News Archive - January 2006 Return to: Current News Archive Index Tuesday, January 31, 2006 PRESS RELEASE: DxO Labs announces the closing of a €10.6 million round of financing to boost its international presence 15:50 EST - Leading private equity group Apax Partners leads new investment Paris, France--January 30, 2006 - DxO Labs, a French software company developing advanced image processing technologies for the mobile imaging industry and other digital consumer imaging markets, today announces the closing of a 10.6 million Euro round of funding. Apax Partners France leads the new investment, joining historic investors... (More) PRESS RELEASE: REALVIZ TO LAUNCH VTOUR AT IMAGINA 2006 14:26 EST - New Product For the Creation of Photo-real 3D Virtual Tours Available from February 2006 Sophia Antipolis, France (January 30, 2006) - REALVIZ, a leader in image processing software development, will launch VTour, the latest addition to their software portfolio for content creation, at IMAGINA in Monaco this week. VTour draws on the award-winning technology of Stitcher and ImageModeler and offers... (More) PRESS RELEASE: New 'Photoshop Killer Tips' Daily Video Podcast Launched By The National Association Of Photoshop Professionals 14:16 EST - Tampa, FL - Jan. 30, 2006 -- Straight from the National Association of Photoshop Professionals (NAPP), comes "Photoshop Killer Tips, an exciting new daily video Podcast featuring Photoshop® Guru Matt Klowkowski, one of the co-hosts of the top-rated weekly Adobe® Photoshop show "Photoshop TV" (http://www.photoshoptv.com) . This new video Podcast is short and sweet, with each daily segment... (More) Survey documents photographers thoughts on RAW 11:51 EST - A press release today from the OpenRAW website has announced a new survey aimed at learning what photographers think about RAW file formats, and how they use them. Consisting of 25 questions, the survey can be completed in about fifteen minutes, and will run for eight weeks until midnight GMT on March 31, 2006. When complete, the results will be placed online, and... (More) PDN, Apple work on Aperture improvements 10:26 EST - The Photo District News Online website, perhaps better known as "PDN Online", published a news article that caught our attention yesterday. PDN was one of a number of sites to review Apple's Aperture, a product which has been greeted with both applause and some criticism of RAW image conversion quality. Both Apple and PDN suggest that some... (More) Friday, January 27, 2006 Samsung: New DSLR to match *ist DL2? 15:20 EST - A couple of weeks ago, Korean consumer electronics giant Samsung launched its first digital SLR, the fruit of its cooperation with camera company Pentax. The Samsung GX-1S was in essence a rebadging of Pentax's existing *ist DS2 digital SLR, presumably to get Samsung's name established in the market at the earliest opportunity. Earlier today, Pentax announced... (More) Quesabesde: Olympus DSLR interview 14:33 EST - The folks over at Quesabesde.com have posted an interesting interview with a product manager from Olympus regarding their new EVOLT E330 digital SLR. Yoshiyuki Nada, Technical Product Manager for Olympus, discusses the live view innovation that is the camera's standout feature - not just how it works, but why it was created, and what impact it has for... (More) Pentax announces new DSLR 11:45 EST - Pentax Japan has today unveiled its new *ist DL2 digital SLR, an update to the existing *ist DL model. Changes in the new camera are few (at least, in terms of the specifications - it is quite possible that there are more changes under the skin that don't show up in a spec table). There's also a little... (More) Thursday, January 26, 2006 Rune Lindman Releases QPict 7 Public Beta 11:31 EST - One of the more attractive Macintosh asset managers gets a public beta featuring improved Raw handling and DNG support. Rune Lindman Development has released Preview 3 of its public beta of QPict 7, its Macintosh asset management software. This version features native DNG support, embedded IPTC data in JPEGs and exports... (More) First Look overview posted for Olympus EVOLT E-330 00:49 EST - As the only current removable-lens digital SLR with a live LCD preview, the Olympus EVOLT E-330 is sure to draw some attention. Many users moving up from all-in-one digital cameras to digital SLRs miss the ability to frame their shots on an LCD viewfinder. The new Olympus E330 solves that problem with some tricky optics and a second,... (More) Olympus DSLR offers live LCD preview 00:43 EST - Among Olympus' large group of announcements today, there is one that will almost certainly provoke the most discussion in online forums. The Olympus EVOLT E-330, the latest in the EVOLT line of consumer-oriented digital SLR models, offers something a lot of people have been hoping for. Taking advantage of how far the price of image sensors... (More) Olympus announces Stylus 810 00:35 EST - Topping out the line for Olympus's Stylus-series announcements today is the new Olympus Stylus 810. Planned for a March shipping date, the Stylus 810 will cost $429.99, and offers the weather-sealing you'd expect to find on an Olympus Stylus camera. Resolution is eight megapixels from a CCD imager,... (More) Olympus: New shock-proof, water-proof digicam 00:29 EST - One of three Stylus digital camera announcements today, the Olympus Stylus 720 SW sits in the middle of the group price-wise, but offers something its siblings don't - a shock-absorbing design rated to the MIL-STD-810F standard. As well as