News Archive - December 2002 Return to: Current News Archive Index Tuesday, December 31, 2002 Nikon View Mac / Windows updated 03:05 EST - Nikon USA has released updates to its digital imaging software for both the Windows and MacOS operating systems. Our friends over at the Digital Camera Resource Page were quick to spot an update to Nikon View, which is now at v5.1.4 on the PC, and v5.5 on the Mac. Changes are as follows: Nikon View 5.1.4 for Windows... (More) Sunday, December 29, 2002 Maha announces 2000mAh NiMH rechargeables (UPDATED) 21:43 EST - Maha Energy Corp., which sells its products under the PowerEx brandname, has announced the introduction of its new 2000mAh AA Size Rechargeable NiMH Batteries in a press release. Aimed at users of high-drain devices like digital cameras, Maha says the new batteries feature "an ultra low internal impedance design delivering longer runtimes.". The new batteries come bundled with... (More) Excellent, free software - full review posted for Kodak EasyShare software system. 20:29 EST - I have to admit, this one was a real surprise to me. I've long been a fan of Kodak's EasyShare camera line, as they offer one of the simplest and most straightforward user experiences of any digicams out there. A big part of their appeal and ease of use though, was the software that Kodak bundled with them. The EasyShare software makes it super-simple to download, organize, tweak, print, and share your photos.... (More) Sigma SD9: Potential battery problems 20:19 EST - Sigma Japan has identified a problem with charge level detection on certain SD9 digital cameras. The problem occurs only when using NiMH AA batteries; with a Lithium Ion CR-V3 disposable battery the camera will operate as normal. The fault lies in the battery 'tray' supplied with the cameras (the... (More) Wednesday, December 25, 2002 Season's Greetings to you and yours! 01:31 EST - Well, it seems that this time of year rolls around faster every time, and we've barely had a chance to see it coming before the Christmas season is upon us. At this time of year, thoughts always turn to family and friends - and with so much contact from you all, we like to think of our readers and their families in that number. We wish each and every one of... (More) Tuesday, December 24, 2002 Super-Easy Slide Show Software! 01:43 EST - There seems to be a lot of interest among our readers in turning their digital photos into slide shows to email, put onto CD, and otherwise share with family and friends. A while back, I reviewed ImageMatics' Still Motion Creator, a nifty program that let you add motion to still images by zooming in or out and panning around the images. It turns out that it also worked... (More) MASSIVE (!) Comparometer Update! 01:37 EST - My poor "Comparometer" feature keeps falling behind the reviews, prompting emails from readers asking to see side by side comparison shots from their favorite, recently-reviewed cameras. What's been going on is that we're working on a dynamic version of it that'll be driven from our camera features database, and which will make it much easier to find and compare images from just the cameras... (More) Gear Review: The Velbon "MAXi" Tripod! 01:26 EST - Tripods are important pieces of photo equipment, but they often get short shrift by photographers and reviewers alike. It made sense then, for IR Newsletter editor Mike Pasini to share a little of his thought process when he went shopping for a lightweight "travel" tripod recently. As Mike points out, "lightweight" and... (More) Wednesday, December 18, 2002 DPReview: Canon EOS-1Ds reviewed 23:00 EST - Our friends at the Digital Photography Review have now posted an in-depth look at Canon's 11 megapixel digital SLR, the EOS-1Ds. Phil does his usual impressive job, with an in-depth look at the camera's controls, interface and image quality. There's 26 gorgeous sample images showing the camera in a wide range of situations, as... (More) Tuesday, December 17, 2002 Two new design wins for SMaL Camera 08:00 EST - The incredibly slender Ultra-Pocket design behind Fuji Japan's 'AXIA eyeplate' and Logitech's Pocket Digital Camera is the basis of two new digital cameras from Radio Shack and Oregon Scientific announced today. A press