The Polish website Fotopolis have published their review of the 8 megapixel Nikon Coolpix 8400.

Website: Fotopolis - Nikon Coolpix 8400 Review

Check the Latest Prices for the Nikon Coolpix 8400

If you have just bought your first digital camera and are wondering what some of the features actually do, then Bob Atkins’s guide to the basics is a great place to start learning.

“Sensitivity settings on digital cameras are the equivalent of ISO ratings on film. Just about every digital camera will have settings with a sensitivity equivalent to ISO 100 film and ISO 200 film. Many will have an ISO 400 setting, but above that the images from cameras with small sensors gets pretty noisy. The more expensive digital SLRs with much larger sensors have much higher sensitivity settings. At ISO 400 they are virtually noise free and some can go as high as ISO 3200 or even ISO 6400!”

Website: Bob Atkins - Digital Camera Basics - A primer

The NPD Group, Inc. Press Release 29/11/04

Average Selling Price of Tech Products Continues to Decline: Plasma TV Prices Dip Below $2,500 According to Latest Results From NPD CE Price Watch

PORT WASHINGTON, NEW YORK, November 29, 2004 - Average prices of many technology products were down during the month of September according to the latest NPD Consumer Electronics Price Watch, a monthly pricing monitor from The NPD Group that provides a top-line look into the pricing of tech products being sold in the U.S.

September prices for a market basket of technology items, including plasma TVs and digital cameras, fell 18 percent versus September 2003, the sharpest year-over-year percentage decline since April. Overall pricing was below $12,000 for the second consecutive time as total pricing for the Price Watch basket of goods fell $2,533 from last September?s level. Since NPD began its Price Watch monitor in January 2003, the products tracked have fallen in price more than $5,300 or 31 percent.

A new version of Qimage, which is designed to make image printing easy, has just been released.

Qimage v2005.100 (11/30/04):

New Features:

Improved performance: v2005.100 may look the same on the outside, but a major redesign of the internal image processing algorithms has put a brand new powerplant under the hood! v2005.100 is both faster and less memory intensive than prior versions. You’ll see a performance increase of about 30% or better on many operations such as printing and will see some operations finish up to 5 times faster than before, all while using less memory (RAM and hard drive scratch space) than ever before!

Improved stability: The reduced memory footprint of v2005.100 leads to greater overall stability when performing time and memory intensive operations and will assist in getting the job through on those older, slower, and less capable machines.

Canon have released a new firmware version, 1.0.1.0, for the 8 megapixel Canon PowerShot Pro1.

This firmware update (Version 1.0.1.0) incorporates the following: 
AF speed improvements
Specification changes for the way images are displayed in Continuous AF Mode
Zoom ring responsiveness improvements

Website: Canon PowerShot Pro1 Firmware Update

The Norwegian website Akamera.no have just reviewed what is sure to be a popular digital camera, the 5 megapixel Canon PowerShot A95.

Website: Akamera.no - Canon PowerShot A95 Review

Check the Latest Prices for the Canon PowerShot A95

A-Digital-Eye have published their review of the 7 megapixel Olympus C-70 Zoom (called the Olympus C-7000 Zoom in the USA).

“Image quality of C-7000 is very good. Most images are well exposed and very sharp. Colors look very natural and well saturated, thanks to Olympus? TruePic TURBO image processing. At ISO 200 and below, noise is well controlled. At ISO 400, like most compact cameras, noise could get distracting, but images are certainly usable.

I?m impressed by how well AWB (Automatic White Balance) performed, both outdoors and indoors. Colors are very accurate, though at times when flash is fired, colors turned out a little warmer than expected.”

Website: A-Digital-Eye - Olympus C-70 Zoom Review

Check the Latest Prices for the Olympus C-70 Zoom

Olympus Press Release

Olympus Studio - Advanced RAW Image Photofinishing and Camera Control, Now with Powerful Support for the E-300
 
Olympus Imaging Corporation (President: Hiroshi Komiya) is pleased to announce the “Olympus Studio 1.2” software package. In addition to the features of the “Olympus Studio” package, which provides powerful digital work-flow support for digital single-lens reflex users, including professional photographers, the new package provides advanced RAW photofinishing and camera control functions. It also supports the “E-300” entry-level single-lens reflex camera.

