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

The 3rd preview today of the new 5 megapixel Sony Cyber-shot DSC-M1 digital camera comes from Imaging Resource:

“The DSC-M1 is certainly an interesting concept, and while it still has some rough edges (particularly in terms of ergonomics and design, as I mentioned previously), it also has plenty of positives as well. While it isn’t designed to completely replace a camcorder, its relatively compact dimensions and light weight will make it much more likely to accompany you, than would be a separate digital camera and camcorder that would likely each be as large, or larger.”

Website: Imaging Resource - Sony Cyber-shot DSC-M1 Preview

The Slovenian website eFotoGrafija have just published their review of the 8-megapixel Nikon Coolpix 8700 digital camera.

Website: eFotoGrafija - Nikon Coolpix 8700 Review

Sandisk Press Release 08/09/04

SANDISK AND AMERICAN PHOTO MAGAZINE OFFER UNIQUE OPPORTUNITY TO TAKE PICTURES WITH PROFESSIONAL PHOTOGRAPHERS IN EXOTIC LOCATIONS

“Extreme Adventure Series” Lets Winning Bidders On eBay Travel to Six Locations Around The World For Hands-On Mentoring With Renowned Photographers; Proceeds To Benefit “Make A Better Place” Charity

Sunnyvale, CA, Sept. 8, 2004 - SanDisk Corporation (NASDAQ:SNDK) today announced that SanDisk and American PHOTO magazine will launch the Extreme Adventure Series, a unique opportunity for avid photographers at all skill levels to gain first hand experience by working one-on-one with some of the world’s most famous photographers in six ‘extreme’ locations around the world starting in 2005. Each travel package will be auctioned off with winning bidders traveling to Florida for Super Bowl XXXIX, Indiana for the Indy 500 Auto Race, Botswana for an African safari, France for the Tour de France, Canada for a polar bear expedition and an exploration to India.

The auction can be previewed at (http://www.ebay.com/americanphoto) and bidding will take place from September 10-20, 2004. Proceeds from the auction will benefit the Make A Better Place organization, a not-for-profit arts and education organization that promotes youth development and learning through community service and positive social change (http://www.makeabetterplace.org). In addition, each winning bidder will receive a 1 gigabyte (GB) SanDisk Extreme CompactFlash card, which is specifically designed for harsh weather and rapid-fire shooting.

DCResource have published their hands-on preview of the new 5 megapixel Sony Cyber-shot DSC-M1 digital camera.

“People probably won’t buy the M1 for its picture-taking abilities: they can get that elsewhere for less money. Instead, it’s for people who want to take higher quality movie clips with less of a hit on their memory cards. Since the M1 uses MPEG4, you don’t need a fast Memory Stick Pro card to record video at the highest quality—any regular Memory Stick Duo card will work. This new movie feature is called MPEGMovie4TV (versus MPEGMovie VX on other recent Sony cameras).”

Website: DCResource - Sony Cyber-shot DSC-M1 Preview

Lexmark Press Release 08/09/04

Lexmark changes the game for photo printing at home

Two new devices bring home the power and simplicity of retail photo kiosks

Lexmark International, Inc. (NYSE: LXK) today introduced two products that dramatically change the at-home photo printing experience.  The result of exhaustive research, focus groups and user testing, every aspect - from innovative industrial design and enhanced performance to unique, value-added bonus features - will simplify the digital photo printing process for busy families.

Kristy Holch, a Group Director at InfoTrends/CAP Ventures observed, “Consumer photo printing has not quite kept pace with the proliferation of digital cameras.  Consumer comments reveal the causes, such as too many steps in the printing process and lack of time.”

The Lexmark P915 Home Photo Printer and the Lexmark P6250 Home Photo Center All-in-One are persuasive alternatives to products from other printer manufacturers and challenge the appeal of photo kiosks at large retail outlets.

Lexmark Press Release 08/09/04

Lexmark All-in-One redefines document management and distribution for SMB professionals

—The X7170 All-in-One integrates hardware and software functionality to give SMB professionals a productivity edge—

Lexmark International today introduced the Lexmark X7170 All-in-One featuring exclusive Productivity Suite Software - the latest addition to the company’s line of Small & Medium Business (SMB) products. Designed to make life easier for busy SMB professionals, the X7170 can dramatically cut administrative time, helping businesses be more productive.

