Konica Minolta DiMAGE X1 is announced today. The Konica Minolta DiMAGE X1 is an 8 megapixel compact digital camera featuring an Anti-Shake system which provides the equivalent of up to 3 steps assistance to help compensate for camera shake. The Konica Minolta X1 employs a newly designed “non-protruding” 3X optical zoom lens that is equivalent to 37 to 111 mm in 35 mm format. Other features of the Konica Minolta DiMAGE X1 include a large 2.5 inch LCD screen, sleek, rounded design and three different colours. The DiMAGE X1 will cost £299.99, is available in Silver, Black (exclusive to Jessops) and Red and will be released in September 2005.

Konica Minolta UK Press Release

The First ‘X-Series’ Compact Digital Camera Equipped with 8 Megapixels, Anti-Shake and Desirable Design that inspires.

Aiming to create “the ultimate digital camera for image quality, function, design, and size,” Konica Minolta proudly announces the DiMAGE X1. A fusion of Konica Minolta’s best imaging technologies combined with the DiMAGE X series’ sleek digital camera design, the new DiMAGE X1 offers you exquisitely beautiful images within a body that takes your breath away.

X-Rite Press Release

X-Rite Premium ICC Color Profiles, Color Guide and Demo Version of MonacoEZColor Software to be Bundled with Epson’s New Stylus Photo® R1800

Grandville, MI — July 14, 2005 — X-Rite (NASDAQ: XRIT) today announced that Epson will bundle downloadable X-Rite premium ICC profiles, Complete Guide to Color Management publication, and a demo version of MonacoEZcolor color management software with each Epson Stylus® Photo R1800. The Epson Stylus Photo R1800 is a revolutionary printer that delivers large, archival quality glossy and matte photos worthy of display. Premium ICC color profiles were specifically created for the Epson Stylus Photo R1800 using X-Rite’s award-winning MonacoPROFILER 4.7 software, the graphic arts industry’s leading color profile engine.

CNET have just reviewed the Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ4 digital camera, which has 4 megapixels and a 12x image stabilized Leica lens.

“A 12X image-stabilized optical zoom (35mm to 420mm), speedy performance, and above-average image quality are the high points of Panasonic’s Lumix DMC-FZ4, the 4-megapixel version of the slightly more advanced DMC-FZ5. A flexible feature set—including full manual exposure, a pared-down Simple mode, and 10 scene selections—addresses the basic needs of enthusiasts and beginners alike. While its sibling, the FZ5, offers a few extras for only $50 more, its performance isn’t quite as robust.”

Website: CNET - Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ4 Review

Check the Latest Prices for the Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ4

Write a Review of the Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ4

CNET have reviewed the 5 megapixel Panasonic LUMIX DMC-LZ2, which features a 6x optical zoom lens and an Optical Image Stabilizer to combat camera shake.

“Panasonic offers this compact camera as an alternative to its diminutive Lumix DMC-FX7, which also specs out at a 5-megapixel resolution. While the Lumix DMC-LZ2 shares many features with its pricier ultracompact sibling, it boasts twice the zoom range; uses two AA batteries instead of a compact lithium-ion cell; sports a coarser, slightly smaller 2-inch LCD; and comes clad in plastic rather than metal. For about $50 less, you can opt for Panasonic’s 4-megapixel Lumix DMC-LZ1, which aside from its resolution has virtually identical specs.”

Website: CNET - Panasonic LUMIX DMC-LZ2 Review

Check the Latest Prices for the Panasonic LUMIX DMC-LZ2

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Rollei dp8300 digital camera is announced. The Rollei dp8300 is an 8 megapixel model with 3x optical zoom lens equivalent to 36-108mm and 2.5 inch LD screen. The Rollei dp8300 will be released in July for €349.

Rollei Press Release

Compact high performance digital camera with 8.1 megapixels,metal body, 3x zoom lens, 5.1x digital zoom, video and voice recording as well as built-in speaker and microphone.

• Stylish metal body
• Large 2.5“ TFT colour monitor and real-image optical viewfinder with eyesight correction
• Unlimited video clip
• TIFF file-format option
• 64MB SD card supplied with camera

Rollei dp6200 digital camera is announced. The Rollei dp6200 is a 6 megapixel model with 3x optical zoom lens equivalent to 32-96mm and 2.5 inch LD screen. The Rollei dp6200 will be released in July for €299.

Rollei Press Release

Slim Design - Outstanding Features

The slim and stylish metal body of the Rollei dp6200 packs six powerful megapixels and many practical features

With their Rollei dp6200, the Brunswick photo specialists have again launched a hit product: Six megapixels, a 3x zoom lens and a 2.5-inch TFT color monitor make this a fully featured, high-performance camera. Thanks to an integral loudspeaker and microphone, video clips and voice recordings are extremely easy. Numerous manual controls leave users ample creative freedom. The Rollei dp6200 will be available by the end of July for Euro 299.- (incl. VAT). A 64MB SD memory card is supplied with the camera.

