The 47th Photo of the Week contest is now open. This is a weekly photography contest with no set theme and you can enter any photograph that you like.

Please note that there has been an important change to the Photo of the Week rules:

“2. You can enter up to a maximum of 5 images.”

Click here to read the Photo of the Week rules.

The voting for the 45th Photo of the Week contest has now finished.

The winner is “Ahh - aww !” by fdinaro.

Congratulations to the winner!

You can view all of the entries that were submitted in this gallery.

The latest issue of Nature Photographers Online Magazine has recently been posted and features some new articles that will appeal to nature and non-nature photographers alike.

Expect the Unexpected by Christopher Jordan and Ron Leonetti
“Learn your local landscape. It may not be Half Dome or slot canyons, but with patience and repeated exposure it will surely yield subject matter of interest. I firmly believe that getting to know a place in great detail, in all seasons and all weather is much more likely to yield high quality photographic results than trophy hunting at the photographic hot spots that attract hordes of photographers. In most cases my favorite images have come from repeated visits to the same place.”

Sossusvlei by Balloon by Peter Madeley

Landscape Photography Composition - Part 2 by Guy Tal

Website: Nature Photographers Online Magazine - October 2004 Issue

Amateur photographer David Fong has posted a very comprehensive rough guide to the Panasonic DMC-FZ10 Lumix ultrazoom digital camera (found via Digicamera.net).

“If you half-press the shutter button and wait until you get a solid green light, the shutter lag when you press the button the rest of the way is 0.15 seconds. If the camera is in Auto-focus and you just press the shutter button without half-pressing it first, the shutter lag can be between 0.7 seconds and several seconds, depending on how long it takes to get focus lock. If the camera is in Manual Focus and you just press the shutter button without half-pressing it first, the shutter lag is about 0.35 seconds. If you’re in Manual Focus and have turned off the Review feature, the delay time AFTER taking a picture is about one second.

I’ve taken 8-9 separate frames in ten seconds just to test the camera. That didn’t give me time to compose the scene, so the pictures were artistically terrible, but the camera easily kept up, and can keep going at that rate until you fill the card. Other than true ‘Pro’ cameras, this is by far the fastest digicam around.”

Website: David Fong - Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ10 Rough Guide

Photo-i have posted a very enthusiastic review of the new HP Photosmart 8450 printer.

“When it comes to print quality, then this printer is in a league of its own. I have seen plenty of printers in my time, but this one produces excellent results time after time. The only losers here are going to be the Colour management vendors. HP have got it spot on with the 8450, you can safely forget about creating a custom profile. If you do want to tweak the settings then this is an easy job via the excellent controls on the print dialogue palette.”

Website: Photo-i - HP Photosmart 8450 Printer Review

Hungarian website Index Digicam have published the first review that I have seen of the 4 megapixel Sanyo Xacti DSC-S4 digital camera.

Website: Index Digicam - Sanyo Xacti DSC-S4 Review

DPNow have posted a great preview of the new Konica Minolta Dynax 7D DSLR, using it at this weekend’s Rugby Super League Play Off Grand Final between the Leeds Rhinos and Bradford Bulls.

“One thing I was definitely impressed by was the 7D’s continuous shooting capability. It can shoot three frames per second, which is not spectacular, but more importantly you can keep this up for nine frames in Extra Fine JPEG mode, 15 frames in Fine JPEG high resolution mode and up to 43 frames in low resolution. Overall shutter responsiveness was pretty good.”

Website: DPNow - Konica Minolta Dynax 7D Hands-on First Look

Danish website Digital Magasinet have posted a short review of the 4 megapixel HP Photosmart R507 digital camera.

Website: Digital Magasinet - HP Photosmart R507 Review

Casio Europe Press Release 18/10/04

Fiery photo technology for hot winter nights: The new EXILIM Zoom EX-Z50 “Red Star”
 
Norderstedt, October 2004 - The days are getting shorter and the dark season is setting in. The EXILIM Zoom EX-Z50 “Red Star” Special Edition with its loud colour shade and lots of power gets everyone out of hibernation. The little one is power-packed! In its shiny metallic red it records the big party celebration in no time at all.

