-- Top News Stories -- ACDSee 1.5 Available for Mac ACD Systems Releases PowerPack Bibble v2.4 Released Cameraid 1.1.4 Now Available Canon D30 Book from ShortCourses CrystalVue Optics SharpShooter 8x32 Digital Camera Buying Guide from NYIP HP PhotoSmart 912 First Look Posted Ikelite to make U/W case for G1 Image Tank Portable Storage Device iView MediaPro 1.0 Kodak DC4800 Firmware upgrade Kodak Pro Releases PhotoDesk Nikon 950/990 Secrets eBook Nikon 990 - Time's "Machine of the Year" Nikon D1 "Silent Upgrade" Mystery Solved Nixvue's Digital Album RemoteReality OneShot 360 Steve's Logo Wear Available LaserSoft Releases SilverFast SE/DC-SE

12-30-2000

Ikelite To Make U/W Housing for Canon G1 Ikelite has signaled their intent to produce an underwater housing for the Canon Powershot G1. While not announcing an availability date for the housing, a line item has quietly appeared in their Ikelite's web catalog for the new product. Canon announced the 3.34 megapixel digicam on September 18, and it has since been reviewed by several of the popular digicam websites as well as the February issue of DigitalFOTO that arrived today. You may consider this camera a top choice for photography at remote locations due to its ability to accept IBM's 1 GB Microdrive. Load up with a couple Microdrives, and you are ready for a week of diving in the South Pacific sans laptop. (Personally, taking the same roll of film underwater for three days non-stop without download gives me the willies...) Like the Nikon Coolpix Cameras, another Ike choice for housing, the G1 comes with support for external TTL flash units. If and how well the G1 TTL flash will work with existing underwater TTL flash units remains to be seen. Thanks to David Breitigam of http://www.wetpixel.com - Digital Photography for SCUBA divers

12-29-2000

ACD Systems Releases New PowerPack Package For Digital Camera Users ACD Systems International Inc., Victoria, B.C., Canada, released ACDSee PowerPack, which contains ACDSee 3.1 SR-1 digital image software, photo editor FotoCanvas, and FotoAngelo for customized slideshows. The SR-1 upgrade includes enhanced metadata capacity for attaching background information and audio to each image. PowerPack's multimedia capacity uses the built-in functionality of QuickTime. All image formats that QuickTime supports can now be viewed with ACDSee. PowerPack also allows ACDSee to read and write files using Adobe file format plug-ins. ACDSee PowerPack is available for trial or purchase for $79.95.

12-28-2000

ImageBuddy v1.2.0 For Macintosh Upgraded ImageBuddy is a digital photo printing program for the MacOS that lets you View, Grade, Layout, Crop, Mask and Overlay your digital photo’s quickly and easily. With ImageBuddy you can produce high quality contact sheets using Drag & Drop to quickly sort your photo’s. ImageBuddy’s Page Layout functions allows you to select just the photo’s you want printed and size them in several standard sizes. You can also crop and adjust their size to fit that special frame. ImageBuddy offers both on the fly media saving layout that adjusts to your placed images or switch to manual mode and control an image’s placement. ImageBuddy contains many more features to numerous to list and is available as shareware allowing you to try before you buy. ImageBuddy v1.2.0 is only $15.00 and come with unlimited free upgrades. Check out www.kepmad.com and get your copy today.

12-26-2000

Cameraid 1.1.4 for MacOS Available Cameraid 1.1.4 is the latest update to the all in one digital photography utility program for MacOS. The update is free to all registered users. Version 1.1.4 works around certain problems that MacOS 9 caused with many USB to serial adapters. There are no code changes from version 1.1.4b2, so if you have 1.1.4b2, there's no need to update (there have been minor changes to the manual). Cameraid 1.1.4 requires a Macintosh with a 68020 or better processor, QuickTime, at least MacOS System 7 and 2MB of available RAM. Cameraid 1.1.4 is available on the web from and will soon also be available for download from most Macintosh shareware download sites. The unregistered shareware version is fully functional, but includes built-in delays and registration reminders in some operations. The $15 registration fee (payable through Kagi) will eliminate the delays and make working with Cameraid faster and smoother. Quick Overview of Features Serial port downloads from many popular digital cameras: Agfa, Apple (QT-200), Epson, Fuji, Leica, Nikon, Olympus, Polaroid, Sanyo, Toshiba Compatible with 3rd party serial ports, such as USB to serial adapters from Keyspan and Entrega. Photo viewing, including exposure and camera information. Supports Kodak, Ricoh, Casio, Sony, Canon etc. in addition the ones mentioned above Compatible with most memory card readers. Smart file renaming based on file name patterns. Lossless JPEG transforms (rotate, mirror, transpose, optimize). Thumbnail generation. Web page generator. Semi-automatic image enhancement expert. Extended Feature Overview Download images from digital cameras to your computer View and manipulate images Lossless JPEG transforms Powerful batch operations

12-26-2000

ACDSee 1.5 for Macintosh Now Available ACD Systems International Inc., Victoria, B.C., Canada, announced that its ACDSee 1.5 for Macintosh is now available for sale. With ACDSee 1.5, Mac users can view full-size, reduced, and thumbnail images at high-resolutions quickly, according to the company. They can also perform manual and auto-zoom functions on images and use options like auto- window resize and the full-screen mode to view images the way they want. When used with QuickTime, ACDSee 1.5 offers new features for viewing movies at a variety of sizes. ACDSee 1.5 is also equipped with a multimedia player that allows users to select and play multiple MP3s or movies consecutively. ACDSee 1.5 for Mac is available for download for $39.95 (free upgrade from the Mac v1.0).

