ORDER THE NIKON COOLPIX 5700
CLICK HERE FOR THE MAIN RITZCAMERA.COM DIGITAL CAMERA PAGES
Please Help Support this site by purchasing through our links & banners ads!
- SONY USA POSTS NOTICE OF AUTO FOCUS SERVICE ISSUE FOR SOME INITIAL DSC - F717 CAMERAS & FREE FIX (10/31/02)
- NIKON D100 WORLD SERIES DISNEYLAND PARADE SAMPLES (10/30/02)
- WORLD SERIES NIKON D100 GAME 7 GALLERY 1 (10/29/02)
- WORLD SERIES MINOLTA DIMAGE 7Hi PRE-GAME 6 GALLERY (10/28/02)
- WEEKEND UPDATES (10/26/02)
- TIPA AWARDS SUMMARY PAGE (10/21/02)
- WORLD SERIES NIKON D100 PRE-GAME GALLERY (10/20/02)
- Worldwide Shipments of Photo-Specialty Printers Expected to Grow to 8.7 Million in 2006 (10/19/02)
- Fujifilm's Freimuth Calls on Imaging Industry to Get the Big Picture (10/18/02
- Pioneer Announces Faster/Less Expensive New 4X DVD-R/2X DVD-RW Drive (10/17/02)
- RITZ CAMERA UPDATES (10/11/02)
- PHOTOKINA 2002 SUMMARY (10/11/02)
- Going Digital: Two Out of Three Professional Photo Labs in the U.S. Will Add Or Expand Digital Imaging Capabilities Within the Next Year - 10/11/02
- PHIL ASKEY AT DP REVIEW POSTS DETAILED REVIEW OF THE SONY DSC-F717 (10/08/02)
- NIKON USA ANNOUNCES DSLR UPGRADES INCLUDING THE D100 (10/07/02)
- NEWS BRIEFS (10/06/02)
- EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW WITH OLYMPUS AMERICA POSTED (10/03/02)
- THE NEW "FOURTHIRDS SYSTEM" FOR DSLR CAMERAS
- SONY ANNOUNCES FIRST LAPTOPS WITH INTERNAL DVD BURNER (10/01/02)
- TOSHIBA ANNOUNCES FIRST DVD BURNER UNIT FOR LAPTOPS (09/30/02)
- LEXMARK ANNOUNCES 4800 DPI PHOTO PRINTER WITH MEDIA SLOT (09/30/02)
- NIKON OFFERS MAJOR NEW FIRMWARE TO COOLPIX 5000 OWNERS (NIKON LINK)
- MORE NEWS FROM PHOTOKINA (09/29/02 & 09/30/02)
- PICTURVISION FROM DELKIN SHOWS DIGITAL PHOTOS ON TV (09/30/02)
- NIK MULTIMEDIA ANNOUNCES DFINE PLUG-IN FOR NOISE REDUCTION & MORE (09/28/02)
- LEXAR MEDIA ANNOUNCES DIGITAL PHOTO PLAYER FOR TV SLIDE SHOWS (09/29/02)
- NEWS FROM PHOTOKINA & THE WEB (09/28/02)
- KODAK ANNOUNCES 4.0 MEGAPIXEL CAMERA WITH SCHNEIDER PROFESSIONAL-QUALITY LENS (09/26/02)
- PHOTOKINA STARTS IN GERMANY (09/25/02)
- FUJI ANNOUNCES NEW FINEPIX M603 STILL & MOTION PHOTO CAMERA (09/25/02)
- OLYMPUS AMERICA ANNOUNCES TWO NEW 5 MEGAPIXEL CAMERAS (09/24/02)
- OLYMPUS ANNOUNCES NEW 4/3 SYSTEM DIGITAL SLR CAMERA STANDARD WITH KODAK (09/24/02)
- CANON & KODAK ANNOUNCE NEW FULL FRAME HIGH MEGAPIXEL CMOS CAMERAS (09/24/02
- SONY USA ANNOUNCES NEW SUPER-COMPACT CYBER-SHOT DSC-U10 & DSC-U20 CAMERAS (09/23/02)
- PHOTOKINA PHOTO SHOW BEGINS THIS WEEK IN GERMANY (09/22/02)
- SIGMA ANNOUNCES SD-9 PRICE AND SHIPPING DATES
- MINOLTA ANNOUNCES NEW 3 MEGAPIXEL DIMAGE Xi
- SONY ANNOUNCES MULTI-FORMAT DVD BURNERS (09/22/02)
- NIKON ANNOUNCES NEW 3.2 MEGAPIXEL COOLPIX 3500 (09/19/02)
- FUJI USA ANNOUNCES NEW FINEPIX 402 CAMERA (09/19/02)
- PENTAX ISSUES PRESS RELEASE ON TINY NEW 3.2 MEGAPIXEL OPTIO 330GS (09/18/02)
- TWO NEW CAMERAS FROM TOSHIBA ANNOUNCED (09/17/02)
- CANON ANNOUNCES NEW POWERSHOT G3 & S230 CAMERAS (09/16/02)
- SONY DSC F717 & NIKON CP 5700 CALIFORNIA ADVENTURE PRODUCTION SAMPLES POSTED (09/15/02)
- OLYMPUS ANNOUNCES NEW C-730 ULTRA 10X OPTICAL ZOOM CAMERA (09/12/02)
- MINOLTA INTRODUCES NEW DiMAGE 7Hi DIGITAL CAMERA (09/10/02)
- SONY DSC-F717 PRODUCTION SHOTS POSTED (09/09/02)
- SONY JAPAN ANNOUNCES NEW DSC - F717 (09/02/02)
- WEEKEND NEWS ROUNDUP (09/01/02)
VOLUME 16 - JULY - AUGUST, 2002
SonyUSA has issued a notice today on their web site, confirming an occasional autofocus issue under certain and often limited shooting conditions/settings with some initial production Cybershot DSC-F717 digital cameras. We have had one of these units since early September and have had very rare occurrences of autofocus problems with most of our pictures coming out great. However, Sony has identified the issue and the serial numbers involved so if you own a Sony Cybershot DSC-F717 you should follow the link and read more about it at the Sony site. They have found the issue, they appear to be indicating that the fix is a fairly simple adjustment at their service center, and they offer the fix free of charge. We have used one of these very DSC-F717s for over 6 weeks now on a fairly regular basis, we have posted many sample shots that are of very high quality, and without any hesitation we continue with the opinion that this is one of the best consumer digital cameras available.
Initial production of Sony’s DSC-F717 Cyber-shot® digital still cameras have displayed inaccurate focusing under certain limited conditions. These conditions include ambient light low enough to activate the Hologram AF, at short distances, and higher zoom settings.
NIKON D100 WORLD SERIES DISNEYLAND PARADE SAMPLES (10/30/02)
We have posted a thumbnail page with links to full screen size shots of the Angel's Disneyland Parade held Tuesday morning at 10:00 am in celebration of their World Series Championship. There was a huge turnout for the parade, which we shot almost entirely with the Nikon D100 camera. We did not use the SB-80X flash on most of these shots as it was fairly bright out, although very overcast too. Given the crowds and difficulty to always get unobstructed shots, we used the Nikon D100 in continuous burst mode and focus in the "C" setting, and WOW the D100 performed great! We will also add some shots from the Celebration at Edison Field Tuesday afternoon where over 100,000 fans turned out for the World Series Champion Angels. If you want to quickly see one of our favorites so far check out this shot.
WORLD SERIES NIKON D100 GAME 7 GALLERY
WORLD SERIES MINOLTA DIMAGE 7Hi PRE-GAME 6 GALLERY
WORLD SERIES NIKON D100 PRE-GAME GALLERY
Hey all you sports fans out there, you must be nuts not to be watching the World Series. For over 40 years the World Series has not featured my team, yet I tuned in most of the games. So now what's your excuse not to watch the two best teams this year playing. Well you can take my word on it, if you are not watching the game 7 tonight you are not a real sports fan, period! All the lame excuses that the series has two California teams, SO WHAT its the damn World Series, so you just wake up and watch it tonight you stubborn people! Give me a break! Look even kids believe in the real Angels, and Kenny G showed up. And if you don't watch out, the real Rally Monkey (Sony F717 shot shown here waiting for the bottom of the 7th as Bonds comes to bat) will get you too!
WEEKEND UPDATES (10/26/02)
Well it has been a rather slow news week but we have gathered several items and will be posting them over the next few hours. We will have both some news stories, some site updates as well as links to some new reviews and items over at our friendly competition digital camera review sites.
As we pointed out last month, on September 9th, Sony announced a new internal DVD burner unit (the DRU-500A) which is compatible with both of the two major DVD recording formats. This week while in our local Fry's with its huge product selection, we found the new Sony unit was in stock, with many units on the shelf at a price of $349. Not only does this new Sony DVD burner allow recording in both DVD-R/RW and in DVD+R/RW, it has new faster speeds for DVD burning and is among the first units to feature 4X DVD-R burning, allowing you to record an hour of Video in just over 15 minutes. We may be back over to Fry's this weekend to buy one for our own digital camera image back up needs and to finally put our many digital video tapes onto DVDs!
Jeff Keller over at his DC Resource Page has posted a lengthy review of the Kodak EasyShare LS443 digital camera, which is a 4 megapixel camera from Kodak featuring a new Schneider-Kreuznach Variogon 3X optical zoom lens (35 -105 mm) from the respected German lens maker. Jeff has also posted on his personal site some nice sample pictures taken with the Minolta Dimage 7Hi camera at game 4 of the World Series in San Francisco on Wednesday night.
Steve Sanders over at Steve's Digicams has just posted new reviews of the 4 megapixel HP Photosmart 850, the awesome 10X zoom 3 megapixel Olympus 730U and the tiny 1 megapixel Sony DSC U10 camera. Steve also posted last week reviews of the very small 3 megapixel, 2X optical zoom Canon Powershot 230, the affordable ($179) 2 megapixel Fuji A200 and a really neat compact (digital elph style) 4 megapixel camera we have handled but not tested yet, the Casio QV-R4.
