Nikon USA Press Release 21/10/04

Nikon Showcases Cutting-Edge New Products and Initiatives at PhotoPlus Expo 2004

Show Activities to Expand Nikon’s Position as the World Leader in Photography

PHOTOPLUS EXPO, BOOTH 715 - NEW YORK, NY, October 21, 2004 - Nikon (http://www.nikonusa.com), the world leader in photography, will be at this year’s PhotoPlus Expo to exhibit a variety of exciting new products and initiatives. Attendees may visit Nikon at booth #715 at the Jacob Javitz Convention Center in New York City, October 21 - October 23, to see the most advanced digital and film photography equipment, and learn about all the resources and services Nikon makes available.

Nikon’s entire Total Imaging System will be on display at PhotoPlus Expo, demonstrating the complete solution Nikon offers in photography and imaging applications. The award-winning Nikon Coolpix line of digital cameras will be featured at the Nikon booth, including the new Nikon Coolpix 8800, Coolpix 8400, and Coolpix 4800. The exciting new Nikon D2X and sophisticated D70 professional digital SLR cameras, the complete range of Nikkor lenses, Nikon’s range of Speedlights, 35mm compact cameras, and Sports and Recreational Optics will also be available. Nikon will also feature the innovative Coolscan V ED, Super Coolscan 5000 ED and Super Coolscan 9000 ED film scanners. The display will also exhibit the complete range of 35mm film SLR cameras, like the fantastic new F6.

Epson America Inc. Press Release 21/10/04

THE EPSON R-D1 - THE WORLD’S FIRST RANGEFINDER DIGITAL CAMERA BEGINS SHIPPING IN UNITED STATES ON NOV. 1

New Digital Rangefinder System is the First Digital Camera to Support L/M-Mount Lenses

LONG BEACH, Calif., Oct. 21, 2004 - Epson America Inc. has achieved another digital photography breakthrough with the introduction of the EPSON R-D1-the world’s first rangefinder digital camera.  This camera was introduced in Japan earlier this year and will now be shipping in the United States in early November.
 
The EPSON R-D1 marks a significant milestone in the industry by combining the classic feel and precision engineering of a traditional rangefinder camera with the latest digital technology.  It is the first digital camera allowing photographers to use revered L- and M-mount lenses.
 
The EPSON R-D1 links the future with the past - a new digital camera with a classic rangefinder feel.  The EPSON R-D1 is comprised of a magnesium alloy exterior and an aluminum die cast body, combining digital technology with the traditional feel of a finely tuned instrument.  The camera features a 6.1 megapixel APS C-size CCD sensor with a 1.53 magnification factor for an image resolution up to 3008 x 2000 pixels, easily producing output of 16” x 20” and beyond.  The Epson R-D1 supports a RAW mode as well as two JPEG modes.  Both JPEG modes incorporate PRINT Image Matching II technology for optimal prints. 

FlashFixers Press Release 21/10/04

FlashFixers Announces ImageRecall 3 Now Recovers More Image Formats Than Any Other Digital Photo Recovery Software Including RAW Formats

ImageRecall 3 also adds new speed enhancements and an upgraded user interface, making it the fastest, easiest and most complete solution available for digital image recovery.

PhotoPlus-New York, NY-October 21, 2004-Keeping pace with advances in digital photography, FlashFixers announces ImageRecall 3 now offers expanded recovery support for all known camera RAW and standard image formats, as well as sound, video, Microsoft Office and Adobe pdf files. Additional improvements in usability, performance and speed, result in recoveries that are more than 60 percent faster than previous versions and a more satisfying user experience.

“Most photographers at some point will experience the frustration of lost images,” notes Kevin Bordley, ImageRecall’s product marketing manager. “ImageRecall 3 acts like an insurance policy and brings easy and affordable file recovery within reach of anyone owning a digital camera.”

The 39th PhotographyBLOG Portfolio has been submitted by Katarzyna and Mariusz Wloczysiak.

“We are a couple involved in creating fine art nude photographs of Kasia, the model for Mariusz. Living together and sharing common interests facilitates photo adventure and the result is presented in our website. We work together in photography on the exclusive basis, which is also a factor of enhanced mutual understanding in photo shoots.

Nude photography has been our favourite field since our first meeting in June 2003. Mariusz was at that time seeking a model who would like to commit herself to long-term co-operation and Kasia responded to this challenge.

As we are now progressing in our photography, we are all the time trying to express new ideas, which cross our minds. We would like to convey the message of human beauty, respect for nudity and appreciation of the feminine in our work.”

Website: Portfolios: Katarzyna and Mariusz Wloczysiak

JP Distribution Press Release 21/10/04

JP Distribution is pleased to announce the Gepe Card SafeTM range.

Digital memory cards are now used in almost every electronic device such as digital cameras, video cameras, MP3 Players, cell phones, PDAs, etc. For these devices different type and sizes of cards are used. All cards have one point in common however; the personal value of their contained data that needs to be protected. For transport, safekeeping and optimal protection of these memory cards Gepe has developed the unique Card SafeTM series.

