Digital Photography News Archive!
June 2000

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Friday, June 30, 2000

The Sony Mavica line is really one of the kind, and the MVC-FD95 stands out as the top of the line, at least until the CD1000 model ships. Though it's very large and bulky, it's designed extremely well and is very easy to use. The photo quality is generally good, though JPEG compression is obvious in some cases.

The real downer here is the floppy support - you can only store four photos for disc, and it's very slow reading and writing the disc. The optional FlashPath Memory Stick adapter will certainly take care of the capacity problem, but not the speed problem. And with the camera selling for $1000, shouldn't they just give you the FlashPath adapter in the box?"

"As Memory Stick media devices proliferate, we expect the demand for Memory Stick storage products to skyrocket," said Mark Viken, President of Sony Electronics' Personal Network Solutions Company. "Lexar's focus on the digital photography market helps to ensure that Memory Stick media will be available in the channels and retail outlets where photographers shop."

"With the Lexar Memory Stick, we now offer an entire line of digital film products that are designed meet the stringent needs of digital photographers," said Eric Stang, Chief Operating Officer, Lexar Media. "And in the interest in making the Memory Stick media an open standard that is widely accepted, Lexar is proud to be a viable and competitive alternate source."

"Partnering with eframes.com gives our customers the flexibility and convenience of ordering high-quality frames to match their photographic-quality prints," said John Reimer, President and CEO, Lexar Media. "With a few mouse clicks, you can have a framed photograph wrapped in a gift box and delivered in a day. As a gift to loved ones or for oneself, it's an extremely convenient and thoughtful way to share an image."

"A well-framed photograph makes a very heartfelt statement," said Brian Dunham, CEO of eframes.com. "PrintRoom.com customers will soon have the ability to preview their digital image in over 100 quality wood, metal and desk-mount frames."

"The fact that we have surpassed other photo sites in less than two months after launching the Snapfish service is a testament to the tremendous value we offer our customers," said Rajil Kapoor, co-founder, president and CEO of Snapfish. "Snapfish makes it easy for everyone -- regardless of whether they use a 35 mm or digital camera -- to enjoy the benefits of digital photography."

"Mr. Kosovitch's many years of experience in handling the financial operations for high-tech companies are a great asset to assist us in distributing, selling and administering PhotoChannel.Com Limited Partnership," said Geoffrey G. Briant, CEO of PhotoChannel. "Furthermore, his addition increases the Company's focus on our U.S. expansion efforts and overall company growth. He is a welcome addition to our senior management team in the U.S."

"The online photo print service industry is just beginning and PhotoChannel, with its high quality Fuji Frontier Digital Minilab systems, is poised to take advantage of this fast growing sector," said Mr. Kosovitch. "I'm thrilled to be in a position to help by organizing and leading the Limited Partnership sales team's efforts. This financing offers a great opportunity for investors to share in the growth of PhotoChannel through an innovative tax deductible investment opportunity."

"This acquisition enables Zoran to leap forward in digital camera technology," said Dr. Levy Gerzberg, President and Chief Executive Officer of Zoran Corp. "With PixelCam, Zoran intends to offer a digital camera solution for the mainstream market that combines the high-quality, low-power advantage, and flexibility of a CMOS sensor with the sophisticated processing power of our COACH (Camera On A CHip) product."

"For PixelCam, this acquisition means our products can leverage the broad international distribution infrastructure already built and operating for Zoran," said Kevin Brehmer, PixelCam's Founder, President and Chief Executive Officer. "Our PixelCam team can continue to focus on our superior scalable CMOS sensor architecture for providing higher quality images for digital cameras under normal lighting conditions."

"VideoImpression provides a consumer-friendly alternative to complex and intimidating video editing programs," said Joe Bollentini, executive vice president and chief operating officer of ArcSoft. "VideoImpression's intuitive, straight-forward user interface allows for flexible editing and playback, as well as a variety of output options."

"Kodak Professional has been aggressively pursuing opportunities to expand our business while making digital imaging broadly available in the marketplace," said Patrick T. Siewert, Senior Vice President, Eastman Kodak Company, and President, Kodak Professional. "Through this supplier agreement, we're working with a proven leader in business franchising with a very attractive go-to-market model. PixArts' expansion plans mean we are in an excellent position to further extend our brand and our business."

"PixArts is a unique business model that employs digital imaging technology to bring the portrait studio, frame shop, sign store and art gallery all under one roof," DeSio said. "This new franchise provides customers with instant service - similar to Mail Boxes Etc. - for a wide range of photographic products based on digital and traditional imaging solutions. Kodak is delivering those quality photographic solutions for us, and lending its expertise in growing the marketplace for pictures in creative new ways."

"Kodak is committed to making digital photography both easy and accessible," Siewert said. "Now, Kodak and PixArts will empower customers to create their own works of art through the magic of digital imaging. This is another innovative way Kodak is helping to introduce the benefits of digital imaging in the marketplace and all the new uses that exist for photographic images."

"As more and better technology for digital images becomes available, we want to be able to guarantee our customers the best options and quality we can," DeSio said. "By choosing Kodak as a key participant in our franchises, we are guaranteeing our customers the highest quality prints. We recognize that when people think of pictures and imaging, they think of Kodak."

"PhotoIsland.com's new Photo Workshop offers users unprecedented, online interactivity with their photos. Instead of simply viewing their photos, users can warp, twist or morph them for hours of fun. Based on our Web traffic analysis, it makes PhotoIsland.com incredibly sticky -- as much as three times ordinary photo-sharing sites," said Jeff Mandell, president, Internet Services Division at Arcsoft.

Wednesday, June 28, 2000

Click for a bigger picture!

• Effective rating of 2.02 megapixels. 1/2.7 inch 2.11 megapixel square pixel primary color CCD gives 1600 x 1200 or 800 x 600 pixel images. Fine, standard or economy compression. JPEG file format, EXIF version 2.1. File sizes as follows:
  • 1600 x 1200 Fine, 850KB
  • 1600 x 1200 Normal, 600KB
  • 1600 x 1200 Economy, 350KB
  • 800 x 600 Fine, 200KB
  • 800 x 600 Normal, 150KB
  • 800 x 600 Economy, 120KB
  • 320 x 240 Movie, 300KB/second
• 6 - 48mm F3.2 - 3.5 8x optical zoom lens equivalent to 40 - 320mm on a 35mm camera. 9 group, 11 element design. Macro focusing down to 1 centimeter. 4x digital zoom. Tele and wide conversion lenses available. Accepts 43mm filters.
  
• Rotary lens design allows lens to be rotated up/down a total of 270 degrees as compared to the rest of the camera chassis. At 180 degrees, LCD and lens can be pointed at subject at the same time...
  
• 1.8 inch HAST (Hyper Amorphous Silicon TFT) LCD display, 555 x 220 pixels (122,100 pixels total)
  
• Built-in four mode flash (high intensity/off/auto/red eye reduction). External flash connection terminal. Range of 0.5 to 2.5 meters.
  
• USB connectivity (special mini-connector). Included "Photo Loader" software automatically detects camera connection and loads images to computer. Mobile phone connectivity with optional mobile phone connection cable. Compatible with IDO/DDI CdmaOneTM C309H or NTT DoCoMo D502i standards. NTSC and PAL video connectivity.
  
• CompactFlash Type-I and -II storage. MicroDrive compatible, including new 1GB MicroDrive. Can capture up to 1000 images in highest quality 1600 x 1200 mode with a 1GB MicroDrive.
  
• Camera features Program AE (full auto) mode, Shutter and Aperture priority AE modes and Manual mode. Manual control of white balance, flash intensity, focus, exposure compensation +/- 2.0EV in 1/3EV steps, picture quality and metering type (multi-pattern, center-weighted or spot metering).
  
• Shutter speeds 1/2000 second to 60 seconds. Bulb mode allows shutter speeds as low as 60 seconds, with proprietary noise reduction. Combination electronic and mechanical shutter.
  
• Apertures of F3.2, 4.8 or 8. Manual aperture control possible.
  
• Contrast-detection type TTL auto focusing. Manual focus possible. Macro mode and infinity mode with focus locking. Focuses 40cm to infinity at wide angle, 1m to infinity at telephoto in normal mode. Focuses 1cm to 50cm in Macro mode. Optical zoom fixed to 1x to 1.6x in Macro mode.
  
• Auto, four preset manual or fully manual white balance.
  
• Movie capability. Past movie mode records events that occurred before the shutter button was pressed. Movies stored in AVI format, conforming to OpenDML MotionJPEG. Movies recorded at 320 x 240 pixels, up to 16 seconds per movie.
  
• Panorama mode shows edge of previous picture alongside current LCD viewfinder image to assist with taking multiple photos for a panorama.
  
• Self timer from 2 to 10 seconds.
  
• Built-in HTML web page assembly allows photos to be viewed in a web browser. Can also create an HTML "computer image catalog".
  
• 1 second shot-shot time.
  
• 28 preset picture modes, such as "blue sky", "fireworks", "buildings", "beach", "sky", "twilight", "flowing water". Preset modes control aperture, shutter speed / bulb, focus and white balance, for example "fireworks" mode sets focus to infinity and white balance to "outdoor/sunny". Operated by selecting a pre-recorded image similar to the photo you want to take.
  
• Ability to customise the three buttons under the LCD display to control features of your choice.
  
• Delete button allows image to be deleted as soon as it is previewed. Also can delete single images, folders or all images in memory, with image protection.
  
• Icon based graphical menu system.
  
• User setups can be saved. Three slots for saving setups. Saves picture functions and power saving functions.
  
• Compliant with DCF (Design Rule for Camera File System) and DPOF (Digital Print Order Format)
  
• Built-in quartz digital clock; records date and time, calender valid until 2049.
  