The EXILIM Zoom EX-Z50 “Red Star” is not only a hot candidate for fantastic pictures when it comes to design; the lifestyle camera is also a shining example for photo fun as regards the subject of technology. 5.0 Megapixel and 3x optical zoom provide outstanding sharpness, and it’s easy to watch for the right moment with the Direct On function. The shiny red one is ready for all kinds of snapshots in around 1.6 seconds1). With a shutter release time lag of around 0.01 seconds2), you can take a photo of the good-looking guy next door before he notices. And if the unnoticed approach is successful, even the smallest tattoo can still be shot in large format. Namely, the Auto Macro function automatically switches from Autofocus to the Macro mode and back again as required. In the heat of the night the “Red Star” is a faithful companion: the SUPER LIFE battery gives it power for up to 390 pictures3). One charge of the powerful Lithium-Ion storage battery is enough. For poorly-lit pictures there is the useful Flash Assist function available, which most automatically brightens up pictures that have turned out too dark if need be. And when you’ve found Mr. Perfect at last, the movie function is activated. It records a film with sound recording without any time limit4). For flaming moments by candlelight, the “Red Star” offers a further highlight: in the BESTSHOT function there are 23 preset motif programs for all kinds of different situations, as well as for the scenario. For easy operation and a technically top-class performance, the Icon Help function explains the symbol of the respective mode that the photo-lover is currently using.

eDigitalPhoto have posted their review of the Kyocera Finecam M410R, a 4.0 megapixel digital camera with a high-powered 10x optical zoom and high-speed lens.

“Of course, image quality is where it’s at, and the Kyocera M410R delivers some of the most pleasing colors and sharpest images we’ve seen in the 4-megapixel class. Kyocera rightly and modestly claims that you can get great 8x10 prints out of this camera (at full res, Fine) and our tests verify that. Frankly, we?ve grown weary of other 4-megapixel camera makers claiming you can get 16x20 prints, or bigger, from their models.”

Website: eDigitalPhoto - Kyocera Finecam M410R Review

Imaging Revue is a subscription based website ($120/year) that features forums attended by some of the great names in digital imaging. It seems than all is not well, as virtually all of the experts resigned earlier this week.

The following Imaging Revue Experts resigned from the IR website as of 10-11-2004:

John Paul Caponigro, Katrin Eismann, Martin Evening, Bruce Fraser, Greg Gorman, Mac Holbert, Ian Lyons, Steve Gorman, Seth Resnick, Andrew Rodney, and Jeff Schewe

The statement they issued to IR subscribers is shown below:

“While we, as a group, appreciated the community that included the IR membership, we have fundamental differences with the organization and management of Imaging Revue. When it was first proposed, we felt the time was right for a site dedicated to digital imaging on a subscription basis. However, the management of the site has failed to meet our expectations. We now feel it is wrong for us to be involved as Experts without any direct control over how
the site is administered.

Our disagreement is not with the subscribers of Imaging Revue nor its community. We have nothing but good feelings towards the friends we?ve made here. We wish the community well. But clearly, in the opinion of the Experts, the management of IR has not followed through with its commitment to the fundamental structure and organization of the site. In fact, we now question the validity of the basic business model of paying Experts to answer questions.

We realize that many members have subscribed and paid money in large part because we, as Experts, were involved. To those people we can only offer our sincere apology. We would like to have offered a better and stronger involvement but circumstances have prevented us from being able to do so.

For those of you who feel angry or frustrated, we can only apologize and sympathize. We wish this site had met your expectations as well as ours.

The individual Experts have expressed a desire to offer their own goodbyes, but as a group we felt the need to make a unified statement.”

The Polish website FotoPolis have published their review of the new 7 megapixel Sony Cyber-shot DSC-V3.

Website: FotoPolis - Sony Cyber-shot DSC-V3 Review

Fujifilm Press Release 15/10/04

Fujifilm introduce next generation of professional colour negative films
 
Fujifilm have announced the forthcoming release of Fujicolor Pro 160S and Pro 160C - two medium-speed colour negative films for professional use.

The films feature smoother skin tone rendition, unprecedented neutral grey balance, exceptionally fine grain, and wide exposure latitude. They represent the leading edge of Fujifilm’s colour negative film technology. Both have been optimised for digital scanning, and give excellent performance when used for digitally printed portraiture.

Combining smooth, gentle tonality with superbly natural colour reproduction, Fujicolor Pro 160S is ideal for wedding, portrait, and fashion photography. Fujicolor Pro 160C meanwhile offers higher contrast and more vivid colour, making it suitable for a wide range of assignments from portraiture and commercial work to architecture.

Simultaneously, with the release of Fujicolor Pro 160S and Pro 160C, Fujifilm’s highspeed colour negative films will receive new names and package designs as part of a complete “Fujicolor Pro” line. The current NPH 400 will become Fujicolor Pro 400H, while NPZ 800 will be rebadged as Fujicolor Pro 800Z. All four products in this line are designed to combine the maximum benefits and quality of film with optimal suitability for digital technology.

