Digital Photography News Archive!
July 2000

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Monday, July 31, 2000

"Elura 2MC is a perfect example of how Canon technology is constantly raising the bar," said Nelson Chan, senior vice president of worldwide sales and marketing at SanDisk. "Canon is pushing the limits of miniaturization, style and functionality, packing multiple shooting modes and storage media into a revolutionary new camcorder size."

Mike Zorich, senior marketing manager, video products, Canon U.S.A., Inc., said, "The Elura 2MC expands imaging versatility by recording still images on the standardized MultiMediaCard. This rugged, ultra-light media -- the size of a postage stamp -- makes it easy to store, retrieve, view and download images to a personal computer or printer."

"By introducing this innovative new film scanner, Minolta is raising the standards for high-quality desktop scanning," said Dan Sullivan, ASF's president and CEO. "We are proud that Minolta is expanding its offering of our technology by selecting Digital ROC and Digital GEM to enhance their versatile new Dimage Scan Multi II film scanner. We are particularly pleased that Minolta is offering its existing owner base the opportunity to upgrade their scanners with advanced technology from ASF. We feel our on-going relationship with Minolta will continue to provide end users with cutting-edge solutions for enhanced digital imaging."

"We are delighted to offer increased film scanner versatility to our customers by incorporating Applied Science Fiction's Digital ROC and Digital GEM technologies into our new Dimage Scan Multi II," said Jon Sienkiewicz, vice president of marketing, Consumer Products Group, Minolta Corporation. "Photographers around the world who depend on quality output for the work they do will be pleased with the time-saving solutions provided by the Dimage Scan Multi II and ASF's Digital ROC and Digital GEM software technologies."

"It is a great honor to win this award," said Per Save, Agfa Vice President of the Consumer Digital Imaging Group. "The DuoScan HiD represents a full range of scanners that gives professionals powerful imaging capability with an almost immediate return on investment."

Gary T. DiCamillo, chairman and chief executive officer, said, "Neal brings a forward thinking leadership style to our executive team. He has made significant contributions to strengthening our Law Department, providing strong counsel on corporate strategic initiatives. He has also enhanced the effectiveness of our corporate governance processes, especially with the board of directors. I look forward to Neal continuing to exert his well-reasoned, action-oriented perspective upon our corporate strategic and operational activities."

• Toshiba PDR-M70 digital camera
  
• 1/1.8 inch 3.37 megapixel CCD gives image at 2048 x 1536 or 1024 x 768 pixels; EXIF 2.1 JPEG
  
• 3x all-glass aspheric optical zoom lens, F2 - 2.5, 8 elements in 7 groups, equivalent to 35-105mm on a 35mm camera; macro focusing down to 8 inches; 2x digital zoom
  
• 1.8 inch TFT backlit LCD display, (wider vertical viewing angles), 122,000 pixels
  
• Built-in five mode flash (auto, on, off, slow-sync, red-eye reduction, fill-in); range 8 inches to 13.3 feet
  
• USB (PC/Mac compatible) and NTSC/PAL video out connectivity
  
• SmartMedia storage (2 to 6MB; upgradeable to 128MB)
  
• Automatic exposure control with exposure compensation +/- 1.5EV in 0.3EV steps; shutter priority and aperture priority AE modes
  
• Shutter speeds 1/2 to 1/1000 second (with mechanical shutter)
  
• Automatic and four-mode manual white balance (outdoor, incandescent, fluorescent I and II)
  
• ISO 100, 200 and 400 ratings
  
• Approx 1.5 seconds recycle time between shots, less than one second between images in playback, less than three seconds startup time
  
• Multi-shot mode records 36 shots in 1, 15 shots per second
  
• Movie mode records up to 120 seconds at 15 frames per second
  
• Self timer (2 or 10 seconds)
  
• Long exposure mode (1, 2, 4 or 8 seconds)
  
• Playback single frame, slide show, 9-in-1 thumbnails, movie, audio or 1.6x/3.2x playback zoom
  
• Weighs 14.1 ounces with batteries, dimensions of 116mm x 76mm x 62mm
  
• Bundled with USB cable (Mac/PC), video out cable, neck-strap, 16MB SmartMedia card, soft case, lens cap, rechargeable Lithium Ion battery with AC Adapter, and multi-platform CD software from Sierra Imaging for accessing, managing and enhancing digital photos

Atmel's Director of Multimedia and Communications Products, Nick Kanopoulos remarked, "It takes still pictures, it displays video, it records/plays back voice memos and it is simply the most integrated camera processor in the market today."

"We're thrilled to be entering into this agreement with the country's premier photography retailer," noted Ed Bernstein, CEO of PhotoPoint. "As a result of this relationship, we're bringing a new class of products and services to PhotoPoint.com members, Wolf is benefiting from the more than 2 million people who visit our site every month, and our visitors and members enjoy the quality and credibility that Wolf provides. It's a win for all parties."

"We realize that it is important to our future to have a meaningful Internet presence and have long recognized the tremendous opportunities that the Internet offers retailers like ourselves to enhance and grow our business," said Chuck Wolf, president and CEO of Wolf Camera. "We view this partnership with PhotoPoint.com as a natural extension of our highly successful brick-and-mortar retail business, and is a win-win situation for both companies."

• Improves DirectX performance
  
• Corrects inability to access devices connected to a USB hub
  
• Fixes errors when unplugging a USB hub
  
• Adds interrupt sharing on PCMCIA cards
  
• Fixes bandwidth leak with IEEE1394 video capture
  
• Fixes HP PhotoSmart P1000/P1100 printer data corruption with ECP Bi-Directional Communication Port
  
• Ensures Iomega Jaz drive starts when detected
  
• Iomega Tools will now show parallel port drives correctly

"With 900,000 digital customers, the largest online consumer photo archive, including more than 125 million images, and $85 million in net revenues in the last four quarters, we believe we are positioned to dominate the online imaging space," said Gary Christophersen, PhotoWorks current CEO. "The Internet allows us to offer exciting and imaginative photo-related products and services, and thereby create very strong customer relationships. We are looking for visionary leaders with proven management expertise to fully exploit these opportunities."

"I am excited to partner with a new CEO to help lead our business," Christophersen said. "I will continue in an active role as Chairman, and will provide leadership through my passion for this company and my many years of experience in the photo industry. I believe that by combining the strengths we have in place with a world class Chief Executive, we will be positioned to continue as the leader in the online photo industry."

Click for a bigger picture!

• Initial load of thumbnails is now up to 20% faster.
  
• Auto-rename option now handles the original of more than one copy as (0000) so that it is sorted correctly. For example, if your auto rename options are set to "S100" and you select three JPG files to auto-rename, older versions would name them: S100.jpg, S100(0001).jpg and S100(0002).jpg. To eliminate problems with sorting files, the same operation will now result in: S100(0000).jpg, S100(0001).jpg and S100(0002).jpg. In addition, if you only rename one file and a copy does not already exist, Qimage Pro will still name the file S100.jpg because it knows that no other copies exist. If you go back later and rename more files in the same folder, however, the software will be smart enough to find the original S100.jpg and rename it S100(0000).jpg so that it "matches" the format of the other copies.
  
• The {Q} prefix on batch converted files is now an option! There is a new checkbox labeled "Only use the {Q} prefix when destination file already exists". You will find this checkbox in the Filter Application dialog that appears just before application of any filters and conversion of images. If you leave this box unchecked, Qimage Pro will always use the {Q} prefix on your converted/filtered images (this is the default). If you check this box, Qimage Pro will not use the {Q} prefix unless it runs into a conflict, i.e. the destination file already exists. With the box checked, you can select all TIF images in a folder and convert them to JPG images with the same name for example. Or, if you are using a different output folder, you could save filtered image that have the same name AND same extension without using the {Q} prefix.
  
• All Qimage Pro plugins have been updated and now produce even more accurate color. All samples at the Qimage Pro Plugin Center have been updated.
  
• Nikon D1 NEF color has also been improved in v8.51.
  
• Corrected a bug that was preventing old format plugins from working (like the included D1 Color-v8.4 plugin).
  
• A dramatic increase in color accuracy for both the internal NEF decoder and color profile plugins for other cameras (samples at the Qimage Pro Plugin Center have been updated). In addition, the Nikon CP990 Color Profile Plugin is now available at the Qimage Pro Plugin Center. In addition to better color accuracy, we have switched all our profiles to the sRGB color space, which offers better color for users who do not use Adobe PhotoShop or other "ICM aware" applications. Our old profiles, in the Adobe color space, often appeared to have a "yellow cast" or appear muddy on systems when not viewed with high-end photo editors.
  
• "Clear Queue" option: When you have images in the queue, simply right click in the queue and select "Clear Queue" to remove all images from the queue.
  
• Metric bug fix: A bug was fixed that affected the "right click to set size" option on the "Quick Size/Drop Frames" when Qimage Pro was set to metric units.
  