• Bundled with PhotoLoader software for transferring images to computer, Panorama Editor for creating panoramas, USB driver, Internet Explorer with Outlook Express for reading web pages and sending photos as email attachments, QuickTime for viewing movies, and Acrobat Reader. Also includes strap, lens cap, cap holder, USB cable, wired remote controller, Lithium battery for remote control, 8MB CompactFlash card, AC adapter, video cable, alkaline batteries (LR6 x 4) and soft case.
  
• Powered by 4 AA NiMH, Alkaline or Lithium Ion batteries, or 2 CR-V3P 3V lithium ion batteries. Capable of 1,560 photos/380 minutes on two CR-3VP batteries, 1200 photos/300 minutes on 4 AA Lithium Ion batteries, 720 photos/180 minutes on 4 AA NiMH batteries, or 480 photos/170 minutes on 4 AA Alkaline batteries. Charger is an optional extra.
  
• Dimensions of 80.5 x 121 x 66mm (4.80" x 3.19" x 2.62")excluding projections. Weighs 295 grams (10.33 oz.)without batteries and accessories.
  
• Ships in the USA in September at a price of US$699.99. Ships in Japan in September, at a price of ¥78,000. 15,000 units per month to be manufactured.

Click for a bigger picture!

• Effective rating of 2.02 megapixels. 1/2.7 inch 2.11 megapixel square pixel primary color CCD gives 1600 x 1200 or 800 x 600 pixel images. Fine, standard or economy compression. JPEG file format, EXIF version 2.1. File sizes as follows:
  • 1600 x 1200 Fine, 850KB
  • 1600 x 1200 Normal, 600KB
  • 1600 x 1200 Economy, 350KB
  • 800 x 600 Fine, 200KB
  • 800 x 600 Normal, 150KB
  • 800 x 600 Economy, 120KB
  • 320 x 240 Movie, 300KB/second
• 6.2 - 18.6mm F2.8 - 4.5 3x optical zoom lens equivalent to 41 - 123mm on a 35mm camera. 7 group, 9 element design. Macro focusing down to 1 centimeter. 4x digital zoom. 43mm filter thread with optional adapter
  
• Rotary lens design allows lens to be rotated up/down a total of 270 degrees as compared to the rest of the camera chassis. At 180 degrees, LCD and lens can be pointed at subject at the same time...
  
• 1.8 inch HAST (Hyper Amorphous Silicon TFT) LCD display, 555 x 220 pixels (122,100 pixels total)
  
• Built-in four mode flash (high intensity/off/auto/red eye reduction). Range of 0.5 to 2.0 meters.
  
• USB connectivity (special mini-connector). Included "Photo Loader" software automatically detects camera connection and loads images to computer. Mobile phone connectivity with optional mobile phone connection cable. Compatible with IDO/DDI CdmaOneTM C309H or NTT DoCoMo D502i standards. NTSC and PAL video connectivity.
  
• CompactFlash Type-I and -II storage. MicroDrive compatible, including new 1GB MicroDrive. Can capture up to 1000 images in highest quality 1600 x 1200 mode with a 1GB MicroDrive.
  
• Camera features Program AE (full auto) mode, Shutter and Aperture priority AE modes and Manual mode. Manual control of white balance, flash intensity, focus, exposure compensation +/- 2.0EV in 1/3EV steps, picture quality and metering type (multi-pattern, center-weighted or spot metering).
  
• Shutter speeds 1/2000 second to 60 seconds. Bulb mode allows shutter speeds as low as 60 seconds, with proprietary noise reduction. Combination electronic and mechanical shutter.
  
• Apertures of F2.8 or 5.6. Manual aperture control possible.
  
• Contrast-detection type TTL auto focusing. Manual focus possible. Macro mode and infinity mode with focus locking. Focuses 10cm to infinity at wide angle, 50cm to infinity at telephoto in normal mode. Focuses 1cm to 50cm in Macro mode. Optical zoom fixed at 1x in Macro mode.
  
• Auto, four preset manual or fully manual white balance.
  
• Movie capability. Past movie mode records events that occurred before the shutter button was pressed. Movies stored in AVI format, conforming to OpenDML MotionJPEG. Movies recorded at 320 x 240 pixels, up to 16 seconds per movie.
  
• Panorama mode shows edge of previous picture alongside current LCD viewfinder image to assist with taking multiple photos for a panorama.
  
• Self timer from 2 to 10 seconds.
  
• Built-in HTML web page assembly allows photos to be viewed in a web browser. Can also create an HTML "computer image catalog".
  
• 1 second shot-shot time.
  
• 28 preset picture modes, such as "blue sky", "fireworks", "buildings", "beach", "sky", "twilight", "flowing water". Preset modes control aperture, shutter speed / bulb, focus and white balance, for example "fireworks" mode sets focus to infinity and white balance to "outdoor/sunny". Operated by selecting a pre-recorded image similar to the photo you want to take.
  
• Ability to customise the three buttons under the LCD display to control features of your choice.
  
• Delete button allows image to be deleted as soon as it is previewed. Also can delete single images, folders or all images in memory, with image protection
  
• Icon based graphical menu system.
  
• User setups can be saved. Three slots for saving setups. Saves picture functions and power saving functions.
  
• Compliant with DCF (Design Rule for Camera File System) and DPOF (Digital Print Order Format)
  
• Built-in quartz digital clock; records date and time, calender valid until 2049.
  
• Bundled with PhotoLoader software for transferring images to computer, Panorama Editor for creating panoramas, USB driver, Internet Explorer with Outlook Express for reading web pages and sending photos as email attachments, QuickTime for viewing movies, and Acrobat Reader. Also includes strap, lens cap, cap holder, USB cable, 340MB IBM Microdrive, AC adapter, video cable, alkaline batteries (LR6 x 4) and soft case.
  
• Powered by 4 AA NiMH, Alkaline or Lithium Ion batteries, or 2 CR-V3P 3V lithium ion batteries. Capable of 1,560 photos/380 minutes on two CR-3VP batteries, 1200 photos/300 minutes on 4 AA Lithium Ion batteries, 720 photos/180 minutes on 4 AA NiMH batteries, or 480 photos/170 minutes on 4 AA Alkaline batteries. AC adapter and charger are optional extras.
  
• Dimensions of 67 x 118 x 54mm (4.68" x 2.66" x 2.14") excluding projections. Weighs 245 grams (8.58 oz.) without batteries and accessories.
  
• Ships in the USA in July at a price of US$799.99. Ships in Japan on July 19, at a price of ¥65,000. 30,000 units per month to be manufactured.

"If you don't need all the bells and whistles that Nikon and Olympus offer and you're not looking for burst shooting speed then the DSC-S70 is a good choice (and you'll save about $100). Indeed Sony appear to have now taken the resolution crown with the highest resolution of any 3 megapixel camera (at the time of writing this review).

Sony are on a good development path, all they need to do now is look at what Nikon and Olympus are offering as far as more manual 'photographic' controls and their cameras will appeal to an even wider audience."

"It's a great honor to have Nikon's Coolpix 990 awarded Best Digital Camera by such a well-respected publication," stated Bill Giordano, National Marketing Manager, Consumer Digital Products at Nikon. "This award is a testimony to Nikon's commitment to introducing exciting new products that set the standard for image quality."

"FotoWire has been called the 'Great Equalizer' by providing a level-playing field for both consumers and labs," said Patrick Serex, CEO of FotoWire Inc. "We enable consumer choice in the online photofinishing marketplace while empowering existing labs to migrate easily into the New World of digital photography -- along with their traditional film customers."

"At Zing, we're committed to providing the very best technology and services to meet the needs of the leading Internet photo community," said Mark Platshon, president and CEO of Zing, Inc. "The PictureIQ Internet Service is a great addition to Zing's services because it delivers on one of the key promises of digital photography -- to give people the freedom to easily transform their photos from the pictures they take to the pictures they want."

"We are pleased to team with Zing to provide PictureIQ's leading technology to their more than 1 million members," said Bill McCoy, president and CEO of PictureIQ Corporation. "By providing users with the easiest way to instantly get better results and expand the creative possibilities of their photos, PictureIQ is providing Zing with increased firepower to grow its industry-leading popularity."

"Our field proven 260MB moveIT drive has already demonstrated how easy it is to back-up and move data around using PC Card storage," said David Ruxton, Director of Product Marketing for Calluna. "Its 1.8 inch hard disk drive technology makes it the most cost effective option in this format and our new 650MB version hits the removable storage capacity sweet spot for the mobile PC user. You can also store all of the data or music recorded on a standard CD and then 'move it' between devices with PC Card sockets where CD players are not installed."

"We developed the support for the Kodak DC290 to give our customers more flexibility and media alternatives when creating their interactive maps," said Ken Burgess, Red Hen Systems' vice president of research and development. "The Kodak DC290 is a megapixel camera that offers more than twice the normal resolution of video cameras."

• Support for GPS-enabled Kodak DC290 digital camera (Garmin receiver or VMS 200)
  
• Support for Trimble-based VMS 200 GPS hardware
  
• Support for laser rangefinders and Red Hen Systems' digital
  compass module
  
• Professional system uses EZdiff differential post-processing
  software for mapping GPS locations with higher accuracy
  
• Registration of raster images for use as background map layers
  
• GPS metadata injection for captured AVI files

• Reviews of digital imagery products such as cameras, scanners, printers, webcams and photo editing software.
  
• CNET's Editors Choice Awards in each category, "to take the guesswork out of deciding which products are winners, and why".
  
• Tips on how to use your digital photography equipment to achieve better results.
  
• Columns from digital photography expert Daniel Grotta.
  
• Email updates on digital photography news.

"In an exciting new market like this, with many kinds of products, it can be overwhelming for people to figure out what to buy," said Richard Marino, President of CNET Networks, Inc. "We've listened to our users, and come up with a unique solution that for the first time gives them all the information they need in one place to help them join the digital photography revolution."

