DO Labs Press Release 23/08/04

DXO OPTICS PRO ADDS IMMEDIATE SUPPORT FOR LEADING 8 MEGAPIXEL PROSUMER CAMERAS

DxO Optics Pro expands support beyond Digital SLRs to include the Konica Minolta DiMAGE A2 and Sony F-828 prosumer models

Paris, France, August 23, 2004 - DO Labs, a software company focused on research in image processing to enhance image quality, announces immediate support in its awardwinning DxO Optics Pro software application for the popular Konica Minolta DiMAGE A2 and the Sony F-828 8 megapixel digital cameras. DxO Optics Pro automatically corrects digital image faults such as Distortion, Vignetting, Blur and Lateral Chromatic Aberration. Previously available only for leading Digital Single Lens Reflex (DSLR) cameras, DxO Optics Pro version 1.1 now extends support to high-end prosumer models.

“Many serious photographers are attracted by the compact, feature rich 8 megapixel cameras such as the Konica Minolta DiMAGE A2 or the Sony F-828. Adding the image enhancement possibilities of DxO Optics Pro software to these models redefines what can be expected from a prosumer digital camera,” said Luc Marin, vice president of Business Development Photography, DO Labs.

SanDisk Press Release 23/08/04

SanDisk CompactFlash Memory Card Survives Blast That Destroys Camera—and Records Moment of Impact
 
Razing of old highway bridge across the Mississippi River created a more powerful than expected back-blast for photographer and camera gear on the ground. Photo courtesy of Southeast Missourian. 
 
CAPE GIRARDEAU, Mo.—(BUSINESS WIRE)—Aug. 23, 2004—Photographer Was Nearly Too Close in Attempting to Photograph the Dynamiting of a 76-Year-Old Span on the Mississippi River  

When a demolition crew set off an explosion to bring down an old highway bridge on the Mississippi River, newspaper photographer Don Frazier was so close that his hair stood on end. His digital camera, positioned on a tripod at an even closer point to remotely capture the event, fared much worse. It was blown to bits.

But to Frazier’s amazement, there on the ground, inches from the shattered remnants of his new pro-level camera, was his SanDisk(R) 256MB CompactFlash(R) card, which he had owned since 1999. Surprisingly, except for a few nicks, it was unscathed, even though it had been blasted from the camera chamber. And when he inserted the card into a PC reader, up popped an image that has astonished everyone who’s seen it.

Amazon is now listing the new range of Canon digital cameras that were announced on Friday last week (except for the EOS 20D DSLR). They will all be available on September 15th - if you want to be first in the queue you can pre-order them from Amazon using the following links:

Sanyo Japan have announced an update of the Xacti C1 digital camera/camcorder. According to Gizmodo, who have a stronger grasp of Japanase than me, the new C4 model has a few extra features, including video stabilizer, 4 megapixel CCD and a 1.8 inch LCD screen. The video quality hasn’t changed from the previous model though - it’s still 640 by 480 pixels at 30 frames per second.

Website: Gizmodo - Sanyo Xacti C4

VOSONIC IC-DRIVE VP3610

9 in 1 Portable Storage Device with 20GB or 40GB capacity
- Fast connection with USB 2.0 & LCD Panel -
- Ultra Compact Design -
- MP3 Jukebox Player -

The Vosonic IC Drive is a compact version of the X’S-Drive Pro VP300 and provides the same features: copy from any memory card all the files to the internal Hard Drive, fast USB 2.0 compatible interface, LCD panel to indicate detailed Working status, File transfer and battery power level, and MP3 Music player.

The IC Drive VP3610 includes a 1.8 inches hard drive which allows a much more compact design in comparison to the XS Drives using 2.5 inches hard drives.

It displays on its 2.5 inches LCD screen detailed information such as the names of files being transferred and the transfer progress status.

The 38th 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 30th August. The Poll will then be closed and the overall winner announced.