the shock-absorption, the Stylus 720 SW is designed with weather-proof sealing that make the camera waterproof to the JIS Level 8 standard. The combination of the weather and shock proofing... (More) Olympus: New 7mpix Stylus digicam 00:23 EST - Among its announcements in the runup to this year's Photo Marketing Association (PMA) tradeshow, Olympus America has unveiled three new Stylus digital cameras. The Olympus Stylus 710, priced at $349.99, marks the lowest price point among the three - but still offers the all-weather sealing for which Olympus' Stylus models have become known. As might be expected... (More) Olympus announces SP-320 00:19 EST - One of a number of models unveiled by Olympus today is the new SP-320 digital camera, offering a resolution of seven megapixels and a 3x optical zoom lens. Scheduled to ship this March, the Olympus SP-320 also features a large 2.5" LCD display, ISO sensitivity to a maximum of 800 (when in "Digital Image Stabilization" mode), and a wide range... (More) Olympus: Two new FE-series digicams 00:15 EST - Olympus Imaging America Inc. has today unveiled two new digital cameras that are closely related and offer affordable pricing in the neighborhood of $200. The Olympus FE-130 and FE-140 ($179.99 and $229.99 respectively) both offer a 3x optical zoom lens. The FE-130 couples this with a 5.1 megapixel imager and 2.0" LCD display with 85,000 pixels. The... (More) Wednesday, January 25, 2006 PRESS RELEASE: Kingston's New "Icons of Photography" Program Offers How-To Tips from World Renowned Photographers 12:16 EST - Douglas Kirkland, Harry Benson, Barbara Bordnick, and Colin Finlay Among the "Icons" Who Share Tips, Techniques and Experiences at kingston.com Fountain Valley, CA - January 23, 2006 - Kingston Technology Company, Inc., the independent world leader in memory products, has developed a partnership with several of the world's most respected photographers to develop a forum on its Web site to educate... (More) Sony launches ClearVid CMOS sensors 01:07 EST - Consumer electronics giant Sony Corp. has quietly introduced a new type of imager in one of its latest digital camcorders that seems rather reminiscent of Fujifilm's Super CCD sensor tech. Launched a few weeks back at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, the Sony DCR-DVD505 camcorder is based around what Sony are calling a "ClearVid" 1/3" CMOS sensor, with a resolution of two megapixels.... (More) Tuesday, January 24, 2006 PRESS RELEASE: SmartDisk Issued Continuation Patent for FlashTrax® Multimedia Players 12:01 EST - Fort Myers, Fla., January 24, 2006 � SmartDisk Corporation announced today that it has been granted U.S. Patent No. 6,987,927 by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. The new patent, titled "Enhanced digital data collector for removable memory modules," is a continuation in part of U.S. Patent No. 6,658,202 entitled "Portable data transfer and mass storage device for removable memory modules." "Essentially,... (More) Monday, January 23, 2006 PRESS RELEASE: Fotonation Announces PTP-IP Analyzer 17:08 EST - Saves Time, Money & Development Headaches by Ensuring Problem-Free Communication Between Digital Cameras and Other Devices FotoNation is the Developer of PTP Standard and Led the CIPA Standardization of PTP-IP Burlingame, California - January 23, 2006-- FotoNation Inc. ( http://www.fotonation.com ), one of the world's leading imaging and connectivity solutions companies for the digital photography... (More) PRESS RELEASE: Unibind Announces Photobook Creator - First Low-Cost Do-It-Yourself Bound Photo Albums 16:47 EST - Create Your Own Hard-Cover Photo Album Keepsakes in Only 3 Seconds! January 23, 2006, Alpharetta, GA -- Unibind http://www.unibind.com , the leading binding, laminating, and presentation system company, announced today that it will introduce PhotoBook Creator, the first low-cost do-it-yourself complete photo binding system for consumers, at next month's Photo Marketing Association (PMA) show held... (More) Casio announces EXILIM EX-Z600 15:14 EST - Casio Computer Co. Ltd. has today announced a new digicam model destined for sale in much of Asia, Europe, Oceania, the Middle East and Africa - but not scheduled for the American market at the current time. The Casio EXILIM ZOOM EX-Z600 is a six megapixel ultracompact model with a 3x optical zoom lens, and a large 2.7" LCD display. The camera offers a generous helping of scene modes (dubbed "Best... (More) Panasonic announces DMC-FZ7: 6mpix, 12x zoom 02:00 EST - A press release today from Panasonic Consumer Electronics Company has unveiled the Lumix DMC-FZ7 digital camera, an update of the existing DMC-FZ5 model with increased resolution. Sporting a new six megapixel imager, the FZ7's body looks largely similar to its predecessor, with perhaps some reprofiling of the handgrip. Coupled to a 12x optical zoom lens with image stabilisation,... (More) Sunday, January 22, 2006 PRESS RELEASE: Kodak Encourages Pro Photographers to Register For Its 'Network of Pro Photographers' 08:30 EST - New Service Will Educate, Assist Consumers in Selecting the Right Photographer For Their Needs AUSTIN, Texas, Jan. 22 - Today, Eastman Kodak Company announced the development of a robust professional photographer locator service for consumers, available spring 2006, and is currently seeking professional photographers to populate the database. The KODAK Network of Professional Photographers will act... (More) PRESS RELEASE: Kodak Awarded Hot1 Award for Enhancements to PROSHOTS System 08:30 EST - Recent Upgrades to KODAK PROSHOTS Basics and Studio Software Suite Add Value and Creative Function for Photographers AUSTIN, Texas, January 22 - This morning at Imaging USA, Eastman Kodak Company was awarded a 2005 Hot1 Award by Professional Photographer magazine in recognition of its feature-rich PROSHOTS system. The Hot1 Awards acknowledge the year's most sought-after products, judged on innovation,... (More) Friday, January 20, 2006 Sony plans dSLR launch this Summer 21:30 EST - It won't take Sony long to capitalize on Konica Minolta's technology for its first dSLR, according to a Sony executive. The company's first dSLR should hit the streets this summer. Macworld is reporting that Sony Executive Vice President Yutaka Nakagawa, who is also president of the company's digital imaging group, has said Sony is on track to introduce its first dSLR this summer... (More) A First Look at the Nikon D200 15:54 EST - We've (finally) gotten our hands on a full-production Nikon D200! Editor Shawn Barnett spent a fair bit of time shooting with it (he likes it a lot), and I dug into the "corduroy" banding issue reported by some users on web forums in recent weeks. After a long delay, we've finally gotten our hands on a full production sample (two of them, actually) of the new Nikon D200 SLR, and are putting it through its paces. For the impatient among you, the... (More) Review posted for Panasonic Lumix FZ30 15:12 EST - With a sharp, image-stabilized 12x Leica zoom lens, 8-megapixel CCD, and solid performance, the Panasonic FZ30 is a commanding presence at the high end of the all-in-one digital camera market. It may not quite match SLRs for shooting speed or high-ISO performance, its optical excellence would cost literally thousands of dollars to match with an SLR body and separate lenses. Image quality overall... (More) Adobe updates Camera Raw 12:29 EST - Our friends over at the Rob Galbraith Digital Photography Insights website are reporting that a new version of Adobe's Camera Raw plugin has now finished beta testing and been released to users. The Adobe Photoshop Camera Raw 3.3 plugin is compatible with Photoshop CS2, Photoshop Elements 3.0 and Photoshop Elements 4.0, and adds raw file support for 17 cameras from eight companies. With this update,... (More) Thursday, January 19, 2006 New underwater housing for Rebel XT 18:43 EST - We received an interesting press release today from Fantasea Line, which distributes a range of underwater housings for various digital cameras (plus related accessories). The company has apparently now released its latest underwater housing, this time for Canon's EOS Digital Rebel XT / 350D digital SLR. Rated for depths of 200 feet (60 meters), the Fantasea Line F350D... (More) PRESS RELEASE: Online Digital Photo Backup from Carbonite Debuts at Staples 13:56 EST - Digital Photo Protection Kit includes new PhotoBackup from Carbonite FRAMINGHAM, MA (PRWEB) January 15, 2006 -- Customers who purchased any digital camera at Staples this holiday season (and for a limited time in early 2006) walked away with peace of mind from knowing that their cherished photos will never be lost. Each digital camera purchase will come with a copy of Staples' exclusive Digital Photo... (More) Canon EF lens sales exceed 30 million 12:15 EST - A press release today from the head office of Canon Inc. in Tokyo, Japan announces that production of the company's EF-mount have passed a fairly important threshold (psychologically speaking). The company has now produced its 30 millionth EF (or electro-focus) lens, some nineteen years after the first EF lens was produced. The EF mount was launched in March 1987, with the EOS650 camera body... (More) Konica Minolta folds consumer business 10:46 EST - Konica Minolta today announced their withdrawal from the consumer imaging market, citing difficulty in keeping up with advancing technologies. According to three documents now available online, the company will withdraw from the entire digital and film camera market, end color film and paper production by March 2007, cease production of minilab... (More) Wednesday, January 18, 2006 InfoTrends predicts digitals dominate pro market 13:35 EST - A press release from market research company InfoTrends describes a new report looking at trends in professional photography. The study, titled "North American Professional Photography Market", predicts that 90% of all professional photographs will be captures using digital cameras by 2010. Currently, InfoTrends puts the digital... (More) PRESS RELEASE: Lexar Delivers Optimal Performance with 133X CompactFlash and Secure Digital Memory Cards 12:09 EST - Fremont, Ca., January 18, 2006- Lexar Media, Inc. (Nasdaq: LEXR), a world leader in advanced digital media technologies, announced availability of its new Professional CompactFlash® (CF) and Secure Digital™ (SD) flash memory cards designed to deliver optimal performance in all digital SLR cameras. Speed-rated at 133X, Lexar's new flash memory products are capable of a minimum sustained write... (More) Sigma: new macro zoom lens 10:47 EST - A press release from Sigma Japan has announced a new zoom lens that focuses to just 20cm across its entire zoom range of 17 - 70mm, promising handy macro capabilities with a maximum magnification of 1:2.3. The Sigma 17-70mm F2.8-4.5 DC MACRO will be offered in Canon, Nikon, Konica Minolta, Pentax and Sigma AF lens mount versions. Size is a compact 3.2" long and 3.1" diameter, and the lens weighs just 16... (More) Zeiss launches lenses for Nikon F-mount 01:22 EST - After