News Archive - August 2005 Return to: Current News Archive Index Wednesday, August 31, 2005 Pentax announces Optio S6 18:00 EDT - A press release today from Pentax Imaging Co. announces a new digital camera model that, at 0.7 inches thick, the company says is its slimmest to date. The Pentax Optio S6 achieves its slim body courtesy of a lens design featuring glass-molded aspherical lenses that are concave on both sides, and a thinner CCD imager, the company notes. The camera has... (More) Pentax updates Optio WP 18:00 EDT - A second announcement from Pentax Imaging Co. today is its new Optio WPi digital camera, an update to the Optio WP model that was announced last January. Changes in the new model include a higher-resolution six megapixel CCD imager, higher-resolution LCD display, updated ISO range of 80 - 400 (plus ISO 800 in Candle mode), three new scene modes (Fireworks,... (More) Tuesday, August 30, 2005 Ricoh prepares GR-series digicam 06:14 EDT - A brief press release on the website of Ricoh Global today announces that the company will soon unveil a digital camera that follows in the footsteps of its GR-series of film cameras. Unveiled in late 1996, the original Ricoh GR1 was popular for its high-quality 28mm f/2.8 lens. Its successors the GR1s, GR10, and GR1V offered the same lens, while the GR21 offered an equally impressive... (More) Ricoh preparing 5mpix, 7.1x ultracompact? 05:34 EDT - Articles from several Chinese websites recently suggest that office automation / consumer electronics company Ricoh Co. Ltd. of Japan is working on a new digital camera model with a fairly interesting feature set. The rumored Ricoh Caplio R3 would follow in the footsteps of the company's Caplio R1, R2, and R2S models, which offered 4.8x optical zoom lenses in ultracompact bodies. The new R3, according to these rumors,... (More) Maha: new charger offers speed, ease of use 04:06 EDT - A press release from Maha Energy Corp. announces the release of its new MH-C801D eight-cell AA / AAA battery charger. Unusually attractive (as chargers go), the MH-C801D has obviously been designed with a mind towards ease-of-use. A large, clear LCD display shows both the current charge level and the charging status... (More) Monday, August 29, 2005 Olympus: New 6mpix UltraZoom digicam 09:00 EDT - Rounding out its announcements for the day, Olympus USA has today revealed the new SP-500 UltraZoom digital camera. This model features a resolution of six megapixels coupled with its 38 - 380mm equivalent 10x optical zoom lens. Other features include a choice of electronic viewfinder and 2.5" LCD display, xD-Picture... (More) Olympus announces Stylus 600 09:00 EDT - Olympus America has today distributed a press release for its new Stylus 600 digital camera. Featuring a resolution of six megapixels and a 3x optical zoom lens, the Stylus 600 includes 7.9MB of built-in memory and an xD-Picture Card slot on which to store images. There's no optical viewfinder,... (More) Olympus: Two new digicams launch SP series 09:00 EDT - Olympus USA has today taken the wraps off two new digital cameras that mark the start of its SP-series. The Olympus SP-310 and SP-350 have resolutions of 7.4 and 8.3 megapixels respectively, coupled with a 38 - 114mm equivalent 3x optical zoom lens. Other specs include a 2.5" LCD display, optical viewfinder,... (More) Olympus launches new FE digicam series 09:00 EDT - A press release from Olympus America today announces the launch of a new series of digital cameras, the Olympus FE-100, FE-110 and FE-120. Closely related, these entry-level models offer sensor resolutions from four to six megapixels, coupled with 2.8x or 3.0x zoom lenses, and 1.5" or 1.8" LCD displays. All three models feature... (More) PRESS RELEASE: Olympus P-11 Digital Photo Printer Produces Photo-lab Quality Prints At Remarkable Speed 09:00 EDT - Fastest Consumer Snapshot Dye-Sub Printer Delivers Professional Results In As Little As 30 Seconds Melville, New York, August 29, 2005 – The new Olympus P-11 gives consumers everything they could want from a premium home photo printer including fast photo-lab quality prints, ease-of-use, portability and affordability. Unlike ink jet prints that play connect-the-dots to form images, dye-sublimation... (More) Friday, August 26, 2005 DXG announces 5mpix compact digicam 09:12 EDT - DXG USA, the United States subsidiary of