07/31/1999: JAR Sun Shield Review Posted

This is the third LCD sun shade we have reviewed so far and the JAR Sun Shield is the least expensive at just .50 and it works very well. Check it out if you have a Nikon Coolpix 900, 900s or 950, I got Jess to make a smaller version of his original sun shield made for the Sony Mavica cameras....[read more]

07/30/1999: Halo Data Devices Working On 250MB CF Type I Microdrive

MILPITAS and SAN JOSE, Calif., July 29 -- Read-Rite Corporation today announced it has entered into a sole source supply agreement with Halo Data Devices to provide heads for use in Halo Data Devices' CompactFlash Type 1 form factor 250 megabyte microdrive. Based in San Jose, California, Halo Data Devices is a privately held company developing, manufacturing and marketing miniature data devices for emerging portable, mobile and embedded storage applications. The company is developing the world's smallest disk drive designed for use by original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) and end users. A seasoned management team consisting of veterans from both semiconductor and data storage industries leads Halo Data Devices....[read more]

07/28/1999: Sanyo, Others Develop New 730Mb Digital Camera Memory Disc

TOKYO, July 27 (Reuters) - Japan's Sanyo Electric Co Ltd , Olympus Optical Co Ltd , and Hitachi Maxell Ltd said on Tuesday they have jointly developed a new high-capacity memory disc for use in next-generation digital cameras. "The high memory capacity is suitable for taking high definition still pictures and moving pictures for long periods of time," a spokesman for Sanyo said. The new rewritable magneto-optical disc has a memory capacity of 730 megabytes, enabling it to store about 20 times more data than memory devices presently used in its digital cameras, he said. The price and sales date of the new memory disc has not been decided, he said, but added that Sanyo aims to start sales of digital cameras using the new disc by next summer. You can slide on over to the Digital Photography Review, Phil has a picture of the new disc and a translation...[read more]

07/27/1999: The DC Resource Posts Fuji MX-2900 Review

Jeff Keller just emailed me to tell me that he had posted a review of the Fuji MX-2900 camera (a "pre-production unit that's really close to a production unit"). Unlike the one that I reviewed, Jeff's Fuji MX-2900 loaner actually had English menus....[read more]

07/23/1999: Panasonic PV-DC2590 First Look Posted

I just posted my Panasonic PV-DC2590 First Look online. Interesting camera with a few unusual features like dual CF slot and an included Compact Modem card. Unfortunately it only generates mediocre quality images. This weekend I will put the PV-DC2590 through its paces and will also be evaluating the new Kyocera (Yashica) Samurai 2100DG digicam too!...[read more]

07/23/1999: Kyocera Samurai 2100DG First Look Posted

It's almost like Christmas getting two new digicams to play with in the space of just three days... It will be a busy weekend getting sample pictures shot with the new cameras. I just posted the Kyocera Samurai 2100DG First Look and maybe I should have called it "Interesting Look" instead....[read more]

07/20/1999: SanDisk Announces Floppy Disk Adapter for MultiMediaCards

SUNNYVALE, Calif.--July 19, 1999-- SanDisk Corporation today announced that SanDisk and SmartDisk Corporation have co-developed the world's first floppy disk adapter for the MultiMediaCard, the world's smallest removable flash data storage card. The FlashPath(TM) adapter for MultiMediaCard, which will be manufactured by SmartDisk Corporation, allows consumers to easily transfer data, images and Internet music between a standard 3.5-inch floppy disk drive and SanDisk's MultiMediaCards. SanDisk's OEM sampling shipments of the FlashPath for MultiMediaCard adapter will begin late Q4 and to retail outlets worldwide beginning in Q1, 2000. SanDisk will also distribute SmartDisk's original FlashPath(TM) SmartMedia(TM) adapter in the retail channel later this year under the SanDisk brand label. SanDisk MultiMediaCards are sold in the retail channel worldwide in 4, 8, 16 and 30MB capacities....[read more]

07/17/1999: Olympus C-2500L Ship Date Slips Back

One of our readers wrote in to tell me that he had received an email confirmation from Olympus Technical Support that the ship date for the new C-2500L SLR camera has now slipped back to "the fall of 1999."...[read more]