• NEF decoder: A 10% improvement in NEF decoding speed as well as a subtle change to saturation are part of the v8.54 upgrade. Although not noticable in most images, v8.54 corrects for a condition where some areas of the color spectrum were slightly oversaturated in older versions.
  
• "File", "Print": The traditional Windows "Print" command has been added to the "File" menu. In addition to allowing you to print without going to the "Queue Actions" tab, this function will be more intuitive for the Qimage Pro "newbie" who is not yet familiar with the "Queue Actions" tab.

Saturday, July 29, 2000

• Grand Prize
  Fujifilm FinePix 4700 ZOOM digital camera (Ultra-compact design, 2.4 megapixel SuperCCD sensor delivering 2400 x 1800 pixel images, 36-108mm equivalent 3x optical zoom lens, ISO 200, 400 and 800 ratings, AVI motion JPEG movies, USB interface) and a $50 gift check for a family of four to see the movie.
  
• First Prize
  Fujifilm MX-2900 digital camera (2.3 megapixel CCD, 1800 x 1200 resolution, 35-105mm equivalent 3x optical zoom lens, full manual exposure, internal or external flash).
  
• Second Prize
  Fujifilm Discovery 312 35mm film camera (38-120mm 3.2x optical zoom lens, drop-in film loading, auto film prewinding, multi-mode auto flash w/ red eye reduction, landscape/night portrait modes, continuous shooting mode, mid-roll switcheable panorama, self timer, date/time imprint).

"Having one camera that can serve both functions has been regarded as the 'holy grail' of digital photography," stated NuCORE CEO Joe Raffa. "It's what digital camera makers have been trying to build, unsuccessfully. Either they build a still camera that takes a few seconds of low-resolution motion, or a motion camera that takes poor quality stills that are unsuitable for photo printing. No other chip maker has been able to give them a solution that can do both, until now."

"We are very happy with the performance of these new chips in areas such as image quality, dynamic range and resolution at 30 frames per second. With NuCORE Technology, we will able to offer a 12-bit solution in our camcorder, providing four times the image quality of our current offering," said Keizo Kohno, Chief Engineer, System R&D center, Professional Products, Systems and Network sector, Victor Company of Japan, Ltd. (JVC).

• Skin tone detection. The SiP-1250 includes algorithms that detect skin tone so the camera designer can implement any desired compensation on the fly.
  
• Adaptive filtering. The SiP-1250 uses adaptive filtering to change the algorithms locally, as it processes the image in real time. Camera designers can use this capability in combination with skin tone detection to adjust skin color under different lighting. For example, under fluorescent light skin tones tend to turn bluer while under sunlight skin appears redder.
  
• Adaptive edge enhancement. The SiP-1250 includes algorithms to selectively make edges more pronounced, sharp and crisp. The chip can detect areas that tend to wash out based on several data points and compensate in real time.
  
• False color suppression. The SiP-1250 compensates for color distortions that can often appear in images from single-sensor cameras with mosaic color filtering. This is a problem with thin objects, such as a hair, that may be no more than one pixel in width. Another example of a problem occurs when photographing crystal glass against a white background.

Friday, July 28, 2000

"The agreement with PhotoPoint supports our strategy of being a supplier of key digital services to the Internet photography market," said David MacWhorter, president, PictureVision, and vice president, Eastman Kodak Company. "This relationship provides PhotoPoint members an easy way to get their film pictures online using the proven Kodak PhotoNet online infrastructure."

"Our relationship with PictureVision and the ability to access their infrastructure will provide tremendous value to PhotoPoint--and to consumers who will now be able to store and share an unlimited number of their favorite photos on the Internet without changing the way they go about getting their film developed," said Ed Bernstein, CEO of PhotoPoint. "We expect this easy way of getting photographs on the Internet will enhance the popularity of online photo-sharing and print ordering by an enormous amount and subsequently, will change the current online photography category."

Gary Christophersen, PhotoWorks President and CEO stated, "The online photo space is expanding at a rapid pace, we are continuing to invest heavily in marketing, research and development, and information technology systems based on our understanding of those emerging opportunities. The loss in the third quarter is in line with our expectations and strategic initiatives. It reflects our significant activities in promoting the PhotoWorks brand and adding infrastructure as we gear up for the remainder of fiscal 2000 and beyond. With our large customer base, growing list of marketing partners and photofinishing and direct marketing experience, we believe that PhotoWorks is positioned to compete in this emerging market segment. We are continuing to pursue new strategic alliances and marketing agreements to leverage our infrastructure and market presence."

Christophersen continued, "Our PhotoWorks archive now holds over 125 million personal photos which we believe is the world's largest online archive of personal photos. In addition, the number of customers who have photos in the online archive is now over 900,000, up from approximately 750,000 a few months ago. Industry measurements suggest that our customers' online activity in June makes us the leading online photo site in terms of unique pages per visitor per month and time spent on our site. We believe that the growth of the customer base and the archive is an important leading indicator of our future business activities, and we expect to continue to see growth in the number of customers utilizing the archive as a result of our advertising and marketing campaign. By growing the archive, we believe that we can build our customers' personal equity in PhotoWorks as their online image processing company of choice."

• Appointment of Matt Kursh to Board of Directors
• Addition of Stephen Brown to management team as Vice President of Business Development
• Partnership with Visioneer, the No. 1 vendor of home-flatbed scanners

• 1/1.8 inch 3.34 megapixel CCD (although only 2.62 megapixels go into the final image, the remainder being masked off by the chassis designed for a 1/2 inch 2.11 megapixel CCD)
  
• 12 bit digitization
  
• Improved aperture & shutter control
  
• Proprietary Sony external flash connectivity
  
• TIFF file format option
  
• Improved manual focus operation
  
• Improved processing speed
  
• Improved interpolation algorithm

"The DSC-F505V has managed to overtake the Nikon Coolpix 990 (in my opinion) for and great combination of image quality and value for money (especially with that big lens). Sure, it doesn't have all the bells and whistles (do you use them all??) So, if you can live without a viewfinder, the additional manual features of some of the competition and can put up with the sometimes slow operation then the DSC-F505V is (at the time of writing this review) probably the best 3 megapixel digital camera around.

With the combination of that excellent 5 x zoom, Hybrid LCD, InfoLithium battery, great resolution and clarity, well saturated bright colours, good dynamic range and smooth noise-free images the DSC-F505V is hard to beat."

Thursday, July 27, 2000

"Before using RemoteReality's One Shot, I had been using a slower product and synthesizing the images with computers, which took a lot of time. With RemoteReality's technology helping me produce a faster method of developing immersive visual imaging, I can focus my time on creating new content," said Joyce.

"A new form of content is being developed using 360-degree technology from RemoteReality. Not only can it enhance contemporary art with immersive interactivity, but it also can be used in other markets such as real estate, sports and travel," said Hapet Berberian, senior vice president and general manager, Integrated Systems, for RemoteReality. "Applications of immersive imaging can enliven information with interactive audio/visuals and create unique experiences the viewer can customize. RemoteReality is excited to showcase its technology through Joyce's work at SIGGRAPH."

"One of the many benefits of acquiring JoePix was having Steve Carley join our team," noted Ed Bernstein, CEO of PhotoPoint Corp. "Steve has already become involved in every part of our business, and he has been a big driver of our commerce strategy. We're very confident that Steve's background with both big and small companies will help drive the scalability and continued success of PhotoPoint."

PhotoPoint co-founder and board member David Rowley added "Appointing Steve as president of PhotoPoint.com really rounds out our world-class management team. I couldn't be more pleased to have someone of Steve's caliber aboard to help us create the dominant brand in digital photography."

"I'm very enthusiastic about taking on this role at PhotoPoint," stated Carley. "PhotoPoint has experienced incredible growth and visibility, and we're now embarking on a strategy that will leverage our technology assets and partnerships to bring the benefits of online photography to millions and millions of consumers worldwide. I'm pleased to be able to use my management and consumer marketing experience to guide the company's endeavors at this next stage of growth and expansion."

• Price
  
• Image quality
  
• Camera construction
  
• Interface and controls
  
• Frame rate, shutter lag, autofocus
  
• Battery
  
• Frames per burst
  
• Flash and metering
  
• Software and camera connectivity
  
• Wrap-up
  
• D30 links

"As you can see, the D30 is a carefully-crafted mix of pro and amateur features. If D30 photos from production cameras look good and print well, especially at ISO 800 and 1600, then it may have a place in small newspaper and freelance photojournalism. Looking at it another way, the D30 is interesting for what it says about Canon's commitment to digital. The company has announced that they have manufacturing capacity for 8000 D30 cameras a month, starting from when the camera is released in September worldwide. If they sell the camera at that rate, it bodes well for the continued rapid development and growth of SLR digital overall. The D30 serves also as a great teaser for the pro camera that Canon promises for sometime next year."