12-22-2000

iView MediaPro 1.0 to be Shown at MacWorld London, UK (December 22, 2000) - iView Multimedia Ltd., the media management company, today announced that the world's premiere professional media asset management software will be shown for the first time at MacWorld, booth 3240, north hall, January 9-12th. iView MediaPro is a brand new media browser and cataloging software based on the wildly popular iView Multimedia. MediaPro allows you to archive, organize, find, view, play, print, convert all the different types of media files on your computer. MediaPro also has an awesome slideshow that can play music and have up to 16 photos or movies onscreen simultaneously. Beginners can enjoy its ease of use instantly and professionals will find its power fulfills their needs. MediaPro is not just practical and useful but fun. iView MediaPro is: Essential software for digital camera users Essential software for PhotoShop users Essential software for artists Essential software for professionals in desktop publishing It offers a host of new features, some of which are outlined below: Mac OS 9 and OS X compatible. A joy to use on any powerbook, G4 or iMac. MediaPro is the only media browser capable of full PDF & EPS rendering. Other import formats include HTML, Quark, Canvas, Painter, Live Picture, Freehand, PageMaker, Illustrator, GIF, JPG, TIFF, PICT, GX, BMP, Targa, EPS, fonts, sounds, movies, QuickTime VR, animation, MPEG, PNG, Photoshop, MIDI, karaoke, Electric Image, Electronic Arts, CorelDraw, ClarisWorks, AppleWorks and many others. Allows catalogs with up to 32,000 files and an infinite number of catalogs. Find any file by multiple criteria in a catalog or across catalogs. Gigantic archives of images on or offline are now searchable. Find instantly which CD in your collection has that image you need. Never search for hours or lose an image again. Save Queries across catalogs. Advanced WYSIWIG printing, based on custom views and size templates. Fast "in-line" editing of standard annotation and user definable fields, keywords and categories, with extensive use of favorites. Photo Calibration to enhance colors, sharpness and brightness. Hierarchical Sets - Instant organization with hierarchical sets which can be used as folders to organize and view media files by keywords, categories, paths, or user defined sets, and applied for quick access in slideshow presentations. User definable custom views, suitable for all exports, including printing, web pages, slide shows and QuickTime movies. Add fields, edit colors and fonts, and adjust image size and layout to suit your particular needs. HTML Galleries, WYSIWYG or template based generation of html pages. Advanced Rendering using CMYK/RGB ColorSync. Playback of any sequence of movies, audio files, MP3¹s in any view. Full Batch capabilities, image, audio and movie conversions, ColorSync embedding. Comprehensive Media Info Panel, detailing media information and meta data, including, amongst others: IPTC, EXIF-Digital Camera, ColorSync, Postscript, Dicom Mediacal, DTP and QT Movies. Voice Annotation record, listen or extract embedded audio annotations. Version Control backup and retrieval of individual media files. This feature alone can save PhotoShop users hours of time. Automated importing based on Folder Watching. Synchronize annotations between catalogs and original files, also supports cross-platform editing (JPEG, Photoshop and QT Movie formats). Spectacular slide show uses multiple fields and layout grids, including quarter and sixteenth screen playback. Supports audio-sync as well as transitions and individual file timer settings. Can save as stand-alone presentation which can be distributed royalty free. 1/4/00 update:   iView MediaPro is now available through the company web site, it's shareware and priced at $48. iView MediaPro for Windows will be available shortly.

12-22-2000

Kodak Professional Releases DCS Photo Desk v1.0 Application Kodak Professional DCS Photo Desk is an application for managing files produced by Kodak Professional DCS 300 series, DCS 500 series and DCS 600 series digital cameras. Photo Desk shares many of the features of the DCS Acquire Module and DCS TWAIN Data Source software, but offers the advantages of a stand alone application such as browsing multiple folders and images and drag and drop file management. Photo Desk also has an easier-to-use interface that provides a greater range of image processing options. Photo Desk features: Browse DCS images in folders on hard disks, CD-ROM, PC Cards and network servers using an efficiently laid out contact sheet interface that displays image settings in iconic form. Automatically monitor folders and add thumbnails to their display as new images arrive. pen multiple images in windows with variable view scaling from 10 to 200%. Control cropping, rotation, balance, lighting, exposure compensation, look, sharpening and noise reduction. Save DCS image files as standard JPEG and TIFF files, with optional naming and sequence numbering. ptionally imprint GPS information into images saved in standard TIFF format. Automatically open converted files in any application. Copy and paste image settings. Drag and drop images between folders. Add image information, including IPTC-NAA record 2. Quickly review and tag high-resolution images. Photo Desk cannot transfer images from a tethered camera. Use the DCS Acquire Module for Macintosh or the DCS TWAIN Data Source for Windows if you need tethered access to your camera, or if you work with older camera models such as the DCS 400 series.