PCMagazine have reviewed the Lexmark P4350 an all-in-one printer and scanner with a colour LCD screen and 48-bit color scan depth.

“Output quality is nipping on the heels of the best available for ink jets, with text and graphics quality at the high end of good and photos at the high end of very good. On our text tests, most fonts were easily readable at 5 points or less, and all but one were easily readable at 8 points or less, with one highly stylized font needing 12 points. Consider it good enough for all but the most demanding text output, like the small type in a contract.”

Website: PCMagazine - Lexmark P4350 Review

Check the Latest Prices for the Lexmark P4350

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The Spanish website Quesabesde have just published their review of the Canon Digital IXUS 700 digital camera (also known as the Canon PowerShot SD500 Digital ELPH).

Website: Quesabesde - Canon Digital IXUS 700 Review

Check the Latest Prices for the Canon Digital IXUS 700

Write a Review of the Canon Digital IXUS 700

The Germand website Photoworld.de have published their review of the Nikon D50, a new affordable 6.1 megapixel digital SLR.

Website: Photoworld.de - Nikon D50 Review

Check the Latest Prices for the Nikon D50

Write a Review of the Nikon D50

Hungarian website Index Digicam have reviewed the new Fujifilm FinePix F10 Zoom, which has an ISO range of 80 to 1600, Super CCD sensor with 6.1 megapixels and a 2.5 inch LCD screen.

Website: Index Digicam - Fujifilm FinePix F10 Zoom Review

Check the Latest Prices for the Fujifilm FinePix F10 Zoom

Write a Review of the Fujifilm FinePix F10 Zoom

CNET have reviewed the Panasonic LUMIX DMC-LZ1, which has a 6x optical zoom lenses and an Optical Image Stabilizer to combat camera shake.

“Priced about $50 less than its 5-megapixel Lumix DMC-LZ2 sibling, this affordable point-and-shoot offers the same 6X zoom lens with a 37mm-to-222mm reach (35mm-camera equivalent) and the same highly desirable optical image stabilization to counter shaky hands at slow shutter speeds or high magnifications. Panasonic trimmed about a million pixels to create this 4-megapixel version, but its image quality is almost as good as the higher-res model’s. The only key feature missing is a microphone to record video sound clips.”

Website: CNET - Panasonic Lumix DMC-LZ1 Review

Check the Latest Prices for the Panasonic Lumix DMC-LZ1

Write a Review of the Panasonic Lumix DMC-LZ1

Casio have released a new firmware update for the 7 megapixel Casio EX-Z750 digital camera.

Improvements Provided by This Update
V1.00-V1.01
Zooming of portrait orientation images (without changing to landscape orientation).

Website: Download the Casio EX-Z750 v1.01 Firmware

SD Card Association Press Release

SD Card Association Announces Final Approval of the microSD Specification—World’s Smallest Removable Storage Card

SAN RAMON, Calif.—(BUSINESS WIRE)—July 13, 2005—The SD Card Association (SDA) today announced the final approval of the microSD specification that is now available for immediate use. The microSD card, the world’s smallest removable storage card provides full compatibility and interoperability with current SD devices. The card is fully compatible with SanDisk’s TransFlash(TM) cards, over 5 million of which have shipped to date and is supported in 40+ handsets announced by manufacturers such as Motorola, Samsung, LG, Kyocera, and Sagem.

SanDisk Press Release

SanDisk First to Offer 512-Megabyte microSD Card—Now Officially Adopted by SD Card Association

SUNNYVALE, Calif.—(BUSINESS WIRE)—July 13, 2005—SanDisk(R) Corporation (NASDAQ:SNDK) today announced that the microSD specification, which is based on SanDisk’s TransFlash(TM) card, has been officially adopted by the SD Card Association (SDA). The new microSD card is fully compatible with the TransFlash card and is designed as a small, flash memory storage card for mobile phones and devices. SanDisk also announced a 512-megabyte (MB) SanDisk microSD card, the largest capacity available in this form factor. The company expects to have a 1-gigabyte (GB) microSD card by the end of the year and a 2GB card in 2006.(a)

5 names have been randomly selected from the list of PhotographyBLOG Newsletter subscribers. If you are one of the winners, you will already have received an email from me ([email protected]). In order to protect the winners’ email addresses, I’m not going to publish them here.