Click for a bigger picture!

• Bare-chip Mounting Technology: 67μm electrode pitch at closest points.
  
• Recording Medium: "Memory Stick Duo"
  • Ultra compact media block (20mm x 31mm x 1.6mm) can be fitted together with a cartridge block for full compatibility with standard-size Memory Stick. The "Memory Stick Duo" is currently under development at 64MB.
• Semiconductor Technology: Thin film color LCD monitor
  • Ultra-thin (4mm) color LCD module realized by super thin reflector and latest connection technology.
• Battery Technology: Lithium Ion Polymer Secondary Battery
  • Compact-size, (21 x 38 x 6mm), lightweight (7g) and high capacity (210mAh).

• Dimensions: 21.5 x 62.6 x 13.0mm
  
• Volume: 16cc
  
• Mass: 26g (incl. battery)
  
• Image Sensor: 330,000 pixels
  
• LCD: 0.55 inch diagonal (Color) 180,000 dots
  
• Image Size: VGA (640 x 480 dots)
  
• Battery:
  • Lithium Ion Polymer
  • Battery Size: 21 x 38 x 6mm
  • Weight: 7g
  • Capacity: 210mAh
• Recording Medium: Memory Stick Duo (64MB)
  
• Image Capacity: Approximately 1000 images (JPEG) when using 64MB Memory Stick Duo

Wednesday, July 26, 2000

"In most cases, the 3000Z keeps up with the rest of the crowd, and in some cases, is at the top (like in photo quality). The real downer is the slow processing of HyPict and TIFF images, and the lack of a shutter priority mode. I'd recommend the camera, but take a careful look at the competition first before you buy it."

Tuesday, July 25, 2000

Click for a bigger picture!

• Olympus Camedia C-211 Zoom digital camera
  
• 1/2.7 inch (0.37 inch) 2.11 megapixel CMY Interlaced CCD image sensor. Gives images of 1600 x 1200 or 640 x 480 pixels with two JPEG compression levels in the higher resolution (SHQ, HQ) and one in the lower resolution (SQ1/2). JPEG and uncompressed TIFF format.
  
• 3x optical zoom lens; 5.4 - 16.2mm F2 - F4.4 (equivalent to 35 - 105mm on a 35mm camera). 8 elements in 6 groups, includes 2 aspherical lenses. Focuses 20cm - 80cm in Macro mode, 80cm to infinity in Normal mode. 2x digital zoom.
  
• 1.8 inch low temperature TFT LCD display with 113,500 pixels. Brightness adjustment possible. Sunlight assisted backlight. No optical viewfinder.
  
• Built in Polaroid 500 Print Engine, uses silver halide Polaroid 500 Captiva print media, sold at retail currently for below $10 per pack of 10 prints (65-70 cents per print). Print size is 2 1/4 x 2 7/8 inches. Continuous tone photographic printer, dpi "just like film". Prints are waterproof, and take 15 seconds, develop in 2 minutes. Prints single image, index print with 4 or 9 images, images can be cropped in-camera before printing (1.5, 2.0, 2.5 and 3x movable in frame). Date/Time position adjustable on 4 sides of Print. Print adjustment (Color Balance, Sharpness, Contrast, and Brightness). Edited images can be printed, so long as they are in EXIF format, either 640 x 480 or 1600 x 1200, with same file name as created by the camera. Film contains its own batteries for printing, so camera battery life is not affected by printing.
  
• SmartMedia storage, compatible with cards up to 64MB. Bundled with one 3.3V 8MB SmartMedia card, with software to enable panorama function on the card.
  
• Built in manual-pop-up flash with Auto (low-& back-light), Red-Eye Reducing, Off, Fill-in,Slow synchronization, Slow synchronization + Red-eye reduction modes. Working range Wide; 0.2 - 4.0 m, Tele; 0.2 - 2.6 m
  
• USB, NTSC Video Out, DC input connectivity. USB compatible with both Macintosh and Windows platforms.
  
• ISO ratings of 100, 200 and 400, auto-selected or manually set.
  
• Programmed auto exposure with exposure compensation +/- 2EV in 1/2EV steps. TTL metering, spot metering possible.
  
• Shutter speeds 1/2 to 1/1000 second using a mechanical shutter.
  
• Apertures of F2.8 of F8 at wide angle, F4.4 or F8.6 at telephoto, automatically selected.
  
• TTL Auto or Preset Manual white balance. Presets are daylight, overcast, tungsten light, fluorescent light.
  
• TTL auto focusing system. Two preset manual focus possible, presets are for infinity and 2.5 meters.
  
• Normal and soft sharpness settings.
  
• File name memory can be kept or reset. Also mode settings can be remembered or reset at power-off.
  
• LCD viewfinder automatically turned on in Macro mode.
  
• Playback modes are One frame, Slide-show mode, Index-display mode (4/9/16 frames), close-up display, file-name
  
• Captures movies in QuickTime Motion JPEG format, 320x240 pixels, 15frames per second up to approx. 15 seconds. Movie Index Print Mode (same as C-3030 Zoom)
  
• Capable of up to 5 shots in HQ or 45 shots in SQ mode at 1.3 shots per second.
  
• Self timer with 12 second delay
  
• Power from : 2 x CR-V3 rechargeable batteries, AC adapter or 4 x AA alkaline/NiMH/Lithium/NiCd batteries. Charger and CR-V3 batteries are optional.
  
• Temperature 7-40C(operation) /-20-60C(storage) (printer reduced temp range)Humidity 30-90%(operation) / 10-90% (storage)
  
• Dimensions of 7" x 5" x 2". Weighs 500 grams without batteries, print media or flash media.
  
• Will ship in the USA and Canada in October at a suggested price of $799. No plans for European release.
  
• Bundle will include an 8MB SmartMedia removable memory card, Polaroid Type 500 film pack, 2 x LB-01 long life lithium batteries, Camedia Master software, Mac/Windows USB Cable, strap, instruction manual and quick start guide

Monday, July 24, 2000

"For the past 18 months, we've been working hard to deliver a revolutionary solution for traditional bricks-n-mortar auctioneers which is easy for them to use." explains Scott Laster, CEO and president of Bidpath."It used to be a Herculean effort for our customers to research and post just 20 auction items online, and most didn't bother to make the effort. However, now thousands of items can be uploaded through the Bidpath infrastructure in the span of hours, not weeks."

"We are very pleased that Bidpath chose the Kodak DC290 for this demanding business application," said Michael Tenalio, Kodak DC290 Worldwide Product Manager, Digital and Applied Imaging, Eastman Kodak Company. "Using the camera with Bidpath's firmware enables traditional auctioneers to easily manage and collect digital images. This relationship further reflects our commitment to provide all digital camera users with easy-to-use technology for a variety of on or offline applications."

"``With second quarter sales in our core consumer film business up double digits on a volume basis worldwide, we are confident that we are on track to deliver sales growth in the range of 6% to 7%, adjusted for currency and portfolio, for the full year," said Daniel A. Carp, president and chief executive officer. "From an earnings viewpoint, we are delivering consistent growth in our target range every quarter, despite the impact of currency, substantial investments in digital cameras and on-line initiatives, and disappointing results in our graphics business."

Saturday, July 22, 2000

Friday, July 21, 2000

"Our goal is to deliver excellent digital cameras with the latest technology at a competitive price. We found the highly integrated COACH product from Zoran flexible enough to support us on all counts and provides an excellent image quality that meets our high standards. We were able to include many features in a lightweight consumer-friendly camera that weighs just over 7 ounces," said Jon Sienkiewicz, vice president of marketing at Minolta Corporation. "Working with the Zoran team has resulted in a product that enables demanding users to obtain excellent image quality with good performance at an affordable price."

"At Zoran we're focused on developing the best chips that meet the needs of our customers' products. We seek to integrate additional features and digital camera system functions in each new generation of the COACH product line. This results in a wider choice of features and reduced system costs for our major OEM customers like Minolta," said Alon Ironi, vice president of engineering and camera products at Zoran. "With our recent acquisition of PixelCam, we now have compelling CMOS sensor technology to add to the range of choices we offer forward-looking camera manufacturers."

"We're thrilled to be able to partner with a true industry pioneer such as PhotoLoft. Combining PhotoLoft's expertise in providing web-based photo sharing enabling technology with ez prints' push-button, high-quality e-photofinishing service is a powerful solution for customers across the Internet," said Bob Miller, president and CEO of ez prints. "This is a great example of where we add value and help to extend our partners' services by being `the guys behind the print button'."

"Partnering with ez prints has enabled us to provide our end users with a fast and easy way to transform their digital albums into actual prints," said Jack Marshall, CEO of PhotoLoft. "We selected ez prints as our e-photofinishing partner because of its ability to integrate seamlessly with our site, as well as its longstanding commitment to providing the highest-quality products and services."