07/14/1999: Kodak Japan Announces New DC240i Zoom Models

Kodak Japan has announced a new series of DC240i Zoom digital cameras in all the usual "iMac" colors. Nothing else new or different from the regular DC240 cameras except the shell colors....[read more]

07/13/1999: Epson Announces New PhotoPC 800 and 650 Digicams

PhotoPC 800TORRANCE, Calif.--July 12, 1999-- Epson America Inc., unveiled its first two-megapixel USB digital camera, the PhotoPC® 800. It weighs less than a half pound and offers a 2.14 megapixel CCD sensor and Epson's HyPict(TM) image enhancement technology, supports both USB and serial image transfer and will be available at the end of July for an estimated street price of . The PhotoPC 800 is compact, powerful and loaded with a host of valuable features including an 8MB CompactFlash(TM) card; three picture-taking modes, black and white, macro and panorama; and a high-quality 1.8" LCD monitor. The LCD can display one, four or nine images at a time to allow consumers to view photos instantly and easily. For added convenience, consumers can use the built-in microphone to record a voice message up to ten seconds in length for each image. This feature especially benefits business professionals in the law enforcement, real...[read more]

07/13/1999: Olympus America Launches New Website

MELVILLE, N.Y., July 13 -- Olympus America Inc. today announced the launch of http://www.olympus.com, the company's new Web site. Incorporating all of the company's diverse business fields in one dynamic, easy-to-use site, the new olympus.com bridges the company's consumer, health care and industrial/business technologies and products to provide integrated online solutions for all Olympus customers. Of special interest to us digital camera people is Olympus' Filmless Digital Camera section of the new website....[read more]

07/07/1999: New TWAIN Driver For Canon PowerShot Cameras

Thanks to the Digital Photography Review for this news item. Canon-Europa has posted new version 2.4 Twain driver for PowerShot (350, 600, A5, A5 Zoom, A50 and Pro 70) cameras, this is the English version for Windows 95, 98 and NT4. According to Phil the new Twain acquire module does some extra processing on the CCDRaw files during import....[read more]

07/07/1999: Kai Power Tools Gives Away "Equalizer" Plugin For PhotoShop

To become acquainted with the new KPT X series, MetaCreations offers you a special introductory promotion. When you visit the KPT X site from June 29th-July 31st, you may download the premiere KPT X plug-in application, KPT Equalizer, absolutely free (registration is required). KPT Equalizer is a .95 value and this introductory offer is available for a limited time only, so act now! KPT Equalizer generally belongs in the professional sharpen filter category. KPT Equalizer contains a huge batch of blurs, sharpens, channel-ops, and various other filters, all in one interactive plug-in application. The resulting collection of three professional sharpen filters are: Equalizer, Bounded Sharpen, and Contrast Sharpen. Use these filters to correct blurred images, while maintaining a high level of image quality. The Equalizer filter also allows you to add creative effects to images by manipulating their frequency values. Use KPT Equalizer to professionally sharpen your image!...[read more]

07/03/1999: In-Depth Nikon D1 Hands-On Review

Rob Galbraith has posted an in-depth review of the first hands-on Nikon D1 (proto) in the U.S. that I know of. Very interesting reading to say the least, check it out!...[read more]

07/02/1999: PC Watch Report on Windows World Expo '99 From Tokyo

PC Watch has a complete report from Windows World Expo '99 in Tokyo including pictures of all the new cameras from Epson, Fuji, Nikon, Olympus and Sony that we have reported about over the last month or so. Of course the report is in Japanese but you can find a translation of the important parts at the Digital Photography Review site....[read more]

07/02/1999: Minolta Posts Dimage EX Update 2.0

Minolta has posted the Dimage EX Update 2.0 which according to the .PDF file offers these improvements for the current Dimage EX 1500 Zoom camera: New digital magnification function Increased burst rate, fast = 7.5fps, medium=3.7fps Smoother motion in live images, refresh rate increased 33% Internal flash may be switched on/off Flash bracketing function added Custom settings for white balance Improved custom script function Bracketing increments changed from 1/2 to 1/3 EV steps If you are a PC/Windows user this is the download link you need to use. If you are a Mac user this is the download link you need to use. The best part about it is that it is a FREE download for owners of the Dimage EX 1500 Zoom camera. Go and get it!...[read more]