A special feature of all Card SafeTM models is the innovative MultiCard insert. Each card space can be used for different card types. Without having to change the insert MMC/SD cards, Smart Media, Memory Stick or Compact Flash cards can be stored tightly and safely. The design and special material used, protect the cards from shocks and keeps them securely in place, whilst the unique, Anti-Static lining material prevents valuable data from being erased, or damaged, due to electrostatic effects.

All models of the Card SafeTM series have special viewing windows on the top, and bottom, which are positioned over the card so you can see which space is taken by which card, even if the box is closed. It makes organization easier.

Peter iNova Press Release

DSLR: Nikon D70 is a new eBook from authors Peter iNova and Uwe Steinmueller.

Geared to the D70 photographer, the eBook reveals a depth of techniques, lore, secrets, work-arounds and surprises found nowhere else. Disclosures reveal the camera, lenses and system accessories of this highly capable dSLR and give D70 photographers a distinct edge as they track down and capture images of many kinds. Numerous images are interactive on the page, and hyperlinks connect ideas all through the eBook. Some open your Internet browser and link you instantly to pages on the Web.

The D70 eBook comes with all display software needed for Mac and Windows.

DSLR: Nikon D70, 446 pages, 1100 images, illustrations, animations and graphics: $49.95 US plus shipping.

—Special $6.50 Off All Shipping for Photography Blog Customers—
Order the DSLR: Nikon D70 eBook now and save $6.50!!

Kodak yesterday reported a sharp incrase in its profits for the 3rd quarter of this financial year, exceeding Wall Street expectations. Signs that Kodak’s push towards digital is paying off? Maybe, but losses in its traditional film and camera businesses still caused the share price to fall by 8%.

“The world’s biggest film manufacturer, which is navigating a tough transition to filmless photography, said it earned $US479 million, or $US1.67 a share, in the July-September period, up from $US122 million, or 42 cents a share, a year ago.

Excluding restructuring costs and a gain of $US434 million, or $US1.51 a share, from the sale of its historic remote sensing systems business, profits were $US226 million, or 79 cents a share. Analysts surveyed by Thomson First Call expected earnings of 72 cents a share.”

Website: Sydney Morning Herald - Kodak benefits from digital sales surge

Samsung have just introduced the world’s first 5 megapixel camera phone in. The SCH-S250 features 92MB onboard memory, 32MB auxiliary memory, shutter speed up to 1/1,000th second and the ability to photograph subjects as close as 10 centimeters. The phone also has an MP3 player, a TV function and mobile banking.

”“Our development of a five-megapixel camera phone will boost the competitiveness of the South Korean mobile phone industry,” Samsung president Lee Ki-Tae said in a statement.

“At the same time, I would like to see our technological advances contribute to the growth of the global mobile phone industry,” he said.”

The Yahoo story linked to below ends with the interesting statement “South Korea’s top mobile carrier, SK Telecom, said it would introduce 10-megapixel camera phones produced by Samsung by the end of this year.”!

Website: Yahoo - Samsung develops world’s first five-megapixel camera phone

Adobe have just published a series of new articles about digital photography, written by some of the leading experts in the industry. “From the Digital Negative (DNG) specification to industry-leading Adobe Photoshop CS software, Adobe offers essential tools for digital imaging. Explore these papers and primers - written by some of the biggest names in the industry - to learn more about the new world of digital photography.

Website: Adobe - Digital Photography White Papers and Primers

The German website Photoworld.de have posted a review of the 6 megapixel Casio EXILIM PRO EX-P600 digital camera.

Website: Photoworld.de - Casio EXILIM PRO EX-P600 Review

Imaging Resource have just cast their beady eye over the new 4 megapixel Konica Minolta DiMAGE Z3.

“High barrel distortion at wide angle, but low pincushion at telephoto. Good sharpness in the corners, variable chromatic aberration. Optical distortion on the Z3 was slightly higher than average at the wide-angle end, where I measured approximately 0.9 percent barrel distortion. The telephoto end fared much better, as I found only 0.05 percent pincushion distortion there. (While high at the wide angle end of its range, this is much less distortion overall than it’s common to find in long-zoom digicam lenses.) Chromatic aberration was low at wide angle to “normal” focal lengths, but increased to a rather high level by the time I got to maximum telephoto.”

Website: Imaging Resource - Konica
Minolta DiMAGE Z3 Review

Check the Latest Prices for the Konica Minolta DiMAGE Z3

The Polish website Fotopolis have published their review of the new 5 megapixel Nikon Coolpix 5200 compact digital camera.

Website: Fotopolis - Nikon Coolpix 5200 Review

CNET have reviewed the 5 megapixel Canon PowerShot SD20 Digital ELPH.

