DPReview have published their review of the Nikon D50, a new affordable 6.1 megapixel digital SLR.

“The nicest thing about the D50 however is that it just feels right, build wise it’s a step above the Canon EOS 350D and Pentax *ist DS, it’s also not too small, I’m all for making cameras lighter but there’s a limit as to how small you can make an SLR before the hand grip feels cramped and controls begin to get in the way. The D50 feels as responsive as any film camera and is a pleasure to shoot with. The only change I would make would probably be a larger viewfinder view (like that of the Pentax *ist DS).”

Website: DPReview - Nikon D50 Review

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DigitalCameraInfo have published their review of the 4-megapixel Olympus C-170 (also called the D-425 in the US).

“The Olympus D-425 performed fairly well, displaying consistent color reproduction throughout testing. The camera managed to garner an overall color rating of 8.42 with over-saturation occurring in areas which can be expected from most point-and-shoot cameras. The Foliage Green (#4) and Brown (#1) hues were both over-saturated which is a bit unexpected although an over-saturated green will merely make the enhanced red and orange tones pop from the image even more without seeming too unnatural. For a low priced point-and-shoot mode, the Olympus D-425 will produce colors that are far stronger than some cameras costing twice as much.”

Website: DigitalCameraInfo - Olympus C-170 Review

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CNET have published their review of the 5 megapixel, 10x zoom Kodak EasyShare Z740 digital camera.

“A 10X zoom lens, manual exposure controls, 5-megapixel resolution, a versatile burst-shooting mode, and an electronic viewfinder that works as well in blazing sunlight as in murky interiors—there are certainly aspects of the Kodak EasyShare Z740 that might cause photo enthusiasts to sit up and take notice. Unfortunately, the downside includes rampant purple fringing, a bit of noise (marring otherwise decent image quality), a lack of manual focus, and a low-resolution EVF, which suffers from ghosting and blackouts between shots.”

Website: CNET - Kodak EasyShare Z740 Review

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Pentax Optio60 digital camera is announced today. The Pentax Optio60 is an easy to use 6 megapixel compact digicam with 3x optical zoom lens, 2.0 inch LCD screen and optical viewfinder. The Optio60 digital camera ships next month and the price will be $200 US.

Pentax USA Press Release

PENTAX ANNOUNCES Optio60 DIGITAL CAMERA WITH HIGH RESOLUTION AND LOW LEARNING CURVE

Golden, Colorado (July 21, 2005)…High resolution digital photography is simpler than ever with the new PENTAX Optio60 digital camera.  An excellent choice for digital newcomers, the PENTAX Optio60 offers 6.0 megapixel resolution and a 3X zoom lens in a compact, lightweight, and stylish design.

An easy-to-understand “Simple mode” deserves the credit for lowering the learning curve of the PENTAX Optio60.  Set in this mode, users are free to concentrate on photography subjects while the Optio60 automatically selects optimal focus and exposure settings for scenes at hand.  Even more, the PENTAX Optio60 incorporates Manual exposure settings plus Aperture and Shutter priority modes to allow room for users to grow their photography skills.

Epson have released a new firmware update for thier P-2000 Multimedia Storage Viewer, which I enthusiastically reviewed a couple of months ago.

The v2.04 firmware provides the following enhancements:

- Additional RAW file support for the Canon EOS Digital Rebel XT.
- Fixed error with Konica Minolta Dynax 7D files.
- Processing time to identify SD cards has been increased.

Website: Epson America - P-2000 Updates (Windows)

Website: Epson America - P-2000 Updates (Mac)

Does film out-resolve digital? How can you tell? Does anyone really care? Find out the answers to all these questions and more in Michael Reichmann’s latest article over on Luminous Landscape.

“One of the favourite debates on web discussion forums is – “why film is or is not sharper then digital”. Experienced photographers know through the evidence of their own eyes that, other things being equal – same lens, similar ISO, etc; in real-world photographs digital is incontrovertibly sharper than film. Yet the debates continue.

This is reminiscent of the urban myth that bumble bees can’t fly. Their wings are far too small to generate enough lift given their weight. A lift to weight ratio thing. (Sound familiar?)”

