News
Steves Digicams have reviewed the 5 megapixel Samsung Digimax V50.
“With its 5-megapixel imager, high quality lens, and host of exposure features, the Samsung Digimax V50 is only an average competitor in the consumer digicam market. It produces good image quality, but suffers a bit from shutter lag, a weak flash, and average low-light autofocus performance. If you need a camera that’s versatile enough to be used by everyone in your family, and like the expandability offered by the optional conversion lenses, the V50 offers a fairly good value with a street price of about $400 (as of Aug. 2004.)”
Steves Digicams have reviewed the 5 megapixel Samsung Digimax V50. “With its 5-megapixel imager, high quality lens, and host of exposure features, the Samsung Digimax V50 is only an average competitor in the consumer digicam market. It produces good image quality, but suffers a bit from shutter lag, a weak…
Steves Digicams have published one of the first reviews of the Epson PictureMate inkjet printer.
“The PictureMate is a good choice for today’s digital camera users that only need to make 4 x 6-inch size prints. If you want to make larger prints then look at the larger photo inkjet printers from Canon, HP or Epson—the PictureMate is strictly a 4 x 6” size printer. It’s small and very portable, it even has a carrying handle built right in to prove that it was designed to be portable. The only thing the PhotoMate lacks to make it a “perfect” standalone printer is a color preview LCD.”
Steves Digicams have published one of the first reviews of the Epson PictureMate inkjet printer. “The PictureMate is a good choice for today’s digital camera users that only need to make 4 x 6-inch size prints. If you want to make larger prints then look at the larger photo inkjet…
Canon USA Press Release 12/08/04
CANON RECEIVES 2004 INSIGHT AWARD FOR MOST INNOVATIVE CMOS IMAGE SENSOR TECHNOLOGY
Canon EOS 10D Recognized as One of the First High-End Digital SLR Cameras To Take Advantage of the Innovative CMOS Technology
Lake Success, N.Y., August 12, 2004 - Canon U.S.A., Inc., a subsidiary of Canon Inc. (NYSE: CAJ), today announced that it has received Semiconductor Insights’s 2004 INSIGHT Award for Most Innovative CMOS Image Sensor Technology.
Semiconductor Insights (SI), the leader in technical and patent analyses of integrated circuits and structures, analyzes hundreds of devices each year from the world’s most innovative companies. Through its INSIGHT Awards program, SI recognizes devices or technologies that change the performance/cost equation of their respective segments with a new design or process innovation. For the awards program, SI tested the CMOS Image Sensor Technology built into the Canon EOS 10D, one of the first high-end SLRs to use a CMOS image sensor.
“Our analysis confirmed that Canon has achieved the sensitivity and shutter speed of a CCD technology in a low cost CMOS process. As well, Canon’s CMOS process delivers a distinct power advantage over competitive CCD plays,” said Lluis Paris, director of TECHinsights for Semiconductor Insights. “The result is an affordable and high quality SLR.”
Canon USA Press Release 12/08/04 CANON RECEIVES 2004 INSIGHT AWARD FOR MOST INNOVATIVE CMOS IMAGE SENSOR TECHNOLOGY Canon EOS 10D Recognized as One of the First High-End Digital SLR Cameras To Take Advantage of the Innovative CMOS Technology Lake Success, N.Y., August 12, 2004 - Canon U.S.A., Inc., a subsidiary…
The winners of the July 2004 PhotographyBLOG Competition have now been decided. The theme for July was “Patterns” - you can view all of the entries in this gallery.
Once again, this month’s entries were excellent, making the judging particularly tough for the panel. Here are the winners:
1st Place
“Pebbles” by dapa_group
View this entry
Judges Comments:
“This photo looks like a stock photo it’s so good. The close-up perspective, the lighting, and the exposure are perfect.”
“Perfect lighting, composition and pin-sharp focusing combined with a great natural pattern.”
Prize: 1 copy of Ulead PhotoImpact XL
Kindly donated by Ulead Systems.
http://www.ulead.co.uk
2nd Place
“Windows” by csnudelman
View this entry
Judges Comments:
“The various representations are distinctly separated yet combine to an overall organic
image. The photo offers a complex variation of the traditional solution to simply photograph a given pattern, by letting us look through the pattern and see the same pattern in variations.”
