Short Course's books Nikon 950/990, Olympus C-2100, 3030Z, E-10, Canon G1, D30, Pro90, S100/S300 & more.

07-30-2001

Nikon Coolpix 775 Review Posted I just posted our Nikon Coolpix 775 review, this is an ultra-compact 2-megapixel digicam with a 3x 38-115mm (35mm equivalent) Zoom-Nikkor lens. It's a lightweight (6.5 ounces) pocket-size point-and-shoot with good image quality and a suggested list price of just $449, check it out.

07-30-2001

Shortcourses Releases Digital Imaging CD Good friend Dennis Curtin from the www.shortcourses.com web site has announced that his Getting Started in Digital Photography, A Software Sampler (for Windows) CD is now available for $14.95. According to Dennis, " I've looked at a lot of good digital photography programs, most of them recommended by users on newsgroups and mailing lists. Having written about many of these programs on my site, I've realized how hard it is to locate them, keep track of them, and download them. I decided that it would help both you and the publisher's of these programs to compile trial versions of my personal favorites on an easy-to-use CD." You can look over the index of the CD and see what it has to offer.

07-29-2001

Peter iNova Posts Nikon 775 Report Peter iNova has posted a Nikon Coolpix 775 in-hand report on the www.digitalsecrets.net web site. Let's play, "What If..." What if you could have a camera that was Very Tiny (smaller than your fist) yet delivered consistent Nikon quality 2-megapixel images? What if it had the 950's 3:1 zoom lens and identical coverage? What if it had all the cool operating functionality of the 880 (movies, Scene modes, BSS, Sharpening Control) in its operating system and menu choices? What if it will be in stores in July (right now)? What if it cost less than half of what the 950 cost new?

07-27-2001

W32/SirCam@MM Virus Alert Checking around with the other digicam web sites I see that we have all been receiving more than our share of virus-infected emails from our readers. Do us (and yourself) a favor and check your PC regularly - even if you use an active virus shield. I always have McAfee's Shield running and I still got infected. The W32/SirCam@MM virus can be destructive, it can email confidential information, it can fill up your hard drive partition or make the computer slow or unusable. It will make your friends very unhappy if an email from you infects their machine and it certainly is responsible for slowing down the net with all that useless email it is sending. I ran McAfee's Online Scan and it said that it found and removed the infected files but it was still a problem so I had to resort to the manual removal method which is all outlined at McAfee's web site. Go HERE to get info about the virus and how to get rid of it. Even if you don't think you have it - you may still have it ! Here's more information from Symantec's web site.

07-27-2001

Andromeda Software Releases New Photoshop Plug-in Andromeda Software Inc. announces the release of a new multi-platform, Adobe Photoshop compatible plug-in: the new Andromeda EtchTone Filter. Starting with a gray/color illustration or photo, the new plug-in combines an etch pattern (black and white) with the original image to create an "Etchtone", a continuous tone screen that results in a classic old printing look that softens the harshness of solid black and white line screens. Depending upon the Etchtone effect desired, the Filter will either Overlay the etch or Blend the etch in your continuous tone image. Andromeda EtchTone Filter has the following unique features: Unique process for simulating the look of steel etching; Start with Grayscale, RGB or CMYK photograph or illustration Controls to adjust amount of steel etch in your original image Controls to adjust original image sharpness, brightness, contrast Controls to vary the mix of original image and the etch pattern. Navigation and Zoom function to view etchtoning at 1:1 Helper Text identifies controls that are moused over A continuous tone effect that is marriage of tones + line conversion.

07-27-2001

Kaidan KiWi Panoramic Solutions for Nikon Coolpix 880 and 995 Cameras Feasterville, PA ­ July 27, 2001 - Kaidan Incorporated, the leading manufacturer of Photographic VR hardware, announced today panoramic tripod head support for Nikon¹s popular Coolpix 880 digital camera and Nikon¹s latest high-end prosumer digital camera, the Nikon Coolpix 995. With the introduction of the Kaidan KiWi 995, KiWi 880 and corresponding upgrade kits, content creation professionals, web developers and photographers can create immersive imaging content with a variety of panoramic software solutions. "Kaidan continues to support and offer compelling and affordable immersive imaging solutions that support Nikon's Coolpix family," said Jim Anders, Kaidan President. "Our KiWi 880 and 995 will continue this tradition and let our customers capture content using Apple QuickTime VR, MGI Photovista, VR Toolbox VR Worx, Easypano Panoweaver, Helmut Dersch's Panotools and iPIX." The Kaidan KiWi 880 and 995 builds upon the successful Kaidan KiWi 990 and provides an innovative indexing mechanism with interchangeable detent discs that provide increments from 2 through 22 positions. Each tripod head comes with 4 detent discs (2, 5, 14, 18), a camera mounting slider that keeps the camera level and helps to position the camera to accommodate the standard lens, the Nikon 24mm wide angle lens, the Nikon 8mm fisheye lens or any third-party add-on lens. Owners of the KiWi 990 can purchase upgrade kits for either the Coolpix 880 or Coolpix 995. The upgrade kits include the appropriate camera mounting slider for either the 880 or the 995 and labeling that shows the proper mounting location for the various Nikon lenses. In the case of the KiWi 880 upgrade, an additional camera mounting knob (used to secure the camera to the bracket) is provided as well. Customers can also purchase bundled solutions from Kaidan that include tripods, carrying cases and panoramic stitching software from Apple, VR Toolbox, MGI and other companies. In all cases, the imaging software offered by Kaidan does not impose a per-image fee or click-fee in order to create a panoramic image. Users can create as many panoramic images as they like and need only pay once for the software application that is used to create these images. The KiWi 880 and 995 solutions will be available from Kaidan and their resellers in late August or early September. The suggested retail price for the KiWi 880 and 995 is $199.95, which includes the KiWi 990 head (which is used as the base unit) plus $14.95 for either the 880 or 995 mounting kit. Suggested retail pricing for the separate 880 or 995 upgrade kits for existing owners of KiWi 990 tripod heads will be $24.95.

07-25-2001

Digital Imaging Group and Photographic and Imaging Manufacturers Association Merge to Form International Imaging Industry Association (I3A) Harrison, NY, July 25, 2001 - The Digital Imaging Group (DIG) and the Photographic and Imaging Manufacturers Association (PIMA) announced today the completion of their merger to create the International Imaging Industry Association (I3A), now the world's largest imaging industry group dedicated to industry growth, leadership and open standards. The merger of leading associations in both the photographic and digital imaging industries benefits the imaging industry, member companies and consumers by enabling opportunity for member collaboration on initiatives designed to lower barriers to market growth. The more than ninety I3A member companies include virtually all imaging industry leaders, giving it the necessary critical mass to achieve this goal. "In today's environment of convergence and consolidation, partnerships are essential to success, both for the associations and the members they serve. Together as I3A, the new association provides the premier forum for industry collaboration worldwide," said Lisa Walker, I3A co-executive director, and chief marketing officer. "It makes perfect sense for the two associations to go forward as one." The merger is effective immediately and I3A's leadership will include executives from the two former organizations, Lisa Walker and Michael Nier. I3A's mission is to drive market growth by enabling new markets and opportunities for member companies that will ultimately benefit consumers and end-users. The new association will be committed to developing and promoting the adoption of open industry standards, and to providing a voice for the industry. "Both digital and photographic imaging products serve the same customer need," said Michael Nier, I3A co-executive director, and chief operating and administrative officer. "I3A is uniquely positioned to benefit users worldwide by uniting leading imaging industry companies that will develop the standards foundation for new and innovative imaging products and services." To celebrate the merger, I3A will host the fifth annual Spotlight Reception in conjunction with the Seybold conference in San Francisco at the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts on September 25. To hear more about I3A, Seybold show attendees are also invited to visit the I3A booth in Association Alley from September 24-28.

