PTN Announces Top Photo and Imaging Products of the Year; Leading Imaging Products Help to Determine Photographic Technology Future
[Business Wire]
Business Wire via NewsEdge Corporation : MELVILLE, N.Y.—(BUSINESS WIRE)—Dec. 11, 2003—If you haven’t yet purchased that digital camera, camcorder, home printer, cell phone or even a single-use camera for someone special for the holidays, don’t take another step until you look at what the experts have chosen as their top products of 2003. Photo Trade News (PTN), the number one business journal in the photo imaging industry, recently unveiled its Top Photo and Imaging Products of the Year as voted on by its thousands of photo trade retailers who are asked to rate the products that created the most consumer excitement throughout the year and impacted their bottom line.

Not surprisingly, the Top Product Overall for five years in a row was a digital camera. The Canon EOS Digital Rebel not only took top honors, but it also claimed the top spot for the Digital SLR category. With details like a highly responsive autofocus and Continuous Shooting Mode which allows users to capture split-second action sequences at 2.5 fps with a 4-shot burst, it’s easy to see what draws buyers.

The Pentax Optio S4 and Olympus Stylus Digital 300/400 tied in the Consumer Digicam category, both offering similar opportunities to capture great photographs.

“Because the winners are chosen by the photo trade industry, honorees are acknowledged by the group responsible for selling their product,” says Cygnus Imaging Group Publisher Kathy Schneider. “Being selected essentially lets the manufacturer know that they are succeeding and their retailers are happy.”

Canon’s entire line of camcorders was selected as a Top Product and it was Fuji’s line of one-time-use-cameras that retailers found to be the best seller. Epson claimed first and second spots for home printers with their Stylus Photo 925 a close second to their Stylus Photo 2200. If you’re searching for the top cell phone, look no further than Motorola’s product line.

“We’re seeing more technology-based imaging solutions and products scoring fairly high,” says PTN Publisher Liz Vickers. “The photo industry is being revolutionized with items like this year’s Overall Technology winner Graphx Photogize which gives consumers a fast and easy way to send digital photos from their home PC to the local photo retailer, for same day print fulfillment. Only a decade ago, we couldn’t even imagine such innovations.”

For a complete list of PTN’s Top Photo and Imaging Product winners and runners-up, log onto Imaging-info.com. Photo Trade News (PTN) magazine reaches 12,500 imaging industry retailers primarily through the photo specialty, minilab, consumer electronic drugstore and computer channels. The magazine is published 12 times per year and is currently in its 67th year of successfully covering the photo trade industry.

About.com have posted a review of the Canvas 9 Professional Edition, an all-in-one graphics suite from ACD Systems.

“Canvas offers a unified creative environment for intermediate to advanced graphics software users on the Macintosh or Windows platform. Priced at $399 US for new users and $299 US for competitive upgrades, this all-in-one graphics suite is an exceptional value. The product is well documented, stable, and backed by 18 years of development experience.”

Website: About.com - Canvas 9 Professional Edition Review

Steves Digicams have posted a review of the Olympus CAMEDIA C-5060 Wide Zoom camera, an updated version of the popular Olympus CAMEDIA C-5050 model, with a wider-angle lens that is equivalent to a 27-110mm lens on a 35mm camera.

“With a high resolution 5.1-megapixel imager, a 4x zoom lens with wide field of view, an all-magnesium body, a choice of CF or xD memory cards, exposure options galore and robust image processing—this camera is sure to satisfy even the most demanding of users. It’s also a perfect camera for those just starting out that want the best possible camera to “grow into” later as their photographic talents expand.”

Website: Steves Digicams - Olympus C-5060 Wide Zoom Review

Michael Reichmann, owner of the Luminous Landscape website, has published his first impressions of the Epson Stylus Pro 4000 17” wide desktop printer, after spending an afternoon testing it at Epson Canada’s offices.

“For me the decision to purchase an SP4000 is a no-brainer. The ink savings alone over the 2200 will pay for the printer in less than 6 months, and the 75% increase in output speed is always welcome when a big print job is underway. Being able to make 16X20” prints is most welcome, and since I rarely make anything bigger I’m happy not to have to devote half my work space to a 7600 floor model printer. Spousal approval is therefore assured.”