We are working on a number of product review items including our findings on the Kodak Professional DCS 645M Pro Back which produces and amazing 16 megapixel image and talk about no noise, wow! We also have a brand new production level Minolta Dimage 7Hi camera, which is a really nice looking 5 megapixel, 7X optical zoom camera in black, and it has a lot of nice controls and other advanced features. We also will be taking out and testing soon a few other recently announced cameras including new Nikons, a tiny little new Sony and the new Toshiba (see below) so stay tuned! For those who are desperately waiting for reviews on the Sigma SD9 DSLR, hold on just a bit longer.
It has been raining here in Southern California and/or very cloudy the past few days, but today is looking better and we hope to get out to game 6 of World Series at Edison Field in Anaheim, California later this afternoon to begin our detailed testing of the Minolta Dimage 7Hi. So far we are truly very impressed with its size, feel, features, look and initial picture results!
PHOTOPLUS ANNOUNCES SPECIAL EVENTS AT PHOTO SHOW OCT. 31 – NOV. 2, 2002 IN NEW YORK CITY
For all of you in the New York area, this is a great free trade show to attend starting October 31, 2002. We have been to this show over the years and it is really a great place to see the latest Digital Cameras which will include this year the new Sigma SD9. For more information please read this press release and follow the link below.
October 18, 2002, NY, NY -- Photo District News (PDN), the leading publication for professional photographers, announced today that in addition to more than 100 seminars, PhotoPlus Expo will host a series of special events at the Jacob Javits Convention Center in New York City, from October 31 – November 2, 2002. They will include keynote speakers Greg Gorman; VP of Adobe’s Graphic Products Bryan Lamkin; and New York Times Technical Editor David Pogue addressing the way photography and new technologies will affect the future of the industry. In addition the World Press Photo 2002 exhibition will be on display for its only U.S. showing.
There will also be panel presentations on digital printing, color management, new technologies, photographers’ rights in an expanding e-world, business strategies, and visual presentations by eminent photographers Walter Iooss, Douglas Kirkland, Ron Haviv, Jay Maisel, Pete Turner, Ed Kashi and more.
Demonstrations of the integration of digital products will be presented by the Digital Learning Center daily from 10:15 – 12:00 PM by renowned digital imaging experts Jeff Schewe, Bruce Fraser, Martin Evening, John Paul Caponigro and Katrin Eismann. These will be followed each day by a raffle for a high-end Fujifilm digital camera.
All of the above events require a Gold Expo Pass to attend. The Gold Expo Pass is offered NEW this year and allows admission to the Digital Learning Center, as well as three full days of speakers in the General Session Theatre for only $50. Gold Expo Pass holders will be automatically entered into a daily raffle to win a high-end Fujifilm digital camera. The Gold Expo Pass is free with the purchase of any seminar.
This year over 200 exhibitors will showcase the latest in photography technology. Exhibitors include: Epson, Hewlett Packard, Olympus, Kodak, Sony, Nikon, Canon, Calumet, Hasselblad, Mamiya, FujiFilm, Adobe and Polaroid. New products, photography innovations, and digital technology will be featured. Expo highlights include the first-ever U.S. showing of new photographic products introduced at this fall’s Photokina in Cologne, Germany.
PhotoPlus Expo is geared to both professional and advanced amateur photographers as well as designers and lab professionals. Hours: Thursday, October 31st – Friday, November 1st 10:00 AM – 5:00 PM; Saturday, November 2nd 10:00 AM – 4:00 PM. Seminars range between $65 - $130. For more information on the Gold Expo Pass, the seminar program and the Expo, visit the website at: http://www.photoplusexpo.com or call (866) 693-1007 or (301) 694-5243.
Latest Toshiba Digital Camera Merges Touchscreen LCD with 3.2 Megapixel CCD, AVI Movie Making & Built-in Paint Program
Here is an announcement we received late yesterday from Toshiba regarding their new PDR-T30 which has a PDA type of touchscreen controls for many of the cameras menu functions and settings. Its a 3.2 megapixel tap and shoot style camera which also has a new AVI movie mode. The new PDR-T30 will be available in November at a suggested price of $449.
IRVINE, CA, October 25, 2002 ­ Toshiba Imaging Systems, a division of Toshiba American Information Systems, today launched the new flagship of its touchscreen LCD equipped digital camera line-up, the model PDR-T30.
The new PDR-T30 is the third generation of Toshiba digital cameras to sport a PDA-like touchscreen. This system uses self-explanatory icons located on the bright, 1.5-inch color LCD to assist the photographer in navigating controls such as white balance, shutter speed, digital zoom and scene select modes. The user simply taps on the icons with a stylus to move through the camera's menus.
Making a striking visual impression in its stylish, highly-polished aluminum housing, the PDR-T30 picks up Toshiba's benchmark "tap and shoot" concept and elevates it to a new level by incorporating a high-resolution 3.2
megapixel CCD (2048 x 1536) for capturing brilliant, sharp images in universal JPEG format, along with a new AVI movie mode that enables the camera to double as a digital video camcorder.Another new benefit is a built-in paint program accessible on the LCD. This ground-breaking feature provides users with the ability to draw on the photographs they take, plus make detailed notes on the image, a feature especially attractive to real estate agents, insurance adjusters, contractors and other professionals who need to carefully document and share multiple images. Color choice and pen thickness are user selectable.
PRICING, AVAILABILITY AND FEATURES
The Toshiba PDR-T30 3.2 megapixel digital camera will be available in November 2002 with an MSRP of $449. Although small in size, this innovative and user-friendly camera is big on features that will appeal to consumers on
a number of levels.
-- Ideal for a wide range of picture-taking situations from portraits to landscapes, the PDR-T30 has a fast (f/2.8) 2x optical zoom all-glass lens with a focal length equivalent to a 38-76mm zoom on a 35mm camera, while offering macro capability for incredible close-ups. Shutter speed ranges from 1/1000 second to 4 seconds (landscape mode).-- The camera's pop-up flash, which is effective to a distance of 10 feet, provides four modes: automatic, red-eye reduction, forced flash, and suppressed flash.
-- For optimal exposure in typical shooting situations, the PDR-T30 offers five programmed exposure modes: sports, auto, portrait, night and landscape. Users also have the option of automatic white balance or four manual settings that include daylight, cloudy, incandescent, fluorescent II and I.
-- The camera's compact size and light weight (2.1 x 4.3 x 1.1 inches, 6.3 ounces), along with features usually found only in higher priced digital cameras, make the PDR-T30 the perfect choice for consumers who are making the transition from analog to digital imaging, as well as current digicam enthusiasts looking to trade up to new technology.
-- To encourage versatility, the camera offers three resolution settings. Users can choose maximum quality 2048x1536, the medium 1024 x 768, or the e-mail friendly 640 x 480 setting.
-- Depending on the resolution and image compression selected (high, standard) the PDR-T30 records anywhere from 12 to 112 images on the included 16MB Secure Digital (SD) memory card. In the camera's Movie Mode the 16MB card stores 1 minute 18 seconds of AVI video in the 320 x 240 setting. Using a 256MB SD card gives the user the power of all-day shooting by storing up to 1950 shots or up to 23 minutes of video. For downloads, the camera has a USB output, with the necessary cable packaged along with the camera.
-- The PDR-T30 uses a rechargeable lithium ion battery (PDR-BT3) that can take up to 120 shots when the LCD is powered. An AC Adapter (PDR-AC20) is included to recharge the long-life battery while it is in the camera.
-- The PDR-T30 is compatible with computers running Microsoft Windows 98, 2000, ME and XP, along with Apple Macintosh OS 9.0 or later.
The PDR-T30 ships with a 16MB SmartMedia card, and features ACD Systems software to assure users have a comprehensive solution to downloading, editing, printing and e-mailing photos. Other accessories are a soft case, a
neck strap with stylus pen, an instruction manual on CD, a 1x rechargeable lithium-ion battery, and a USB cable.
Worldwide Shipments of Photo-Specialty Printers Expected to Grow to 8.7 Million in 2006 (10/19/02)
A new market study published by Lyra Research indicates that expected photo printer shipments will increase to 8.7 million units in the year 2006, which will be a large increase over the 5.0 million photo printers which shipped last year (2001). The report finds the huge transition to digital photography is the biggest factor behind the 12 percent annual growth rate in photo printer shipments and that consumers are looking more for "photo" quality printers now, even if they do not yet own a digital camera to use with it. The report also discusses other factors such as mobile trends and Internet usage as accounting for the strong growth of specialty photo quality (usually 6 colored inks) printers. Here is the press release about the Lyra Research Report.
Report Finds Photo-Specialty Printer Sales Represent a CAGR of 12 PercentNEWTONVILLE, Mass. - Oct. 17, 2002--Worldwide shipments of photo-specialty printers are expected to climb from 5.0 million units in 2001 to 8.7 millions units in 2006, according to a new study published by Lyra Research. The report, Worldwide Market Trends for Printers and MFPs: Market Assessment and Forecast, finds that the transition to digital photography is the largest factor contributing to the compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 12 percent. The study notes that because of the strong digital photo market in Japan, the highest unit growth rate is expected to occur in the Pacific-Rim region.
Commenting on consumer printing behavior, Larry Jamieson, senior consultant for Lyra Research, states, "Digital photography is having a profound effect on printer purchases, especially among consumers. New printer buyers are much more aware of photo quality and will make buying decisions based on their perceived future need for photo-quality printers, even if they do not currently own a digital camera."