Taiwanese digicam manufacturer DXG Technology Corporation, has announced a new model available immediately for $199. The DXG Model 528 digital camera features a resolution of five megapixels, coupled with an smc Pentax-branded 3x optical zoom lens. Other features include a 2.4" low-temperature polysilicon LCD display,... (More) Thursday, August 25, 2005 ATI announces photo contest 16:06 EDT - A new photo contest launched by ATI Technologies Inc. offers photographers aged 13 or older the chance to win digital imaging products valued in the thousands of dollars, a press release from the company announces. From now through September 23rd, entries are being accepted on ATI's website, with five categories available: People, Humor, Nature, Animals, and Other. You can enter one photo in each category, and the... (More) PRESS RELEASE: X-Rite's Color Management Products Now Available in the UK at Computers Unlimited 15:03 EDT - GRANDVILLE, Mich.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Aug. 25, 2005--X-Rite (NASDAQ:XRIT) today announced Computers Unlimited will distribute its award winning digital imaging color solutions exclusively to its customers in the UK. The company will carry X-Rite's MonacoEZcolor color management software, MonacoOPTIXXR (DTP94) colorimeter and Pulse(TM) (DTP20) spectrophotometer, for high-speed, accurate proofs, creating... (More) Hasselblad expands digital offerings 02:13 EDT - A press release from Hasselblad USA has announced four new digital imaging products, closely related to each other. Most significant for readers of this site will likely be the Hasselblad H2D, a medium format digital camera with a sensor resolution of 22 megapixels. Following in the footsteps of the H1, the H2D is... (More) Wednesday, August 24, 2005 Canon: 12 new printers unveiled 18:23 EDT - Alongside all its camera and accessory announcements, Canon showed its strength in yet another field with a vast array of new printers unveiled. Three new SELPHY compact photo printers printing 4" x 8", 4" x 6", or 2.1" x 3.4" prints are likely to give retail photofinishers a shock, with a per-print 4" x 6"... (More) PRESS RELEASE: Amazon.com To Provide Online Photo Services Powered By Shutterfly 10:31 EDT - REDWOOD CITY, Calif. - (August 22, 2005) - Shutterfly, the leading independent e-commerce company specializing in digital photo products and services today announced a new relationship with Amazon Services, Inc. to promote and provide its products and services through the Amazon.com website. Amazon.com customers can take full advantage of Shutterfly's award-winning service immediately through a co-branded... (More) PRESS RELEASE: Dxo Optics Pro V3.0 Software To Support New Full-frame Canon Digital Slr 09:34 EDT - Photographers worldwide to benefit from DxO Labs' image enhancement technologies with the new Canon EOS 5D, Canon EOS-1D Mark II N and new Canon lenses Paris, France, August 22, 2005 - DxO Labs announced today that DxO Optics Pro v3.0 Digital SLR and lens automatic image quality enhancement software will soon support Canon's new Digital SLRs and lenses. DxO Optics Pro v3.0 incorporates revolutionary... (More) Panasonic Lumix DMC-LZ1 reviewed 09:12 EDT - The Panasonic Lumix DMC-LZ1 is a pretty unique digital camera. It packs a 6x zoom lens into a surprisingly compact body, and throws in Panasonic's excellent MegaOIS Optical Image Stabilization technology for good measure. Along with the long, stabilized zoom lens,... (More) PRESS RELEASE: Visioneer Sets Price / Performance Standard for Duplex Scanning With New Strobe XP 300 08:47 EDT - Duplex Mobile Scanner Includes Patented AutoLaunch Technology and Choice of USB-Power or Wall-Powered Operation PLEASANTON, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Aug. 23, 2005--Visioneer, Inc., a leader in intelligent imaging solutions, today announced the Strobe XP 300, a duplex mobile scanner designed for the busy professional who needs a fast and reliable scanning solution that can be used anywhere. The Strobe... (More) Sanyo announces Xacti DSC-S6 07:22 EDT - Sanyo Japan has today announced the latest in its Xacti DSC-Sx series of digital cameras, the new Xacti DSC-S6. Featuring radically different styling to all of the past DSC-Sx models, the Xacti S6 is slightly wider than those cameras, but shorter, thinner and lighter at the same time. This comes at the