07-25-2001

PixelZap - Remove Hot Pixels from Digicam Images Max Lyons has just released a new program called PixelZap which is designed to remove "hot pixels" from digital camera images caused by 1.) "Noisy" long-exposures and/or 2.) a defective or aging CCD. When correcting hot pixels caused by long exposures, PixelZap is able to automatically detect, and correct hot pixels. When correcting hot pixels caused by a defective or aging CCD, PixelZap only corrects those pixels that are specified by the user. One of PixelZap's most important features is its ability to save JPEG images in a "virtually lossless" fashion. PixelZap uses low-level JPEG compression/decompression techniques to resave a JPEG image with essentially no image quality degradation. This is particularly useful when correcting images with hot pixels due to a defective CCD -- only the specified pixels are changed, and the rest are left untouched. PixelZap also includes a number of features designed specifically to work with the types of images created by current digital cameras. For example, it is able to retain EXIF data in the corrected image, and its default detection and correction algorithms search for hot pixels in 2x2 clusters. This 2x2 clustering occurs because of the way color information is recorded by digital cameras, and allows PixelZap to accurately detect problem pixels, and lowers the chance of PixelZap falsely detecting bright points in the image that are not caused by hot-pixels. PixelZap is a command-line (DOS) program designed to be as small (approx. 130KB) and fast as possible. I have also released a Windows program (PZapGUI) for users who prefer a graphical version of the software. PZapGUI allows the user to process batches of images, and easily compare "before" and "after" pictures. PixelZap and PZapGUI are released as shareware, but will operate for an unlimited time without registration. However, the unregistered versions are limited to processing images no larger than 640x480. PixelZap and PZapGUI can be downloaded here.

07-25-2001

Portelligent Digital Camera & Electronic Product Teardowns Ever wondered what was inside of one of those tiny Canon S10 cameras?  Well, the folks at Portelligent specialize in "product teardowns" and have reverse engineered a number of digital cameras. To show you what they can do they have made their teardown of the Canon S10 available to anyone that wishes to see it. Clicking on the link requires that you have the Adobe Acrobat Reader or plugin, it's also free. This is not just a "take the case off" kind of teardown, they completely disassemble these cameras, right before your eyes. Visit Portelligent's Digital Imaging Channel to see the products they have analyzed. They also offer a weekly news service (TAS), here's some month-old samples to peruse.

07-24-2001

Cameraid 1.2 Beta 1 Is Now Available Cameraid 1.2 beta 1 is now available for public beta testing. It is the latest update to the all in one digital photography utility program for MacOS. The update is free to all registered users. New features include a totally rewritten batch rename system, new batch processing options support for Quicktime movies, downloads from memory card folders and a number of performance improvements and bug fixes. Cameraid 1.2b1 requires a Macintosh with a 68020 or better processor, QuickTime, at least MacOS System 7 and 2MB of available RAM. 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 Photo viewing, including exposure and camera information (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. Many other features too numerous to list, check the web site.

07-24-2001

Matsushita, Leica In Digital Camera Tie-Up TOKYO, July 24 (Reuters) - Japan's Matsushita Electric Industrial Co Ltd said on Tuesday it would ally with Germany's Leica Camera AG in a bid to gain a 10 percent share of the fast-growing digital still camera market by 2003. Consumer electronics giant Matsushita, known for its Panasonic brand goods, is a minor player in the digital camera market, in which rival Sony Corp holds a sizable share. Matsushita and Leica announced at a joint news conference in Tokyo that they will jointly develop digital still cameras for release this autumn, utilising Leica's optical lens units. Matsushita Senior Managing Director Kazuo Tada said the company aimed to use the tie-up to help it gain a 10 percent share of a forecast 29 million unit digital camera market in 2003, and hinted that it might play a part in a networked consumer electronics scheme. "With the help of Leica, we will be able to reach a new level of richness and quality for our new digital still cameras," he said. "Digital cameras are playing an important role as a network tool - you can't build a network without digital cameras." Matsushita rival Sony has said it sees digital cameras as an input device for networked consumer electronics, a way to capture images for input into Vaio PCs or Sony photo printers, all interconnected with camcorders, audio players and other gadgets via its memory stick data storage device. Leica Chief Executive Hanns-Peter Cohn said he hoped that the jointly manufactured digital cameras would account for 25 percent of his company's total turnover within three years. "Matsushita's strength is in electronic and digital components, and our knowledge is especially in optics," Cohn told reporters after the news conference. "We want to bring the two together effectively." The devices will be marketed under both Matsushita's Panasonic brand and the Leica brand, with three products to be released in early autumn, Tada said. Production will take place in Japan, with the companies initially using Matsushita's subsidiary Matsushita-Kotobuki Electronics Industries Ltd's factory in Takamatsu on the island of Shikoku. Tada said that other production sites would also eventually be used, but did not give specifics.

07-23-2001

Imaging-Resource Posts Numerous Reviews Dave and company posted two printer reviews and one camera review today. They looked at the popular Epson Stylus Photo 780 and the Stylus Photo 785EPX photo inkjet printers. Also examined and reviewed was the latest SuperCCD-equipped Fujifilm FinePix 6900 Zoom that produces up to 6-megapixel sized images. Dave concludes: "Throughout our testing, the 6900 performed consistently well. We'd like to see a slightly more accurate LCD monitor and better low-light performance, but all things considered, we were pleased with the 6900's performance. Color is good, with accurate saturation in most instances, and resolution is quite high. Good pictures!" If you want a second opinion of these items just check the review menu near the top of this page, we have also reviewed this camera and these two printers.

07-20-2001

ShortCourses Releases New Nikon Coolpix 995 Book/eBook Good friend Dennis Curtin wrote to tell me that he has just released his new book/eBook guide to the Nikon Coolpix 995 digital camera. This book is longer (126 pages) than previous versions and covers every available procedure, command, and photographic technique. The 995 is a complicated camera, but this book/eBook helps users master it quickly so they can start getting the kinds of photos they hoped for. The book is printed in black & white using modern printing-on-demand technology so it can be produced quickly and then kept up-to-date and spiral bound. The accompanying eBook is a full-color PDF version of the printed book on a CD disc that can be read in a PC or Mac using Adobe's free Acrobat Reader. The CD also includes trial versions of a number of my favorite programs. To learn more about the 995 book/eBook, visit: www.shortcourses.com/bookstore/ ShortCourses also has books for most other popular digital cameras from Canon, Nikon and Olympus.

07-20-2001

Epson Unveils New Scanners; Lowers Price Of Photo Printer Epson America Inc., Long Beach, Calif., USA, is introducing the new Epson Perfection scanner line. Epson is offering 2,400-by-4,800 dpi resolution with its new Epson Perfection 2450 PHOTO, which uses Epson's Micro Step Drive technology with precise stepper motor, onboard memory, and intelligent image processing. This high-performance scanner features USB 2.0 and IEEE-1394 (FireWire) connectivity. It is also equipped with a built-in 4-by-9-inch transparency adapter for scanning slides, transparencies, and negatives. It will be available in October for an estimated street price of $399. The Perfection 1650 and the Perfection 1650 PHOTO both feature resolution of 1,600-by-3,200 dpi; 48-bit scanning; and a four-button interface with start, scan to Web, scan to e-mail, and photo scanning buttons. Epson said these scanners are ideal for scanning photos, text, or graphics. The Perfection 1650 PHOTO unit includes two additional items that are not included with the standard model, a built-in 35mm filmstrip adapter and Adobe Photoshop Elements. An optional 4-by-5-inch transparency unit is available for $99. Both models are USB compatible. The Perfection 1650 and 1650 PHOTO will be available in early September for estimated street prices of $199 and $249, respectively. The Epson Perfection 1250 scanners, which are geared toward home use, offer 1,200-by-2,400 dpi hardware resolution, 48-bit color depth, and one-touch scanning. They include a 35mm slide adapter unit for scanning negatives and slides. Both will be available in early September at estimated street prices between $129 and $149. Epson also reduced the price of its Epson Stylus Photo 780 inkjet printer. This six-color photo printer, which features support for Print Image Matching-enabled digital cameras, is now available for an estimated street price of $129.

