Sigma Press Release 10/09/04

World’s smallest, lightweight, yet Robust, Large Aperture Zoom Lens (2004.9.10)
28-70mm F2.8 EX DG

- EX DG Lens Series; Designed to give an excellent performance with Digital SLR Cameras as well as 35mm Film Cameras.
- Super Multi Layer (SML) coating reduces ghost and flare.
- Two pieces of Special Low Dispersion (SLD) elements and four aspherical lenses provide high quality images throughout the entire zoom range.
- Minimum focusing distance of 33cm (13 in.) at all focal lengths

Sigma Corporation is pleased to announce the new 28-70mm F2.8 EX DG lens.

This is the world’s smallest, large and constant aperture zoom lens and is ideal for digital SLR cameras. The power layout of the lens is specially optimized for digital SLR cameras, and Super Multi Coating gives superb color performance whilst cutting down flare and ghost.

Sigma Press Release 10/09/04

World’s first High Speed Tele-Macro Lens (2004.9.10)

APO MACRO 150mm F2.8 EX DG HSM

- Designed to give a superior performance with Digital SLR Cameras as well as 35mm Film Cameras.
- Super compact and lightweight, large aperture telephoto lens with life-size macro capability.
- Hyper Sonic Motor (HSM) with full time manual focus override.
- Floating Focusing System produces excellent optical performance.
- Detachable Tripod Socket.

Sigma Corporation is pleased to announce of the world’s first High Speed Tele Macro MACRO 150mm F2.8 EX DG HSM lens.

This large aperture telephoto macro lens enables you to shoot up to 1:1 life size close-ups. Its
large F2.8 aperture makes it an ideal lens for digital SLR as well as film SLR cameras. The new lens power layout provides the ultimate correction against lateral chromatic aberration to which digital cameras are prone.

Sigma Press Release 10/09/04

A new zoom lens for the “Four Thirds System (4/3 System)” Digital SLR Camera System.(2004.9.10)

18-125mm F3.5-5.6 DC

An all-in-one lens providing coverage of a wide range of focal lengths from wide angle to telephoto.

The Super Multi Layer coating reduces flare and ghost, which is a common problem with digital cameras.

A Special Low Dispersion (SLD) and two aspherical glass elements produce a?@top quality optical performance.

Sigma Corporation is pleased to announce the launch of the new 18-125mm F3.5-5.6 DC for Four Thirds mount.

This zoom lens was exclusively designed for use with digital Single Lens Reflex (SLR) cameras and has a 6.9 zoom ratio. A Special Low Dispersion (SLD) and two aspherical glass elements produce a top quality optical performance throughout the entire zoom range.

Canon USA Press Release 09/08/04

Editor’s Note: All of these products have already been previously announced in Europe.

CANON AGGRESSIVELY TARGETS HOME PHOTO AND SOHO PRINTING MARKETS WITH LAUNCH OF 11 NEW INKJET AND LASER PRODUCTS

Launch of New PIXMA Inkjet Photo Printers, Photo All-in-Ones and imageCLASS Laser MFPs Bring Outstanding Value, Quality, and Performance to Consumer and SOHO Users

LAKE SUCCESS, N.Y., - Sept. 9, 2004 - Building on an over 60 year heritage as a leader in imaging technologies, Canon U.S.A., Inc. today introduced a full range of new consumer single function and photo all-in-one (AIOs) inkjet printers and networked laser multifunction printers (MFPs) for the small office/home office (SOHO) markets. A total of 11 products will launch under the PIXMA and imageCLASS brands, ranging in price from $99.99 to $999.99i.

Canon is a leading U.S. patent holder of printer technology and the world’s largest manufacturer of laser beam printer engines. In addressing the emerging consumer photo printing market and migration from single function to multi-function platforms for the small and home office, today’s announcements mark an aggressive move by the global imaging technology provider to lead these markets from an innovation, value, performance, design, and ease-of-use perspective.

CNET have just reviewed the PowerShot SD110 Digital ELPH, which packs 3.2 megapixels into the smallest digital ELPH camera ever made with an optical zoom. Estimated street price is $299.

“Busy snapshot photographers looking for an inexpensive, pocketable camera will appreciate the 3-megapixel Canon PowerShot SD110’s no-nonsense ease of operation. This ultracompact model has some of the same limitations as earlier Digital Elphs: a lack of manual controls and scene modes, as well as only a 2X optical zoom instead of the more typical 3X range.”

Website: CNET - Canon PowerShot SD110 Digital ELPH Review

CNET 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.