Vote now for your favourite image from the Photo Of The Week 16th-22nd August 2004 contest

Minox Press Release 19/08/04

MINOX DC 6311 - Very small, ultra compact, great looking but sporting over 6 million pixels!
The MINOX DC 6311 with 6.36 million pixels is one of the smallest digital cameras of its kind and its elegant stainless steel body is host to a most impressive range of features. The 3x optical zoom and the large 2” TFT color monitor make this small, attractive and well priced digital camera a very nice camera to own and use.

The MINOX DC 6311 features a CCD image sensor with 6.36 megapixels and boasts a fast, high-performance multi-coated MINOCTAR lens. The 3x zoom lens with autofocus allows the user plenty of freedom to concentrate on actual picture composition while still operating the easily selectable shutter speeds and apertures. A combination of the 6.36 megapixel sensor and the MINOCTAR lens, together with the cameras electronics and the software of the MINOX DC 6311, ensures dynamic images with expected natural color rendition. The added option to select manual mode - for night-time, sports or portrait photography as examples - opens up new areas of creativity for the discerning amateur or ‘snap-shooting’ pro’s. The automatic white balance ensures correct exposure, even in difficult lighting conditions, providing the user with natural colors and the correct setting for the subject in view, every time. The four flash functions make use of the best available lighting conditions for the best use of flash at all times. A fast image sequence and minimal shutter release delay allow for spontaneous snapshots just when you need them. A whole new range of creative photographic possibilities are opened up by the inclusion of the video and voice recording features.

Minox Press Release 19/08/04

MINOX DC 4211 - Digital camera with stylish slim line design

The MINOX DC 4211 is another milestone in the segment of small and flat digital cameras: 4.2 million pixels, 3x optical zoom as well as a large 2” TFT color monitor in an elegant aluminum body make this powerful digital camera a prestigious item which perfectly combines function and design.

The MINOX DC 4211 has a CCD image sensor with 4.2 megapixel and boasts the fast, high-performance MINOCTAR lens with multiple coating. The 3x zoom lens has an autofocus feature and gives the user freedom for creative picture composition. Thanks to the individual adjustment to the 4.2 megapixel sensor the MINOCTAR lens, together with the electronics and software of the MINOX DC 4211, provides highly dynamic images with natural color rendition. The automatic white balance ensures the right exposure, even in difficult light, providing the user with natural colors and the correct setting for the subject in view, every time. The four flash functions enable the ideal adjustment of the shot to the outside conditions. A fast image sequence and minimal shutter release delay allow spontaneous snapshots whatever the situation.

Thomas Hawk has got sick of being prevented from taking photographs by over-zealous coffee-shops and museums, so much so that he’s started a resource to record camera policies in various San Francisco locations.

“My concept is to begin a resource for photoblogers, in San Francisco initially, but more broadly later, to point out the camera policies of various public spaces in privately owned venues. I will continue to update this document as I continue to research this important issue in the Bay Area and abroad. I welcome comments on the project and feedback on the idea.”

Sounds like a good idea that could work on a more global scale.

Website: Thomas Hawk’s Digital Connection

The fourth issue of AK47.tv is out now. This is an online art photography magazine, published bimonthly, which showcases images from both fine arts and documentary photographers. It looks very similar design-wise to 28mm.org, but it’s mainly flash-based and features less photographers (5 in total this month).

Website: AK47.tv - August/September 2004 Issue (#2)

Photographic Magazine have just reviewed the new 8-megapixel Konica Minolta DiMAGE A2 digital camera.

“One of the most obvious improvements is apparent the first time you look through the A2’s new high-performance electronic viewfinder. With 922,000 pixels, this high-density VGA-quality display offers nearly four times the resolution of the DiMAGE A1 (or any other currently available digicam, for that matter). While still not as sharp as a TTL optical viewfinder, this EVF boasts a variety of benefits not found on a conventional viewfinder, including a full-information data overlay, automatic light amplification under dim conditions, and tilting from 0??90? for convenient shooting at odd angles.”

Website: Photographic - Konica Minolta DiMAGE A2 Review

Photographic Magazine have reviewed the 8-colour Canon i9900 printer, which can create a 13 x 19-inch borderless photograph in under three minutes and has a maximum resolution of 4800 x 2400 dpi. The printer is available now for a suggested list price of $499.