12-21-2000

The Wasteful Story behind the Pure-play, Photo-Sharing Site Shake-out (Content is © Copyright 2000 by Imerge Consulting Group LLC) Belmont, Calif. - 12-21-00 – Last week, Zing, the crown jewel of pure-play photo sharing sites was forced to restructure its business model to become an ISP model and laid-off up to 30%-40% of its employees. Zing's entire content department was shut down and Zing's notable and respected NY picture editor, Karen Mullarkey was allowed to become a "free agent". Zing's founder and CEO, cum General Manager was also given his "freedom ticket". Contrary to reports that some of Zing's properties will be allowed to spin-off unabated, Imerge Consulting Group has received word that one or more will likely remain a Zing property and could be for sale. Kodak with its $100+ million war chest could be a likely buyer. Contrary to a statement made by Zing's new CEO, Imerge has learned that not all of Zing's proposed partners have signed on to the new fee based ISP proposition. Zing's proposed partners currently include Sony, Konica and Casio. According to Imerge Consulting Group estimates from our fund-o-meter, Zing has burned through close to $50 million in risk capital within the past year to year and a half. Zing's primary venture capitalists, Kleiner Perkins wanted Zing to get on a path of profitability much sooner than the 2-3 years Zing originally estimated it would take and this restructuring was demanded by KP to try and move the timeline up. ne month ago, PhotoWorks was also forced to eliminate 50 positions from its work force in a restructuring that the company hopes will bring it to profitability within the year. PhotoWorks, being a publicly held corporation has much more pressure to show a path to profitability than thers and has a traditional revenue stream from mail order and online print fulfillment. In our view, PhotoWorks will be a survivor as will other click to mortar sites such as NikonNet and Sony's ImageStation. It is expected that re-structuring is about to occur at other pure-play, photo-sharing sites. Those first and second tier sites on the likely short list include PhotoPoint, Club Photo, PhotoChannel, Cartogra, Ofoto, Printroom, PhotoIsland, PhotoAccess, Fotowire, eMemories, MyFamily, eCircles, PhotoLoft and Snapfish. Shutterfly, although "capacity enhanced but revenue challenged" will most likely be protected by Jim Clark's ego. Clark can ill afford another mistake in investing on his resume after Web MD and others and will seek to protect his investment in Shutterfly at all costs. Clark seriously needs to reconsider his timeline for profitability though. But let's make one thing clear. There will be survivors in this sector beside the obvious Kodak and Fujifilm who will acquire a minimum of 50% share of this sector's revenue. To those in the know in this sector, this industry sector shake-out does not come as a surprise. Every sector watcher and online vendor thought they saw the writing on the wall last spring when VCs refused to re-invest in this sector and vendors were forced to go with capital they had already acquired. In-reality, the demise of this sector started earlier when many pure play sharing sites were forced into a "free" front-end business model to try and compete, opting for a back-ended fulfillment and digitization revenue model. Consumers proved to be smarter than these MBA's and simply jumped from one free site to another with no loyalty. The 40% to 50% of risk capital that these "free online vendors" spent on customer acquisition and branding was altogether wasted. Proof of this is the question, what do these vendors now have to show for this wasted capital besides unused capacity. All one has to do is look at parallels in the 1996 flatbed scanner industry to know that when margins are eroded by a few in a desperate effort to garner market share, customer acquisition or brand, the entire industry sector suffers the consequences later. One lesson from this is clear: As a vendor if you cannot compete on a profitable basis, get the heck out of the market and don't destroy it for others. Don't take the entire market down with you. Find another avenue to be successful. As an analyst, I personally failed to stand up and cry foul as loud as I could when these pure-play online vendors started using "page views" in place of real revenues as a matrix for their accomplishments. I never accepted this as a viable matrix. I too was sucked into the hype and glitz and forgot basic fundamentals and failed to swim against the tide of larger research firms. What is astonishing is the fact that this shake-out is happening this quickly to those vendors considered in the top tier. Conventional wisdom held that most of these sites would be "protected" by their investors. After-all the potential pay-off from digitization, membership and fulfillment for this last man standing game is over $7 billion of street revenue by 2005. It is high time every online vendor looks at the principal fundamentals of this value proposition to consumers. There are fundamental flaws to the business models and to the consumer value proposition and even a good dog and pony show to neophyte, greedy investors can't convince consumers that its there. Further, shame on us veterans in the imaging industry for not listening to lessons past learned. There is no "free" in a consumer value proposition. Even further, the fundamental flaw and waste in the pure-play online photo sharing sector was taking the capital and not building value with it such as acquiring infrastructure, storage and intellectual property, things that have merit and can generate future revenue. You can't blame the pure-plays. Risk capital was extremely easy to acquire a year ago. Five or ten million dangled in front of you is very tempting. Much of the blame must go to those VCs that originally offered up this capital who simply wanted to flip these companies with a get-rich-quick mentality and little regard or staying power for the long-term profits that might be realized. Why should they. That takes years of hard work! This type of mentality has little to do with a work ethic. And finally, few if any of these pure play online sharing sites ever understood the lack of value to the consumer with the great majority of users accessing the Internet with narrowband. Until broadband becomes ubiquitous among consumers, upload technology directly off digital cameras and scanners becomes standard and vendors get away from using base one and base four compression of images on their sites, the value proposition to consumers is not complete, at any cost. There is consolation in this shakeout. Many new to the imaging industry will have learned valuable lessons that hopefully they can take forward and apply. We should all concentrate for the time being on what we have, rather than what we could have had! Happy Holidays! Ron Tussy Principal Analyst Imerge Consulting Group LLC

12-21-2000

LoneStar Digital Posts Canon D30 Review If you didn't already have enough good reasons to go out and buy a Canon D30, here's another one. Good friend John Cowley has just posted his Canon D30 review. John has bounced around from one prosumer digicam to another and has now joined the ranks of Canon D30 owners. After having one here to review for a month I relunctantly sent it back and then went out and bought one for myself. John likes his D30 as much as I do and had this to say: "Although not as rugged as the D1, the D30 is an extremely well-built camera. And I actually like the way the D30 does some things better than the D1: Shooting priority - No matter what you're doing with the camera, such as viewing images in the playback mode, simply touch the shutter button and it's instantly ready to shoot. Lightning fast image playbacks - Scroll through the images with virtually no waiting as you look for a particular shot to review. And instantly pop up the histogram to check exposure balance with a simple one stroke push of a button. Canon's E-TTL flash system works better than the Nikon D1 & Nikon SB-28DX flash combination. The D30 gives me the best flash pictures I've ever taken. Battery life - The D30 is good for around 500 pictures per charged battery, and with the dual battery accessory grip, the D30 is good for around a thousand shots, including frequent image playbacks."

12-20-2000

Consumer Reports Ranks Digital Cameras According to the November issue of Consumer Reports magazine, one out of four consumers who bought a camera this year selected a digital model. Recognizing this trend, the magazine evaluated 23 camera models for their print quality, based on panelists’ judgments of glossy 5-by-7-inch test photos made on a high-quality inkjet printer. The 2.11-megapixel Olympus Camedia C-2020 Zoom was judged by Consumer Reports to produce the best prints. The magazine’s panel of judges also ranked the print quality of the 3.34-megapixel Olympus Camedia C-3030 Zoom and the 2.1-megapixel Nikon Coolpix 800 as being “excellent.” Consumer Reports found the 1.3-megapixel Fujifilm Finepix 1400 Zoom and the 1-megapixel Kodak DC215 Zoom to be among the best 1-megapixel cameras in terms of producing quality prints.

12-20-2000

D1 "Silent Upgrade" Mystery Solved No upgrade, says Nikon, but some cameras may benefit from an "Oscillation Circuit" replacement There is no so-called "silent upgrade" for the Nikon D1 that magically transforms its high ISO performance. But, some D1 cameras may require the replacement of a failing electronic part to rid images of a slight to noticeable diagonal pattern, especially in the green channel of images shot at ISO 1600 and above. Long time D1 owners should take special note of this, as a Nikon USA senior manager indicates that the handful of cameras repaired so far have been primarily or exclusively those with early serial numbers. Click here to read the entire (and detail-rich) article at Rob Galbraith's web site.