expense... (More) Canon: New lenses, Speedlite 430EX flash 06:34 EDT - Alongside its two new digital SLR announcements, Canon USA has announced some related items. A new Speedlite 430EX flash strobe replaces the existing Speedlite 420EX, and features an increased guide number of 43/141 (ISO 100, meters/feet), a built-in 14mm wide panel, 40% faster recycle time,... (More) Tuesday, August 23, 2005 Fujifilm FinePix Z1 reviewed 16:54 EDT - Not only is the Fujifilm FinePix Z1 handsome and nice to hold, its color is very good, its resolution excellent, and noise levels at low ISOs are very low as well. It offers good low light performance when compared against the other compact and subcompact digital cameras with which it competes. Photo quality is generally good, but it does tend to oversaturate reds,... (More) Pentax announces Optio S60 16:32 EDT - Pentax USA has introduced a new release slated to ship this October, in the form of the Optio S60 digital camera. The S60 features what looks to be the same body, lens and feature set as the existing Optio S45 and S55 models, but with two notable changes. The image sensor has been updated from the four and five megapixel... (More) Software Review: Adobe CS2 -- Running the Suite 11:41 EDT - We conclude our three-part review of Adobe Creative Suite 2 with this look at the underlying architecture of the Suite. How does it change what you do, what you can do, when you match Photoshop with InDesign, Illustrator, GoLive and Acrobat Pro? On the document side, we recall Adobe's PostScript beginnings and track its evolution into the cross-platform, device independent PDF model. Then we look at the use of metadata formats like XML and XMP... (More) Monday, August 22, 2005 Canon DSLR lineup: A comparison 07:18 EDT - With today's digital camera announcements from Canon complete, the company now has a current lineup of single-lens reflex digital cameras spanning some six models in different segments. Canon's DSLRs range all the way from the original EOS Digital Rebel, an entry-level model with a 6.3 effective megapixel imager, up to the 16.7-megapixel EOS-1Ds Mark II. We've prepared an in-depth table... (More) It's real: Canon's EOS 5D full frame DSLR 06:00 EDT - Canon USA has today unveiled its new EOS 5D digital SLR, confirming rumors that have been swirling for a couple of weeks now. The Canon EOS 5D is bound to attract quite a bit of attention, thanks to its use of a newly developed 35mm-frame sized CMOS image sensor with a 12.8 effective megapixel resolution. The use of a full 35mm... (More) Canon updates the EOS-1D Mark II 06:00 EDT - Canon USA has today announced an update to the existing EOS-1D Mark II digital camera, incorporating a wide range of incremental changes based on feedback from professional photographers. The Canon EOS-1D Mark II N shares an almost-identical body with its predecessor, along with the same 8.2 effective megapixel CMOS image sensor and EF lens mount. The only outwardly obvious change is an... (More) Canon: Two new Digital ELPH cameras 06:00 EDT - Rounding out Canon's consumer-level announcements for the day, the new PowerShot SD450 and SD550 Digital ELPH are based on the existing SD400 and SD500 models, which will also stay in the company's lineup. The bodies and lenses on the SD450 and SD550 are the same as their predecessors, with the exception of changes made to accomodate larger 2.5" LCD displays. Despite the larger screen size, Canon has... (More) Canon reveals SD30 Digital ELPH 06:00 EDT - A press release from Canon USA today unveils the stylish new PowerShot SD30 Digital ELPH digicam. Following in the footsteps of the PowerShot SD10 and SD20, the new SD30 features the same five megapixel resolution as the SD20, but with a new LCD display, lens and radically overhauled styling. The... (More) Canon PowerShot S80 announced (UPDATED) 06:00 EDT - Canon USA's raft of announcements continue with the unveiling of the new PowerShot S80, an update to the existing S70 model. Pricing for the S80 is set at $549.99, with availability slated for early October, and there are a number of changes to be found in the new model. The clamshell design is retained, but the camera has... (More) Canon USA: Two new A6xx powershots 06:00 EDT - Continuing its announcements for the day, Canon USA has taken the wraps off its new PowerShot A610 and A620 digital cameras. Closely