DPNow have just reviewed the affordable Pantone ColorVision ColorPlus monitor calibrator:

“The results we obtained with the Pantone ColorVision ColorPlus monitor calibrator were about what we expected and very similar to more expensive Lacie Blue Eye and Gretag Macbeth Eye One Display calibrators we have used in the past. Comparing a printed Colour Confidence Repro Pack reference sheet with its RGB source image on-screen (above) didn’t prove to be an exact match, though none of the other solutions did any better, with the printed sheet looking warmer than the on-screen image, though looking at the greys on the screen, everything looked pretty neutral. Ambient lighting is a huge factor when viewing a monitor and it’s not a great idea to position your screen near a window, for example.”

Website: DPNow - ColorPlus Review

Website: Read my ColorPlus Review

DCResource have just posted their review of the 4 megapixel, 8.3 optical zoom Nikon Coolpix 4800.

“The 4800 isn’t going to win any awards for its focus speeds. Quite often it took 0.8 - 1.2 seconds for the camera to lock focus after pressing the shutter release halfway. The camera focuses better than average in low light but not as good as I was expecting from a camera that has an AF-assist lamp.

The CP4800 seems to have a problem with shutter lag, as well. It was noticeable at all times, even at faster shutter speed. This isn’t a great camera for action or pictures of the kids!”

Website: DCResource - Nikon Coolpix 4800 Review

There have already been numerous articles about cleaning the sensor inside a digial SLR. Now Thom Hogan has chipped in with his own personal guide for cleaning Nikon cameras with two relatively new commercial products:

“While Nikon Capture now has the ability to use a “dust reference” shot to remove dust from NEFs, this doesn’t help you much with JPEG images. The Capture Dust Off correction is done similar to cloning (i.e. copying neighboring data) but automatically. One problem is that this can sometimes obscure fine detail (cloud threads). Nor does the Capture dust reference photo idea work well in the kinds of environments I shoot in, where the dust accumulation on my CCD changes daily (I’d have to take several reference photos a day and then carefully track them, adding yet more complexity to my already complex workflow). Finally, Nikon Capture has an upper limit to the number of dust bunnies it can “erase,” and I’ve encountered plenty of situations where I could exceed those limits.”

Website: Thom Hogan - Cleaning your Sensor

Dell Press Release

The Dell Photo Printer 540 is a small, easy to use portable printer that delivers photo-lab quality 4x6 inch photos, and works with digital cameras, a variety of memory cards or with a PC. It’s ideal for the home, office or business user who wants “ready-to-frame” high quality photographs from a fast, compact printer.

The Dell Photo All-In-One Printer 942 delivers outstanding, borderless photo printing in sizes up to 8.5 x 11 inches and includes the convenience of regular print, copy, fax1 and scan capabilities packaged in a sleek, space-saving design.

Both of these new Dell printers deliver affordable color photo printing solutions with professional results. The 540 uses thermal dye transfer technology to produce beautiful photographs in less than 60 seconds. Each print has a glossy finish Clear Life CoatingTM that makes it durable, waterproof, smudge proof and long lasting.2 The 540 printer uses Dell Supplies Management SystemTM software to help make sure you never run out of Photo Print packs.3 The 942 system produces high quality printing at up to 19 pages per minute (ppm) in black and 14 ppm in color (actual print speed will vary with use), and offers low cost options for standard or high capacity cartridges. The 942 uses the Dell Ink Management SystemTM software to monitor print cartridges.

DigitalCameraInfo.com have reviewed the Fujifilm FinePix A330 Zoom, a digital camera that offers 3 million effective pixel resolution, 3x optical zoom and a sturdy but stylish body.

“The FinePix A330 is made with a fixed ISO speed of 100. This is puzzling as most automatic point-and-shoot cameras contain an ISO range regardless of user control options. The single setting substantially restricts shooting flexibility as the A330 user will either have to shoot exclusively under profuse lighting or will have to be married to the flash. The included stock flash will provide enough illumination to expose most subjects at short distances; however, all of the images will contain the harsh, strait-on glare of direct lighting, without opportunity for alteration.”

Website: DigitalCameraInfo.com - Fujifilm FinePix A330 Zoom Review

The Slovenian website Slo-Foto have published a review of the 4 megapixel Sony Cyber-shot DSC-L1 digital camera.

Website: Slo-Foto - Sony Cyber-shot DSC-L1 Review

Bags of Love, part of Contrado, is a photofinishing service that allows you to personalise all kinds of different products with your own photographs. At the time of writing this short review, Bags of Love can print your photos onto a large range of items. If you’ve ever used my favourite online print service Photobox, then you will be interested to know that their bags and canvas prints are actually supplied by Bags of Love. The service that Bags of Love provides is aimed at general consumers (both digital and film users) who are looking for more interesting ways to use their own photos.

Website: Bags of Love Review