Nikon UK Press Release 13/10/03

D100 and Coolpix 5400 reduced in price

Nikon have just announced some good news for consumers - the D100 digital SLR and the Coolpix 5400 prosumer digital compact have both been reduced in price.

Recommended retail price for the D100 is now ?1499.99 down from ?1699.99 and the Coolpix 5400 price has been lowered by ?50 to ?599.99.

Website: Nikon.co.uk

The Olympus IS-500 is an all-in-one SLR camera with a recommended price of ?219.99. It looks and acts like a traditional 35mm SLR, but the lens is built-in and cannot be detached, which for some people may be more convenient than carrying around a bag full of lenses. So can the IS-500 offer the best of both worlds - convenience and quality? Read my review to find out.

Website: Olympus IS-500 Review

Photoxels have reviewed one of the more popular consumer digicams, the 4-megapixel Canon PowerShot A80, which sells for around $399.

“One of the most popular cameras of 2003 has been the Canon PowerShot A70 (see our review). It’s received positive reviews from camera review sites (like this one) and users alike. Due to its popularity, finding an A70 proved difficult for many consumers, who would show up at Best Buy to find them out of stock. What made the A70 so desirable? In my opinion, it’s because Canon “gets it”. They created a lower cost camera which not only took good quality pictures, but also offered full manual controls, support for add-on lenses, and an AF-assist lamp—items rarely found on cameras in that class.”

Website: DCResource - Canon Powershot A80 Review

Mike Johnston’s weekly column considers a question asked by one of Mike’s readers; Do you feel that your photography (the “art” part, not the “gearhead” part) is better using your Sony 707 (digital camera) or using Contax and film?

“A great deal of the technology in modern cameras exists to enable amateur and occasional photographers to do automatically ? without knowledge or practice ? what dedicated photographers have been learning to do, and training themselves to do, and doing, for more than a century.”

Website: Sunday Morning Photographer: The Gestalt of 35mm Tri-X vs. Digital

The Slovenian website e-FotoPortal have published the third part of their review of the Canon EOS 300D. e-FotoPortal is currently putting the 300D through its paces in a number of testing environments; this time they have tested the camera in a sudio environment.

Website: e-FotoPortal - Canon EOS 300D Studio Report

The October issue of Nature Photographers Online Magazine has been posted and features some new articles that will appeal to nature and non-nature photographers alike. “Shooting Vertical Panoramics” by UK photographer Guy Edwardes, “Photo Contest Tips” by Brian Small and “The Erosion of Photographer’s Rights ? A Very Worrying Trend” by Nick Rains are all excellent articles worthy of your time.

Website: Nature Photographers Online Magazine - October Issue

ATP Electronics Inc Press Release 06/10/03

SAN FRANCISCO , Calif./Oct 5, 2003—- ATP Electronics Inc, an independent leader in memory products, today announced its first to market 1GB MultiMediaCard.

The new 1GB card was first introduced at a press conference at the 2003 Computex Taipei in September.

An actual device utilizing ATP’s 1GB MultiMediaCard can be viewed at http://flash.atpinc.com/mmcdemo.jpg

ATP MultiMediaCards are targeted mainly at the fast growing demand for memory in digital cameras, digital video camcorders, audio players, new multi-function 2.5G/3G cell phones and other portable devices.

Kent Eisenberg, ATP Product Marketing Manager, said, ‘We are proud to announce the first available 1GB MultiMediaCard. We believe this high capacity card will provide open system application makers the ability to develop an increasingly exciting multimedia experience. The new markets demand high capacity storage in ever-shrinking portable digital devices. ATP’s 1GB MultiMediaCards have been designed to meet these demands.’

With an ATP 1GB MultiMediaCard, consumers can store up to 30 hours of digitally compressed music, more than 320 minutes of MPEG-4 compressed video or more than 1000 high-resolution digital images. Consumers will no longer feel forced to choose between picture/video quality and memory space.

