - Good Design Award 50 Years exhibition held in Milan, Italy. This exhibition is sponsored by the Japan Industrial Design Promotion Organization to celebrate the 50th year since the founding of the Good Design Awards (G-Mark). 20 Japanese companies will demonstrate the history and potential of the designs of Japan that have led the world through innovation.

As one of the companies that have received Good Design Awards, Nikon will display a lineup including three concept camera models, the Nikon F which was created with the cooperation of the late graphic designer Yusaku Kamekura, the F6 and D2H SLR cameras featuring a red triangular motif suggested by industrial designer Giorgetto Giugiaro, the F3 SLR camera custom-made for NASA (National Aeronautics and Space Administration), binoculars, and eyeglass frames, all clearly epitomizing the three key words of Nikon design: Reliability, Innovation, and Elegance.

DigitalCameraInfo have just reviewed the new Sony Cyber-shot DSC-R1, a 10.3 megapixel compact camera with an APS-C sized sensor that allows for a “live” preview.

“Still, buying an R1 means giving up interchangeable lenses and reflex viewing, both of which should be powerful draws to most photographers shopping in this price range. All the DSLRs we have tested are faster and more responsive than the R1, and of course, none have the viewfinder “smearing” problem we noted in low light on the R1. Also, the R1 does not offer optical image stabilization or video capture – both strong draws to fixed lens designs.”

Website: DigitalCameraInfo - Sony Cyber-shot DSC-R1 Review

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Norwegian website Akam.no have the first web review of the Fujifilm F460, a 5 megapixel digital camera with 3x optical zoom lens and a 2.5 inch LCD screen.

Website: Akam.no - Fujifilm FinePix F460 Review

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DIWA member and Czech website FotoAparat have just reviewed the new 8 megapixel Canon EOS 30D DSLR.

Website: FotoAparat - Canon EOS 30D Review

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PCMagazine have reviewed the new Olympus Stylus 710 (also known as the mju 700 in Europe), a 7.1 megapixel camera with 3x zoom, 2.5 inch LCD and a weatherproof body.

“My feelings on the camera’s design are mixed. I like the sleek design, but some of the controls feel a little cramped. When I hold it, it feels as though it will slip out of my hands because of the sharp angles on the side and top of the camera. However, at 3.7 by 2.1 by 0.7 inches and just 4.9 ounces, it certainly won’t slow anyone down.”

Website: PCMagazine - Olympus Stylus 710 Review

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Olympus have issued technical information about their Live MOS sensor, as used in the E-330 digital SLR camera.

Olympus UK Press Release

The Live MOS Sensor offers image quality comparable to a Full Frame Transfer (FFT) CCD sensor with the low power requirements of a CMOS sensor, and is noteworthy for its high-quality imaging capabilities over an extended period of time. Simplified circuitry that reduces the distance from each photodiode to its corresponding on-chip microlens assures excellent sensitivity and image quality even when light strikes it at a high angle of incidence.

1. Resolution: 7.5 megapixels, with excellent low-light performance characteristics.
2. Grain: low-noise technologies assure reduced graininess.
3. Tonal range: Simplification of the transfer register and other circuitry results in a large photodiode surface area for FFT-CCD-level sensitivity and responsiveness.
4. Low power consumption: Power requirements are approximately half those of FFT-CCD sensors.
5. High speed: Simple circuit structure contributes to faster processing overall.

Digital Marketing Services Press Release

Fast Flagship Rollei 6008 AF Medium Reflex Camera With Sinarback emotion22 Digital Back, Top-of-the Line Lens, And Editing Software

CONCORD, CA, APRIL 4, 2006 –  Professional and high-end amateur photographers can now a leading medium-format single reflex camera and a 22-megapixel high-performance digital back with a “Super Bundle” now available in the U.S. from Digital Marketing Services. The bundle includes the Rollei 6008AF, the world’s first single lens reflex camera in a 6x6 medium format, a Sinarback eMotion22 digital back, editing software, and an AF Xenotar 80 mm F2.8 lens. The bundle gives photographers film and digital picture taking capability in one package. The interchangeable film packs allow a photographer to shoot film, Polaroid-type shots as well as digital shots with very high speeds, high quality digital files, and a large landscape surface area. The 6008AF bundle is ideal for photographers who need maximum mobility—from portrait, fashion and landscape photographers, to photojournalists, and corporate/ government photographers involved in “workflow” photography. Pricing is expected to be in the $24,999 range.

X-Rite Press Release

OPTIX XR2 offers unparalleled colour accuracy - X-Rite Raises Bar On Monitor Calibration And Profiling

Birmingham, UK ? IPEX 2006, Hall 9, Stand C40 ? 4 April, 2006 ? X-Rite Inc. is giving creative professionals a new level of confidence in the accuracy of the colours displayed on their monitors with its introduction of the OPTIX XR2 display calibration and profiling solution. Combining a state-of-the-art colorimeter with enriched software, the OPTIX XR2 delivers an unparalleled colour management solution for displays; including LCD, CRT and newly developed wide gamut technologies. “Creative professionals like photographers and graphic designers know that accurate colour counts,” says Terry Denczek, worldwide product manager for X-Rite. “And the surest way to obtain consistently accurate monitor colour is a properly calibrated and profiled display. OPTIX XR2 ensures that you’ll get dependable colour representation on your screen.”

Pentax USA Press Release

GOLDEN, CO (March 31, 2006)….PENTAX Imaging Company has announced the YOUR CHOICE consumer rebate program on select PENTAX digital SLR lenses beginning Saturday, April 1, 2006 until July 6, 2006.  The PENTAX YOUR CHOICE program offers generous rebates up to $100 US that allow customers the opportunity to gear up on a selection of 12 popular PENTAX digital lenses.  Every smc PENTAX lens features the acclaimed multi-layer coating to lower surface reflection, reduce ultraviolet rays, and deliver clear, high-contrast images. Famous for pristine clarity, superb contrast, and superior quality, smc PENTAX lenses are the exceptional choice for discerning photographers of every level. “PENTAX has manufactured over 24 million lenses in the last five decades because we believe that for every assignment there needs to be a lens that matches each photographer’s style, amateur and professional alike,” said Ned Bunnell, director of marketing, PENTAX Imaging Company. “With our lens rebate program, you can choose the PENTAX system that’s best for you,” added Bunnell.

Wiley Press Release

Photoshop Elements has most of the features and functions of Photoshop at a fraction of Photoshop’s price. But it can be made even more powerful with exclusive code enhancements that unlock functions that are built-in to Photoshop Elements but hidden. The Hidden Power of Photoshop Elements 4 (Sybex, an imprint of Wiley; April 2006) reveals how digital photographers and graphic artists can extend the capabilities for Photoshop Elements and take image editing to the next level. Author Richard Lynch teaches readers professional image correction techniques using advanced tools hidden within the software.