News
Popular Photography have tested the Kodak EasyShare DX6340 3.1 megapixel digital camera, using it with the EasyShare Printer Dock 6000. Here’s a quote from the review:
“For years, a lot of us thought that what the digital world really needed was a seamless way to print pictures?no computer necessary, just a quick hookup of camera to printer, a press of a button, and out would pop a 4x6 print. And now Kodak has done it.
But what makes the EasyShare Printer Dock 6000 a success isn?t so much the idea, but the excellent execution. This is one of the nicest photo gadgets we?ve seen, both useful and fun.”
Website: Popular Photography - Kodak EasyShare DX6340 Review
Popular Photography have tested the Kodak EasyShare DX6340 3.1 megapixel digital camera, using it with the EasyShare Printer Dock 6000. Here’s a quote from the review:“For years, a lot of us thought that what the digital world really needed was a seamless way to print pictures?no computer necessary, just a…
The American photography magazine Popular Photography has published a review of the new Tamron 28-75mm f/2.8 XR Di AF lens on its website. The article is in PDF format so you will need to have Adobe Acrobat Reader installed to open it. With equivalent own-brand lenses from the likes of Nikon, Canon and Minolta costing several times more, the ?300 Tamron lens could find its way into quite a few photographer’s bags. (found via digicamera.net)
Website: Popular Photography - Tamron 28-75mm f/2.8 XR Di AF lens Review
The American photography magazine Popular Photography has published a review of the new Tamron 28-75mm f/2.8 XR Di AF lens on its website. The article is in PDF format so you will need to have Adobe Acrobat Reader installed to open it. With equivalent own-brand lenses from the likes of…
CNET have also recently reviewed the Leica D-Lux, a 3.2-megapixel digital camera that has a whopping $800 price-tag! Find out why you should spend your money on this camera, rather than on something like the Canon EOS 300D, in CNET’s review…
“A few years ago, Panasonic and Leica entered into a partnership to build digital cameras. Leica brought the lenses, and Panasonic supplied the electronics. Among the fruits of the deal are Panasonic’s DMC-F1, which got a positive write-up from this reviewer, and Leica’s D-Lux. Cosmetically, the Leica looks different from the Panasonic—it has an old-school design intended to be “reminiscent of the classic Leica rangefinder camera”—but its performance and image quality are very similar. This leads us to ask: Are the superior body, the clout of the Leica brand, and a deluxe accessory package worth a nearly $500 markup? Answer: Only if you’re someone who doesn’t mind overpaying at Tiffany.”
Website: CNET - Leica D-Lux Review
Website: Leica D-Lux
CNET have also recently reviewed the Leica D-Lux, a 3.2-megapixel digital camera that has a whopping $800 price-tag! Find out why you should spend your money on this camera, rather than on something like the Canon EOS 300D, in CNET’s review… “A few years ago, Panasonic and Leica entered into…
CNET have just reviewed the Minolta Dimage F300, a 5-megapixel digital compact camera that looks good and retails for around $599.
“Minolta’s Dimage F300 fits neatly into the crowd of compact, high-style 5-megapixel digital cameras designed for advanced snapshooters. It looks and feels good, costs a bit less than much of the competition, comes equipped with a 3X zoom lens, and offers some unique features. Unfortunately, lackluster performance and mixed image quality tarnish what could have been a sparkling digicam.”
Website: CNET - Minolta F300 Review
CNET have just reviewed the Minolta Dimage F300, a 5-megapixel digital compact camera that looks good and retails for around $599. “Minolta’s Dimage F300 fits neatly into the crowd of compact, high-style 5-megapixel digital cameras designed for advanced snapshooters. It looks and feels good, costs a bit less than much…
A-Digital-Eye have just reviewed the 30Gb version of the SmartDisk FlashTrax, a portable storage device that stores high-resolution images transferred from any flash memory card onto the built-in USB 2.0 hard drive and displays them on its 3.5” LCD screen.
“FlashTrax by SmartDisk is a portable storage device for backing up your digital camera pictures while on the road. I was able to test this unit out while on a vacation in Europe. FlashTrax safely stores images copied from any memory cards onto the built-in 30GB USB 2.0 hard drive and displays them on a 3.5” LCD that outperforms tiny on-camera screens. A built-in MP3 player makes this device even more attractive! FlashTrax allows you to store, view and play all sorts of media files, all in one palm-size portable device.”
