April 1999

04-30-99

Agfa's ScanWise Software Takes the Complexity Out of Scanning WILMINGTON, Mass.--Agfa Corporation's Desktop Products Group has simplified the scanning process by enabling consumers to scan documents and photos just as easily as they would use a photocopier or fax machine. ScanWise, a revolutionary scanner interface designed for the SoHo and consumer world, dispels the myth that scanning is a complicated procedure best left to professionals. Users can scan a wide range of originals and incorporate the images or text into documents, emails and presentations -- at the click of a single button. Image formats, scanning and output resolutions can all be pre-determined by the ScanWise software, to leave users with few technical details to worry about. The technology from Agfa's ColorTune(tm) (color management software) and PhotoGenie(tm) (image enhancement technology) have been built into the ScanWise software to automatically enhance both the color consistency and the image quality of the resulting scans and give impressive results. What sets ScanWise apart from other scanning software is the level of automated control, which ensures optimum quality without the need for user intervention. The software is able to detect the exact nature of the original and distinguish between color or black and white, texts and images and then select the appropriate scanning mode. ScanWise also detects misalignments of originals and rotates the scans to correct this. In the U.S., ScanWise will ship with the Agfa SnapScan 1212 series - including the SnapScan 1212p in mid May. Current SnapScan customers will have the opportunity to download the new scanner driver via the Agfa Graphic Systems Web site (www.agfahome.com) at the end of that month.

04-29-99

Is the Nikon Coolpix 950 Becoming "A Legend In Its Own Mind" ? Is this the most sought after digicam to date?  I've seen lots of digicams come and go in the last couple of years and not one of them has received as much pre-shipment hype as the Nikon 950. My message board and the Usenet newsgroup rec.photo.digital are simply filled to the brim with user messages about the new Coolpix 950. The messages started as soon as the press release went out about Nikon's new 2 megapixel digicam. People began speculating about what it would look like and how good the image quality would be and so on. Next came the flood of messages about people who were pre-ordering their cameras so as not to miss the first shipment. I don't believe there has ever been as many cameras pre-sold as the now infamous Nikon 950, dealers are reporting thousands as being already spoken for. One thing to consider however is that many buyers have placed orders with numerous dealers just to be sure to get a camera as soon as possible. This means a lot of cancelled pre-orders down the road. The Coolpix 950 ships and the anxious buyers finally get their hands on it and actually begin using it. Now the message board is littered with messages posted on the first day of shooting and most read like, "great image quality," "it's smaller than I imagined," "is this camera only supposed to get six or seven pictures per set of alkalines?"   The euphoria wears off and the users begin to discover the imperfections and now this is the main topic of discussion. The bottom line is that no camera is perfect -- not even the Nikon 950 -- hey, did Steve say that?   Yes he did! Nikon repeated the same stupid mistake as on the Coolpix 900/900s cameras and put the macro and self timer functions on the same button. What were those engineers smoking when they came up with this idiotic idea?  They must have been smoking the same stuff when they designed the tripod socket, CF card eject mechanism and plastic flip-away door on the bottom of the camera. I have large fingers and end up using a pair of needlenose pliars to grab the CF card after pushing the eject lever. Next time just make the darn thing pop out a little farther huh?   And that flimsy plastic door covering the CF slot is completely out of class with the rest of the new magnesium alloy body construction. Despite its imperfections I still predict that the Coolpix 950 will break all existing sales records. No matter how long people have to wait to get one they will still be happy once they finally do get it. It takes excellent pictures ... not perfect pictures, just excellent ones. It gives the advanced user a lot of manual options to improve the picture taking experience and even novices can get great pictures using the automatic mode. PC Watch Posts Nikon 950 vs Olympus C-2000Z Page PC Watch has just posted a Nikon 950 vs Olympus C-2000Z page with pictures of the various parts of the cameras and sample pictures from the cameras. According to the Imaging-Resource who did a partial translation -- "Once we have some free time, we'll translate it all for you, but to summarise, PC Watch felt the C-2000ZOOM the easier camera to use, but the Coolpix950 to yield better final results."