Gary T. DiCamillo, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer said, "I'm very satisfied with the state of the business and our positive momentum. We sold 65 percent more instant cameras and seven percent more instant film during the second quarter than we did during the same period last year. And our revenues from new products totaled $98 million for the second quarter of 2000."

Thursday, July 20, 2000

"PhotoFun.com is the next step in digital photography, using the Web to share, manage and store photos -- in essence, taking what we know as a physical memory album and photo shoebox and moving it to the Internet," said Chris Spinella, PhotoFun.com Partner."This is a value to anyone online. Pictures may be taken and subsequently uploaded to PhotoFun.com and stored for life -- without limit. The shots may be accessed via PhotoFun Albums at anytime and from any location in the world. All that's necessary is a connection to the Internet. For many people, this has become the primary reason the Web is used."

"This site is a work of art. Over 12,000 man hours of programming and creative design time has gone into the PhotoFun.com site" said Spinella. "The goal, of course, was to make it easy for users to make emotional magic happen with their most precious memories."

• Compact
  
• Enormous storage capacity
  
• Fast data transfers
  
• Compatible with CompactFlash, SmartMedia, Microdrive, full-size PCMCIA memory cards, or earlier MemoryStick adapters (firmware patch coming for latest MemoryStick PCMCIA adapter.)
  
• Good battery life

• Pricey for an accessory
  
• We'd like to see a more rugged case
  
• Somewhat finicky on uploads from computers (downloads are fine)
  
• A little quirky with the Mac OS
  
• Needs more robust firmware generally

Wednesday, July 19, 2000

"The Digital Wallet answers a real marketplace need, particularly given the high demand for memory devices," said Marc Ganouna, president and CEO. "With the Digital Wallet, users can not only store thousands of images from digital cameras, for example, but also dramatically expand the storage capacity of PCs, in a highly portable fashion," he added.

"With its high storage capability, the Digital Wallet can be used by consumers who download and store music files and digital videos from the Internet. Similarly, the Digital Wallet can be used by individuals or small businesses wanting to ensure documents, data and keepsakes are secure. In short, we’ve developed a product with storage capabilities that are limited only by the imagination," Ganouna added.

"Nikon has recently honored Harbortronics by releasing to us, under a non-disclosure agreement, the full serial protocol specification for the Coolpix 950!

Having access to this specification will allow us to refine our poduct's firmware to better comply with the camera's protocol, as well as provide other feature of which we were previously unaware. Since the protocol is common to other camera makes, we anticipate most of the future enhancements will also be applicable to cameras beyon the Nikon Coolpix series.

Since receiving the protocol we have already improved the support for the Coolpix 990! When using the 990 with the modified serial cable, the camera will sometimes fail to recognize the attempts made by the DigiSnap to communicate with the camera, which obviously tests the patience of the photographer! We have developed a workaround to this problem, making the process much more reliable. All units shipped starting from July 10, 2000 will incorporate this workaround. This firmware is now available as Version 1.2, and is available to all DigiSnap 1000 owners. They simply need to return the unit to Harbortronics, where we will re-program the unit and return the following working day. The only cost to the owner will be the shipping and handling charges!

We have also determined that it IS possible to use the LCD on the Coolpix 950 when controlling the camera via it’s serial port! This is a VERY exciting development, tremendously increasing the functionality of the DigiSnap 1000 for use as a simple remote release, in addition to it’s excellent performance as a time lapse controller. This feature improvement will be available in Version 2.0.

We anticipate a general release of firmware Version 2.0 in mid August, which will incorporate all of the above changes, plus enhanced features for time lapse photography, and possibly other goodies! This firmware release will again be free to all owners. Another exciting feature of the 2.0 firmware is that it will provide a much easier upgrade path to further feature improvements, allowing the owner to upgrade the DigiSnap firmware via a PC! The upgrade to Version 2.0 will be the last time the owner would need to return the unit to Harbortronics for feature improvements!

Harbortronics has plans to continue supporting the DigiSnap 1000 product, adding features and enhancements. The comments by the owners have been a great source of inspiration to enhance the product, and we encourage feedback!

We have already begun development of an accessory board for the DigiSnap 1000 (the entire package will be released as the DigiSnap 1500), adding external I/O all within the same small package. The DigiSnap 1500 will incorporate relay outputs which could be use for external lighting (i.e. charging a flash, illuminating a time lapse scene at night), as well as Infrared signaling for wireless control of the DigiSnap and camera! No other information is yet available about this product, but feel free to email [email protected] if you have specific I/O requirements."

"Teaming up with HP to offer Corel PHOTO-PAINT 8 for Power Macintosh OEM version and Corel Print Office 2000 with the powerful HP ScanJet 5370C scanner will allow users to take full advantage of their creativity and enjoy the ultimate scanning solution," said Jon Riis, director of OEM North American sales for Corel Corporation. "It is very exciting that HP, the market leader in the flatbed scanner market, has once again chosen Corel as a key strategic software solutions provider."

"Bundling Corel PHOTO-PAINT 8 for Power Macintosh OEM version with the HP ScanJet5370C for Macintosh and bundling Corel Print Office 2000 with the HP ScanJet 5370C for PCs will provide HP's customers with excellent image-editing software. This software will give home and business customers the ability to design creative new projects," said Dana Miller, product manager, HP's Colorado Digital Imaging Division.

"We are anticipating a warm and welcome reception from Mac enthusiasts for ixla Photo Easy DualCam Edition for the Mac" said IXLA's VP of Sales, Paul McManus "IXLA's goal at Macworld is to promote ixla Photo Easy DualCam Edition as a complete, economical all-in-one digital photography solution, exclusively for Mac users."

"With integrated Apple technologies for managing color consistency and print quality, the Macintosh platform is perfect for digital photographers," said Clent Richardson, Apple vice president of Worldwide Developer Relations. "IXLA's ixla Photo Easy DualCam Edition provides a complete, affordable digital photography solution exclusively for Mac users."

Click for a bigger picture!

• Contax N Digital Interchangeable-Lens SLR Digital Camera
  
• Same chassis as the Contax N1 Digital 35mm film camera
  
• 6 megapixel or greater image sensor. No confirmation as to whether the sensor is CMOS or CCD. No focal length multiplier! Sensor believed to be full 35mm frame-sized, although one source suggests that the camera possibly contains optics to compensate for a smaller CCD without a focal length multiplier. 3:2 aspect ratio on final images.
  
• N-mount lenses accepted. 4 Carl Zeiss lenses designed for the Contax N1 camera currently available:
  • Vario-Sonnar T* 24-85mm F3.5-4.5
  • Vario-Sonnar T* 70-300mm F4-5.6
  • Planar T* 50mm F1.4
  • Makro-Planar T* 100mm F2.8
  Two further lenses to be introduced in Spring 2001 may be available by the time the camera ships:
  • Planar 85mm F1.4
  • Vario-Sonnar 17-35mm F2.8
  Should also be compatible with all seven Carl Zeiss T* lenses for the Contax 645 medium format camera using a NAM-1 mount adapter:
  • Distagon T* 35mm F3.5
  • Distagon T* 45mm F2.8
  • Planar T* 80mm F2
  • Apo-Makro-Planar T* 120mm F4
  • Sonnar T* 140mm F2.8
  • Sonnar T* 210mm F4
  • Tele-Apotessar 350mm F4
• Optical viewfinder. 2" polysilicon TFT LCD display. Info LCD on top of camera. Backlit? (Light button next to LCD display)
  
• CompactFlash Type-I or Type-II storage, Microdrive compatible. Believed to have dual CompactFlash slots (note the "CF" button on the rear top left of the camera, which we believe to be for selecting which slot is active).
  
• External flash hot shoe
  
• IEEE 1394 (Firewire) connectivity
  
• NTSC/PAL Video Out connectivity
  
• Dual controls - second shutter button for portrait mode on bottom front right of camera. Roller-style command wheels on top and bottom front right of camera.
  
• Battery compartment appears to be in handgrip for portrait mode along base of camera.
  
• Program, aperture priority, shutter priority or manual exposure (AV, TV, P, M icons visible on top left of camera)
  
• 5-Point Wide Array Diagonal Auto Focus System (joystick for selecting focus point on back right of camera). Can manually select on of five auto focus points (center, left upper, left lower, right upper or right lower) or let camera decide. Can also select multiple focus points to widen focus area (All, Upper, Lower, Left or Right).
  
• Manual focus, single auto focus or continuous auto focus modes. Focus illuminator on top right front of camera?
  
• Variable ISO ratings (ISO button on rear top left of camera).
  
• Manual white balance capability (button on rear of camera)
  
• Shutter speeds from 32 seconds to 1/8000 second. Maximum flash sync speed of 1/250 second. Uses a high-speed vertical travel focal-plane shutter.
  
