Imaging Resource have just reviewed the 6 megapixel Casio EXILIM PRO EX-P600 digital camera.

“ISurprisingly low image noise for a prosumer 6-megapixel camera. As pixel counts have climbed, image noise has unfortunately increased as well. The result is that most 5- and 6-megapixel cameras these days show quite a bit more image noise than did their 3-megapixel predecessors of a year or two ago. The P600 does have show some noise even at ISO 50, but overall did better in this respect than I would have expected. - And anti-noise processing at low ISO levels appears to be quite restrained as well, helping preserve subtle subject detail. Overall, a good showing for a 6-megapixel prosumer digicam.”

Website: Imaging Resource - Casio EXILIM PRO EX-P600 Review

Imaging Resource have published their review of the new 5 megapixel Nikon Coolpix 5200 compact digital camera.

“Nikon’s Coolpix line of consumer digicams has always been well-received, appreciated for their image quality and ease of use. Lately, they’ve been finding success in bringing their technology into the consumer market, most notably with the very successful Coolpix 4300 and Coolpix 3200 models. The Coolpix 5200 continues that trend, bringing forward many of the user-interface innovations of the 3200 model, but upgrading the design with a 5-megapixel CCD and a trim, sleek all-metal case. For the most part, I found the Coolpix 5200 to be a good point & shoot camera.”

Website: Imaging Resource - Nikon Coolpix 5200 Review

“Taking Pictures for Profit” by Lee Frost is a book that is aimed at amateur photographers who want to try and sell their photos, either just to cover the costs of their equipment, or maybe to try and earn a living as a photographer. The author, Lee Frost, is a very successful UK-based freelance photographer, whose images are regularly published in many of the UK photography magazines. So will “Taking Pictures for Profit” give you a head start on the road to selling your photos? Read my short review to find out.

Website: Taking Pictures for Profit Review

The 22nd PhotographyBLOG Portfolio has been submitted by Johnny Liseth.

“I am a travel photographer and enjoy capturing snapshots of people and places in a daily setting. These images will hopefully increase our understanding of each other. Sometimes just capturing shapes or light pattern yields beautiful images. A good photo tells a story or pleases your senses or both.”

Website: http://members.cox.net/lisethphoto/

Website: Portfolios: Johnny Liseth

PC Magazine have just reviewed the SpyderPro monitor calibration device and Printfix bundle.

“The premise of PrintFIX is that instead of relying on a generic printer profile, you can create a color profile for each type of paper you use - including third-party papers. You can also create new profiles when you replace ink cartridges. PrintFIX uses a technique called closed-loop calibration. You first print a color chart using the printer and paper you want to create the profile for, and then scan it with the PrintFIX scanner. The software then closes the loop by comparing the scanned image with the colors defined in the chart, and it creates a profile for that specific combination of printer, paper, and ink.”

Website: PC Magazine - SpyderPRO/Printfix Review

Sigma has today announced the availability of two new flash guns, the EF-500 DG ST and the EF-500 DG Super (pictured).

Full details can be found at the following URLs:

http://www.sigma-photo.co.jp/english/flash/flash_500st.html

http://www.sigma-photo.co.jp/english/flash/flash_500super.html

Phase One Press Release 30/07/04

More than 25,000 professional photographers and enthusiasts benefit from working with Phase One’s C1 RAW workflow software every day. Therefore, it is with great pleasure that we introduce C1 LE RAW Workflow software for Mac. Now, for the first time, Mac users can enjoy the low entry cost that C1 LE offers to the Digital SLR enthusiast and low volume professional. C1 LE provides the highly regarded and never duplicated RAW Workflow that Phase One has developed over the past 10 years, along with the famous Phase One image quality.

C1 LE RAW Workflow software for Mac supports RAW files from the following DSLR cameras:

- Canon:
10D/ 300D/ Rebel/ D60/ D30
- Nikon:
D100/ D70
- Olympus:
E1/ E10/ E20
- Pentax: *istD. 

