Finnish photographer Petteri Sulonen has published an eloquently written article called “Sermon From A Raw Convert”, which takes a look at the advantages and disadvantages of the RAW file format, and explains why Petteri has opted to shoot in RAW mode rather than JPEG. It’s also a direct response to a similar article by Ken Rockwell, who argues that JPEG is the way to go. I’ll let you read both articles and make up your own minds…

Website: Petteri Sulonen - “Sermon From A Raw Convert”

Website: Ken Rockwell - “JPG vs RAW vs TIFF: Get it Right the First Time”

Kodak have just announced that they are offering a $1,000 instant discount when you purchase the Kodak Professional DCS Pro 14n Digital Camera before 31st March 2004. You just need to print out and fill in the form that you download from the Kodak website (link below) and hand it over to one of Kodak’s authorised dealers. At the moment this offer seems to be restricted to the USA, but if anyone has heard of a similar discount in their part of the world, let me know.

So does this sudden substantial drop in price indicate that a brand new Kodak digital SLR camera will be unveiled at PMA?

Website: Kodak DSC Pro 14n Discount Form

The Slovenian website e-Fotografija have reviewed the Fuji FinePix F700. Fuji claims the the F700 sensor improves image quality by widening the dynamic range, rather than just increasing the number of pixels. This should mean more detail in the shadow and highlight areas of an image than Fuji cameras have previously captured.

Website: e-Fotografija - Fuji FinePix F700 Review

Website: Read my review of the Fuji FinePix F700

DCResource have just reviewed the 5-megapixel Olympus E-1 DSLR.

“The E-1 excels in all areas: photo quality, performance, build quality, and expandability. The camera takes sharp images with low noise and no purple fringing. I did notice that photos tended to be underexposed a bit. In terms of performance, the camera keeps up with the competition in all areas, except for continuous shooting, where it blows past them. You can take up to 12 shots at 3 frames/sec, even in RAW or TIFF mode.”

Website: DCResource - Olympus E-1 Review

DP-Now have published their review of the A4 HP Photosmart 7960 printer. Can this new printer compete with the likes of the Canon i950 and the Epson Stylus Photo 950? Read DP-Now’s review to find out.

“Colours, dot grain and print sharpness are all excellent. The only imperfection that has been noted is a tendency towards over-sharpening and this can make some prints look over-contrasty. Black and white prints from the 7960, when printed using the No.59 ink cartridge, set a new standard for monochrome ink-jet photos. Blacks and greys are slightly warm but prints look great, free from distracting colour casts and metamerism issues when viewed under different light sources.”

Website: DP-Now - HP Photosmart 7960 Printer Review

Photo.net have published a basic and easily understandable guide to the often confusing subject of image size:

“The confusion seems to arise because people aren’t sure of how these are related. They wonder if ppi affects the size of the image you see on a monitor screen. We know that displays are measured in pixels (e.g. a 1024x1280 display), and that screens are a given with (e.g. 15”), it seems logical that the pixels/inch setting should affect the size of the displayed image. Logical maybe, but wrong. Although monitors do have a measurable figure for ppi (pixels per inch), the ppi information in an image is NOT used for monitor display in web browsers.”

Website: Photo.net - Display, Printing, DPI and PPI

Following the news last week that Kodak is stopping the production of APS film cameras is another announcement from the company about the discontinuation of its professional medium format digital camera backs. Apparently a memo to Kodak Professional retailers states that “Kodak will focus its digital camera development resources on the growing segment of professional digital SLR users”. The current models will continue to be available until current stocks are depleted. No more units will be manufactured and no more new models will be developed by the company.