• 5 section Matrix, center-weighted average and spot metering
  
• Continuous shooting capability ("Drive" button on top of camera, continuous auto focus mode)
  
• Stores files as JPEG in 1/4, 1/8 or 1/16 compression, RGB TIFF, Ycbcr TIFF or CCD RAW mode.
  
• Dimensions of 152mm (W) x 116.5mm (H) x 69mm (D); 5 15/16" (W) x 4 9/16" (H) x 2 3/4" (D)
  
• Planned to ship in Spring 2001 (perhaps May?). Planned price of under ¥1,000,000 (US$9261) - hoped to be under ¥800,000 (US$7409).

Click for a bigger picture!

Tuesday, July 18, 2000

"Noritsu is committed to delivering the best possible pictures to its customers while also meeting the increasing demands of the digital imaging community for compelling, innovative new technologies," said Jerry Johnson, executive vice president of worldwide sales, marketing & operations of ASF. "The combination of Noritsu's established minilab customer base and our market leadership in delivering innovative, advanced digital imaging correction technologies allows us to partner and to offer a digital solution that surpasses the expectations of this expanding market. ASF will continue working with Noritsu to develop the next generation of digital imaging technologies."

"With the FinePix 40i, we've created a digital camera that not only produces great pictures, but also offers consumers the benefits of the MP3 audio format," said Darin Pepple, Product Manager, Consumer Digital Products, Fuji Photo Film U.S.A., Inc. "The FinePix 40i is a digital convergence product in the truest sense of the term, further exemplifying Fujifilm's commitment to digital as well as its overall technology prowess."

• 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.
  
• 1.8 inch LCD display
  
• SmartMedia storage. Uses SmartMedia ID media for copy-protected MP3 audio
  
• Built-in flash
  
• 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. Either provided or third part headphones can be plugged into remote control.
  
• ISO rating of 200, five programmed exposure modes. 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 or blue (Japan also has a pale pink version). Pale blue color is in a limited supply for the US market.
  
• Dimensions of 85.5 x 28.5 x 71.0 millimeters
  
• Weighs 210 grams including batteries and media
  
• Bundled in the USA with 2 NiMH batteries, charger, Adobe ActiveShare photo editing software and RealJukebox digital audio software
  
• Will ship in the USA in August 2000 at a price of US$699

Commenting on his appointment, Kursh stated, "I am thrilled to be joining the PhotoWorks board. The company is well positioned to capitalize on the rapidly emerging digital marketplace. PhotoWorks' digital Internet strategy represents the natural evolution of its core competencies in photofinishing and direct marketing. I look forward to working closely with Gary Christophersen and the other members of the PhotoWorks management team."

Gary Christophersen, PhotoWorks' president and chief executive officer, said, "Matt's track record is exceptional, and I am delighted to welcome him to our board. His proven abilities to found, lead and manage Internet businesses will be a valuable asset to the company."

"The comparison between prints produced with this new Imation PhotoJet Paper and conventional photo printing paper is astonishing," says Pete Klinkowski, Co-President of d-store, Inc. "The colors are sharper, crisper, and more precise. And, the new paper costs less than most papers currently on the market."

"We are anticipating that these exciting new paper products from 3M will continue to support the ongoing surge of digital photography interest and awareness," said Klinkowski. "This exclusive Internet offering of 3M Imation PhotoJet Paper by d-store.com re-enforces our commitment to d-store.com customers to offer the best digital photography products available at competitive prices."

"Digimarc MediaBridge is now available for users of the most popular operating systems," said Bruce Davis, Digimarc CEO. "Mac users and PC users alike are now able to access online information that interests them, without the hassle of enduring extensive searches or manually typing lengthy URLs."

• 3Com� HomeConnect(TM) PC Digital Camera
  
• Philips PCVC680K Vesta Pro PC Camera
  
• Philips PCVC675K Vesta PC Camera

• Vario-Sonnar T* 24-85mm F3.5-4.5
  
• Vario-Sonnar T* 70-300mm F4-5.6
  
• Planar T* 50mm F1.4
  
• Makro-Planar T* 100mm F2.8

• Distagon T* 35mm F3.5
  
• Distagon T* 45mm F2.8
  
• Planar T* 80mm F2
  
• Apo-Makro-Planar T* 120mm F4
  
• Sonnar T* 140mm F2.8
  
• Sonnar T* 210mm F4
  
• Tele-Apotessar 350mm F4

• Planar 85mm F1.4
  
• Vario-Sonnar 17-35mm F2.8

"Simplicity was the main goal with QuickObject. The user needs only to drag-and-drop a folder of images onto the QuickObject application, specify the method and level of compression, rotation direction and the name of the QTVR object movie file. That�s all." said Jim Anders, President of Kaidan. "With Kaidan QuickObject, anyone who can take digital pictures, can also create a compelling object movie that is ready for posting on auction web sites such as eBay, in a matter of minutes."

Monday, July 17, 2000

"Epson has built its award-winning reputation in the scanner market by achieving an unmatched combination of superior technology, flexibility, ease of use and value," said Daniel Oey, product manager, scanners, Epson. "With these price reductions, whether customers are graphics professionals or scanner novices, they will be able to find the Epson scanner that is best-suited to their needs at even more attractive prices."

"To be successful, photo sites need to come up with more and better ways to convert their huge accumulations of online photos into revenue," said Tom Moore, CEO and President of Pixami. "While sales of 4x6 prints at photo sites are booming, 8x10's currently represent only one percent of overall print orders. In developing our Keepsake Page technology, Pixami's goal was to help photo sites drive sales of larger prints, as well as generate multiple orders from a single photo. We are confident that this technology will be extremely valuable to photo sites and their users alike."

"We are living in the 'e' generation and consumers do not want to fuss with setting the software for specific applications," said John Phillips, Product Manager for desktop scanners and digital cameras. "Our strategy is to design devices that do more than scan pictures. This is a scanner that lets you communicate in pictures."

• Multiple Image Print, so that multiple pictures can be printed on the same sheet
  
• Specific Size Print, so that the user can select different sizes for their printed images
  
• Automatic Transfer, so that image files can be electronically transmitted to selected e-mail addresses or fax numbers.
  
• Automatic Play, so that the user can create 'slide shows' of still pictures, audio files, and movie files that can be displayed using a digital camera, computer, or electronic display device.
  
• Unicode, so that images can be annotated in many different languages (Unicode is a 2-byte character code that supports most of the world's languages).

"Digital cameras were clearly the highlight of the first half of 2000. During the second half of the year, we will release new digital photo printers and innovative digital scanners for a variety of users," said DiCamillo. "Our objective is to bring the same type of innovative, easy-to-use, affordable technology to the digital space as we brought to the optical space -- and that plan is already well under way."

"These products will appeal to technology savvy, wired consumers," said Palmer. "Both are compact and convenient, features that are critically important to our target market."

"Polaroid has a deep commitment to leverage our technology heritage to make highly complex technology easy-to-use and affordable for everyone," said DiCamillo. "These products are great examples of how we intend to leverage our imaging know how and capture a variety of opportunities in the digital and wireless arena."

Friday, July 14, 2000

• DCS 620 bare-bones camera body is now $5,500 This setup includes the lower-cost IR blocking filter instead of the standard anti-aliasing filter,no charger, AC Adapter or power cable set. (Sorry, that sounds like just a little bit *too* much left off for the sake of a lower price!)
  
• DCS 620 "kit", with anti-aliasing filter, dual-slot charger, AC adapter and power cable set is now about $6,000.
  
• DSC 620X standard kit is now about $6,400. This is the amazing new model they've just announced, with a base ISO of 400, and ISO speeds running all the way up to 6400. (See the article below for a link to Steve's Digicams review of it.) We're hoping to get our hands on one of these, to run against the D1 tests we did earlier. It'll be interesting to see just how well it does in our closely-controlled low-light tests. Given the new CMY filters and Kodak ITO (Indium Tin Oxide) sensor technology, we expect great things from it...
  
• DSC 315 - Not part of the same promotion, but the kit including an IX-Nikkor 24-70mm lens now has a suggested list price of only $1795, which means street prices should be close to $1500. While only a 1.5 megapixel camera, this is by far the lowest price so far for an SLR digicam with interchangeable lenses!
  
• DCS 330 - Also not part of the promotion, but this model now has a suggested list price of $3495, with an expected street price of $3000. (A great price on a 3 MP SLR digicam!)
  

While the lower prices are doubtless giving Kodak and their competitors heartburn, this bodes well for those of us hankering for SLR digicams at affordable prices. For pro journalists, the $6,400 price tag on the new DCS 620X should have them jumping for joy: This camera appears to have no equal for low-light shooting or shooting at high shutter speeds to capture fast action, key requirements for photojournalists!