"We have been very focused on our goal of bringing our award-winning image viewer/browser to all digital image users, regardless of the operating system they use," said Doug Vandekerhove, President and CEO of ACD Systems. "ACDSee for Mac is an important landmark in our growth strategy to increase our user base and expand the market penetration of ACD Systems' products across all platforms."

"We believe our Web-enabled eCamera is the next logical step in the evolution of the digital camera", said Gene Wang, chairman and CEO for PhotoAccess. "We are pleased to be partnering with Questra--known for their strong technical expertise, digital imaging know-how and rapid product development capabilities--to deliver on our vision for the next major revolution in digital cameras."

"The opportunity afforded to us by PhotoAccess.com is a true application of our e-Appliance Business philosophy--that of transforming appliances, in this case digital cameras, into Web-enabled devices that can be used to provide a service. This is what the Internet is all about: creating recurring revenue streams around a device. I am extremely pleased with how well both organizations worked together developing this innovative product from concept through realization", said Ken Peters, e-Appliances Practice Manager for Questra.

"We are dedicated to expanding our international presence," said Joseph Bollentini, executive vice president and chief operating officer of ArcSoft. "Our OEM and retail customers are enjoying great success and we want to support them with superior customer service."

"A complete and integrated set of online personal photography capabilities is an important consumer offering for many manufacturers and communities," said Mark Platshon, Zing president and chief executive officer. "The addition of photo services to their sites is a proven way to increase activity and retention of members. This also provides Zing Network Partners with new revenue streams from the sale of 35mm-quality print, enlargement and framing services and personalized gift merchandise."

"We are pleased to join with Zing to offer advertisers multiple ways to reach their audience and consumers an abundance of entertaining content to enjoy," said Jeff Strief, Executive Vice President of Uproar. "Both Uproar and Zing offer highly engaging and sticky content - games and photo services - which has the potential to increase member loyalty, page views and revenues."

"By enhancing ImageStation services, we enhance the potential of every Internet-connected device, whether it's a personal computer, a personal digital assistant or any other net-enabled product," said Jay Sato, vice president of ImageStation for Sony Electronics.

"Sony also recognizes that the definition of an Internet device is changing," said Sato. "People can now connect with the Internet on tiny, compact computers, with personal digital assistants and even tiny cell phones. Each one is a potential device for transferring, sharing and viewing digital images in the future.

ImageStation is an example of Sony's on-going strategy to combine hardware with services and software to create a comprehensive, easy and enjoyable consumer experience," he said.

"The digital camera market is experiencing incredible growth and this trend is expected to continue over the next several years, making storage and management of images a primary focus to a wide range of consumers," said Bruce Albertson, president and CEO, Iomega Corporation. "We are committed to creating user-friendly storage devices that meet the needs created by the technology explosion. We expect this product to be particularly important to the consumer who not only wants to safely store images taken with their digital camera equipment but who also wants the convenience of sharing those images away from the confines of their personal computer."

"One of the most significant advantages of digital pictures is that you get to see them instantaneously," said Bill McCoy, president and CEO, PictureIQ Corporation. "The FotoShow image center, powered by PictureIQ, brings this benefit into the living room, giving consumers an extremely easy way to not only display their pictures on a TV, but to also organize, enhance and be creative with their pictures. Based on the consumer-friendly and cost-effective Iomega Zip drive, the FotoShow image center is a breakthrough product that makes digital photography much more accessible to mass market consumers."

"The FotoShow image center will have tremendous potential for the professional who regularly gives presentations and who wants the opportunity to showcase material without the need for computers or projectors," said Mark Lucas, executive vice president, global marketing and product management, Iomega Corporation. "With this product, the days of having to arrive 15 to 30 minutes before a meeting to set up a presentation, or the need to purchase expensive equipment, will be gone. Presenters will be able to literally `plug and play' their material on available television sets."

"We recognize that in order to continue to be successful, we must develop products with an eye toward technological advances in the vertical markets that our product lines enhance," said Lucas. "Our plan is to introduce a line of products in this category over the next several years that will significantly enhance the digital photography experience."

"Having to connect your digital camera to a PC has been a major obstacle to mainstream adoption of digital photography," said Gene Wang, chairman and CEO of PhotoAccess. "The eCamera reference design provides consumers with the easiest way to e-mail photos and get film-quality prints from a digital camera."

Wang added, "Imagine capturing photographic memories with your eCamera while on vacation, sending your favorite digital images to family and friends and returning home to find photos waiting in your mail box-all without having to connect to a PC!"

"With the advent of the eCamera and PhotoChip, the next generation of digital cameras will offer superior performance with an untethered operation and much faster processing speeds," said Mammad Safai, vice president and general manager of eCamera Systems for PhotoAccess. "We are very pleased to make the eCamera and PhotoChip technologies available and to have the opportunity to contribute toward the next significant step in this rapidly growing market."

• DCA 3000 eCamera development platform
  
• Software development tool kit with programmable graphical user
  interface
  
• Hardware driver tool kit with board support package
  
• VX Works OS Kernal from WindRiver
  
• Software modem driver

Tuesday, June 27, 2000

"PhotoAccess recognizes the value that Kodak, the industry leader in photofinishing and a brand name that consumers trust and believe in, can add to our own products and services," said Gene Wang, chairman and CEO for PhotoAccess. "By offering a premium service option through Print@Kodak, PhotoAccess guarantees its customers the highest-quality prints and services."

"Kodak's goal is to provide consumers with an outstanding experience wherever they shop by offering the highest quality products and services," said Nancy Carr, vice president, Digital and Applied Imaging, Eastman Kodak Company. "This agreement underscores our strategy of being a provider of digital services to the Internet photography industry and making the Kodak brand as well known on-line as it is off-line. We are very pleased that PhotoAccess is one of our first customers."

"Throughout this project, LightSurf has demonstrated the ability to develop simple and elegant interfaces that appeal to the mass-market," said Dennis Hamann, vice president, Consumer Digital Services, Eastman Kodak Company. "By combining the technology of LightSurf, Kodak and PictureVision, the Kodak Picture Center Online will make it easy for consumers to share and enjoy their pictures with friends and family anywhere, anytime."

"We are very pleased with what we have created for Kodak and CVS," said Philippe Kahn, chairman and founder of LightSurf Technologies Inc. "Combining the technology and expertise of Kodak and LightSurf ensures that consumers will be experiencing the absolute best in photo-sharing and printing services."

"By combining the high capacity of the IBM Microdrive with fast methods of data transfer and universal connectivity, we make it possible to download and carry hundreds of digital pictures or hours of CD quality MP3 music along with all of your personal contact information in a very secure way," said Al Conte, Director of Digital Imaging Products at Microtech. "In addition, sensitive documents and important data can be backed-up conveniently via a PC Card slot or USB connection and the Microdrive carried on your person in a shirt pocket or change purse," he added.

"This agreement with Shutterfly is part of a broader initiative we are mounting to help online photo services expand their customer base," said Kevin Strong, senior vice president and general manager of Conexant's Personal Imaging Division. "The acquisition of Sierra Imaging closed earlier this month, which now gives us the opportunity to further extend our image-management software to the online arena. It also gives online services a new way to grow the digital imaging market by making it easier for people to get prints. If you can't find a digital image, you can't use it -- our software helps solve that problem."

"We are extremely pleased to be working with Conexant and Sierra Imaging to offer this new value-added feature on the Shutterfly site," said Jayne Spiegelman, chief executive officer of Shutterfly. "We want to make it easy for consumers to manage their digital images and then transfer them to Shutterfly, and this new alliance is a great leap forward in helping us meet that objective."

"We spent the last few months listening to our customers requests, and understood that high quality film scanning was essential to them," said Jayne Spiegelman, CEO and co-founder of Shutterfly. "The combination of Shutterfly's digital enhancement and printing expertise, along with Kodak's 35mm-film developing expertise will result in the absolute best film scanning offering on the market."

• Printing only the pictures you want.
  
• Sharing your photos online in private, secure, Shutterfly albums.
  
• Enhancing your photos with Shutterfly's new effects and borders.
  
• Sending 35mm-quality prints and enlargements to family and friends all around the world with a single click.

"Online photography companies represent a new channel and revenue stream for Kodak's photo processing and scanning services. We are thrilled to be working with Shutterfly's innovative digital imaging team," said Willy Shih, president, digital and applied imaging, and senior vice president, Eastman Kodak Company. "This relationship is a winning combination, and consumers are sure to benefit from Shutterfly's new film-scanning solution."

• Sign up as a Shutterfly customer at www.shutterfly.com and request film-mailer envelopes. Shutterfly will send you the mailers at no charge.
  
• Return the mailer with 35mm film, APS film or a disposable camera enclosed, using the return address label furnished. After your film is developed, your pictures are scanned and sent to your Shutterfly account. Your negatives are mailed back to you.
  
• Shutterfly will send you an e-mail notifying you when your photos are ready for viewing online.
  
• Order prints and enlargements. No matter what kind of camera you shot your photos with (digital or film), Shutterfly offers the same prices.
  
• Enhance and personalize your photos. Shutterfly claims to be the only service offering unique borders and effects, as well as custom messaging on the back of your prints.
  
• Send prints to friends and family anywhere. It's easy to send photos to multiple people from one single Shutterfly page, and photos can be mailed to the people you care about, all over the world. With Shutterfly's introduction of international shipping as well as international ordering, friends and family have global access to the Shutterfly service.

"The online photography revolution has been great for consumers, but it has focused on people's most recent pictures taken from either traditional or digital cameras," said Gary Christophersen, PhotoWorks President and CEO. "Our customers tell us that they love the services we provide, such as sharing and reprints, but they would like to be able to take advantage of them with photos taken before our service was available. We believe that consumers should be able to use our services with all of their pictures -- whether taken yesterday or 20 years ago."

"The Internet has enabled people to do more with their photos now than ever before," said Christophersen. "Now, PhotoWorks lets you take advantage of all of the resources of online photo services like sharing and albuming, for all of your photos, new or old, whether taken with a digital or film-based camera."