Prize: Photobird.com one-year subscription with 100 megabytes of storage space
Kindly donated by Photobird.com.
http://www.photobird.com
3rd Place
“Munich Cafe” by turtletale
View this entry
Judges Comments:
“Well-seen man-made pattern, with the inclusion of the figure adding a sense of scale.”
Prize: 1 copy of Powerretouche Full Pro Pack
Kindly donated by Powerretouche.
http://powerretouche.com
Congratulations to the winners and thanks to everyone who took part!
The August 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 August’s theme, which is simply “Sports”.
The winners of the July 2004 PhotographyBLOG Competition have now been decided. The theme for July was “Patterns” - you can view all of the entries in this gallery. Once again, this month’s entries were excellent, making the judging particularly tough for the panel. Here are the winners: 1st Place…
Modern buildings and reflections are two of my favourite photographic subjects - being able to put them together and combine both in one shot is even better. The building that occupies the address “5 London Bridge Street” lends itself well to an abstract approach.
Click on the image to view a larger version in a new window.
Modern buildings and reflections are two of my favourite photographic subjects - being able to put them together and combine both in one shot is even better. The building that occupies the address “5 London Bridge Street” lends itself well to an abstract approach. Click on the image to view…
Josh Waller seems to be making a habit of reviewing affordable digicams; this time he’s taken a look at the 3 megapixel Olympus C-725 Ultra Zoom, which has an 8x optical zoom and retails for around £141.
“Image quality is very good - the images have great colour, good detail, low noise, but seem a bit soft occassionally - there is some noticable purple fringing, which unfortunately is quite normal for ultra zoom digital cameras at the moment. The macro mode is good, if a bit average. The flash occassionally over-exposes photos when the subject is too close. The movie mode is quite poor, especially as it is limited in length and doesn’t record sound.”
Josh Waller seems to be making a habit of reviewing affordable digicams; this time he’s taken a look at the 3 megapixel Olympus C-725 Ultra Zoom, which has an 8x optical zoom and retails for around £141. “Image quality is very good - the images have great colour, good detail…
Roger Cavanagh has just reviewed PR Sharpness, part of the Power Retouche set of plug-ins for Photoshop (which incidentally is one of the prizes in the PhotographyBLOG August Competition).
“The first question, I suppose, is “does it work?”. My answer is: yes it does, very nicely. Fix Edges does an excellent job of handling sharpening halos (though it’s not as wonderful as the developer claims). The ability to adjust soft threshold, bright and colour ranges affected provide a lot of control to fine-tune sharpening. The neophyte who’s been used to using the Photoshop filters Sharpen and Sharpen More may, at first, find the array of controls a little daunting, but a careful review of the tutorial and a few hours experimentation with different images will remedy that.”
Website: Roger Cavanagh - PR Sharpness Review
Roger Cavanagh has just reviewed PR Sharpness, part of the Power Retouche set of plug-ins for Photoshop (which incidentally is one of the prizes in the PhotographyBLOG August Competition). “The first question, I suppose, is “does it work?”. My answer is: yes it does, very nicely. Fix Edges does an…
The Spanish website quesabesde.com have published their review of the new 5 megapixel Nikon Coolpix 5200 compact digital camera.
The Spanish website quesabesde.com have published their review of the new 5 megapixel Nikon Coolpix 5200 compact digital camera. Website: quesabesde.com - Nikon Coolpix 5200 Review
The Hungarian website Index Digicam has beaten everyone to the punch by publishing the first internet review of the 4 megapixel Canon Powershot A85 digital camera.
Website: Index Digicam - Canon Announces PowerShot A85 Review
The Hungarian website Index Digicam has beaten everyone to the punch by publishing the first internet review of the 4 megapixel Canon Powershot A85 digital camera. Website: Index Digicam - Canon Announces PowerShot A85 Review
Fred Miranda has released a new sharpening plug-in called Intellisharpen II, which is compatible with Photoshop 6, 7, and CS, Photoshop Elements 1 and 2.0. Both Mac and PC versions are available.
