TrustedReviews have reviewed the Fujifilm Finepix J50, an 8 megapixel entry-level compact digital camera.

“The J50’s biggest let-down is its image quality, which I can only describe as terrible. It’s a pity, because the lens actually performs very well, with virtually no distortion at either end of the zoom range, and good edge-to-edge sharpness, but it is let down by the lousy sensor. Even at the lowest ISO setting there are problems with image noise, and despite only having a maximum setting of 800 ISO, images at this setting are unusable. The combination of image noise and massive over-compression robs the images of any fine detail. File sizes at the highest quality setting average under 2MB, which is very small for an 8MP camera.”

Website: TrustedReviews - Fujifilm Finepix J50 Review

Website: Read our Fujifilm Finepix J50 Review

The 3 lucky winners of our fantastic June 2008 Newsletter contest have been randomly selected from the PhotographyBLOG Newsletter subscriber list.

Eyal Zarrad, R Bambrook and Chris Tank each win a Manfrotto Modo 785B Tripod and 785 Bag, worth a total of £110 / $150.

The winners of the June 2008 PhotographyBLOG Competition have been selected. The theme for June was “Emptiness” - you can view all of the entries in this gallery. Here are the 5 winners:

1st Place
Emptiness by Amandart

Prize: CanvasRus 40 x 30” Canvas Print
Kindly donated by CanvasRus
http://www.canvasrus.co.uk

The new Nikon D700 is the second full-frame, FX-series DSLR camera from Nikon. Using the same 36x24mm, full frame, 12.1 megapixel CMOS sensor as the more expensive D3 model, the D700 also offers exactly the same extensive ISO range of 100 - 25,600. “The D700 excels in the extreme low-light and high-contrast conditions under which today’s cameras are judged and affirms Nikon’s ongoing commitment to meeting tomorrow’s imaging needs.” commented Robert Cristina, Manager Professional Products and NPS at Nikon Europe. The high-speed, 12-channel readout enables the D700 to achieve a fast continuous shooting speed of 5fps, or 8 fps with the Multi-Power Battery Pack MB-D10 fitted. The Nikon D700 has a more compact design than the D3, and also features the same integrated dust reduction system as the D300 model. The Nikon D700 will cost £1999.99 / €2599.00 / $2999.95 and be available from July 2008. Nikon have released a 24-page D700 brochure and 10 D700 photos.

We’ve got some real-life shots and comparison pictures of the D700 and the Canon EOS 5D - just click the link below to see them.

The Nikon SB-900 is the brand new top-of-the-range Speedlight flash gun. Replacing the SB-800 model, the SB900 incorporates a moving diffuser and light source that can zoom from 17mm to 200mm in just 1.2 seconds while maintaining an even light distribution. The SB 900 automatically detects the fitting of fluorescent or incandescent colour filters, instructing the camera to switch to the appropriate white balance setting. The versatile SB-900 provides a choice of three illumination patterns (centre-weighted/standard/even) that can be selected to suit a particular subject. Firmware update via the Nikon D3 and D700 cameras is possible, the world’s first available flash unit firmware update function via a digital SLR camera. The Nikon SB-900 costs £379.99 / €479.99 / $499.95 and will be available from August 2008.

Nikon has introduced the new PC-E Micro NIKKOR 45mm f/2.8D ED and PC-E Micro NIKKOR 85mm f/2.8D perspective control lenses. Designed for specialist applications in architecture, commercial and landscape photography, the PC-E 85mm and 45mm lenses offer a tilt/shift mechanism, revolving capability and auto aperture control. The 45mm focal length of the PC-E Micro Nikkor 45mm f/2.8D ED lens is ideal for a natural looking perspective that can be controlled creatively by the photographer. The PC-E Micro NIKKOR 85mm f/2.8D lens replaces the existing PC Micro NIKKOR 85mm f/2.8D and is ideal for tabletop photography and creative portraiture. Both lenses will be available from August 2008 for £1349.99 / €1800 / $1,799.95 each.

Apple have released a maintenance update, OS X 10.5.4, for the Mac operating system. Version 10.5.4 includes additional RAW image support for several cameras (not yet listed), and resolves an issue with saving and reopening Adobe Creative Suite 3 ?les on a remote server.

Website: Mac OS X 10.5.4 Update

Sinar eXposure is a new ICC-based application for capturing, processing and exporting images shot with Sinar digital camera backs. Bringing together Jenoptik’s Eyelike Capture Pro and Sinar CaptureShop, Sinar eXposure uses the Adobe DNG format, allowing processing of the raw data in third-party software packages. The first release of Sinar eXposure supports the Sinarback eMotion family - the Sinarback eMotion 75 and 75 LV, eMotion 54 LV, and eMotion 22 with all camera/shutter systems supported by these Sinarbacks. Sinar eXposure and its future updates can be downloaded for free from the Sinar website after registration.

TrustedReviews have reviewed the Drobo, the world’s first data storage robot.

“The Drobo puts a new spin on storage and will appeal to a particular type of user. For us, we like our Netgear ReadyNAS NV+ too much to change. We want our iTunes server, FTP and HTTP servers, the other media streaming services, storage quotas and strict controls to network shares. However, that said, the Drobo does look a good choice for users that want fault tolerant storage, aren’t bothered about bells and whistles and don’t want to get their hands dirty with RAID.”

