05/30/1999: Ricoh RDC-5000 Review Posted

I just received the new Ricoh RDC-5000 camera and have been putting it through its paces. I have put together a RDC-5000 Features page and a short but to the point user review. I'm still working on the sample pictures page and hope to have it online by next week. You've probably seen the Ricoh RDC-5000 banner on our site, they are planning to kick off this new camera on the QVC Shopping Channel on June 6th. They'll be no shortage of RDC-5000 cameras, anyone who wants one will be able to get one....[read more]

05/28/1999: Focus Online Posts Epson Stylus Photo 1200 Review

Focus Online has posted an informative Epson Stylus Photo 1200 user review from a monochrome fine-printing professional with 27 years of experience. He tells us that the new Epson printer is a b&w photographers "digital" dream with the variable-dot technology now extended to the black cartridge as well as the color cartridge....[read more]

05/26/1999: Minolta To Offer 3D 1500 Digital Camera

NEW YORK, May 25 - Minolta Corp. and MetaCreations Corp. on Tuesday unveiled a new camera and delivery system to allow online merchants to wow shoppers with three-dimensional pictures quickly and relatively inexpensively. Minolta licensed MetaCreation's technology, called MetaFlash, which captures and stores an image in three dimensions. Minolta said the camera, the 3D 1500 camera will be marketed to professional Web site designers. Eastman Kodak also licensed the technology for a similar camera, MetaCreations said. From the camera, the images are downloaded to a computer, where they can be put together and manipulated for an e-commerce Web site. MetaCreations and Intel Corp. also developed MetaStream, which can send images over the Internet to just about any standard computer and connection. The shopper can then view the item from any angle. MetaCreations said Microsoft also has licensed the software and will include it in its operating systems, allowing a user...[read more]

05/23/1999: Steve Posts Canon PS Pro 70 User Review

I just finished posting my user review of the Canon PS Pro70 camera. This is one impressive digicam and when it is mated to the Canon 380EX Speedlite it becomes an affordable but very powerful "pro" digital camera. The image quality is spectacular due to its superb Canon lens and a nearly foolproof white balance and focus system....[read more]

05/20/1999: FujiFilm Posts FinePix 2900Z and 1500 Sample Pictures

FujiFilm Japan has posted samples images from the new FinePix 2900Z and FinePix 1500 digital cameras. Check them out, they look pretty good. Fuji is sending me a MX-2700 to review and will be sending me a preproduction MX-2900Z in the next week or so. If you're having trouble getting to Fuji's site then try going to the PC Watch's Fuji FinePix 2900/1500 samples page instead....[read more]

05/16/1999: Qimage v4.1 Now Features One-Touch Blemish Correction

The best just keeps getting better. The new Qimage v4.1 now has a one touch correction feature that allows you to easily remove skin blemishes, small distracting objects and/or stuck pixels with a single mouse click Easier than touching up negatives, this new feature allows you to quickly identify and remove unwanted distractions from your images. Just click and drag to identify the center and radius of the blemish and Qimage Pro blends the blemish away instantly. Using Qimage Pro's associative filtering, you can remove all the blemishes from your photos while leaving the original image untouched, all without resaving the corrected image and without any additional JPEG losses. Add this new feature to the lengthy list of its other features and Qimage becomes a lot more than just a great image printing program. The last version upgrade allowed Qimage users to dynamically drag their pictures to any location on...[read more]

05/13/1999: Intel and Kodak To Make Filmless Insert for 35mm Cameras

(source: New Scientist magazine) PHOTOGRAPHERS have been slow to adopt digital cameras, as they don't want to discard the lenses and accessories that only fit their film-based cameras. Now Kodak has an answer: it is teaming up with chip maker Intel to produce a device that lets a normal stills camera take digital pictures. Intel holds a world patent (WO 99/ 12345) on a set of microchips that can be built into a combined image sensor and memory unit which slots into any 35-millimetre film camera. Images stored in the removable memory unit, which is shaped like a standard film cartridge, can be transferred to CD-ROM for permanent storage. Kodak's earlier CD-ROM picture storage system, Photo CD, has just been relaunched as Picture CD, supplying images in the standard JPEG format. The next step will be to integrate Picture CD with cameras that use the Intel technology. Intel promises "compelling...[read more]

05/12/1999: LCD Viewfinder Solution for Bright & Sunny Conditions

The mad mechanic (aka John Cowley) is at it again, this time he has figured out how to cure the digicam LCD blues. We have a real love-hate relationship with our LCD displays ... we love them indoors but hate them outdoors. Want to love your LCD outside too? If the answer is yes then go to John's LCD Viewer page. Here's a picture of John's solution, a 4x loupe attached to the Nikon 950 via small strips of velcro so it can be installed and removed quickly. Note that it doesn't block any of the important control buttons on the back of the Coolpix 950 (or 900 or 900s) and can probably be used on many other digicams with 2" LCD screens....[read more]

05/10/1999: SanDisk Will Supply 64MB CF Cards for Kodak's Professional 265 Imaging System

SUNNYVALE, Calif.--May 10, 1999-- SanDisk Corp. announced that it will supply Eastman Kodak Company with high capacity 64 megabyte (MB) CompactFlash(TM) (CF(TM)) memory cards for its new Kodak Professional 265 Interactive Imaging System. The new Kodak system includes the 1.6-megapixel DC265 digital camera, a SanDisk-produced 64MB CompactFlash card carrying the Kodak Picture Card label, a comprehensive collection of interactive imaging software for both Macintosh and Windows platforms, a Kaidan custom panoramic tripod head and an interactive imaging software script. The imaging system will be available later this month at a suggested list price of ,499 while the imaging kit will be available at the same time at a suggested list price of ....[read more]

05/08/1999: Updated FlashPath Drivers for 16/32MB

Reader Ron Rippy emailed me to let me know that he had found even newer FlashPath adapter drivers for the new 16MB and 32MB SmartMedia cards at: https://www.smartdisk.com/software/fpdrivers.html According to the README file these drivers are dated Jan. 12, 1999 and FLASHPATH V2.68 for Microsoft Windows 98, Windows 95, Or Windows 3.11. FLASHPATH V3.05A for Microsoft Windows NT 4.0. At the above site are also drivers for the Macintosh but I have no idea what version they are....[read more]

05/03/1999: Epson Reduces Price of PhotoPC 750Z to

TORRANCE, Calif.--May 3, 1999--Epson America Inc., creator of high quality, award-winning imaging products, Monday announced that it has reduced the price of its popular megapixel zoom digital camera, the PhotoPC® 750Z, by nearly 15 percent. Previously priced at , the EPSON PhotoPC 750Z is now available for an affordable estimated street price of . With its megapixel resolution, 6X zoom, increased storage capacity and revolutionary EPSON HyPict(TM) image enhancement technology, the PhotoPC 750Z combines exceptional photo output with unmatched versatility and low cost of ownership....[read more]