This comprehensive report looks at trends and the future of the industry, providing detailed shipment and revenue forecasts through 2006, current market-share data, and competitive product lineups, with detailed analysis of vendor activity and market drivers. Jamieson notes, "Printing digital photos is just one of the many factors that is affecting the overall printer market as printer buying patterns shift to replacement from new purchase. Developments in mobile technologies and electronic document distribution will not eliminate printing but will be just a couple of the drivers changing the hard copy hardware market."
The report looks at the effects of related technologies such as personal computers, networks, Internet access, and digital photography and examines how these technologies will affect printing. Printer markets in the United States, Europe, Latin America, the Pacific Rim, and the rest-of-the world region are quantified. A description and table of contents for the report can be found on Lyra Research's Web site at www.lyra.com.
Fujifilm's Freimuth Calls on Imaging Industry to Get the Big Picture (10/18/02
We are attending the InfoTrends Digital Imaging '02 Executive Conference and Exhibition in the San Jose, California area yesterday and today. Stanley E. Freimuth of Fuji Photo Film U. S. A. delivered a keynote speech and Fuji has issued this press release regarding his call on the Imaging Industry to get the big picture (perhaps its time to take the word "Film" out of the name too!) We will keep you up to date on any other developments from the InfoTrends Conference which attracts most of the top leaders involved in the digital imaging industry.
Companies Need to Look Beyond Digital Cameras and Home Printers To Larger Market Potential of In-Store and Online Retail Printing
SAN JOSE, Calif.-Oct. 18, 2002-- Referring to just-released results of a new InfoTrends study, Stanley E. Freimuth, Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer, Fuji Photo Film U.S.A., Inc., has called on a gathering of imaging and information executives and analysts to look beyond the sales of only digital cameras and home printers to the larger profit opportunities and consumer benefits that digital printing at retail offers.
Freimuth, who delivered today's keynote address at the InfoTrends' "Digital Imaging '02" Executive Conference and Exhibition, said that if companies work together and follow a "print paradigm," a proven business model in which consumers can obtain prints from their digital images as easily as film, they can drive the development of a much larger marketplace.According to the InfoTrends study that Fujifilm commissioned, 70 percent of digital camera owners would use their cameras more, and take more pictures, if they could get "snapshot-type" prints as easily as from a film camera. The study also showed that, if offered the opportunity to get digital prints as quickly and affordably as film prints, 75 percent of digital camera owners said they might prefer that option.
"We realize that the full promise of the digital consumer market is obviously not just about following the film model," Freimuth said. "It is unquestionably also very much about the continual application of new technologies in all sectors of the imaging and information industry.
"But rarely, if ever, do new technologies change human behavior or consumer habits overnight, especially if it's something people have been doing with ease and great satisfaction for decades. And they shouldn't have to. It should be our job to introduce them to the pleasures and benefits of digital photography and make digital print making as easy, affordable, and high quality as film."
Last year, InfoTrends research indicated that 8 percent of digital camera owners printed either at retail or through an on-line service. This year, it's 13 percent of a significantly larger base of digital camera owners. Although this is a slight improvement over last year's numbers, Freimuth said, "We have to do more to get new digital camera owners informed about their printing choices." The same study revealed that 55 percent of digital camera owners don't even know if their local retailer can print photos from digital cameras.
Freimuth also outlined the essential things that companies can do to realize the full potential of this market opportunity. First, he said, manufacturers need to create a profitable digital printing infrastructure for retailers. In this regard, Fujifilm provides everything from in-store ingest systems to integrated, customized Web sites, state-of-the-art hosting facilities and fulfillment solutions, in addition to digital minilabs, kiosks and overnight wholesale photofinishing services.
For example, the Fujifilm Frontier digital lab systems accept both film negatives and different digital medial formats, enabling retailers who already provide traditional photofinishing services to expand into digital. In addition, for retailers who have never been in the photofinishing business, or thought they couldn't afford to be, low-cost, self-service kiosks like Fujifilm's Printpix DigiCam Picture Centers offer a way into the digital market.
"Not only do they represent a new source of revenue," Freimuth said, "but they also serve as a magnet for attracting store traffic that will result in increased sales of other types of merchandise. "
Second, Freimuth said the digital printing process must be simplified for consumers and retailers. He cited the involvement of Kodak, Hewlett-Packard, Fujifilm and others in the development of the Common Picture eXchange Environment, CPXe, which is comprised of standards designed to make printing digital images as convenient as using film. He also mentioned the need to make it easier for consumers to upload, share and print images, with devices like cradles and such software solutions as Microsoft's Windows XP.
The third important step, Freimuth added, is market education. The "Fujifilm Digital Picture of America Tour," a mobile education program developed with Gateway, Philips and Microsoft, has introduced tens of thousands of consumers to the world of digital imaging. Fujifilm also recently launched its Data Storage University Web site, an interactive, online learning center that shows consumers how easy it is to store images and to learn what their media options are. And, this year, Fujifilm introduced its "Digital Camera Developing " marketing and educational campaign, which is designed to help its retail customers make consumers aware of digital printing advantages and options.
Finally, Freimuth concluded, there is always a need for industry members to continually improve upon all aspects of the products and services they create. As an example, he pointed to Fujifilm's "Image Intelligence," an integrated system of digital image-processing software technologies that produce better picture quality. Image Intelligence has enhanced the performance of Fujifilm's flagship Frontier digital minilab series, Printpix and Pictrography digital printers, its FinePix digital cameras, and even the company's professional graphic systems and medical imaging products.
"Obviously, Fujifilm has a bias toward wanting to see this larger digital camera developing market opportunity unfold, since it would include many of our core capabilities," Freimuth said. "But I would submit that, when digital images get printed at retail, the consumer wins and, as a result, we all win."
Pioneer Announces Faster/Less Expensive New 4X DVD-R/2X DVD-RW Drive (10/17/02)
Pioneer has announced 2 new DVD burners which feature faster write speeds of 4X for DVD-R and 2X for DVD-RW and at lower prices. The new speeds mean that one hour of video can be recorded in just over 15 minutes on to a DVD-R disk. The internal unit will sell for $299 and a firewire external version will be available in December at around $400. Here is the press release from Pioneer.
Company Increases Write Speeds for Industry Standard Writable DVD FormatsLONG BEACH, Calif. - Oct. 17, 2002--Pioneer Electronics (USA) Inc., Business Solutions Division, the leader in recordable DVD technology, today announced the new DVR-A05 DVD-R/RW and CD-R/RW combination drive.
Pioneer's fifth generation drive doubles writing performance across the board with 4X DVD-R, 2X DVD-RW, 16X CD-R and 8X CD-RW capabilities. The new 4X DVD-R recording speed translates into approximately 15 minutes to fully record a high-speed 4.7 GB DVD-R disc. Pioneer will offer the DVR-A05 in November with a manufacturer's suggested retail price of $299."The new DVR-A05 offers a substantial recording speed increase for DVD-R and DVD-RW, which means a lot less time spent waiting for video and other data to be recorded. "At the same time, we've been able to achieve a very attractive price point that should help make the drive appeal to a larger number of consumers and professional users," said Andy Parsons, senior vice president of industrial video & mass storage sales and marketing, Pioneer Electronics (USA), Business Solutions Division.
Using data writing software bundled with the drive, the DVR-A05 also offers two-minute quick formatting for DVD-RW data discs and allows finished DVD-RW discs to be "unfinalized" for writing additional data files. A DVD authoring tool and DVD/CD data recording application are also included with the drive, as well as blank 4X DVD-R and 2X DVD-RW discs.
The drive features a new high-speed writing pickup, implemented by new laser driver technology that ensures stable writing performance at high speeds. A new liquid crystal tilt mechanism has also been included, providing accurate and reliable operation with discs that have uneven curvature or thickness. The DVR-A05 also doubles the CD-R and CD-RW write speed of earlier models at 16X and 8X, respectively and can be used as a DVD-ROM and CD-ROM drive as well.
Consumers and industrial users have recognized that DVD recording is a compelling solution for video authoring and archiving. As a result, industry analysts expect DVD recordable drive sales to surpass 3 million units in 2002 and more than 30 million drives by 2005.
RITZ CAMERA UPDATES (10/11/02)
We received the following news item from Ritz Camera indicating that the exciting new Kodak 14n Pro digital camera is now available for pre-order and many other fine cameras have been added to the RitzCamera.com site. We have added links below which will take you directly to the Ritz Product page where you can get more information and/or buy the cameras. Remember when you purchase through our links you help support this site.
The Kodak DCS Pro 14N Digital Camera is not yet available, and this pricing is preliminary. By placing your Kodak DCS Pro 14N Digital Camera order today, you can firmly establish your place in line for this exciting new product. Our orders are always filled in the order that they are placed, and your credit card will not be charged until your order has shipped. Order today and assure yourself of being one of the first to get this exciting new item!
PRE-ORDER THE KODAK 14n PRO DSLR CAMERA
- In addition, the following new digital cameras have been added to the RitzCamera.com site and again if you want to consider any of these cameras we have added the direct link below. We ask that you please use these links and help support this site:
- The Casio EX-S2 EX Slim Series Digital Camera is in stock and live at RitzCamera.com. The SKU# is 546180241 - $299.99
Canon - Powershot G3 Digital Camera - Catalog # 541166484 - $799.99
Minolta - Dimage 7HI Digital Camera - Catalog # 541495917 - $1,299.99
Sony - DSC-P9 Cyber-shot Digital Camera - Catalog # 542080882 - $599.99- COMING 10/21 CLICK HERE TO PRE-ORDER THE SIGMA SD9 DIGITAL SLR CAMERA - $1,799.99
PHOTOKINA 2002 SUMMARY (10/11/02)
We would once again like to highlight in our news the fact that we have posted our brief summary of the digital camera related highlights for the Photokina 2002 show which ended on September 30, 2002 in Cologne, Germany. Although we did not move our full news stories over to a separate Photokina report page as we often do for shows like PMA, CES and COMDEX when we actually attend them, we did have extensive breaking coverage of the Photokina news related to new digital cameras, which makes up almost all of the news for the entire month of September. Making a separate new Photokina report with all of the full news stories would have essentially been removing all the news in September, so we decided to provide this link to our special Photokina 2002 coverage page.