04-29-99

PC Watch Posts Nikon Coolpix 700 Samples The Japanese PC Watch site has posted a Nikon Coolpix 700 review and sample pictures. The review is in Japanese but the pictures speak for themselves, this is the Coolpix 950 without the zoom lens and the manual modes. It should be a killer point-n-shoot 2 megapixel camera at a very good price. Availabile in about a month.

04-28-99

Sound Vision Announces New Production Ready Digital Still Camera Design FRAMINGHAM, Mass.--April 28, 1999-- Sound Vision, a privately held company specializing in digital imaging technology, today announced the availability of their production ready design for the SV1301 digital still camera. The SV1301 has a very aggressive street price of $150, and offers the most competitive feature set for a digital camera in this price range. The SV1301 design is built around Sound Vision's Clarity 2.0 digital imaging ASIC and includes the Kopin CyberDisplay, the Hewlett Packard VGA CMOS color sensor, USB, audio capture and playback, and a sophisticated suite of firmware which can be easily customized by OEMs. The product is positioned for digital camera, portable device, and computer peripheral companies who seek to introduce a digital camera in time for this year's Christmas selling season. Sound Vision's Clarity 2.0 is the foundation for a wide range of digital image capture devices. The Clarity 2.0 ASIC integrates a broad array of technologies including the Kopin CyberDisplay, LCD display, Compact Flash, SmartMedia, USB, and RS232, and supports both CCD and CMOS image sensors. The Clarity 2.0 platform offers the largest integrated feature set to digital imaging product OEMs. Coupled with Sound Vision's complete firmware library and sophisticated consulting services, Clarity 2.0 helps OEMs decrease their time-to-market for entire families of digital imaging devices.

04-27-99

CycloVision Exhibits ParaShot Technology at Interactive Sports '99 West Conference NEW YORK--April 26, 1999-- CycloVision Technologies, Inc., an emerging start-up specializing in 360-degree technology solutions, today announced that it will exhibit its ParaShot technology at the Interactive Sports '99 West conference, April 26-27, in Santa Monica, CA. ParaShot is a digital camera attachment that enables users to capture a full 360-degrees in a single shot, and rapidly deploy panoramic images to the Web. Internet sports professionals can integrate the ParaShot to offer instant, 360-degree images of sporting events, allowing viewers to experience a game online from every angle. Based on patented technology, the ParaShot integrates PC-based software with a parabolic mirror and relay lens to quickly and easily capture and post 360-images to a Web site - without requiring plug-ins, stitching, separate processing steps, or additional fees. With a digital camera (Agfa e1280/e1680 or Nikon Coolix 900), users can create photographs that capture a full 360-degrees of a playing field, sports arena, and more, in a single exposure. Once captured, images can be rapidly downloaded to the Web. Using standard browsers, viewers can navigate ParaShot-enabled stills, exploring play-by-play shots using left/right directional, pan, tilt, and zoom capabilities.

04-26-99

Imaging-Resource Posts Full Olympus C-2000Z Review My friends at The Imaging-Resource have just posted a thorough user review of the new Olympus C-2000Z digicam. The IR notes that this is not a "production" model but it is a fully functional camera. As well as the Imaging-Resource's usual well-written text review there is also a gallery of sample images to peruse. Their conclusion of the C-2000Z is: While the C-2000 Zoom is a true 2-megapixel digital camera, we feel that resolution only accounts for part of its significance: As a continuation of Olympus' vision of "filmless photography," it truly conveys a user experience that is more photographic than digital. To date, this sort of digital photographic capability has been reserved for those with camera budgets in excess of $10,000. Now, Olympus is bringing the level of creative control demanded by serious photographers down to the under-$1,000 price range. This is going to be an interesting year for digicams between the Nikon 950 and the Olympus C-2000Z and a couple of year-end late bloomers yet to come. I only hope that more camera manufacturers realize the value of adding an infrared remote control as part of the basic package.