related, the A610 and A620 together replace the existing A95 model in Canon's lineup. Both cameras now offer a 4x optical zoom lens, rather than the A95's 3x zoom. The lower-spec A610 model retains... (More) Canon announces PowerShot A410 06:00 EDT - Canon USA has today announced a replacement for its A400 digital camera, in the form of the new Canon PowerShot A410. The new model will ship at the end of this month, with pricing set at US$149. At three megapixels, resolution remains the same as the previous model, but in place of the A400's 2.2x optical zoom lens... (More) Sunday, August 21, 2005 Pentax updates *ist DS digital SLR 18:00 EDT - A press release today from Pentax Imaging Co. announces the new *ist DS2 digital SLR, based on the existing *ist DS model and due to ship next month. First announced almost a year ago, Pentax notes that the original *ist DS was its "most popular digital SLR to date". The new *ist DS2 sports the same sensor resolution, and the same range of... (More) Friday, August 19, 2005 Konica Minolta announces DiMAGE Z6 02:00 EDT - Konica Minolta Photo Imaging U.S.A. Inc. has today announced an update to its existing DiMAGE Z5 digital camera model, which was announced last January. The Konica Minolta DiMAGE Z6 is a relatively simple sensor swap. Specifications all seem to be identical to the previous camera, with the exception of resolution (now six megapixels), and the movie modes... (More) PRESS RELEASE: Konica Minolta Announces Development Of A New Interchangeable Lens Designed For The Maxxum Line Of Digital And 35mm SLR Cameras 02:00 EDT - Konica Minolta AF 35mm f/1.4G (D) will be available in the spring of 2006 Mahwah, NJ (August 19, 2005) – Konica Minolta Photo Imaging U.S.A., Inc., announces the development of the Konica Minolta AF 35mm f/1.4G (D)* interchangeable lens for Maxxum digital and 35mm Single Lens-Reflex (SLR) cameras. The lens is planned for release in the spring of 2006. “With the development of this... (More) PRESS RELEASE: Konica Minolta DiMAGE Scan Elite 5400 II Film Scanner Receives Prestigious 2005 Honor 02:00 EDT - Mahwah, NJ (August 19, 2005) – Konica Minolta Photo Imaging U.S.A., Inc. announces that the Konica Minolta DiMAGE Scan Elite 5400 II 35mm film scanner has received the prestigious “European Scanner of the Year 2005-2006” award from the European Imaging and Sound Association (EISA). “This award is especially significant because it recognizes Konica Minolta’s commitment... (More) Wednesday, August 17, 2005 PRESS RELEASE: Photodex Corporation Releases Professional Slide Show Software, ProShow Producer 09:07 EDT - AUSTIN, Texas, Aug. 17 /PRNewswire/ -- Photodex(R) Corporation today released ProShow(R) Producer, the first high-end multimedia slide show presentation product designed specifically for professional photographers. Producer joins the industry leading ProShow product line as the top tier program. It is equipped with powerful new features that streamline workflow and enable professional photographers... (More) Tuesday, August 16, 2005 PRESS RELEASE: Visioneer Acquires JFL Peripheral Solutions and Appoints Jon Harju as Senior Vice President of Engineering; JFL Peripheral Solutions and Visioneer Combine Expertise to Integrate Industry Standards into Document Imaging Services 18:12 EDT - PLEASANTON, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Aug. 16, 2005--Visioneer Inc., a leader in intelligent imaging solutions, today announced that it has acquired JFL Peripheral Solutions, the leading independent provider of scanner driver development services and products. JFL Peripheral Solutions will strengthen Visioneer's imaging solutions by adding intellectual property, including its unique engineering tools... (More) JD Power releases digicam report 15:55 EDT - A press release from J.D. Power and Associates announces the release of its "2005 Digital Camera Satisfaction Study", based on surveys from 4,256 digital camera buyers in the first six months of the year. Readers are likely familiar with J.D. Power, whose name is best known in automotive circles. The company operates by surveying recent buyers of products to ask them questions that gauge their satisfaction,... (More) PRESS RELEASE: Kodak Ranked Highest in Two Segments of J.D. Power and Associates 2005 Digital Camera Satisfaction Study SM For Second Year In A Row 15:08 EDT - KODAK EASYSHARE Cameras