07-19-2001

Lexar Media Launches Portable USB CompactFlash Reader NEW YORK, July 18 /PRNewswire/ via NewsEdge Corporation - Lexar Media, Inc. today unveiled the latest edition to its popular line of portable readers, a USB CompactFlash Reader. Priced at $29.99 (MSRP), the reader is available from camera dealers, consumer electronics retailers and distributors, and Lexar Media's Web site. On display at MacWorld, this is Lexar Media's first Mac OS X compatible reader. The new Lexar Media USB CompactFlash Reader is compatible with all brands of Type I and Type II CompactFlash and offers portability and connection to PC or Macintosh through the USB port on the computer. The reader is mass storage compliant, meaning that it is truly plug-and-play since no drivers are required to use it with modern operating systems. It is compatible with Windows 98, Windows 2000, Windows ME, Mac OS X and Mac OS 8.6 and greater. This reader joins the current lineup of SmartMedia and Memory Stick readers in providing portable USB connectivity for all major digital film formats. Lexar Media's USB CompactFlash reader will be available at the end of July. Lexar Media also offers a complete line of CompactFlash memory cards in capacities up to 512 Megabytes with guaranteed minimum sustained write speeds up to 12x (1X=150 kbps).

07-19-2001

Pantellic Software Acquires PhotoPoint.com Website Pantellic Software Inc., Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada, originally contracted to design and operate the PhotoPoint.com photo sharing website, has acquired the PhotoPoint.com site from Sherwood Partners Inc., Los Angeles, Calif., USA, the assignee for PhotoPoint Corp. Pantellic said the PhotoPoint.com site will continue under the new management, ensuring that members will have ongoing access to their personal photo albums. "It's very exciting for us to have the rights to PhotoPoint.com, but it's pretty much business as usual since we've been operating the site on contract all along," said Dale Gass, CEO of Pantellic. PhotoPoint Corp. acquired the PhotoPoint.com website in 1999. Since that time, Pantellic has performed the development and hosting of PhotoPoint.com, while PhotoPoint Corp. was responsible for business development, sales, and marketing. These functions will now be handled exclusively by Pantellic.

07-18-2001

DC Resource Posts Kyocera S3 Review Jeff over at the DC Resource Page has just posted his Kyocera S3 Finecam review. The S3 is billed as the world's smallest 3-megapixel camera with an optical zoom lens and it is definitely small. Jeff concludes: "There's lots to love about the Kyocera Finecam S3, and very few things to dislike. The camera is ultra-small and portable, for one. It takes quality pictures, and gives you more manual controls than any 'micro camera' I've used." Be sure to go over and check out all of the details in his review, including all of Jeff's conclusion comments.

07-18-2001

Multiflash Card Reader Review Posted Do you have multiple digicams using different media or just have a need to be able to read and write to various media formats?  If the answer to either of these questions is yes then have a look-see at our Acomdata USB Multiflash Media Reader/Writer review.   This one small $100 flash reader handles CompactFlash Type I and II, SmartMedia, Memory Sticks and Secure Digital or MultiMediaCard cards, and no special adapters are needed. Very slick!

07-17-2001

Kaidan Announces Expanded Line of 3-D Object Imaging Turntables and Solutions New York City, NY, Macworld Expo ­ July 18, 2001 - Kaidan Incorporated, the leading manufacturer of Photographic VR hardware announced today two new motorized turntables and expanded bundled software solutions for 3-D Object solutions. The Kaidan PiXi-M motorized turntable is available today bundled with the SpinImage software from Autolycus. The bundled solution, known as the 3-D Object Imaging Kit, is used to create 3-D object movies in a matter of minutes. The user places the object of interest on the PiXi-M turntable. Digital video of the spinning object is sent to the computer (Macintosh or Windows) where the SpinImage software converts the video stream into an object movie that is ready to be transferred to a Web site for subsequent viewing. The user can choose from either the SpinImage format (HTML-based) or a QuickTime® VR format. The PiXi-M turntable has a working diameter of nine inches and can support a maximum weight of twenty pounds. The 3-D Object Imaging Kit is available immediately from Kaidan and all Kaidan distributors and resellers. Kaidan also announced at the show a new, larger continuous motion turntable, the Magellan-M. This turntable, due out later this year, has a working diameter of eighteen inches and will support considerably more weight than the PiXi-M turntable. The Magellan-M will also be available in bundled configurations with Autolycus SpinImage software upon its introduction. According to Kaidan VP of Engineering, Sal DiPaolo, "We're really excited to be offering a solution that is revolutionizing the creation of interactive 3-D objects for the Web. Our new turntables and solution bundles are bringing affordable 3-D object creation to the masses. People are creating object movies of their collectibles, eBay auction items, valuables and products. The PiXi-M turntable already works with DV video cameras and a number of FireWire web cameras and in the near future, you will see Kaidan introducing still-image solutions as well." Kaidan Announces Realviz Stitcher 3.0 Hardware/Software Bundles New York City, NY, Macworld Expo ­ July 18, 2001 - Kaidan Incorporated, the leading manufacturer of Photographic VR hardware announced today the immediate availability of Realviz Stitcher V3.0 either separately, or bundled with Kaidan spherical panoramic tripod heads, such as the Kaidan KiWi+ Spherical or QuickPan Spherical. Stitcher's key benefits include taking multi-row pictures in a full sphere, to export to various formats including QT4, QT5 (QTVR Cubic), Java and Web3D formats, and to provide multi-resolution rendering. This makes Stitcher ideal for a wide range of applications ranging from immersive imaging on the web to high-resolution digital pictures ready to print in large format. Stitcher is a professional level application that dramatically reduces production times and costs for web and multimedia design. The latest version of Stitcher software offers users significant new feature enhancements over version 1.5, which was released in the Autumn of 2000. Version 3.0 supports file export to QuickTime 5 (QTVR Cubic) and Macromedia Director 8.5 Shockwave Studio (Windows NT/2000 Professional), enabling Macromedia Director developers to deliver rich, photo-real 3D models and panoramic experiences to a vast on-line audience. Stitcher V 3.0 also boasts a sleeker engine design, a new interface and improved memory management for increased ease-of-use. Kaidan Announces Reseller Alliance with iView New York City, NY, Macworld Expo ­ July 18, 2001 - Kaidan Incorporated, the leading manufacturer of Photographic VR hardware and iView have announced today that Kaidan will be reselling iView's Media Pro software. iView MediaPro allows content creators to manage, organize, find, view, play, print and convert diverse media types. In addition, MediaPro also has a slideshow feature that can play music and have up to 16 photos or movies onscreen simultaneously. MediaPro is a particularly useful tool for those who create immersive imaging content, such as QuickTime VR panoramas or object movies. MediaPro can handle a wide variety of file formats including, HTML, Quark, Canvas, Painter, MGI/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. In addition, iView is the only media browser capable of full PDF & EPS rendering. According to Kaidan VP of Engineering, Sal DiPaolo, "Media Pro is a great utility for organizing finished QuickTime® VR files as well as sorting, storing and managing the source images used in the creation of panoramas and object movies."

07-17-2001

Fujifilm FinePix 4800 Zoom and Olympus D-370 Reviews Posted I have just posted our FinePix 4800 Zoom review of Fuji's pocket size and Porsche-styled, 3x zoom, 2.4-megapixel camera. This is the "little brother" of the 6800 Zoom and is housed in the same highly durable alloy body and offers similar image quality in a smaller image size. I also just posted our Olympus D-370 review of a very reasonably priced ($200) and compact 1.3-megapixel digital camera. Same styling as Olympus' other "clamshell" cameras and not a bad performer.