12-20-2000

FotoNation Receives Patent For Wireless Digital Transfer Of Photos The U. S. Patent Office will grant patent protection to FotoNation Inc., Millbrae, Calif., USA, on its critical technology that will enable users to connect digital cameras to the Internet via telephones, particularly in the cellular telephone domain. The patent covers three aspects of breakthrough technology that will eventually allow all camera owners to capture digital images and then send them through the Internet, using a totally wireless connection, FotoNation said. The patent to be issued will cover FotoNation’s unique method of configuring a digital camera through an external device and associating image information with digital images from the camera; downloading to the camera configuration data, by way of connection to and transmission through a telephone network; and transferring the associated selected image data and digital image from the camera for external processing. Using the technology covered by this patent, a digital camera will be able to be programmed to accept information, via modem or landline phone, of any kind, such as camera behavioral parameters, image related database information and freestyle image commentary, attach it to images just taken and stored in the camera, and then to send the image and attached data over phone lines to the Internet, the company said.

12-20-2000

LaserSoft Releases SilverFast SE and SilverFast DC-SE by Joe LiPetri, joe_lipetri@macweek.com LaserSoft Imaging, developer of SilverFast Ai scanning software used by Epson in its scanner products, has released "simplified" versions of Silverfast for scanner and digital camera users. SilverFast SE is designed to work with some of the most popular scanners on the market, while SilverFast DC-SE can work with images captured by digital cameras. Priced at $49, both packages provide real-time previews during image enhancement, an "intelligent" auto-fix feature, and LAB-Unsharp masking, which sharpens the edges of image elements rather than an entire color channel. The programs also feature a ScanPilot "wizard" that helps new users take the best steps for creating enhanced digital images. Other features include a slider bar for removing colorcast, simple color correction tools, and the ability to export RGB-TIFF and JPEG image file formats. Starting today, SilverFast SE/DC-SE will be available for download at LaserSoft Imaging's Web site.

12-19-2000

ImageTank - Yet Another Digital Wallet A reader emailed me with the URL of a firm in Taiwan that is making yet another Digital Wallet type device for digital camera users. Pictured above is the Image Tank manufactured by Level Electronics Co., LTD.   This is a portable device with both a CompactFlash Type II and SmartMedia card slot for transfering data to an internal 2.5-inch hard drive. What's different here? Well, for one it doesn't have its own battery, it must be powered externally. Seems they also sell an external NiMH battery pack too. The other interesting thing is that the Image Tank can be purchased with or without a hard drive. Other than these few facts I know nothing more about it so please hold your questions, we'll post more info later if and when we get it.

12-18-2000

CrystalVue Optics Sharpshooter 8x32 Lens Review Posted Our friends at CKC Power have begun shipping the new CrystalVue Optics SharpShooter 8x32 monocular lens. Similar but different from the Kenko 8x32 lens, this one is easier to attach, a little bit lighter in weight and produces sharper images. Mounts easily on Coolpix 950, 990 and many other digital cameras. Check out my SharpShooter review and see some sample pictures.

12-17-2000

Bibble v2.4 Released - D1 and D30 Improvements Eric Hyman wrote to let me know that he has just released Bibble v2.4, its improvements, fixes and additions include: For Nikon D1 The raw interpolation has been given a bit of an overhaul that should result in cleaner pictures with less fringing and cleaner transitions. This should also serve to tone down or elimate the green cast that some of you have perceived. The new method will take longer to operate, and this I have included an option to allow you to use the older faster method. It also will generate smoother fields of color and will suppress noise in shadow or defocused areas. Other big news is the ability to load Jpegs from the camera into Photoshop via plugin using Bibble's options! If you open a jpeg in photoshop and Bibble detects that it is a D1 Native image (And you have Apply options to jpegs selected), then Bibble will apply its options to the photo at load. Also if you have "preview options" selected, you will get the Bibble options screen so that you can make further tweaks. If the file is a "normal" jpeg, then photoshop will load it normally. Cropping has been added to the resample dialog, allowing you to trim your images down withing bibble. Probably in the next version resizing and cropping will also be available in batch. Lastly (As far as D1 people go), I spent a good deal of time going through the code and cleaning things up. This should mean more stability and less memory problems. I won't claim that it will never happen again, but crash's should happen a lot less frequently. Some important bugs were also fixed relating to overwriting files in Tethered mode. For Canon D30 Improved support for raw .crw images is included. You can now use bibble to decode full size .crw's individually, in batches, or straight into photoshop using the plugin. Using photoshop, you don't have to "import", but instead can just use File:open just like any other file. This should make for better automation in Photoshop. I still need to work out the D30 Exif fields, and as such they aren't decoded in Bibble just yet. One Exciting thing for D30 owners is that you can now also use Bibble's browser to instantly get 1/4 size previews of your D30 .crw files. Just click on an image in the browser and you will get the preview down below. As far as I know, this is now the best way possible to cull through your D30 Raw files . Bibble also will now thumb and process .crw files even if the associated .thm file is missing. While Bibble will intelligently copy .crw's and .thms together, some apps won't, and Canon's software gets quite picky about what files you have and where they are located. With Bibble, as long as you have the .crw you can process it just fine. I will be on vacation over the holidays and as such will not be able to process registrations or answer email from 12/23/00 till 01/01/01. If you need to contact me please do so before hand. -Eric

12-15-2000

RemoteReality Launches Next-Generation 360-Degree Digital Imaging RemoteReality Corp., Westborough, Mass., USA, a provider of single shot, 360-degree digital imaging, is introducing its next generation OneShot360 Immersive Picture System for enhancing Web content with 360-degree digital imagery. Remote Reality claims the OneShot360 enables businesses that rely heavily on visual images, such as real estate, sports, and travel and tourism, to enhance those images with this system for capturing 360-degree views, enabling viewers to then create custom perspectives. The OneShot360 requires only a single click of the camera to capture an entire 360-degree space, as compared to older technologies that require stitching multiple shots and the correction of the resulting seams, the company said. Viewers can use their mouse to move around within the scene, panning up, down, left and right, and zooming in and out to view a variety of image perspectives. The next generation OneShot360 is available now from RemoteReality and its reseller partners. The retail price of the OneShot360 is $798. It works with Agfa ePhoto 1680, Epson ePhoto 850Z, Nikon CoolPix 950 and CoolPix 990, Olympus C-2000 and C-3030 digital cameras.