"The digital camera market is growing so quickly that anyone interested in photography needs to learn the essentials of digital," said Kenny Suzuki, Director of Marketing, Olympus Digital & Imaging Systems Group. "Our School goes a long way towards ensuring that amateurs and professionals alike derive maximum benefit from their digital cameras."

"There is a tremendous learning curve for consumers coming in contact with digital photography, and the need for education has never been greater," said Robert DiNatale, School's instructor. "I commend Olympus for recognizing that need and for acting upon it quickly."

• Chicago
  September 16, 2000
  
• New York
  October 28, 2000
  
• Atlanta
  November 18, 2000
  
• Los Angeles
  January 20, 2001
  
• Seattle
  February 17, 2001
  
• Dallas
  March 3, 2001
  
• Boston
  March 24, 2001
  
• Denver
  April 14, 2001
  
• Washington DC
  May 12, 2001

"The Internet has ushered in a new era in digital imaging. Large and small companies that do not have the in-house resources to meet their digital asset management needs are looking for experts in the field to offer solutions," said Mandell. "With ArcSoft's reputation as a trusted partner to the leading manufacturers of digital cameras, scanners and printers, and a pioneer in photo-sharing and archiving on the Internet, we have the technology and know-how to offer advanced and extremely reliable digital imaging solutions."

"With the expected growth of Internet-enabled computers and appliances, we will see increasing usage of photo-sharing and archiving as one of the most entertaining and often used applications among both consumers and businesses," said Mandell.

• Become the leading Application Service Provider for Internet imaging.
  
• Establish vertical image archiving & distribution solutions that enhance productivity and lower costs.
  
• Expand interactive consumer imaging web portals via partnerships and co-marketing.

"Today, information of all kinds is exchanged at an incredibly fast rate, and Quick View Plus 6.0 offers an easy, affordable way to manage this mass of vastly different formats and sources," said Kris Tufto, CEO of Jasc Software. "With Quick View Plus, you don't waste valuable time with files and email attachments you can't open, and you don't have to buy expensive software just to view files. Quick View Plus instantly displays virtually any file, whether you have the associated program on your computer or not. The software also makes it easy to find the files you need fast, without having to launch program after program searching for a specific file. For today's home and office users, Quick View Plus is a sure-fire way to save time and frustration."

• Support for Microsoft Project and Visio files
  
• Navigation with an Explorer-like interface that allows you to visually review files
  
• Quick Compress feature that lets you create your own zip files, making other compression programs unnecessary
  
• Attachment auto-zip feature that lets you compress email attachments automatically if the file size is too large
  
• Support for new formats such as Office 2000, WordPerfect Office 2000, Kodak FlashPix, CorelDRAW 6-8, AutoCAD DXF, Microsoft Outlook messages, and more
  
• Integration with programs such as Internet Explorer 5, Netscape Navigator 4, Outlook 2000, Outlook Express 5, and Adobe Acrobat 4

"Brilliant Wow! will change the perception of digital photofinishing," said John Larish, consultant with Jonrel Consultants. "These photo prints are nothing short of amazing, and provide numerous applications for displaying photographic experiences to friends, family and business associates. ez prints is doing some magic here."

"Imagine sending grandma a life-size photo of her grandson's first taste of chocolate birthday cake, or ordering a photo with your child's image superimposed next to her favorite sports hero -- all with the click of a mouse," said Bob Miller, president and CEO of ez prints. "Digital imaging has held the promise of allowing users to do much more than simply replace 4x6 prints from film. ez prints is delivering on that promise. Brilliant Wow! exploits the power of digital and gives professionals and amateurs an easy and convenient way to create stunning life size photographs."

"I've been extremely surprised that this kind of quality can be delivered with such ease of use and reasonable prices," said Dan Norris, professional photographer and owner of Ancient Images Greeting Cards in Moab, Utah. "Brilliant Wow!'s sharpness and color saturation are equal to or better than prints from slides or negatives."

"At eCircles.com, we are committed to providing our members with the best possible tools and services available on the Internet," said Prescott Lee, co-founder and CEO, eCircles.com. "After examining all the options, we've chosen PictureIQ not simply due to the fact that they have superior image editing and enhancement tools, but a robust scaleable solution to meet the performance needs of a highly trafficked Web site."

"eCircles.com has built its large and growing member base by enabling groups of people to leverage the best of what the Web has to offer to stay connected," said Bill McCoy, president and CEO, PictureIQ Corporation. "The PictureIQ Internet Service enhances the eCircles.com photo experience by giving members a quick and easy way to make their pictures the very best they can be. In addition, PictureIQ's creativity features will enable eCircles.com members to turn their pictures into personalized works of art, resulting in increased member satisfaction and a greater amount of print and reprint transactions."

Ed Moro, SanDisk's director of North American retail sales, said, "Comp USA is committed to the Internet player market and offers consumers a wide choice of player devices and systems. SanDisk is the world's largest supplier of the MultiMediaCard."

"Snapfish customers have high expectations for quality and service for both film-based and digital consumer photography, so Kodak is a perfect partner for Snapfish," said Rajil Kapoor, chairman, CEO and co-founder of Snapfish. "The Print@Kodak service provides our customers the quality and reliability that comes with the Kodak brand."

"Kodak is poised to capitalize on this growth through the breadth, scope and scale of its photofinishing infrastructure, which has the capacity to print nearly 40 million pictures per day," said Kristy Holch, principal, InfoTrends Research Group.

"We're pleased to be adding Print@Kodak to PhotoPoint.com's digital print offerings," noted Ed Bernstein, CEO of PhotoPoint Corporation. "As the Internet's top-visited photo-sharing community, millions of members and visitors use our service to make prints of their favorite online photos. By including the Print@Kodak offering, we're providing additional value and giving consumers the chance to order high-quality prints from the most recognized and trusted brand in photography."

"PhotoAccess recognizes the value that Kodak, the industry leader in photofinishing and the brand that consumers trust and believe in, adds to our own products and services," said Gene Wang, Chairman and CEO for PhotoAccess. "By offering a premium service option through Print@Kodak, PhotoAccess guarantees its customers the highest-quality prints and services."

• 4" x 6" prints - $0.49
  
• 5" x 7" prints - $1.49
  
• 8" x 10" prints - $4.49

"By making Print@Kodak widely available to the digital world--from software and hardware manufacturers to photo and retailer dot-coms--we can capitalize on the growing Internet photofinishing market and strengthen this new channel with Kodak's long association with pictures," said Willy Shih, president, Digital & Applied Imaging, and senior vice president, Eastman Kodak Company. "Print@Kodak can benefit a range of customers, not just those in the photo-sharing category."

"800 EUR for the Epson PhotoPC 850Z will buy you decent camera. With regard to practicability this Epson need not hide from other, more expensive cameras. Considering its good accessories and the extensive contents of the package, the Epson PhotoPC 850Z is considerably good value for money."

"Epson has managed to produce a state-of-the-art digital camera that is still around 250 EUR cheaper than its rivals. When it comes to quality Epson's PhotoPC 3000Z is far from 'cheap' though: the camera's compactness, its uncompromising accessories and good practicability are appealing. The PhotoPC 3000Z is not safe from criticism (e. g. its incompatibility with CF II, the position of the flash and its operation, which is not seen as comfortable by all), but on the whole one can live with these little blemishes – especially considering that far more expensive digital cameras aren't 'perfect' either."

Monday, June 26, 2000

"HP's goal is to provide HP Cartogra.com members with a rich, photo-sharing experience," said Dan Gilbert, general manager of HP's Digital Imaging Solutions. "We chose Ofoto to provide photo-finishing services, enabling our members to receive high-quality photographic prints. As digital imaging and online photo sharing continue to grow, we plan to further develop innovative technologies and strategic alliances to enrich the photo-sharing experiences of our members."

"HP stands for quality printing worldwide, and Ofoto is pleased to be selected as the photographic printing service for HP Cartogra.com," said James Joaquin, president and chief executive officer for Ofoto, Inc. "Our commitment to quality is evident by our investment in online photography's most state-of-the-art digital-photo lab, making Ofoto the clear choice for photo-sharing sites that care about quality."

"For years Tucows has offered its users the opportunity to try the very best software on the Internet and we are now pleased to offer our users the chance to buy as well," said Elliot Noss, President and CEO, Tucows. "ACDSee's cutting-edge technology, worldwide reputation and availability in eight languages has made it the preferred solution for consumers and professionals in the digital imaging industry. We are thrilled to take this partnership to a new level."

"Our new partnership with Tucows will significantly expand the worldwide penetration and user base for ACDSee. It will create greater consumer access to trial and purchase our software," said Doug Vandekerkhove, President and CEO, ACD Systems. "This new partnership allows us to leverage the potential of the Web, including e-commerce opportunities for our products."

"What Future Shop is unveiling today, in tandem with our technology partners at Noritsu of Japan, as well as Eastman Kodak and PhotoLoft in the U.S., is the most revolutionary improvement in consumer photo-finishing since Noritsu itself pioneered one-hour film processing two decades ago," said Kevin Layden, Future Shop's President and Chief Operating Officer. "We see enormous potential in the rapidly growing market for full-service, online and in-store digital photo-finishing, and as Canada's leading retailer and e-tailer of new technology products, Future Shop is ideally positioned to establish a leadership position in this burgeoning market."

"According to a recent AOL/Roper poll of Internet users, photo-sharing on the Web is now the number-one online activity for consumers, ranking ahead of more highly-publicized activities such as stock trading, banking or downloading music," said Jack Marshall, Chief Executive Officer of PhotoLoft. "By linking PhotoLoft's unique online imaging platform with the 50 million-plus customers who visit Future Shop's retail outlets or online store every year, we expect to create a Canadian powerhouse in online digital photo-finishing. The North American market for online and in-store digital photo-imaging, photo-sharing and photo-finishing services is currently estimated at more than $400 million US, and is expected to exceed $5 billion US by 2003, based on analyst estimates. So the market opportunity is substantial."

