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I’ve just stumbled across this excellent digital photography site - photo-i. There’s an in-depth review of the recently announced Canon i950 printer, which will be available from 1 February 2003 for around ?289 inc VAT.

Website: photo-i

Welcome to photo-i, a dedicated site for digital photographers. The new Canon i950 interactive review is generating a lot of interest. Is this printer going to set new standards by which all other Photo printers will be judged or is it just another photo printer?”

UPDATE: It seems that the Canon i950 printer is now on sale in the USA. John on the Minolta Dimage Yahoo mailing list had this to say:

“Just thought I would let some of you who might be looking for a new printer that the Canon i950 is in the USA as I just received one today from PC Connection and its nice, had a s900 and the i950 is better.  Even printing from a 3.1 kodak I can see the difference and from the Minolta 7i photo’s are really really nice. So just thought I would let some of you know that its in the USA now. Have a nice day.”

Following on from yesterday’s Luminous Landscape comparison of the Canon 1Ds and medium format film, Michael Reichmann has published a selection of the comments that he received regarding the article.

Website: Luminous Landscape

“My article comparing high-end 35mm digital to medium format, titled The Ultimate Shootout, generated considerable discussion. I’d have been surprised if it hadn’t. Based on some comments I’ve read online I’ve managed to gore several people’s sacred cows.”

There’s also an interesting and extensive thread about Michael’s comparison over at DPReview.

The second module in the City and Guilds Photography course that I’m attending is “Exploring Colour Photgraphy”. Again there is a choice of 2 themes and I’ve chosen Colour and Pattern, focusing on the Urban environment.

According to the prospectus, I’m supposed to “use carefully selected viewpoints as well as the appropriate focal length lenses in order to flatten the perspective effect, helping to draw the elements within the pattern closer together”. Judge for yourself whether I’m on the right tracks from the following images, which were taken on a freezing Sunday afternoon in central London (near St Paul’s Cathedral)...

London #1	London #2	London #3
Comments	Comments	Comments

It seems that we had a slight problem with Comments not being correctly assigned to PhotographyBLOG members.

Now if you login and leave a comment, then go to the Members screen, you should see that the Comment column has incremented by 1.

Apologies for this small glitch, and thanks to Rick Ellis at pMachine for the very quick fix! Also thanks to Sue at My Digital Pictures for her assistance in debugging the problem.

Here’s a quick reminder of the benefits of registering yourself as a member of PhotographyBLOG. When you post a comment, you won’t have to enter your details - just type in and submit your comment. You will appear on the Members screen and be able to see your site statistics e.g. how many comments you’ve actually made. You will also receive the regular PhotographyBLOG Newsletter, starting very soon!

I’m currently looking for a photo cataloging/management software package, as my library of images from the last few years is starting to become unmangeable. For example, I don’t actually know how many images I’ve taken and kept!

I’ve seen a lot of posts on various photography forums asking for opinions on this software application or that one, so it struck me that a comparitive review of a few packages would be a good idea. So far I’ve downloaded and started using IMatch, Jasc Paint Shop Pro Abum and Picasa.

If you have any suggestions for possible contenders, please email and let me know or leave a comment on this post.

Michael Reichmann over at Luminous Landscape has posted a fascinating comparison between the high-end digital Canon 1Ds and medium format film. He’s recently sold almost all of his medium-format kit and now solely uses the Canon. As all keen amateur photographers know, medium format is commonly held up as the format to move to when you want greater picture quality than 35mm film offers. The fact that Michael is comparing a digital camera against medium format would have been unthinkable just a few years ago.

Now the ?7000 Canon may be slightly out of reach for the average photographer, but Michael’s in-depth and refreshingly personal article acts as a taste of what will become a lot more affordable in the near future. You can read that article and probably buy a similar camera to the Canon 1Ds within the next 2 years. I hope so anyway!

Website: Luminous Landscape

“And now for something controversial. I have just published a comparison between high-end 35mm digital (the Canon 1Ds) and medium format film. Since I have recently sold almost all of my medium format equipment you may find the results of interest. The article is entitled “The Ultimate Shootout.”

Of the many New Year product releases, one that particularly caught my eye was Epson’s breakthrough Perfection 3200 scanner.

Website: Epson UK

“The EPSON Perfection 3200 brings high quality film scanning with the flexibility of a flatbed scanner. Offering an optical resolution of 3200x6400 dpi, it also features a built-in 4"x9” Transparency Unit and a custom-developed ASIC for high-speed film scans.