Website: Luminous Landscape - Epson Stylus Pro 4000 Printer First Look

The Hungarian website Index Digicam have reviewed the Fuji FinePix A210 Zoom digital camera. The A210 has 3.2 million megapixels and a 3x optical zoom. It retails for $279.99.

Website: Index Digicam - Fujifilm FinePix A210 Review

The same website have also just reviewed the HP PhotoSmart 245 printer.

Website: Index Digicam - HP PhotoSmart 245 Review

Fred Miranda has completed updating his popular range of Photoshop plugins so that they are all compatible with Photoshop CS in 16-bit mode. He has also announced a brand-new plugin called DRI Pro which increases dynamic range:

“All FM Plugins (PC and Mac) are now compatible with Photoshop CS in 16-bit mode. This includes, ISOx Pro, SI Pro, WP Pro, SR Pro, Intellisharpen Pro and all of the CSpro custom made sharpening plugins. The CSpro series offers solutions to many digital SLRs and includes the 10D CSpro, D60 CSpro, 300D CSpro, 1D CSpro, 1Ds CSpro, and Nikon CSpro plugins.

In addition, I just released the PC and Mac versions of the new DRI Pro Plugin (Dynamic Range Increase). This professional tool offers an easy and efficient solution to increase dynamic range by blending two images shot at different exposures. One exposed for shadow detail and the other for the highlights. Result: You end up with the best of both. DRI Pro works with all digital camera files or scanned film.”

Website: Fred Miranda

VOSONIC X’S-DRIVE PRO VP300

6in1 Portable Storage Device with 40GB or more Fast connection with USB 2.0 & LCD Panel MP3 Jukebox Player

Cardmedia (Europe) Ltd, the official UK distributor for the manufacturer Vosonic, has announced the availability of the new X’S-Drive Pro VP300, a new Portable Storage Device with enhanced LCD display + MP3 player.

The X’S-Drive Pro is available from all appointed Vosonic distributors.

The Vosonic X’S-Drive Pro combines all the X’S-Drive latest features; Fast USB 2.0 compatible interface, LCD panel to indicate detailed Working status, File transfer and battery power level.

Like the previous X’S-Drive II VP2060, the X’S-Drive Pro VP300 allows the transfer of pictures and all the other files from any memory card to its internal 2.5 inches hard drive.

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

It can be used with all types of memory cards: Compactflash, IBM Microdrive, SmartMedia, Memory Stick, Memory Stick Pro, Secure Digital, and MultiMediaCard, and xD picture cards with any adapter.

The easy to use Copy function copies files from your memory cards with just the press of a button, and the names of the files being transferred are indicated on its LCD Panel.
It is also possible to copy file by file from the memory card to the HDD with its single file copy feature. The similar single file deletion feature allows to delete each file stored on the X’S-Drive Pro Hard disk or the memory card inserted

The X’S-Drive Pro includes built-in internal rechargeable batteries.

You can access the files stored on the Hard Drive via your computer with the new USB 2.0 Connection - you can also use the X’S-Drive Pro as a USB Combo card reader.

The RRP is for the X’S-Drive Pro 20GB are: $335 excl VAT / 275 Euros excl VAT / ?225 incl VAT

Website: Vosonic

An update to the popular printing software program Qimage has just been released. Qimage v2004.110 has two powerful new features called “Selective color filter” and “Print filters”:

Selective color filter: Take control of every aspect of color in your images with the ability to apply color tweaks to specific areas of the color spectrum independently! Now you can correct those reds that look orange, blues that look too purple, or even remove a color cast from grays without affecting other (non-neutral) colors.

Print filters: Any filter that you design with Qimage’s batch filter can now be associated with your printer! This powerful feature combined with the selective color filter allow you to take control of printed color like never before. Tired of having your images look great on screen only to print with a magenta color cast when you print on your favorite paper? You can now create an associative filter that eliminates that magenta color cast (and can fix nearly any issue related to printed color) and associate that filter with your printer. Just create your filter, save the filter, and activate it by checking “P.Filter” on the bottom right of the main window and all prints sent to the printer will pass through your filter as a last step! The new P.Filter selection is even saved with “Save Printer Setup” and “Load Printer Setup” so that you can place a filter on your printer and load that setup and filter at any time.