Website: A-Digital-Eye - SmartDisk FlashTrax Review
Website: SmartDisk
A-Digital-Eye have just reviewed the 30Gb version of the SmartDisk FlashTrax, a portable storage device that stores high-resolution images transferred from any flash memory card onto the built-in USB 2.0 hard drive and displays them on its 3.5” LCD screen. “FlashTrax by SmartDisk is a portable storage device for backing…
Samsung Press Release 08/10/03
As more and more photographers today are turning to digital imaging and editing, ensuring accurate reproduction on the viewing medium is more vital than ever. Just imaging how awful and frustrating it to take a great picture and have it look unsatisfactory or inaccurate on a poor-quality computer monitor.
Samsung, the world’s leading manufacturer of monitors, alleviates that concern and offers photographers the ultimate resource for displaying crystal-clear, faithfully reproduced digital photographs with its award-winning line of SyncMaster digital flat-panel monitors.
Samsung’s new suite of high-end analog and digital LCD monitors makes displaying images truly worth a thousand words. The new family of digital LCDs include the affordable 15-inch SyncMaster 153T, the sleek and slim 17-inch SyncMaster 173T and the breathtaking 19-inch SyncMaster 192T.
The new monitors give users the option of using either a digital or analog interface for viewing images and text. The Digital Video Interface (DVI) ensures a shaper, cleaner image and a more accurate representation of the original video source.
The 173T and 192T utilize Samsung’s Patterned Vertical Alignment (PVA), the latest technology advancement in liquid crystal cell structure for improved viewing. PVA offers the user an increased brightness level, higher contrast ratio, wider viewing angle and faster response time than traditional LCD monitors.
Website: Samsung
Samsung Press Release 08/10/03 As more and more photographers today are turning to digital imaging and editing, ensuring accurate reproduction on the viewing medium is more vital than ever. Just imaging how awful and frustrating it to take a great picture and have it look unsatisfactory or inaccurate on a…
The Slovenian website e-FotoPortal have published the second part of their extensive 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 indoors in a nightclub!
The Slovenian website e-FotoPortal have published the second part of their extensive 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 indoors in a nightclub! Website: e-FotoPortal - Canon EOS 300D…
As well as announcing the new C-755 Ultra Zoom and C-745 Ultra Zoom digital cameras yesterday, Olympus Japan also announced new versions of the mju range of compact digital cameras. The 3 new models are the Camedia X-250, mju-15 Digital and mju-25 Digital, which I think is the Japanese version of the Olympus ?[mju:] 400 Digital that I have just reviewed. The major new feature in all of the new cameras is added support for the Pictbridge standard for direct printing.
Website: Olympus Japan - Pictbridge
As well as announcing the new C-755 Ultra Zoom and C-745 Ultra Zoom digital cameras yesterday, Olympus Japan also announced new versions of the mju range of compact digital cameras. The 3 new models are the Camedia X-250, mju-15 Digital and mju-25 Digital, which I think is the Japanese version…
Delkin Press Release 07/10/03
Poway CA, October?7, 2003 Delkin Devices Inc., maker of premium quality eFilm memory cards and other innovative products for camera stores worldwide, has introduced the fastest PCMCIA Adapter on the market. The eFilm PRO CardBus 32-bit PCMCIA adapter is four to six times faster than all current conventional 16-bit adapters and ushers in a new phase of adapter performance. PCMCIA adapters have long been popular for their convenient size and ease of use for quick file transfers form memory cards to laptop computers.? The eFilm PRO CardBus 32 is the only adapter that achieves maximum speeds from the popular high-speed professional grade CompactFlash (CF) memory cards that are currently popular with high-end SLR digital cameras. 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.???
The new Delkin 32-bit CardBus adapter has the same size, shape and design as existing 16-bit adapters in common use now.? However, Delkin CardBus adapters and all CardBus products worldwide have a set of gold dimples or ?buttons? across the top of the leading edge, which inserts into the laptop.? These buttons serve a keying function and prevent the insertion of the adapter into non-CardBus compatible laptops.? CardBus slots are common on all modern laptops from manufacturers like Dell, Toshiba, Sony and many others.? The CardBus 32 adapter inserts completely within its host without any external cabling and operates at a power-saving 3.3 volts, extending battery life in most configurations.?
The CardBus standard, while not well known to the general computing population, has been in place since 1997, and supported by virtually all notebook vendors since 1998.? CardBus is standard on virtually all modern Windows and Mac OS systems.? CardBus provides higher levels of performance than the 16-bit PC Card standard, and is able to take advantage of internal bus speeds that can be four to six times faster.? Tests on Delkin eFilm PRO cards and other high-speed CF cards revealed similar speed increases of four to six times that of standard 16-bit CF adapters.? 100 Megabytes of JPEG photos on a Delkin PRO card were transferred to a Dell laptop with both a Delkin 16-bit adapter and the new CardBus 32 adapter. The CardBus adapter took 18 seconds (5.5MB/s) to transfer the images and the standard adapter took more than four times as long, taking one minute, 26 seconds (1.16MB/s) to transfer.