04-24-99

ixla Explorer V3.0 Awarded Best of Comdex-Desktop Utility ixla Explorer V3.0 was awarded Best Desktop Utility by Eric Lundquist, editor-in-chief of PC WEEK during the annual PC WEEK/Best of COMDEX ceremony at COMDEX/Spring and WINDOWS WORLD '99 to recognize the most innovative, influential and noteworthy IT products introduced this spring. "ixla Explorer allows users to easily create thumbnail catalogs of their digital images and convert those images to different formats on the fly," explained Lundquist during his presentation. "Simplification of digital camera management as well as a built-in Web page creator make ixla Explorer a must-have utility for desktop users." ixla Explorer 3.0 helps users capture, share and view multimedia files and images from digital cameras, scanners and the Internet. At a street price of about $30, the upgraded software features a Web-enabled function that automatically grabs pictures from Internet Web sites, retrieves images from online services and creates e-mail postcards and Web pages. ixla Explorer 3.0 generates a browser-like interface with thumbnail images of multimedia files. A new viewing option creates a mini filmstrip browser from which users can drag-and-drop pictures into their favorite image editor or other application. Note from Steve: This is the second news item for ixla's Explorer v3.0 in the last 2 months and they still only have v1.2 available for download from their web site. What's going on ixla, is v3.0 real or vaporware ??? 4/26/99 Response from ixla: I was taking my daily look at your Web site, and I noticed your comment regarding the availability of ixla Explorer. We have now released ixla Explorer 3.0 to retail - it is hitting the stores this week. We expect to have a Web version on www.ixla.com by the end of the week. It will be a downloadable "try-before-you-buy" version. Shane Workman Product Strategist IXLA Limited

04-24-99

Nikon Coolpix 900 Firmware Upgrade Now Available Per this page on the Nikon Tech USA website, the Coolpix 900 firmware upgrade is finally going to happen ... to quote Nikon: Nikon Inc. Service will begin installing updated firmware in US model Coolpix 900 Cameras beginning on April 26th 1999. There is an $85 service charge for this update. There is a $10 return shipping and handling charge. Your camera will be returned to you by UPS Insured Shipment. The following items will be (m)odified or (a)dded: Sleep mode setting in rec. mode 30 secs to 30 minutes, play mode sleep settings remain the same(m) Exposure compensation in .5 ev steps(m) Format CF command from play mode(a) Flash mode setting retained after power-off(a) The External flash sync connection is not part of this update. Power up and down time improvement is not part of this update.

04-23-99

MGI's PhotoSuite II Maximizes PC Photography on the Internet with Support for Microsoft IE 5 & Pentium III Processors TORONTO, ONTARIO--MGI Software Corp., announced that its popular PC photography software, MGI PhotoSuite II, supports the newly-released Microsoft Internet Explorer 5, as well as the Streaming Single Instruction Multiple Data Extensions with Floating Point set in Intel's Pentium III® processor. The new support promises to provide MGI PhotoSuite II users the most robust PC and Internet photo experience available. MGI PhotoSuite II received widespread critical acclaim for incorporating the Internet Explorer technologies as an enriching part of the PC photo experience. MGI PhotoSuite II integrates Internet Explorer to generate the user interface and to provide seamless Web navigation. Users can easily access the Internet to search for and collect pictures, use online photo services, share photos on the Web with family friends and business associates, or try out new downloadable product features, read PC photo articles, and gain new tips and tricks at MGI's photo portal -- http://www.photostreet.com.