Eisenberg continued, ‘Our new 1GB MultiMediaCards will give digital devices much more storage capacity combined with very low power consumption. In addition, MultiMediaCards offer a much more attractive price point than SD cards since there are no licensing fees.’

DPReview have published an interesting snippet of Olympus E-1 news in the form of a timeline for the release of new lenses for the E-1. According to Olympus Japan, there will be 5 new lenses in 2004 and 7 in 2005. DPReview has all the details…

Website: DPReview - Olympus E-1 Lens Timeline

DPReview contributor Les Freed has reviewed the Olympus Studio software package, which is an optional extra for the Olympus E-1 DSLR, costing $150.

“This review, prepared by Les Freed examines the Studio software in some detail. Studio provides facilities for image transfer, browsing, viewing, editting, printing, RAW conversion and tethered camera operation. Overall Les was impressed (especially with the RAW conversion speed) but would have liked to have seen Studio making up a standard part of the E-1 Kit.”

Website: DPReview - Olympus Studio Software Review

The UK digital photography website, DP-Now, have just announced the 2nd round of their new photography competition, staged in conjunction with Olympus UK. There is ?8,000 worth of prizes up for grabs; 12 monthly prizes of ?500 to spend on Olympus products, and a ?2,000 holiday for two in Greece for the overall winner. The competition is based loosely on the theme of each of the twelve Olympian gods, in turn, one for each month. Check out the DP-Now website below for the full details.

Website: DP-Now Competition

Digital Outback Photo have posted an extensive preview of the new RAW convertor software, Capture One DSLR Rebel Edition, which is specifically designed for the Canon EOS 300D/Rebel digital SLR. I personally use Capture One DSLR LE with my EOS 10D, in preference to the software that Canon provides - it’s a lot faster and easy to use and well worth the $99 price tag.

“If you want to get the best quality out of your EOS 300D you need to use the raw file format (read our Shutterbug article to understand why). Unfortunately the Canon File Viewer Utility is not a very useable raw converter. This is not real problem as Capture One DSLR Rebel Edition provides a first class solution at only $49.”

Website: Digital Outback Photo - Capture One DSLR Rebel Edition Preview

DCViews have enthusiastically reviewed the Canon Powershot S400 (called the Canon Digital IXUS 400 in Europe), a 4-megapixel camera that retails for around ?500 in the UK.

“The camera’s metering works faultlessly and difficult lighting situations are handled with ease, delivering clean and well exposed images every time. Clicking the sample images on this page will enlarge them to reveal how good the automatic exposure really is and show the terrific amount of image detail the camera records. It may be worth noting that none of the sample images used here have been manipulated or tampered with in any way - what you see here is what the camera delivers.”

Website: DCViews - Canon Powershot S400 Review

PhotographyBLOG visitor has let me know about a very useful resource that he runs which will be of interest to everyone in the USA (and according to my web stats, that’s 25% of you). Oleg maintains an overview of the prices of online printing services, with monthly updates so that the information is always current. 37 different services are listed so there’s plenty of choice when you next look for somewhere to do your prints.

Website: Price Guide to USA Online Print Services

Olympus Press Release 10/10/03

STAY IN FOCUS WITH THE NEW MJU-III 150 KIT FROM OLYMPUS

The Olympus Mju-III 150 35mm compact camera is the latest addition to the best-selling camera range in the world.? The 4x zoom lens, weatherproof Mju-III 150 comes with a free remote control and is ideal for both the seasoned photographer and novice. It also has an innovative, specially developed 11-point multi-wide passive auto focus sensor, allowing it to recognise the main subject - even if off-centre, to secure clear and vivid pictures every time.? Available at a RRP of ?149.99 (inc VAT), call 0800 072 0070 or visit www.olympus.co.uk for stockist information.

Though merely 225g in weight (without battery) and 117mm (W) x 61mm (H) x 43mm (D), the Mju-III 150 still contains a 37.5 ? 150mm 4x zoom lens. Its magnification power lets you get that little bit closer and is especially useful when out sightseeing in the city or rambling in the country. Featuring an ED (extra-low dispersion) lens element, usually only found in SLR interchangeable lenses and other high-end cameras, the Mju-III 150 produces sharp and high quality photos.

