As promised yesterday, here are some photos of performing musical clowns for you. The stars of the hour-long show were definitely the junior members of the troupe, which was just as well as I could only really focus on them from where I was standing. The smallest boy spent most of the time looking back at the adult performers behind him, until the last shot in this sequence, when he must have spotted a family member in the crowd. The name of the group is Nifu Nifa.

Luminous Landscape have published the final part in a 3-part review of the Leica Digilux 2, with a second opinion by photographer Ben Lifson.

“Light, silent, unobtrusive, and - after the first few weeks of steady use - likely to lead to that relationship between photographer and instrument that we call intimate. It is likely to feel like a natural extension not only of the hand but of the eye, the mind, the sensibilities, the heart, the intuition and the imagination and as much a part of oneself as any of these.

However, with respect to major aspects of what can be called the genius, perhaps more precisely the poetic genius of the small camera as an instrument and as defined by the Leica camera since the first one appeared, the new Digilux 2 has disappointing flaws.”

Website: Luminous Landscape - Leica Digilux 2 Review - Part 3

Digitalreview.ca have published a comparative review of the Canon Powershot A75, Nikon Coolpix 3200 and Olympus Stylus 300 digital cameras.

“The 3 megapixel resolution range of digital cameras, like the Canon Powershot A75, Nikon Coolpix 3200 and the Olympus Stylus 300, continues to be one of the more popular categories among users looking for a general purpose family, travel photography type of camera.

With this is mind, we have completed a side by side comparison featuring three of the top models in this megapixel range.”

Website: Digitalreview.ca - Canon Powershot A75 vs. Nikon Coolpix 3200 vs. Olympus Stylus 300

The Czech website Digineff have just reviewed the 4-megapixel, 10x zoom Konica Minolta DiMAGE Z2.

Website: Digineff - Konica Minolta DiMAGE Z2 Review

These are the last mountain/coastline shots - tomorrow will see a complete change of pace with some photos of performing musical clowns :-)

Canon Japan have just announced the availability of a black version of the Canon EOS Kiss Digital DSLR, also known as the Canon EOS 300D in Europe and Canon Digital Rebel in North America. There’s no word yet as to whether or not this version of the very popular DSLR will be sold outside Japan.

Website: Canon Japan - Black Canon EOS Kiss

The US magazine Popular Photography have just published their review of the 6 megapixel Nikon D70 DSLR.

“Our first impression is that this camera is far more than a “light” version of the D100, as many have nicknamed Canon’s EOS Digital Rebel when compared to the more expensive EOS 10D. On the one hand, the D70’s durable body construction is similar to the D100 and Digital Rebel, with a stainless-steel chassis surrounded by a polycarbonate body, and a stainless-steel lensmount. It’s smaller and easier to grip than the D100, and, at 1.3 pounds, the D70 body weighs about the same as the Digital Rebel. But with a lens attached, the D70 feels more solid and well-balanced.”

Website: Popular Photography - Nikon D70 Review

The Danish website Digital Magasinet have posted their review of the 8-megapixel Sony Cybershot DSC-F828 digital compact camera.

Website: Digital Magasinet - Sony Cybershot DSC-F828 Review

The Danish website Digital Magasinet have recently published their review of the entry-level Nikon Coolpix 2200 digital camera.

Website: Digital Magasinet - Nikon Coolpix 2200 Review

The Polish website Fotopolis have recently published their review of the new 8-megapixel Nikon Coolpix 8700 digital camera.

Website: Fotopolis - Nikon Coolpix 8700 Review

Steves Digicams have reviewed the Hi-Touch 640GALA Photo Printer. This dye-sublimation printer features stand-alone, direct printing of 6x4 inch lab-quality photos at an increased 403dpi (equivalent to inkjet 6400dpi) in only 75 seconds.

“Join the thousands of satisfied owners of HiTi printers. Stop fighting with an inkjet printer that never seems to get the colors right or hassling with prints that won’t last more than thirty seconds if they get wet. It no longer costs a fortune for a dye sub printer and this one doesn’t even take up as much desk space as a small inkjet. Photo quality prints come out in less than two minutes. They’re dry to the touch and you never have to mess with ink cartridges, wipe up spills or try to get ink off of your fingers.”