"Our company shares Future Shop's optimistic outlook on the growth prospects for digital photo-finishing services," said Jerry Klos, Director of Outbound marketing of Retail Digital Lab Systems - Eastman Kodak. "The promise of better-quality pictures and exciting new print and digital products and services, which is being driven by the convergence of film and digital technology, is sure to improve consumer satisfaction and overall interest in photography."

"We believe Future Shop's bricks-and-clicks business model, which provides the convenience and familiarity of neighborhood shopping with the power and flexibility of digital technology and the Internet, made them the ideal partner for pilot-testing our new digital lab," said Mr. Akihiko Kuwabara, President of Noritsu America Corp. "We look forward to expanding our relationship as Future Shop rolls out more of our photo-finishing labs across the country."

"We believe that the growing Internet printing and E-commerce market represents a growth opportunity for Kodak and view NUWAVE's PicturePrep Club as an innovative destination on the web that lets people do more with their pictures," said Nancy Carr, vice president, Digital and Applied Imaging, Eastman Kodak Company.

"This agreement with Kodak marks the beginning of a new and exciting era for NUWAVE. Our innovative technology in digital and analog image enhancement is a perfect complement to Kodak's world-renowned photography expertise. In response to the quickly growing consumer demand for PC-based vibrant quality photo printing, PicturePrepClub.com provides the solution. Our service will allow the enormous online community using digital cameras to order Kodak quality prints from their computer without leaving home," said Jerry Zarin, Chairman and CEO of NUWAVE Technologies.

"We are fortunate to have this opportunity to work with Kodak, a worldwide leader and a brand that consumers associate with high-quality pictures, and look forward to offering this new service to our online customers," added Mr. Zarin.

"Digital photos and cameras are becoming increasingly popular worldwide and consumers are looking for better, easier, more efficient and fun ways to interact with them online," said Mark Hull, senior producer for Yahoo! Photos. "Through our global network, we are affording even more users the opportunity to capture, preserve and share their most precious memories online with friends and family, while using Yahoo! Photos in their preferred language."

• Create and Manage Albums; Yahoo! Photos allows people to create an array of photo albums with up to 25 megabytes of storage space. It's possible to view thumbnail-size shots of the entire album at once, or browse full-size photos individually.
  
• Add Photos; Yahoo! Photos allows people to upload multiple photos at a time whether they use a digital camera, a scanner or film processed to a photo-CD or directly to the Internet. They can add photos stored elsewhere on the Web, photos sent from friends, or photos taken themselves. With Yahoo! Photos, consumers can preview, resize and rotate their photos prior to uploading them.
  
• Share Memories; Album creators can invite friends and family to browse online photo albums. Creators can choose to share their photos with everybody, nobody or a select group of friends.
  
• Send Photos; With the click of a mouse, people can send friends e-mail with links to favorite online photos.
  
• Create Greetings; Simply click on the "send greeting" link from any photo to create an online greeting card, which can be personalized and sent via email to any recipient.

Friday, June 23, 2000

"PhotoLoft, with its photosharing technology and e-commerce solution, was a natural partner for MallCat.com," said MallCat.com CEO Scott Spooner. "Our market is very photo-centric and providing our customers with state-of-the-art technology and a spectrum of interesting photo-personalized gifts is a key item in our continued success."

PhotoLoft Chief Executive Officer Jack Marshall commented, "We have focused our efforts on doing business with best-of-breed Internet destination sites like MallCat.com, as well as with the leading retail photofinishers and minilabs, and professional photographers with image assets. MallCat.com, with its incredible licensing agreements and market presence in one of the fastest growing retail market sectors in the world -- online teens -- is an excellent example of our business strategy at work. Our early success is a tribute to our technology and our team, and I see the company continuing to gain momentum as we move aggressively forward in our target markets."

Thursday, June 22, 2000

Click for a bigger picture!

• Effective rating of 2.02 megapixels. 1/2.7 inch 2.11 megapixel CCD gives 1600 x 1200 or 800 x 600 pixel images. Fine, standard or economy compression. JPEG file format, EXIF version 2.1.
  
• 6 - 48mm F3.2 - 3.5 8x optical zoom lens equivalent to 40 - 320mm on a 35mm camera. 9 group, 11 element design. Macro focusing down to 1 centimeter. 4x digital zoom. Tele and wide conversion lenses available. Accepts 43mm filters.
  
• Rotary lens design allows lens to be rotated up/down a total of 270 degrees as compared to the rest of the camera chassis. At 180 degrees, LCD and lens can be pointed at subject at the same time...
  
• 1.8 inch HAST (Hyper Amorphous Silicon TFT) LCD display, 555 x 220 pixels (122,100 pixels total)
  
• Built-in four mode flash (on/off/auto/red eye reduction). External flash connection terminal. Range of 0.5 to 2.5 meters.
  
• USB connectivity. Included "Photo Loader" software automatically detects camera connection and loads images to computer. Mobile phone connectivity with optional mobile phone connection cable. Compatible with IDO/DDI CdmaOneTM C309H or NTT DoCoMo D502i standards. NTSC and PAL video connectivity.
  
• CompactFlash Type-II storage. MicroDrive compatible, including new 1GB MicroDrive. Can capture up to 1000 images in highest quality 1600 x 1200 mode with a 1GB MicroDrive.
  
• Camera features Program AE (full auto) mode, Shutter and Aperture priority AE modes and Manual mode. Manual control of white balance, flash strength, focus, exposure compensation +/- 2.0EV in 1/3EV steps, picture quality and metering type (multi-pattern, center-weighted or spot metering).
  
• Shutter speeds 1/2000 second to 60 seconds. Bulb mode allows shutter speeds as low as 60 seconds, with proprietary noise reduction. Combination electronic and mechanical shutter.
  
• Apertures of F3.2, 4.8 or 8. Manual aperture control possible.
  
• Contrast-detection type auto focusing. Manual focus possible. Macro mode and infinity mode with focus locking.
  
• Auto, four preset manual or fully manual white balance.
  
• Movie capability. Past movie mode records events that occurred before the shutter button was pressed. Movies stored in AVI format, conforming to OpenDML MotionJPEG. Movies recorded at 320 x 240 pixels, up to 16 seconds per movie.
  
• Panorama mode shows edge of previous picture alongside current LCD viewfinder image to assist with taking multiple photos for a panorama.
  
• Self timer from 2 to 10 seconds.
  
• Built-in web page assembly allows photos to be viewed in a web browser.
  
• 1 second shot-shot time.
  
• 28 preset picture modes, such as "blue sky", "fireworks", "buildings". Preset modes control aperture, shutter speed / bulb, focus and white balance, for example "fireworks" mode sets focus to infinity and white balance to "outdoor/sunny".
  
• Ability to customise the three buttons under the LCD display to control features of your choice.
  
• Delete button allows image to be deleted as soon as it is previewed. Also can delete single images, folders or all images.
  
• Icon based graphical menu system.
  
• User setups can be saved. Three slots for saving setups. Saves picture functions and power saving functions.
  
• Compliant with DCF (Design Rule for Camera File System) and DPOF (Digital Print Order Format)
  
• Built-in clock; records date and time, calender valid until 2049.
  
• Bundled with PhotoLoader software for transferring images to computer, Panorama Editor for creating panoramas, USB driver, Internet Explorer with Outlook Express for reading web pages and sending photos as email attachments, QuickTime for viewing movies, and Acrobat Reader. Also includes strap, lens cap, video cable, alkaline batteries and soft case.
  
• Powered by 4 AA NiMH, Alkaline or Lithium Ion batteries, or 2 CR-V3P 3V lithium ion batteries. Capable of 1,560 photos/380 minutes on two CR-3VP batteries, 1200 photos/300 minutes on 4 AA Lithium Ion batteries, 720 photos/180 minutes on 4 AA NiMH batteries, or 600 photos/180 minutes on 4 AA Alkaline batteries.
  
• Dimensions of 80.5 x 121 x 66mm excluding projections. Weighs 295 grams without batteries.
  
• Ships in Japan September 2000, at a price of ¥78,000 (US$747). 15,000 units per month to be manufactured.

Click for a bigger picture!

• Effective rating of 2.02 megapixels. 1/2.7 inch 2.11 megapixel CCD gives 1600 x 1200 or 800 x 600 pixel images. Fine, standard or economy compression. JPEG file format, EXIF version 2.1.
  
• 6.2 - 18.6mm F2.8 - 4.5 3x optical zoom lens equivalent to 41 - 123mm on a 35mm camera. 7 group, 9 element design. Macro focusing down to 1 centimeter. 4x digital zoom.
  
• Rotary lens design allows lens to be rotated up/down a total of 270 degrees as compared to the rest of the camera chassis. At 180 degrees, LCD and lens can be pointed at subject at the same time...
  
• 1.8 inch HAST (Hyper Amorphous Silicon TFT) LCD display, 555 x 220 pixels (122,100 pixels total)
  
• Built-in four mode flash (on/off/auto/red eye reduction). Range of 0.5 to 2.0 meters.
  
• USB connectivity. Included "Photo Loader" software automatically detects camera connection and loads images to computer. Mobile phone connectivity with optional mobile phone connection cable. Compatible with IDO/DDI CdmaOneTM C309H or NTT DoCoMo D502i standards. NTSC and PAL video connectivity.
  
• CompactFlash Type-II storage. MicroDrive compatible, including new 1GB MicroDrive. Can capture up to 1000 images in highest quality 1600 x 1200 mode with a 1GB MicroDrive.
  
• Camera features Program AE (full auto) mode, Shutter and Aperture priority AE modes and Manual mode. Manual control of white balance, flash strength, focus, exposure compensation +/- 2.0EV in 1/3EV steps, picture quality and metering type (multi-pattern, center-weighted or spot metering).
  