PHOTOKINA 2002 SUMMARY REPORT The full stories from the major announcements which are related to this year's Photokina show can be found within our main news pages where all you need to do is scroll down below in Volume 17 and/or click on over to Volume 17 page 2.
(Kodak Press Release)
Going Digital: Two Out of Three Professional Photo Labs in the U.S. Will Add Or Expand Digital Imaging Capabilities Within the Next Year
Kodak Professional Survey Finds Digital Workflows Bolster Lab Sales and Productivity
ROCHESTER, N.Y. - Oct. 9, 2002--Nearly two out of three U.S. professional photo labs, faced with managing more digital images and the need to become more efficient and productive, will incorporate some degree of digital workflow into their labs within the next year, according to a survey conducted by Kodak Professional, a division of Eastman Kodak Company. Of those, most will add digital workflows within the next six months.
The survey, distributed to more than 300 labs nationally this past summer, is part of a Kodak Professional initiative to gain insights into how labs are employing "digital workflows" - the hardware and software needed to process digital images and run a photo lab's operations. Film scanners, image analyzers, printers, image management software, order-entry systems and Internet-based services all can comprise digital workflows. Without digital workflows, labs cannot process digital files, they must use paper-based order and billing systems, and they must manually create special products such as photos with text and graphics.
The survey indicates that many labs already have "gone digital" to some degree. More than half of the respondents report that almost 50% of their current workflows are digital. That number could surge, according to the survey, as nearly six in 10 say they plan to add digital capabilities in the next six months. Cost appears to be the primary factor for labs deciding to add digital capabilities. But labs that already have gone digital report more efficient workflows, which yield higher productivity and create the ability to handle higher volumes of work. For them, digital workflows ultimately have boosted sales and reduced costs.
"The survey results indicate that the photo labs which adopted digital early are serving more customers in more ways and making more money," said John Blake, General Manager, Lab Solutions, and Vice President, Kodak Professional. Blake said the survey's findings underscore the need for professional labs to meet a growing demand from their customers to add digital imaging capabilities, as well as to migrate operations to more efficient and productive digital workflows to remain competitive. "Labs are finding that digital is too pervasive to ignore, but the good news is they don't have to take on the costs and challenges of adding an entire digital workflow all at once," Blake said. "To manage their investments, most labs will find it best to take a modular approach to lab digitization while building a complete digital solution in the process."
Survey Results At a Glance
Current status: One-third of responding labs report that 76-100 percent of their current workflows are digital, while 53 percent categorize up to half of their current workflows as digital. Future plans: More than two-thirds of labs expect to add some digital workflow within 12 months. Significantly, 57 percent plan to do so within six months. Barriers to digital workflows: Cost was the most common reason cited (40 percent of respondents) for not adding digital imaging workflows. That was followed by a general reluctance to convert to an entirely digital workflow (33 percent), concern the equipment would be difficult to use (10 percent), and doubts about the viability of the "digital revolution" (3 percent). Training: The vast majority of respondents - 63 percent - will handle training internally, 13 percent will look to their system vendors to train employees, 10 percent will conduct no training, and 3 percent will hire outside trainers. Benefits of digital: The most-mentioned benefits of digital workflow were saving time and money (23 percent), more efficient and productive processes (20 percent), the ability to handle more jobs (13 percent), and overall simplified workflow (13 percent).
PHIL ASKEY AT DP REVIEW POSTS DETAILED REVIEW OF THE SONY DSC-F717 (10/08/02)
Phil Askey has posted a very detailed review of the new Sony DSC-F717, a 5 megapixel camera which is producing great results. The review has comparison test with last year's F707 as well as with the Nikon Coolpix 5700 and the Minolta 7Hi. Be sure to check out Phil's full Sony DSC F717 Review and Sample Gallery.
And don't forget to check out our extensive coverage of the Sony DSC-F717 including several sample galleries and a comparison set with the Nikon Coolpix 5700 in our A-Digital-Eye.Com Sony DSC F717 Review & Sample Galleries Page.
And if you want check out the price or buy it consider checking out the Ritz Camera Sony DSC-F717 Product Page.
NIKON ANNOUNCES DSLR UPGRADES INCLUDING THE D100 (10/07/02)
Nikon USA has issued a press release this morning announcing new camera firmware upgrades will be available at service centers for Nikon D1x, D1h and D100 owners. The firmware does not appear to address any major image quality issues that Nikon felt needed fixing and instead is aimed at some compatibility matters. In addition, Nikon is announcing an upgrade of Nikon Capture 3 with several new features including control and correction of the appearance of vignetting, as well as a RAM upgrade for the D1x. The full information about the process of obtaining the firmware upgrade and more details on what issues the firmware addresses are posted at the Nikon web page, www.nikonusa.com/dslrupgrade.
NEWS BRIEFS (10/06/02)
- NEW NIKON D100 SAMPLE PICTURES POSTED
- NIKON D100 DISNEYLAND SAMPLE PICTURES
- NIKON D100 REVIEW PAGE (updated with our D100 findings summary)
Phil Askey at DP Review has posted his final Photokina Tradeshow Report from attending the huge photography tradeshow which was held in Germany the last week of September. Phil also has an interesting article posted this weekend about how photo image sensors are measured called Making (Some) Sense of Sensor Sizes, an issue which is difficult to sometime fully understand due to the history of how electronic imagers retained an old measuring standard used for old vacuum tubes. Phil has also posted some nice looking 11 Megapixel, full 35mm sized CMOS Imager Canon EOS D1s samples from a pre-production unit.
The folks over at the European based Lets-Go-Digital web site who also attended the Photokina show and were providing lots of daily updates at their site in three languages including English during the show have now posted their final Photokina 2002 Conclusion. As we mentioned they also have a Photokina 2002 Index Page, which lists the products they covered with links to the stories with information, and pictures they obtained at the show.
Steve Sanders over at Steve's Digicams has posted a review of the Olympus C-4000 and the Kodak DCS-Pro Back 645. Last week he also posted the first full review of the brand new Kodak LS443 camera a new Kodak 4 megapixel camera with a high quality lens which was just announced a few weeks ago for the Photokina show. Steve has posted a review and some pre-production samples from a Canon EOS D1s.
Dave Etchells over at Imaging Resources also has a first look review and sample gallery from a 11 megapixel pre-production Canon EOS 1Ds.
Jeff Keller over at DC Resource Page has posted a review of the fine 4 megapixel and fairly small (Sony P9 like) Minolta Dimage F100 camera.
Megapixel.Net a great monthly web publication has posted their October Issue with new reviews and digital camera related articles. Check out the new reviews including the Olympus C-4000 and the Canon A200 as well as their outstanding gallery of winning Cover Photos, with information on the cameras used and how the images were taken.
EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW WITH OLYMPUS AMERICA POSTED (10/03/02)
THE NEW "FOURTHIRDS SYSTEM" FOR DSLR CAMERAS
Last week Olympus and Kodak made a major announcement in digital photography at the Photokina trade show in Germany with the official unveiling of their intentions to implement a whole new standard for future Digital SLR Cameras (for details see our story below (OLYMPUS ANNOUNCES NEW 4/3 SYSTEM DIGITAL SLR CAMERA STANDARD WITH KODAK (09/24/02).
The new standard, known as the "FourThirds System" is a bold move by two of the major camera companies to establish what they describe as the next-generation digital SLR camera system that ensures interchangeable lens mount compatibility and higher quality results compared to the existing 35mm film based Digital SLR systems. The new 4/3rds System is based upon the use of very high quality optics which are to be specially designed to interact with new Imagers meeting specifications which have been developed to optimize the final image results as well as ensure compatibility of lenses and use of lighter/smaller lenses which are of more practical use. The partnership of Kodak and Olympus has already further announced that Fuji has recently joined in their support of the new standard which should result in seeing yet a third major photography player develop their own product lines which will use Imagers and Lenses that comply with the "FourThirds System".
While some of the details were presented in the initial press release and at a special press event at Photokina last week, the full story behind this major development in photography is just beginning to unfold. Although Olympus and Kodak had publicly announced their intention to enter into some type of partnership for future products at the PMA show in the late winter of 2001, this immediately lead to a lot of speculation of just what they were developing and under all kinds of creative names such as Olydak etc. Shortly after the announcement in the Spring of 2001 some of the initial conceptual information was made public a bit earlier then Olympus had expected, resulting in a very high anticipation by many that by this time and specifically for the big Photokina 2002 show held last week both Kodak and Olympus would essentially have at least a proto-type new DSLR camera to show off, with a shipping date hopefully before this holiday season. Instead, what Olympus and Kodak had prepared for Photokina was the official revelation of their partnership to develop products within their own product lines which comply with this whole new "FourThirds System". What they really announced was the concept for a new Digital SLR standard for the entire photography industry to join in so that cameras and lenses in the future are designed from the ground up taking the specific requirements that "digital" technology requires for more practical and optimal products and photographic results.
Naturally the highly publicized announcement of a whole new standard in a major industry such as digital photography raises a lot more questions then can be initially answered in one press release or at one press conference. We immediately sought out more information from all of the sources we could, and last week we started to develop a whole series of questions regarding some of the key issues behind this new Olympus/Kodak DSLR camera standard. We had just decided to pose our many questions to our contacts at Olympus America when we learned that their most knowledgeable officials, including John Knaur Sr. Product Manager, Consumer Product Group, Olympus America Inc. as well as Sally Smith Clemens and Christopher Sluka were available for a telephonic conference to directly respond to our many questions and to provide their technical expertise on the new FourThirds system.