“This new sharpening technology has been completely re-designed and accommodates all digital files including scanned film. Intellisharpen II is simple to use, and very intuitive. It provides haloless sharpening, edgesharpening, luminance sharpening, mode sharpening and more.
With this plugin you can choose from low or high ISO settings, and other options allow you to sharpen fine detail.
Photographers can now choose from 100 Intellisharpen intensity levels and 100 sharpen fine detail levels. You can even reduce color noise from high ISO files. Another feature unique to Intellisharpen II, is that you can save and load your own sharpening profiles. In addition you have the ability to preview settings and tweak intensity results for maximum control over your work.”
Fred Miranda has released a new sharpening plug-in called Intellisharpen II, which is compatible with Photoshop 6, 7, and CS, Photoshop Elements 1 and 2.0. Both Mac and PC versions are available. “This new sharpening technology has been completely re-designed and accommodates all digital files including scanned film. Intellisharpen II…
Digital Outback Photo have published a new article by Paul Caldwell, in which he explains how to use non-Canon lenses with his Canon 1Ds. Why would you want to do this? Well, here’s one reason:
“The 28mm F2.8 Contax was sharper all the way to the corners on every shot. When looking at the various test images I found that the center areas of each image were very close from both the (Canon) 24-70L and the Contax Distagon 28mm. But when you looked at each image at a 100% view, often times, you would see the sharpness fading on the images taken with the 24-70L as you moved out to the corners. This wasn?t true with the Contax Distagon. “
Digital Outback Photo have published a new article by Paul Caldwell, in which he explains how to use non-Canon lenses with his Canon 1Ds. Why would you want to do this? Well, here’s one reason: “The 28mm F2.8 Contax was sharper all the way to the corners on every shot…
On the same day that Microsoft announces Digital Image Suite 10, one of its main rivals, Jasc Software, releases two new Beta versions of Paint Shop Pro. According to Jasc’s website, Paint Shop Pro 9 is for power-hungry imaginations that want advanced, precision tools they can control, whilst Paint Shop Pro Studio is for those who want to have fun with their photos without the hassle of learning advanced power tools.
I’m not sure that splitting their main imaging application into two different programs is such a great idea by Jasc - why not just make one version that is both powerful AND easy to use? Anyway, both beta versions are now available to download.
Website: Jasc Software - Download Paint Shop Pro 9 & Paint Shop Pro Studio
On the same day that Microsoft announces Digital Image Suite 10, one of its main rivals, Jasc Software, releases two new Beta versions of Paint Shop Pro. According to Jasc’s website, Paint Shop Pro 9 is for power-hungry imaginations that want advanced, precision tools they can control, whilst Paint Shop…
Microsoft Press Release 10/08/04
It’s a Snap! Microsoft Digital Image Suite 10 Gets Pictures Perfect
New One-Click Auto Fixes, Advanced Editing Features and Intelligent Panoramic Stitching Create Professional-Quality Photos
REDMOND, Wash.—Aug. 10, 2004—On a high-resolution digital camera or a camera phone, great photos are just a click away with Microsoft Corp.‘s latest digital photography offering. Today, Microsoft announces the availability of its new line of digital imaging software, including Digital Image Suite 10, the comprehensive yet easy-to-use photo solution for organizing, editing, sharing and safekeeping digital photos. Digital Image Suite 10 combines the power of two digital imaging software applications—Microsoft Digital Image Library 10 for organization and Microsoft Digital Image Pro 10 for editing—to offer an end-to-end solution with powerful panoramic stitching in two dimensions, intuitive color-correction tools, even more one-click fixes, and added options for organization and sharing.