“Kyocera’s 4-megapixel Finecam M410R, which sports a 10X zoom lens, may look like another me-too megazoom digicam, but the company says that speedy performance provided by a technology it calls RTune sets this model apart. We found that to be partly true, and when you add in the Finecam M410R’s acceptable design and feature set, you have a serviceable midrange-to-advanced snapshot camera.”

Website: CNET - Kyocera Finecam M410R Review

New stock photography site launches for the sports, betting and gaming market

LONDON, UK, SEPTEMBER 2004: Cut and Deal (www.cutanddeal.com), which provides both royalty-free and exclusive use images to the sports, betting, gaming and gambling markets, launched today.  The company was founded by internet entrepreneurs Glen Conybeare and Alex Kelleher, and was set up to answer the demand for a single destination for gaming and betting design content.  The company expects to benefit from the fast growth of the betting and gaming market, now worth some $1 trillion globally.

The business plan was born from the frustrations of Glen and Alex while working within the design industry, looking for quality sports betting and gambling content.  “Almost everything was out there somewhere but no-one had brought the content together in one place” says Cut and Deal co-founder Glen Conybeare. 

DPReview have just reviewed the 4-megapixel, 10x zoom Konica Minolta DiMAGE Z2.

“Fast, fun, and easy to use, the Konica Minolta Z2 offers a compelling combination of features (including some pretty meaty movie capabilities) and image quality at an excellent price. The camera’s ‘hit rate’ is very high, with the only problems being the occasional exposure problem and the ever-present danger of camera shake when shooting at the long end of the zoom in all but the brightest lighting.”

Website: DPReview - Konica Minolta DiMAGE Z2 Review

The 32nd PhotographyBLOG Portfolio has been submitted by Scott Kho.

“I’m Scott Kho, an 18-yr old college student currently completing my degree in Communications. I started to take an interest in photography at an early age. However, I only began to take photography seriously a few months ago.

I have a penchant for vibrant colors and for photographs that sort of jump at its viewers. I like photography because it enables me to express myself creatively.

These are photographs I took while completing a college project—writing articles about locations, peoples, events. In order to get the feel of the assigned location, I took photographs of people doing their everyday tasks—accomplishing their daily routines. The photographs were taken using a Sony digital camera.”

Website: http://scottkho.fotopic.net

Website: Portfolios: Scott Kho

The winners of the August 2004 PhotographyBLOG Competition have now been decided. The theme for August was “Sports” - you can view all of the entries in this gallery. Here are the 3 winners:

1st Place
“hand off” by daniel?
View this entry

Judges Comments:
“Great action shot! Great lighting and exposure! Great facial expressions!”

“What a great moment to catch and the subjects expressions are wonderful.”

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

2nd Place
“Lone Wasp On The Fly” by cazmockett
View this entry

Judges Comments:
“Excellent photographer location! Puts you in the game. Was the photographer running along with them?”

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

3rd Place
“Dragon Fury” by vancefry
View this entry

Judges Comments:
“I like the composition of this photo and how it shows the team working together.”

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

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

The September 2004 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 September’s theme, which is simply “Sunrise and Sunset”.

Nikon School Announces New Schedule For Popular Nikon School Photography Seminars

Three Digital Photography Courses Teach the Essentials to Photography Enthusiasts at All Skill Levels

MELVILLE, N.Y., Sept. 8 /PRNewswire/—Nikon Inc. (http://www.nikonschool.com/), the world leader in photography, has released the new schedule for its popular Nikon School, one of the most comprehensive photography education and training programs in the industry. Nikon School seminars are taught throughout the country by renowned imaging experts. The three separate, one-day courses are designed to help digital photographers and business users of all skill levels better understand and improve the digital photography experience, including capturing, editing and sharing digital images. Whether the camera is simple or complex, new or old, digital or film, Nikon School has an appropriate course. The next Nikon School series will launch on October 2, 2004 in New York City, and visit more than 20 cities in the U.S. through June 2005.

“For more than 30 years, Nikon School has educated thousands of photographers in the creative picture taking process,” said Jerry Grossman, Vice President of Marketing for Nikon Inc. “With the expansion of digital imaging into America’s homes and offices, we recognize the need to educate photographers at all skill levels on how to get the most out their digital experience. Nikon School helps to make picture-taking come alive for more photographers, and brings enthusiasts together to explore new digital techniques and applications.”

Imatest LLC Press Release 08/09/04

Boulder, Colorado - September 8, 2004 -Imatest LLC announces the release of Imatest 1.0, a software package that measures the sharpness and image quality of digital camera images and digitized film images using inexpensive widely-available targets.

Never before has it been possible for photographers to measure the performance of their cameras and lenses with such accuracy and convenience. You had to rely on subjective judgments or published test results. Now you can perform your own measurements, simply and easily, by photographing a target and analyzing the results with Imatest software.