Highest Ranked Brand in the $200-399 and $199 or Less Price Segments; Representing More Than 85 Percent of the U.S. Digital Camera Market ROCHESTER, N.Y., Aug. 16 -- Solidifying its reputation for quality and ease of use among consumers, Eastman Kodak Company today again captured the highest rankings in two of the four segments in the J.D. Power and Associates 2005 Digital... (More) Monday, August 15, 2005 HP: new entry-level compact digicam (UPDATED) 11:21 EDT - Hewlett Packard Co. has (as so often seems to be the case) quietly introduced a new digital camera model on its website sometime in the last few weeks, which we've just now noticed. The Hewlett Packard PhotoSmart E317 looks to be closely related to the existing E217, M22 and M23 models, but with a number of significant changes from each. Both the E217 and E317 adopt fixed focus,... (More) PRESS RELEASE: Fujifilm News: FinePix F10 Zoom voted European Pocket Camera of the Year 09:46 EDT - '24-hour camera' scoops prestigious European Imaging and Sound Association (EISA) award Fujifilm announced today that it has been awarded a coveted EISA* Award for its critically acclaimed FinePix F10 Zoom camera. This latest addition to the Fujifilm digital camera range has been named European Pocket Camera of the Year 2005-2006. The FinePix F10 Zoom incorporates some of Fujifilm's most progressive... (More) Sanyo Germany announces ultracompact digicam (UPDATED) 08:35 EDT - Our friends over at the digitalkamera.de website in Germany have covered news of a new digital camera announcement in that market from consumer electronics company Sanyo. The Sanyo Xacti E6 is an ultra-compact six megapixel model with a 3x optical zoom lens (although Sanyo persists in including interpolation in its cameras, this time almost doubling the resolution to 10.2... (More) Friday, August 12, 2005 Oregon readers: Lunar photography workshop tomorrow (UPDATED) 14:02 EDT - During the course of catching up on the day's news, we stumbled across an item that may be of interest to Imaging Resource readers near to Bend, Oregon. Tomorrow night, the University Of Oregon's Pine Mountain Observatory will be conducting a hands-on workshop on how to take photos of the moon and planets with standard digital cameras. The workshop is... (More) Nikon D50 review updated to full production status 10:39 EDT - Given the amount of email we've been getting lately, this has to be one of the most eagerly anticipated production updates to a review we've ever done. Wait no more, our Nikon D50 review has now been updated to include test results and sample images from a full production model. My initial (very positive) impressions of the D50 were largely borne out... (More) Review posted for the Kodak EasyShare V550 08:12 EDT - The Kodak V550's fully automatic exposure control performs surprisingly well in a wide variety of conditions, requiring less exposure adjustment or tweaking than do most competing models. For more difficult shooting conditions, a wide range of preset "Scene" modes extend the camera's capabilities nicely. Its design is solid and has a high quality feel, with cool blue LEDs on the top panel... (More) PRESS RELEASE: Put Your Pictures On The Big Screen With Shutterfly's Photoshow DVD 07:24 EDT - Shutterfly Brings Memories to Life with Customized Multimedia DVD REDWOOD CITY, CALIF. - (August 10, 2005) - Responding to customers' requests for more options to preserve and share memories, Shutterfly®, Inc., the leading independent e-commerce company specializing in digital photo products and services, today introduced PhotoShow DVD, a product that enables customers to transform their favorite... (More) Thursday, August 11, 2005 Bibble updated to v4.3 17:22 EDT - A press release today from Bibble Labs, the company behind the popular RAW file converter program Bibble, announces the release of a new version of the software. Bibble v4.3 includes a wide range of new features, updates and bug-fixes. Key among these are a new straightening tool, improved raw-processing speed, additional highlight recovery controls, and a new... (More) Wednesday, August 10, 2005 Sanyo: New digicam plant in Vietnam (UPDATED) 20:01 EDT - Vietnamese newspaper Thanh Nien has reported on its website that Sanyo Electric Co. Ltd. will soon open a new digital camera plant in the southern Vietnamese province of Dong Nai. According to the