04-23-99

Comdex Transitions From the Era of the PC to the Age of Dot Com CHICAGO, April 22 /Ziff-Davis' COMDEX/Spring and WINDOWS WORLD '99 event hosted a wild week of platform battles and a new dedication to Internet-centric computing. The show ended today after four days of exhibits, conferences and keynotes at McCormick Place in Chicago. Bill Gates opened this year's event with a flawless preview of Windows 2000, demonstrated by the same technician, Chris Capossela, who was demonstrating the "plug and play" capabilities of Windows 98 when it crashed during last year's keynote. The world preview of Windows 2000 included a glimpse at the new simplicity the software will offer, including the ability to Internet-enable any device, install the software easily, and increase bandwidth for more demanding applications. During the keynote, Mr. Gates also introduced a new mouse that uses a digital camera, instead of a tracking ball. Other big news this year centered on Linux. People poured out into the hallway as attendees crowded into Linus Torvalds' keynote at the Linux Global Summit on Monday morning. During his presentation, Mr. Torvalds reflected on the operating system's birth and development, wide appeal, and ability to offer users a choice in the market. He also outlined some current Linux offerings for the desktop and predicted the appearance of many more offerings this year. A snapshot from the first-day, on-site attendee survey at COMDEX/Spring and WINDOWS WORLD, indicated that in the next 12 months, 48% of respondents plan to install Windows 2000 as their network operating system, while 21% plan to install Linux. 93% of respondents support Microsoft's consideration to release the source program code for its NT software, while 68% are "very supportive." For those unable to attend, COMDEX Online and ZDNet carry extensive online content for COMDEX/Spring and WINDOWS WORLD '99, including copies of the Show Daily publication; Webcasts; new products; a photo gallery; and COMDEX/Radio coverage, presented by PC WEEK and ZDTV Radio. A detailed listing of the Best of COMDEX winners is posted at http://www.bestofcomdex.com.

04-23-99

Kodak DC260 Digicam Info Site For anyone interested in learning more about Kodak's DC260 digicam all you need do is stop by Sean Saito's website. A lot of this info will also be applicable to the new DC265 camera as well. Kodak DC260 Website - Info, News, Specs, Gallery, Links and More

04-21-99

Qimage Pro v4.0 Now Available Mike Chaney emailed me to let me know that he has just released the latest version 4.0 of the Qimage Pro printing program. You can read about the latest additions to Qimage Pro here. To quote Mike's web site -- "Ever have the need to manually drag images exactly where you want them on the page? Our registered users told us they did, so along with the already verbose options for automatic placement, we have added full manual control. Version 4.0 gives you the capability to visually drag and size images to create exactly the look you desire. Resize, move, overlap, and more using the new "Freehand" placement option." This has been and continues to be my favorite image printing program and just keeps getting better with every new version!

04-21-99

Fear Not! Program To Reclaim SmartMedia from Rio Format Is Available! (This just in from reader Matt Chroust) To all those who have used SmartMedia in the Rio MP3 player, only to find out that the card will not reformat/initialize in their camera, there IS a way. Thanks to a brilliant piece of software by Harald Niesche, called "Dreaming of Brazil", which is a Rio Manager, you CAN restore the SmartMedia for camera use. I tried it in my Fuji MX-700 and can confirm it did allow the camera to once again initialize the card. I do not know what other cameras will once again accept the card, but I'd imagine most if not all should. To use the feature, one must RIGHT-CLICK on the Initialize Button in 'Dreaming" and then choose "SmartMedia" or "SmartMediaize". Insert the card in the camera, and the camera should give you a message like "Card not Initialized" or similar. At that point try reformatting. All the usual disclaimers and warnings apply. I post this message only as a courtesy to Harald, and those many folks who have been posting queries looking for a way to reclaim their SM for their cameras. Harald's 'Dreaming of Brazil' can be found at: http://www.parkverbot.org/harald/download/ Dreaming of Brazil 2.1 for Win9x/NT4 (517 kb) Description: "Mature Rio PMP300 File Manager for Windows NT. Handles SmartMedia / FlashCards. Lets you backup/restore cards and reformat them as SmartMedia so cameras can use them again." The latest version lets you backup the card label or other parameters so they are not permanently lost - i.e. The Olympus cards' ability to do panorama shots in-camera.