Lexmark’s new X7170 All-in-One offers small business owners a one-stop shop for easily faxing, scanning, printing and copying documents, and with the new Lexmark Productivity Suite Software, an easy-to-use method to move information between the paper and digital worlds.

“The Lexmark X7170 All-in-One offers printing, scanning and faxing capabilities together with a complete document management solution,” said Giovanni Giusti, Managing Director, Lexmark UK. “Having all of this functionality tied together with our easy to use document management software allows owners to spend less time managing their documents and more time managing their business.”

Shooters Press Release 08/09/04

DigitalPro 3: Award winning digital image management software now includes image cataloging

Pro Shooters releases DigitalPro 3 for Windows, the first true business solution for digital photographers’ image workflow

Portola Valley, Calif. - September, 2004 - Today Pro Shooters LLC, released DigitalPro 3 for Windows. New with Version 3 is a fully integrated image cataloging system tied directly to its award-winning image management system. No longer do photographers need multiple applications to manage their digital workflow. DigitalPro3 handles the entire process, from loading images off cards, reviewing, renaming, captioning and filing. With DigitalPro’s image catalog users can quickly retrieve images based on categories, keywords, captions or shooting data. For editing DigitalPro 3 integrates seamlessly with Adobe Photoshop, Nikon Capture, or the user?s choice of photo editor.

Unique to DigitalPro 3 are:

Real-time Cataloging while browsing, Unlimited size Catalogs
End-to-end color managed workflow
Integrated support for Photoshop CS Batch Raw processing
Raw+JPEG mode allows quick image handling for Raw+JPEG shooters

DigitalPro3 has already received a 2004 Editor?s Choice award from American Photo magazine and is showcased in their July issue.

Despite being announced less than 12 hours ago, A-Digital-Eye have published a hands-on preview of the new 5 megapixel Sony Cyber-shot DSC-M1 digital camera.

“As discussed earlier we have been using the new M1 for several days now and have found it to be a very fun camera. The camera appears to take the same very high quality 5 megapixel images still images that we found in the DSC-T1 released earlier this year. What we were very pleased to find was the very quick camera operations. The M1 does have a very fast focus and shutter lag, which helps insure you get the image at the moment you want. We also noticed that flash images were looking good, and to our eye looked a bit better then we recall on the T1.”

Website: A-Digital-Eye - Sony Cyber-shot DSC-M1 Preview

Website: A-Digital-Eye - News

Express Digital Press Release 08/09/04

EXPRESS DIGITAL’S PHOTOREFLECT.COM SITE FOR PRO PHOTOGRAPHERS REACHES 13,000 STOREFRONTS

Compelling Photos Attract 850,000 Unique Visitors per Month

PhotoReflect.com Grows 50% a Year
Storefronts Gross Over $1 Million Per Month for Pro Photographers

ENGLEWOOD,  CO - September 8, 2004 - Express Digital, the leading provider of digital imaging software, e-commerce and lab solutions to professional photography businesses, today announced that its PhotoReflect.com site for pro photographers www.photoreflect.com has hit a high of 13,000 professional photographer online storefronts, reflecting the growing International market for online photo services for pro photographers.? PhotoReflect.com continues to grow rapidly, adding more than 1,400 new storefronts each quarter and showing more than a 50% growth year over year.
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Express Digital pioneered the on-line professional photography marketplace with its creation of PhotoReflect.com in 2000.? PhotoReflect.com is the Internet storefront of choice for the professional photographer.? It is a simple and affordable digital solution that allows the photographer to create new revenue streams and grow their business.?
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Sony Press Release 08/09/04

SONY’S CYBER-SHOT M1 CAMERA EXTENDS THE MEMORY TO MORE THAN JUST AN INSTANT IN TIME

New Cyber-shot Shooting Mode Sandwiches Quality Stills Between Video Clips

SAN DIEGO, Sept. 8, 2004 - A picture may say a thousand words, but with Sony’s futuristic new Cyber-shot DSC-M1 digital camera and its extraordinary video features, it’s what happens before and after the picture is taken that says the most.

“Capturing that one special moment in time is, of course, the reason why cameras exist,” said Steve Haber, senior vice president for Sony Electronics’ Personal Mobile and Imaging Division. “But what led up to that moment, and what happened just after is an important story to tell too.”

