Steve’s Digicams have reviewed the Casio EXILIM EX-M20, which measures a mere 83mm wide, 53mm high, and 11.3mm thick. The EX-M20 features a 2-megapixel CCD plus a built-in microphone and speaker for recording and playback of voice recordings and audio snapshots. The EX-M20 retails for $329.99 and is available now.

“For the “person on the go”, the fully automatic EX-M20 is just what they need to take great pictures at a precise moment, without spending a lot of time learning how to use a complicated camera. With the “BestShot” modes the camera’s settings are optimized for any of fifteen predefined shooting conditions. If you truly want to be creative and over-ride the camera’s automatic settings, you can adjust the White Balance, the ISO and the EV Shift (+/-2EV).”

Website: Steve’s Digicams - Casio EXILIM EX-M20 Review

Canon have released a new version of firmware for the Canon EOS 300D / Digital Rebel DSLR.

Firmware Version 1.1.1 resolves the following issues:

- It increases the reliability of RemoteCapture application when the camera is used. The reliability of RemoteCapture, with which you can control the camera from your computer and take single-frame shots, timer shots and interval timer shots and save the images on your computer automatically, is increased.
- It increases the reliability of operations when used on Windows XP and Mac OS X with [PTP]* selected in [Communication]. It increases the operations with the camera when connected and disconnected with your computer in saving and deleting the images. You may now make a continuous printing of up to 100 images at one time.

This firmware Version 1.1.1 can only be installed on cameras with Version 1.0.2 firmware. If the camera already has the firmware Version 1.1.1 installed, you do not need to update it.

Website: Canon Firmware

I’ve just posted my review of the Epson Stylus Photo 950 Printer, a 6 colour, 2880 x 1440 dpi model that currently sits at the top of Epson’s range of A4 photo printers. I was especially interested in testing the Stylus Photo 950 because I own an older Epson model, the Stylus Photo 890, and I wanted to find out what improvements Epson had made to their latest model. Would I be impressed enough to consider upgrading? Read on to find out.

Website: Epson Stylus Photo 950 Printer Review

Epson Press Release 22/10/03

Epson Unveils the Essential Printers for Digital Photo Enthusiasts: The EPSON Stylus Photo R300 and R300M

LONG BEACH, Calif.—(BUSINESS WIRE)—Oct. 22, 2003—

New Direct Photo Printers Offer Convenient Photo Printing With or Without a Computer, and the Capability to Print Directly onto the Surface of CDs and DVDs

Epson America Inc. has added two new photo printers to its product line—the EPSON Stylus(R) Photo R300 and R300M. The EPSON Stylus Photo R300 and R300M are perfect for digital camera owners who want a flexible and easy to use photo solution. Both printers offer the same convenient and innovative features such as printing directly onto the surface of ink jet printable CDs and DVDs, and being able to print photos with or without a computer. The EPSON Stylus Photo R300M includes a 2.5” color preview monitor for viewing and selecting images before printing them. The preview monitor is not available on the EPSON Stylus Photo R300.

These printer models are perfect for the digital photographer who uses a digital camera and wants to share photos with friends and family.

“People are sharing memories now more than ever, and with a printer like the Epson Stylus Photo R300/R300M, anyone can pop in their digital memory card and print out amazing looking photos even without a computer,” said Steve Semos, product manager, consumer ink jet printers, Epson. “These printer models not only make it easy and convenient to print photographs, but customers can even personalize CD layouts and print directly onto ink jet-printable CDs and DVDs.”

Picasa Press Release 22/10/03

Picasa Launches “Hello” - The Easiest Way to Securely Share Digital Photos

Hello enables friends to instantly share high resolution pictures, chat about them, and print them at home or online

Pasadena, CA ?- October 22, 2003 - Picasa, Inc.(tm), the leading developer of software which enables photographers to effortlessly organize, manage and share digital photos, announces the availability of Hello, a completely new way to share digital pictures.  For consumers with an Internet connection, Hello opens a private peer-to-peer network link that enables friends to instantly share and chat about digital photographs.