posting a new teaser graphic every Wednesday for the past few weeks, Zeiss has announced a line of lenses for cameras that use a Nikon F-mount. The new line is also joined by another line, called ZS, which uses the same optic, but has a screw mount that with the help of an adapter allows users to connect the lens to Canon EOS cameras, among others,... (More) Olympus: New camera teasers 00:56 EST - A couple of weeks ago, Olympus USA released a teaser image for an upcoming announcement which (due to major email problems that Mike was having at the time) we missed mentioning. The company has now released a second teaser to follow up, and we've got both of them here for your viewing pleasure. What they mean - well, you'll have to use your own judgement. Suffice to say that... (More) Tuesday, January 17, 2006 PRESS RELEASE: SanDisk Completes Matrix Acquisition 12:35 EST - SUNNYVALE, CA, Jan. 17, 2006 - SanDisk® Corporation (NASDAQ: SNDK) today announced that it completed the acquisition of Matrix Semiconductor, Inc., a privately held company based in Santa Clara, California. On October 20, 2005, SanDisk signed a definitive agreement to acquire Matrix, a pioneer in the design and development of three-dimensional (3-D) integrated circuits. Matrix® 3-D Memory is... (More) PRESS RELEASE: Fairchild Imaging to Exhibit at Photonics West 2006 12:13 EST - Fairchild Imaging will present custom imaging solutions at the Photonics West 2006 Conference and Exhibition in San Jose, California. A new four megapixel CCD and cooled, multiport, scientific CCD camera will be shown as well as a new hybrid CCD / CMOS low-light-level imager. Milpitas, CA (PRWEB) January 17, 2006 -- Fairchild Imaging announced today that it will exhibit at the Photonics West 2006... (More) PRESS RELEASE: PictoColor Releases iCorrect EditLab Pro 5.0 Color Correction and Color Editing Software for Photoshop Users 12:02 EST - New digital photo software features advanced auto black and white conversion, auto sepia tone, sharpening, and noise removal for turning everyday pictures into fine art images. January 17, 2006 - Burnsville, MN, USA, PictoColor Corporation has released iCorrect EditLab Pro 5.0 ( http://www.pictocolor.com/editlabpro.htm ), a new version of its highly acclaimed color correction and color editing software.... (More) Monday, January 16, 2006 PRESS RELEASE: The Plugin Site Released the MacOS X Version of FocalBlade 16:58 EST - January 16, 2006 - The Plugin Site (www.thepluginsite.com) is pleased to announce the release of the MacOS X versions of FocalBlade. FocalBlade is a Photoshop-compatible plugin for sharpening photos for screen display and printing and for producing great looking blur, soft focus and glow effects on 8bit and 16bit images. FocalBlade sharpens photos without amplifying noise or artifacts and produces... (More) Samsung rebadges Pentax DSLR (UPDATED) 11:15 EST - A news item published on the website of Norwegian-language website digit.no reports that Samsung is to offer one of Pentax's digital SLR models under the Korean company's brand name. The news follows in the footsteps of an announcement late last year that Samsung and Pentax would "combine their unique technologies to develop lens-interchangeable digital SLR cameras". The... (More) Fujifilm USA: S3 Pro memory upgrade 10:34 EST - A press release today from Fuji Photo Film USA Inc. announces the availability of a hardware upgrade to its FinePix S3 Pro digital SLR. For a price of $379.95 plus tax (inclusive of the return shipping), Fujifilm will double the camera's buffer memory from 128MB to 256MB, increasing the burst depth when shooting wide dynamic range images... (More) Accessories Review: Maha C-801D Battery Charger 08:34 EST - Maha Energy, the makers of my long-time favorite NiMH AA cell charger (the Maha C-204W) has come out with a new model. The Maha C801D is capable of charging or conditioning up to 8 cells at a time, with a separate charging circuit dedicated to each cell. The new charger works for both AA and AAA cells, and either NiMH... (More) Saturday, January 14, 2006 Review posted for Nikon Coolpix 7600 15:04 EST - Nikon's Coolpix line of consumer digicams has always been well-received, appreciated for their image quality and ease of use. The Nikon 7600 continues that trend, with a 7.1-megapixel CCD and nice range of preset scene modes. The Nikon Coolpix 7600 would be a good choice for anyone who wants an easy to use camera that delivers... (More) Friday, January 13, 2006 State of the Art Printing at Macworld 21:29 EST - We visit a few impressive photo printers and find a couple of capable all-in-ones, too. But that's not quite all! We look at a few of the leading printer models from the top manufacturers as well as a couple of very capable all-in-ones before wrapping up our coverage with a look at Printroom.com's new software and... (More) PRESS RELEASE: ACDSee Pro Photo Manager Now Shipping 13:25 EST - The wait is over for the fastest end-to-end photo management solution for professional photographers VICTORIA, British Columbia - Jan. 11, 2006 - ACD Systems International Inc. (TSX: ASA), today began shipping ACDSee™ Pro Photo Manager, the highly anticipated advanced version of its award-winning ACDSee photo management software. Developed for professional photographers, ACDSee Pro lets photographers... (More) PRESS RELEASE: SANYO Wins CNET Best of CES Award at 2006 International Consumer Electronics Show 12:20 EST - LAS VEGAS, Jan. 9 -- SANYO's pocket-sized Xacti HD1 High-Definition Digital Media Camera has received