Enter, the Cyber-shot DSC-M1, a 5.1-megapixel digital still camera that also pays particular attention to the role moving images play in preserving memories, and even more attention to making it easy to use. It will be available in December for about $600.

PhotographyBLOG visitor chrys has contacted me to let me know about some great offers on Lexar compact flash cards:

“I found the following Lexar rebates for compactflash cards and thought I’d pass it along. Offer is good 01-30th September, and valid only in the USA (sorry!)

I priced out a 1Gb card for less than $100 (same thing cost me $300 when they first came out!)

Compactflash high speed 40x - up to $30 rebate
http://www.bhphotovideo.com/FrameWork/Rebates_Promos/093004_Lexar40X.pdf
or
http://www.adorama.com/pdfs/rebates/40xH_093004.pdf

Compactflash pro 80x - up to $50 rebate
http://www.bhphotovideo.com/FrameWork/Rebates_Promos/093004_Lexar80X.pdf
or
http://www.adorama.com/pdfs/rebates/80x_093004.pdf

Once you submit a claim, you can track it via this site: http://www.rebate-zone.com/LexarMedia

If you’ve heard about any similar great offers, then please email me and I’ll help spread the word :-)

Imaging Resource have just reviewed the 3.2 megapixel Konica Minolta DiMAGE Z10 digital camera, which features fastest-in-class startup, 8x optical “Mega-Zoom,” fast and reliable autofocusing, and energy efficient design.

“Earlier, I mentioned the unusual design of the Z10’s EVF, which uses the same LCD screen as for the rear-panel display. Despite its odd design, the scheme seems to work pretty well, as the EVF is bright and has pretty good resolution. My one complaint about it is that the eyepiece optics have a rather low eyepoint, which means that eyeglass wearers will find themselves pressing the viewfinder eyepiece tightly against the lenses of their glasses, in order to see the full frame. The EVF does have a dioptric adjustment knob with a fairly wide range of adjustment though, so you may be able touse the EVF without your eyeglasses on. (I’m quite nearsighted, at 20/180or so, and the dioptric control could just compensate for my uncorrected vision.)”

Website: Imaging Resource - Konica Minolta DiMAGE Z10 Review

There have been rumours of a ban on photography on the New York subway for a while. Now it looks as though the ban may be extended to buses and the Staten Island railway too. The reason given by the New York Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) is “In order to further enhance passenger security and safety”...

“What a sorry state of affairs. I’ve been traveling around the United States and around the world for more than 30 years. I’ve always been proud that in America we are allowed to photograph virtually whatever we want (with some exceptions, of course). But

But we’ve never had the draconian prohibitions many other countries implemented against photographing monuments, government buildings and other locations. Times are changing, and not for the better.”

Website: Reiter’s Camera Phone Report - New York City considering banning photography on trains, buses

PCMagazine have just reviewed the new CanoScan LiDE 35 flatbed scanner.

“Photo scan quality was just short of excellent. The only thing that holds the overall photo rating to very good is that the tool for removing scratches and dust specks didn’t have any noticeable effect on our test image. But the tool for restoring faded colors works well and doesn’t slow down the scanner.”

Website: PCMagazine - CanoScan LiDE 35 Review

The second review this week sees Luminous Landscape take a look at the BH-55 Ball Head from Really Right Stuff.

“So, is the BH-55 the best ballhead ever? Based on its quality of materials and construction, I would have to agree with the RRS copy writer. Indeed, if it wasn’t for the somewhat less than ideal placement of the panning knob I would have given it an A+. As it is the BH-55 rates a solid A, and thus goes to the head of the class. My Arca Swiss B1 head is now in retirement.”

Website: Luminous Landscape - Really Right Stuff BH-55 Ball Head Review

I thought DPReview only reviewed digital cameras, but today they have published a review of DXO Optics Pro, a software package that is designed to enable digital camera owners to correct images which suffer from distortion, vignetting, blur and chromatic aberrations.

“DxO is very easy to use and allows for automation as it requires virtually no user intervention. This benefit is at the same time a disadvantage because the results are “as is” due to the lack of user adjustable parameters or sliders. In theory this should not be necessary because DxO uses tailored mathematical models which take into account specific camera-lens combinations. But in reality, the distortion, chromatic aberration, and vignetting results were only partial.”

Website: DPReview - DXO Optics Pro Review