- Two people have each won Paint Shop Pro 9 from Corel (2 copies, worth £99.99 each) (pictured)
Kindly donated by Corel - http://www.corel.co.uk

- Three people have each won Pixfer from Glass Lantern (3 copies, worth $34.95 each)
Kindly donated by Glass Lantern - http://www.glasslantern.com

If you haven’t won anything, then don’t worry, as a brand new contest for August will start soon!

To have any chance of winning, you must subscribe to the PhotographyBLOG Newsletter.

The winners of the June 2005 PhotographyBLOG Competition have now been decided. The theme for June was “Macro” - you can view all of the entries in this gallery. Here are the 3 winners:

1st Place
“Rose Dew” by SDR
View this entry

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

2nd Place
“Metamorphosis” by Maculatus
View this entry

Prize: 1 copy of Digital Photography Pocket Guide by Derrick Story
Kindly donated by O’Reilly.
http://www.oreilly.com

3rd Place
“BUGS OF BORNEO” by Tootsie
View this entry

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

Congratulations to the 3 winners and thanks to everyone who took part!

The July 2005 Competition is now open for entries. This is a monthly photography competition with a specific theme and prizes for the top 3 photos. The winning entries will be decided by a panel of judges. You just have to submit one photograph to the Competition Gallery that best interprets July’s theme, which is “Portraits”.

Photoxels have just interviewed Gregory Flasch, National Manager Advertising & Communications for Nikon Canada:

“The new NIKON D2Hs dSLR features only 4.1 megapixel resolution. How do you explain a 4.1 MP image sensor in a professional grade dSLR?

GF: The 4.1 MP LBCAST sensor in the Nikon D2Hs was designed to meet the needs of the target audience, action and sports photographers, while delivering the speed and performance control required by these working professionals. Focusing on the D2Hs primary ability to offer a blazingly fast 8fps continuous shooting for up to 50 images, our designers realized that the most effective sensor resolution would be 4.1 MP, which would properly meet the file size requirements of the target user while still maintaining the ultimate speed and performance critical to capturing the right shot.”

Website: Photoxels: Interview with Gregory Flasch, Nikon

In his latest “Sunday Morning Photographer” columns Mike Johnston explains why he has recently purchased the Konica-Minolta 7D digital SLR camera.

“I’ve also been impressed by the deep, rich, meaty colors of the Olympus E-1’s sensor. What finally removed that as a major shopping consideration for me is that…well, I like black & white better. Not “best” and not “only,” but better. So I figured that while a color photographer might be more swayed by the E-1, it wasn’t a primary consideration for me. In light of this, I was wholly unprepared for the KM 7D’s superb color rendition. Set on “Natural” sRGB, the colors are beautifully accurate. Flesh tones are outstanding, reds are well controlled and detailed, and all colors are in balance, with nothing over- or under-emphasized. And the camera renders complex hues really well, maintaining color delicacy and accuracy into the deep shadows and bright highlights. This is a real strength of this camera.”

Website: The Sunday Morning Photographer: Catch the Rave!

Website: The Sunday Morning Photographer: The Tale Told by Two Pictures

Website: The Sunday Morning Photographer: Ring Out the Old, Ring In the New

HP Press Release

Point, Click, Dock and Print -  HP Launches a Complete Portable Camera/Printer Solution

New HP Portable Photo Studio allows for ultimate photo simplicity, anywhere, any time

TENERIFE, June 27, 2005 – HP today announced the launch of the HP Photosmart 428 Portable Photo Studio, a three-in-one solution offering the ultimate photo simplicity with printer, docking station and camera. Featuring a high quality HP 5.2 megapixel (MP) camera and compact photo printer with built in camera dock, this package is the perfect travelling companion – enabling users to print their photos on the go or at home.

This integrated three-in-one system makes taking and printing photos simpler than ever before. The HP Photosmart 428 Portable Photo Studio, offers users a simple photography solution, in which every component is designed to work together perfectly, providing everything needed to create beautiful photos almost anywhere.

Luminous Landscape have published a brief review of the new Tamron SP AF11-18mm F/4.5-5.6 Di-II LD Aspherical (IF), a new high performance ultra wideangle zoom lens designed exclusively for digital SLR cameras using APS-C size image sensors.

“If you’re looking for an ultra-wide zoom for your 1.5x or 1.6x lens factor DSLR then I can recommend the Tamron SP 11-18 f/4.5-5.6 Di II LD to you. The price is attractive and the lens is capable of producing high quality images. If you are the owner of a Canon D30, D60 or 10D, and therefore unable to use the Canon 10-22mm lens without performing warranty destroying surgery, the new Tamron provides an attraction option.”

Website: Luminous Landscape - Tamron SP AF11-18mm F/4.5-5.6 Di-II LD Aspherical (IF) Review.