C-guys, Inc. Press Release 30/11/04

C-GUYS INTRODUCES 20MB/S SD MEMORY CARD WITH ASSOCIATED HIGH SPEED ADAPTER

The Lightning Fast Memory Solution Is One of the Only That Offers Increased Speed and Higher Storage Capacity for Digital Cameras, Mobile Phones and Other Mobile Consumer Electronics Devices

San Jose, CA - November 30, 2004 - C-guys, Inc., a global leader in the design and development of SD and SDIO solutions for home, SOHO and SMB applications today announced its 20MB/s SD memory cards. The cards are available in storage capacities of 1GB (CG-SDM01G01) and 512MB (CG-SDM51201) and are designed to increase data transfer speeds for SD-friendly devices such as digital cameras, PDAs, mobile phones and other portable electronics devices.

The company is also releasing one of the only high-speed reader/writer adapters available on the market - the SD-USBean. Together, the solutions offer faster transfer of media from a mobile device to a processing device such as a printer or PC.

The PhotographyBLOG Newsletter Giveaway is back - this month there are £200 worth of prizes on offer!

On Wednesday 1st December 2004 at 12 midday CET (Central European Time), 6 names will be randomly selected from the list of PhotographyBLOG Newsletter subscribers.

Three                   people will each win a book of your choice from the current ILEX list.

Kindly donated by Ilex.
                  http://www.ilex-press.com

"ILEX books address a host of technical and creative issues, and offer easy-to-follow, jargon busting texts by renowned experts in every field. With stunning graphics and beautiful photography, ILEX books guarantee to smooth the way for digital creatives."

Two                   people will each win a copy of Ulead Photo Impact XL.

Kindly donated by Ulead Systems.
                  http://www.ulead.co.uk

"Total Image Editing for the PC
                  Ulead® PhotoImpact® XL takes the guesswork out                   of digital photography with new tools like the intelligent                   ExpressFix™ Wizard. At the same time PhotoImpact                   XL provides a complete set of tools for Web and graphics                   artists who want inspiring results without the steep                   learning curve. It’s everything you need to produce                   professional results fast."

It’s as simple as that.

To have any chance of winning, you must subscribe to the PhotographyBLOG Newsletter. If you are already a subscriber, you do not have to do anything to enter this competition. Your name will automatically be entered in the prize draw. If you are not currently a subscriber, then what are you waiting for?!! Enter your email address to subscribe now.

The 52nd Photo of the Week contest is now closed.

I have choosen what I think are the best photographs in my opinion. Now it’s your turn to vote for the overall winner of the contest. A Public Poll has been setup on the PhotographyBLOG Forums and you have 7 days during which you can vote for your favourite photo from the ones that I have chosen. Voting will end on Monday 6th December. The Poll will then be closed and the overall winner announced.

Vote now for your favourite image from the Photo Of The Week 22nd-28th November 2004 contest

I completely missed this last week - DPNow spotted an extensive selection of sample images taken with the new Olympus E-300 DSLR, published on the Japanese website DCWatch.

“The selection includes day and night, plus indoor shots taken using ISO settings from 100 right up to 1600. It appears that all the images were taken with the new ‘budget price’ 14-45mm (28-90 equiv) Digital Zuiko standard zoom.

There is also some indication on the same page that the E-300 will start to ship in Japan on 3rd December. Our information is that small numbers will be on sale in the UK towards the end of December.”

Website: DPNow - Olympus E300/Evolt Sample Images

Designer-Info.com have recently published their review of Adobe Photoshop Elements 3.0.

“What can I say? I?ve been arguing for years that the vast majority of digital camera users have been badly served by their photo editing software. Adobe has clearly seen the light, gone back to the drawing board and come up with a near ideal solution (assuming your system meets its requirements). Photoshop Elements 3 is the program your digital camera has been crying out for.”