04-20-99

digitalkamera.de Confirms That Diamond Rio MP3 Player Effectively "Destroys" SmartMedia Cards digitalkamera.de has posted an article about using SmartMedia cards in Diamond's Rio MP3 player. To protect copyrighted songs from being duped on PC's the card is altered once it is formatted for use with the Rio player. If you try to reuse the SM card in a digicam it will only generate an error message and can not be reformatted.

04-20-99

SanDisk To Supply CF Cards For New Canon A50 SUNNYVALE, Calif.--April 20, 1999--SanDisk Corporation announced today that it will supply Canon with removable, reusable CompactFlash(TM) (CF(TM)) digital film memory cards for Canon's new PowerShot A50 digital camera. A SanDisk 8MB (megabyte) CF card will be included with the sale of every PowerShot A50 digital camera, the world's smallest and lightest zoom lens-equipped megapixel camera. Canon's new camera is the 76th digital camera that has been introduced with specific slots for CompactFlash memory cards to capture and store images. CF cards are economical as they can be reused to take millions of pictures. CompactFlash is the world's largest selling digital film product.

04-20-99

Hagiwara Sys-Com's USB-based 'FlashGate' SmartMedia Card Reader $99 CHICAGO, April 19 -- Spring Comdex Booth #C1100 -- Hagiwara Sys-Com will be showcasing FlashGate, an advanced USB-based peripheral that transfers data from SmartMedia to PCs up to 130 times faster than serial interface-based devices. A compact, hot-swappable device that interfaces easily to any standard USB port, FlashGate allows users of digital cameras and other SmartMedia-equipped devices to save valuable time when moving captured images to either desktop or portable computers. FlashGate features a flexible design architecture that enables it to support SmartMedia of up to 128MB in capacity, and requires no external power supply to operate. It is fully plug-and-play compatible with Windows 98 as well as Mac OS8.1 or later. Additionally, the versatile FlashGate supports both 5V and 3.3V SmartMedia. FlashGate sells for a suggested retail price of $99.00. For more information, contact Hagiwara Sys-Com by phone at 800-358-7267 or 619-546-9989, via fax at 619-546-8496, or visit the company's Internet Web site.

04-18-99

Iomega's Portable Clik! Drive Reviewed Thanks to reader Matt Chroust for posting a very thorough review of Iomega's Clik! Drive storage system on his web site. If you're interested in one of these check out his illustrated review for all the details. Matt answered one very important question in our Message Board concerning the Clik! Drive. It can NOT handle memory cards larger than its 40MB disk capacity. It copies files to the 40MB disks but does not erase them after being copied. Trying to use a card larger than 40MB results in an error message that tells you you to try using a different card ... bummer !

04-17-99

Steve Returns on Wed 4/21/99 Finally got a definite "release" date, I will be home and back to full speed by Wednesday 4/21/99. None to soon, if I spent any more time on my backside in bed I would be ready for the room with the padded walls! On my return I will be posting the results of the March Digital Photo of the Day Contest and will begin posting the Daily Picture of the Day again as usual. Thanks for your patience and "get well" wishes - today's medical care system is a nightmare!

04-17-99

SanDisk Announces Record Revenue for First Quarter 1999 SUNNYVALE, Calif.--SanDisk Corporation, the world's largest supplier of flash memory data storage products, today announced record revenue for its quarter ended March 31, 1999. Total first quarter revenues were $44.1 million, an increase of 15% from the prior quarter due primarily to increased sales of CompactFlash products. Revenues from licenses and royalties were $8.2 million. Net income for the quarter was $4.3 million, up 21% from $3.6 million in the previous quarter. Diluted earnings per share was $0.15, compared to $0.13 per share for the fourth quarter of 1998. "I am very pleased with SanDisk's performance in the just concluded quarter" said Dr. Eli Harari, President and CEO of SanDisk "In many respects, this was our best quarter ever. Total units shipped increased by 57% and total megabytes shipped increased by 35% over the previous quarter. Shipments of our MultiMediaCard increased to 62,000 units, up from 18,000 units in the prior quarter. Product gross margins increased to 26% from 23% in the fourth quarter despite a 13% decline in overall average selling price per megabyte shipped." "Sales growth was strongest in the United States and Europe, with the Far East showing first signs that the worst of its recession may be behind us. Design-in activity continued strong across our products and target markets, which are responding favorably to the significant cost and price reductions we achieved over the past several quarters."