Hello is offered as a free download at www.hello.com and can be used with or without Picasa, the company’s award-winning digital photo organizing software. For consumers who have Picasa, Hello is automatically integrated, allowing one-click photo sharing.  To share photos using Hello, consumers simply select the pictures they would like to send in Picasa, click the “Send to Hello” button and specify the person to receive them.  Immediately, those images appear on their contact’s Hello window.  Users can see which pictures their friend is viewing and can chat about them in real-time. Hello makes it simple to send single photos or hundreds without the need for attachments or uploading to websites.  Consumers who do not have Picasa can use Windows Explorer to select pictures to share.

Any pictures received via Hello are automatically organized and stored in a Picasa album, organized by the sender’s name.  To print high quality prints at home, Hello automatically retrieves the high-resolution version of a picture from the sender, eliminating the need to send email requests back and forth.

“Hello recreates the experience of sitting down on your couch with a friend and showing them your photo album,” says Lars Perkins, CEO of Picasa. “With Hello, you can watch your friends’ reaction as they see your pictures, instead of waiting hours or days for a reply.  Unlike e-mail, Hello lets you send 50 pictures just as quickly as sending 5, and your friends will always be able to choose and print the pictures they like best.”

The release of the new professional D2H DSLR from Nikon has been delayed until late November, accroding to a statement on the Japanese version of the Nikon Imaging website. No official reason has been given for the 1-month delay, although Rob Galbraith’s website is reporting that it is because of the high volume of pre-orders for the camera.

Website: Nikon Imaging Japan

Website: Rob Galbraith - Nikon D2H Delay

Steve’s Digicams published their review yesterday of one of the more popular consumer digicams, the 4-megapixel Canon PowerShot A80, which sells for around $399.

“The Canon PowerShot A80 goes a step beyond most of its rivals with advanced features. In addition to standard array of exposure modes for cameras of this class, the A80 offers a fully manual mode which allows you to directly set both shutter speed and aperture; the camera will inform you of the deviation, if any, from its recommended EV. In addition to its excellent autofocus system, the A80 allows you to focus manually, and assists you in that endeavor by enlarging the focus area of the LCD viewfinder as you compose your shot and focus.”

Website: Steve’s Digicams - Canon Powershot A80 Review

Also spotted on the DPReview Epson forum is a new top-of-the-range flatbed scanner that has a maximum resolution of 4800dpi! The new GT-X700 scanner features Digital ICE, Firewire, USB2.0, Epson Smart Panel, Print Image Matching, 6 lenses in 4 groups and a DMax of 3.8. You can scan 2 4x5’s, 6 medium format, 8 35mm slides and 24 frames using 35mm film strips. It looks identical in design to the Epson Perfection 3200 scanner, so hopefully the GT-X700 will make it outside Japan.

Website: DPReview - Epson Forum

Website: www.i-love-epson.co.jp

Someone over on the DPReview forums has actually bought the Epson PX-G900 photo printer that was first reported on PhotographyBLOG at the end of August. This printer may never be released outside Japan, as Epson has a history of only releasing new printers in its home country. Even so, it’s very interesting to see what new features Epson are introducing to their range of photo printers, and if everyone crosses their fingers then hopefully Epson will introduce the PX-G900 worldwide…

Website: DPReview - Epson Forum

Website: www.i-love-epson.co.jp

Website: www.i-love-epson.co.jp - Printer Comparison

Sony Press Release 21/10/03

SONY TAKES `NO COMPROMISE’ APPROACH TO NEW SLIM CAMERA

World’s Smallest Five Megapixel Camera Packs Performance and Style

SAN DIEGO, Oct. 21, 2003 ?Adding one more case to the “How’d They Do That?” file, the miniaturization wizards at Sony (known formally as product designers and engineers) took features found on more full-figured digital cameras and squeezed them into a slim, pocket-friendly design no larger than a deck of cards.

Slide the front lens cover down and in just over one second, the Cyber-shot? DSC-T1 digital camera’s large 2.5-inch LCD viewfinder comes to life. It occupies roughly two-thirds of the camera’s back-surface area, giving more room to see and show off images at the moment they are captured.