Website: Designer-Info.com - Photoshop Elements 3 Review

Check the Latest Prices for Adobe Photoshop Elements 3

ShootSmarter.com has updated for November with some great new articles:

- CONQUER FLASH WITH THE TWEEDIE TECHNIQUE
- USING HARD LIGHT FOR DIGITAL
- COMPUTER MONITORS: OUR RECOMMENDED LIST
- DIGITAL “MAT CUT” COMPOSITES

Website: ShootSmarter.com

PCMagazine have jst reviewed the new Dell Photo All-In-One Printer 942, which was first announced a couple of weeks ago.

“The Dell Photo All-In-One Printer 942 is for people who want both a photo printer and an all in one. On the photo printer side, you get the ability to print directly from memory cards (CompactFlash Type I and II, Memory Stick, Memory Stick Pro, MultiMediaCard, Secure Digital, SmartMedia, xD-Picture Card) and PictBridge cameras. It also has a 2.5-inch color LCD that lets you preview your pictures before printing. On the all-in-one side, you get a printer, copier, and scanner.”

Website: Steves PCMagazine - Dell Photo All-In-One Printer 942 Review

Steves Digicams have posted a first look at the new 6 megapixel Pentax *ist DS DSLR.

“PENTAX has downsized digital SLR photography again with the *ist DS digital SLR. Even smaller than last year’s *ist D SLR, the *ist DS is one of the smallest and lightest digital SLR cameras available. Measuring just 4.9 x 3.6 x 2.6 inches and weighing under 18 ounces, it has a durable stainless-steel chassis, multi-layered electronic circuit boards and delivers superior image quality in a very compact design. Despite its size, the *ist DS offers 6.1 million effective pixels of resolution and PENTAX original image processing technology. The camera is compatible with most existing PENTAX interchangeable lenses to meet a wide range of applications and visual creativity.”

Website: Steves Digicams - Pentax *ist DS Preview

Check the Latest Prices for the Pentax *ist DS

Steves Digicams have just reviewed the Pentax Optio SV, a compact digicam with 5 Megapixels and 5x zoom lens.

“The ergonomics are good, controls are easy to operate and the Function button makes quickly changing settings a snap. The menu system is easy to navigate and thanks to its 1.8-inch LCD the text is larger and more legible. Its LCD worked great outdoors in bright sunlight and when shooting indoors it “gains up” well, although the image does get a little grainy. We were surprised to find a plastic tripod socket on a camera in this price range. This causes some concern about stripping the threads after continuous use with a tripod or monopod.”

Website: Steves Digicams - Pentax Optio SV Review

Check the Latest Prices for the Pentax Optio SV

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

“The styling is the first thing that will attract your, and everyone else’s attention. The camera’s most comfortable shooting position is at eye level a foot or more away with the grip rotated into a vertical position; many will see a resemblance to a Buck Rodgers raygun from 1950’s Sci-fi. But you won’t be zapping Martians in a black and white movie, you’ll be taking digital color movies of the sometimes strange beings that inhabit earth today.”

Website: Steves Digicams - Pentax OptioMX4 Review

Check the Latest Prices for the Pentax OptioMX4

Luminous Landscape have just reviewed the new Epson P-2000 Multimedia Storage Viewer.

“One of the problems with portable card storage devices till now has been battery life. Copy one or two cards, and the battery is dead. The P-2000 breaks that mold. I copied a 1GB card to the Epson, waited 20 minutes, and then copied it again. This simulates a typical worst-case field use situation where cards are being filled quickly, and it also gives the battery a reasonable time to “recover” between copies.

I was able to copy thirteen 1GB cards to the P2000 before the low battery warning light came on. At this point, though the device continued to function for quite a while, it warned that there might not be enough juice to complete a copy. Very intelligent.

This is superb performance, especially considering that I had the power settings such that the LCD was illuminated the whole time, and I also did a moderate amount of file browsing inbetween card copying sessions.”

Website: Luminous Landscape - Epson P-2000 Multimedia Storage Viewer Review

The Hungarian website Index Digicam have reviewed the new 3 megapixel, 12x optical zoom Panasonic DMC-FZ3 digital camera.

Website: Index Digicam - Panasonic DMC-FZ3 Review

Check the Latest Prices for the Panasonic DMC-FZ3