04-16-99

Nikon 950 Cameras Are Shipping! Our message board has several messages from happy, new Nikon Coolpix 950 owners. B&H Photo in NY and other dealers have received their initital shipments of the Nikon 950 cameras. If you didn't preorder one you better grab one when and where you can, the word from Japan is that the 950 is already in short supply over there.

04-15-99

Epson's New CP-800 2.14 MegaPixel Epson has announced a new 2.14 Megapixel CP-800 digicam. Resolution is 1600x1200 but can be pushed to 1984x1488 pixels using Epson's HypictTM enhancement technology. The CP-800 uses a 1/2-inch CCD, ISO speed is 100 with ISO 200 and 400 options. It has an autofocus lens with 2x digital zoom, 1.8-inch TFT color LCD for preview and review plus optical finder. The I/O interface is serial and USB so both PC and iMac compatibility is insured. The CP-800 also has NTSC video out, 4 mode auto flash, uses CompactFlash cards, 8MB included. Shutter speeds 1/4 to 1/750 seconds, aperture range f/2.8 - f/8. More Epson CP-800 pictures and info on the PC Watch website.

04-14-99

digitalkamera.de Posts Sony Mavica FD83/FD88 Specs & Pics The folks at digitalkamera.de have posted some pictures of the new Sony Mavicas (FD83 and FD88) along with their specs for those interested see their web page. I'm sorry but I just can't get excited about hi-res digicams that use 1.44mb floppy disk drives as their only storage medium. Now put a Sony HiFD (200mb) disk drive on them and that's another story - are you listening Mr Sony?

04-14-99

Kodak's Remote Sensing Camera Begins New Era of Earth Imaging ROCHESTER, N.Y.--The April 27 launch of Space Imaging's IKONOS 1 commercial remote sensing satellite, and the deployment of its Kodak-designed and built digital camera system, begins a long-awaited era of one-meter-resolution Earth imaging. The satellite's camera will be able to distinguish ground features as small as one meter in size from a near-polar orbit 400 miles above the Earth. This powerful remote sensing system is expected to change the way industry and scientists "see" the Earth's surface and help how they plan for its future. The "eyes" of the satellite -- Kodak's on-board imaging sensors -- capture imagery across an 11-km path of the Earth*s surface. Once this image is obtained, Kodak's Digital Processing Unit compresses and formats the digital imagery for transmission to ground stations located throughout the world. IKONOS also carries a 4-meter resolution multi-spectral imaging sensor. The resulting images will reveal aspects of the Earth's surface previously invisible to the human eye via satellite photo. Denver-based Space Imaging is a privately held company and is a leading supplier of space imagery, aerial photography, mapping services, and derivative geographic information products and services. Customers can expect to be able to purchase high-resolution imagery and imagery products from Space Imaging approximately 60-90 days after the launch of IKONOS.