release from SMaL Camera Technologies announces the RadioShack FlatFoto and Oregon Scientific DS6610, two new digital camera models that are based on the company's Ultra-Pocket digital camera... (More) Monday, December 16, 2002 New version of BreezeBrowser released 15:03 EST - Our friends over at Steve's Digicams spotted that a new version of BreezeBrowser, the image browser and Canon RAW file processor. Version 2.4 adds the following: Raw conversion of Canon Powershot G3 and S45 images Raw conversion of Canon EOS 1Ds images Revised folder tree display in thumbnail view making it easier to access images... (More) Friday, December 13, 2002 Sony responds to c|net's Memory Stick article 18:32 EST - We told readers earlier today about an article from the c|net website claiming that Sony would shortly be releasing a new Memory Stick format with higher capacities and faster performance. The article suggested that the new format would be incompatible with some existing products, and noted that it was unclear what options would be available to current Memory Stick users to upgrade their... (More) Sony preparing updated Memory Stick? (UPDATED) 01:29 EST - An article on c|net News.Com (and mirrored on ZDNet News) suggests that Sony are preparing to release an overhaul of their Memory Stick media which is tentatively being dubbed Memory Stick Pro. According to c|net's article (which is identical to that on ZDNet with the exception of the headline), the cards will be launched at the upcoming International CES show in Las Vegas, Nevada to be held... (More) Thursday, December 12, 2002 Kodak delays DCS Pro 14n launch 17:04 EST - Eastman Kodak Co. has posted a brief note on its website that the launch of its upcoming 13.9 megapixel digital SLR, the DCS Pro 14n, has been pushed back by approximately a month. Originally planned to start shipping next Monday, the camera is now scheduled to go on sale in "the middle of January 2003". No exact reason for the pushback of this launch is given, except to say that... (More) Nikon announces development of D-series digital lenses 09:00 EST - Nikon Inc. has today announced that it is developing a new category of F-Mount autofocus DX-Nikkor interchangeable lenses designed specifically for use with its D-series digital cameras. This announcement is something we've long expected and hoped for, and we're pleased to see Nikon indicating how seriously it takes its digital SLR business with this move. Nikon's D-series SLRs all share... (More) Nikon announces 70 - 200mm stabilised zoom lens 09:00 EST - Nikon Inc. has announced a new addition to its lens lineup, in the form of the AF-S VR Zoom-Nikkor 70-200mm f/2.8G IF-ED lens. Slated for delivery in April 2003 (and with the MSRP expected to be announced 30 days before it ships), the lens features Nikon's Vibration Reduction and Silent Wave Motor technologies. Other noteworthy... (More) Wednesday, December 11, 2002 PRESS RELEASE: Panasonic Introduces New Rechargeable Battery Systems for Daily-Use Consumer Electronics, Including First AA-Size 1950 mAh Rechargeable Ni-MH Battery 23:36 EST - New Rechargeable Batteries Meet the Growing Energy Demands of Today's Electronic Devices, With Up to Six Times the Power of Alkaline Batteries SECAUCUS, N.J., Dec. 4 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Panasonic introduces a new series of rechargeable battery systems designed to address the high energy demands of daily-use electronic devices, and the first AA-size 1950 mAh nickel-metal hydride (Ni-MH) rechargeable... (More) PRESS RELEASE: ACDSee 5.0 Released in German, Italian and Spanish 21:54 EST - Latest version of award-winning image management software now available to global markets Victoria, British Columbia - December 11, 2002 - ACD Systems International Inc. (TSX:ASA), the digital imaging company, today announced that the latest versions of its award-winning image management software, ACDSee™ 5.0 and ACDSee 5.0 PowerPack, will be released in German, Italian and Spanish languages... (More) PRESS RELEASE: Applied Science Fiction™ (ASF™) Digital PIC™ Technology Wins Technical Honors in PC Magazine, Photo Trade News and Popular Science 21:20 EST - ASF's Digital PIC kiosk receives prestigious awards for digital