Website: Rob Galbraith - Kodak Discontinues DCS Pro Backs

Professional photographer Alain Briot is certainly in demand today, as another of his articles has been published on the Luminous Landscape website. “How to Select the Best “film” for a Specific Image with both Film and Digital Capture” is the fifth part of Alain’s Aesthetics and Photography series:

“Which “film” to use is as relevant today as it was when film was the only choice. This is because film meant, and still means, which kind of photographic images we want to create. We make choices regarding “film” unconsciously, whether we know it or not. We make these choices when we convert an image from Raw to Photoshop. We make these choices when we adjust scanner settings, and we make these choices when we fine tune an image for printing. Knowing why we make these choices, and how to make the appropriate choices to achieve a specific result, will no doubt result in better images. It will also result in images whose final appearance is under our control rather than under the control of the film, the camera or the software we use.”

Website: Luminous Landscape - Aesthetics and Photography Part 5

Imaging Resource have reviewed the Fuji FinePix S7000, which is the successor to the popular FinePix S602 model. The S7000 uses Fuji’s 4th Generation Super CCD HR with 6.3 Million Effective Pixels output and 12.3 million recorded pixels. It costs around $799.99 and is available now.

“Considerably higher than average image noise. For all its other excellent attributes, image noise is the Achilles’ heel of the S7000. Image noise may not be all that much higher than other cameras at ISO 200, but that’s the lowest ISO that the S7000 offers, and when held up against results from competing cameras shot at their lowest ISO settings (typically ISO 100 or even 50), the S7000’s images do poorly in comparison.”

Website: Imaging Resource - Fuji FinePix S7000 Review

Website: Read my review of the Fuji FinePix S7000

Fujifilm UK Press Release 20/01/04

Company boosts film camera range with four new models, and more to come in 2004

In preparation for PMA 2004 (Photo Marketing Association exhibition*) Fujifilm has today made a worldwide announcement confirming its commitment to the film market, and introducing several new 35mm and APS film cameras to its product portfolio. To read the worldwide press release, please visit: http://www.fujifilm.com/

Information and statements for the UK market
Fujifilm is defying current trends in the photography industry by announcing significant investment in film camera technology in 2004, and by adding a raft of new models to its compact film camera range ? both APS and 35mm.

Despite pressure on the conventional camera market, and with some manufacturers consolidating their R&D functions or exiting the market altogether, Fujifilm affirms that certain product categories are, in fact, exhibiting steady demand, with products such as 35mm zoom compacts, entry-level, easy-to-use fun cameras ? and certain APS models such as the Fujifilm Q1 ? showing notable resilience. On top of this, single use cameras are demonstrating remarkable growth, with sales increasing by almost 30% year on year in the UK. Consequently, Fujifilm is continuing to support the industry with the introduction of both film and digital products, with developments in film, compact cameras and single use cameras projected throughout 2004 and beyond.

Canon have released a new version of firmware for the Canon EOS 10D DSLR.

This Firmware update (Version 2.0.1) incorporates the following change:

- Correction of the LCD monitor display in firmware version 2.0.0

This firmware update applies to cameras with firmware versions 1.0.0, 1.0.1, or 2.0.0. It is not necessary to perform this update on cameras that already have version 2.0.1 firmware.

Website: Canon EOS 10D Version 2.01 Firmware

Professional photographer Alain Briot has started a diary report about the Canon EOS 300D digital SLR, over at Digital Outback Review. There’s not too much content there at the moment, but it will be very interesting to see what a pro photographer makes of a consumer DSLR.

“Second, I want to show how the 300D compares to medium and large format film cameras in terms of image quality and ease of use. In this analysis I will also discuss Raw converters such as Photoshop Raw and Capture One. I will also discuss the digital techniques I used to achieve the best possible results from my 300D photographs. Examples will be provided as illustrations.”