Press the shutter release button and the camera demonstrates why it is perhaps the fastest five megapixel camera. Due in large part to Sony’s Real Imaging Processor? circuit, it shoots full-resolution images in one second intervals, and can capture four high-speed burst shots in less than two seconds.

But the camera offers more than great still pictures. With optional Memory Stick PRO Duo? cards, the T1 camera captures and plays back high resolution moving images in MPEG-VX Fine mode?good enough to make onlookers believe that it was captured with a digital camcorder.

“True to Sony’s DNA, we created a digital camera that balances the cutting-edge performance with eye-catching design,” said Steve Haber, senior vice president of Sony Electronics’ Personal, Mobile and Imaging Products Division. “If the best camera is the one that you have with you at all times, then this is that camera.”

Sony Press Release 21/10/03

UPTOWN CHIC MEETS DOWNTOWN FUN IN SONY’S NEW CYBER-SHOT `U’

Ultra-Slim U40 Camera Captures Looks

SAN DIEGO, Oct. 21, 2003 ? Lipstick: check. Car keys: check. Stylish camera to capture an evening with friends: check?if you have the latest Cyber-shot? U-series camera from Sony.

Expected in January for about $200, the stylish U40 camera will come in four colors (silver, black, dark blue and red) that match your mood or your outfit.

Slide the front cover sideways and the two-megapixel camera comes to life in under one second?giving enough time to capture candid shots.

“Life happens in the blink of an eye, and the U40 camera is ready when you are,” said Steve Haber, senior vice president for Sony Electronics’ Personal Mobile and Imaging Division. “It’s about the size of a candy bar, but full featured enough to ensure that the shots turn out great.”

LetsGoDigital have reviewed the Fuji FinePix F410, a 3.1 megapixel camera with an RRP of $499.

“The FinePix F410 is a camera that fulfils that what a camera is designed for. A tight design, a solid body, equipped with the latest technique on image sensors and a high standard of users-friendliness. I can tell you I simply liked the FinePix F410. The camera can be carried around easily and it is striking that when you ask someone that has no experience with digital cameras or whatsoever, to operate this camera they can without asking questions!”

Website: LetsGoDigital - Fuji FinePix F410 Review

LetsGoDigital has reviewed the Casio QV-R40, a 4 megapixel digicam which has an amazing start-up time of one second and shutter-lag of 0.01 seconds. The Casio QV-R40 currently retails for around $300 / ?300.

“The speed of being ready to shoot from the QV-R40 is surprisingly fast. Especially for a digital camera equipped with an optical zoom lens it reacts as swift as an arrow after switching on the on/off button. The optical zoom lens also reacts very rapidly so there is almost no interval of release.”

Website: LetsGoDigital - Casio QV-R40 Review

The digital photography website LetsGoDigital have reviewed the entry-level Olympus Camedia C-150, a 2 megapixel resolution camera with a bright lens (f 2.8) and a large 1.8 inch LCD monitor for image viewing convenience.

“The color reproduction is alright, the sharpness of the image looks good and the end result is satisfying. The images are stored on a xD-Picture card that, at the moment, has a higher price level than other rival type memory cards. It?s a matter of time until more manufacturers will produce this type of memory card as well, so prices will be competed too!”

Website: LetsGoDigital - Olympus Camedia C-150 Review

Sue Chastain, editor of the Graphics Software section of About.com, has let me know that several software reviews have recently been published, including a review of the new image management program Adobe Photoshop Album 2.0. Also, expect to see reviews of Extensis Smartscale, Facefilter and ThumbsPlus in the near future.