article, the new plant will be located in an industrial zone in the province, and will initially have an output of 3,000 cameras per month. This is slated to rise to 10,000 cameras per... (More) PRESS RELEASE: ExpoImaging Announces an Affordable Custom White Balance Filter for Fixed Lens "Prosumer" and Entry Level Digital SLR Cameras 19:40 EDT - MORGAN HILL, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Aug. 9, 2005--ExpoImaging, Inc., the pioneer in diffusion filters that allow professional and high-end photographers to balance color at capture, today announced a custom white balance filter for fixed lens prosumer and entry-level digital SLR cameras. The new product, called the ExpoCap Custom White Balance Aid, is a white balancing tool available in 52mm, 58mm,... (More) CIPA manufacturers lower sales growth expectations 19:20 EDT - A news article from Bloomberg.com today notes that the Japan-based Camera & Imaging Products Association (CIPA) has revised its estimate for digital camera sales growth, including a projection for the Japanese digicam market to shrink for the first time. According to the article, worldwide digicam shipments from Japanese manufacturers are expected to climb 8.4% this year, to a total of 64.8 million units. That's a long way short of the 21% rise to 72.2... (More) PRESS RELEASE: Kingston Broadens SD Ultimate Line with 2-GB Card 14:32 EDT - Increases Capacity of Ultra Performance Card Line for Professional Digital Users FOUNTAIN VALLEY, Calif., Aug. 9 /PRNewswire/ -- Kingston Technology Company, Inc., the independent world leader in memory products, today announced the further expansion of its Secure Digital (SD) Ultimate Card product line with the release of a new ultra-performing 2-GB capacity card. With super-fast 120X transfer rates,... (More) PRESS RELEASE: Camera Phones to Steal Low-End Digital Camera Market within Two Years, Says ABI Research 14:23 EDT - OYSTER BAY, N.Y.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Aug. 10, 2005--Within two years, low-end camera phones will take much of the market share now held by low-end standalone digital cameras. ABI Research principal analyst of global wireless operator research Kenneth Hyers says, "We believe that within the next two years, the quality of a mobile phone camera will be such that people won't need low-end standalone digital... (More) PRESS RELEASE: Phanfare, Inc. Strengthens Its Senior Management Team 13:28 EDT - Online Photo and Video-Sharing Site Selects Adam Stein as New Vice President of Marketing Metuchen, NJ (August 10, 2005) - New Jersey-based online photo and video sharing service Phanfare, Inc. (http://www.phanfare.com) announces the addition of Adam Stein as Phanfare's new vice president of marketing. In his new position, Adam Stein will be responsible for new customer acquisition and retention,... (More) Tuesday, August 9, 2005 Kodak under informal SEC probe 19:36 EDT - A news item from BusinessWeek Online details an ongoing (and informal) probe into Eastman Kodak Co. after the company restated its financial statements for 2003 and the first three quarters of 2004. Eastman Kodak Co. noted last January that it had uncovered accounting mistakes that required its profits to be restated some $105 million lower over the almost two-year period. Company spokesman David... (More) TWICE interviews digicam industry experts 18:41 EDT - A digital imaging roundtable hosted by This Week In Consumer Electronics - the business newspaper best known by its acronym TWICE - makes for very interesting reading. The roundtable, which is published on TWICE's website, features commentary from almost all the players in the world of digital SLRs, including: Canon: Chuck Westfall Fujifilm: Ron Gzzola Kodak: Philip... (More) Canon: New firmware for the EOS 20D 17:56 EDT - Canon Japan has today released updated firmware for its EOS 20D digital SLR that corrects a problem when using the camera with its EOS Capture application. Canon's 2.0.2 firmware for the 20D also incorporates the updates made in past firmware revisions. The newly-fixed problem occurred when attempting to use EOS Capture with the EOS 20D set to the "RAW+JPEG"... (More) Nikon Q2 net income soars 17:37 EDT - Financial website Bloomberg.com is reporting that Nikon Corp. has raised net income in the second quarter of this year a whopping fourfold over year-ago