Source: Rob Galbraith's news item on the new prices

Thursday, July 13, 2000

"Microtech is pleased to be joining the SCM team," said Brian Campbell, President of Microtech. "The complementary focus of our two companies expands the opportunities to address the need for access to digital content. We are excited to combine our strengths to leverage these opportunities worldwide as we expand our presence into Europe and continue our focus in the U.S. and in Japan, which are the world's largest markets for digital photography solutions."

SCM Chairman Steve Humphreys added, "We have worked closely with Microtech and its talented management team for several years, and are delighted they are joining SCM. Microtech has earned a strong reputation in the channel and will deepen our sales capabilities while broadening our market coverage. With Microtech, we can address through the channel new worldwide markets such as broadband access and PC security."

• 2-megapixel (1736 x 1160) 13um, ITO, CCD sensor.
  
• Flexible ISO of 400 - 6400(!); calibrated from ISO 400-4000.
  
• Serial port for GPS receivers and direct cellular telephone connectivity.
  
• Burst rate of 3.5 frames per second, and a sustained burst depth of 12 images.
  
• Patented on-board histogram lets photographers verify exposure accuracy on the spot.
  
• Cast magnesium alloy body ensures high durability, while its light weight makes it ideal for field use.
  
• Calibrated color response and the TTL auto color balance option ensure that the camera adjusts image color to match the light source.
  
• 36-bit color (12 bits per channel) for capturing color and detail in shadows and highlights.
  
• Intervalometer to enable automated capture over timed intervals for remote applications.
  
• Open Application Programmer Interface (API) lets third-party developers write their own custom software applications.
  
• Color liquid crystal display (LCD) provides instant review of images.
  
• IEEE 1394 interface provides fast and reliable transfer of images.
  
• Voice annotation provides audio notebook to document specific shots.
  
• Dual PC card storage interface offers storage flexibility.
  
• Delivers 6MB finished files in 24 bit RGB.
  
• Onboard JPEG compression with three levels of resolution.
  
• Removable batteries for easy transport and recharge.
  
• New NiMH batteries for extended battery life.
  
• Improved version 5.9.1 Adobe PhotoShop Plug in / TWAIN acquire software tools.

• Lone Star Digital's DCS620X review and (very cool) sample pictures
  
• Digital Photography Review's extremely in-depth DCS620X review and sample pictures
  
• Modern Imaging's DCS620X review

"Online photo enhancement loses its appeal because the reliance on bandwidth results in an inconsistent and often slow experience for the user," said Tom Moore, president of Pixami. "Advanced Imaging magazine recognized how important it was that Pixami solved these bandwidth issues, and the impact this technology will have on consumers. PhotoWorks.com was the perfect partner to showcase the advantages of our technology."

"We're ecstatic that online photo-sharing is growing by leaps and bounds, as evidenced by the number of new members and photos we acquire daily," noted PhotoPoint CEO Ed Bernstein. "This latest report from Media Metrix indicates that these online photo-sharing enthusiasts are having a profound effect on the Internet audience at large, bringing in millions of new folks who are coming to PhotoPoint not only to see photos, but who are in turn signing up to share photos of their own. Our tremendous growth is largely attributed to the highly viral nature of online photo-sharing."

"Interest in Digital Photography is increasing at unprecedented levels, this practical and pioneering deployment by Kodak for their Kodak DC 280 Digital Camera re-affirms Kodak's leadership position in this market," said A Cage, CEO and President of Advertain.com. "The Kodak DC 280 Digital Camera Advertainment demonstrates the innovative new way companies can now offer product information to their customers via the Internet. By offering potential customers new product information in a original and interactive format, Kodak now increases interest and retention while also spiking the confidence level of the consumer to learn and embrace new technologies."

Comments received by Advertain.com for the Kodak DC 280 Advertainment included: "This camera works like a computer. I would love to own one. The ad explains how to use all the features; 'it' (Advertainment) should be included with the product -- Rated 10 out of 10."

• Bi6612 8-bit 1/5-inch digital CIF CMOS sensor
  
• Bi8802 10-bit digital 800K-pixel XGA CMOS sensor
  
• Bi8801 10-bit digital megapixel CMOS sensor

"The European market is often characterized as solely demanding superior image quality and high resolution. However, it is now ready to adopt digital cameras that offer basic point & shoot capabilities and deliver sufficient image quality for sharing digital photos via the Internet," says Michelle Lampmann, market research analyst for InfoTrends Research Group. "This turning point is a result of the increasing PC penetration and Internet connectivity."

Wednesday, July 12, 2000

• Added drag-and-drop capability from Windows Explorer to Thumber:
  • Drop on image panel to display image.
  • Drop on information panel to display image and open properties window.
• Added interpretation and reporting of some camera-specific (Nikon 990, Nikon 950, Casio QV2000, Casio QV3000, and some Olympus models) information contained within MakerNote tag.
  
• Added ability to read Interoperability EXIF Tag.
  
• Added reporting of EXIF Byte Order (Motorola "MM", or Intel "II") on properties window.
  
• Added font size controls to Image Properties screen.
  
• Image Properties window no longer resets to top of page when loading new data.
  
• Image Properties window size is remembered when saving options.
  
• Added support for Nikon D1

• Trying to launch a second instance of Thumber no longer generates an error message.
  
• Increased DDE timeout for slow machines.
  
• Fixed web-page creation problem where final "</table>" tag was omitted if no end-of-page text was specified.

Tuesday, July 11, 2000

"My Photo Gallery will integrate traditional and digital cameras, digital video cameras, televisions, printing and merchandising into one seamless system that provides cable subscribers with image archiving, editing and output capabilities," said Del Clark, president of QBeo. "We are bringing the consumer imaging experience to the family room, with the speed of broadband and the ease of use that marks our technology."

"We are confident that Rob will guide QBeo in the implementation of My Photo Gallery," Clark said. "His proven technical expertise and strong leadership skills make the perfect addition to QBeo's management team."

"I'm really excited about joining the QBeo team and leading the development of My Photo Gallery," said Rob Clark. "I believe we have a unique opportunity to bring together the two most successful consumer electronic devices in history, the TV and camera. Using a set-top box to run My Photo Gallery will open up the world of online photo sharing and digital imaging to a whole new set of users."

"Viking is committed to enhancing the performance of digital devices through the development of industry-leading, high-quality flash memory solutions," said Shannon Biggs, executive vice president of engineering and manufacturing, Viking Components. "Viking was among the first in the industry to ship the 1 GB Type II PC Card and we will continue to increase the capacity of all our flash memory solutions for those users that require gigabytes of digital image and data storage space."

• 448 MB (FL448MDVA)
  
• 512 MB (FL512MDVA)
  
• 640 MB (FL640MDVA)
  
• 768 MB (FL768MDVA)
  
• 1 GB (FL1024MDVA)

"It's great to have Steve on board," said John Morey, President and CEO of Sound Vision, "He will help us immensely in our plans to revolutionize the imaging semiconductor business."

"With this venture, we are in a position to enhance every one of our customers' online experiences," said Laura Reid, director of marketing, BellSouth Consumer Internet Services. "With BellSouth-Snapfish, we provide an avenue for our customers to connect and create something with friends and family by sharing their photos. This is the type of functionality customers have been asking for to use the Internet in a meaningful way in their daily lives."

"Strategic partnerships with companies like BellSouth, Kodak and Compaq enable Snapfish to offer its unique free photo services to millions of targeted customers," said Suneet Wadhwa, vice president of business development and co-founder of Snapfish. "BellSouth now offers its customers free developing, free online sharing and free prints for all its images, a service that makes BellSouth-MyWay a complete destination for families who use the Internet to run efficient households and keep families connected."

"Nobody has been focused on providing an optimized solution for the digital camera owner the way that PhotoAccess has," said Gene Wang, chairman and CEO for PhotoAccess. "With the introduction of prints matched to digital camera image formats, we are demonstrating once again our full commitment to this new and dynamic market."

"One of the great things about this technology," added Jerry Barber, vice president and general manager for Internet Services, "is that even images cropped in photo editing packages come out printed correctly."According to Barber even a perfectly square image will print correctly and beautifully.

"The user of a 3 million pixel camera such as the RDC-7 is not your average consumer, but more of a prosumer," said Jeff Lengyel, Ricoh's Marketing Manager - Digital Cameras, PC Peripheral Business Unit. "Therefore, we feel that Color Vision's technology represents a significant added value to many RDC-7 users for whom accurate representation of color is critical. We're always anxious to provide Ricoh customers with information about products that can complement their digital camera experiences."

Brian Levey, Vice President, New Ventures for Color Vision, agreed. "This partnership with Ricoh introduces high-end consumers to our products," he said. "Our color-matching products, like the PhotoCal/mc7 package, will help Ricoh's customers obtain high-quality color fidelity from the camera to the monitor to the printer. We are delighted to be working with Ricoh on this partnership. On a more basic level we hope to help educate digital camera consumers regarding color communication issues in general. We're confident that knowledgeable consumers will become Color Vision customers."