a prestigious CNET Best of CES Award in the Digital Photo and Video category. The Best of CES Awards were produced and judged by CNET, who announced the winners Saturday, January 7, at the 2006 International Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas. Selected by CNET's unbiased, expert editors,... (More) PRESS RELEASE: SimpleTech® Selected by HP to Deliver Flash Cards 12:01 EST - New Flash Products to Hit Retail Shelves in North America, Latin America, Europe, Middle East, Africa, Australia and New Zealand SANTA ANA, Calif., January 16, 2006 SimpleTech, Inc. (Nasdaq: STEC), a designer, manufacturer and marketer of custom and open-standard memory and storage solutions based on Flash memory, DRAM and hard disk drive technologies, today announced that it has been selected... (More) Thursday, January 12, 2006 Some Macworld Surprises 12:54 EST - We have to admit, we couldn't finish this report before we had to rush back to the show for an appointment or two. We might have but we ran into Lucky, our old intern, who never could make a long story short. Fortunately, we've returned in time to update it before our transportation turned into a vegetable, even if we lost a shoe rushing back to the keyboard. But Lucky did shed some light on the Mac world at Macworld before we did a little eavesdropping at the Adobe and Apple booths. Then we took a look at some intriguing monitors, ColorVision's new product... (More) First Look review posted for Kodak EasyShare V570 11:05 EST - At first blush the V570 is just another small, stylish digital camera with a 5.0 megapixel imager. It's when you power the camera up and that lens cover slides out of the way that you're surprised to see not one lens but two, each with its own 5.0 megapixel sensor. The bottom lens is wide angle, fixed... (More) Review posted for Olympus Stylus 600 Digital 10:56 EST - Olympus continues to refine their very popular Stylus line of digital cameras and the six megapixel, 3x-zoom Olympus Stylus 600 is once again one of the best Stylus models to date. Its body design is trim and compact, with a button-based interface simpler than that found on earlier models. It offers the "splash proof" water resistance that makes the Stylus line so practical for go-anywhere... (More) PRESS RELEASE: Adobe® Lightroom� Learning Center Launched By The National Association Of Photoshop Professionals 09:52 EST - TAMPA, FL - JAN. 9, 2006 - Today, on the heels of Adobe's public beta release of Adobe Lightroom, the National Association of Photoshop Professionals (NAPP) has launched the Lightroom� Learning Center - the most complete resource for learning Adobe� Lightroom�, the amazing new workflow tool for professional photographers. (NAPP's learning center is found at http://www.photoshopuser.com/lightroom .)... (More) Review: Kodak digicams - 10 years of change 09:38 EST - It would probably be safe to say that in our years of writing this news page, we've long since lost count of how many hundreds (thousands?) of digital camera reviews we've read. The folks over at the DCViews website have managed to publish one of the most unique reviews we've seen lately, however. In a comparison review with a twist, they've put Kodak's EasyShare V550 model up... (More) Wednesday, January 11, 2006 Nikon Corp. pares back film camera production 19:34 EST - A press release published today by Nikon UK Ltd. announces plans by Nikon Corp. in Japan to reduce its production of film cameras and related products to just a handful of items. The press release notes that more than 95% of Nikon UK's current business relates to digital products. The company will apparently cease production of enlarging lenses and all lenses for large format cameras... (More) Photo Talk Radio: Sensor cleaning, info for new camera owners 14:27 EST - Imaging Resource Founder and Publisher Dave Etchells will soon be making another appearance on Photo Talk Radio. Dave will be discussing sensor cleaning on SLR cameras, and for anybody who got a new camera over the holiday season, he'll also talk about the top five things you should know about your digicam. The show... (More) Macworld Digital Photo Highlights 13:20 EST - We get our hands on a D200 and the 18-200mm VR2 lens before spending a few minutes with LightZone, an innovative image editing application. Pro and advanced amateurs have been having a ball recently with the introductino of Aperture and Lightroom, both of which are on display at the Expo. While we bemoan the disappearance of a few vendors... (More) Korean nanotech firm shows new sensor design 13:19 EST - Among the announcements at this year's Consumer Electronics Show, we missed one item that sounds rather interesting - if its performance meets up with claims. At the show, Korean nanotechology company Planet82 took the opportunity to demonstrate its Single Carrier Modulation Photo Detector (SMPD) image sensor in the USA for the first time. The company claims... (More) PRESS RELEASE: New 21-day Online Course - Sharing And Organizing Your Photographs - For Photoshop Elements Users Available 10:52 EST - Tampa, FL - Jan. 10, 2006 - Most people will agree that taking pictures with a digital camera isn't that tough to figure out. However, getting them from the camera into a computer and sent off to everyone you want to share them with is a little more complicated. Photoshop Elements users now have a new 21-day online course - Sharing and Organizing Your Photographs featuring Matt Kloskowski - that will... (More) Tuesday, January 10, 2006 Macworld Expo Headlines 15:55 