04-13-99

Epson Challenges Photo-Finishing Industry With Introduction of the EPSON Stylus Photo 750 TORRANCE, Calif.--April 12, 1999--New six-color printer delivers the uUltimate in Photo-Quality color performance, Including outstanding 1440-dpi resolution, smallest droplet size in its class and blazingly fast print speeds. Epson America Inc., Monday introduced the EPSON Stylus® Photo 750, redefining yet again the ultimate in photo-quality color performance. Designed with the digital enthusiast in mind, the EPSON Stylus Photo 750 produces superior photo-lab quality output at dramatically improved color-photo print speeds -- up to 150 percent faster than its predecessor, the award-winning EPSON Stylus Photo 700. The EPSON Stylus Photo 750, priced at $299 (estimated street price), introduces the smallest droplet size in its class -- six picoliters. The result is crisper detail and enhanced Photo Reproduction Quality (PRQ®), featuring Epson's award-winning Advanced Micro Piezo(TM) ink-jet technology, stunning 1440 x 720 dpi resolution, Advanced AcuPhoto Halftoning(TM), native Universal Serial Bus (USB) connectivity and six-color, quick-drying inks. Unlike any other Epson printer, the new EPSON Stylus Photo 750 is dressed in a sleek black case, making it the perfect complement for a photographer's digital camera. By producing smaller droplets, the EPSON Stylus Photo 750 prints richer, deeper and more detailed images and at color-photo print speeds that no other printer on the market today comes close to matching. The EPSON Stylus Photo 750 can print a 4-by-6-inch photo in approximately one minute and an 8-by-10-inch photo in only two minutes.

04-13-99

cameraworld.com Provides Free Classified Ads On Web Site PORTLAND, Ore.--April 12, 1999-- cameraworld.com today announced a Web-based Classifieds section, a feature that allows visitors to post ads, free of charge. The automated section enables one-to-one buying, selling and trading of used photography, video, digital imaging and audio equipment. Visitors interested in buying or selling can choose from four distinct categories: Photo, Video, Digital and Audio. Information required to post include seller's name, phone number, email address, product type, description, price, pricing flexibility, condition, manufacturer, model and a password for future editing. Once this information is submitted, it's instantly available for viewing by potential buyers. cameraworld.com is not responsible or liable for third party transactions, as detailed in the terms of use.

04-13-99

PictureBay.com to Give-away 30 Digital Cameras in 30 Days DANVILLE, Calif.--April 12, 1999--PictureWorks today announced the PictureBay.com 30-in-30 Digital Camera Give-Away! PictureWorks will be giving away 30 digital cameras in 30 days between April 15 and May 15,1999. All registered members of PictureBay will be automatically entered. One winner will be chosen each day during that period. The new PictureBay service, also announced today, is simply the fastest and easiest way to add pictures to eBay auctions. Auctions with pictures result in more bids, higher sales price, and faster sales, reportedly up to 300% better than auctions without pictures. PictureBay makes it possible for every auction to include a picture. In addition to the camera give-away, PictureBay is offering its service FREE of charge for a limited time.

04-13-99

Hitachi Intros New M2L MPeG Camera BRISBANE, Calif.--April 12, 1999--Continuing on the success of its landmark M2 digital recorder for mobile business professionals and Web developers, Hitachi America, Ltd., today unveiled a fun and affordable addition to the M2 family, the M2L. Priced at $999, the M2L goes beyond traditional digital cameras in offering the unmatched ability to capture video, audio and still photographs in one lightweight and easy-to-use product. The M2L saves video and still images on one 16-MB PC card that can be immediately popped into a computer or laptop. Images are saved immediately for quick viewing, editing and sharing. Hitachi's M2L can be taken anywhere, and is an ideal way to record holidays and special occasions, travel and vacations, sporting events and informal social gatherings. Up to 1 1/2 minutes of VHS-quality video footage or 200 still images can be stored on a 16-MB PC card, which quickly and easily transfers the images to a computer. Images can then be emailed to friends and family, or uploaded to a personal Web site. The M2L digital recorder can be easily upgraded to higher storage capacities. For users who develop and edit high levels of multimedia content, such as Web developers, graphic designers and multimedia production specialists, the M2L can be upgraded to a 260-MB or one-gigabyte PC card. The 260-MB PC Card is capable of 27 minutes of full-motion video, 3,000 still images and four hours of audio. The one-gigabyte PC Card is capable of up to two hours of full motion video, 12,000 photographs and 16 hours of audio.

04-12-99

Nikon USA Reports the 950's Have Arrived! Nikon USA's Product Marketing Manager, Mike Rubin has reported via our Message Board that the first shipment of new Coolpix 950 cameras have arrived in the U.S.   He and members of his staff are going through the shipment and spot inspecting them before the distribution begins. Mike tells us that Nikon is right on schedule and the cameras will be going out to the distributors shortly and customers will be receiving their cameras in the next week to week and a half.