levels. According to the Bloomberg item, Nikon's Q2 net income was ¥7.76 billion, up from ¥1.72 billion in Q2 last year. Sales rose a more modest 14% in the same period, to ¥157.4 billion. The company... (More) Kodak, Canon increase digicam market share 17:07 EDT - A news item from financial website Bloomberg.com reports that Eastman Kodak Co. and Canon Inc. have increased their share of the US market at the expense of rival (and past leader) Sony Corp. According to the article, which is based on a report from market research company IDC's Chris Chute, all three companies saw a significant drop in market growth from year-ago levels. Kodak overtook Sony... (More) Monday, August 8, 2005 Software Review: Photoshop CS2 18:38 EDT - We continue our review of Adobe Creative Suite 2 with a look at Photoshop's evolution. Adobe told us they used Photoshop's 15-year milestone to rethink some basic operations. The goal was to make the product more user-friendly for the legions of digital photographers marching their way. We highlight the improvements to tools, workflow and customization before taking a closer look at a few significant new features including the new Mac plug-in architecture, activation policy, some new... (More) SanDisk aims for brand status 17:05 EDT - An interesting news article from Business Week Online looks at flash-card company SanDisk Corp.'s plans to improve its brand recognition as it fights in an increasingly competitive and crowded marketplace. According to the article, SanDisk's revenues have climbed an average of 70% over the last three years, and with a 19% forecast increase this year, the company should top $.21 billion in revenues. Price... (More) Saturday, August 6, 2005 July POTD winners chosen! 18:15 EDT - "Solstice Dawn," "three pipes," and "Hikin' With Mom" were chosen as July's Photo of the Day contest winners. Congratulations to Richard Brewer, Elke M�nzel, and Kerry Haines. We've digitally riffled through thirty one shots from July to pick our three winners after quite a bit of careful deliberation. It's clear our readers have been improving their style, because many of the... (More) PRESS RELEASE: Sandisk's Extreme III And Ultra II Cards Win Three Editor's Choice Awards From American Photo Magazine 15:26 EDT - SanDisk Cards Recognized For Speed, Performance and Versatility SUNNYVALE, CA, Aug. 4, 2005 - SanDisk® Corporation (NASDAQ:SNDK) today announced that its SanDisk Extreme™ III card family, 8-gigabyte (GB)* SanDisk Ultra® II CompactFlash® and new SanDisk Ultra II PLUS SD™ card line have won three Editor's Choice Awards by American PHOTO Magazine. The American PHOTO Editor's Choice... (More) Thursday, August 4, 2005 Casio Japan, Europe: Exilim EX-Z500 22:05 EDT - Casio completes its digital camera announcements for the day with a new model unveiled in Europe and Asia - the Casio EXILIM EX-Z500. An ultracompact model with no optical viewfinder in favor of a large 2.7" LCD display, the EX-Z500 features a five megapixel CCD imager and 3x optical zoom lens. Other features include SD/MMC storage... (More) Casio UK announces Exilim EX-Z10 20:57 EDT - Casio UK has today announced a new EXILIM digital camera model similar to the EX-Z110 and EX-Z120 models just announced in the USA. The Casio EXILIM EX-Z10 is more closely-related to the EX-Z110 model, with which it shares a similar body and the same lens, but with a lower-resolution five megapixel CCD imager. Other features include... (More) Casio USA: Two new EXILIM digicams 20:29 EDT - A press release from Casio Inc. today announces two new digital camera models for the North American market. The Casio EXILIM EX-Z110 and EX-Z120 are closely related, sharing a similar body that features a choice of optical viewfinder and 2.0" LCD display, as well as SD/MMC storage, and power from two AA... (More) Wednesday, August 3, 2005 High-end focus working for Konica Minolta 13:45 EDT - A news article from Forbes.com reports that Konica Minolta Holdings Inc. has raised net profits one percent in the first quarter to June 2005, thanks in part to a focus on higher-end digital camera models. The company saw digital camera unit sales at its photo imaging division fall 23% to some 550,000 units last quarter, but reported that its average retail pricing for digital cameras rose an impressive... (More) PRESS RELEASE: Transcend Releases the latest Advancement in SD