The Delkin CardBus 32 adapter has a theoretical maximum speed of 132MB/s.? Speed in real world applications is determined by the speed of the CPU and flash chips within the CF card.? High-speed cards like the Delkin eFilm PRO and the IBM Microdrive will operate much faster than other cards not designed to be high speed.? Delkin CardBus 32 adapters also utilize a patented chip, which reduces the burden on the host CPU to 10% or less, further increasing the value of this product.? The Delkin CardBus 32 adapter is currently shipping with a retail price of $59.99.? The Delkin CardBus adapter is available from independent photo stores worldwide and www.Delkin.com.
Patrick Maher, chief operating officer and executive director for PCMCIA, recently said in a PCMCIA press release, “CardBus technology provides significant improvements in peripheral device performance without sacrificing ease-of-use or mobility the industry has come to expect from PC Cards.” The Delkin CardBus 32 adapter is currently compatible with most Windows OS systems, and a driver CD is included with each adapter for Windows 98, 98SE, Me, 2000 and XP.? Delkin expects to have Apple drivers available by January 2004, as most Apple laptops also support CardBus.? For the latest information on CardBus and other PC Card products, visit the PCMCIA web site at http://www.pc-card.com. ??For the latest information on Delkin, CardBus 32 adapters and many other cards, accessories and digital photography in general, visit http://www.delkin.com.
Delkin Press Release 07/10/03 Poway CA, October?7, 2003 Delkin Devices Inc., maker of premium quality eFilm memory cards and other innovative products for camera stores worldwide, has introduced the fastest PCMCIA Adapter on the market. The eFilm PRO CardBus 32-bit PCMCIA adapter is four to six times faster than all…
Olympus Japan have today announced the new C-755 Ultra Zoom and C-745 Ultra Zoom digital cameras, which are updated versions of the C-750 and C-740 respectively. There are photographs of each camera and also the camera kits on the Olympus Japan website. I’ll let you know more details about each camera when the announcement is made in English!
Website: Olympus Japan
Olympus Japan have today announced the new C-755 Ultra Zoom and C-745 Ultra Zoom digital cameras, which are updated versions of the C-750 and C-740 respectively. There are photographs of each camera and also the camera kits on the Olympus Japan website. I’ll let you know more details about each…
The Sigma 12-24mm f/4.5-5.6 EX DG Aspherical lens that I first reported last week has now appeared on the official Sigma website. This lens is quite slow but it will translate to a 19-38mm lens on a Canon EOS 10D/300D, for example.
The large angle of view (122 degrees super wide angle of view at 12mm along the diagonal axis) is ideal for shootings indoor as well as landscape photography. It has a variable angle of view from 122 degrees at 84.1 degrees. Four Special Low Dispersion (SLD) glass elements are provided for effective compensation of color aberration, which is a common problem with super-wide angle lenses. Two pieces of Glass Mold and one-piece hybrid aspherical lenses offer excellent correction for distortion as well as all types of aberration. By effective arrangement of lens elements and advanced technology this lens has Super Compact dimensions of 3.9 inches full-length, and 3.4 inches maximum diameter.
It is equipped with Inner focusing system that will keep the length of the lens unchanged while controlling aberration. The models, which are equipped with HSM (Hyper Sonic Motor, available for Sigma, Canon and Nikon camera mount lens) system offer Full Time Manual Focusing. It has a minimum focusing distance of 11 inches (28cm) at all focal lengths. This lens is equipped with an integral Petal-type hood to block out extraneous light.
Available for SIGMA AF, Canon AF and Nikon AF: October 2003,
For Minolta AF and Pentax AF: November 2003
Website: Sigma
The Sigma 12-24mm f/4.5-5.6 EX DG Aspherical lens that I first reported last week has now appeared on the official Sigma website. This lens is quite slow but it will translate to a 19-38mm lens on a Canon EOS 10D/300D, for example. The large angle of view (122 degrees super…
Steve’s Digicams have reviewed the 3.2 megapixel Minolta DiMAGE Z1. This digicam has a 10x optical zoom lens, equivalent to a 38-380mm 35mm camera zoom, which in combination with the digital zoom offers a 40X zoom range.