As you would expect, the Olympus Mju-III 150 maintains a distinctive style whilst incorporating advanced technology. The Mju-III 150 also has an automatic 3-Way AE light metering system, designed to ensure optimal exposure. The outcome boasts bright and colourful photos every time. In addition, it features a camera-shake indicator which minimises the risk of blurry hand-held shots.? 

The Mju-III 150 is the latest camera in the evolution of the third generation Mju series. In keeping with its popular Mju-III sister models (the Mju-III 120 and Mju-III 100).

If you’re wondering how Adobe Camera RAW is going to work in the recently announced Photoshop CS, then wonder no more, as Thomas Knoll, the guy who wrote this program, has added a lengthy explanation to the Adobe Forums.

Website: Adobe Forums - Thomas Knoll

This morning DCResource have published their review of the tiny Canon PowerShot SD10 (also known as the Digital IXUS i in some countries). The SD10 has a street price of $349 in the USA and ?299 in the UK.

“Overall, I was very surprised at how good the photo quality was on the SD10. There are no tradeoffs here, like you’d find on other cameras (blurry corners being an example). Images are very sharp, color is good, and exposure was accurate most of the time. I did see some purple fringing, but it wasn’t bad enough to be considered a problem.”

Website: DCResource - Canon PowerShot SD10 Review

CNET have reviewed the 3.2 megapixel Kyocera Finecam L3v, whose main defining feature is its large 2.5” LCD display.

“The 3.2-megapixel Kyocera Finecam L3v brings the big-screen viewing experience to digital photography with a large 2.5-inch LCD. Simple enough for beginners to master, the L3v also offers adjustments for those who like to tinker. However, the camera’s lack of manual shooting modes and its average image quality will disappoint more-advanced photographers.”

Website: CNET - Kyocera Finecam L3v Review

After 3 weeks and 1,165 total votes, Digital Compact has just pipped 35mm Film SLR as the most popular camera type that you own in the PhotographyBLOG Poll, but only by the narrow margin of 340 to 325 votes.

The new PhotographyBLOG Poll asks the question: “How do you print out your photographs?”. Do you send them off to a photo-lab, print them at home, or venture into the darkroom? Or do you find that you never print them out at all?

ePhotoZine have just published what I think is the World’s first ever full review of a production version of the Olympus E-1 digital SLR camera (someone correct me if I’m wrong…).

“Bold claims have been made by Olympus about the capabilities of the E-1, so many people may be expecting something groundbreaking in terms of results. Instead the E-1 offers good all-round performance which may disappoint those people with high expectations. More rational people will no doubt be pleased by the good resolution, low-image noise, good dynamic range, RAW flexibility, comprehensive quality settings, excellent colour accuracy and the high quality of the Zuiko lenses. There are drawbacks though, the noise levels at the higher end of the range aren’t very competitive compared to other professional Digital SLRs, though they are generally more expensive.”

Website: ePhotoZine - Olympus E-1 Review

It has been quite a long time since I last posted some news about the Canon EOS 10D, with the recent release of the cheaper 300D over-shadowing its big brother. Anyway, Photo.net have published a guide to cleaning the sensor of the EOS 10D and other digital SLRs. Essential reading if you’re starting to get really annoyed by that dust that always appears in the same place, but you’re not quite sure what to do about it.

“If you don’t know if your sensor is clean and want to check, here is how to do it. Put a lens on your camera, set focus to infinity, set exposure compensation to +1, set the aperture to its smallest value (largest number), at least f22, f32 if you have it. Now hold the camera in front a uniformly illuminated target and take a shot. Look at the image. Do you see dark spots? If so you have dust. At wider apertures the dust specs will be much less visible. At f11 they may be very faint and at f8 or wider apertures they may be undetectable.”

Website: Photo.net - Canon 10D Sensor Cleaning Guide