07-17-2001

FotoCanvas from ACD Named "Best of the Best" in American Photo Editor's Choice Awards July 17, 2001 VICTORIA, British Columbia, July 16 /PRNewswire/ via NewsEdge Corporation - ACD Systems International Inc. (Toronto: ASA), the digital imaging company, is pleased to announce that its photo touch-up editor, FotoCanvas(TM), has won the prestigious 2001 Editor's Choice Award for software from American Photo magazine. In its assessment of FotoCanvas, the judging team led by American Photo Executive Editor Russell Hart described FotoCanvas as an "unusually well-conceived image editor (that) is just right for mid-level photographers." At $39.95, FotoCanvas was the lowest priced finalist in the software category. FotoCanvas allows digital imaging enthusiasts to express their creativity with fun and flexible drawing tools, selection tools, color and light blending modes, cropping tools, red-eye reduction, and special effects filters like sepia and emboss. Plus, users get a fast picture editor that has a customizable interface and many other user-friendly features. "American Photo provides digital imaging users with an objective professionalism that sets a media standard for our industry," said President and CEO of ACD Systems Doug Vandekerkhove. "Winning the Editor's Choice Awards for software not once but twice -- for FotoCanvas in 2001 and for ACDSee 3.0 in 2000 -- is a tremendous endorsement for our design and development teams at ACD."

07-17-2001

Jasc Paint Shop Pro Wins American Photo Editor's Choice Award as Top Photo-Editing Tool EDEN PRAIRIE, Minn.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--July 16, 2001-- Jasc Software, Inc. today announced that its flagship digital imaging program, Jasc(R) Paint Shop Pro(TM), Version 7, has been selected by the editors of American Photo magazine to receive an Editor's Choice Award in the software category. The Editor's Choice Awards celebrate the best and most innovative products in traditional and digital photography. Winners were announced recently at an awards ceremony in Los Angeles, California. "[Jasc Paint Shop Pro 7] is very popular, and for a very good reason: It offers advanced imaging tools at a reasonable price," wrote the editors of American Photo. "With Paint Shop Pro 7, you can work in RGB, CMYK, grayscale, and even HSL color spaces; create custom graphics and text; create multiple raster and vector layers; use alpha channels to make selection masks; optimize pictures for the Web; adjust color profiles for offset printing; and event open RAW-format digital camera files. Useful retouching tools help fix red-eye, scratches and creases, JPEG compression artifacts, and even more patterns from scans of halftones. The program features 75 filters, and you can organize your pictures with the built-in image browser." "We're proud to receive the Editor's Choice award from American Photo magazine for Paint Shop Pro," said Kris Tufto, president and CEO of Jasc Software, Inc. "More and more digital photographers, from novices to professionals, are discovering that Paint Shop Pro offers advanced digital darkroom tools that are extremely powerful, yet easy to use. This award is a testament to the increasing popularity of both digital photography and Paint Shop Pro." Jasc Paint Shop Pro is the complete graphics and photo editor for home and business. It combines easy-to-use photographic enhancement and graphic design tools with a simple, intuitive interface and an affordable price to meet the image editing demands of professionals and novices alike.

07-16-2001

Hitachi Maxell Offers New Consumer Digital Camera Hitachi Maxell Ltd., a maker of electromagnetic media and batteries, is introducing a new consumer digital camera utilizing the "Zero Halliburton" design, the JPEA Photo Electro News reported. The Hitachi Maxell ZD3 digital camera incorporates a 1/1.8-inch 3.34-megapixel CCD image sensor and produces image files up to 2,048-by-1,536 pixels. It features a 7.8-15.6mm/f2.8-3.5, 7-in-6, 2X zoom lens with a minimum focusing distance of 0.9 meters. Exposure, focusing, and white-balance are programmed, and the white-balance allows manual shift to daylight, tungsten light, cloudy sky, fluorescent light, and preset. The camera accepts SD memory cards. Only 10,000 units will be produced. Hitachi Maxell is accepting orders until Aug. 31 through its dealers and at www.zerohalli.com. (This appears to be the Kyocera S3 in a different case.)

07-16-2001

Other Site's Reviews Jeff at DC Resource has posted two new camera reviews, one for the Fujifilm FinePix 6900 Zoom which he concludes: "The Fuji FinePix 6900 Zoom is a high resolution, "pro-styled" camera with a lot of features, yet it's easy to use. If you want basic point-and-shoot action, you can just pop it in Auto mode and forget the rest. If you're leaning towards the professional end of things, you can use manual controls or even an external flash. The photo quality was excellent, with vivid color reproduction and high res files." And his second review is of a pre-production Casio QV-2900UX of which he had this to say: "From the specification sheet, the Casio QV-2900UX sounds like a sure-fire winner: 2.1 Megapixel, 8X optical zoom, full manual controls, Microdrive support, and BestShot mode for under $500. While I appreciate all those very nice features, there are two negatives that are deal breakers for me: the lack of an optical viewfinder, and the less than stellar photo quality." Phil at DP Review has posted his Kodak DCS 760 review of the flagship SLR in the Kodak Professional lineup. His review includes a head to head comparison of the DCS 760 and Nikon D1X. Phil's conclusion: "Kodak have learned their lesson (the hard way), this time well aware of the threat from the D1x and have come up with a camera (clearly based on the 660) which is more than capable of taking it on. You really can't use the DCS 760 and not like it. It's a solid, reliable, fast, high resolution professional tool. Downside... The body has been around for a few years and is on the large side, the sensor is starting to show its age, and you just can't ignore the blue channel noise (at least I can't). The DCS 760 is most definetly the best Kodak DCS yet but I still feel it's just not quite enough to beat Nikon's D1x."

07-16-2001

Minolta's DYNAX 7 and DiMAGE 7 awarded "Best Photo SLR Camera" and "Best Digital Prosumer *1 Camera" for the TIPA Awards 2001-2002 Minolta Co., Ltd. (Yoshikatsu Ota, president) is proud to announce that its DYNAX 7 35 mm SLR camera (known in Japan as the -7) and DiMAGE 7 digital still camera have been selected for the "Best SLR Camera" and "Best Digital Prosumer Camera" awards, respectively, part of "The Best Photo Products in Europe, 2001-2002" awards selected by the TIPA. TIPA (Technical Image Press Association) is an organization of representatives from professional camera and imaging magazines in Europe. *1 Professional Consumer - Consumers who purchase products with professional specifications. The DYNAX 7 SLR camera has been designed for ease-of-use, featuring an exceptional combination of clearly defined operations that make it an outstanding high-performance photographic tool. The DYNAX 7 includes an advanced autofocus system with the fastest autofocus in the world *2, advanced exposure control, a high visibility "Navigation Display" on the back of the camera that can display a vast range of information in five languages, and an advanced flash system with high-speed synchronization and a diverse range of lighting settings. The DYNAX 7 offers the most advanced functionality and performance in its class, skillfully combined with straightforward operability. The DYNAX 7 was chosen for this award based on the judges' appraisal of these points. The -7, the Japanese version of the DYNAX 7, also won the "Camera Grand Prix 2001" in Japan, an award sponsored by a club of camera journalists. Popular with photography specialists in Japan and abroad, this camera has been dubbed "The Best Still Camera" and "The Best SLR." *2: When using a 50 mm lens and tested in accordance with Minolta test conditions (as of July 1, 2001). The DiMAGE 7 was announced on May 23, 2001, simultaneously around the world as the "image leader" product of the Minolta digital camera line. The newest Minolta digital camera model, the DiMAGE 7 went on sale first in Japan on June 23, and Minolta is now expanding sales to countries throughout Europe. With a 5 mega-pixel CCD, 7X optical zoom, advanced image processing technology, and incredible image quality, this camera has been receiving considerable attention from high-end users around the world ever since it was first announced. The DiMAGE 7 was chosen for this award because, in addition to outstanding basic functions, the camera also offers numerous appealing features that satisfy even the professional user. This is the sixth time for Minolta to receive an award from TIPA. The Minolta DYNAX 700si won in 1994, the DYNAX 600si Classic in 1995, the VECTIS S-1 in 1996 ("TIPA Special Award"), the DYNAX 505si in 1998, and the VECTIS 2000 in 2000, making a total of seven awards for Minolta. TIPA consists of representatives of 31 professional camera and imaging magazines from 13 European countries. Since 1991, the association has given awards annually for the best photographic and imaging products of the year. The awards ceremony will be held in Amsterdam, the Netherlands, on September 14. Minolta is dedicated to enhancing and strengthening its reliable technologies and diverse product lineups, providing "essential" products, services, and solutions for both film and digital image applications. TIPA 2001-2002 Award Winners Here's a list of all the The Best Photo Products in Europe, 2001-2002 as rated by TIPA. Other winners include the Canon S800 printer, Canon S110 (Digital IXUS) and Nikon D1X digital cameras and the Nikon Coolscan 4000ED film scanner.