imaging Austin, TX (December 11, 2002) - Applied Science Fiction, Inc., inventor of the cutting-edge digital dry film processing system Digital PIC, today announced that ASF's Digital PIC kiosk has won PC Magazine's Technical Excellence Award in the digital imaging category. Applied Science Fiction's Digital PIC has also been chosen... (More) PRESS RELEASE: DigitalCustom names Andrea de Polo and Christopher Early to advisory board 21:11 EST - San Francisco, CA and Florence, Italy, December 11, 2002 - DigitalCustom Group, Inc. of San Francisco and Fratelli Alinari of Florence today announced that Andrea de Polo of Fratelli Alinari, and Christopher Early, a technology consultant and former President of GameSpy Industries, have joined DigitalCustom's Advisory Board. DigitalCustom's President, Jeff Makoff said, "I am pleased to welcome Andrea... (More) PRESS RELEASE: Web Photo School debuts improved website with access to digital photography lessons, better navigation 17:59 EST - Watsonville, Calif.-Photoflex Inc.'s Web Photo School has just introduced a website with easy access to digital photography lessons and greatly improved site navigation, it was announced today by Chief Executive Officer Gene Kester. With nearly 200 lessons viewable on its website (www.webphotoschool.com), Web Photo School represents the world's largest online source of photography and digital-imaging... (More) Monday, December 9, 2002 Possible malfunction found in S2 Pro (UPDATED) 20:30 EST - Fuji Photo Film U.S.A Inc. has today announced that it has found an intermittent electronic malfunction in a small number of FinePix S2 Pro digital cameras which could render them inoperable. A page on Fuji's website lists the serial numbers of every camera potentially affected. Courtesy of Fuji, the serial numbers can be found below; they're listed in sequences, but there are gaps between... (More) PRESS RELEASE: Panasonic Launches PowerEdge(TM) Digital Camera Battery 18:09 EST - First Oxy-Alkaline Batteries for U.S. Market Last Up to 43 Percent Longer Than Traditional Alkaline Batteries SECAUCUS, N.J., Dec. 4 /PRNewswire/ -- Panasonic has stepped up to the challenge of digital camera users' number one complaint: short battery life. The company's new long-lasting, high-performance PowerEdge(TM) batteries were specifically developed to quench digital cameras' unforgiving demand... (More) Imaging leaders partner for direct printing standard 18:00 EST - A press release from Canon Inc., Fuji Photo Film Company Ltd., Hewlett-Packard Co., Olympus Optical Co. Ltd., Seiko Epson Corp. and Sony Corp. announces that the companies have partnered to propose an industry standard for direct printing from digital still cameras. The new specification has been tentatively named 'DPS', and was initially developed by Canon, HP, Epson and Sony. Fuji and Olympus joined discussions later, and the six companies finalized a proposal for... (More) Saturday, December 7, 2002 DPReview: Canon PowerShot G3 review 00:54 EST - Our friends over at the Digital Photography Review website have now posted their full review of the Canon PowerShot G3 digital camera. Phil does his usual top-quality job of giving the camera a test-drive, and providing all the details in his finely-tuned review format. His conclusion? Read on: "The new features added with the improvements... (More) iNova's Nikon eBook updated to version 5.0! 00:38 EST - Added chapters in the popular eBook from Peter iNova offer insights into the Coolpix 4500 and Coolpix 5700 cameras... Peter iNova, the man behind the highly recommended eBook 'Mastering Nikon Compact Digital Cameras', has been in touch to let us know that he's released a new version which adds updates covering the Nikon... (More) Friday, December 6, 2002 ImageBuddy v2.7.1 released! 21:41 EST - Latest version of Kepmad's Mac photo printing app now available... The folks at Kepmad Systems have released a new version of their Macintosh photo printing application ImageBuddy. v2.7.1 improves reading of EXIF data and eliminates bugs in drag and drop, screen redraw... (More) Wednesday, December 4, 2002 Short-Form review posted for Fuji FinePix A303! 