Website: Luminous Landscape - Clumps and Chumps

Delkin Devices Press Release

DELKIN DEVICES® INTRODUCES eFilm® ARCHIVAL GOLD “100 YEAR” DVD-R

July 22, 2005 Poway, CA— Delkin Devices, Inc., maker of premium quality eFilm memory cards and other innovative digital photography products, today introduced the long anticipated DVD-R addition to the popular eFilm Archival Gold media line.  The eFilm Archival Gold DVD-R is now shipping to distributors and resellers all over the world.

“Camera stores and mini-labs have been clamoring for museum quality media with the higher storage capacity of a DVD-R from the moment we introduced the eFilm Archival Gold CD-R,” explains Martin Wood, CEO of Delkin Devices, Inc. “There were many technical difficulties to overcome in developing a DVD-R that could withstand the rigorous accelerated aging tests required to meet our Archival Gold standard.  Now photographers working with the larger file sizes of today’s DSLRs have a reliable storage media for their work and precious memories.”

DigitalCameraInfo have taken a look at the new 5 megapixel Kodak Easyshare C360 digital camera.

“The C360 is a suitable alternative for the point-and-shoot crowd, particularly when bundled with the Series 3 Printer Dock. The EasyShare C360 is equipped with a 1/2.5 inch 5 megapixel CCD and 3x optical all glass lens that creates sharp images with impressive clarity. The camera offers snapshooters 16 custom image presets, in-menu help options, easily legible bold font face, and 32MB of internal memory. Although the camera has limited manual controls, the interface is designed for the less photographically-engaged user, providing an opportunity to take and print images in just two buttons. Other than the camera’s substandard color reproduction, the $379.95 package is a strong value. Without the printer, there are many other alternatives within the $250 - $300 price bracket that will provide more shooting flexibility and control but can only hope to parallel the camera in simplicity.”

Website: DigitalCameraInfo - Kodak Easyshare C360 Review

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The Danish website Akamera.dk have reviewed the new Nikon Coolpix 7900, a 7 megapixel digital camera featuring a 2.0-inch LCD screen, new graphical user interface and a 3x Zoom-Nikkor ED lens equivalent to 38-114mm lens in 35mm format.

Website: Akamera.dk - Nikon Coolpix 7900 Review

Website: Read my Nikon Coolpix 7900 Review

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CNET have published their review of the Olympus µ(mju: )-mini Digital S, a 5 megapixel digital camera with 2x optical zoom lens equivalent to 35-70mm (also known as the Olympus Stylus Verve S).

“Of course, the Verve S doesn’t have a lot of photo quality to spare, with a level of image detail that’s just average for its ultracompact 5-megapixel class. We saw visual noise in our shots even at ISO 64, and ISO 400 is very noticeably noisy. JPEG artifacts also obscured details a bit, and we saw some moderate purple fringing around backlit objects. It seemed to be easier to blow out highlights with this camera, even if exposures were otherwise spot-on. While colors were fairly accurate and well saturated, this camera’s red-eye preflash did little to prevent glowing red pupils.”

Website: CNET - Olympus µ(mju: )-mini Digital S Review

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Imaging Resource have posted their review of the new 5 megapixel Olympus C-5500 Sport Zoom digital camera (called the C-55 Sports Zoom in the rest of the world).

“My first take on the Olympus C-5500 Sport Zoom was “nice enough camera, but nothing special.” As I learned its capabilities and studied its photos however, I found myself warming to it quite a bit. When I finally got around to checking its “street” prices though, I was very pleasantly surprised : Widely available online for well under $250 (under $215 from some merchants), the Olympus 5500 is a real bargain for a 5x zoom, 5-megapixel digital camera.”

Imaging Resource - Olympus C-5500 Sport Zoom Review

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The Hungarian website Index Digicam have reviewed the new Sony DSC-W5 digital camera, which offers 5 megapixels, a 2.5 inch LCD screen, battery life of 380 shots and 32 megabytes of internal memory.

Website: Index Digicam - Sony DSC-W5 Review

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The Hungarian website Index Digicam have reviewed the Canon Digital IXUS 50, a 5 megapixel digital camera with stainless steel finish that is Canon’s smallest ever 5.0 Megapixel optical zoom camera (also known as the SD400).

Website: Index Digicam - Canon Digital IXUS 50 Review

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DIWA member Steves Digicams have posted their review of the entry-level Olympus C-500 Zoom digicam (also known as the D-595).