“Images were crisp, with good saturation and accurate exposures, although there was a tendency to overload highlights, and we noticed some purple fringing around backlit areas. Flesh tones tended to be a little yellow. Noise wasn’t a problem until we used higher ISO settings (ISO 200 and 400), and the SD20 has automatic noise reduction for exposures of 1.3 seconds or longer.”

Website: CNET - Canon PowerShot SD20 Digital ELPH Review

Norwegian website Akamera.no have posted a review of the Nikon Coolwalker MSV-01, a 30GB portable image storage device for the organisation of digital images.

Website: Akamera.no - Nikon Coolwalker MSV-01 Review

DigitalCameraInfo.com have just reviewed what is sure to be a popular digital camera, the 5 megapixel Canon PowerShot A95:

“Overall, the Canon PowerShot A95 is in the top 30 percent of compact digital cameras in terms of color reproduction. This model tends to over-saturate reds and pinks, but this is common among point-and-shoot digital cameras as these colors are used to render skin tones. To avoid the unflattering depiction of white flesh, many digital cameras will correct for this to create a more favorable rendition of skin. So even though the Canon PowerShot A95 does not receive a perfect color score, some point-and-shooters may prefer the camera?s embellished look, maintaining a naturalistic base for its tones while asserting somewhat of a refined filter on top.”

Website: DigitalCameraInfo.com - Canon PowerShot A95 Review

Check the Latest Prices for the Canon PowerShot A95

The Norwegian website DigIT.no have published their review of the 7 megapixel Canon PowerShot S70.

Website: DigIT.no - Canon PowerShot S70 Review

Check the Latest Prices for the Canon PowerShot S70

American Society of Media Photographers Press Release 19/10/04

October 19, 2004—The American Society of Media Photographers has posted a new Copyright Tutorial to the public area of its web site: http://www.asmp.org/copyright/. Although modern law gives independent photographers an automatic copyright at the moment a picture is taken, there still are procedures that must be followed to obtain the maximum legal protection for the photographer’s rights. The ASMP tutorial details those procedures, providing step-by-step instructions and annotated sample forms. In addition, it explores several copyright-related issues of particular importance to photographers, such as pictures of public buildings and the distinctions that courts use in deciding whether two images are substantially similar.

Said Eugene Mopsik, ASMP’s executive director, “Photographers would rather make images than file paperwork, but their future income often depends on having properly registered their copyrights. ASMP can’t do the paperwork for its members, of course. But we can educate about the importance of registering, explain the ins and outs of the process, and provide clear, photographer-friendly directions. Our goal in preparing this tutorial was to help photographers protect their legal rights with a minimum of hassle.”

PCMagazine have today posted reviews of no less than 4 new HP printers, including the top-of-the-range HP Photosmart 8450 model (pictured).

“The HP Photosmart 8450 Photo Printer ($299.99 direct) from Hewlett-Packard is a close cousin to the HP Photosmart 8150. Like the 8150, it can serve as an all-purpose printer, with good performance and good or better output quality across the board. And both are notable for their 2.5-inch color LCDs and kiosk-style menu features that let you fix flaws in your photos and print without a computer.”

Website: PCMagazine - HP Photosmart 8450 Printer Review

Website: PCMagazine - HP Photosmart 8150 Printer Review

Website: PCMagazine - HP Photosmart 5740 Printer Review

Website: PCMagazine - HP Photosmart 375 Printer Review

Engadget have reported that Mitsubishi are set to introduce a 4 megapixel, auto-focusing camera-phone module next month.

“That means we could start seeing four-megapixel autofocus cameraphones sometime around next May to June, though as ITmedia notes (in Japanese, so you’ll have to trust us) the image quality problem is shifting to lens and optical zoom technology, or the poorness of it, rather than pixel count per se. In any case, Mitsubishi’s module means that shooting nice 2,304x1,728-pixel photos and VGA video at 30 frames per second with your phone will soon be possible, which can?t bad at all.”

Website: Engadget - Mitsubishi drops four-megapixel cameraphone modules

The Sensor Brush family of products from Canadian company Visible Dust seem to be getting a lot of media attention at the moment. Now it’s the turn of Luminous Landscape’s Michael Reichmann to review this new product which cleans the sensor inside a digital SLR camera.

“But, what you do is spray compressed air (CO2) on one of the appropriately sized brushes called a Sensor Brush, for 10 seconds or so, and then wipe across the sensor with the brush. That’s it. If the crud is stubborn, then a second swipe can be done, after charging the brush again with compressed air (which makes it statically attractive). Blowing the brush bristles again after cleaning removes anything that’s been picked up.

The first time that I tried this was on my Canon 1Ds, which was pretty dirty at the time. Two passes, and it was clean. Not just somewhat clean. Not almost clean. But, totally clean! The first time that it has been so since the day that I took delivery of the camera over two years ago. I have subsequently cleaned other DSLRs sensors with equally impressive results.”

Website: Luminous Landscape - Out - Damn Spot!

Website: Visible Dust