12-15-2000

Yahoo! Digital Cameras Now Available Yahoo!, Santa Clara, Calif., USA, announced the availability of a variety of licensed Yahoo!-branded products available in retail stores and online. Items include the Yahoo! Digital Camera and the Yahoo! HitClips Downloader, both manufactured and marketed by Hasbro Inc.'s Tiger Electronics; computer accessories from Sakar International; books from HarperCollins Publishers; Yahoo!-branded apparel and much more. The Yahoo! Digital Camera from Tiger Electronics is a user-friendly complete multimedia digital camera, which includes free software and everything needed to get started with digital photography. Retailing for approximately $70, the camera is available in multiple designs and can be used by both adults and children. Users can then post their digital snapshots to Yahoo! Photos to share with family and friends. Using an infrared flash, the Yahoo! Digital Camera also allows users to take pictures in almost complete darkness, surveillance-style. In addition, the camera can be mounted to a PC to be used as an Internet video camera. The Yahoo! Digital Camera's built-in memory can capture up to 20 images in CIF (352 x 288) resolution. The unit is PC-compatible only, and operates for 12-16 hours on one set of batteries. The digital camera and other Yahoo! products are available in U.S. retail outlets and at the Yahoo! Gear store.

12-14-2000

Nikon Coolpix Accessories I probaby get 5-10 emails a day asking where someone can find the Coolpix remote control or the wideangle lens or some accessory for the Nikon cameras.  I just posted an entire page full of product photos, links and sample pics from the auxilliary lenses. Coolpix Accessories

12-14-2000

Apple QuickTime 5 Public Preview Now Available for Mac and PC/Windows Thanks to a note from one of our readers we were informed that Apple has now released the new QuickTime 5 Public Preview for both Mac and PC/Windows users. Preview 2 includes support for media skins (as announced at QuickTime Live!), plus extensive AppleScript support for Mac users. Here’s what QuickTime 5 gives you in addition to all the great QuickTime 4 features: A brand-new interface. Sleek, elegant and easy to use, the new QuickTime player makes it a snap to organize your favorite content. “Skip” Protection. See how good the streaming experience can be when you combine QuickTime 5 — with its suite of exclusive new features — and QuickTime Streaming Server 3. News Flash. QuickTime 5 features Flash 4, so you can customize your multimedia experience with the power of Flash. At 360°, QuickTime VR is hot. QuickTime 5 features Cubic VR, letting you immerse yourself in 360°worlds. And many other enhancements, you'll find them all listed at the Apple web site.

12-14-2000

Independant Review of Online Photo Finishing Services Wim Pollet from the web site Belgium Digital has completed a major update on his photofinishing article. He re-tested several of them and added 3 new services to the growing list of vendors. You can find hi-res scanned samples of these prints for your own comparison. Wim's conclusion is the same, "U.S.-based services let me seriously down in quality, best I've found are Spector/Myphotoplace and Photobox (from the UK!), their prints can't be better because they're almost exactly like my originals." Follow the link above to go read how he performed this testing and to look at the sample pictures. You'll also find other interesting digicam info at his site too.

12-13-2000

News and Announcements - Part 2 Here's some news from PCPhotoREVIEW.com: Thanksgiving Photo Contest ends 12/15/00 - Only two days left to upload your Thanksgiving photo. Chances to win are really good since the there are only 10 submissions so far. Free Digital Photography Lessons - This new section will teach visitors how to operate a digital camera and other digital photography equipment. Additional it will provide beginners and advanced users alike a place to learn new techniques and help improve their digital photography techniques. And from the better late than never news bin comes word that Silicon Film is finally getting ready to ship their $699 EFS-1 (e)Film digital insert for 35mm cameras. We first heard about this device some 2 years ago, it's a 1280x1024 resolution digital insert for a limited number of cameras (Nikon F5, N90 and F3; Canon EOS 1N, A2/A5.) Initial shipments will be made to those people that signed up at their website way back whenever. They have finally posted sample pictures from the EFS-1 system but they're all marked "preliminary test images."

12-12-2000

News and Announcements Jeff over at the DC Resource has just posted his Sony MVC-CD1000 review, this is the Mavica camera with the mini-CD recorder builtin as well as a huge, 10x stabilized zoom lens. Overall Jeff liked the camera but had some concerns about the durability of the CD-R drive and whether or not we need a write-once electronic storage media. Max Lyons emailed to say that Thumber 3.24 is now available for download. It's gotten some bug fixes and the latest version adds a couple of useful features: Bad/stuck Pixel Removal. "Bad" pixels show up as bright points in images and are caused by defects in the CCD chips used in digital cameras. Thumber can eliminate these bad pixels from images using an "intelligent" interpolation method. Batch Image Processing. This provides the ability to apply one or more image transformation functions (e.g. brighten, resize, increase color saturation, remove bad pixels, etc.) to one or more images in "batches". The desired transformations are listed in a text file which Thumber processes for each image to be transformed. As with all of Thumber's image editing features, and EXIF data and/or comments contained are untouched by these transformations. Detailed instructions are included in Thumber's help file. The LensMate folks have begun shipping their new Canon G1 lens adapter for $20. According to Susan at LensMate, "Our adapter has proven to be a popular alternative to Canons adapter. The adapter is 2" in diameter, just large enough to go around the lens barrel but smaller than the Canon adapter which many people have reported blocks some of the sensors." The LensMate allows you to use readily available 49mm filters and lenses. Phil over at the DP Review has posted his Kodak DC4800 review and had this to say about it: "For Kodak the DC4800 was a radical departure from the DC260/265/290 series which used to be their flagship consumer digital cameras. Its design is far more traditional, yet we still see elements of Kodak innovation in the ergonomics and layout of the camera. There's a lot to like about the DC4800, the wide 28 mm equiv. bottom end, the exposure compensation dial, apertures on the mode dial, the innovative new white balance controls. Certainly there's nothing wrong with the physical layout, nothing too much wrong with the onboard software or processing speed but there are enough factors I wasn't happy with for me to end up with a disappointing feeling about the DC4800." Go read the entire review and see why he feels this way about it.