Addonics Technologies Press Release 29/07/04

Addonics Announces MFR (Multi Function Recorder) with DVD+/-R/RW—25-in-1 Digital Media Storage Appliance

SAN JOSE, CA (July 29, 2004) - Addonics Technologies today announced a portable digital media appliance that can perform 25 different functions for a wide range of applications. 

The new Addonics MFR (Multi Function Recorder) with a DVD+/-R/RW is a stand alone flash media backup system, DVD, digital photo and MP3 player as well as an external USB 2.0 DVD burner and flash memory reader/writer—all combined into one powerful portable peripheral that can be used for businesses, home, or even inside a vehicle.

The Addonics MFR DVD+/-R/RW can be used as a stand alone storage appliance (no computer is required) to do following:

- DVD+RW, DVD-RW, CD-R or CD-RW discs
- Connect to TV to use as a regular DVD player
- Use as a stand alone MP3 player
- Direct play back of the digital image in flash memory, DVD+/-R/RW and CDRW media onto TV or Projector

Breeze Systems have just released Downloader Pro 1.4. This simple but powerful tool enables photographers to transfer images to a PC at the touch of a button, renaming and storing them with file and directories names chosen by the user. It includes sophisticated handling of IPTC data, automatic lossless rotation of JPEGs and support for downloading from card readers and portable hard drives.

The new release is a minor update which adds support for downloading Kodak (DCR) raw files and includes a new “Downloads today” counter (token %R). This release also allows the date and time and owner string to be set for Canon PowerShot cameras connected to a PC using a USB cable.

Downloader Pro has been developed by Breeze Systems whose products include BreezeBrowser, DSLR Remote Pro and PSRemote. Downloader Pro runs on Windows and costs US $29.95. It is available on a 30 day free trial from Breeze Systems’ website www.breezesys.com.

The Mamiya RZ67 Pro IID digital medium format camera, which we featured a few days ago, has now appeared on the official Mamiya website.

The new camera features a MSCE (Mamiya Serial Communication for Exchange) connection to allow any MSCE compatible digital back to be used with the camera. The RZ-67 Pro IID will be available in August, costing around ?1300 / 2000 Euros.

Website: Mamiya Japan - RZ67 Pro IID

The Hungarian website Index Digicam have just published a joint review the 3 megapixel Panasonic Lumix DMC-LC50 and 4 megapixel Panasonic Lumix DMC-LC70 digital cameras.

Website: Index Digicam - Panasonic Lumix DMC-LC70/LC50 Review

The Slovenian website eFotoGrafija have published a joint review of the 5 megapixel Digital Ixus 500 (known as the Powershot S500 in North America) and the 4 megapixel Digital Ixus 430 (known as the Powershot S430 in North America) , which were both announced at the start of February.

Website: eFotoGrafija - Canon Digital Ixus 500/430 Review

Digital Outback Photo and Glenn E. Mitchell II have teamed up to write an excellent sereis of articles about how to get the best out of your shots. Part 2 looks at using Adobe Camera Raw to adjust tonal range, contrast, and brightness.

“ACR II is without question one of the very best tools available for restoring highlights. Most RAW converters treat pixels where any channel clips to 255 as a white pixel (RGB = 255, 255, 255). ACR II does not. With negative values for the Exposure slider, ACR II will try to recover highlight details for any pixels that clipped. If only one or two channels were clipped, ACR II may be able to restore the highlights.”

Website: Digital Outback Photo - Developing Photos That “Pop” Part 2

Digital Secrets have published their review of the 6 megapixel Nikon D70 DSLR.

“The D70 may attract a huge audience of photographers, but not because it’s the least expensive dSLR on the block. Nikon’s philosophy is more along the lines of “Take dSLR features, ergonomics, operation speed, image quality, flexibilities, technologies and customer satisfaction to the next level. Then deliver it at the price people can afford.”

They didn’t skimp. The in-hand feel, the weight, the control layout, the operational speed, the image quality, the core technologies and the price redefine what digital photography offers for a thousand dollars.”