Memory Card Technology, the SuperFast 150X SD Memory Card 13:36 EDT - The growing popularity of high-resolution digital cameras and multimedia devices has increased the demand for faster and better performing Flash Memory Cards. Transcend Information Inc., a world leader in flash memory devices, continues its role as an innovative developer with the release of its 150X Ultra-Performance High-speed Secure Digital (SD™) Cards (up to 2GB), the highest performing SD™... (More) PRESS RELEASE: Transcend Releases its High Capacity, 4GB Industrial Type High Speed CompactFlash (CF) Memory Card 13:32 EDT - Specialized Industrial devices are often pushed to the limits, but are still expected to perform, even in extreme environmental conditions. Transcend's industrial type CompactFlash™ (CF) Memory Cards are specially designed to withstand these severe environments. Industrial conditions that can often mean exposing our CF Memory Cards to temperature extremes, which would render a normal CF Card... (More) Review posted for the Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ4 12:33 EDT - Following on the popularity of the FZ3 digital camera, Panasonic has introduced the FZ4 and FZ5, the latter we've already reviewed and given a Dave's Pick. While the FZ4 looks the same, I found it to be a mixed bag when compared to the FZ5. I was very pleased with the FZ4's speed. It has some of the fastest full-autofocus shutter lag numbers I've yet seen... (More) Tuesday, August 2, 2005 PRESS RELEASE: H-E-B Partners with LifePics for Digital Imaging Services 23:03 EDT - Boulder, CO -- LifePics today announced that it is now the digital imaging services provider for H-E-B, a major retailer based in San Antonio, Texas. H-E-B will use the LifePics online solution to allow its customers to upload digital photos for next-day printing at any of its 270+ stores in Texas. "We are thrilled to have H-E-B as a customer," said Vahe Christianian, VP of Sales and Business Development.... (More) HP bails on Asian digicam market 12:05 EDT - A brief news article from press agency Reuters notes that Hewlett Packard Co. has taken the decision to stop selling its lineup of digital cameras in Asia. According to the article, HP is refocusing its energy on the more profitable home photo printing market for the region. The company will continue to sell its digital cameras in North America, Europe, and... (More) Kodak announces EasyShare P-series 07:30 EDT - Eastman Kodak Co. has today unveiled two new digital cameras that mark the launch of a new EasyShare P-series, offering high specifications aimed at users who want much of the versatility of an SLR, but with the ability to record movies and see their images through an electronic viewfinder. The Kodak EasyShare P850 Zoom and P880 Zoom share similar styling, with both models being very reminiscent of an SLR camera. At $499, the P850 Zoom is the lower-cost option and includes a 5.1 megapixel... (More) Monday, August 1, 2005 Tanagra discounts backup software 16:20 EDT - A press release from Tanagra Inc. today announces a 25% discount on its Memeo backup software throughout August for any customer purchasing a storage hardware device from Buffalo Technology. Buffalo's product line includes the Drivestation, Linkstation, Gigabit Linkstation and Terastation, offering anywhere from 120 gigabytes to a whopping 1.6 terabytes of storage - which would be rather nice... (More) PRESS RELEASE: Extensis Sells Plug-ins to Third Party Software Developer 13:25 EDT - onOne Software purchases popular line of productivity enhancement products for Photoshop and QuarkXPress. PORTLAND, Ore. -July 28, 2005 - Celartem, Inc. and its company brands - Extensis and LizardTech - today announce the sale of its popular Photoshop Plug-ins and QuarkXPress XTensions to independent software developer, onOne Software. Products included in this purchase are pxl SmartScale, PhotoFrame,... (More) Sony announces new T-series ultracompact 01:02 EDT - A press release today from Sony USA announces its new DSC-T5 digital camera, a sleek and attractive addition to its lineup of ultracompact T-series digicams. The DSC-T5 will be available in four colors - red, champagne gold, silver and black - and sports a five megapixel imager and prism-folded 3x optical zoom lens protected by a sliding lens barrier. Other... (More) Return to: Current News Archive Index