• Shutter speeds 1/2000 second to 60 seconds. Bulb mode allows shutter speeds as low as 60 seconds, with proprietary noise reduction. Combination electronic and mechanical shutter.
  
• Apertures of F2.8 or 5.6. Manual aperture control possible.
  
• Contrast-detection type auto focusing. Manual focus possible. Macro mode and infinity mode with focus locking.
  
• Auto, four preset manual or fully manual white balance.
  
• Movie capability. Past movie mode records events that occurred before the shutter button was pressed. Movies stored in AVI format, conforming to OpenDML MotionJPEG. Movies recorded at 320 x 240 pixels, up to 16 seconds per movie.
  
• Panorama mode shows edge of previous picture alongside current LCD viewfinder image to assist with taking multiple photos for a panorama.
  
• Self timer from 2 to 10 seconds.
  
• Built-in web page assembly allows photos to be viewed in a web browser.
  
• 1 second shot-shot time.
  
• 28 preset picture modes, such as "blue sky", "fireworks", "buildings". Preset modes control aperture, shutter speed / bulb, focus and white balance, for example "fireworks" mode sets focus to infinity and white balance to "outdoor/sunny".
  
• Ability to customise the three buttons under the LCD display to control features of your choice.
  
• Delete button allows image to be deleted as soon as it is previewed. Also can delete single images, folders or all images.
  
• Icon based graphical menu system.
  
• User setups can be saved. Three slots for saving setups. Saves picture functions and power saving functions.
  
• Compliant with DCF (Design Rule for Camera File System) and DPOF (Digital Print Order Format)
  
• Built-in clock; records date and time, calender valid until 2049.
  
• Bundled with PhotoLoader software for transferring images to computer, Panorama Editor for creating panoramas, USB driver, Internet Explorer with Outlook Express for reading web pages and sending photos as email attachments, QuickTime for viewing movies, and Acrobat Reader. Also includes strap, lens cap, video cable, alkaline batteries and soft case.
  
• Powered by 4 AA NiMH, Alkaline or Lithium Ion batteries, or 2 CR-V3P 3V lithium ion batteries. Capable of 1,560 photos/380 minutes on two CR-3VP batteries, 1200 photos/300 minutes on 4 AA Lithium Ion batteries, 720 photos/180 minutes on 4 AA NiMH batteries, or 600 photos/180 minutes on 4 AA Alkaline batteries.
  
• Dimensions of 67 x 118 x 54mm excluding projections. Weighs 245 grams without batteries.
  
• Ships in Japan Ujly 19, at a price of ¥65,000 (US$623). 30,000 units per month to be manufactured.

"Trimble's new architecture enables a broader range of high-volume mobile information platforms to add GPS functionality where size, power, flexibility and cost are key factors," said Dennis Workman, Trimble's vice president of Component Technologies. "We have a mission to make location technology a part of everyday life. These technology advances will make a greater number of consumer applications possible."

• Olympus P-400 A4 Dye Sublimation Printer
  
• Continuous-tone dye-sublimation technology provides photo prints with accurate color reproduction
  
• 7.7 Megapixel maximum resolution
  
• 16.7 million colors (8 bit/color)
  
• 8.25" x 11.7" print size / 8" x 10" photo size
  
• 90-second printing speed
  
• Clear laminate layer protects your prints
  
• Printing via Parallel Port, USB, SmartMedia, PC card, CompactFlash, MemoryStick, or directly from a PC
  
• Printing modes
  • Full size (8.25" x 11.7"; from 1 up to 16 images per page)
  • Card (2 or 4 postcards per page)
  • Photo-album (1- 6 images per page with background image)
  • Index (45 - 260 images per page)
• Full-color, black & white and sepia filters
  
• Trimming, frame, background and stamp functions
  
• LCD Panel for checking and selecting images
  
• Print selection of up to 50 copies at a time
  
• 1 color cartridge supports 50 sheets of paper
  
• Footprint: 30" high x 17" wide x 17" deep
  
• Cost per print: $1.90
  
• Suggested list price: $999

"Our dedication to providing customers with state-of-the-art digital imaging products and superior customer service is what has been the backbone to our success", said Patrick Lin, President and CEO of Xirlink, Inc. "I congratulate the entire Xirlink team on this achievement, and look forward to shipping our second million!"

Wednesday, June 21, 2000

"The Canon PowerShot S100 Digital ELPH really is in a class by itself -- there are no cameras even close to it in size. The PowerShot S20 and Fuji FinePix 4700 are the closest competitors, but they're "much" larger (and more expensive) than the ELPH. If you can find one, go to your local reseller to try it out before you buy! You can't really go wrong with this tiny wonder - just ask all its fans at my office!"

"On the whole, the FinePix 1400 Zoom is a great camera for the price. If you’re in the market for a digital camera and you don’t need 2+ megapixel images, you ought to seriously look at it. I might have been skeptical of this low-end camera when I began this review, but now, at the end of the review process, I’m a believer."

Tuesday, June 20, 2000

• Sony DSC-S70 first look updated to a full review
  
• More sample photos from Sony's MVC-CD1000
  
• Beginnings of the Minolta RD-3000 Samples page posted
  
• Sony Mavica MVC-FD95 review posted
  
• Epson PhotoPC 3000Z first look posted

Click for a bigger picture!

"Using the new Microdrive, a company's entire multimedia product catalog - as well as a suite of powerful e-business applications - can be carried around in a shirt pocket," said Michael Kuptz, director, IBM Microdrive Products. "Such vast capacity in such a compact size will dramatically change the way information technology and consumer electronics devices are designed and used, helping accelerate the worldwide adoption of pervasive computing."

• Use high-performance, time-proven hard-disk-drive technology to store information.
  
• Have a much lower cost-per-megabyte and hold more content than alternate small-format storage technologies.
  
• Fit into the industry-standard CF+ Type II slot that has become popular in many handheld devices. They can also be paired with a PC Card (PCMCIA) adapter for use with notebook computers, or with a variety of USB readers that can plug into most desktop PCs.
  
• Provide affordable retail pricing -- Prices to be offered to consumers who purchase from IBM's Shop IBM Website by this Fall for the 512 MB Microdrives are $399 and 1GB Microdrives are $499.

• Sustained data rate is improved, so the drive draws less power from the host device, thus extending battery life.
  
• Improved non-operating shock rating by 50 percent (from 1,000 G to 1,500 G). This is a measure of how rugged the drive is when turned off or not in use.

"Scanner users are becoming increasingly photo-centric, and many are searching for ways to share their images with friends and family," said Janet Kauffman, research analyst at InfoTrends Research Group. "The explosion of commercial online photo sharing communities over the past year has helped consumers realize the variety of applications for which scanners are suited. Scanners have become an easy and inexpensive bridge from printed photos and documents to the digital realm."

"The Digimarc MediaBridge system is an innovative and useful application for PC cameras," said Don Whiteside, General Manager of Intel's Connected Product Division. "The technology provides an easy way for people to access the information they want on the Internet. Adding dynamic capabilities like this to our PC camera line coincides perfectly with our objective to always enhance the customer experience. We are pleased that our cameras will play a significant role in launching this technology."

"Digimarc MediaBridge represents a new paradigm in access to the World Wide Web," said Digimarc CEO Bruce Davis."Three million new pages are added to the Web daily, and URLs have grown to be hundreds of characters long in some cases. Soon it will not be feasible to simply type in a Web address. Consumers will increasingly turn to digital PC cameras to directly access the information they need."

"Digital cameras need to become more user friendly by mimicking the ready-to-go nature of traditional film cameras. Similarly, they should provide photo consumers with a very simple and quick way to get photographic prints and share them without having to use a PC," said Mammad Safai, vice president and general manager of eCamera Systems at PhotoAccess.com."The PhotoChip's superior performance, high-quality and flexible architecture makes it an ideal candidate for digital camera manufacturers that want to put digital cameras out onto the market quickly. With our PhotoChip reference design, digital camera designers can provide a family of cameras by simply changing sensor boards and firmware."

• Support for multiple storage media and display types
  
• Capable of operating 8, 10 or 12 bit data
  
• Self-contained sequencer to drive any CMOS or charge coupling device (CCD) sensors as large as 9 million pixels
  
• No need for separate chip/timing generator to drive sensors
  
• Capable of mapping any CCD to LCD just by reprogramming the PhotoChip
  
• Incorporates Photo Response Non-uniformity Correction (PRNU) as well as Gamma, Linearity and Color Matrix corrections
  
• Capable of raw data, .bmp, and .jpg outputs

"NewsDX.com will revolutionize the way newspapers manage their digital assets, while enabling them to have much greater access to photos taken from hotspots around the world," said Jeff Mandell, president, Internet Services Division, ArcSoft, Inc.

"Until now, a powerful yet affordable archiving system for the newspaper industry did not exist. NewsDX.com delivers what the industry needs and helps put news organizations in control of their digital photo assets," said Alan Fischer, President of PSI, a leading distributor of film, chemistry, supplies and photographic equipment to the newspaper and publishing industry.

"Many compelling photos by known photographers never get published due to limited channels to media markets," said Bradley Wilson, executive director of the National Press Photographers Association (NPPA). "NewsDX.com creates an online market for media outlets and press photographers to buy and sell countless images that until now have had no avenue to the news photo pipeline. The increased access to press photos will enable media outlets to exercise greater latitude to choose the best news photo to complement the corresponding story."

Monday, June 19, 2000

Click image for a bigger picture!

Friday, June 16, 2000

"Now that the Snapfish service is launched, we're kicking off a comprehensive marketing campaign to get the word out to families who can use our service to capture and share fun summer memories," said Melissa Barritt Felder, Snapfish vice president of consumer marketing. "In addition to free processing, free prints and free online sharing, now we're offering a chance to win some fantastic prizes."

• Grand Prize - Snapfish will award one trip to Orlando, Florida for four people, including airfare, five days and four nights of hotel accommodations, theme park passes, rental car and spending money.
  