Microsoft Press Release 10/08/04 It’s a Snap! Microsoft Digital Image Suite 10 Gets Pictures Perfect New One-Click Auto Fixes, Advanced Editing Features and Intelligent Panoramic Stitching Create Professional-Quality Photos REDMOND, Wash.—Aug. 10, 2004—On a high-resolution digital camera or a camera phone, great photos are just a click away with Microsoft…
IDC Press Release 10/08/04
Boom Times Continue in the Western European Digital Camera Market, But Tougher Battles Lie Ahead, Says IDC
LONDON, August 10, 2004 - During 2003, shipments of digital cameras into Western Europe increased by over 95% and reached almost 16 million units, which translated into $5.9 billion in end-user spend, according to a new IDC study. Consumer demand for digital imaging has once again brought healthy revenues to the key players in the industry.
“As predicted, in 2003 we witnessed another phenomenal year for the industry - prices dropped even further and vendors repositioned their products to capture the next wave of digital enthusiasm,” said Paul Withington, senior research analyst for IDC’s European Peripherals Group. “This has translated into a mass-market adoption particularly within the 3 megapixel [MP] segment, which became the area where vendors found their greatest success.”
Percentage growth into 2004 will not prove as dramatic as in previous years, as the market moves beyond its adoption stage. Across Western Europe, IDC predicts 45% overall growth in 2004 and towards the end of IDC’s five-year forecast period to 2008 we can expect the market to have matured and the vendor landscape to be carrying significant battle scars through jousts with the camera phone.
IDC Press Release 10/08/04 Boom Times Continue in the Western European Digital Camera Market, But Tougher Battles Lie Ahead, Says IDC LONDON, August 10, 2004 - During 2003, shipments of digital cameras into Western Europe increased by over 95% and reached almost 16 million units, which translated into $5.9 billion…
Press Release 10/08/04
Sony Ericsson, global manufacturer of leading communications devices and Proud Galleries, Europe’s most popular private photography gallery - have today announced a major new collaboration - with the mobile phone company joining forces with the top photographic gallery in a unique sponsorship agreement for 2004.
In the deal, Sony Ericsson will become the headline sponsors of the summer and autumn schedule of Proud Galleries photographic exhibitions. The logical partnership demonstrates Sony Ericsson’s commitment to the increasingly important market of imaging in mobile phone technology.
The deal will also benefit Sony Ericsson users, with free entry to any Proud Gallery exhibition for the rest of the year when you show your Sony Ericsson mobile phone. Those wanting to view the exhibitions from the comfort of their own PC, will be able to visit a microsite that is being created to house a selection of images from each show, which visitors can download as wallpaper, as well as information and images on as the latest product offerings from Sony Ericsson.
Press Release 10/08/04 Sony Ericsson, global manufacturer of leading communications devices and Proud Galleries, Europe’s most popular private photography gallery - have today announced a major new collaboration - with the mobile phone company joining forces with the top photographic gallery in a unique sponsorship agreement for 2004. In the…
This is the final image in my London seaside trilogy - you can view the first shot here, and the second one here. I think this photo best captures the sandy beach, but it lacks the famous landmarks that the other two images have and therefore loses its sense of place.
Click on the image to view a larger version in a new window.
This is the final image in my London seaside trilogy - you can view the first shot here, and the second one here. I think this photo best captures the sandy beach, but it lacks the famous landmarks that the other two images have and therefore loses its sense of…
PC Magazine has reviewed the Microsoft Digital Image Suite 10, which contains Microsoft Digital Image Library 10 for organizing your digital photo collection and Microsoft Digital Image Pro 10 for editing photos.
“To help in sorting and grouping your photos, you can assign keywords, star ratings (1 through 5), and new user-definable flags to individual images. Unfortunately, Digital Image Library gives you no way to organize the keywords themselves. Over time you can easily end up with scores of keywords assigned to thousands of images, but the only way the program lets you arrange your keywords is in one long alphabetical list. Compared with the keyword hierarchies offered by Adobe Photoshop Album 2 and Jasc’s Paint Shop Photo Album 5, this is too unwieldy.”
Website: PC Magazine - Microsoft Digital Image Suite 10 Review
PC Magazine has reviewed the Microsoft Digital Image Suite 10, which contains Microsoft Digital Image Library 10 for organizing your digital photo collection and Microsoft Digital Image Pro 10 for editing photos. “To help in sorting and grouping your photos, you can assign keywords, star ratings (1 through 5), and…
PC Magazine has reviewed the Canon CanoScan 3000ex flatbed scanner, which features a maximum optical resolution of 1200 x 2400 dpi and an enhanced resolution of 9600 dpi.