Website: Digital Secrets - Nikon D70 Review

The German website PhotoWorld have reviewed the Sony DSC-P120, a Special Edition black body version of the DSC-P100 digital camera, with a black leather case and 2 InfoLITHIUM batteries supplied. Available now in the UK for £379.00.

Website: PhotoWorld - Sony DSC-P120 Review

DCViews have published their review of the new Olympus C-765 Ultra Zoom digital camera.

“With its all-glass zoom lens of 38 to 380mm as the most striking feature, the C-765 offers an enormous range of image possibilities. The wide angle is about average but the tele end is what really sets this camera apart from the competition. At 380mm sport and nature photographers can really draw distant subjects close for a full frame image. The f2.8 - f3.7 Olympus lens, which uses ED elements and is constructed with 11 elements in seven groups, delivers strikingly sharp and detailed results throughout its zoom range. There is some barrel distortion at wide angle, but this gradually disappears once you zoom in a bit and there is no vignetting to speak of.”

Website: DCViews - Olympus C-765 Ultra Zoom Review

The Spanish website quesabesde.com have just reviewed the 4-megapixel, 10x zoom Konica Minolta DiMAGE Z2.

Website: quesabesde.com - Konica Minolta DiMAGE Z2 Review

ByteSector have posted a review of the Panasonic Lumix DMC-LC1, a rangefinder-like digital camera which is exactly the same as the Leica Digilux 2 in terms of camera design.

“Unfortunately I am not too impressed by the image quality of this camera. When Panasonic sent me their Lumix FZ10 4 megapixel camera, the image quality impressed me. But this camera produces too much noticeable noise in the image, especially if you are taking pictures in macro mode. I have not seen a 5 megapixel camera produce this much noise before; not to the extent that it is easily noticeable.”

Website: ByteSector - Panasonic Lumix DMC-LC1 Review

Press Release 29/07/04

EventCam(TM) to Use Ten Canon PowerShot S60 Digital Cameras to Capture High Resolution Interactive Panoramic Convention Images at One Point in Time

NEW YORK, Jul 29, 2004 (BUSINESS WIRE)—NYTimes.com, Canon U.S.A., Inc. and Kaidan, Inc. today announced that they are using Kaidan’s EventCam(TM) and Immersive Imaging solutions to capture and publish 360-degree interactive panoramic images from this week’s Democratic National Convention in Boston and the upcoming Republican National Convention in New York City. EventCam(TM) uses ten Canon PowerShot S60 digital cameras to simultaneously capture a panoramic image. The PowerShot S60 is outfitted with Canon’s high-quality optics and comes equipped with a wide-angle focal length of 28mm, a useful feature for this environment. The images are available at NYTimes.com/conventions and require QuickTime Player for viewing (available for free at http://www.apple.com/quicktime/).

Wacom Press Release 28/07/04

Industry-leading imaging companies partner to educate and inspire digital photographers

Nationwide “Just Show Me How” seminar tour will showcase some of the best digital photography tools and techniques for advanced amateurs and professionals

Vancouver, WA, July 28—Leading digital imaging companies, including Extensis, GretagMacbeth, Lexar Media, Mirra, Nik Multimedia, and Wacom, are coming together to address a critical market need to educate digital photographers on the best tools and techniques for managing, enhancing and processing digital photographs. The Just Show Me How seminar tour, for advanced amateur photographers, is scheduled to begin in September 2004 and will visit 20 cities through December 2004. The Just Show Me How - Professional tour, for professional photographers, will visit 10 cities beginning in January 2005.
Digital photography has evolved over the past few years to the point where it provides photographers with more control and flexibility than ever before. However, it is also now more complex. While a well-informed photographer is empowered by the new possibilities, others face frustration, poor results, and lost images. Most photography seminars focus only on the traditional topics of capturing, printing, and editing images, but miss other important steps in the digital photography process. The Just Show Me How tour fills this major gap.