• Monthly Prizes - Snapfish will choose one winner per month for three months to win two plane tickets to any destination within the continental United States.
  
• Weekly Prizes - Every week through September, one entrant will win their choice of a digital or film camera, (Canon Powershot Digital Camera Deluxe Kit, or a Canon EOS Rebel 2000 Date Deluxe Camera Kit and film) each valued at more than $700.

"Our strong presence in the home page builder arena is an excellent example of the success of our business strategy in this segment of the overall online marketplace," said PhotoLoft Chief Executive Officer Jack Marshall. "We are delighted to be working with Max Pages, which serves to solidify our position as the premier provider of turnkey web-based digital-imaging infrastructure solutions. I am confident PhotoLoft will continue to make strong progress in the online photosharing market, while we are also making excellent inroads in the traditional photofinishing market including minilabs, and other processors of conventional film, and the professional photography arena. To my knowledge, no other company today offers such a complete solution with an integrated e-commerce capability and open platform architecture."

"We are very excited about integrating PhotoLoft's imaging technology with Max Pages' Free Web Site Design Tools," said Max Pages Chief Executive Officer Bill MacLeod. "PhotoLoft is the industry leader in large scale image management. Max Pages provides the best web site design tools. By teaming with PhotoLoft, we expect to double the size of our community in six months."

"We are very pleased to be able to provide Pixami's products to PhotoWorks.com," said Tom Moore, President of Pixami. "Pixami was founded to provide advanced functionality to photo sites to help them attract users, increase site stickiness, and generate additional revenue. PhotoWorks.com is the perfect partner to showcase our technology. It is a great relationship all around."

Thursday, June 15, 2000

• 2.1 megapixel, 1600x1200
  
• 16MB SDRAM buffer
  
• 1.2 secs shot to shot, 3fps burst
  
• QuickTime movie 15fps
  
• TTL connector cord
  
• 10 Optical, image-stabilized zoom, 38-380 mm equivalent, 7-70mm actual
  
• 2 aspherical glass elements. f/2.8 to f/3.8, 7-bladed aperture
  
• Manual focus, 240 steps
  
• Digital ESP metering, spot metering with 8 area selection
  
• 1.8" wide view high res LCD SLR design, but electronic viewfinder
  
• Manual, Shutter, Aperture, programmed, special program mode - portrait, sports, landscape, night scene
  
• +/- 2EV comp in 1/3 steps; Aperture & shutter in 1/3 steps
  
• White balance IESP
  
• ISO 100, 200, 400, auto
  

Front View. Click on the image to see a larger view.


Back View. Click on the image to see a larger view.

Wednesday, June 14, 2000

Tuesday, June 13, 2000

Monday, June 12, 2000

Friday, June 9, 2000

Thursday, June 8, 2000

Thanks to Steve's Digicams for the heads-up about this exciting new underwater housing!

Stay tuned for additional details as they become available!
Source: Steve's Digicams

Wednesday, June 7, 2000

LuraWave SmartCompress Lite is free for non-commercial use and may be upgraded to a Professional version with added password protection and area of interest compression features for $19. LuraWave SmartCompress Lite is the only free software application to offer a scalable, lossless to lossy image format. In contrast to previous releases, LuraWave SmartCompress Lite and Professional have no restrictions on importable file sizes.
Source: LuraWave SmartCompress Lite Freeware

Steve's Digicams Posts Sony DSC-S70 First Look
By David Etchells, The Imaging Resource
(Wednesday, June 7, 2000 - 22:39 EDT)

Our friend Steve over at Steve's Digicams has posted a first look at the Sony DSC-S70.

Steve notes:

"This camera is going to give the Nikon and Olympus 3-megapixel cameras a run for their money. The Carl Zeiss lens and 12-bit A/D processing yields sharp and colorful images and the camera is easy and fun to use."
Source: Steve's Digicams Sony DSC-S70 First Look

PC World names Nikon Coolpix 990 best Digital Camera for 2000
By David Etchells, The Imaging Resource
(Wednesday, June 7, 2000 - 22:20 EDT)

PC World named Nikon's Coolpix 990 the best digital camera in its Best Products of 2000 tome in the July 2000 issue. See our review of the camera for detailed information.
Source: PC World

June edition of Megapixel.net's digital imaging Web magazine
By David Etchells, The Imaging Resource
(Wednesday, June 7, 2000 - 21:59 EDT)

Megapixel.net has released the June edition of their digital imaging Web magazine. The edition has reviews of Fuji's FinePix 4700, Toshiba's PDR-M70, Sony's MVC-FD95 and others. Several interesting articles about digital imaging make this edition a good read.
Source: Megapixel.net

HP announces new entry-level inkjet
By David Etchells, The Imaging Resource
(Wednesday, June 7, 2000 - 21:41 EDT)

Hewlett-Packard has introduced a new easy-to-use inkjet printer targeted toward families and first-time printer buyers. The HP DeskJet 648C, which started shipping yesterday, has a price tag of $119 (US).

The printer has both USB and parallel ports and prints at up to 6 pages per minute (ppm) for black text and up to 3 ppm for color.

It also has a dual print cartridge so that printing in either black & white or color can occur, all without swapping cartridges.

The printer comes with ColorSmart technology, which automatically selects the optimal color or grayscale tone for smoother skin tones and sharper images as well as more vivid color palettes.
Source: Yahoo! BusinessWire

Tuesday, June 6, 2000

Click images above for a bigger picture!

Click images above for a bigger picture!

• CCD Resolution: 2.1 megapixel
  
• Image Resolution: 2.0 megapixel (High 1760 x 1168, Standard 896 x 592)
  
• Image Quality Settings: Best, Better, Good
  
• Image Storage: COMPACTFLASH Card
  
• Viewfinder: Real-image optical viewfinder
  
• LCD: 1.8" for preview and review
  
• Lens: Auto focus 2X optical zoom and threads for optional lenses
  
• Digital Zoom: 3x digital zoom
  
• Lens Focal Length: f6.5-f13 (30-60 mm in 35 mm equivalent)
  
• Focus Distance: Regular (.5M-infinity); Macro (1/4-1/2 meter)
  
• Exposure: Auto, or manual override (+/-2 EV in 0.5-EV increments)
  
• Shutter Speed: 1/2 sec. - 1/755 sec.
  
• Aperture Range: Wide: f3.0 – f7.6; Tele: f3.8 – f9.6
  
• ISO Equivalent: 100
  
• Self-timer: 10 seconds
  
• Tripod Mount: Standard
  
• Flash: Strobe flash (auto, fill, red-eye, off) to 9.8 feet (3.0 meters)
  
• File Format: JPEG/EXIF
  
• Video Out: NTSC/PAL (user-selectable)
  
• Special Effects: Three B/W modes, sepia mode, borders, video, NTSC/PAL
  
• Interface: USB, serial, CompactFlash card
  
• Power: 4 AA batteries (included) with AC adapter/charger (optional) or rechargeable batteries (optional)
  
• Dimensions: WxDxH (mm) 140 x 89 x 83
  
• Certifications: FCC, CE, Ctick, IEC 529 Class 4
  
• Weight: Without batteries 1.0 lbs (459 grams)
  
• Warranty: One year
  
• Bundled with COMPACTFLASH Card (size unspecified), 4 KODAK Alkaline batteries, USB Cable, Serial cable for Windows, Macintosh serial adapters, Video cable, Quick start setup guide, user’s guide, and registration card, Lens cover, Lens filter, Neck strap, Software CD
• Available in late June; price unspecified

Click images above for a bigger picture!

• CCD Resolution: 3.3 megapixels
  
• Image Resolution: 3.1 (2160 x 1440), 2.2 (1800 x 1200), 1.6 (1536 x 1024), .8 (1080 x 720) MP
  
• Image Quality Modes: 3.1 MP (uncompressed), 3.1 MP, 3.1 MP (highly compressed), 2.2 MP, 1.6 MP, 0.8 MP, Custom resolution (either of 2M, 1M, or 0.5M, highly compressed)
  
• Image Storage: COMPACTFLASH Card
  
• Viewfinder: 1.8" LCD, Optical real image viewfinder with AF frame; Field of View: 90%; Diopter Adjustment: -1 +/-2 diopter
  
• Finder Eyepiece: Exit pupil: 5 mm diameter; Eye point: 12 mm (from top of eyepiece frame); Semi-Field-Angle: 10.5 degree (diagonal)
  
• Lens: 3X optical zoom capability,; 28-84 mm f2.8-4.5 (35 mm film equiv.); 2X digital zoom, power zoom with two driving speeds; mechanical shutter and apertures; 43 mm lens with adapter (optional)
  
• Digital Zoom: 2x digital zoom
  
• Auto Focusing: TTL Video-AF, single AF only (no continuous AF); Spot AF only, 0.5 m-Infinity (standard distance mode); 0.2 m-0.5 m (near distance mode); less than 1.5 sec. to focus lock
  
• Focus Distance: Regular: close and infinity; Macro: close and infinity
  
• Exposure: Auto, or manual override (+/-2 EV in 0.5-EV increments);
  automatic white balance and exposure lock
  
• Exposure Control: Full Range: (16s @ f2.8 to 1/1000s @ f8); AE Range: (1/8s @ f2.8 to 1/1000s @ f8); Program AE; Manual Aperture Priority AE (f2.8, f5.6, f8); Manual Shutter (1/2s-1/1000s); Long time exposure mode (0.7 - 16 sec.); Exposure Compensation: +/-2EV with 1/2 EV step, @AE mode only
  
• White Balance: Auto, Daylight (5500k), Tungsten (semi auto), FL (semi auto), Manual (one push hold and selectable color temperature, 2500-10,000 Kelvin)
  