07-15-2001

LetsGoDigital Looks at the Pentax EI-100 Our friends in the Netherlands at LetsGoDigital.nl have posted a closer look at the Pentax EI-100, an inexpensive, entry-level 1.3 megapixel camera. It's available now in the Netherlands and should be available soon here in the U.S.

07-14-2001

Canon S800 Photo Printer Review Posted I just posted our Canon S800 Photo Printer review and brother is this thing fast. It cranks out a full-page 8.5 x 11 inch glossy photo print in just less than five minutes at its highest resolution and quality setting. It's not only fast but quiet too and the individually replaceable color ink tanks are like icing on the cake. If you're in the market for a great photo printer that can also serve as a general purpose color and text printer, check out the Canon S800. Best Consumer Printer 2001-2002

07-13-2001

Qimage Pro 2001 v2.5 Released Mike Chaney, author of Qimage Pro 2001, emailed me to let me know that he had just released the latest v2.5 of this excellent Windows printing program. New features of v2.5 include: Support for embedded ICC profiles - Qimage Pro will recognize and use an embedded ICC profile when it reads a JPEG or TIFF image containing an ICC profile. In addition, Qimage Pro will now embed an ICC profile in TIFF's when an ICC profile is specified any time a TIFF image is saved from Qimage Pro (using "Convert Images" from the queue, using the batch filter, etc.). We plan to support JPEG ICC profile embedding in the future. NEF thumbnail reading speed: In prior versions, you may have noticed a short delay before Qimage Pro began building thumbnails when you entered a folder that contained a large number of NEF images. We've eliminated this delay in the latest version. ICC profile information: v2.5 has been enhanced to display the embedded profile description in the queue (if Printer ICC is turned on). In addition, the profile description is also displayed on the "Image Info" window accessed by holding the mouse pointer over a thumbnail and pressing Ctrl-I, and on the EXIF hotbar displayed at the bottom of the QP main window. This enhancement will help take the guesswork out of exactly what profile is embedded in your image files! TIFF conversions: Beta 3 now preserves embedded profiles from original to TIFF copies when converting or filtering images in Qimage Pro. When saving TIFF format images from Qimage Pro, the embedded profile will be saved in the new/created TIF if an embedded profile existed in the original. In other words, embedded profiles are copied from the original to the new image as long as you use the TIFF format when saving new images in Qimage Pro. This embedded profile "preservation" will occur even if "Perform profile to profile conversion" is not selected.

07-13-2001

Other Digicam Sites' Reviews/News The Imaging-Resource has posted their Olympus Brio D-150 review. The DC Resource Page has posted their Olympus D-510 Zoom review. Our friends at digitalkamera.de are desperately looking for a sponsor for their English language pages. Details can be found on this page at their site.

07-13-2001

Snapfish Launches Industry's First Customizable Photo CD-ROM, Image Editing, High-Resolution Downloads SAN FRANCISCO, July 12 /PRNewswire/ via NewsEdge Corporation - Snapfish, the complete online photo service for film and digital camera users, today announced a suite of new features including image editing, high-resolution downloads and the industry's first customizable Photo CD-ROM. The new features available at Snapfish include: Image Editing According to Lyra Research, approximately 75% of US digital camera users edit their pictures, but until now film customers had no convenient way to enhance and repair their images. For the first time all Snapfish customers can edit their photos online, fix common errors and improve their images before they order reprints. Quick and easy image editing tools developed in cooperation with Pixami, enable customers to fix redeye, crop their photos and automatically fix color and contrast problems. Image editing tools are free. Custom Photo CD-ROM Snapfish offers the industry's first Photo CD-ROM product that enables customers to archive high-resolution versions of their Snapfish images on CD-ROM, regardless of whether they originated from film or a digital camera. Customers simply create the Snapfish albums they want to save on CD-ROM, caption the photos, and place the order. Software included with the new CD-ROMs features a variety of image editing tools: redeye reduction, zoom, brightness, contrast, rotation and cropping, plus a slideshow feature. Pricing on Custom Photo CD-ROM is $9.99 for the first 50 images and $3.99 for each additional 25 images. Capacity limits are 500 images or 500 MB, whichever comes first. Shipping is $1.99 per order. High-Resolution Downloads Snapfish customers frequently inquire about downloading high-resolution versions of their images from the Snapfish Web site to their computers. Snapfish now offers high-resolution downloads for editing, archiving and home printing. Downloading is quick and easy and the images are available right away. The resolution of the downloads for images from film is 1536x1024 pixels. Pricing is $.89 each for 1-5 images, $.69 each for 6-10 images and $.59 each for 11 or more. For a limited time Snapfish is offering one high-resolution image download per customer for free.

07-12-2001

Put a Wankel Rotary Engine in Your Digicam? One of our readers emailed to let me know that he had read an interesting story about an alternative energy source for cellphones, digital cameras and other electronic devices. But, it isn't a battery, it's a fuel-powered engine. You can read the whole article in the July 2001 issue of Designfax Online.

07-12-2001

Imaging-Resource Posts Epson PhotoPC 3100Z Review Dave Etchells over at the Imaging-Resource has just posted his Epson PhotoPC 3100Z review, his conclusion: "Epson's done a lot right with this camera, including all the standard "high-end" features, including flexible exposure modes and even a flash hot shoe. Its full auto setting though, means you can hand it to a non-techie with confidence. Nice image quality and a quick, timesaving (if not a little unusual) user interface give this camera an edge over many in its 3.3 megapixel class."

07-12-2001

Olympus Launches New Digital Cameras In Japan Olympus Optical Co., Tokyo, Japan, is offering three new compact digital camera models, the JPEA Photo Electro News reported. The Camedia C-200 Zoom features a 1/2.7-inch 2.11-megapixel CCD imager and a 3x optical zoom lens. The camera can take pictures at resolutions up to 1,600-by-1,200 at speeds equivalent to ISO 100, 200, and 400. The 5.4-16.2mm/f2.8-4.4, 8-in-6, zoom lens focuses down to a minimum distance of 0.2m. The camera accepts SmartMedia cards and has a 1.8-inch LCD monitor. It is available for ¥65,000. The 1.3-megapixel C-100 is geared toward novices. It can produce images at resolutions up to 1,280-by-960 and features a 4.5mm/f4, 5-in-5, mono-focal lens. It has a 6-mode flash, optical viewfinder, and 1.5-inch LCD monitor. It is available for ¥32,000. The Camedia C-1 Zoom is the zoom version of the C-1 introduced in March, fitted with a 3X zoom lens. It features a 1/3.2-inch 1.31-megapixel CCD image sensor; 5-15mm/f2.4-4.3, 8-in-7, zoom lens; minimum focusing distance of 0.2m; a 1.5-inch LCD monitor; and an optical viewfinder. It accepts SmartMedia cards and has a USB interface. It is available for ¥49,800.