“Ergonomics are good. It is a bit larger than the D-590, yet still small enough to carry in almost any pocket or purse. This size allows for a comfortable feel in your hands and one-handed shooting was a breeze. The minimal camera controls are well-placed on the body, and the menu system is logically-organized. Its large 1.8-inch Semi- Transmissive LCD works great outdoors in bright sunlight and “gains up” when shooting in low ambient lighting; you can also opt to use its optical viefinder to save precious battery power.”

Website: Steves Digicams - Olympus C-500 Zoom Review

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DIWA member Steves Digicams have published their review of the Olympus µ(mju: )-mini Digital S, a 5 megapixel digital camera with 2x optical zoom lens equivalent to 35-70mm (also known as the Olympus Stylus Verve S).

“The overall image quality when using its SHQ 2560x1920 (5-megapixel) mode was great. Outdoors it consistently produced sharp images, with good overall exposure and the colors were very accurate. I noticed very little noise in high and low contrast areas. The Auto white balance setting was very accurate and only under some very mixed lighting conditions did it show any problems. Indoors it also performed well. The flash has an average range of about 9 feet, which is sufficient for shooting in small rooms, but is useless in large open areas. Our indoor flash portraits showed true skin tones. The autofocus system seemed to work well in low-light, but it would greatly benefit from an AF-assist lamp.”

Website: Steves Digicams - Olympus µ(mju: )-mini Digital S Review

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X’S-Drive 2 XL VP2260 is announced today. The XS Drive 2 XL VP2260 is a simple to use portable storage device which supports all types of memory card. The price of the X’S-Drive 2 XL VP2260 30GB model is £140 incl VAT. Higher capacities up to 80GB are available.

Cardmedia Press Release

Cardmedia (Europe) Ltd, the official UK distributor for the XS Drive Portable Storage devices, has announced the availability of the X’S-Drive 2 XL VP2260, a new Portable Storage Device with blue backlight LCD display, replacing the popular XS Drive II Plus VP2160.

The X’S-Drive 2 XL VP2260 remains a 2 button operation unit; “Power on / off” and “Copy” with a blue backlight LCD display for file transfer status, battery power level and capacity left on the HD.

The X’S-Drive 2 XL VP2260 allows the transfer of pictures and any other file from any memory card including xD picture cards via the 2 multi-memory card slots to its internal 2.5 inch hard drive.

Photomuse.org is an exciting online collaboration between the George Eastman House and International Center of Photography Alliance. Its aim is to create a freely accessible database of photographs from some of the world’s greatest photographers. The website will include around 200,000 photographs when it is completed in late-2006. At the moment only about 250 photographs from each museum are actually available, although the like of Robert Capa and Gary Winogrand are represented.

Thanks to Terence Chay for letting me know!

Website: Photomuse.org

Website: New York Times - Amassing a Treasury of Photography

Kodak has posted a 2nd quarter loss and subsequently announced 10,000 more job cuts, in addition to the already planned 12,000 to 15,000 losses. This now means that between 22,000 and 25,000 Kodak employees, largely from the manufacturing division, will have lost their jobs by the middle of 2007. This is all summed up by Antonio Perez, Kodak’s president and chief executive officer “In 24 months, as a result of the actions announced today, we will … essentially complete the transition to our digital business model”. Kodak reported a net loss of 51 cents a share, or $146 million, for April, May and June of this year.

Website: Rochester Democrat and Chronicle - Kodak cutting 10,000 more jobs; posts second quarter loss

DigitalCameraReview have reviewed the HP Photosmart M417, a 5 megapixel digicam with a 1.8 inch LCD screen and 3x optical zoom lens.

“When I got my hands on the HP Photosmart M417, I was anxious to try out some of HP’s “technologies” that they’ve included on this camera. The camera features Adaptive Lighting technology from HP. The Adaptive Lighting feature, when enabled, captures two versions of an image, one exposed for the highlighted areas and one exposed to bring out details in the shadows. The camera then “merges” the two images together to achieve high detail in lowlights and keep the highlights from being overexposed. The other trick included on this camera is an in-camera red eye fix. Despite these features, the camera, while easy to use, was average when it came down to image quality.”

Website: DigitalCameraReview - HP Photosmart M417 Review

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The German website Photoworld.de have reviewed the 5 megapixel Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ5. With a 12x image stabilized Leica lens, the DMC-FZ5 improves on the DMC-FZ3 by offering faster auto-focus and improved body design, as well as more megapixels.

Website: Photoworld.de - Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ5 Review

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