Website: Steves Digicams - Hi-Touch 640GALA Photo Printer Review

The German website Photoworld.de have quietly published what I think is the first online review of the new 4 megapixel Kodak Easyshare CX7430 digital camera.

Website: Photoworld.de - Kodak Easyshare CX7430 Review

Photo-i has just started an interactive review of Canon’s fastest and highest resolution photo printer, the 4800 x 2400 dpi1 Bubble Jet i965. This recently announced six-ink printer produces a 400dpi full A4 photo in approximately 60 seconds, with a 4"x 6” print taking just 21 seconds.

“The CD-R tray feeder simply clicks into position, once fitted the clear Perspex slider has to be pushed all the way back. The CD-R tray slides in a grove and you must ensure that the two side arrows line up with the arrows on the feeder. I will test the quality of printing onto CD’s later in the review. I liked the inclusion of a 8cm mini CD-R holder, this also has a business card CD-R aperture.”

Website: Photo-i - Canon Bubble Jet i965 Review

In his latest article, Micheal Reichmann discusses an article from the Scientific American magazine, called “The Tyranny of Choice”. So are you a “maximizer” or a “satisficer”? (I think I’m mostly the latter with a touch of the former).

“The Tyranny of Choice is written by Barry Schwartz, professor of Social Theory at Swathmore College. The premise of his essay is that in contemporary society we are faced with an overabundance of choices, and that rather than leading to greater happiness, indeed for the type of person which he classifies as “maximizers”, this over-abundance of choice often leads to decreased satisfaction and reduced happiness.

I want to bring the article to your attention because it speaks directly to some of the issues that I have been discussing on this site in several recent articles.”

Website: Luminous Landscape - Making The Right Choice

The Norwegian website DigIT have just reviewed the Canon Powershot S1 IS digital camera, which offers 10x image stablised zoom, 3 megapixels and high-quality 640 x 480 video at 30 frames/second with sound.

Website: DigIT - Canon PowerShot S1 IS Review

Sandisk Press Release 07/04/04

SANDISK LAUNCHES CRUZER USB FLASH DRIVES AND CRUZER MICRO MP3 COMPANION PLAYER IN CHINA, TAIWAN AND HONG KONG

Reliability, Durability Are Key Features of New Cruzer Micro and Cruzer Titanium

SHANGHAI, CHINA, April 7, 2004 - SanDisk Corporation (NASDAQ:SNDK) today announced that it will start selling its newest generation of Cruzer? portable USB flash storage drives—including the tiny Cruzer Micro and the extremely rugged Cruzer Titanium - in China, Taiwan and Hong Kong. As part of its product line, SanDisk also is introducing an MP3 music player that connects with the Cruzer Micro, as well as higher-capacity models of its already popular Cruzer Mini. The announcements were made at a SanDisk press conference in Shanghai, China.

JP Distribution Press Release 07/04/04

Johnsons Photopia and Lastolite agree exclusive 2 year contract for UK Photo Market.

JP Distribution, a leading Photographic Industry distributor, is pleased to announce that they have signed an exclusive 2-year contract with Lastolite Limited for the supply of the complete Lastolite product range into the Photographic Channel.

“The entire team at JP Distribution is thrilled at the recent signing of our new two year exclusive contract with Lastolite following our first successful year as partners” commented Steve Kirkham, Managing Director. He went on: “JP Distribution is proud to be associated with the Lastolite brand, which is renowned for continually developing innovative products for the Imaging Industry. Lastolite is a perfect fit for JP Distribution alongside our other leading brand products of Mamiya, Peli and Schneider. The diversity, desirability and ?must have? nature of the Lastolite product range coupled with the knowledge and expertise of JP Distribution can only lead to further success for our partnership.”

Steves Digicams have published a review of the entry-level 3.2 megapixel Creative DC-CAM 3200Z digital camera.

”“The overall image quality of the 3200Z is good, its has good color balance and saturation. Flesh tones were accurate and well exposed. With it’s 3.2 million pixels, it easy to print up to 8x10-inch prints. Performance wise the 3200Z is a little slow with a start up speed of about 5 seconds which is much slower than average.

Website: Steves Digicams - Creative DC-CAM 3200Z Review

The Spanish website Quesabesde have posted their review of the professional 4 megapixel Nikon D2H digital SLR.

Website: Quesabesde - Nikon D2H Review