The technology website AnandTech has published a 12 page comparison of the new Konica Minolta DiMAGE Z3 and its predecessor the Z2, which might help you to decide which model to buy (found via digicamera.net).

“Overall, we found the Z2 to perform better than the Z3 in relation to Auto WB in tungsten light. In our color reproduction test, the Z3 had a much stronger yellowish-pink cast than the Z2. Indeed, it performed worse than we could have imagined. However, both cameras did pretty well reproducing colors in tungsten light when we used the Tungsten preset or set the WB manually. That said, we noticed that the Z3 slightly underexposed all of our indoor image tests (including video).”

Website: AnandTech - Konica Minolta DiMAGE Z2 & Z3: What is the difference in performance?

Tom’s Hardware have posted their review of the 14 megapixel Kodak DCS Pro SLR.

“Products such as the Canon EOS 300D or the Nikon D70 have made digital SLR cameras accessible to the general public. Meanwhile, offerings for the professional market are limited. For example, there is not much beyond the Contax N Digital and the Canon EOS 1Ds in the pro sector. However, now that it’s technically possible to produce DSLRs that are no more bulky than traditional film SLRs, Kodak has come to the fore with its 14-million pixel monster, available in two models - the SLR/c (Canon mount) and SLR/n (Nikon mount).”

Website: Tom’s Hardware - Kodak DCS Pro SLR Review

DigitalCameraInfo.com have published one of the more technical reviews of the new 5 megapixel Sony DSC-W1 digital compact camera that you will find on the internet, using Norman Koren’s new Imatest program for some of their testing.

“For a point and shoot camera, the DSC-W1 is not proficient in auto mode. While the camera will read extreme lighting to produce a proper exposure, many of the images recorded in automatic ISO mode are fraught with noise and distortion. As the available light is diminished, the camera struggle to compensate and it results in increased noise levels. Fortunately, the DSC-W1 does contain manual ISO control, providing the user the opportunity to control the image clarity.”

Website: DigitalCameraInfo.com - Sony DSC-W1 Review

Rangefinder Magazine is a photo magazine that unusally seems to publish most of it’s hard-copy content online. Consequently there are a whole range of articles that are too numerous to simply list here. Instead I’ll pick out one or two of my favourites and leave you to explore the rest. Profile: Andreas Gursky is a great look at a photography that I have admired ever since seeing a few of his large-scale photographs at Tate Modern, London, a couple of years ago - “Paris, Montparnasse” is one of the photos in the article. The Magic Hour is Larry Brownstein’s take on one of my favourite times of the day for photography - just after the sunset (he also likes just before the sunrise, but I’m not so keen on that!).

Website: Rangefinder Magazine

Nature Photographers Online Magazine has been updated for September with some new articles and an excellent cover photograph.

- Photos from My Back yard - A Photo Essay by Jim Erhardt
- Andy Rouse’s Shots of the Month
- Quick Tips for Better Nature Photography by Darwin Wiggett
- The Art of Communicating with Light by Darwin Wiggett
- Landscape Photography Composition - Part 1 by Guy Tal
- Wildlife Photography - Direction of Light by Jim Erhardt
- Using Reflectors and Diffusers for Macro Photography by Jim Erhardt

Website: Nature Photographers Online Magazine

It’s not as far-fetched as it sounds. When you see the name Carl Zeiss in conjunction with the word camera-phone, you know that this relatively new technology is coming of age. The legendary lens-maker is working in conjunction with Dialog Semiconductor to create camera phone modules. Roland Pudelko from Dialog Semiconductor commented “The battle for the next generation of camera phones will be decided by the combination of CMOS image sensors with innovative optics.” and “ten megapixel camera phones are…well within reach.”

Website: Reiter’s Camera Phone Report - Dialog Semiconductor, Carl Zeiss to develop camera phone modules

PC Magazine have published a bunch of photography-related reviews today, so rather than link individually to each one, here’s a handy list:

- Canon PIXMA iP4000 Printer
- Canon PIXMA iP3000 Printer (pictured)
- Canon PIXMA iP2000 Printer
- Canon PIXMA iP1500 Printer
- Kyocera Finecam SL400R
- Nikon Coolpix 4100
- Nikon Coolpix 3200

The 4th (and I think final) preview today of the new 5 megapixel Sony Cyber-shot DSC-M1 digital camera comes from Steves Digicams:

“A new hybrid record mode makes the most of the scene being captured by automatically recording five seconds of QVGA video before and three seconds after the still image is snapped, creating a more complete record of the sights and sounds of the moment. The video and still images are stored as two separate files, but played back as one in the camera.”

Website: Steves Digicams - Sony Cyber-shot DSC-M1 Preview