In an exclusive series of exchanges and discussions we have just completed with Olympus America, we have transferred a major portion of the information provided to us in direct response to our own specific questions and are now posting the initial Question and Answer exchange which took place with John Knaur of Olympus America on Tuesday October 1, 2002. We have also conducted a second lengthy conference call Interview this morning in which Sally Clemens and Christopher Sluka joined together with Mr. Knaur to further discuss the entire concept involved with the new standard and what is to be known as the FourThirds System. Given the early stage at which this concept is at, we are going to initially present the entire first Q. and A. session we had on day one with Mr. Knaur, and we will provide additional information which was given to us today along with more details they hope to have soon in future stories and in response to feedback from our readers. Some of the further details we learned today involved getting to understand the technology better and getting a better idea of what aspects are final, and when final standard specifications will be made public. One key bit of information we learned today that is not in the Q. and A. is that it is expected that the official specifications that will be the FourThirds System "standards" which supporting members will comply with will be posted sometime in the near future (before PMA in March of 2003) on an official forum web site.
Well, with that background and introduction, we now invite those of you interested in learning a bit more about the new FourThirds System just announced by Kodak and Olympus to follow the link below and read our exclusive Interview with John Knaur of Olympus America, Inc. We hope you find it interesting and yet we know many of you may want some additional information, and so we are going to encourage you to send us your feedback, and we will post questions and answers that we can ourselves or perhaps in follow-up with Olympus America, Inc.
INTERVIEW WITH OLYMPUS AMERICA, INC. THE NEW "FOURTHIRDS SYSTEM" FOR DSLR CAMERAS POST YOUR FEEDBACK Email us!
SONY ANNOUNCES FIRST LAPTOPS WITH DVD BURNERS (10/01/02)
Sony has announced this morning the first notebook PCs to offer built-in DVD drives which will burn DVDs anywhere, anytime! Sony has also announced today a new portable slim DVD-R/RW drive which will connect to older VIAO notebook computers via a firewire connection at a suggested price of $600. In addition, Sony has announced today a whole new lineup of desktop PCs in their VAIO lineup which feature built-in DVD burners! Finally, Sony has also announced a new easy to use DVD software to come with all these new DVD products called "Click to DVD" which allows users to easily convert video and/or digital camera picture files onto DVDs for playback on most newer model DVD players used with TV sets, including slideshow presentations!. Looks like DVD burning is here to stay and it did not take Sony long (1 day) to make this announcement after Toshiba announced yesterday the first internal slim DVD burner for laptops (see story below)! DVD burning offers digital camera owners the ability to store up to 4.7 Gigabytes of image files on one disk and now it can be done anywhere, anytime! We are very excited about this development for all video camera and digital camera owners! Here are two of the Sony Press Releases issued this morning for more details.
NEW VAIO NOTEBOOKS OFFER ANYTIME, ANYWHERE DVD BURNING
SAN DIEGO, Oct. 1, 2002 _ Three new VAIO® notebook PCs from Sony offer a creative, competitive edge of a versatile, pick-up-and-go workspace with portable DVD burning.
The VAIO PCG-GRX670 and PCG-GRX690 models as well as the configure-to-order PCG-NV200 series are Sony's first notebooks to feature an onboard DVD-RW drive. Sony's newly developed Click to DVD™ software, available on all of the models, and digital multimedia editing applications make it easy to exploit the vast storage capacity of DVDs with professional multimedia presentations or with data using the included Easy Systems Drag and Drop™ application.
The GRX670 and GRX690 notebooks feature a 16.1-inch UXGA screen, which is the largest ultra-high resolution screen in the notebook computer industry. The customizable NV200 series, available through Sonystyle.com, features a hot-swappable bay that accommodates a number of accessories, including a sub-woofer to punctuate a DVD soundtrack; a floppy drive and an ergonomic 10-key keypad that makes creating spreadsheets a breeze. All three notebooks feature the power of the Mobile Intel® Pentium® processor -M and mammoth hard drives for working with large video files.
"VAIO notebook PC customers have always had briefcase bragging rights and now they have even more to crow about with the availability of super easy DVD burning," said Mark Hanson, vice president and general manager of VAIO PC marketing for Sony Electronics. "With Click to DVD software, companies can give any employee the power to create their own cost-effective multimedia presentations from anywhere."
External DVD Burner for VAIO Veterans
Users of current VAIO notebook PCs, even thin and light models, can also realize the benefit of DVD burning through the industry's first external DVD-RW slim drive. The PCGA-DVRW1 drive comes bundled with the new Click to DVD software and Easy Systems Drag and Drop application. The drive features two i.LINK® (IEEE 1394) digital interface ports to connect the notebook and a compatible digital camcorder to the drive simultaneously.
Pricing and Availability
The Sony VAIO PCG-GRX670 and PCG-GRX690 models are expected to retail for about $2,500 and $2,800, respectively and will be available this month. The PCG-NV200 series notebooks, start at about $1,800 depending on configuration. The PCGA-DVRW1 external DVD-RW drive is also available this month for about $600.
SONY'S LATEST VAIO PCS FEATURE ONE-CLICK DVD BURNING SOFTWARE
Link Photos, Home Movies to Simple DVD Creation
SAN DIEGO, Oct. 1, 2002 _ Effortless DVD burning is here with the introduction of Sony's Click to DVD™ software, available exclusively on select VAIO® PC models. Also today, Sony is adding another dimension of multimedia capability with upgraded software, including enhanced versions of SonicStage™ for VAIO PC and PictureGear Studio™ applications.
Click to DVD software gives anyone the ability to quickly produce professional-grade DVDs. No lengthy manuals or computer science degrees are required; customized wedding videos as well as elegantly choreographed slideshows and presentations on DVD are now only a few clicks away.
And even photo albums can get a facelift with the new PictureGear Studio application.
"I know so many people who film family and friends with their camcorders and never look at the footage again," said Mark Hanson, vice president and general manager of VAIO PC marketing for Sony Electronics. "With Click to DVD software anybody, no matter what their level of expertise, can clean out those dusty shoeboxes filled with digital or even VHS tapes and convert them to a durable piece of media that plays on most home DVD players."
Hands-On or Hands-Off DVD Creation
Click to DVD software was created with two operating modes, automatic and manual, which gives you the freedom to chose the degree of DVD customization.
In automatic mode, you simply insert a blank DVD, plug in a camcorder, click the Create DVD button, and the software handles the rest. While the disk is burning, you can e-mail friends, surf the Internet or take advantage of other PC functions.
Manual mode makes it easy to combine video footage, photos and music to create customized, professional-looking masterpieces. Clips can be rearranged or combined and unwanted footage removed while leaving the original footage intact on the tape. Content can be condensed into highlights and chapter menus can be set so viewers can easily jump to the part of the video they want to watch without any tedious fast-forwarding. Creations can be personalized by changing the titles, backgrounds or music.
Another useful feature is the slide show function, where pages automatically advance, creating a choreographed DVD photo album. Customized photo arrangements can be synchronized with background music for a dramatic effect.
For example, a couple wanting to show photos during a wedding reception can create a personal DVD set to music, culminating with their first dance, and hand it out as a memento. Or, a business person can use the slide show to create a capabilities presentation highlighting relevant experience, reference sample projects and exhibit other important information - and then distribute it to potential clients.
The Software Keeps Getting Better
In addition to Click to DVD software, Sony has enhanced its popular suite of bundled multimedia editing applications, including PictureGear Studio and SonicStage for VAIO PC software.
The PictureGear Studio application lets you store and share all of your digital photos. Now anyone can create a photo album and quickly convert it to a Flash-based animation small enough to share with friends and family via e-mail.
SonicStage for VAIO PC software, which provides the ability to download, store, manage and control digital music files, now sports an improved graphical user interface. As a result, creating personal playlists and customized CDs is easier than ever.
Availability
Click-to-DVD software and its companion multimedia editing applications are available on five new VAIO PCs, including the PCV-RX860, PCV-RZ14G and PCV-RZ16G desktop PCs, and Sony's first notebook PCs with rewritable DVD drives, the PCG-GRX670, PCG-GRX690 models and the PCG-NV200 series.
CLICK HERE FOR THE MAIN RITZCAMERA.COM DIGITAL CAMERA PAGES
Please Help Support this site by purchasing through our links & banners ads!
TOSHIBA ANNOUNCES THE FIRST DVD BURNER FOR LAPTOPS (09/30/02)
Toshiba has announced a new combination drive that allow laptops to deliver both DVD and CD burning. The drive allows DVDs to record pictures or video in the DVD-R/RW format or as data in the DVD-RAM format. The new SD-R6012 slim combination drive will allow digital camera owners to record up to 4.7 Gigabytes of digital camera pictures on their laptops while in the field or at home. Currently no models with the new drive have been announced but they are expected soon. Toshiba also has announced a PC version DVD burner upgrade kit for $350. We find these announcements to be very BIG news for many digital camera and video camera owners, especially those who are looking for a mobile/laptop solution to store large image files on DVDs. So far we believe this is the first drive made for laptops which will perform DVD/CD burning and playback. We expect to hear from Sony on this soon, but we remain hopeful that Sony will announce an internal laptop drive which like its USB/Firewire external unit announced a few weeks ago (see news below), will support dual DVD formats which includes the DVD-R/RW and the DVD+R/RW formats (which supports variable bit rates for longer video recordings). However, size limitations may force Sony to initially offer a laptop DVD burner unit in only one of the two top format, which is likely to be the same DVD-R/RW format and could even quietly be the Toshiba unit. We will let you know as soon as Sony makes any announcement to respond to this major move by Toshiba. We will also keep you posted as Manufactures announce their first laptop models to include DVD burning. Here is the Toshiba press release sent to us earlier this morning from Toshiba.