"Desktop calibration has been a long-neglected, critical component of digital imaging, and digital imaging is a rapidly expanding industry," said Ricoh's Lengyel. "The PhotoCal package is really the first step in offering an end-to-end solution to optimize the digital imaging experience."

• Feature: Thumber now uses DDE to accept additional filenames passed on the command line.
  
• Feature: Added ability to read the data within the "MakerNote" tag if it appears to follow EXIF structure.
  
• Feature: Tidied up presentation of EXIF data in image properties window, and "text" imageinfo reports.
  
• Feature: Full path of currently loaded image is now displayed on main window.
  
• Feature: Added subject distance to display window.
  
• Feature: New installation program should eliminate warning messages about files being in use and/or older than current version.
  
• Feature: Added "Open Current Image Directory In Explorer" menu item.
  
• Feature: Added ability to transfer "txt" and "mov" files -- for Nikon 990 users.
  
• Feature: Added Support for Nikon D1

• Bug Fix: Thumber now "unmangles" short file names such as "C:\myimag~1\pictur~1.jpg" to "C:\my images\picture 1.jpg" which solves problems when using marked images.
  
• Bug Fix: Updated comment reading routine to find comments better within file.
  
• Bug Fix: Changed placement position of comments within file to comply with JFIF specification.
  
• Bug Fix: Fixed problems where framed pages did not work correctly on Netscape Navigator.
  
• Bug Fix: Fixed problems (hopefully) with Thumber crashing during creation of web page (resample.dll error).

• 1. Because of the new DDE (Dynamic Data Exchange) feature, an existing instance of Thumber can now accept additional filenames passed on the command line once it has been launched. This is useful for using Thumber in conjunction with other programs, such as IrfanView, that pass a filename on the command line to an existing instance of an application.
  
• 2. This version of Thumber requires a new version of resample.dll, included with Thumber's setup file. New versions of Thumber will not work with the old version of resample.dll and vice-versa.
  
• 3. Because of the bug fixes in the way Thumber works with comments, you can "reposition" the location of comments within a file placed with earlier versions of Thumber by removing and then adding them again.

Monday, July 10, 2000

"Hello. I'm pleased to announce the DigiCam email discussion list. DigiCam is a forum for discussion of digital cameras of all kinds including still and video cameras. DigiCam joins the other lists hosted at themacintoshguy.com including G4, iBook, MacGames, MacUSB, MacFireWire, and Duo/2400 List.

Sending a message to will begin
subscription to the list. Or you can fill out one of the forms at:

http://www.themacintoshguy.com/lists/
http://www.themacintoshguy.com/lists/digicam.html"

• AOL's You've Got Pictures
• Digital Camera Network
• eFrames
• EZ Prints
• FotoWire
• iPrint
• Kodak Quick Prints
• Mystic Color Lab
• Ofoto
• PhotoAccess
• PhotoLoft
• PhotosByNet
• PrintsMadeEasy
• Pix.com
• Printroom
• Seattle Filmworks
• Shutterfly
• Signature Color
• Snapfish
• Wolf Camera

• Color balance
• Brightness/contrast
• Hue/saturation
• Color correct
• Image quality
• Combine
• Crop
• Transform
• Export
• Stone mosaic
• Cubism
• Artistic
• Texturize
• Light FX
• Age/wear
• Blur FX
• Noise/randomize
• Distortions

Friday, July 7, 2000

"We are building an executive team and the operational structure that will enable KB Gear to become the worldwide leader in delivering innovative digital products and online services that promote fun and easy ways to communicate online," says KB Gear CEO and Chairman, Dave Dorn. "Adding Mike and Tricia is just the beginning of our building process to strengthen our management team to position us for our continued, rapid growth."

• 1 x Olympus C-2020 Zoom digital camera
  
• 2 x Olympus C-860L digital cameras
  
• 1 x Olympus P-330NE photo printer
  
• 1 x Olympus PowerMO 640 MO drive incl. DIMO
  
• 3 x MGI Reality Studio software
  
• 10 x MGI PhotoVista software
  
• 100 x Olympus MediaSuite Pro limited

Thursday, July 6, 2000

"Between the kids at camp, summer homes, and traveling college students, it's tough to keep in touch during the summer," said Bill Giordano, National Marketing Manager, consumer digital products at Nikon. "Some people are great at sending post cards, but if you're the type that wants instant gratification, a Nikon digital camera is a great way to go."

• Imaging Resource Nikon Coolpix 950 review
  
• Digital Camera Resource Page - Nikon Coolpix 950 vs. Olympus C-2000Z
  
• Steve's Digicams Coolpix 950 user review
  
• PC World - Nikon Coolpix 950 vs. Olympus C-2000Z
  
• Digital Eyes Nikon Coolpix 950 user review
  
• PC Watch - Nikon Coolpix 950 vs. Olympus C-2000ZOOM (Japanese)
  
• Digital Photography Review Coolpix 950 user review

• Imaging Resource Nikon Coolpix 800 review
  
• Digital Photography Review Coolpix 800 user review
  
• Digital Camera Resource Page Coolpix 800 user review
• megapixel.net Coolpix 800 user review (we can't provide a direct link, but click on the "+84 other reviews" link and select the Coolpix 800 in the dropdown list)

"I am pleased to announce that SanDisk is joining us both as a major investor and wafer partner in the new fab," said Dr. Yoav Nissan-Cohen, Tower's Co-Chief Executive Officer. "The two partnerships announced so far - first with Toshiba and now with SanDisk - were significant steps toward the new fab. Following this agreement with SanDisk, we expect to announce similar agreements with additional wafer partners in the very near future."

Nissan-Cohen continued, "This fab, which will be the most advanced pure-play foundry facility in Europe, will enable us to provide our customers with leading edge processes and meet the demand for our advanced specialized technologies. With the new fab, we will be able to maximize the value of our CMOS image sensor technology, and also of the microFLASH process, which we developed jointly with Saifun Semiconductor based on their pioneering technology."

Dr. Eli Harari, President and CEO of SanDisk said, "SanDisk is very pleased to announce this strategic investment in Tower Semiconductor. This step represents a natural extension of our strategic alliance with Toshiba for the joint development and manufacturing of advanced flash memories and SD (Secure Digital) Card controllers. Toshiba has recently agreed to transfer its advanced CMOS Logic technology to Tower under a separate Technology License Agreement. We intend to incorporate this technology in the design and future manufacturing by Tower of the advanced controller chips used in SanDisk's flash memory cards. Our highly successful SanDisk Israel Design Center, which has the responsibility for developing every SanDisk Flash controller used in our MultiMediaCards and Secure Digital Cards, will work closely with Tower to bring up the production of future advanced controller chips for SanDisk."

Harari also said, "The strong financial incentives package expected from the Israeli government, including substantial grants and favorable tax incentives, was a critical element in our decision. We were also impressed with Tower's reputation for excellent customer service, and we agree with Tower's strategy to position itself as a European Centric foundry specializing in advanced CMOS logic, embedded microFLASH and CMOS Image Sensors."

Tower and Israel Corp. Chairman Idan Ofer commented, "This agreement reflects Israel Corporation's decision to focus on the semiconductor industry as one of our main holdings. An advanced wafer fab is central to Tower's long term plans. The combination of Toshiba's advanced technologies, Tower's quality people and management team, and SanDisk's leadership and product innovation in its market, will help us transform Tower into a world class, leading edge semiconductor manufacturer over the next few years. We are now proceeding to put into place the other necessary elements of the new fab. We are working to obtain approval of a government incentive package, bring in additional wafer partners and secure the necessary financing to launch this exciting project."

Yasuo Morimoto, the president of Toshiba Semiconductor Company, said: "Toshiba welcomes SanDisk's decision to join Tower as a wafer partner in its new fab. We are already cooperating with SanDisk in the area of NAND Flash, and we believe the Tower project will enable the two companies to enhance their business. We are also confident that the support of Toshiba and SanDisk will contribute to the success of Tower's project."

Brown stated, "I consider PhotoWorks to be the best positioned online photo company in the industry. I am excited to join the PhotoWorks management team and look forward to contributing to the company's ongoing progress."

Gary Christophersen, PhotoWorks president and CEO stated, "Stephen brings the kind of proven business development acumen we are seeking to further leverage PhotoWorks' capabilities in the online photo space. We welcome Stephen aboard and look forward to benefiting from his career experiences."

Wednesday, July 5, 2000

"Digi-Frame creates easy-to-use products that are ideal for anyone who doesn't want computer hassles," said Jerry Klein, vice president of sales and marketing for Digi-Frame. "We chose Good Guys because they are positioned as a strong West Coast retailer in the sales of high-end quality products."