EST - Intel's Dual Core chip revitalizes the iMac and launches the MacBook Pro laptop line. Meanwhile, iLife gets an overhaul. Our first report from Macworld Expo in San Francisco covers Apple CEO Steve Jobs' keynote this morning. Among the headlines are new Macs with Intel's Core Duo chip and software updates that rely on .Mac... (More) Ricoh announces Caplio R30 14:06 EST - Ricoh Japan has today unveiled a new digital camera model that is closely based on its existing Caplio R3 model, but with a couple of changes that are likely intended to allow reduced pricing. Ricoh dubbed the original Caplio R3 the "smallest digicam in the world with a 5x or greater optical zoom lens" when it was announced last September. The Ricoh Caplio R30 offers the exact same dimensions... (More) Hasselblad line gets a major res boost 12:44 EST - A press release today from Hasselblad USA announces that the company is soon to launch new versions of several of its products with the sensor resolution boosted by almost 80%. The new products are based on the Hasselblad H2D digital SLR, and Hasselblad Ixpress CF series digital backs, all announced last year, and look to be visually identical on the exterior. A newly developed... (More) PRESS RELEASE: ColorVision Spyder2Express Introduces MacWorld 2006 To Stunning Color at Entry-Level Price Point; Ground-breaking Product With Award-Winning Spyder2 Technology On Display at booth No. 648 12:27 EST - SAN FRANCISCO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Jan. 10, 2006--Datacolor, an internationally known name in color technology, debuts ColorVision(R) Spyder2 Express(TM), an entry-level on-screen color management tool for digital imagers and enthusiasts, at the 2006 Macworld Conference & Expo in San Francisco's Moscone Convention Center, January 11 - 14. According to Datacolor Vice President Brian Levey, the groundbreaking... (More) Monday, January 9, 2006 Adobe Unveils Lightroom Public Beta 11:10 EST - Years in the making, Adobe reveals a workflow front end for pro photographers as a public beta, launching Adobe Labs as a new resource to showcase emerging technologies. And we have a review already. Adobe today introduced the public beta of Adobe Lightroom, an all-new digital imaging solution for professional photographers. With its modular, task-based and streamlined environment, Lightroom's goal... (More) Sunday, January 8, 2006 December POTD Winners selected! 18:45 EST - We chose "natural composition," "Roof Top Lovers," and "Extremely Green" as December's Photo of the Month contest winners. Congratulations to Luigi Piccirillo, Chuck Bieneman, and Jamie Felton! Another great month made choosing three winners very difficult, congratulations to all our daily winners! We're glad to see that you folks not only like cameras, you love photography as much as we do.... (More) Friday, January 6, 2006 A-Data: SD cards display free space 16:40 EST - An interesting news item from the folks over at Engadget reports on an innovation from Taiwanese manufacturer A-Data Technology Inc. The A-Data BCD-SD line of Secure Digital flash cards, available in capacities from 128MB to 2GB, include a display of the remaining storage capacity on the card itself. When the card is inserted in a... (More) Exclusive! - More detailed info on Leica M-series digital! 15:15 EST - Rumors of an M-series digital body from Leica have run rampant on the 'net lately, but there's been little offficial confirmation of any of them. We tracked down Leica USA Marketing Manager Christian Erhardt at the CES show and gleaned official confirmation of a number of the camera's specs. Rumors of a digital version of the classic Leica M-series cameras have been swirling on the internet for months now, fueled by teasers on Leica's own website, and remarks by Leica staff at industry... (More) BenQ: Smallest 6mpix digicam? 14:17 EST - A press release from BenQ Corp. has announced three new digital cameras to add to the company's lineup, including one it claims is "the world's smallest 6-megapixel camera". Whether that's accurate or not we can't say, as it is a very close-run thing. On paper Casio's EXILIM Card EX-S600 looks to be the smallest six megapixel camera we're aware of at the moment. That's based... (More) PRESS RELEASE: Norcent Expands Compact, Lightweight Digital Camera Offering 12:46 EST - New 5 Megapixel and 8 Megapixel Feature-Packed Cameras Offer Consumers Great Photos at an Unparalleled Value [ClickPress, Thu Jan 05 2006] Norcent Technology, Inc., a marketer of high-quality home entertainment products, will introduce two new feature-rich additions to its digital camera product offering at CES. Just over an inch thick and weighing only 4.9 ounces, the DC-820 is a compact, lightweight,... (More) Thursday, January 5, 2006 HP: Seven new Photosmart digicams 11:01 EST - A single press release from Hewlett Packard Co. summarises the company's digital camera announcements at this year's Consumer Electronics Show. The seven new Photosmart digital camera models span the range from fixed focal length to 3x optical zoom lenses, and from five to eight megapixels. Pricing ranges from $119 to $399, and while few specifications... (More) Panasonic launches three Lumix digicams 00:24 EST - Panasonic UK has launched three new digital camera models in the runup to the Consumer Electronics Show that have yet to appear on the company's US or Japanese websites. The Panasonic Lumix DMC-LS2 updates the existing DMC-LS1 model in a more compact chassis, and is a five megapixel camera with a Lumix DC Vario