Toshiba Introduces Industry's First Mobile PC Drive With Both DVD and CD Recording Capabilities Mobile PC Users Can Create DVD Videos And CD Audio Files All With The Same Drive
IRVINE, Calif. - Sept. 30, 2002--Extending its leadership in developing optical storage products to meet evolving needs, Toshiba's Storage Device Division (SDD) today announced two new combination drives that deliver DVD/CD recordability to notebook and desktop computers. Based on the DVD-R/RW format, Toshiba's combination drives support the most widely compatible DVD standard, giving consumers the highest level of compatibility with legacy DVD devices.
Toshiba's SD-R6012 slim combination drive -- the industry's first DVD/CD recordable drive for mobile computers -- allows PC manufacturers to deliver unprecedented functionality to mobile computer users, providing both DVD and CD read and write capabilities. Until now, only desktop computers have had the luxury of DVD recordability for applications such as audio/video editing and personal digital compilations.
"Consumers are looking to create, edit, and burn both work-related and personal digital productions -- on the fly and on the go," said Maciek Brzeski, vice president of marketing at Toshiba SDD. "Our new lightweight combination drive brings DVD recording to the mobile world, providing users with a stepping stone to move from CD to DVD technology for creating and storing family photos, files, videos and other memories people don't want to lose."
The SD-R6012 slim drive supports writing DVD-R/RW at 1X, writing CD-R/RW at 16x/10x, and reads 8X DVD and 24X CD.
Toshiba Also Introduces Its First Desktop DVD Recordable Drive
Increasing the functionality of its popular desktop combination drive with the addition of DVD recording technology, Toshiba also introduced the SD-R5002 recordable drive today. Supporting read and write functionality for the DVD-R/DVD-RW/CD-R/CD-RW formats, the new desktop drive is compatible with the majority of legacy DVD players -- enabling PC OEMs to build products that assure consumers of media compatibility when used with other DVD/CD systems.
The SD-R5002 desktop drive is also available as an upgrade kit, allowing consumers with existing desktop computers to add DVD recording functionality. The included industry-leading software provides for theater-quality movie viewing and burning of DVDs that contain personal videos and digital still image slide-shows. The software compilation includes:
-- Cyberlink PowerDVD -- The leading software DVD player
-- Cyberlink PowerDirector Pro -- Integrated personal movie-making
solution
-- VOB Instant CD/DVD (InstantDisc, InstantBackup, InstantCopy,
InstantWrite, InstantMusic, InstantVideo)About Toshiba's DVD Recordable Technology
Given the popularity of DVD and the evolution of recordable/rewritable formats for entertainment content, Toshiba's new SD-R6012 slim drive and SD-R5002 desktop drive support two of the hottest trends driving the convergence of consumer electronics and computing -- video and audio recording/editing. The combination drives are also a great stepping stone for users to dabble between CD and DVD media -- all while providing the safety net of CD read and write technology.
Both DVD-R and DVD-RW formats are sanctioned by the DVD Forum. In addition, they are compatible with most legacy DVD players, while other formats may have compatibility issues with existing players. DVD-R/RW media is affordably priced at $5 and $10/disc respectively.
"DVD is expected to replace audio CD, videotape, laser disc and CD-ROM/RW technology, becoming the de facto standard for home entertainment and lifestyle computing," Brzeksi said. "Toshiba's new combination drives provide customers with a sound investment to make an effortless transition from CD to DVD technology."
Availability
Toshiba's new combination drives are available to PC manufacturers now. In addition, the desktop combination drive upgrade kit is available through distribution or on www.shoptoshiba.com for $349. For additional information, visit www.sdd.toshiba.com.
LEXMARK ANNOUNCES 4800 DPI PHOTO PRINTER WITH MEDIA SLOT (09/30/02)
Lexmark issued a press release today announcing a new printer aimed at digital photographers. Although the printer appears to have only 4 colors compared to other companies whose photo printers usually have 6 colors, the new Lexmark does have very high resolution at 4800 x 1200 dpi and it has variable droplets down to 3 picoliters. In addition, the printer can accept memory cards from 6 major formats and it has the ability to automatically sense the paper type and it has dual paper trays. The new Z65p appears to be available right away at many major retail stores, Dell and other locations for a MSRP of $199. Here is the Lexmark Press Release.
New Lexmark photo printer integrates camera card readers with 4800 dpi resolution for easy photo printing at home
Priced at $199*, the Lexmark Z65p Photo Jetprinter(TM) offers easy-to-print photos that rival photo lab qualityLEXINGTON, Ky., Sept. 30 - Lexmark International, Inc. (NYSE: LXK - News) today introduced the Lexmark Z65p Photo Jetprinter, a complete solution for Windows users interested in printing color photos at home. The Z65p features on-board camera card readers that make it easy to print images from digital cameras, using a PC, at a stunning 4800 x 1200 dots per inch (dpi) resolution.
"Lexmark is a pioneer in the photo printing space having introduced the first inkjet with built-in camera card readers, the Photo Jetprinter 5770, back in 1998," said Tim Craig, Lexmark vice president and president of its Consumer Printer Division. "As the market has matured with the wide availability of affordable, high-quality digital cameras, Lexmark offers the Z65p, designed to enable consumers interested in digital photography to bring their pictures to life with the utmost simplicity."
Features for Simple Photo Printing
Building upon Lexmark's commitment to serving customer needs, the Z65p offers the following features to simplify the photo printing process:
* Photo card slots - Four slots accommodate six camera card types --
CompactFlash I & II, Secure Digital, SmartMedia, Memory Stick, IBM
MultiMedia and Microdrive -- supporting virtually all leading digital
cameras. Users simply insert memory card, edit and store photos, via a
PC.
* Fotoslate software - Shipping with the Z65p, Fotoslate intuitively
guides customers through the process of taking images from a photo card
and formatting them to print, helping users select size, layout and the
number of prints.
* PrecisionSense(TM) technology - Automatically senses paper type and
adjusts printer driver for optimal output.
* Dual paper trays - Supports the ability to alternate between media, such
as photo and plain papers -- or multiple sizes of photo papers, without
having to manually switch the paper.Stunning Photo Resolution
The Z65p enables customers to achieve the kind of detail traditionally associated with photo lab prints. This printer offers brilliant 4800 x 1200 dpi resolution (5.8 megapixel) in black and color on multiple paper types, including glossy photo and coated papers, as well as 4800 x 600 dpi on plain paper. The Z65p boasts a three picoliter microfine color drop size, allowing for better color transitions and more detailed textures. Featuring specially designed color tables that automatically install by region of the world, the Z65p delivers output that reflects varying geographical color preferences.
Lexmark Signature Features
Like all members of the 2002 Z-line, the Z65p includes sophisticated ease- of-use features. The intuitive graphical interface system helps ensure an enjoyable printing experience with quick installation, helpful "how to print" wizard, improved trouble-shooting tips, an electronic cartridge ink gauge and special job finishing options such as booklet and poster printing. Also, the patented Accu-Feed(TM) paper handling system that accommodates a wide range of print media up to 150-pound stock, including envelopes, transparencies, card stock, labels and iron-on transfers.
Availability
The Lexmark Z65p Photo Jetprinter will begin shipping soon and will be sold at popular retailers such as Best Buy and Office Depot as well as from Dell. Corporate customers who prefer to purchase through alternate channels can find these printers at Comark, CompuCom, Pomeroy, Boise Cascade Office Products and Corporate Express.
MORE NEWS FROM PHOTOKINA (09/29/02 & 09/30/02)
PICTURVISION FROM DELKIN SHOWS DIGITAL PHOTOS ON TV (09/30/02)
Delkin Devices issued this press release regarding their new product called the eFilm Picturevision, which is a small set-top box which allows you to display digital images on a TV set without need of a computer. Delkin introduced this product at Photokina in Germany which ended earlier today. The Picturevision is able to display photos from most of the common memory formats including Memory Sticks and Secure Digital Cards as well as the IBM Microdrive. The Picturevision can play MPEG movie files VCD movies and Mp3 music files. The unit comes with a remote control and will be available at a price of $159.00.
POWAY, Calif.---Sept. 24, 2002--Delkin Devices, a leading US manufacturer of high performance digital photography memory products and accessories, introduces a modern day slide show projector for sharing digital photos. The new eFilm Picturevision(TM) is a small set-top box that lets you show your digital photos right on your television. The Picturevision easily connects to a TV or digital projector using the included AV cable without the need of a computer or drivers. Now there's an answer for the inconvenience of showing tiny images on the back of a digital camera or having to present your photographs to a crowd around a computer screen. Simply take pictures with any digital camera and insert your digital memory card directly into the Picturevision's memory card slots. The Picturevision accepts every digital camera memory card format currently on the market without the need of adapters, from CompactFlash, SmartMedia, and MemoryStick to MultiMediaCard, Secure Digital, and IBM Microdrives. The unit comes with a remote control that allows you to conveniently display slideshows of your digital photos, customize its settings, and perform zoom and rotate functions. For music lovers, the Picturevision also plays MP3 audio files either through a TV or connected directly to a stereo system, as well as VCD and MPEG (I&II) movie files. The unit is compatible with any size and type of television set worldwide since it can be set to either NTSC or PAL TV standards.
Delkin President and CEO Martin J. Wood feels that sharing photos is one of the great enjoyments of photography but until the introduction of the Picturevision, the options for showing off digital photographs left something to be desired. "As wonderful as the digital photography revolution has been with all the benefits and conveniences it offers the photographer, it's been slow to address the need for a simple and easy way to share photographs", Wood said. "The eFilm Picturevision lets you show your photos in the comfort of your living room without the need of a computer or high-end photo printer. With just a digital camera and any TV, the Picturevision offers a simple and enjoyable way to share photos with family and friends." Wood pointed out that the Picturevision has the versatility to do more than just show images. "We feel that digital photographers will also enjoy having the flexibility of playing their MP3 music files on the Picturevision. With all the options and formats the digital age offers consumers today, we wanted to make a product that can be used in a variety of ways." The Picturevision will be sold at consumer photography and electronic stores worldwide and online at Delkin's website at www.delkin.com. The MSRP is $159.00US (plus VAT in some countries) and includes a remote control, audio video cable, and a power adapter as well as a user's manual in English, Spanish, Italian, German, French, and Japanese. Delkin will release the eFilm Picturevision at Photokina 2002 in Cologne Germany from September 25 to September 30, 2002. Photokina is the world's leading trade fair for the photographic and imaging sector as well as a meeting place for professional photographers and photography enthusiasts from all over the world.