The 4"x9” Transparency Unit makes the Perfection 3200 ideal for medium and large format film, and it can also scan up to twelve 35mm originals at a time, making it the ideal solution for both photography enthusiasts and professionals. It’s equally at home in businesses that require a flexible high quality scanner for general purpose use.”

I currently own the Nikon Coolscan IV ED film scanner, which in comparison to the Epson flatbed scanner only offers a resolution of 2900dpi, can only scan 4 frames or 1 slide at a time and is limited to 35mm film.

I also have a very cheap Black Widow flatbed scanner which is slow, noisy and has poor resolution.

And at only slightly over ?300, that’s why Epson’s new offering is so interesting. I’ll definitely be keeping a lookout for photography-biased reviews of the Perfection 3200 to see how it performs.

With the recently announced demise of the Canon D60, photographers looking for an affordable digital SLR currently have the choice of the Nikon D100, Fuji S2 and the Sigma SD9. The latter camera has been receiving a lot of attention recently due to it’s innovative use of the Foveon X3 CMOS sensor, which promises to deliver ‘twice the sharpness, better colour detail and greater resistance to unpredictable colour artifacts’.

The UK-based website ePhotoZine has reviewed Sigma’s first digital camera, which currently retails for ?1299 at Jessops.

Website: ePhotoZine

“Despite the negative issues we found with the SD9, Sigma have done a great job with their first Digital SLR. In some ways, this is a groundbreaking camera that puts many cameras to shame. Yet at the same time it can be embarrassed by its inadequacies in other important areas.

Taking into account the competitive price of the SD9, its good handling and specification and the generally very high standard of image quality, we’d certainly recommend it. However, do bear in mind the limitations with the ISO and shutter speed ranges. Also consider the workflow the SD9 forces you into by only using RAW files and whether you are prepared to add that extra amount of work into your photographic experience.”

From a personal point of view, I’ve probably discounted the Sigma as a potential DSLR (despite it’s very competive price), mainly because all of my current Canon kit and lenses would be incompatible with the Sigma. I’d rather wait to see what Canon announce as the replacement(s) for the D60. But if you don’t currently have a large investment in a film SLR then I think the Sigma is well worth a good, long look at.

Fuji released a press statement today announcing 2 new versions of its proprietary Super CCD.

Website: FujiFilm

“Tokyo, Japan, January 22, 2003, Fuji Photo Film Co., Ltd. is pleased to announce the Super CCD HR and Super CCD SR - two significantly advanced 4th-Generation versions of the company’s proprietary Super CCD, a key device that has paved the way for exceptional digital camera imaging quality.

The high-resolution version of the Super CCD HR announced today incorporates a total of 6.63 million pixels* into a 1/1.7” chip, performance made possible through new strides in miniaturization. Cameras equipped with this imaging device can produce up to 12.3 million recording pixels, resulting in remarkably high-resolution images.

Incorporating the same miniaturization technology as the HR version, the Super CCD SR also features a new configuration that produces approximately four times wider dynamic range. Also measuring 1/1.7” in size, the new Super CCD SR incorporates 6.7 million total pixels* (3.35 million S-pixels and 3.35 million R-pixels).”

The Super CCD HR increases the number of pixels to 6.63 million (up to 12.3 million recording pixels), doubling the resolution of the current Fuji 6900/02 cameras.

In comparison the Super CCD SR only incorporates 3.14 million total pixels, for 6.0 million recording pixels. Its main innovation lies in expanding dynamic range. Apperently this new CCD will “produce smooth and wide tonal range without losing detail in dark areas or washing out in bright areas” by incorporating 2 distinct types of pixel.

Fuji haven’t yet announced any new cameras that incorporate either CCD.

DPReview have a very detailed analysis of this story, including a slide presentation from Fujifilm UK.

I’m currently studying for the City and Guilds Photography (6923) Year 1 qualification at my local college (West Herts). One of the modules in the course is “Introduction to Black and White Photography”, with a choice of 2 assignments. I’ve chosen “People in the Environment” and have narrowed this very broad topic down to “Street Entertainers”, primarily because I don’t live too far from Covent Garden in London.

I haven’t shot much black and white before, and I’d never set foot in a darkroom prior to this course, so let’s just say that the learning curve is pretty steep. Especially in the darkroom, where I’m wasting reams of photographic paper and trying my patience to the limit.