“Photo scan quality was a bit better than good. Prescans for 4-by-6 and 5-by-7 photos took 11 to 39 seconds, depending on how much the scanner had to warm up. At resolutions of 300 to 400 ppi, the 3000ex took 18 to 20 seconds to scan to the bundled Arcsoft PhotoStudio and save the scans. That’s slower than some other scanners, but faster than our current Editors’ Choice, the Microtek ScanMaker 6100 Pro.”
PC Magazine has reviewed the Canon CanoScan 3000ex flatbed scanner, which features a maximum optical resolution of 1200 x 2400 dpi and an enhanced resolution of 9600 dpi. “Photo scan quality was a bit better than good. Prescans for 4-by-6 and 5-by-7 photos took 11 to 39 seconds, depending on…
Casio USA Press Release 06/08/04
CASIO’S EXILIM DIGITAL CAMERAS WIN PRESTIGIOUS AWARDS FROM PC MAGAZINE AND AMERICAN PHOTO
Stylish, Compact EX-P600 and EX-Z40 Digital Cameras Are Named “Editor’s Choice” Winners
DOVER, NJ, August 6, 2004 - Camera buffs in the market for stylish and compact digital that offers award-winning performance, features and value may want to take a recommendation from two leading industry publications and choose one of Casio’s affordable EXILIM digital cameras. PC Magazine and American Photo both awarded Casio’s top-of-the-line 6-megapixel EXILIM PRO EX-P600 “Editor?s Choice” honors in their July 2004 issues. American Photo also cited Casio’s 4-megapixel EXILIM ZOOM EX-Z40 as an “Editor?s Choice” in its look at the top Digital Point and Shoots.
Casio USA Press Release 06/08/04 CASIO’S EXILIM DIGITAL CAMERAS WIN PRESTIGIOUS AWARDS FROM PC MAGAZINE AND AMERICAN PHOTO Stylish, Compact EX-P600 and EX-Z40 Digital Cameras Are Named “Editor’s Choice” Winners DOVER, NJ, August 6, 2004 - Camera buffs in the market for stylish and compact digital that offers award-winning performance…
SanDisk Corporation Press Release 09/08/04
SANDISK’S ULTRA II COMPACTFLASH CARDS WIN PRESTIGIOUS DIGITAL IMAGING AWARD FOR SPEED AND PERFORMANCE
SanDisk’s Ultra II CompactFlash Cards Win TIPA Award - Europe’s Highest Award For Best Photo Products
Sunnyvale, CA, Aug. 9, 2004 - SanDisk Corporation (NASDAQ: SNDK) today announced that the Technical Image Press Association (TIPA), an association made up of 30 top photography publications from across Europe, has awarded its Best Imaging Storage Media Award to the SanDisk Ultra II CompactFlash line of high-speed storage cards. The SanDisk Ultra II cards were recognized by leading editors, many of whom are professional photographers, as setting “a new standard for industry performance.” TIPA editors judge on quality, performance and value - criteria that are very important to all photographers.
“We have worked very hard to take the leadership position in the digital camera storage card market,” said Nelson Chan, senior vice president and general manager of SanDisk’s retail business unit. “It is a real honor for our efforts to be recognized by such a distinguished panel of experts and one that makes all of us here at SanDisk very proud. The TIPA Award is further assurance that SanDisk’s Ultra II cards will meet the rigorous demands of digital photographers around the world.”
SanDisk Corporation Press Release 09/08/04 SANDISK’S ULTRA II COMPACTFLASH CARDS WIN PRESTIGIOUS DIGITAL IMAGING AWARD FOR SPEED AND PERFORMANCE SanDisk’s Ultra II CompactFlash Cards Win TIPA Award - Europe’s Highest Award For Best Photo Products Sunnyvale, CA, Aug. 9, 2004 - SanDisk Corporation (NASDAQ: SNDK) today announced that the Technical…