04-11-99

April Issue of the Megapixel.net Online This month my friends at megapixel.net review the Olympus D620L, Epson PhotoPC 750Z, Minolta 1500EX, and HP's 30 digicams. As always, the choice is yours from their main page to read it in English or French.

04-10-99

Olympus 32MB SmartMedia Upgrade On Hold? Reported by my friends at The Imaging-Resource is the following: "We were all set to send our Olympus D-600L off to Oly to get upgraded to 32-meg capability, when we received a copy of an email from Olympus, forwarded to us by reader Robert Berkert, indicating that Olympus has "suspended the program until further notice". No explanation was given, but we have calls into our contacts at Oly, to see if we can find out what the status is. This program was to have begun April 1, and we've received no official notification from Oly that it has been called off, so it's all a little strange-seeming at this point. We fervently hope that Oly hasn't chosen to drop this service: Olympus has stood alone among digicam manufacturers in their commitment to their customer base, and we'd hate to see them lose that position!"

04-10-99

Fuji Photo Film to Brand and Distribute Iomega's Clik! Disks ROY, Utah--April 6, 1999--Furthering a successful relationship that has led to dramatic advances in portable personal and business storage, Iomega Corporation announced that Fuji Photo Film Co., Ltd. intends to market Fujifilm branded Clik!(TM) disks. Fujifilm already markets a 100MB Fujifilm-branded Zip® disk and now has signed a non-binding letter of intent to brand and market Iomega's new 40 megabyte Clik! disks. Clik! drives and versatile 40MB Clik! disks are the first affordable, high-capacity mobile storage solution for multiple portable digital products. Clik! disks' ability to support digital photographers' image storage and transport needs make it perfect for transferring images from digital cameras to other digital devices and PCs. "Consumers will now be able to buy Clik! disks virtually anywhere in the world," said Michael L. Joseph, vice president of global strategy, Iomega Corporation. "This wide availability, combined with the low cost of Clik! disks, will allow customers to enjoy the benefits of digital imaging while away from the PC. Fujifilm is clearly a leader in data storage technology and we're thrilled that they are incorporating our Clik! disks into their product line."

04-10-99

Epson Introduces Revolutionary Image Authentication System for Epson Digital Cameras TORRANCE, Calif.--April 5, 1999-- Epson, the creator of high quality, award-winning imaging products, today unveiled its revolutionary Image Authentication System(TM)(IAS) to support the popular PhotoPC 750Z and PhotoPC 700 color megapixel digital cameras. Operating in a standard JPEG file format, the IAS uses a digital fingerprint, applied when a picture is taken, to verify the integrity of a picture. If even one pixel of an image is altered, the IAS will detect it and alert the user. "The Image Authentication System is a tremendous breakthrough in digital imaging technology," said Craig Biehl, business development specialist, Epson. "IAS delivers superior, cutting-edge protection against unauthorized photographic tampering for such professional communities as law enforcement, insurance and quality assurance inspection." There are two software components to the Image Authentication System. One part is loaded into the camera while the other is installed into the computer. Operation is completely automatic. Images captured by the PhotoPC 750Z or PhotoPC 700 with IAS software loaded are instantly sealed with an invisible digital fingerprint. Because this fingerprint is embedded in the image file, the image can then be verified as ``untampered'' by any PC with the Image Authentication System installed. The IAS is now available for an estimated street price of $99 through Epson resellers and national distributors.

04-05-99

Epson PrintOn Review is Online Forgot to mention that before I left I had finished my review of the new Epson PrintOn printer. Many months ago we reported about this new Epson photo printer with a PCMCIA card slot and the Digita OS built in. The Flashpoint folks sent me a hand-built prototype for testing and evaluation purposes and I am most impressed! See the review and the pictures.

March 99 News

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