Sony Press Release

Hanover, 9 March 2005 - Sony Recording Media and Energy Europe announced at CeBIT 2005 two new high-powered members to the Memory Stick™ media family with its 2GB Memory Stick PRO Duo™ (High Speed) media, the largest capacity media available in the Duo format, and the 1GB Memory Stick PRO Duo™, which is easily recognizable by its bold new black colouring.

The new 1GB and 2GB media are the perfect solution for users who need large-capacity storage for their digital content, such as high-resolution digital photos and video clips.

“With these new higher capacity media, users will get the most out of their digital devices without compromising quality or having to worry about how much memory their content is consuming,” commented Olivier Schwartz, European Marketing Manager in charge of the Memory Stick business.

CNET have reviewed the 5 megapixel Pentax Optio S50 compact digital camera.

“Yet another entry into the increasingly crowded field of 5-megapixel snapshot cameras, the Pentax Optio S50 boasts more features than such form-over-function offerings as the Canon SD20 but lags slightly behind Pentax’s own S5i for versatility. Overall, the Optio S50 is a decent entry-level digital camera whose affordable price and strong image quality fail to offset some serious performance issues.”

Website: CNET - Pentax Optio S50 Review

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CNET have just reviewed the new HP Photosmart R707, a stylish 5 megapixel digital camera.

“Looking like a million bucks, the Photosmart R707 was the first to break the mold in HP’s formerly boring design scheme. This 5-megapixel camera, with its 3X zoom, doesn’t offer many manual exposure controls, though it provides several unique—and useful—features. Snapshooters and beginners who want to learn the ropes should be attracted by the HP Photosmart R707’s in-camera help system and competitive price. Fussy shooters, however, will take issue with some of the camera’s photographic flaws.”

Website: CNET - HP Photosmart R707 Review

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CNET have reviewed the Pentax OptioMX4, which is a cross between a digital camera and a camcorder.

“With blind dates, you don’t usually get a second chance to make a first impression. Fortunately, camera manufacturers live by a different set of rules. They’re free to refine a camera until it hits a sweet spot with price, features, and performance. We had a lukewarm response to the Optio MX; now Pentax has replaced that product with the Optio MX4. It has a 4-megapixel CCD, as opposed to the previous model’s 3-megapixel sensor. It also has performance enhancements that make the MX4 more responsive.”

Website: CNET - Pentax OptioMX4 Review

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CNET have just reviewed the 4 megapixel Canon PowerShot SD300 Digital ELPH (also known as the IXUS 40).

“Image quality was good for a 4-megapixel snapshot camera, with an adequately wide range of detail in highlights and shadows, nice color saturation, and only a slight tendency to produce yellow flesh tones. However, images were not exceptionally sharp, and JPEG artifacts were noticeable when we enlarged the images. Chromatic aberration in the form of purple fringing showed up prominently around backlit subjects. Noise wasn’t visible in our images at the lower ISO settings, but it appeared in modest amounts at ISO 400. The automatic noise reduction applied to exposures of 1.3 seconds or longer helped a bit.”

Website: CNET - Canon PowerShot SD300 Digital ELPH Review

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The Danish website Akamera.dk have reviewed the 4 megapixel Canon PowerShot A520 digital camera.

Website: Akamera.dk - Canon PowerShot A520 Review

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DigiCamReview.co.uk have published what I think is the first online review of the 4 megapixel Nikon Coolpix 4600.

“The Nikon Coolpix 4600, has some very appealing qualities, it’s compact size, red-eye reduction, blur warning, lots of scene modes, built in help, a 3x optical zoom lens, a 1.8” screen, a 4 megapixel sensor, and a very good macro mode. Another bonus is that the camera takes AA batteries, something quite rare for compact cameras. The camera has very good image quality - however the camera is let down by purple fringing, and a lack of sound on videos. The Nikon is very good value for money especially for a Nikon - it’s a real shame it doesn’t record sound on videos - but if you’re not interested in videos then this would make a very good digital camera.”

Website: DigiCamReview.co.uk - Nikon Coolpix 4600 Review

Website: Read my Nikon Coolpix 4600 Review

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DigiCamReview.co.uk have reviewed the new budget-priced Olympus Camedia C-310 Zoom 3.2 megapixel digital camera.