12-11-2000

HP PhotoSmart 912 First Look Posted The HP PhotoSmart 912 is a ground-breaking digital camera as it's the first SLR-like to be priced under $1200. The C912 uses a large 2/3-inch frame transfer CCD imager to produce its two-megapixel 1600 x 1280-pixel images. The suggested retail price is only $799. Read my HP C912 First Look report. I've only had the C912 for a few days but it is a delight to use. It looks a lot like a conventional 35mm SLR and has a great feel to it thanks to a large rubberized grip. The zoom is controlled by a ring on the lens barrel and overall the camera produces excellent images - my sample photo page won't be online for a couple of days yet. Hopefully this reasonably priced SLR-type is the sign of things to come from other camera manufacturers. Maybe the next generation will offer interchangeable lenses too!

12-10-2000

Nixvue's Digital Album Nixvue's Digital Album is a palm-sized, stand-alone device, integrated with a high capacity (10GB) 2.5 inch hard disk, incorporating image retrieval, viewing and direct printing capabilities. The battery-operated Digital Album is very portable, digital camera users can carry it out into the field and download images from their storage media (CompactFlash, SmartMedia, MemoryStick) with a simple button operation. The Digital Album has enough capacity to store thousands of high resolution images. Nixvue's Digital Album is designed to dock into a matching cradle unit. Precise guide mechanisms are built-in to ensure safe and easy docking. Power is supplied through an external power adapter and the cradle unit also acts as a battery charger for Nixvue's Digital Album when in use. Printer port on cradle unit may be used for direct print to printers without the need of general purpose computers. For advanced users, Nixvue's Digital Album can communicate with PCs through a USB port, appearing just like another disk drive. The Cradle unit connects via video cables to common household TVs. Organise and select images for viewing together with family and friends in total comfort of your living room. The Digital Album's user friendly Menu allows users to easily select, organise, print, delete, rename and activate slide show functions etc. effortlessly and conveniently via an IR remote controller from a comfortable distance. Users need not compromise by shooting at lower resolution than cameras can deliver just to conserve storage space as is commonly the case. Storing the highest possible resolution translates into better quality prints now or in the future. I have contacted these folks and hopefully we will get a unit for review soon. The expected availability is first quarter of 2001. Price will be $599.

12-08-2000

Epson Premium Glossy Photo Paper Update -- Still Not Right Thanks to the Imaging-Resource for pointing us to the Epson site where they posted the following news about the Premium Glossy Photo Paper used in the Stylus Photo 870 and 1270 printers: To our Valued Customers: We have learned that the initial shipment of the reformulated Premium Glossy Photo Paper, which began shipping in November, was a bad batch of paper. Due to a production issue, some users may notice a powdery residue in the dark areas of the photographs. Therefore we are working with our sales channel to replace this bad batch of paper. In an effort to help customers distinguish the correct paper from the defective paper, we are adding a sticker on the front of the package that specifies a December ship date or later. For customers who have already purchased this defective paper, Epson will gladly replace it. Customers should either call us at 562-276-1311 or email us at Epsonsupport70@ea.epson.com. We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause. The new batch will begin shipping December 15.

12-08-2000

New York Institute of Photography Issues First-Ever Digital Camera Buying Guide The headline in a holiday advertisement for digital cameras reads: “Cool Cameras. Brilliant Gifts.” The photographers at the New York Institute of Photography agree. The time try digital photography has arrived. But as digital cameras move into the mainstream, more and more shoppers ponder advertisements with filled with confusing terms such as “megapixel” and “digital zoom,” along with confusing statements such as “16MB memory card stores up to 110 images.” Since more digital cameras will be sold this holiday season than ever before, NYI has issued a Special Report: DIGITAL CAMERA BUYING GUIDE to help the consumer sort out the various features that one might want in a digital camera you intend to give (or get) this holiday season. “Digital cameras are now fun and easy to use,” observes Chuck DeLaney, Dean of the New York Institute of Photography, America’s oldest and largest photography school. “However, we don’t suggest you get rid of the family’s traditional film camera, but rather purchase a digital model to supplement your film camera and complement your home computer system,” DeLaney explained. “And, if you follow NYI’s Digital Camera Shopping Tips, you’ll get the right camera for your needs,” he promises. NYI’s Digital Camera Shopping Tips don’t focus on brand recommendations. Instead, they are intended to help the consumer understand what features exist in digital cameras, how digital cameras differ from the more familiar film-based models, and how to evaluate the features that are now advertised in cursory fashion. NYI’s Special Report includes the following suggestions: Look for a camera that features an optical zoom lens rather than only digital zoom. Make sure you get an AC adapter and a set or rechargeable batteries with your camera. Start looking in the two-megapixel range, rather than with cameras that offer less resolution. For people who are unfamiliar with the basics of digital photography, the Report explains the meaning of terms such as pixel, megapixel, LCD, USB and memory card. The Report also lists general price information and how consumers might find a bargain amid the massive number of models that have been introduced in the past 18 months. For more Digital Camera Shopping Tips, see NYI’s Digital Camera Buying Guide in this month’s Web site of the New York Institute of Photography at www.nyip.com. (Reprinted with permission from the New York Institute of Photography Web site)

12-07-2000

Sanyo Postpones Launch of IDC-1000Z Sanyo Electric Co., Osaka, Japan, said it will put off to early February the scheduled Friday launch of what it claims is the world's first digital camera to use photo magneto-optical (MO) disks for data storage, Kyodo News reported. The company said it took longer than it had expected to conduct tests to ensure the camera, the IDC-1000Z, will work with personal computers and other peripherals. Priced at ¥160,000 ($1108 USD), the camera is based on a format developed jointly by Sanyo, Olympus Optical Co. and Hitachi Maxell Ltd. and can produce a 1.5-megapixel still picture. With a 730MB MO disk priced at ¥3,500 ($24.25 USD), the camera can record about two hours of moving images and store up to 11,000 still pictures, the company said in announcing the product two months ago.

