The Slovenian website e-fotografija have posted a number of images taken with a full-production version of the highly-anticipated Sony DSC-F828 digital camera, showing the different ISO ratings that the camera offers (64, 100, 200, 400 and 800). Essential viewing if you’re even vaguely interested in this camera.

Website: e-fotografija - Sony DSC-F828 ISO Samples

Website: Slovenian Translator

The Hungarian website Index Digicam have published their review of the HP Photosmart 7660 printer, which features six-ink color printing or up to 4800-optimized dots-per-inch. Users can easily download and print photos from a digital camera via the printer?s memory card slots or front USB port ? no computer required. Additionally, users can produce borderless prints, up to 8.5 x 11-inches, on HP?s new Premium Plus Photo papers.

Website: Index Digicam - HP Photosmart 7660 Review

Olympus Press Release 15/12/03

More illumination versatility for the Olympus E-System

The comprehensive Olympus Macro Flash System

Hamburg, 11 December 2003 ? With its professional macro flash system, Olympus opens up further creative and business areas to users of the Olympus E-System. Meeting the highest requirements for quality and flexibility, it comprises a ring flash unit, twin flash unit, adapter rings and flash controller. Ideal for advertising and still life photography plus macro work where precise, shadow-free lighting is required, these flash accessories allow every detail of the subject to be captured. Dedicated to the Olympus E-System, the professional digital SLR system based on the TIPA Award winning FourThirds Standard, this macro flash system will be available from February 2004.

A variety of macro flash units and accessories are being launched:
- Ring Flash Unit FS-RF11
- Ring Flash Set FS-SRF11
- Twin Flash Unit TF-22
- Twin Flash Set STF-22
- Flash Adapter Ring FS-FR1
- Macro Flash Controller FS-FC1

Nikon DSLR user Thom Hogan has posted a few thoughts about the recently-announced Nikon D70, which is due to ship in early 2004. Nikon decided to tell us next to nothing about the new DSLR, so Thom has had a go at filling in the gaps (found via digicamera.net).

Website: Thom Hogan - Nikon D70 Speculations

Photobird.com Press Release 15/12/03

INTRODUCING PHOTOBIRD.COM
The easy way to share your photos with friends and family around the world

SAN FRANCISCO, CA. - December 15, 2003 - Photobird.com today announced the immediate availability of its new easy-to-use, professionally-designed website that enables digital camera users to easily share their digital photos.  Photobird.com enables digital camera users to easily create online photo albums, using an intuitive, attractive web-based interface.  For a free trial, visit www.photobird.com.

“Digital camera users want an easy and attractive way to share their photos on the web.  Photobird.com was designed specifically for digital camera users to easily create beautifully designed online photo albums, so they can share their photos, and be proud of their photo collections,” said Ed Krimen, co-founder and Chief Executive Officer, Photobird.com.  “Websites are too difficult to build for most people, and most sites are not designed well, making them difficult or unattractive to use.  Photobird.com makes it very easy to share your photos in professionally designed online photo albums.”

Photobird.com is faster, easier, and more convenient than e-mailing your photos to friends and family.  When you want to share your photos on Photobird.com, you only need to send your personal Photobird.com link—which is much simpler than sending megabytes of data each time you want to send photos to someone.  Your friends and family can then select which photos they want to see, instead of waiting for them all to download.  Plus, Photobird.com automatically creates smaller, web-ready versions of your photos when you add them to your album, so your photos can be viewed quicker.  Your original photo is still available too.

With its attractive, user-friendly web interface, Photobird.com offers a variety of unique features that will interest everyone who takes digital photos.  “It’s very easy and simple to send my photo links to people by using the Send to a Friend button,” said Carol Caruso, a professional photographer in Paris, France.  “I like the picture upload process too, very clean and simple.”

Bob Geldof’s Brightening Up London campaign, which started on December 2nd with Wellington Arch, has continued throughout December with several more famous buildings having images projected onto them. I’ve managed to get along to most of them, although I did miss the National Theatre last week and the National Potrait Gallery the week before. The event doesn’t seem to be very well advertised, as there has been almost no-one there when I’ve visited, and most Londoners don’t seem to know that it’s happening, despite Bob himself appearing on Jonathan Ross’s Friday night chat show to help promote it. I think it’s a great idea that just so happens to be a great subject for photography, and I’ll be going out again several nights next week to visit the remaining buildings.