“The Olympus Camedia C-310 is a compact 3 megapixel digital camera with a 3x optical zoom lens and a decent 1.8” screen. Even though the camera is nearly a year old, the camera takes good quality pictures and is very good value for money. The camera records unlimited 15fps videos without sound. It is very easy to use, and produces good images with good colour, saturation and detail. The camera is quick enough, although the camera does have a slow flash charging time. For around £95 (UK) this camera is very good value for money, especially with the free case and battery charger from Amazon. The camera has a very good macro mode, and is very easy to use.”

Website: DigiCamReview.co.uk - Olympus Camedia C-310 Zoom Review

Website: Read my Review of the Olympus Camedia C-310 Zoom

The Slovenian website Slo-Foto.net have reviewed the Olympus MJU DIGITAL 500 digital camera.

Website: SloFoto.net - Olympus MJU DIGITAL 500 Review

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The Slovenian website SloFoto.net have reviewed the 7 megapixel Pentax Optio750Z.

Website: SloFoto.net - Pentax Optio750Z Review

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The Slovenian website SloFoto.net have posted their review of the new 8 megapixel Nikon Coolpix 8800.

Website: SloFoto.net - Nikon Coolpix 8800 Review

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PocketLint.co.uk have published their review of the new waterproof Pentax OptioWP digital camera.

“Overall the Pentax Optio WP is the perfect all rounder. Light, small. Impeccably well dressed, yet hard as nails and a resilient as a cockroach at ground zero. In camera terms this is the sort of camera that photographers should keep tucked in their sock, a ‘back-up’ as they would say on NYPD blue.”

Website: PocketLint.co.uk - Pentax OptioWP Review

Successor to the popular Caplio R1, the Ricoh Caplio R1V is a powerful 5.0 megapixel digital camera with a 28mm wide-angle, 4.8x optical zoom in an exceptionally slim 25mm body. Shuttertalk have published their review of the Ricoh Caplio R1V.

“The images produced by the R1V appeared to be sharp, with a reasonable degree of detail. Colours were saturated and pleasing, although the metering did have a tendancy to overexpose. More concerning though is the evidence of random noise patterns throughout the empty areas of the frame – even at the default ISO100. I also found some evidence of some sharpening or compression artifacts - making some areas look almost painted or post-processed. While this should not be noticeable in printed images, they could pose a problem if the images are magnified on screen. If overly concerned, the ISO sensitivity can be set to 64, which will reduce noise at the expense of ½ a stop of light.”

Website: Shuttertalk - Ricoh Caplio R1V Review

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Samsung SCH-V770 is announced at CeBIT - the Samsung V770 is a 7 megapixel cameraphone that resembles a digital camera, with 3x optical zoom and a 1/1.8” CCD. Price and availability of the Samsung V770 to be announced.

Samsung Electronics Press Release

- A true digital convergence product with advanced multimedia features, including digital power amp, VOD&MOD functions and high-capacity memory.
- A camera phone capable of professional photography. It is the first camera phone that supports manual functions and wide-angle & tele-conversion lenses. It also features 3x optical zoom, 5x digital zoom and auto focus.

Hannover, Germany – 10th March - Samsung Electronics unveils the world’s first mobile phone (model: SCH-V770) equipped with a 7 megapixel camera at CeBIT 2005. Just six months after the introduction of its world’s first 5 megapixel camera phone, Samsung has reached another milestone in camera phones.

The V770 offers the same level of picture-taking sophistication that a 7 megapixel digital camera does. The camera functions have been upgraded to include a 3x optical zoom and 5x digital zoom with a 1/1.8” CCD. It also supports auto focus and a flash unit that performs optimally for 7 megapixel photographs.

Acoustica Press Release

(Acoustica Inc, Oakhurst, CA, March 9, 2005) - Acoustica Inc. has just released our new simple to use digital photo archiving program - Photos Forever. Photos Forever has a user friendly interface that is so simple to use, that even the most inexperienced digital camera user will be backing up their most precious memories to a CD or DVD within minutes. Photos Forever does all the work for you!  It will find your digital image files (JPG, BMP, TIF, PNG and raw formatted photos)?wherever they may be on your computer, prepare them for backup, tell you how many CDs or DVDs you’ll need and then proceed to burn them!  After each disc is done, a sound chimes to let you know it’s ready for the next one.  After the discs are created, it will even print out a convenient ‘Key’ list so
that you can reference what picture is on which disc.  What could be easier?