Website: Photoshop Album 2.0 Review

Website: ACDSee 6 Review

Website: Microsoft Digital Image Suite 9 Review

Website: PhotoArtMaster Gold Review

ACD Systems Press Release 21/10/03

ACD Systems Partners with Morpheus Software to Release New Plug-ins for ACDSee

Cool graphics programs allow users to animate digital images and morph video clips

VICTORIA, British Columbia ? October 21, 2003 - ACD Systems International Inc. (TSE:ASA), the digital imaging company, today announced the distribution of Morpheus photo animator software and Morpheus photo animator pro software. Morpheus is an award-winning graphics program that allows users to morph or warp photos, images and movies. Both programs were developed with ACD’s Software Development Kit (SDK) as a plug-in to ACD’s award- winning digital imaging software, ACDSee?. 

Morpheus photo animator software is a fun and easy-to-use program that enables individuals to create photo animations, presentations and greeting cards.  With the pro version, users can also morph video clips and movies. Designed for the everyday PC user, Morpheus also appeals to professionals such as dentists and surgeons who use morphed images to show before and after images to patients. Both programs support Shockwave Flash, Animated GIF, AVI, and JPEG file formats.  To morph two images together, users simply have to:
1. Load the images to be morphed.
2. Place dots on both images to define the motion of the morph.
3. Align the dots on both images.
4. Use the Preview Window to make minor adjustments to the images.
5. Render the new image into a viewable file format.

Canto Press Release 21/10/03

New version simplifies creation, management and deployment of Digital Asset Management Solutions for users, administrators and system integrators October 21, 2003, San Francisco, Berlin. Canto, the global leader in Digital Asset Management (DAM) solutions, today announced ?Cumulus 6?. Workgroup and Enterprise Editions of this new version will be available at the end of November and are geared to professional users.

Both Editions offer many new features and explicit improvements that dramatically simplifies the users? daily work when managing their assets. Administrators now have all possibilities to administer the settings of an entire solution at the server. Furthermore, Cumulus 6 incorporates a new central user management. The newly introduced EJaP technology (Embedded Java PlugIn) enables both customers and especially system integrators to customize the available out-of-the-box solutions to meet customer needs. New functions can easily be added and Cumulus 6 can be integrated into any workflow, Enterprise Portal or Enterprise Content Management solution. Also, with Cumulus 6 Mac OS X clients will be offered for the first time.

One of the three essential design concepts behind Cumulus 6 is the application?s Ease-of-Use. Now all assets can be managed and made accessible centrally in one window. Also, an extra keyword list and the asset location can be displayed in addition to the categories. In Cumulus 6 users can easily switch between different views with preconfigured View Sets and even display the information they find relevant regarding to format or task. Cumulus 6 also offers Asset Handling Sets for optimized handling of different formats. These preconfigured sets can be edited and provided centrally by the administrator.

DPReview have got their hands on some of the biggest Compact Flash cards on the market, including Pretec’s 6Gb card that was announced at the beginning of August and a 4Gb card from Lexar.

“We are lucky enough to have both the Lexar 40x 4 GB and Pretec 6 GB Compact Flash cards on hand and have performed a variety of tests on these very high capacity cards. While the Lexar 40x 4 GB is impressive the Pretec 6 GB is even more so considering that it is similar in design to IBM’s Microdrive.”

Website: DPReview -  Big Capacity Compact Flash Card Review

DPReview have reviewed the Delkin eFilm PRO CardBus 32-bit PCMCIA adapter, which the company claims is the fastest PCMCIA Adapter on the market. DPReview agrees, saying “in our tests the new CardBus CF adapter from Delkin was almost four times faster than a standard PCMCIA adapter.” The CardBus 32 adapter allows CF memory cards to work in the PC Card slot on most Windows based laptops and uses the high speed CardBus PCMCIA standard.

Website: DPReview - Delkin CardBus CF Adapter Review

As part of their interactive preview of the new Olympus E-1 DSLR, DP-Now have posted a comparison of the E-1 with an older Olympus digital camera, the E-10.

“Here is a set of pictures showing, in this case an Olympus E-10, side by side with an E-1 fitted with the ‘standard’ Zuiko Digital 14-54 lens. An E-20 is externally identical apart from gold lettering instead of white.

You don’t get any prizes for noticing that the older E-10/20 body design has been used as the base for the E-1.”

Website: DP-Now - Olympus E-1 vs Olympus E-10 Comparison