Website: Qimage

Bright, high performance wide zoom lens for the Olympus E-System

The ZUIKO DIGITAL 11-22mm, F2.8-3.5

Hamburg, 11 December 2003 ? With its very wide-angle capabilities, the ZUIKO DIGITAL 11-22mm, F2.8-3.5 lens (35mm camera equivalent: 22-44mm) opens up yet more creative possibilities to Olympus E-1 digital SLR users. Thanks to its great light gathering power (F2.8 at the wide setting), it also permits shooting with a wider range of shutter speeds in low light conditions, such as at dusk. Through full compatibility with the TIPA Award-winning FourThirds standard, the latest addition to the Olympus E-System delivers the excellent quality professionals need and expect. Superior optical performance is further aided by two aspherical lens elements, which minimise distortion as well as spherical and coma aberration. The latter is caused by light rays entering the periphery of a lens at an angle and converging in the form of a comet instead of a point. Also, to help avoid ghosting or image flare, problems particularly associated with wide-angle lenses, a new multi-coating has been applied to the first two lenses. The focusing system?s floating mechanism delivers sharp, high contrast images up to a shortest range of 28cm at any zoom setting.

Optics designed exclusively for digital photography
All ZUIKO DIGITAL lenses are designed to maximise the performance of digital SLRs based on the FourThirds Standard. This enables full cross-manufacturer lens interchangeability among camera systems applying the standard, as well as the use of lenses that are small and light but also have a large aperture. Nearly telecentric optics ensure images have perfect colour, clarity and brightness from the centre to the periphery of the frame. The lenses? high resolving power makes sure the image sensor obtains the detail it needs to achieve its full potential. Furthermore, thanks to their splash-proof construction, the ZUIKO DIGITAL lenses are also protected from the elements. The new ZUIKO DIGITAL 11-22mm, F2.8-3.5 is scheduled to go on sale in February 2004.

Further information
The Olympus E-System is the world?s first digital SLR system to be based on the FourThirds Standard jointly developed by Olympus and Kodak. The professional system has been designed exclusively for digital photography. It currently comprises the Olympus E-1 SLR body plus a range of interchangeable lenses and other accessories. For more details, please visit www.olympus-pro.com.

Olympus E-System lenses:

ZUIKO DIGITAL 14-54mm (28-108mm) F2.8~3.5
ZUIKO DIGITAL ED50-200mm (100-400mm) F2.8~3.5
ZUIKO DIGITAL ED50mm (100mm) F2 Macro
ZUIKO DIGITAL ED300mm (600mm) F2.8
ZUIKO DIGITAL 11-22mm (22-44mm) F2.8-3.5 (available February 2004)

Yesterday the Danish website Akamera.dk published a comprehensive review of the Konica KD-420Z digital camera, which is actually exactly the same model as the Minolta G400.

Website: Akamera.dk - Konica KD-420Z Review

Eleven-year-old Gareth Newton from Manchester has won the 2003 RSPCA Young Photographer Award with his amazing underwater close-up of an intrigued hippopotamus. The award, sponsored by Olympus and Truprint, is now in its thirteenth year and encourages budding young photographers to take pictures of animals, ranging from family pets and local wildlife, to exotic animals whilst on the other side of the world.

This year, a massive 8,000 entries were received from youngsters all over the UK, making it the most hotly contested competition yet. Television presenter and wildlife photographer, Chris Packham, comments: ?The winning entries this year are very strong and make a powerful exhibition.  This competition gives the children a lot of scope and they respond very well to this, photographing a wide range of farm animals, wild animals and pets. The winning photo is a fantastic portrait.  The picture makes the most of the hippo’s big, bulbous head and really shows its character.  I love the movement, the colours and streaks of light in the photo, and the fact the hippo is under water.?

Gareth won an Olympus Mju 300 Digital camera and a ?250 cash prize from Truprint, which were presented to his grandparents earlier today by Chris Packham during an awards ceremony at the prestigious Spencer Gallery, at the Natural History Museum in London.

Although he could not be there in person, Gareth commented: ?Visiting Disney?s Animal Kingdom in Florida and seeing the hippo was cool but winning this competition with my picture is really fantastic, this is the biggest and best thing I’ve ever won. I wish I could be there at the award ceremony but my Grandma and Grandad will be there for me.”

Entries were split into two age groups, under 12?s and 12-18s. The under 12 category was clinched by eleven-year-old Emma Sture, from Ulverston in Cumbria, with a striking close-up shot of her pet guinea pig, Sandy.  Fifteen-year-old Anja Jones from County Antrim soared above the competition to success in the 12-18s category with her winning photo of a seagull in the sky.