Anyway, I wanted to share the best of my initial efforts with you, so here are 3 images from my first 2 rolls of film…

Covent Garden #1	Covent Garden #2	Covent Garden #3

Further news of the Canon D60’s demise, taken from the 25th January edition of the UK’s Amateur Photographer magazine (on sale today):

“Less than a year after the UK launch of Canon’s D60 digital SLR the company has confirmed that the camera is to be discontinued. Responding to rumours on the internet Canon UK’s public relations manager Angela Mason confirmed that the 6.3 megapixel model will be discountinued once current stocks have been distributed ... Canon UK were not able to confirm details of when a new model would become available.”

It always interests me when photographers comment on exactly how they took a particular photograph, especially when they supply more detail than simply listing the aperture and shutter speed used. Michael Reichmann of Luminous Landscape fame has just posted a short article which explains the thinking behind 2 of his recent photographs. It’s a good insight into what the professionals’ do…

Website: Luminous Landscape

“When people write with feedback on The Video Journal location segments the one request that I receive more than any other is for my commentary on the “how and why” of the making of my photographs. I do this now as much as possible, but sometimes there are interesting images and situations that don’t find their way into The Journal. This page therefore contains two recent (October, 2002) photographs and a description of their making. I hope that you find this to be of interest.

Phil Askey at DPReview has posted a new review of the Olympus C-5050 Zoom, which currently retails for ?699 at Jessops.

Website: DPReview

Just posted! Our full in-depth review of Olympus’s C-5050 Zoom five megapixel, three times optical zoom digital camera. The C-5050 Zoom is one of the first of a new generation of five megapixel digital cameras based around a 1/1.8” (7.2 x 5.3 mm) CCD sensor. The advantage of sticking to the 1/1.8” format are that existing lens systems and bodies originally designed for three and four megapixel sensors can be used as the basis for the new cameras. This is exactly the case with the C-5050 Zoom. Read on to see how the camera fared in our tests.

The same camera receives an even more enthusiastic response at Imaging Resource.

Website: Imaging Resource

“I dubbed this one “the best camera Olympus has ever made”, a tipoff to my feelings about it. The 5050 is the latest in one of the longest-running lines of digicams in the industry, but this time around Olympus has significantly redesigned the user interface, as well as added some very welcome features not present on the previous 4040. All in all, a really excellent camera, one that I’m sure is going to find many happy homes.”

Website: Read my review of the Olympus Camedia C-5050 Zoom

After a lot of faffing around with various JavaScripts, I’ve finally managed to post the first ever photos on PhotographyBLOG!

These images from Notting Hill Carnival 2002 are some of my favourites from the last 12 months. They were all taken hand-held on a Canon EOS 300 using Kodak EliteChrome EBX 100asa slide film, hence the saturated colours and the sense of movement in #1.

When you click on each thumbnail image a new window should automatically open to display a larger version. You should then be able to click anywhere in the window to close it. Please leave a comment and let me if it doesn’t work as expected, stating exactly which web browser you are using.

Notting Hill Carnival #1	Notting Hill Carnival #2	Notting Hill Carnival #3

It seems that Canon have ceased production of the Digital SLR that I’ve been aspiring to for the last few months (but can’t really afford to buy as it’s ?1,900 body only).

Website: DP Review

“We have received several emails from concerned readers who were interested in buying an EOS-D60 have been told by their dealer that the D60 has been discontinued. This information is coming out of Canada and has apparently been (accidentally) confirmed by Canon Canada. This is indeed interesting news especially with PMA 2003 just around the corner. That said you would think that Canon could sell plenty more D60’s even in the time between now and any future model hitting the streets. UPDATE: As of yet this has NOT been confirmed to us directly by Canon USA or UK. More news, this time from Australia. Also apparently confirmed by Canon France.”

The D60 is, or was, the logical upgrade path for me to take if I ever decided to buy a DSLR, as I already have a Canon film body and several lenses. Until Canon announce and make widely available the D60’s successor, there is no logical path, only the Nikon D100, Fuji S2 or the Sigma SD-9. All good cameras but all requiring me to start from scratch.

Why Canon have decided to cease production before announcing the D60’s successor is currently unknown. Nikon must be rubbing their hands in glee at the thought of at least a 3 month period without their main competitor.

It will be very interesting to see what they replace it with. Will it be cheaper with a similar feature list? Or more expensive with enhanced features? Will it still utilise the current CMOS chip? Only time and maybe a visit to the PMA 2003 show will tell…