NIK MULTIMEDIA ANNOUNCES DFINE PLUG-IN FOR NOISE REDUCTION & MORE (09/29/02)
nik multimedia, Inc. has issued a press release at Photokina for their new software called Dfine which provides a Photoshop compatible (it works with Elements, Jasc Paintshop Pro, Ulead, PhotoImpact and others) plug-in tool for advanced reduction of noise and optimization of picture details. Dfine uses a proprietary system which reduces noise that is based upon the colors, characteristics and type of detail in the image and can use specific camera profiles for more accurate results. The program includes not only noise reduction, it also has jpeg artifact reduction as well as color and light enhancements for creating better prints. Dfine will have a suggested retail price of $99.95 USD, and there will be individual Dfine camera profiles available beginning at $14.95. Dfine will be available in the United States and Canada in the fourth quarter of 2002, with localized versions for German and French available by the end of 2002. For full details, including screen shots of the Software please see the nik multimedia Press Release.
For those of you who have not seen our prior coverage of nik multimedia products be sure to check out our full review of nik Sharpener and nik Sharpener Pro, as well as the press release on their relationship with Microsoft. We will be posting addition news and press releases from Photokina through out the day. Photokina ends tomorrow, Monday September 30, 2002!
LEXAR MEDIA ANNOUNCES DIGITAL PHOTO PLAYER FOR TV SLIDE SHOWS (09/29/02)
Lexar Media has announced at Photokina a new Digital Photo Player unit for showing slide shows on your TV for just $79. The unit hooks directly to a TV and thus allows easy digital camera picture viewing without need of having a computer. The unit has a remote control and can display pictures in a slide show as well as zoom, pan, rotate and delete. The unit accepts Compact Flash type I and II and SmartMedia cards. It has an S-video out port for higher resolution viewing. Here is the brief press release from Lexar.
Lexar Media Digital Photo Player Brings Digital Image Slide Shows to the TV
Share Cherished Memories From the Comfort of the Couch; PHOTOKINA, COLOGNE, Germany, Photokina Booth # 1.2 F48
Lexar Media, Inc. (Nasdaq: LEXR - News), a leading developer of flash mass storage systems and an innovator of high-performance digital media and accessories, today debuts its new Digital Photo Player. Digital Photo Player is a compact device that connects directly to a television set, providing an enjoyable and convenient way to view images
stored on digital media. The Digital Photo Player is available immediately at select retail outlets with manufacturer's suggested list $79.99."Millions of people can now share cherished images captured by a digital camera without the hassles of viewing them on a computer. Simply insert a memory card into the Digital Photo Player, grab the remote control and begin clicking through the memories," said Doug Kellam, vice president of marketing, Lexar Media. "Digital photos are meant to be shared with family and friends and one of the easiest ways to do this is from the comfort of your couch."
Lexar Media's Digital Photo Player offers a variety of view options. People can use the remote control to view pictures in slide show mode, scan thumbnails, or select a specific image and zoom, pan, rotate or delete. Digital Photo Player accepts Type I/II CompactFlash(TM) and SmartMedia(TM) cards and connects to the television set via a standard composite video port or S-video port. The fully-functional infrared remote serves as primary user interface for accessing and managing all images displayed on the television's screen. Digital Photo Player comes with free technical support and one-year warranty.
NEWS FROM PHOTOKINA & THE WEB (09/28/02)
Phil Askey at DP Review has updated his Photokina coverage of the Sigma SD-9 DSLR camera, the first to feature the revolutionary new X3 image sensor announced by Foveon at PMA 2002, with all new sample images from a late model pre-production unit he was allowed to borrow during the trade show in Germany this week. These images are even better then his first set he posted (and has now replaced with these new ones), as he was able to take some outdoor shots in sunny weather. We have closely examined these new pictures as well as performed test prints and they are truly impressive. In addition, Phil has now added screen shots and some information on the Sigma RAW converter software which is necessary to use with the SD-9 DSLR camera as all SD-9 images are initially saved in a special Sigma RAW format. The software looks very well thought out and appears to offer great post shot control of the RAW data to obtain very dynamic and colorful shots! You really should check out Phil's sample images as this X3 image technology in the Sigma SD-9 looks like it will become an important development for the future of digital imaging. Sigma SD-9 sample pictures at DP Review.
Dave Etchells over at Imaging Resources has also been allowed to borrow a pre-production Sigma SD-9 DSLR at Photokina and has posted a story on the early performance of the Sigma SD-9 DSLR camera (3.5 megapixel Foveon X3 imager). Dave shows some comparisons to samples from a new 5 megapixel (traditional CCD imager) Sony F717 which is highly regarded in the consumer field as having one of the best overall picture results from its high quality lens and high capacity CCD (the Sony F717 has almost 1.5 million more pixel sensors than the SD-9). Once again, there are some very interesting results and Dave helps to show how the amazing X3 technology is working in comparison to current Bayer patterned CCD images. Be sure to also check out the Sigma SD-9 story by Dave Etchells at Imaging Resource.
In addition to the Sigma SD-9, Dave Etchells has also posted a story from Photokina regarding his first look at the Kodak DCS Pro 14n (an early pre-production unit) which features a huge full 35mm frame 14 megapixel CMOS image sensor and a Nikon lens mount! Although Kodak did not allow the posting of original sample image files straight from the pre-production camera, Dave has some close up views of the camera and a ton of shots of the LCD screen Menus giving us a better idea of its size, shape, features and button locations. Dave has also provided some great insight from his talks with key Kodak Pro representatives as to how the camera will compete in the current DSLR market and just how the new Kodak ERI JPEG file format really works. The Kodak ERI JPEG format is a very very interesting concept as it allows some RAW type post show adjustment from the unprocessed original RAW data that is stored in the JPEG header. This format or at least the concept behind it (they could switch to something like JPEG 2000) may become the standard for all DSLR and high end consumer digital cameras, including future Foveon X3 cameras so we think Dave's spotlight and great explanation makes for very interesting reading for all digital camera fans! Go check out Imaging Resources Photokina Kodak DCS Pro 14n Story!
As we mentioned the other day, we have been getting some really great breaking news from the European web site Let's Go Digital, so once again we want to remind you to be sure to check out their coverage which is provided in three languages including English. The Let's Go Digital site has posted new stories from Photokina almost daily including stories on a new 12X Panasonic 2 megapixel camera. There are also several new 5 megapixel cameras to report including a new Finecam 5 by Kyocera, a model by Contax and Casio. In addition, today the Let's Go Digital site has posted some more coverage of the Sigma SD-9 DSLR camera and they have some great information and shots of the near-final version of the camera.
Finally, again we would like to mention that our good friends over at Steve's Digicams and the Digital Camera Resource Page are also providing great coverage of the Photokina show, so be sure to make the rounds and get all the breaking news and information.
KODAK ANNOUNCES NEW 4.0 MEGAPIXEL CAMERA WITH SCHNEIDER PROFESSIONAL-QUALITY LENS (09/26/02)
Kodak has announced at the Photokina show this week the Easyshare LS443, a new 4.0 Megapixel digital camera which features a very high quality professional Schneider-Kreuznach Variogon 3x optical zoom lens. The camera also has a 1.8 inch color LCD which has a special non-glare coating for brighter indoor and outdoor viewing as well as a special scene mode with 5 different popular settings such as landscape, close-up, sports, night and movies. Other controls on the camera include a menu of three color modes, a burst mode for fast continuous shooting, an advanced auto focus system with options for low light and off-center subjects and a 3.3x digital zoom. The camera comes with a new special edition dock, 16 MB of internal memory & a SD/MMC slot for memory cards, an on camera "Share" button for quick e-mailing or printing along with the popular Easyshare software for easy transfer, organization and printing of digital images. The Easyshare LS443 will be available in October at a suggested price of $499. For full details, pictures and the official Kodak Press Release provided to us from Kodak check out our Kodak Easyshare LS443 Overview Page.
PHOTOKINA STARTS IN GERMANY (09/25/02)
The Photokina Photography Trade show has started today in Germany and given the 9 hour time difference to our location in California, day one has just finished. We are posting breaking news and key press releases through out the week as there are a lot of new products being announced and shown at the show for the first time, so be sure to keep checking back as we are gathering lots of information from many many sources. And for those of you who have not done so already, if you scroll down this entire main news page, we have posted a lot of stories all month on new camera announcements which are essentially related to the Photokina show, where the companies plan to first show them to the near 160,000 guests, visiting just over 1,500 Exhibitors at the show this year. Those wanting to visit the official web site can go to this link for the PhotoKina show.
In addition, Phil Askey over at Digital Photography Review is attending the show and is providing updates to his news page. Phil has obtained a pre-production model of the Sigma SD-9 camera, the first to feature the Foveon X3 technology which was announced at the PMA show last February. Phil has some great Sigma SD-9 sample pictures posted at his site demonstrating that the camera has some great capabilities.
We have been advised by Ritz Camera that they have been given the official date of October 21, 2002 by Sigma as the date the cameras will first ship in the USA and at the new price of $1799.00. We would expect it to be many days if not a week longer before Ritz can begin shipping its first cameras, which will likely be in very very limited availability at the beginning. Those wanting to get on the Ritz Camera first buy, first ship list with your credit card not being charged until the camera does ship to you from Ritz can use this new link which now includes new accessory items.