07-11-2001

Arthur Bleich's Toshiba PDR-M81 First Look Good friend Arthur Bleich over at the DP Corner has just posted his Toshiba PDR-M81 First Look of a pre-production version of this new four-megapixel digicam. Art concluded: "The PDR-M81 is an easy digicam to use with a good feature set. Its ultimate picture quality is still to be determined but I'm betting it will be more than acceptable judging from my preliminary results. So if the price is within your budget and you want a good, solid, ultra-high resolution digicam companion for both at home and on the road, the PDR-M81 should do just fine."

07-10-2001

Lyra Study Finds Home Printing Modest Despite Growth In Photo-Capable Printers In a recently published report, Photofinishing: Services and Output Solutions, Lyra Research Inc., Newtonville, Mass., USA, (www.lyra.com) notes the installed base of photo-capable and photo-specialty inkjet printers was close to 140 million units worldwide last year and is expected to grow to almost 300 million units by 2004. Despite the abundance of photo-capable printers, Lyra reports the number of pictures actually produced in homes is relatively modest. In Lyra's U.S. Digital Camera Users' Survey, the average number of photos produced at home per month was less than 14. "The battle for output will be fought on many different fronts and is likely to involve several different printing methods," said Edward Lee, director of Lyra's Digital Photography Advisory Service. "Consumers will ultimately use a mix of output solutions, depending on individual needs and situations. The advantages of inkjet printing include instant gratification and control over the printing process. When it comes to getting a digital image printed on the spot, inkjet printing is the most convenient method."

07-10-2001

UMAX Offers New 48-Bit Color Scanners UMAX Technologies Inc., Fremont, Calif., USA, is introducing the new Astra 4400 and 4450 scanners. The company's first 48-bit color scanners, these new models offer 1,200-by-2,400 dpi resolution, 48-bit internal color, USB connectivity, and programmable push-button controls. The Astra 4450 is transparency-capable. The scanners offer copy and direct scan to fax or e-mail functions via programmable buttons. They are also configurable to launch photosharing or editing applications via a single button. The Astra 4450 will come with a Universal Transparency Cover (UTC) for scanning transparent media up to 4-by-5 inches. The new scanners come with ABBYY FineReader 4.0 Sprint OCR software, which enables users to scan spreadsheets directly to Microsoft Excel at the press of button or two, and also retains major formatting in scans made directly to Microsoft Word. They are also bundled with MGI's PhotoSuite III SE image editing software and UMAX Copy Utility, which turns the scanner into a color or black-and-white copy machine. The Astra 4400 is available immediately for $129. Pricing and availability of the Astra 4450 will be announced later.

07-10-2001

Phil Posts DiMAGE7 Review Phil over at the DP Review has posted his Minolta DiMAGE7 review of a full production camera. He has cranked out another one of his comprehensive reviews of this interesting new 5-megapixel digicam. Want to know what he thinks of it?   Go over and give it a read. I just recv'd our production level DiMAGE7 this morning and will be re-doing the entire sample pictures page of our DiMAGE7 review shortly. We have learned that all of the D7's photos must be run through the DiMAGE Viewer Utility to reproduce the proper color space, something we did not do with our original sample photos.

07-10-2001

Sony's Memory Stick Finally Catching On Sony, which has been trying to grab the flash-memory market for nearly three years, is finally making some progress. The consumer electronics giant initially introduced the Memory Stick removable flash-memory card to a lukewarm response in fall 1998. But lately, Memory Stick has been grabbing a larger share of the flash-memory market. Recent figures from market researcher NPD Intelect show that U.S. market share for competing technologies CompactFlash and Smart Media have been declining, while Memory Stick's share has been increasing. In spring 2000, CompactFlash held a commanding 51 percent of the market. Smart Media controlled 41 percent of the market. Memory Stick trailed far behind with 7 percent. A year later, CompactFlash has dropped to 40 percent market share and Smart Media has fallen to 32 percent. Meanwhile, Memory Stick has shot up to 25 percent. Currently, Sony sells 8MB to 128MB Memory Sticks that range in price from $29 to $239. Next year, the company expects to release a 256MB version, followed by 1GB and 2GB versions by 2003. Sony also plans to boost data transfer rates from the current 2.5MB per second to 20MB per second by 2003. And by next year, Sony plans to expand Memory Stick to include versions that act as GPS (Global Positioning System) receivers and digital cameras. Read the entire story at ZDNet News.

07-10-2001

Flash Ramp Sparks Fears Of Price War Tokyo - Samsung Semiconductor Inc. is ramping mass-production of 512-Mbit NAND flash memory chips, in a move that analysts suggested could prompt a flash market bloodbath. The company claims to have developed a storage cell structure that lowers voltage demands and cuts data write times by as much as 30 percent. Samsung said last week that it will use existing production lines and a technology that requires fewer process steps on its 0.15-micron process. It said it will leverage that technology to extend the product line into lower-capacity products in the second half. Read the whole story at EE Times.

07-09-2001

Mystic Color Lab Brings Mystic Online PhotoCenter to Over 1.5M Eager Amateur and Professional Photographers MYSTIC, Conn., July 9, 2001 - Mystic Color Lab, one of the nation's oldest and most respected direct mail photofinishers and an early pioneer in the digitization of analog images, expanded its online digital services business, announcing today the availability of the Mystic Online PhotoCenter. For only $2.95, Mystic will upload and store scanned images from traditional film in to the Mystic Online PhotoCenter for 30 days. This allows consumers to easily e-mail individual or entire rolls of photos to family and friends, download the images to their computer, send online postcards for free, as well as order reprints, enlargements, and merchandise such as photo mugs, mouse pads, and t-shirts online. Every Mystic Online PhotoCenter customer is able to extend the longevity and usage of their digital and scanned images by purchasing 100 megabytes of storage space in the PhotoSafe vault for only $9.95 per year (additional storage is also available). Storage in the online vault is secure, allowing customers to create albums that they can then share with family and friends. Images can continue to be e-mailed, downloaded, printed and ordered easily for special events and holiday gift-giving. Mystic Color Lab has built its reputation on providing superior customer service since 1969. The company guarantees a customer's satisfaction by hand inspecting pictures to make certain every image is always sharp and bright with true-to-life colors that jump right off the print. It also offers a Two Plus Two Guarantee whereby Mystic will send two free rolls of Mystic Prestige Film and process both of them for free, if a customer is ever dissatisfied with the quality of their prints.