“The most dominant feature of the Minolta DiMAGE Z1 is its Minolta 10X optical zoom lens. Ranging in focal length from 38 to 380mm in 35mm equivalence, it offers the photographer enormous versatility in image composition; the 38mm wide-angle covers most interior shots, while its 380mm telephoto magnification will please the nature and sports photographer.”
Steve’s Digicams have reviewed the 3.2 megapixel Minolta DiMAGE Z1. This digicam has a 10x optical zoom lens, equivalent to a 38-380mm 35mm camera zoom, which in combination with the digital zoom offers a 40X zoom range. “The most dominant feature of the Minolta DiMAGE Z1 is its Minolta 10X…
Steve’s Digicams have reviewed the 5 megapixel Minolta DiMAGE G500, which has a 3x zoom lens with a range that is equivalent to 39 - 117mm on a 35mm camera.
“The Minolta DiMAGE G500 is a very compact “pocket size” point-n-shoot 5-megapixel digital camera. It’s physically identical to its Konica siblings (KD-500Z, KD-400Z) and employs the same high quality Hexanon 3x optical zoom lens, state of the art image processing hardware, and adjustability of the image contrast, sharpness and color (with adjustments for the red, green and blue channels).”
Steve’s Digicams have reviewed the 5 megapixel Minolta DiMAGE G500, which has a 3x zoom lens with a range that is equivalent to 39 - 117mm on a 35mm camera. “The Minolta DiMAGE G500 is a very compact “pocket size” point-n-shoot 5-megapixel digital camera. It’s physically identical to its Konica…
The Slovenian website e-FotoPortal have tested the Canon EOS 300D in a number of different situations; studio, night, club scene, landscape etc. The first part of the review, focusing on landscape photography, has just been published. There’s a great shot of a boulder in a stream using a long exposure that shows just what the 300D is capable of.
Website: e-FotoPortal - Canon EOS 300D Review
The Slovenian website e-FotoPortal have tested the Canon EOS 300D in a number of different situations; studio, night, club scene, landscape etc. The first part of the review, focusing on landscape photography, has just been published. There’s a great shot of a boulder in a stream using a long exposure…
Dane-Elec Press Release 01/10/03
Paris, the 1st of October 2003 - DANE-ELEC MEMORY, an active worldwide player in the manufacturing and distribution of memory modules and Flash cards for the IT, e-phony communications, and digital camera sectors, presents in exclusivity on the European market the new Media Gear Combo 9 in 4 reader/writer which is able to read 9 types of card used in mobile equipment in general.
Light, 28 grams, compact, 9,7 cm3 (L: 125 mm, l: 60, e: 12,9) with a brand new design, this reader/writer has four slots to accommodate CompactFlash? I and II or Microdrive?, SmartMedia? or XD Picture Card?, MultiMediaCard? or Secure Digital? cards and finally Memory Stick? or Memory Stick Pro?. The Combo 9 in 4, is equipped with a USB 2.0 link and is directly connected to a PC or a portable. A flashing light indicates the transfer of data (images, videos, files, etc?) with a speed higher than 40 MB/s (33x).
This reader/writer is compatible with Windows 98/98SE, ME, XP and MAC OS 9.2.2, 10.1.5 and 10.2.3. It needs the down-loading of a driver available on a CD in the packaging, for Windows 98/98SE. Its power consumption is less than 500 mA.
The Combo 9 in 4 reader/writer is delivered with a one-meter long lead and an English installation guide too.
AVAILABILITY AND PRICE
The MEDIA GEAR Combo 9 in 4 reader/writer is available across the counter in retail stores and from specialized stockists for the recommended price of 49 EUR (ttc).
Website: Dane-Elec
Dane-Elec Press Release 01/10/03 Paris, the 1st of October 2003 - DANE-ELEC MEMORY, an active worldwide player in the manufacturing and distribution of memory modules and Flash cards for the IT, e-phony communications, and digital camera sectors, presents in exclusivity on the European market the new Media Gear Combo …
![Olympus ?[mju:] 400 Digital](/images/products/olympus_stylus400.jpg)
The 4-megapixel Olympus ?[mju:] 400 Digital is the top-of-the-range camera in what Olympus call their “Stylish” category. It’s also the first ever product that I’ve reviewed on PhotographyBLOG that I haven’t actually purchased for myself. Read this review to find out if I was impressed by the Olympus ?[mju:] 400 Digital camera.