stabilised 3x optical zoom lens, plus a 2.0" LCD display... (More) Wednesday, January 4, 2006 Sony: Cyber-shot DSC-S600 announced (UPDATED) 20:15 EST - Continuing the flood of digicam announcements in the runup to the Consumer Electronics Show, Sony has today unveiled its new Cyber-shot DSC-S600 model. Based around a six effective megapixel CCD imager and Carl Zeiss Vario-Tessar branded 3x optical zoom lens, the DSC-S600 stores images on Memory Stick Duo or PRO Duo cards, and draws power from two AA... (More) Sony USA announces Cyber-shot M2 (UPDATED) 20:15 EST - Almost four months after the European announcement, Sony USA has today given the Cyber-shot DSC-M2 model its stateside launch in the runup to this year's Consumer Electronics Show. First revealed in a German press release in the first half of September, the Cyber-shot M2 is tailored for an unusual mixture of video and still capabilities, much like its predecessor the DSC-M1.For... (More) Sanyo unveils Xacti VPC-HD1 17:09 EST - Japanese consumer electronics company Sanyo Electric Co. Ltd. has long emphasised the video functionality of its digital cameras, marketing them as hybrid devices capable of both still and video usage. The company was among the early adopters of 30 frames per second video and unlimited clip length in its models, and tended to use the potentially higher-quality (but storage-hungry) QuickTime PhotoJPEG... (More) PRESS RELEASE: New Kodak EasyShare Software Version 5.2 Offers Innovative 'Favorites' Feature, Providing Effortless Access to Your Best Pictures Anytime, Anywhere 11:01 EST - Favorite Pictures Automatically Made Available Anywhere in the Kodak EasyShare System for Instant Viewing and Sharing -- On Your Camera, Computer, and Online LAS VEGAS, January 4 -- Eastman Kodak Company today introduced Kodak EasyShare Software version 5.2, which is free, simple-to-use software that helps users effortlessly organize, edit, share and print their digital pictures. This new version... (More) PRESS RELEASE: Belkin CableFree USB Hub Enables Instant Wireless Connectivity of USB Devices 10:57 EST - Powered by Freescale's Ultra-Wideband technology, Belkin brings the world's first wireless USB Product to the market (Compton, CA) - January 3, 2006 -- Belkin announces its new CableFree USB Hub, the industry's first USB Hub that does not require a cable to connect to the computer. This Hub allows people to place their laptop anywhere in the room while still maintaining wireless access to their... (More) Kodak: Long-zoom 6mpix digicam 08:00 EST - Rounding out its announcements for the day, Eastman Kodak Co. has today unveiled an update to its existing EasyShare Z740 Zoom digital camera. The Kodak EasyShare Z650 looks to have the same Schneider Kreuznach Variogon 10x optical zoom lens along with much the same body, but with an upgraded six megapixel imager and 2.0" LCD display. Other... (More) Kodak: Two new C-series digicams 08:00 EST - Eastman Kodak Co. has today announced two new models for its C-series of EasyShare digital cameras. The Kodak EasyShare C663 is a $300 model planned to go on sale this March, and couples a six megapixel CCD imager with a Schneider-Kreuznach Variogon 3x optical zoom lens and 2.5" LCD display. The... (More) Fujifilm FinePix V10 announced 00:00 EST - Rounding out its group of announcements for the day, Fujifilm USA has released information on its new FinePix V10 digital camera. The first of Fujifilm's 2005 model year cameras to include the company's much-lauded Real Photo technology for controlling image noise, the V10 includes a five megapixel SuperCCD HR image sensor, 3.4x... (More) Fujifilm unveils FinePix F470 00:00 EST - Amongst its announcements leading into this year's Consumer Electronics Show, Fujifilm USA has today unveiled its new FinePix F470 digital camera. Based around a six megapixel CCD imager, and a Fujinon 3x optical zoom lens, the F470 will ship this March for a price of $279. Other features include a 2.5" LCD display, 16MB of internal memory,... (More) Fujfilm: Two new A-series digicams 00:00 EST - Preparing for the Consumer Electronics Show that's due to start this Thursday in Las Vegas, Nevada, Fujifilm USA has today announced two new digital camera models for its FinePix A-series. The Fujifilm FinePix A400 and A500 are closely related models with four and five megapixel SuperCCD HR imagers respectively, coupled to Fujinon 3x optical zoom lenses. Other features of the two cameras... (More) Tuesday, January 3, 2006 PRESS RELEASE: HandHeld Entertainment Announces ``Third Generation'' of ZVUEs; Two New Landscape-Format Portable Media Players to be Highlighted at CES 2006 18:01 EST - SAN FRANCISCO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Jan. 3, 2006-- The New ZVUE 400 is One of Two New Landscape-Format ZVUEs; It Features a 3.5-Inch Screen (320 X 240), 512MB of On-Board Flash and Both Compact Flash and SD Card Slots HandHeld Entertainment(TM) today announced a new "Third Generation" of ZVUE(TM) portable media players, the first ZVUEs designed with a landscape (horizontal) format, a screen twice... (More) PRESS RELEASE: Lexar Adds Innovative Storage Capacity Meter With Electronic Paper Display From E Ink 17:48 EST - LAS VEGAS, January 3, 2006 -- Lexar Media, Inc. (NASDAQ: LEXR), a leader in advanced digital media and accessories, today announced plans to add a unique storage capacity meter to its popular USB flash drives by integrating an innovative electronic paper display from E Ink Corporation. The E Ink display is a paper-thin, shatter proof, easy to