Queen’s House #1	Tate Britain #1	Queen’s House #5
Queen’s House #2	St Mary le Strand #2	Tate Britain #2

Photo.net have published the results of their Digital Camera of the Year poll. No prizes for guessing which camera won…

“In first place was the 6.3 MP Canon EOS 300D (Digital Rebel). It captured 43% of the total vote, almost twice as much as the second placed camera. Though not the “best” or most technologically advanced digital camera, the 300D was the first digital SLR to break the $1000 barrier and it sold for about $500 less than its nearest cost competitor. In fact when sold with its companion 18-55mm lens it still sold for less than some non-SLR digicams. The EOS 300D was the camera that brought DSLRs to the masses. People who had never before owned an SLR bought this camera - and they are still buying it. It’s the only SLR I’ve seen advertised on network TV recently too!”

Website: Photo.net - Digital Camera of the Year

In this week’s Sunday Morning Photographer column Mike Johnston explains why he’s buying the $150 HP 7660 printer to use exclusively for black and white prints:

“Print color (the Achilles heel of color printers using colored inks to make B&W output): Outstanding. There’s no perceptible metamerism (color shift), which is the great failing of the Epson 2200, for one, in B&W mode. HP’s highlight, shadow, and paper-base colors are well integrated, and the print color is perfect: in formulating its #59 inks, HP seems to have deliberately mimicked the look of a neutral/cold conventional paper with light selenium toning, long the standard look for fine-art B&W prints. They did a good job on this.”

Website: Sunday Morning Photographer: Hooray for Hewlett-Packard!

The American magazine Popular Photography have published an article on their website which would certainly put the cat amongst the pigeons if everything comes true in 2004.

“A trio of top Pop Photo editors recently returned from a tour of the photo industry in Japan. Their mission: to find out, directly from the source, what’s happening in the photo industry, and how it will affect photography consumers in the coming year. In this exclusive report, they share news about upcoming products, photo buying trends, and what’s being designed for the future.”

Amongst other things, the article claims that Minolta will finally release a digital SLR, with delivery by Photokina (September-October 2004), that Olympus will release 2 more DSLRs aimed at the amateur and mid-range markets, Pentax will also release 2 new DSLRs, and that almost most camera makers are researching putting image stabilisation systems into digital SLR camera bodies, rather than the lenses.

So it looks like being a good year for digital SLRs then :-)

Website: Popular Photography - Report From Japan

The Slovenian website e-fotografija seem to have got hold of a Sony DSC F-828. I’m not sure if this is a pre-production or full-production model, but they have published some sample shots and pictures of the camera itself.

Website: e-fotografija - Sony DSC F-828 Images

Website: Slovenian Translator

A new version of BreezeBrowser, the popular browser for viewing and manipulating digital images, has recently been released. BreezeBrowser v2.8 now includes Canon Digital Rebel/300D support with raw conversion, focus point overlay display and full shooting data display.

Also new in this release:

- New ‘film strip’ view
- Displays Nikon D2H, Pentax *ist D, Olympus E1 and Minolta A1 raw files complete with shooting data
- Reads Adobe XMP shooting data when EXIF shooting data isn’t available
- Now reads and writes thumbnail data to JPEG and TIFF images for faster display of thumbnails

BreezeBrowser v2.8 is a free upgrade for all registered users.

Website: Breeze Systems

The German website PhotoWorld.de 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.

Website: PhotoWorld.de - Fuji FinePix S7000 Review

Website: Read my review of the Fuji FinePix S7000

The Hungarian website Index Digicam have reviewed the 4 megapixel Samsung Digimax V4 and the 3 megapixel Samsung Digimax V3, which have the unique ability to use 9 different types of battery sources.

Website: Index Digicam - Samsung Digimax V3/V4 Review

The Hungarian website Index Digicam have published a review of Canon’s fastest and highest resolution photo printer, the 4800 x 2400 dpi1 Bubble Jet i960. 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.

Website: Index Digicam - Canon Bubble Jet i965 Review

Sony Reports Defects in Its High-Class Qualia Digital Cameras
[Kyodo News International, Tokyo. Distributed by Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News.]
Kyodo News International via NewsEdge Corporation : Dec. 11—TOKYO—Sony Corp. said Thursday it is offering free repairs of ultracompact digital cameras in its Qualia series of high-class products because of defects in the electronic flash.

Subject to the free repairs are 133 made-to-order digital cameras sold for 380,000 yen in June through September, company officials said.

Since the end of October, specialist staff members have visited buyers to fix the defect, which may cause the electronic flash not to work once the shutter is pressed at a certain time, they said.

To see more of Kyodo News International, go to http://www.kyodonews.com

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