Website: Olympus ?[mju:] 400 Digital Review
The 4-megapixel Olympus ?[mju:] 400 Digital is the top-of-the-range camera in what Olympus call their “Stylish” category. It’s also the first ever product that I’ve reviewed on PhotographyBLOG that I haven’t actually purchased for myself. Read this review to find out if I was impressed by the Olympus ?[mju:] 40…
Adobe have today announced a major upgrade to its popular software package, Photoshop Album. The estimated street price of Photoshop Album 2.0 is US$49.99. Registered users of the previous version of Adobe Photoshop Album or a competitive product also qualify for a US$15 mail-in rebate. Adobe Photoshop Elements 2.0 plus Adobe Photoshop Album 2.0 are available together for an estimated street price of US$129.99.
Website: Adobe.co.uk - Photoshop Album 2.0
Website: Adobe.co.uk - Photoshop Album 2.0 Overview
Adobe Press Release 06/10/03
Adobe Raises the Bar on Consumer Digital Photography Software with Photoshop Album 2.0
Simple User Interface, New Calendar View, Sharing with Mobile Phones, Handhelds, TiVo Make Photoshop Album 2.0 a Perfect Digital Camera Companion
SAN JOSE, Calif. ? Oct. 6, 2003 (NASDAQ: ADBE) ? Adobe Systems Incorporated today announced Adobe? Photoshop? Album 2.0, a dramatic upgrade packed with new features and usability enhancements that allow consumers to quickly and easily find, fix, share and preserve digital photo memories. With a streamlined user interface, digital photographers can utilize the Microsoft? Windows?-based software to easily organize photos, fix common photography problems and create a wider variety of greeting cards, photo books, calendars and slide shows. Sharing photos with friends and family anywhere is simple with new options that provide the industry’s most comprehensive support for sending images to mobile phones, Palm OS handhelds and TiVo? Series2 digital video recorders.
First introduced in early 2003 Photoshop Album extends Adobe’s legendary Photoshop brand to consumers and new digital camera owners.
“Digital cameras will again be the hot holiday gift item this year and Photoshop Album 2.0 is the perfect companion to round out that purchase,” said Bryan Lamkin, senior vice president of Digital Imaging and Video Products at Adobe. “We’ve simplified the user interface and added more options that make organizing, editing and sharing photos with anyone, anywhere easier than ever.”
Adobe have today announced a major upgrade to its popular software package, Photoshop Album. The estimated street price of Photoshop Album 2.0 is US$49.99. Registered users of the previous version of Adobe Photoshop Album or a competitive product also qualify for a US$15 mail-in rebate. Adobe Photoshop Elements 2.0 plus…
It was only announced just over a week ago, but already Steve’s Digicams has posted a First Look review of a pre-production version of the Olympus CAMEDIA C-5060 camera.
“The C-5060 sports a fast F2.8 and W-I-D-E “made to be digital” Olympus 4x zoom lens with a 27-110mm focal length (35mm equivalent.) It’s an all-glass, aspherical lens that’s further enhanced by a digital zoom function with 3.5x possible. With an optional lens adapter you can attach Wide Angle and Tele Converter lenses and filters.”
It was only announced just over a week ago, but already Steve’s Digicams has posted a First Look review of a pre-production version of the Olympus CAMEDIA C-5060 camera. “The C-5060 sports a fast F2.8 and W-I-D-E “made to be digital” Olympus 4x zoom lens with a 27-110mm focal length…
Digital Outback Photo have reviewed Fred Miranda’s latest software plugin for photographers, ISOx Pro, which aims to reduce noise in digital photographs captured by both digital camera files and scanned film. Find out if ISOx Pro does the job in Digital Outback Photo’s review.
“Fred got some good reputation to make noise removal easy. His latest plug-in IsoX Pro helps you to get rid of some noise. We say “some” noise as you should not try to get rid of all the noise. Why? Because noise removal and keeping the details are at odds. The more aggressive you remove the noise the more you will lose detail. Fred’s plug-in does a nice job in keeping as much detail as possible.”
Digital Outback Photo have reviewed Fred Miranda’s latest software plugin for photographers, ISOx Pro, which aims to reduce noise in digital photographs captured by both digital camera files and scanned film. Find out if ISOx Pro does the job in Digital Outback Photo’s review. “Fred got some good reputation to…
After Photoworld.de’s recent review of the Fuji FinePix S5000 a couple of days ago, another German digital camera website, digitalkamera.de, has posted its review of the S5000. This mid-range digital camera looks like a traditional SLR (but isn’t) and has a massive 10X optical zoom that is equivalent to equivalent to 37-370mm on a 35mm camera.
After Photoworld.de’s recent review of the Fuji FinePix S5000 a couple of days ago, another German digital camera website, digitalkamera.de, has posted its review of the S5000. This mid-range digital camera looks like a traditional SLR (but isn’t) and has a massive 10X optical zoom that is equivalent to equivalent…