07-09-2001

MovieWorks Deluxe 5.1 Makes Multimedia Productions Easy for Windows and Mac Users PLEASANTON, Calif., July 9, 2001 - Interactive Solutions, Inc. today announced the release of MovieWorks® Deluxe 5.1. This easy-to-use suite of five multimedia tools puts exciting and versatile production capabilities into the hands of everyday Windows® and Macintosh® users. Now, for the first time, users can quickly and easily produce Web movies in QuickTime or AVI format, interactive CD-ROM titles and portfolios, personal and corporate videos, dynamic slide shows and polished multimedia presentations. Far more than a video editor, the MovieWorks Deluxe suite is the first and only multimedia "works" product. It incorporates simple-to-use video, sound, animation, paint, and image editing tools, enhanced by a powerful time-based, object-oriented sequencing and authoring program. The five functionally related production applications work together seamlessly, through an intelligent, intuitive user interface. Users can easily incorporate analog (AV) or digital (DV) video, photos, graphics, animations, 3D, narration, MIDI, MP3, CD music, text and titling, and even Virtual Reality (VR) movies into stunning, professional-quality home or business multimedia productions. New features added to version 5.1 include auto-load/auto-start when distributed on CD, and the ability to link to Web pages and PDF documents. The Windows version also now includes the QuickTime effects library, adding over 150 new transitions, plus unrendered scrolling text. These features were already available in the Macintosh version. MovieWorks Deluxe 5.1 runs on any Power Macintosh running Mac OS 8.1 or better (8.6.1 or better recommended) or a 200+ MHz PC running Win 95, Win 98, Win 2000, Win NT or Win ME. A CD-ROM or DVD drive, 30MB of available hard drive space and 64MB of RAM are required. A Video capture card, USB video capture box or DV camcorder connected via IEEE-1394 (FireWire) are optional. MovieWorks Deluxe 5.1 is available now at a suggested retail price of $149. Interactive Solutions products are distributed by Ingram Micro through popular retail channels including Amazon, Buy.com, CompUSA, Fry's, MicroCenter, PCMall/MacMall, The Computer Store and Zones.

07-09-2001

DCRP and DVSpot Reviews Good friend Jeff Keller has been busy over at the DC Resource Page and his new site, the DVSpot, and has posted the following reviews: On the DC Resource Page he has posted his Sony DSC-P50 review and concluded: "If you pardon the bad cliché, the Sony DSC-P50 is an oasis in a desert of point-and-shoot cameras. It has great pictures, fast processing speeds, excellent usability, and lots of extra features that most other cameras in its class skip over. The only things not to like are the lack of sound recording in movie mode, and its proprietary (and too small) Memory Stick format. If you're looking for a point-and-shoot digicam, take a close look at the P50!" And he has also posted his Fujifilm FinePix 2300 review of this compact entry-level, two-megapixel camera. Jeff concludes: " There are no bells and whistles, gimmicks, or smoke and mirrors on the FP2300. What you will find, is a low-cost camera that takes good pictures. The things I'd like to see (such as an optical zoom and movie mode) would definitely move the price of the camera up another $100 or so, putting it out of reach for first time digicam buyers. But for those new digicam owners, I think the FinePix 2300 will suit them just fine." And on his digital video camcorder site at DVSpot he has posted his Sony DCR-TRV17 review and had this to say about Sony's mid-priced MiniDV camcorder: "The TRV17 has almost all the features of the PC110, except it takes 640 x 480 stills. But the real difference is how easy it is to hold -- of the four camcorders I've used, this is the one I'd want to spend the day with, with the Sony TRV130 coming in second. As far as features go, it's got almost every trick in the book. If you want higher quality stills and even more features, then you'll want to check out the Sony TRV30, which I hope to review shortly."

07-08-2001

Outback Digital D1X Experience Posted Uwe Steinmueller over at the Outback Digital web site has posted his Nikon D1X Experience and tells how he feels about the new SLR in comparison to the D1 he has been using. Be sure to follow the links and check out his portfolio pictures of birds and the great outdoors.

07-05-2001

NixVue Digital Album Review Updated I just updated our NixVue Digital Album review after receiving a final production level product. Descriptions, photos and specs now fully reflect the shipping version of this portable image storage, viewing and printing device.

07-05-2001

Imaging-Resource Digicam Reviews Dave at the Imaging-Resource has just posted his Kyocera S3 Finecam review of the world's smallest 3mpixel 2x zoom camera. Dave concluded: "Despite some color limitations, the S3 performs very well for its tiny size. Though resolution isn't the best we've seen in a three megapixel digicam, it still managed to capture a nice level of detail in most of our test shots. Partial manual exposure control provides some flexibility in exposure, making the S3 well-suited to most average shooting situations... Though its Lilliputian dimensions are the tiniest we've seen, the Finecam S3 packs a lot of power into its small size." Dave has also posted his FinePix 2300 review of Fujifilm's entry-level 2mpixel camera.

07-04-2001

LetsGoDigital.nl Looks at the FinePix 4800 Our friends over at the LetsGoDigital.nl web site have a page up for the Fujifilm FinePix 4800 Zoom, the lower resolution sibling to the FinePix 6800 Zoom. We should have one of these for review shortly. We also have a final production level Minolta DiMAGE7 coming in and will update our First Look to a full review soon.

07-02-2001

Olympus C-4040 Zoom First Look Posted Olympus USA was kind enough to loan us a pre-production model of the new 4-megapixel C-4040 Zoom to play with. It does not have final firmware in it so this is a first look review only but it should give you some food for thought. I've also posted some sample pictures but remember that it is a pre-production unit, the shipping version cameras will generate even better looking pictures. Olympus C-4040 Zoom First Look

07-02-2001

Nikon Coolpix® 880 Receives World Class Award For Best Digital Camera From PC World Magazine MELVILLE, NY, July 2, 2001 - Nikon, the world leader in 35mm and digital photography, recently received the prominent World Class Award for best digital camera from PC World Magazine for the high performance Coolpix® 880. The annual World Class award is voted on by PC World editors based on product performance, value, consistency and innovation. The World Class Award winners were announced in the July 2001 issue of PC World and were presented with trophies at an award ceremony held at PC Expo in New York. "We are pleased that the Nikon Coolpix 880 was recognized by the editorial staff at PC World as the best digital camera," said Deborah Sauer, general manager, marketing consumer digital products at Nikon. "The World Class Award further shows that this digital camera is great for all levels of photographers because of the combination of easy-to-use features and Nikon exclusive technology including Nikkor optics that produce high quality digital images at an affordable price." The Nikon Coolpix 880 is a compact, high-speed digital camera that incorporates a 3.34 megapixel CCD and a 2.5X (38-95 mm) Optical Zoom-Nikkor lens to ensure amazing pictures every time. Versatile enough to satisfy the quality and compatibility demands of experienced photographers, the Coolpix 880 also offers a host of functions and features that allow for easy use for entry-level digital photographers.

07-02-2001

PENTAX Debuts Optio 330, World's Smallest 3 Megapixel, 3X Optical Zoom Digital Camera DENVER, July 2 /PRNewswire/ -- PENTAX Corporation, a long time innovator in the photo industry, proudly announces the debut of the Optio 330. This is the world's smallest and lightest 3 megapixel, 3X optical zoom digital camera available on the market (compared to all other 3-megapixel digital cameras with a 3x zoom as of June 28,2001). The full-featured Optio 330 offers an extraordinarily small size, ease-of-use, as well as the flexibility and versatility of filmless digital technology. The Optio 330 has a selection of five shooting modes including Standard, Night Scene, Metered Manual (exposure up to 15 seconds), Movie, and multiple-exposure for a variety of situations and a range of options for exposure, focusing, and flash. High-quality recording is ensured with its 3.34 megapixel, primary color filter CCD, and infinite creative possibilities are opened up through simple connection to a PC via USB port. The dimensions of the Optio 330 are a mere 3.6" wide, 2.3" high, and 1.2" thick and it weighs just 8.5 ounces, including battery and recording media. Such a compact design was made possible by incorporating an ultra-compact zoom lens and integrating the CPU, ASIC, and memory chip into an MCM (Multi Chip Module). The circuit boards were also made more compact with the assistance of a super-high density mounting technology. The result is a pleasing design that is flat and easy to carry, with an attractive stainless steel exterior. The high-performance 3X zoom lens (equivalent to 37-111mm in 35mm format) of the Optio 330 delivers high image resolution and low image distortion despite its compact size. The Optio 330 also offers a 2X smooth digital zoom for a total combined zooming capacity of 6X. When you want to view your recorded images, you can do so with the 1.6-inch LCD monitor. To search for an image, use the nine-image display screen. And, with a 4X magnification, images can be enlarged to check for accurate focus and small details. To ensure that images are crisp and clear, seven-point autofocus and spot AF are both available. The seven-point autofocus covers a wide area of the frame and allows the subject to come into clear focus. Spot AF can be centered in the frame or the user can select the focus point anywhere within the image area on the LCD monitor. Accurate exposure can be attained with a choice of six-segment metering, center-weighted metering, and spot metering. Exposure compensation is available with a range of +/-2EV in 1/3EV steps. Exposure levels can be easily viewed in histogram format during shooting and playback. This allows levels to be checked with more accuracy than when using the LCD monitor alone. The Optio 330 can record movies with a duration of up to 30 seconds at 15 frames/sec. (recording pixels: 320 x 240 pixels). Movies are recorded in AVI format and can be easily played back via PC. The Optio 330 offers six white balance modes, including Auto, Daylight, Shade, Tungsten Light, Fluorescent Light and Manual. Selection of the manual option allows balanced color to be maintained as you please, free from the influence of artificial light. A combination of camera settings can be saved with the convenient mode memory function. It allows you to select the settings that you desire and return to them automatically when the power is switched off and on again. The Optio 330 is compatible with CompactFlash(TM) Type I memory cards and comes standard with a 16MB card. It is powered by its own exclusive rechargeable lithium-ion battery, which comes standard with the camera along with a recharger. It can also be powered with an optional AC adapter. The Optio 330 utilizes EPSON's PRINT Image Matching(TM) technology, which ensures that the camera and a PRINT Image Matching-enabled printer work perfectly together to produce the best prints possible.