Website: TrustedReviews - Drobo Review

The Nikon Coolpix P60 compact digital camera seems to offer almost everything that the discerning photographer requires. There’s a sensibly-specced 8 megapixel sensor, 5x zoom lens, Vibration Reduction image stabilization and a fastest ISO speed of 2000, electronic viewfinder, and a manual exposure mode for full control. The only feature that’s notable by its absence on the Nikon P60 is RAW mode, which really would have been the icing on the proverbial cake. And all of this is currently available for less than £200 / $250. Gavin Stoker finds out if the traditional-looking Coolpix P60 can live up to Nikon’s heritage in our latest in-depth review…

Website: Nikon Coolpix P60 Review

AKVIS Magnifier 1.0 is a new software application that resizes images without any noticeable loss in quality. If you attempt to blow up a picture (increase its resolution) using the standard Resize command of a photo editor, you will notice that the resulting photo is blurred and pixelated. The reason is that the input photo didn’t contain enough information for the new size. AKVIS Magnifier copes with this problem and delivers better results. AKVIS Magnifier 1.0 is currently available as a standalone application, with a plugin version coming soon. AKVIS Magnifier 1.0 costs $129 / €99. All registered users who have bought at least one AKVIS plug-in get a 20% discount on AKVIS Magnifier. The customers who have purchased all AKVIS plug-ins get a 50% discount. This offer is valid till August 31, 2008.

The Leica Oskar Barnack Award 2008 has been won by Slovak photographer Lucia Nimcova for her photo project “Unofficial“. Taking her home town as an example, Nimcova documented how time seems to have stood still since the fall of the Communist regime. The central theme of the Leica Oskar Barnack Award, which has been held every year since 1979 in memory of the inventor of the Leica, Oskar Barnack (1879 – 1936), is the relationship between man and his environment. The closing date for entries to the 2009 contest is January 31st, 2009.

The first ever Leica M8 digital camera has been sold to a Russian collector for 24,000 Euro at the 13th Westlicht Photographica Auction. Produced in 2006, the camera bears the striking serial number 3100000. Leica is donating proceeds from the auction to the press freedom organization “Reporters sans frontières – RSF“(Reporters without Borders). The 24,000 Euro bid for the first Leica M8 is the highest ever made for a digital camera.

Luminous Landscape have reviewed the Phase One 645 medium format digital camera.

“If you like the Mamiya 645 design, you’re likely going to love the Phase One 645. It and its twin the Mamiya 645 AFDIII are a definite improvement over previous Mamiya 645 series models. As discussed above, handling has been improved in most areas, and there are numerous under-the-hood changes that make the camera more robust, reliable, and faster responding.”

Website: Luminous Landscape - Phase One 645 Review

LAST FEW DAYS TO ENTER! We’ve teamed up with Bogen Imaging to offer three lucky winners the chance to win a Manfrotto Modo 785B tripod and 785 bag, worth a total of £110 / $150. It’s simple to enter - just make sure you subscribe to the PhotographyBLOG Newsletter, and on Tuesday 1st July 2008, three names will be randomly selected to win these great prizes.

Website: Win a Manfrotto Modo Tripod and Bag

Canon have launched a brand new Cashback promotion on the EOS 450D DSLR. Consumers who purchase the EOS 450D in any configuration from 26th June to 4th August 2008 can redeem £50 (€65 ROI) cashback via a promotional claim form. Duplicate claim forms and full terms and conditions of the Cashback promotion can be found at www.canon.co.uk/eos450dcashback . The EOS 450D and Cashback promotion is available from all participating photographic retailers in the UK and Republic of Ireland.

Adobe have released a release candidate version of Camera Raw 4.5 for both Windows and Mac platforms. Version 4.5 includes the following changes:

- Newly supported camera models include:
  * Olympus E 420
  * Olympus E 520

Website: Adobe Camera Raw 4.5 (Windows)
Website: Adobe Camera Raw 4.5 (MAC)

The Guardian MAXimus 300GB 10,000RPM is the fastest and most reliable RAID-1 mirror external storage solution available today. Featuring two 300GB 10,000RPM drives and FireWire 800/400+USB 2.0 interfaces, the Guardian MAXimus writes the same information in real-time “live activity” to two 300GB 10,000RPM drives for a “mirrored” copy. The MAXimus 300GB utilizes the Western Digital VelociRaptor, the fastest SATA drive on the market, with data transfer rates up to 100MB/s, The Guardian MAXimus 300GB 10,000RPM is available now for $899.99.

“The Global Tour: Discovering a World of Images” is a new international touring exhibition of winning photos from this year’s Sony World Photography Awards. The newly curated exhibition began its world tour yesterday, 26 June 2008, with a grand launch at BOZAR Centre of Fine Arts, Brussels. It will later visit galleries in the US, Asia, Australasia, Eastern and Western Europe, Africa and South America. A total of ninety-seven images submitted by the eleven professional category winners will be shown.

Jan Kostal of the Czech Republic is the grand prize winner of the Canon Fan Foto online competition. His image “Muddy Playground, Bangladesh” was chosen by a panel of experts from Canon and Getty Images. Jan Kostal was one of 11 finalists selected by the expert panel, all of whom received a VIP trip to a UEFA EURO 2008 game and a Canon EOS 450D digital SLR camera.