02:20 EST - Fuji has made a business of building very functional cameras with good color and image quality and selling them at very low prices. One recent example of this is their FinePix A303 model, a nice three-megapixel, 3x zoom design that uses the new xD-Picture Cards. (But why, oh why, did Fuji and Olympus have to dream up yet *another*... (More) Fuji S602 Pro Zoom not coming to the USA (UPDATED) 02:08 EST - We didn't have time to mention this whilst we were away at Comdex, but saw from our friends in the UK at the Digital Photography Review website of a new digital camera model from Fuji, the S602 Pro Zoom. The camera (described in detail in DPReview's coverage) is very similar to the existing FinePix S602 Zoom, with the addition of a PC Sync socket, manual threaded cable release socket, black body finish,... (More) Tuesday, December 3, 2002 Canon PowerShot S45 comes to the USA 19:21 EST - We first told you about Canon's PowerShot S45 digital camera back at Photokina when it was announced for the European and Japanese markets. At that time, Canon told us that the camera would not be coming to the US any time soon - and with the exception of grey-imports (which are a risky buy, since they usually have no warranty) the camera... (More) Toshiba cuts digicam prices 18:56 EST - Toshiba Imaging Systems has today announced a series of price-cuts on its digital cameras in the run up to the holiday season. With only three weeks until Christmas, the company has adjusted pricing as follows: PDR-M25 (2.2 megapixel, 3x zoom): $199 PDR-2300 (2 megapixel, 3x zoom): $199 PDR-T10 (2 megapixel, non-zoom with touch-screen):... (More) PRESS RELEASE: Kodak Announces the KAI-4010M Interline CCD Image Sensor for High Resolution Real-time Imaging 04:32 EST - New 4-Million Pixel Image Sensor Targets the Medical, Machine Vision and Microscopy Markets Rochester, N.Y., December 2, 2002 Eastman Kodak Company announced today the new Kodak KAI-4010M Interline Transfer Progressive Scan CCD image sensor for real-time digital imaging. The KAI-4010M is a 4-million pixel sensor with progressive scan readout that enables digital camera systems to capture high-resolution... (More) Kodak EasyShare software now free (UPDATED) 00:30 EST - Eastman Kodak Co. is now distributing its EasyShare digital imaging software free of charge through its web site, we notice from a press release. If you're not familiar with the EasyShare software, it is definitely worth checking out. We've been fans of it for some time; it is about as straightforward and newbie-friendly as you could imagine, but... (More) Monday, December 2, 2002 NEWSFLASH: EOS-1Ds orders open 16:44 EST - RitzCamera.com is now accepting orders for the Canon EOS-1DS, the recently-announced 11 megapixel interchangeable lens digital SLR. Note though, that there are a *lot* of people wanting to purchase this camera (we received more requests to join our notification mailing list than we've ever had before for a new product), so it's important... (More) Pretec's new 3GB CF tested 07:36 EST - The good folks over at the Digital Photography Review website have posted a brief article looking at the latest (and largest) CF cards on the market, manufactured by Pretec. We first told you about the cards at Comdex, and it seems Phil Askey has been lucky enough to get his hands on one of the few samples currently available. To see just what you can expect from a card with... (More) Outback Photo: 1Ds / film comparison and more 07:31 EST - Our friends Uwe, Bettina and the rest of the team at the Digital Outback Photo website are hard at work as usual... In the last few days, they've posted several new articles that caught our eye. Perhaps most interesting for a DSLR nut like Mike is the the "quick and dirty" comparison of Canon's EOS-1Ds digital camera... (More) PRESS RELEASE: ImageBuddy v2.7.0 For Macintosh Upgraded 07:17 EST - Kepmad Systems today released ImageBuddy v2.7.0 for Both Mac OSX and Classic. ImageBuddy's simple and intuitive interface lets you rotate, size, crop, mask and layout your digital photos for printing in just a few simple click. Version 2.7.0 is an update to the program that adds side by side image compare and transparent text water marking allowing you to select your finest images and protect them... (More) Return to: Current News Archive Index