Website: Digital Outback Photo - Alain’s Canon 300D Journey

With PMA 2004 looming on the horizon (only 3 weeks to go!), professional photographer and long-time Nikon user Thom Hogan has made a bunch of predictions for what will and won’t be revealed at the biggest photography trade show of the year (found via Digicamera.net):

“Every year I try to guess what’s in store for us Nikon-mount users at PMA based upon my reading of the patents, back channel rumors, etc. Since the pre-PMA DIMA starts in two weeks and that’s usually the point where initial press releases start flying, I need to get this out before the announcements, just in case I’m right ;~). Just so everyone knows, I’ve been mostly wrong in the past. But it’s a fun game that everyone can play, and I don’t mind wiping up the humble pie that hits the floor…”

Website: Thom Hogan’s PMA Predictions

There’s a fairly interesting article on the BBC website about how digital cameras help you improve as a photographer. It repeats a lot of the usual arguments in favour of digital, but does so in a well-written and succint way. One thing that the article raises that I’d never really thought about is the concept of composing from a distance:

“All but the cheapest digital cameras allow you to compose the shot by looking at an LCD screen, rather than through a conventional viewfinder. This gives a completely flat image - just as the finished picture does, and should aid composition.

“Digital makes you stand back and study the thing in 2-D rather than the 3-D you get through a normal cameras,” says John Henshall, one of the first professionals to embrace digital.”

Obviously this doesn’t apply to all the DSLR owners out there, due to the lack of any LCD screen for composition purposes, so we will have to carry on looking in good old-fasioned 3D :-)

Website: Why digital cameras = better photographers

Casio have released a new firmware version for the EX-Z4 digital camera. Version 1.02 improves white balance performance and fixes a problem that occurs in the Voice Recoding Mode when memory becomes full.

Website: Casio EX-Z4 Firmware Update

The Norwegian website Akamera.no have posted their review of the 8-megapixel Sony Cybershot DSC-F828 digital compact camera.

Website: Akamera.no - Sony DSC-F828 Review

The German website PhotoWorld.de have posted their review of the Rollei dt4000 digital compact camera. The Rollei dt4000 is a powerful, compact 4-megapixels model with a stylish metal body. The new Rollei has a 3x optical and 4x digital zoom, and also offers photographers the option to record movie clips and voice commentaries.

Website: PhotoWorld.de - Rollei dt4000 Review

Olympus Europe Press Release 08/01/04

A truly small and beautiful 35mm compact zoom
The weatherproof Olympus ?[mju:]-III 80

Hamburg, 8 January 2004 ? Constant evolution. That is the key to the phenomenal success of the Olympus ?[mju:] ? the world?s bestselling camera series. The latest addition to the range, the ?[mju:]-III 80, adds its own special stamp to the series? winning formula of high quality photo technology, a compact form and style. Its redesigned flash combines the advantages of a reduced size with excellent flash coverage. This camera can be brought along to any party, family gathering or holiday. Even when surprised by a spring shower or caught by a splash of water at the seaside, you can carry on shooting ? the weatherproof body will keep out the moisture. As with all ?[mju:] models, this one ensures great results with the minimum of fuss. It has a 3-Way Light Metering AE System for optimum exposure. The Multi-Wide Autofocus System plus a Camera Shake Indicator also help deliver perfect pictures. For the perfect gift, the ?[mju:]-III 80 is available in a kit* with everything needed to start shooting straight away.

This news has been around for a couple of days but I completely missed it :-) There’s a brand new, top-of-the-range A4 Canon printer on the way. It hasn’t been officially announced by Canon yet, but the Canon Bubble Jet i990 printer has its very own webpage on the Canon Europe website. It features the new 7-ink ChromaPLUS photo system, which Canon claims will “Bring enhanced depth and warmth to all your photo prints with Canon’s exclusive 7-ink ChromaPLUS photo system. An additional red ink greatly expands the colour spectrum, giving images more intensity. This enables the printer to achieve a colour range comparable to positive film.” The i990 also has a new high-density print head with a mere 5,376 nozzles.

Website: Canon i990 Details

This is a reminder that the January competition is now running - there are currently over 30 entries so far. The theme for the January 2004 Competition is simply “Reflections” - submit one photograph that you think best interprets the theme.

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 January’s theme, which is “Reflections”.

Please make sure that you read the Monthly Competition Rules before submitting your entry. The competition is worldwide and open to everyone.

You can now start submitting entries to the January Compeitition here:
January 2004 Competition