12-07-2000

E-Book Announces FlipBrowser Gold E-Book has created a new product called FlipBrowser Gold that allows users to share photos in a digital photo album on the Internet. FlipBrowser Gold is an on-line sharing tool that can open a folder of html and image files and automatically compile the files into a FlipBook with a thumbnail overview and table of contents. Users can manually re- order the pages by drag and drop, upload the complete FlipBook to the web for sharing and email friends to inform them of the location of the on-line FlipBook. A FlipBook can also be listed on www.fliplibrary.com www.for search and retrieval by the general public. FlipBrowser Gold can also be used as an e-book or "flipbook" viewer, allowing the user to view anything online that has a book-like form in real life -- such as photo albums, product catalogs, manuals, magazines and novels. FlipBrowser Gold also acts as an internet browser, compiling Web pages into a book-like, 3D page flipping form. Every page is remembered, giving users quick access to previously viewed web pages without using the back or forward button. E-Book Systems' patented page flipping technology is incorporated into the FlipBrowser Gold. It sells for $19.95 and is available at www.flipbrowser.com.

12-06-2000

New Canon D30 Book from ShortCourses Good friend Denny Curtin has just released his new Canon EOS D30 book. This is not a "how-to install the batteries" kind of user manual, it's a well organized, 116 page guide to getting the best photos from your new camera. The book is supplemented with material on-line at www.shortcourses.com. This site has a special section on the D30 and there is also a great deal of information on what to do with your photos after you've taken them. The Canon D30 book as well as books for Nikon 950, 990 and 880, Canon S10, S20, S100 and G1, Olympus C-2020, C-2500, C-3000/3030, C-2100UZ and E-10 digital cameras can be ordered securely online.   I have lost count of how many thank you emails I have gotten from people that have purchased the ShortCourses books through the links on my site. I even learned a few new tricks from his Coolpix 950 book! Considering what you have already invested in your new D30, this will undoubtedly be the smartest $25 expenditure of them all.

12-05-2000

TIME Digital Selects Nikon Coolpix 990 as their "Machine of the Year" To quote the TIME article, "Among the new cameras, the Nikon Coolpix 990 stands out. This high-resolution, 3.3-megapixel camera has a high-quality lens, as one would expect from a Nikon. A more distinctive feature is its 'twist' body. In a crowd, you can hold it over your head with the lens facing forward and twist the LCD screen down so you can see what you're getting when you press the shutter button." Read the entire article online here or in the current issue of TIME Digital on newsstands now.

12-5-2000

Peter iNova's Nikon "Secrets" eBook Looking for a great gift idea for your favorite Coolpix user?  Look no further than Peter iNova's 200-page plus eBook titled "Mastering Nikon Compact Digital Cameras." Things you never knew. Things Nikon never knew. Things that will surprise you and things that will you help discover the hidden secrets of the Nikon Coolpix 990 and 950 cameras. All of this and more is packed into an eBook that contains images so high in resolution that you can blow them up on screen by 300% without losing resolution or running into pixels!  Each chapter is much larger than the largest PDF file you've ever experienced on the Internet but downloading into your computer only takes a few seconds. And it interactively takes you from ideas to related ideas with a click of the mouse. Mastering Nikon Compact Digital Cameras contains a photography course that will unleash your awareness of composition, design, color, form, balance, timing and point of view. PhotoShop filters and actions and lots more for just $49.95 Already purchased the eBook but having problems with some of the iNovaFX filters or action files and the new PhotoShop v6.0?  If so be sure to see the PS 6.0 iFilter Work-Arounds page.

12-05-2000

MGI Ships 4 Millionth Copy of VideoWave CAMPBELL, CA and TORONTO, ONT - December 5, 2000 - MGI today announced that it has now surpassed the 4 million mark in worldwide VideoWave unit shipments. The total includes both retail sales and OEM licenses, with half the total - over 2 million units - shipping year-to-date. Several factors are fueling the growing awareness and interest in consumer video publishing, which is sending users in search of an application as robust and easy-to-use as MGI's VideoWave. The increase in performance of the basic PC and convenience of FireWire (IEEE 1394) - the industry standard hardware connection for transferring video between a digital camcorder (DV) and computer - have made PC video content more accessible, practical and common place for users. "All of these factors are contributing to the growth we've seen over last year and through this year," said Ihor Petelycky, General Manager, Video Products, MGI. According to PC Data, which measures U.S. and Canadian retail sales, MGI VideoWave accounted for more than 70% of total unit shipments and total revenues for the first half of 2000 in the consumer video market. MGI's software also comes preinstalled on PC systems from Compaq, Dell, IBM and Gateway as well as third party video-related peripherals, such as graphics boards and IEEE 1394 adapters. A free 30-day trial version of VideoWave available from the Internet is also driving interest. Since its availability, there have been more than 50,000 downloads of the VideoWave trial version (VideoWave 4 trial version is now available).

12-05-2000

MP3 Player For Some Digita Cameras For those of you looking to do things other than take pictures with your Digita-enabled cameras, check out the MAMED! web site. You'll find game emulators for DOOM, MineSweeper, Boulder Smash and more. James Surine emailed me today to pass on the following news: "A little early holiday present. I have ported an MP3 player for the Kodak DC220, DC260, DC265 & DC290, no other cameras are supported at this time. Currently it has a very simple interface (i.e. almost none) and the sound quality can be improved but it is a start. The HW supports 11Khz 15 bit mono so don't expect miracles. Special thanks to Ken Lamarche for doing the initial port to Digita. The source code is based on the open source MP3 player FreeAmp available for DOS and Linux. You can download the binary and source from the downloads page."

12-04-2000

Agilent And Flashpoint Offer Digital Camera Reference Designs To Cut Manufacturers' Design Time And Cost PALO ALTO and SAN JOSE, Calif., Dec. 6, 2000 -- Agilent Technologies Inc., a leading provider of innovative technologies for communications and life sciences, and FlashPoint Technology Inc., the creator of Digita, the industry standard technology for digital imaging, announced today that the two companies will jointly market a series of complete digital camera designs based on the Agilent HDCP-3200 camera controller chip and FlashPoint's Digita operating system (OS). This arrangement will lower the cost of development and decrease the time to market for new digital cameras, as manufacturers are provided with a complete and compatible design including the image sensor, image processor, control chip and control software. "With these designs, Agilent and FlashPoint will help manufacturers to deliver high-performance, cost-effective still cameras to market in less time," said Stephen Saylor, president of FlashPoint. "Camera manufacturers face increasing pressures to deliver new models to the market. We can help them meet their goals by providing a modular, high-performance solution that cuts down on engineering and development costs." "We're providing pre-engineered software drivers and interfaces, backed by a world-class design support team," said Jason Hartlove, business unit manager of Agilent's Imaging Electronics Division. "Our customers will be able to beat their competition in rapid deployment of a series of high-performance cameras into the market, reducing their development time significantly." Availability is planned for the first quarter of 2001.