NPPA Press Release

DURHAM, NC (March 9, 2005) ­ The National Press Photographers Association, the society of professional photojournalism, today said that Newsweek magazine’s use of an altered photograph of Martha Stewart on its cover last week was “a major ethical breach.” Stewart’s head was superimposed upon the body of a model who was photographed separately in a Los Angeles studio, and the composite image was published on Newsweek’s cover.

“NPPA finds it a total breach of ethics and completely misleading to the public,” NPPA president Bob Gould said today. “The magazine’s claim that there was a mention on Page 3 that it was an illustration is not a fair disclosure. The average reader isn’t going to know that it isn’t Martha Stewart’s body in the photograph. The public often distrusts the media and this just gives them one more reason. This type of practice erodes the credibility of all journalism, not just one publication.”

The website Whichlens.com has published a comparative review of the new Canon EOS 350D DSLR versus it’s bigger brother, the EOS 20D. Thanks to Mark Cho for letting me know.

“The 20D shutter seems to fire slightly quicker than the 350D. The blackout between shots is also slightly shorter on the 20D. The 350D is still very responsive, but a small difference between the two is present. The 20D has a faster, longer continuous shooting mode of around 24 frames at 5fps versus the 350D’s approximate 15 frames at 3fps. I say approximate because the number of continuous frames at 5 or 3fps depends on the speed of the card being used. Nonetheless, there is a difference in the size of the buffer and for sports and fast action shooters, the 20D would be the preferable camera.”

Website: Whichlens.com - Canon EOS 350D Review

Imagenomic Press Release

NOISEWIRE, 03/10/05 - Imagenomic, LLC today announced a new release for its popular Noiseware Plug-in for Windows and Mac OS X.

For Noiseware Professional and Standard Plug-in Editions, version 3.2 adds new /Multiple Preview and Bracketing/ features that provides for increased versatility and productivity.

The /Multiple Preview/ feature allows the user to compare different filter settings by simply switching between preview tabs. The/ Bracketing/ feature automatically generates a preset series of previews for suppression and noise level filter settings for quick assessment via one-click operation.

This new software version of the Noiseware Plug-in is available for immediate download from Imagenomic’s website: (www.imagenomic.com and www.noiseware.com).

Samsung SGH-i300 smartphone is announced at CeBIT 2005. The Samsung SGH-i300 features a 1.3 megapixel camera and a 3Gb hard drive which can store up to 1,000 music files. Price and availability of the Samsung SGH-i300 to be announced.

Samsung Press Release

Samsung’s SGH-i300 Offers Incredible Storage as the World’s First Music Smartphone with 3GB HDD

SEOUL, Korea—(BUSINESS WIRE)—March 10, 2005—Samsung Electronics, a premium provider of mobile phones, exclusively unveils the world’s first 3GB HDD embedded music smartphone, the SGH-i300, at CeBIT 2005.

This development follows its 2004 introduction of the world’s first 1.5GB hard disk drive phone. This 3GB handset is the first phone featuring “Plug & Play Files-to-go,” which allows the phone to function as a removable hard disk drive. Businessmen and students can easily transfer files to / from their computers, as well as store and transfer files in any format conveniently.

Pretec C-Flash memory card is introduced at the CeBIT show in Hannover, Germany. The Pretec C-Flash format is one third the size of a RS-MMC or miniSD card. The Pretec C-Flash cards will be available in a capacity of 1GB by Q2 of 2005.

Pretec Press Release

PRETEC Introduces C-Flash Next Generation Super Small Flash Memory Card

HANOVER, Germany—(BUSINESS WIRE)—March 10, 2005—PRETEC Electronics Corp., creator of the smallest USB flash drive in the world since 2002, is introducing today a new generation of flash memory card and module, C-Flash, at CeBIT 2005 (Hall 23, D30) in Hanover.

With physical size of 17mm x 12mm x 1.0mm, about 1/3 the volume of RS-MMC or miniSD, C-Flash is one of the smallest form factor flash memory cards in the world. Taking advantage of the built-in smart card (SIM card) support, multimedia mobile phones utilizing C-Flash will require a smaller footprint for the memory card allowing for new designs not previously possible with existing memory card formats. Multiple interface functions such as MMC/SD and USB make C-Flash the most versatile flash memory card in the world. Supporting the most popular high capacity flash IC today such as those from Micron, Renesas, Samsung and Toshiba, C-Flash supports the widest range of flash sources for any small form factor card (Table 1).