Both Emma and Anja were awarded an Olympus Mju V compact camera and ?100 from Truprint. In addition, eight runners-up will each get an Olympus Mju III 100 compact camera and ?50 from Truprint.

Sara Cubitt, head of marketing communications at Olympus, added: ?Olympus is glad to be able to encourage children to get creative with their cameras. Judging by the quality of the entries this year, it?s plain to see that they all took it very seriously indeed. They should all feel very proud of their efforts - we certainly are.?

The 34 winning photos will be displayed at American diner ?Tootsies?, Old Brompton Road, London until the end of January 2004.

According to an article on BusinessWeek Online, published on Tuesday, sales of digital cameras are going through the proverbial roof this Christmas. MSN claim a 40-50% increase compared to the same period last year:

“This year, digital cameras are on fire. “It’s our top category,” says Barr, who claims sales are up 40% to 50% vs. last year. He won’t break out exact numbers on how many digital cameras MSN moves, but he says they account for a significant portion of consumer-electronics sales, a category that makes up 30% of the $11 billion-plus that MSN expects its visitors to spend at MSN Shopping’s vendors this holiday season. “

Further proof that take-up of digital cameras is increasing, at the expense of traditional film-based cameras. “In 2003, their sales will eclipse those of analog film-based cameras in both market share and dollar value for the first time, according to a number of analysts and industry trackers including the Consumer Electronics Assn.”

Website: BusinessWeek Online - “Everyone’s Smiling for Digital Cameras”

The Hungarian website Index Digicam have posted a review of the 3 megapixel DiMAGE E323 compact digital camera. Equipped with a 3X optical zoom, the DiMAGE E323 has a focal range of 5.6mm to 16.8mm, which is equivalent to a 36 - 108mm zoom on a 35mm camera. The maximum aperture of f/2.8 - 4.9 allows the camera to be used in less than ideal lighting conditions without the need of the flash. For those occasions requiring larger prints, the camera automatically resizes the captured data to create a 6-megapixel image. This allows the production of A3-size 150dpi prints or A4-size 300dpi prints.

Website: Index Digicam - Minolta DiMAGE E323 Review

DCResource have just published their review of the Minolta DiMAGE A1, which seems to have got a positive response from the photography world so far and is looking like a serious contender to the Sony DSC F-828.

“There’s a lot to like about the Minolta DiMAGE A1. It’s a worthy upgrade to the already-nice DiMAGE 7Hi, and it’s also one of the best “prosumer” cameras out there. The most important thing about a camera is photo quality, and the A1 does not disappoint, with photo quality that is competitive with the competition. Then there’s performance, where the A1 performs better than average, even in low lighting conditions.”

Website: DCResource - Minolta DiMAGE A1 Review

The Norwegian website Akamera.no have published a brief review of the digital video software program, Magix Movies on CD & DVD. This program allows you to import videos from DV/Hi8-Camcorder, VHS, TV, Internet, etc and automatically transfer them onto (S)Video CD or DVD.

Website: Akamera.no - Magix Movies on CD and DVD Review

Website: Magix Movies on CD and DVD

As usual Sony are at the forefront of technological innovation. Their latest, greatest idea is a 360? full-circle lens that can take a panoramic image without actually moving!

“Until now, taking a 360? panorama with a normal lens has required taking multiple shots while rotating the camera slowly and then combining (“stitching”) those shots together to form the panorama. In contrast, the 360? full-circle lens allows the full 360? surroundings of the camera to be imaged at the same time with a single lens.

Sony has now developed a camera module that uses this 360? full-circle lens, and is releasing as commercial products both a camera module that uses a 380K-pixel, 30 fps CCD that outputs a ring-shaped image as a composite video signal as well as a high-resolution camera module that uses a 1.28 MP, 7.5 fps CCD with a built-in panorama expansion processing function.”

- Images a full 360 degrees in one operation
- Supports pan, tilt, and zoom without mechanism
- Focus adjustment for distance not required
- Images the whole surround area with a small convex lens

Website: Sony - Full-Circle 360? Camera Module

This press release isn’t really photography-related, except that Epson have published it, but it is quite interesting reading nevertheless…

“Epson Press Release 09/12/03”

EPSON Family Report reveals how typical British family life is changing

The typical British family of 2003 falls into one of five categories

Anyone who thinks that the typical British family has 2.4 children, two parents and a dog called Rover, would be wrong. Independent research commissioned by leading digital imaging company, EPSON in conjunction with leading psychologist, Dr Chris Steele, today sees the launch of the EPSON Family Report. The findings indicate that the typical British family now in fact consists of 1.6 children, has a family income of #24,793 per annum and an annual spend of #1,875 on family holidays.