12-04-2000

Digicam Reviews from Other Sites The DC Resource has posted a Fujifilm FinePix 4900 Zoom review where Jeff concluded, "The Fuji FinePix 4900 Zoom is a full-featured, capable camera that can be enjoyed by beginners and pros alike. The 6X optical zoom really comes in handy sometimes (see the tiger picture in the gallery for a good example) -- it really overpowers the standard 3X zoom of most cameras. The camera is also one of the fastest out there, with minimal processing times. The build quality is very good, and the camera includes an attractive bundle." Jeff also reviewed the EyeModule for the Handspring's Visor PDA, a nifty little device for capturing b&w or color snapshots. The folks at the Imaging-Resource have posted a Fuji FinePix 2400 Zoom review, "a 2 megapixel update of the sleek little 1.3 megapixel FinePix 1400 that we reviewed previously. The new unit is pretty much identical to the earlier design, only with a 2 megapixel sensor. The bottom line is a very affordable (we've heard of "street" prices as low as $349!) 2 megapixel digicam with a true 3x optical zoom lens and very good picture quality." and a Fuji FinePix 1300 review, "an entry-level 1.3 megapixel camera, good for making sharp prints up to about 5x7 in size. This is an upgrade to Fuji's previous MX-1200, the major difference being that the F1300 sports a USB interface for much faster image downloads. Good image quality, decent exposure control, and a simple interface." Another Fujifilm FinePix 4900 Zoom review was posted at the A-Digital-Eye site. Here's a small excerpt of Dave's conclusion: "With what is clearly a very good and larger than normal 6X optical zoom lens, full manual controls, compact lightweight design and excellent color results, we feel the Fujifilm FinePix 4900 Zoom has a lot going for it at a price range under $1,000 dollars. It compares favorably with the top 3 megapixel camera, with resolution just slightly lower, but with a better optical zoom making it a good choice for those who prefer a greater zoom range. It also compares well with the recent Olympus C-2100, having less zoom then its 10X IS lens, but with a somewhat higher resolution especially for a bit larger print results and slightly better color results." And the DP Review has posted an Olympus C-2100UZ review and had this to say about it, "If you need a long zoom and aren't bothered by the 2 megapixel sensor then the C-2100UZ is a very logical camera to have near (if not at the) top of your buying list. If you consider what you'd have to do to get 380mm of zoom out of any other digital camera or a digital SLR it's amazing to consider how compact and light the C-2100UZ really is, the lens works well, a hint of chromatics at long zooms is to be expected but on the whole doesn't detract. The image stabilisation works well and definitely gives you a stop or two over what you'd normally be able to handhold."

12-02-2000

Follow the Zing Cruise on the Web The Zing Digital Photography Workshop At Sea departs this Sunday, December 3, for a week's cruise in the Caribbean and even though you may not be aboard, you're invited to join in the fun. Each day, pictures taken by the class and of the class will be posted at Zing.com so you can follow along and see how things develop. Just log in here and use "zingcruise2000" as your member name and "zingcruise" as your password. Then join attendees from all over the U.S. and Canada as they frolic in the sun, learn about digital photography, and shoot great pictures. The Carnival VICTORY has an Internet cafe and high-speed web access via satellite at speeds in excess of 128kbps, ten times faster than most ocean-going vessels. Photo opportunities abound, both on the the ship, and ashore in Puerto Rico and the Virgin islands and enrollees are well-equipped to take advantage of them, having received cruise gifts worth up to $1,000, including digital cameras, lenses, USB hubs and drives, batteries and power packs, memory cards and readers, ink jet papers, software and more. Lead instructor is Arthur H. Bleich, photographer, educator, and feature editor of Digital Camera Magazine and who also writes for Zing, CNET, Wired, and other major publications. Andrew Hathaway and Dawn Bard of Zing will be aboard to give instruction in Photoshop techniques and coordinate web activities. Thirty hours of instruction and over 20 hours of individual tutorials will be offered. Co-sponsors include Kodak, Belkin, Adobe, Epson, Delkin, Iomega, Tiffen, Quest, Unity Digital, Microtech International, Red River Paper, and others.

12-02-2000

Kodak Releases Firmware Upgrade for DC4800 Camera Kodak DC4800 V1.04 Firmware, November 2000 has the following enhancements to the original V1.0 camera firmware: Improved Auto Focus (AF) in dim lighting situations Alarms if not in AF range Displaying Landscape/Closeup icon and Exposure Compensation icon on color LCD screen PTP (Picture Transfer Protocol) improvements (For future compatibility) Minor bug fixes

12-01-2000

Red River Paper's Holiday Giveaway - Epson Photo 870 Printers Come to Red River Paper for your chance to win an Epson 870 photo inkjet printer. Three lucky winners will be chosen on Jan 3, 2001 to receive one of these remarkable inkjet printers. Just click on the link and go register, it's free! Red River Paper has a super selection of inkjet papers and accessories. Check out our valuable sample kits and Inkjet Paks for the holiday season. Great discounted items like Frio 50lb Gloss Card - 50% off - print your own Christmas cards and save even more!

12-01-2000

Steve's Digicams Logo Gear Now Available Be the first on your block to own a Steve's Digicams shirt or hat! The golf shirts and hats feature real embroidered logos. While supplies last, we have the items pictured. The shirts are all 100% cotton and are available in men's sizes Medium, Large, XL and 2XL. (Remember to buy a size larger than you need) The prices are as follows:  Golf shirt $19.99, T-shirt $9.99, and Ball Cap $9.99. Please email Dannee to place an order.   We only have a limited number available and are only offering them during the holidays.

12-01-2000

megapixel.net Posts December 2000 Issue The folks at megapixel.net have just posted their December 2000 e'zine. This month they review the Olympus E-10, Fujifilm FinePix 4900 and FinePix 2400 and the Hewlett-Packard C912 SLR cameras. They also have articles about macro closeups, why the digital camera world uses 35mm lens focal length equivalents and the last part of their guide to digital cameras.

Nov 2000 News

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