07-02-2001

Fujifilm Is Honored With The Prestigious Walter Kosonocky Award For Its Work In Solid-State Image Sensors: Super CCD White Paper Recognized ELMSFORD, NY, July 2, 2001 – Fujifilm, a company renowned for its imaging and information innovations, was recently presented with the 2001 Walter Kosonocky Award for outstanding achievement in image sensor technology at the IEEE Workshop on CCDs and Advanced Image Sensors in Crystal Bay, Nevada. The honor was bestowed in recognition of a white paper – A Progressive Scan CCD Image Sensor for DSC Applications -- Fujifilm developed as part of the research and development into its unique, Super CCD digital imaging technology which produces a higher resolution, increased dynamic range and a better signal-to-noise ratio, all vital elements in the color and quality of digital pictures. The award, given bi-annually for the best paper representing significant advancement in solid-state image sensors, commemorates the contributions made to the field by the late Dr. Walter Kosonocky. Authored by Tetsuo Yamada, Katsumi Ikeda, Yong-Gwan Kim, Hideki Wakoh, Tetsuo Toma, Tomohiro Sakamoto, Kazuaki Ogawa, Eiichi Okamoto, Kazuyuki Masukane, Kazuya Oda and Masafumi Inuiya, the Super CCD paper was published in IEEE Journal of Solid-State Circuits, vol. 35 (12) December 2000 pp. 2044-2054. "On behalf of Fujifilm, I am proud to accept this recognition for our work in the creation of the Super CCD imaging sensor," said, Tetsuo Yamada, Manager, CCD Design, VLSI Design Department, Fujifilm Microdevices Co., Ltd., which develops and manufactures electric devices for Fujifilm’s electronic imaging systems. "Fujifilm has a rich history of technological innovation and Super CCD is yet another example of our dedication to research and development." Working with almost 70 years of photographic experience, Fujifilm is one of only a handful of marketers that both designs and manufactures the key capture elements of a digital camera -- the lens, charge coupled device (CCD) and image processing mechanisms. This total control of manufacturing allows for the strict adherence to technical specifications and leads to groundbreaking products. For example, in 1988 Fujifilm was the first manufacturer to offer a digital camera with removable storage media. Then, in 1998, Fujifilm brought the world the first non-professional, megapixel-class digital camera, the MX-700. Fujifilm followed the next year with the MX-2700, the world’s first consumer-level, 2-megapixel digital camera. In 2000 the company debuted the FinePix 4700 Zoom, which featured Fujifilm’s honored Super CCD. This first Super CCD chip produced a 4.3-megapixel picture file using only 2.4-million sensors. The second generation, 3.3 million-sensor Super CCD found in the current FinePix 6800 Zoom and FinePix 6900 Zoom digital cameras generates a 6-megapixel picture file.

07-02-2001

Epson Lowers Price On EPSON Stylus Photo 780 Ink Jet Printer To $129 LONG BEACH, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--July 2, 2001--Epson America Inc. announced today that it has reduced the price of its EPSON Stylus Photo 780 ink jet printer. Customers can now print true BorderFree photos in popular sizes for an estimated street price of $129. The EPSON Stylus Photo 780, Epson's first six-color photo printer originally priced under $150, is designed for at-home photo printing and offers the most flexible and easy-to-use solution for true photo quality and performance at an affordable price. The EPSON Stylus Photo 780 is one of the first printers to offer support for PRINT Image Matching-enabled digital cameras, which ensures digital cameras and printers work together to produce automatically optimized prints. Digital cameras with PRINT Image Matching are now being introduced by leading manufacturers like Casio, Epson, Konica, Kyocera, Minolta, Nikon, Olympus, PENTAX, Ricoh, Sanyo, Sony and Toshiba. EPSON Stylus Photo 780 customers will be able to obtain updated software that supports PRINT Imaging Matching directly from Epson later this summer. The EPSON Stylus Photo 780 features up to 2880 x 720 dpi and Epson's Advanced Micro Piezo ink jet technology, a six-color photo ink system creating incredible detail, beautiful skin tones, sharper contrast and an ultra-wide color range designed ideally for photography. This printer also offers four-picoliter droplets, delivering the best in virtually continuous tone quality for prints that are indistinguishable from traditional photos. The EPSON Stylus Photo 780 not only offers an amazing resolution, but also provides Epson's patented, true BorderFree photo printing technology. Customers can print right to the edge on a variety of frame-ready, popular photographic paper sizes, including Epson's unique Borderless "4 x 6," "5 x 7" and "8 x 10" photo papers without unsightly perforations. It is ideal for families who want the ultimate photo image quality for printing, sharing and displaying their pictures without spending a lot of money. Additionally, the EPSON Stylus Photo 780 includes several bonus software programs valued at approximately $80, including: ArcSoft PhotoImpression 3.0, a project-based image editing application; EPSON Software Film Factory, a photo management tool for organizing, beautifying and printing photos; and QBeo PhotoGenetics TE, an image enhancement tool for dramatically improving digital photos.

07-01-2001

DigitalSecrets.net Posts Nikon 995 Review Fellow digicam enthusiast Peter iNova has just posted his Nikon Coolpix 995 "Personal Review" after getting a production model of the new camera. This isn't a nuts-n-bolts type of review but what it does over and beyond the Coolpix 990. To quote Peter, "I had been thinking of this camera as a minor evolutionary step up. Now I'm not so sure. I think that the incremental improvement to image quality, zoom, flash, noise reduction, ISO, quick review, speed, price and power deserve a greater place in my regard than the 995 moniker portends. This is easily 8/10ths of an upgrade, not just a half-upgrade over the previous world-class Machine of the Year."

07-01-2001

Our Nikon D1X Review Is Now Posted Topping the pile of cameras that we have reviewed in the last two weeks is the Nikon D1X, the long-awaited successor to the hugely popular D1 pro SLR. The D1X lives up to the hype and delivers incredible six-megapixel images with vastly improved color rendition and a new and very user friendly interface. And the best part is that even though it has twice the resolution it has been priced lower than the D1 when it was first introduced. Read our Nikon D1X Review You'll also want to see: Imaging-Resource's D1X review DP Review's D1X review Moose Peterson's D1X Experience A-Digital-Eye D1X Pics from Monterey Calif. Just be ready to spend some money, after you read all this you'll want one of your own!

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