"We are extremely honoured to receive this award," said Anthony DeCristofaro, MGI's president and CEO. "MGI has experienced unprecedented growth worldwide, with revenues increasing by 6,000 per cent in five years, and almost doubling over the past 12 months. In the UK, within three years, we have achieved market leader status with our consumer product portfolio, and we aim to duplicate this with our new Internet imaging technology in the business arena."

"For Mac users, the VST Tri-Media Reader is a great investment. A floppy drive alone costs around $100, and for only $60 more, you get two types of flash memory readers! I definitely recommend it!"

"FotoTime Web Site - 6/26/2000

• Improved web printing. Both the ActiveX and Netscape print controls now support all paper sizes (originally supported only letter). Also works better with non-standard proxy servers when downloading pictures to print.

FotoTime Web Site - 6/18/2000

• Reduced prices for prints
  • 4x6 - $0.49
  • 5x7 - $0.99
  • 8x10 - $2.99
• Added new $3.00 shipping option when ordering prints using standard US mail.
  
• Better support for AOL and other non-html e-mail clients for all e-mail sent from FotoTime.
  
• Non-recursive option for web

FotoAlbum 1.12 - 6/18/2000

• Ability to create a CD image for easy archiving of your pictures to CD.
  
• Casio camera driver for QV3000
  
• Camera driver for cameras that interface with Windows by creating a virtual drive (drive letter) within explorer
  
• Preference to set background color for slideshow screen. Other preferences to hide toolbar and captions on slideshow screen.
  
• Preference to make albums non-recursive. (Only show pictures in currently selected group/album).
  
• Added "Extra-Large" display option for thumbnails.
  
• Support for all papers sizes when printing.
  
• Selection of pictures now works more like explorer.
  
• Faster start up time."

• "Color Profiling: We have been spending a lot of time profiling the latest digicams so that you can get the most accurate color possible. It all started with the Nikon D1 when Qimage Pro began to offer super accurate color correction algorithms to decode Nikon's NEF images. Then, the phenomenon spread to include the ability to correct not only raw data, but also JPEG's created by the D1 camera itself. In our research, we have developed a new and unique way of profiling digicams to produce super accurate color. Consumers owning a Canon S100 Digital Elph will be the first to benefit from the technology developed in our lab. The Canon S100 is just the first on our long list of popular digicams that we plan to profile in the weeks/months to come.
  
• What? Plugins are not free?: If you are a registered user of Qimage Pro software, you already know that all future software upgrades are free once you purchase Qimage Pro. This will never change. However, due to the excessive amount of time and effort needed to develop color profiles, we cannot offer the plugins free of charge. In addition, selling plugins separately will encourage other companies to develop plugins for use in Qimage Pro in the future. Instead of raising the price of Qimage Pro for future buyers, we decided that we would still offer Qimage Pro for the unbelievably low price of $30. We do, however, have to pay for our development costs in the "plugin area" so we will be charging a small fee for certain plugins that require a lot of research and development to produce and/or are related to a particular type/model camera. For example, the color profile plugins are now $12.99 each.
  
• Software versus plugins: Although we must charge a fee for plugins to justify development time, the cost is minimal and will allow users to purchase exactly what they need for their application rather than paying an increased cost to get support for cameras that they don't use. Plugins will allow us to address issues on specific cameras or camera types while at the same time allowing all users to continue to upgrade Qimage Pro software at no cost.
  
• Nikon D1 NEF Color: The internal color correction "engine" in Qimage Pro has changed drastically. As a result, the D1 NEF decoder is now even more accurate than previous versions!
  
• IMPORTANT - NIKON D1 QIMAGE PRO USERS: If you were using v8.4 to correct JPEG's from the camera, the old filter is still available in v8.5. To access it, instead of checking the "D1 Color" box in the batch filter, simply drop down the plugin box in the same area and select "D1 Color-v84" as your plugin. This is the only plugin that comes with Qimage Pro free of charge. The D1 plugin that is available in the Plugin Center is also a D1 JPEG color correction plugin, but is improved and more accurate than the v8.4 plugin. The supplied D1 plugin still does a great job of correcting color in JPEG's from the camera, but is a bit less accurate than the new plugin at the plugin center since the new version is based on the new Qimage Pro profiling engine.
  
• Bug fix for "misplaced redeye correction" in printouts. If you ever got misplaced redeye correction circles in your printouts, v8.5 should correct the problem."

Monday, July 3, 2000

Click for a bigger picture!

To give an idea of what you might expect, my photos accompanying this article were shot with a Sony Cyber-shot Pro DSC-D770 camera in fully manual mode, using an ISO rating of 50, a shutter speed of 4 seconds (the maximum the D770 can manage), and various apertures from about F8 to F9.5. The camera was manually prefocused, tripod mounted, and several hundred shots were triggered using the infra-red shutter release. The camera was in its highest size and quality modes, had two fully charged batteries, and the 128MB ATA PC card and 8MB MemoryStick were both filled up more than once before the end of the show!Most of all, be sure and have fun! Don't spend the entire evening with your eyes glued to the camera - enjoy the fireworks in person, and take plenty of photos so you can relive the experience at home too! Here's a few links to help you out and inspire you, courtesy of Steve's Digicams, Rob Galbraith Online and our own coverage from last year:

• Rob Galbraith - Shooting fireworks with a Kodak/Canon pro digital camera
  
• PhotoHighway - Add New Sparkle to Your Fireworks Photography
  
• Kodak: Photographing Fireworks
  
• Carman's Foto Source - Photographing Fireworks
  
• Dan's Camera - Fireworks
  
• California Photographer - Fireworks in California
  
• Bengt's Photo Page - Photographing Fireworks
  
• Agfa - Photographing Fireworks
  
• Nicholas Noe's Seattle Fireworks
  
• Tyson "Smoothy" Hofsommer's '99 Fireworks
  
• Enrico Giordani's '99 Fireworks (first three albums)

Images copyright (c) 1999, 2000 Michael R. Tomkins. All rights reserved

Visioneer and PhotoWorks ally in scan-to-'Net!
By Michael Tomkins, The Imaging Resource
(Monday, July 3, 2000 - 12:36 EDT)

PhotoWorks Inc. and Primax Ltd. subsidiary Visioneer plan to work together to enable customers to scan digital images with a touch of a button directly into the PhotoWorks online consumer photo archive, according to a press release distributed yesterday.

"The majority of images on photo-sharing sites today originate from home scanners," said Gary Christophersen, PhotoWorks President and CEO. "Our relationship with Visioneer makes the process of scanning photos and using online photo services such as sharing, albuming and online reprints extremely simple. PhotoWorks has always valued ease-of-use, which Visioneer has clearly built a reputation around, and we look forward to delivering joint services very soon."

"Our customers have told us that they have large libraries of irreplaceable photos," said Murray Dennis, President of Visioneer. "This alliance will make it simple for them to order reprints and share those photos with friends and family via the Web. We are pleased to be able to integrate our scanners with a trusted provider of online photo services like PhotoWorks and extend our Internet offerings to include new solutions for photo printing and sharing."

Source: Yahoo! Finance / BusinessWire

Saturday, July 1, 2000

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Iomega's FotoShow nominated for CNet Best of Show award!
By Michael Tomkins, The Imaging Resource
(Saturday, July 1, 2000 - 17:26 EDT)

Iomega Corp. has announced that its new digital imaging product, FotoShow was nominated for a CNET Best of Show Award at PC Expo, which concluded yesterday in New York.

The FotoShow image center was nominated by CNET for its 'Best Vision of the Future' category. The product, equipped with PictureIQ software, will arrive at retail this fall, allowing both consumers and businesses to view digital photos on a television as well as store, organize, edit and share photos with family, friends, clients and business associates.

"Considering the number of new products unveiled by companies this week at PC Expo, this recognition for the FotoShow image center makes all of us at Iomega very proud," said Bruce Albertson, president and CEO, Iomega Corporation. "We expect the digital camera market to continue to grow rapidly over the next several years. So, for the consumer who not only wants to safely store images taken with their digital camera equipment as well as the convenience of sharing those images away from the confines of their personal computer, the FotoShow image center is going to be a 'must have' when it arrives at retail later this year."

Digital photos saved onto digital camera memory cards can be inserted into the Compact Flash or Smart Media card slots on the FotoShow image center. With the press of a button, pictures can be transferred from a memory card to a Zip disk even when the device is not connected to a TV or PC. When connected to a PC, the FotoShow image center functions as a Zip 250MB USB drive, enabling consumers to transfer photos to the FotoShow image center from any source - including the hard drive, scanned pictures, pictures attached to personal e-mails, or those downloaded from the Internet - for later viewing on the television. When connected to the television, the FotoShow image center functions as a photo viewer, editor, organizer and storage device, thus creating a portable 'digital photo album'.
Source: Yahoo! Finance / BusinessWire

 

 

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!