CLICK HERE TO BUY THE SIGMA S9 DIGITAL SLR CAMERA We have also been getting some great breaking news from the European web site Let's Go Digital, so be sure to check out their coverage which is provided in three languages including English. The Let's Go Digital site has posted stories on a new 12X Panasonic 2 megapixel camera which we are still waiting for official information from our contacts at Panasonic as to plans for the camera in the USA. There are also several new 5 megapixel cameras to report including a new Finecam 5 by Kyocera, a model by Contax and Casio.
Additional breaking news and very comprehensive coverage of all the press releases as well as show reports from Dave Etchells who is also at the Photokina show can be found at the Imaging Resource Web site.
Finally, our good friends over at Steve's Digicams and the Digital Camera Resource Page are also providing great coverage of the Photokina show, so be sure to make the rounds and get all the breaking news and information.
FUJI ANNOUNCES NEW FINEPIX M603 STILL & MOTION PHOTO CAMERA (09/25/02)
FUJI has announced a new compact camera featuring a 3.1 megapixel 3rd generation SuperCCD that can capture high quality VGA (640 by 480) video (with audio, continuous auto-focus and zooming capabilities) at 30 frames per second up to the capacity of the memory card. The camera has dual slots for the memory cards and can accept both the IBM Microdrive and the new xD cards. Currently using a 1 Gig Microdrive the camera can store up to 15 mins of VGA video in the best capture mode, and eventually on 8 Gig xD cards it will be able to capture up to 2 hours of video on one memory card. The camera has a 2X optical zoom (38 to 76 mm), 4.4 digital zoom (in VGA mode), ISO speeds up to 800 and 1600, burst mode of 4 frames per second up to 5 frames in full resolution mode, Voice Memo Mode, a large 2.5 inch LCD display, optional new high capacity battery, advanced playback funtions and movie editing, and an optional cradel unit for easy connectivity to a PC and recharging. The camera will be abailable this fall. US price will be announced later today. Here is the Fuji Photokina press release. For more information see our Fuji Finepix M603 Camera Overview Page and here for sample images or visit the Fuji Japan digital camera web site.
OLYMPUS AMERICA ANNOUNCES TWO NEW 5 MEGAPIXEL CAMERAS (09/24/02)
Olympus America announces today two new cameras which both feature 5 megapixel CCDs. The first camera, the advanced C-5050 features a 3X zoom lens, a very fast f1.8 lens, and a durable all-magnesium body. It has a built-in hot-shoe which will allow external flash units to be connected without cables, and in addition the Olympus FL-40 flash together with the C-5050 provides full TTL metering. One of the more interesting features is the ability of the C-5050 to use 4 different types of Media which fit into dual memory slots in the camera. The C-5050 takes the new xD Picture Cards or SmartMedia in one slot, and at the same time it can accept Compact Flash Type I or Type II cards including the IBM Microdrive in the second slot. The C-5050 Zoom has an optical viewfinder, and a bright 1.8" color multi-position LCD display. The camera has the additional features of full manual controls, Scene Program Mode, Auto-Connect USB, selectable ISO settings of 100, 200, 400, 1/1000 to 8 second shutter speed range, Quicktime Movies with audio, burst mode of 2.6 fps up to 11 frames in HQ mode, Manual "one touch" white balance settings, fine white balance setting, saturation, contrast & sharpness controls, use of 4 AA batteries, and has manual focusing.
The C-5050 camera includes an Auto-Connect USB cable, Audio/Video Out cable, carrying strap, lens cap with retainer cord, 4 AA NiMH batteries and charger, a 32MB xD-Picture CardTM, Olympus CAMEDIA Master Software 4.0, RM-1 Remote Controller, user manual and Quick Start guide. The C-5050 will be available in October at a street price of $799. For more details including the Olympus America Press Release, Product Photos and Specifications, see our Olympus Camedia C-5050 Overview Page.
The second camera announced today by Olympus America is the much smaller compact C-50 Zoom camera. In addition to offering a 5 megapixel CCD, the C-50 Zoom also features a 3X optical zoom in a very compact sized body. The C-50 Zoom is the first Olympus digital camera which takes advantage of the ability to make to camera body smaller by use of the new stamp sized xD-Picture Card. The camera has the following dimensions; 3.9" long x 2.3" high x 1.6" wide, and 6.84 ounces (8 ounces with battery and memory card). The C-50 also uses the same Olympus sliding clamshell lens cover found on many of prior Olympus models and has additional features which include, full manual controls, 1/1000 second to 8 second shutter speed range, 4X digital zoom, scene program mode, 1.5 inch color lcd display, 3.9 inch Macro Mode, ISO 80 to 320, Sharpness & Contrast controls,and Quicktime video with audio.
"The C-50 Zoom proves that good things do come in small packages," said John Knaur, Product Manager, Olympus America Inc. "This is the first time that Olympus has created a ultra-compact digital camera with an all-metal body. It's both stylish and durable.
The camera will include an Auto-Connect USB cable, Audio/Video Out cable, carrying strap, Li-B10 Li-ION battery and charger, a 32MB xD-Picture CardTM, RM-1 Remote Controller, Olympus CAMEDIA Master Software 4.0, user manual and Quick Start guide.The Olympus C-50 will be available in October at a street price of $599. For full details, product photos, the Olympus America Press Release and Specifications, see our Olympus Camedia C-50 Zoom Overview Page.
OLYMPUS ISSUES PRESS RELEASE ON NEW 4/3 SYSTEM DIGITAL SLR CAMERA STANDARD WITH KODAK (08/24/02)
A press release has been issued by Olympus in Japan and Europe and is now posted on Olympus web sites announcing a new 4/3 DSLR system camera standard. The information indicates that Olympus and Kodak are implementing a new digital slr standard which will use specially made lenses and body designs to match new CCDs that will be used. Although the initial concept is to use 4/3 sized CCDs which would have at least 5 megapixels and thus larger photo sites compared to most consumer cameras, this press release appears to indicate that CCDs, CMOS or other types of image sensors and with higher megapixels may be used in the 4/3 standard (which also uses a 4:3 aspect ratio) in the future. Could this be a clue that Kodak and Olympus are seeking to add Foveon and its X3 technology to the partnership? News that Kodak and Olympus are working on an actual 4/3 sensor has been confirmed by both Kodak and Olympus, and yet it seems very odd that with this big announcement today there is not even a working proto-type at Photokina or a specific future model announcment indicating the use of a specific Image Sensor?
The biggest issue being announced and confirmed today would be the fact that the new lenses are not made for 35 mm film cameras (with 35mm film being in a 3:2 aspect ratio and much larger in dimenstions) but instead would be a whole new standard designed and used to obtain a more optimal result from a better match between the lens and image sensor, also requiring a standard new lens mount. The lenses would be smaller and lighter in general according to the information, also allowing smaller DSLR bodies. The press release does indicate that Fuji has joined in on the new standard, so we might even see new SuperCCDs from Fuji in the 4/3 format that can be used with the new lens system. We expect a lot more information to come out soon. Here is the news we have so far.
Olympus and Kodak Agree to Implement 4/3 System Digital SLR Camera Standard
· First-of-its-kind common standard for digital cameras
· Secures lens mount compatibility among manufacturers
· New Universal Digital Interchangeable Lens System Forum to be establishedCologne, 24 September 2002 - Olympus Optical Co., Ltd. of Japan and Eastman Kodak Company of the United States today announced that they have agreed to implement the Four Thirds System (4/3 System), a new standard for next-generation digital SLR camera systems that ensures interchangeable lens mount compatibility. The two companies have resolved to aggressively implement this new standard in their respective product lines, and to establish the Universal Digital Interchangeable Lens System Forum, an industry forum that will promote acceptance of the Four Thirds System by other camera manufacturers. Fuji Photo Film Co., Ltd. has already agreed to participate in the new standard.
System Overview
The Four Thirds System is not based on existing standards for 35 mm film SLR camera system lenses, but instead establishes a new common standard for the interchange of lenses developed exclusively to meet the optical design requirements of digital SLR cameras.4/3-Inch Image Sensor Size
The Four Thirds System uses a 4/3-type CCD or other image sensor, and will facilitate the development of dedicated digital camera lens systems that maximise image sensor performance and ensure outstanding image quality while also being smaller than 35 mm film SLR camera lens systems.Lens Mount Standardisation
By establishing an open standard for camera body lens mounts, the new system will make it possible to standardise lens mounting systems, something that has been impossible to achieve with digital SLR cameras that are based on existing 35 mm film SLR lens systems. At the same time, the new system standard will set a rule for both the image circle size (the diameter of the area in which the subject is resolved) and the back focus distance (the distance from the lens mount to the image sensor).Development Background of the New Standard
Current digital SLR cameras with interchangeable lenses are essentially based on conventional 35 mm camera systems. As a result, they must be equipped with image sensors that are comparable in size to 35 mm and APS film. However, because the imaging characteristics of these large CCDs are fundamentally different from those of film, a number of issues can prevent them from achieving their full performance potential. These include: (1) Although film is capable of responding to light striking the surface at a high angle of incidence, a high angle of incidence can prevent sufficient light from reaching sensor elements at the periphery of a CCD and result in reduced colour definition, particularly when shooting with wide-angle lenses. (2) To achieve the resolutions required by the micron pitch of today's CCDs, the demands of optical design tend to result in the use of larger and heavier lenses.Moreover, manufacturers of digital SLR camera systems have until now adopted the mounting systems used in their own respective 35 mm film SLR cameras, making bodies and lenses produced by different manufacturers incompatible with one another. In light of these circumstances, the new Four Thirds System standard was conceived to facilitate the design and development of digital SLR cameras and lenses that maximise the performance potential of digital imaging sensors, and provide users with product advantages such as compact size, handling ease, and enhanced