“The i9900’s MicroFine Droplet Technology and 6144-nozzle printhead deposit 122 million two-picoliter droplets per second, and the high-speed printhead significantly increases throughput. In fact, borderless 4x6 prints take only about 40 seconds to generate, while 81/2x11 and 13x19 prints can be made as quickly as 50 and 180 seconds respectively. That’s really fast for a printer with a list price of $499.99.”

Website: Photographic - Canon i9900 Printer Review

Photographic Magazine have published their review of the 6 megapixel Nikon D70 DSLR.

“Exposures were accurate in most shooting situations we encountered using the 3D Color Matrix system, so we used the center-weighted and spot systems only to assure that they worked. The camera has a good dynamic range, and moderately contrasty scenes recorded with enough detail throughout that a little tweaking in Photoshop produced good detail from sunlight through open shade.”

Website: Photographic - Nikon D70 Review

DCResource has just reviewed the compact 4.1 Megapixel Fuji FinePix F440 Zoom (which is the bigger brother of the F420 that I reviewed at the weekend).

“Autofocus speeds on the F440 were average. Halfway-pressing the shutter release button resulted in focus lock in 0.6 - 0.8 seconds in most cases. Focusing in low light wasn’t great—here’s where an AF-assist lamp would’ve helped. In addition, the LCD becomes virtually useless in dim light.

Shutter lag wasn’t an issue at fast shutter speeds but it was quite noticeable at slower ones (e.g. 1/2 second). Then again, you shouldn’t be handholding the camera at that shutter speed anyhow.”

Website: DCResource - Fuji FinePix F440 Zoom Review

The voting for the 37th Photo of the Week contest has now finished.

The winner is “Life is a stretch” by Gramper.

Congratulations to the winner!

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

The 39th Photo of the Week contest is now open. This is a weekly photography contest with no set theme and you can enter as many photos as you like.

Click here to read the Photo of the Week Rules.

The FujiFilm FinePix F420 is by far the smallest camera that I have ever reviewed, measuring just 7.7cm wide and 6.9 cm high. Despite its diminutive stature, Fuji have still managed to fit in a 1.8 inch LCD screen on the rear of the camera and their 4th Generation Super CCD HR sensor inside it, which can realise 3 million effective pixels, producing 6 million recorded pixels. The FinePix F420 has a 3x optical zoom lens, equivalent to 36-108mm on a 35mm camera, which is housed inside a stylish brushed aluminum body. A stand-out feature is the ability to record movies at 30 frames per second, a frame-rate that should ensure silky-smooth movie clips. So does all of this add up to a great pocketable camera? Read my review to find out the answer.

Website: Fuji Finepix F420 Zoom Review

Don’t ask me - I have no idea! It’s a good thing then that About Photography editor Peter Marshall has decided to publish a 5 page guide to deciding if a photo cuts the mustard, or whether it should be thrown in the waste-paper / recycle bin.

“Within the overall intention, I like to explore how they (and I and others) feel this particular image matches the intention. Why did they chose that particular subject, position, moment and point of view? It really does surprise me how often I find that when pressed, people often start to make excuses. The picture presented is not quite what they would have liked to take, but they were just too late, or couldn’t get any closer or ... Excuses don’t make for good pictures!”

Website: About Photography - What Makes a Picture Good ?

We’ve recently had Bob Atkins’ Canon Rumours page, which have largely turned out to be true. Now it’s the turn of Lonestardigital.com to make some Nikon predictions - will they be as accurate? If so, then we should see a 15 megapixel Nikon D3, 8.25 megapixel Nikon D200 and an 8.2 megapixel Nikon D2X by the end of 2004.

Website: John’s September through November 2004 Nikon SLR Predictions

Agfa has decided to sell its consumer imaging business, which includes film, finishing products and lab equipment, in a management buy-out for 175.5 million Euros. A new company, called AgfaPhoto, has been born, which will continue to serve all of Agfa’s consumer imaging markets and customers worldwide. So it’s not the end of film, more the end of Agfa as a provider of film-based photographic services.

Website: Agfa Press Release