read meter that does not rely on power to show the capacity... (More) PRESS RELEASE: Kodak and Lexar Introduce High-Performance Memory Cards 17:46 EST - Ideal for Rapidly Capturing and Viewing Still Pictures and Video using Today's most popular Digital Cameras LAS VEGAS, January 3, 2006 -- Eastman Kodak Company (NYSE:EK) and Lexar Media, Inc. (Nasdaq: LEXR) today introduced KODAK High Performance memory cards designed for digital camera owners who require high-speed processing for rapid-fire still shooting, high frame rate video capture, and fast... (More) PRESS RELEASE: Lexar Adds Corel Corporation's Digital Imaging Software To Line of Flash Memory Cards 17:45 EST - Award-Winning Paint Shop™ Family Software To Enhance Value of Lexar Memory Cards LAS VEGAS, January 3, 2006 -- Lexar Media, Inc. (Nasdaq: LEXR), a world leader in advanced digital media technologies, today announced that the company is adding further value to its widely popular lines of flash memory products by including digital imaging software from Corel Corporation - valued at $30 to $100... (More) PRESS RELEASE: Lexar Introduces PowerToGo - A Portable Working Environment to Increase Mobility For Its USB Flash Drive Line 17:43 EST - New Offer Makes it Possible to Take Applications, Web Surfing Preferences and Multimedia On The Go LAS VEGAS, January 3, 2006 -- Lexar Media, Inc. (NASDAQ: LEXR), a leader in advanced digital media and accessories today at the 2006 Consumer and Electronics Show (CES) announced its plans to incorporate PowerToGo into its line of JumpDrive products, creating a portable working environment for its USB... (More) PRESS RELEASE: Lexar Increases Performance of Platinum Memory Card Line 17:40 EST - Faster Platinum II Cards Ideal for Rapid Fire Shooting and Full Motion Video LAS VEGAS, January 3, 2006 -- Lexar Media, Inc. (Nasdaq: LEXR), a world leader in advanced digital media technologies, will showcase its new Platinum II offering, an enhanced version of the company's Platinum line of flash memory cards, at the 2006 Consumer Electronics Show (CES). Lexar's new Platinum II memory cards provide... (More) PRESS RELEASE: Lexar Offers Full Line of High-Performance Memory Cards Designed for Use in Today's Multimedia Mobile Phones and Other Portable Devices 17:37 EST - LAS VEGAS, January 3, 2006 -- Lexar Media, Inc. (NASDAQ: LEXR), a leader in advanced digital media and accessories, this week at the 2006 International Consumer Electronics Show (CES) will showcase its wide range of flash memory cards that maximize the functionality and performance of advanced mobile phones and handheld multimedia devices. Lexar's full line of mobile memory storage products has expanded... (More) PRESS RELEASE: Lexar Bolsters High-Performance USB Flash Drive Lineup, Offering Exciting New Innovations Beyond Storage 17:35 EST - -- Introducing JumpDrive® Mercury, Featuring A New On-Board Capacity Meter -- LAS VEGAS, January 3, 2006 -- Lexar Media, Inc. (NASDAQ: LEXR), a leader in advanced digital media and accessories, today introduced new additions to its lineup of high-performance USB flash drives, as well as enhancements to existing products, at the 2006 International Consumer Electronics Show (CES). Lexar, a full... (More) Pentax: 8mpix digicam with image stabiliser 17:00 EST - A press release from Pentax Imaging Co. in the runup to this year's Consumer Electronics Show announces a new compact digital camera that features a pairing of some interesting technologies. The Pentax Optio A10 combines the company's 'Sliding Lens System' technology seen in some of the company's past models (which removes elements from the optical path as the lens retracts, allowing a slimmer... (More) Pentax announces Optio E10 digicam 17:00 EST - Pentax of America Inc. has today announced its new Optio E10 digital camera model. Unveiled in a press release from the company's Pentax Imaging Co. division, the Pentax Optio E10 couples a 1/2.5" six megapixel CCD imager, 3x optical zoom lens and Secure Digital card slot in a... (More) Phanfare Mac Beta Updated 15:55 EST - The new version adds iPhoto import, automatic updates, original image export, redeye and other transforms. Phanfare (http://www.phanfare.com) has released an update to the Macintosh version of its Phanfare Photo. In addition to various bug fixes, the highlights of the new release include: iPhoto Importer.... (More) PRESS RELEASE: The Panorama Factory™ V4.2 Adds Support for Multi-Core Processors and 64-Bit Processors 13:08 EST - Pittsburgh, PA - January 3, 2006--LLC has released two new editions of The Panorama Factory, its popular software product for creating panoramic images. The Panorama Factory m32 Edition runs on single- and multi-processor computers, delivering improved stitching speed on multi-processor systems (including multi-core systems) by performing image computations in parallel. The m32 Edition requires Windows... (More) Monday, January 2, 2006 One digicam, two lenses: Kodak announces the EasyShare V570 07:00 EST - Ultrawide angle zoom lenses are tricky and expensive to make, not to mention bulky. Kodak sidesteps these limitations by combining an ordinary 3x zoom lens and a 23mm equivalent fixed focal length ultrawide optic in a single camera, making what's sure to be one of the more intriguing cameras of 2006. Given the maturity of the digital camera market, it's pretty rare when something genuinely new comes along. It's even more rare to find something new that actually meets a real need in the marketplace.... (More) Return to: Current News Archive Index