• Shutter Speed: 16s – 1/1000s
  
• Aperture Range: Wide: f2.8, f5.6, f8
  
• Tele (where applicable): f2.8, f5.6, f8
  
• ISO Equivalent: 100, 200, and 400 (selectable)
  
• Self Timer: 10 seconds
  
• Tripod Mount: Standard
  
• Flash: Strobe flash (auto, fill, red-eye, off) to 10 feet (3.2 meters wide, 2 meters at tele)
  
• File Format: TIFF/JPEG/EXIF
  
• Video Out: NTSC/PAL (user-selectable)
  
• Special Effects: Three B/W modes, sepia mode, neutral mode,
  saturated mode, burst, video, NTSC/PAL
  
• Interface: USB, PC card
  
• Power: Lithium-ion rechargeable with AC adapter/charger included for in-camera charging
  
• Dimensions: WxDxH (mm) 120x65x69
  
• Weight: Without batteries (ounces): 11.45; Without batteries (grams): 320
  
• Warranty: One year
  
• Burst capture: Max # of pictures (at different resolutions) - 4 pictures at highest, 16 at lowest
  
• Click to Click: Maximum 5 pictures with 2.0 sec interval (target: 5 pictures)
  
• Burst Frame Rate: Between 2 and 5 fps
  
• Preview Frame Rate: 15-30 fps
  
• Bundled with Neck strap, Lens cover, COMPACTFLASH card (size unspecified), Lithium-ion battery and AC adapter for in-camera charging, USB cable for use with WINDOWS and MACINTOSH systems, Video out cable for viewing pictures on TV, KODAK software CD, Quick start setup guide, user’s guide, and registration card
  
• Available in August 2000; price unspecified

Monday, June 5, 2000

"Two days ago I had a call from a frantic client (a printer) about a Jaz disk that had 3 years worth of critical files on it that wouldn't mount. I tried to mount his disk , only to get a response that I would have to format it first. After 2 unsuccessful attempts, I got an error message about my cartridge having reached its end of life!

"End of life?" I say to myself, what the [explicit] is end of life? As I looked through the Iomega help files I found an interesting tidbit: 'Disk Life indicates when a disk should be retired or replaced. The Disk Life Remaining, and Format Life Remaining, indicators found on the Disk Information window provide critical information needed to decide when to reinitialize or retire a Zip or Jaz disk. Iomega recommends that you periodically check Disk Life remaining, and Format Life Remaining, on all Zip and Jaz disks.'

My disk is now not regonized by any utility! They won't even recognize that it is in the drive. However, when I check it with the iomega tools, it shows that very same disk as having 0% Life Remaining. And when I check his disk it also shows as having 0% Life Remaining.

The next day, as I traveled around town, I was telling my clients, and checking their disks. Many had disks that had less that 50 per cent Life Remaining, and nobody knew of this feature! Everybody would be seriously damaged if their disks suddenly unexpectedly stopped working."

Friday, June 2, 2000

"Samsung, Matsushita and JVC represent a combined 60 percent of the global market for camcorders, solidifying Kopin's position in this burgeoning segment," said Dr. John C.C. Fan, Kopin's president and chief executive officer. "These orders demonstrate that we have proven our ability to manufacture and deliver the CyberDisplay in volume, to the exacting standards of some of the world's leading consumer electronics companies."

In-Yong Choi, Samsung's general manager of Camcorder Purchasing, Personal Digital Media Business Team said, "I can say that it was an excellent choice for Samsung to select the Kopin CyberDisplay, which improves productivity of our viewfinder assembly factory and enables a more compact design. The lower power consumption of the display is the additional benefit for our camcorder application. This year we will continue to increase the volume of Kopin's displays for the production of our existing models. In 2001, we plan to integrate them into our new 8mm camcorder models and also in a significant portion of new digital camcorder models. We expect that Samsung and Kopin can establish a strategic alliance for further development of camcorder technology."

Il-joong Jeon, Samsung's general manager of Camcorder R & D, Personal Media Business Team said, "The Kopin CyberDisplay has increased our production efficiency by decreasing the number of components used in our manufacturing process. We hope to extend further cooperative relationships with Kopin in order to keep up the Kopin CyberDisplay technology for our consumer product applications."

Tom Moore, Image Software's departing president who made today's announcement, said, "Mr. James is highly suited to the role of guiding Image Software as we move forward in the rapidly expanding digital imaging marketplace. Mr. James comes to Image Software with over twenty years experience as a senior executive with high technology companies including, Xerox PARC, i-O Display Systems and Ingram Micro, as well as providing technology commercialization and market penetration strategies on a consulting basis to both military agencies and civilian companies working in the areas of communications, microchip development, simulation, virtual reality and display technologies. Mr. James has broad experience in technology product development and marketing as well as in the management of high growth companies. We are very pleased that he has joined the Image Software team."

James said, "At Image Software we have the structure to develop a broad range of applications to fit a variety of project requirements and customer needs, from the development of custom applications designed around a set of features defined by our partners, to private branding of generic imaging applications with customized user interfaces, to the development of utilities, drivers or 'mini-apps,' designed to meet specific imaging or visualization requirements."

James went on to say, "We understand that in today's world, short product life cycles, modest budgets and development resources combined with competitive pressures and slim margins make technology product development and manufacturing extremely challenging. At Image Software, we are dedicated to providing our partners with cost effective yet state-of-the-art software applications to meet their project and customer needs with a minimum expenditure of internal resources, both human and capital. Image Software is both flexible and experienced in developing projects that fit into today's environment of rapidly advancing technology and changing business models. We have a significant technical capability, multiple platform experience and an extensive and well tested code base that will allow us to meet our partners' needs, budgets and timelines. I am very proud to have the opportunity to work with this remarkable team."

Thursday, June 1, 2000

• Fuji FinePix 40i
  
• 2.4 megapixel SuperCCD gives images up to 2400 x 1800 pixels
  
• Fixed focal length lens equivalent to 36mm on a 35mm camera. Built-in automatic lens cover. Focuses to 50cm in Auto mode, or 6cm in Macro mode.
  
• SmartMedia storage. Uses SmartMedia ID media for copy-protected MP3 audio
  
• USB connectivity (MP3 files must be recorded to the device through the USB connection
  
• Headphone cable-type remote control with play/stop, cue forward/backward and volume up/down buttons and LCD info display
  
• Automatic or manual exposure and white balance
  
• Video capability with sound, up to 80 seconds in 320 x 240 pixel resolution, 10 frames per second. AVI format file with MotionJPEG codec.
  
• Uses two NiMH or NiCad AA batteries. Battery life of 150 minutes for MP3 audio only.
  
• Aluminum/Magnesium alloy body in silver, blue or pale pink
  
• Dimensions of 85.5 x 28.5 x 71.0 millimeters
  
• Weighs 210 grams including batteries and media

"The traditional photofinishing and professional photographic industries have strong pent-up demand for a click-and-mortar solution and I believe PhotoLoft is the only company today that can provide a comprehensive suite of infrastructure technologies," Marshall explained to the assembled group. "Their customers are demanding the ease of an Internet solution whereby photofinishers can digitize, upload and display high quality images on the web, so that their customers can select and order photo prints and photo personalized merchandise. Minilab and retail photofinishers, in-store and in-school portrait photographers, wedding and event photographers all have businesses rooted in conventional film and fulfillment. To compete and grow, they need a turnkey web-based solution with the integrated e-commerce capability and open platform architecture that PhotoLoft provides and which is positioned to become the industry standard.

Add to those two markets the rapidly growing Internet-based photosharing communities and the migration from conventional film to digital cameras, and PhotoLoft is addressing a combined market -- directly or through its customer joint ventures -- estimated at $419 million in 2000 and growing to $5.6 billion in 2003, based upon leading industry analyst projections," Marshall added.

• Retail Photofinishers - PhotoLoft's DealerLoft product provides backbone technology needed by the minilabs and retailers to provide photo-finishing by uploading images and allowing customers to choose, click and order prints.
  Orders are fulfilled at either a central lab or are routed back to the originating lab for fulfillment. The DealerLoft solution offers retail photofinishers various levels of branding and control of their environment. The online portion of this market segment is estimated to be $4 billion in gross revenues by 2003.
  
• Professional Photographers with Image Assets - PhotoLoft offers a number of products to meet this demand, depending upon the specific needs of the photographer. By 2003, revenues generated in the market segment are projected to total $1.3 billion.
  
• Online Destination sites - Web sites choosing to include photo-sharing as a product for their members can utilize PhotoLoft's unique co-brand or private label products to provide members with photo-sharing and e-commerce capabilities. This technology can be integrated into the "host" web site in a variety of ways. It is expected that this market segment will grow to $284 million in gross revenues by 2003.

"PhotoLoft offers a complete spectrum of products within each of these market segments, providing the right solution for each partners' needs," Marshall elaborated. "We're signing up customers rapidly, giving them the capability to meet their consumer demand for online digital imaging technology. I expect to begin reporting solid progress on this strategy in the weeks ahead."

"The viral nature of online photo sharing will continue to expose more consumers to digital imaging and Web-based photo exchange," said Lia Schubert, research analyst at InfoTrends Research Group. "The study indicates that once consumers learn about these services, they express interest in trying them for themselves. This effect is driving rapid adoption of new digital photo services."

AOL Alert: Several readers connecting via AOL have complained of poor image quality when using the AOL web browser. This is caused by a setting called "compress images" in the browser that causes it to completely mangle images in the interest of faster transmission. You should turn this setting OFF before viewing any of the comparison images on this site.

• FLASH: Thanks to reader Lynn Mannan, here's an explanation of how to make the correct settings adjustments (at least in AOL 4.0 for PCs):
  • I opened the "My AOL" preferences screen in the toolbar across the top. Then I clicked on WWW icon and selected the "web graphics" tab where I unchecked the "compressed graphics" choice and clicked on the Apply button at the bottom. Now the scanner test pictures are gorgeous. The pictures take a long time to load. But they are worth waiting for. Thank you, Lynn!