The report was commissioned as part of a unique social experiment called The EPSON Family. EPSON commissioned the report to learn more about the ‘typical’ British family, their interests, and the kind of purchases that the typical family makes.  EPSON is now currently searching the country for a typical British family to star in their very own web based project that will see them go from anonymity to stardom as it follows the families every move for 100 days.

Electric Shoebox from Constant Time Software lets you organize, edit, and instantly share your photos. Photo tagging allows you to quickly organize and search through thousands of photos. Built-in photo editing includes auto-image enhancement, red-eye removal, cropping, and color adjustment. Electric Shoebox’s sharing functionality lets you share your photos with friends and family via the web without having to use an online service, like Ofoto or Yahoo! Photos. Electric Shoebox uses your own computer to serve shared photos to others. To view shared albums, people just point their web browser at your computer. A personalized domain name is provided for free. Installation is easy, with no need to setup a web server or other software. Also, since Electric Shoebox is running locally on your computer, there are no restrictions on disk space and no long photo upload times as there are with the online services.

Electric Shoebox is for Windows XP and is available for $29 from http://photos.constanttime.com.

Samsung Press Release 08/12/03

SAMSUNG BRINGS OUT 3.2 MEGA PIXELS AT UNDER £150!
08/12/03 - Samsung has just released the Digimax 301, a small and compact 3.2 mega pixel digital camera for under £150!

This latest 3.2 mega pixel offering boats a host of useful features, such as a 3 x digital zoom to get you even closer to your subject. Up to 150 images can be stored on the camera?s 16 MB internal memory, which is upgradeable through SD cards.

Various white balance and flash options ensure you capture your images at their best, in a variety of shooting conditions and environments. You can also select your own sharpness options and get creative with the touch of a button to make your images sepia or black and white.

Captured images are previewed and reviewed on the 301?s bright colour TFT LCD monitor and can be cropped, rotated or resized easily and instantly, without first needing to download them to a PC.

You can capture memories in motion as well thanks to the 301?s movie clip function with sound and add commentary to your still images too. A video out function makes it possible for you to share your movies and still images with others through a TV.

The Digimax 301 is available now from all good photo retailers.

Pentax USA Press Release 09/12/03

GOLDEN, Colorado (December 9, 2003)PENTAX U.S.A. has announced a perfect companion lens for the *ist D digital SLR camera.  The compact, high-performance, interchangeable smc PENTAX-DA 16mm-45mm F4 ED AL lens features a 3X zoom ratio with focal lengths covering ultra-wide to moderate-telephoto ranges for the angle of view equivalent to 24.5mm-69mm in the 35mm format. 

The DA-Series features a responsive ?Quick-Shift Focus System? that allows photographers to instantly switch the focus mode from auto to manual with a slight twist of the focus ring.  Coupled with a simple, functional design and the elimination of an aperture ring, this new mechanism considerably improves the camera?s operability.  The lens also incorporates an Extra-low Dispersion (ED) glass lens element and two aspherical lens elements for true-to-life image reproduction and overall size reduction.  The image circle in DA-series lenses, including the smc PENTAX-DA 16mm-45mm F4 ED AL, is designed to perfectly match the 23.5mm x 15.7mm size of the CCD used in PENTAX digital SLRs to optimize camera performance.  The new design also contributes to a drastic reduction in size, weight and production cost, compared to 35mm-format counterparts with similar specifications. 

PENTAX U.S.A. will preview the lens at the PEPCOM Digital Focus media event on January 7 in Las Vegas during the 2004 Consumer Electronics Show.

PENTAX U.S.A., Inc. is an innovative leader in the production of digital and film cameras, scopes, eyepieces, binoculars, lenses, mobile printers, scanners and internet cameras.  For more than 80 years, Pentax technology has developed durable, reliable products that meet the needs of consumers and businesses.  With corporate headquarters located in Golden, Colorado, PENTAX U.S.A., INC. is a wholly owned subsidiary of PENTAX CORPORATION.