Digital cameras reviewed this week Sony Cyber-shot W150 review at Steves-digicams Fujifilm FinePix S100FS review at TrustedReviews Olympus E-520 compared to E-510 and rivals Olympus E-520 first look at DCResource Olympus E-3 review diary at Digital Outback Photo Panasonic DMC-TZ5 review at PhotographyBLOG Panasonic Lumix DMC-FX35 at DCResource

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Companies enter into agreement to enhance their innovation efforts in the field of consumer products including digital cameras.

Microsoft Corp. and HOYA CORPORATION PENTAX Imaging Systems Division have signed a patent cross-licensing agreement to further the development of each company’s current and future product lines, which will expand technological innovation and enhance the overall customer and consumer experience.

The agreement covers digital cameras made by PENTAX as well as a broad range of other consumer products each company manufactures and sells. Although the contents of the agreement, including the specific financial terms, have not been disclosed, the parties indicated that Microsoft is being compensated by PENTAX.

“When technological industry leaders collaborate through intellectual property licensing, we foster greater innovation that will benefit the customer, the consumer and the overall IT ecosystem,” said Horacio Gutierrez, vice president of intellectual property and licensing at Microsoft. “We are proud of the quality of our broad, global patent portfolio, and we are pleased that another consumer products company has recognized the value of our worldwide patent portfolio.”

“We believe that this contract will further solidify the alliance between the two companies,” said Ko Torigoe, general manager of HOYA CORPORATION PENTAX Imaging Systems Division. “We also expect that it will bring considerable benefits to consumers in the near future, as we should be able to shorten the time required for product development because of technological advancement by both companies, and therefore deliver higher-quality products to the market.”

Special underwater case for E-520

The PT-E05 underwater case has been specially customised for Olympus E-520 and is waterproof up to a water pressure equivalent to a depth of 40 metres. With its durable, high quality polycarbonate construction, it protects the camera from water while also cushioning it from knocks and bumps on land. As a genuine advantage to the underwater photographer, he can make use of the Live View function and use the large 2.7"/6.9cm LCD instead of the viewfinder. The flash connectors allow optional use of up to two UFL-2 underwater flash units. Five interchangeable lens ports allow the optional use of 14-42mm, 14-45mm, 11-22mm or 14-54mm, 7-14mm, 8mm Fisheye and the 35mm as well as the 50mm Macro lens. External flash necessary. The PT-E05 will become available in summer 2008.

Specifications

• E-520 Underwater case body
• Waterproof up to 40m
• Semi-transparency poly-carbonate
• Front cover and back cover, locked by a rotary buckle
• Two optical fibre connectors

Capture One 4.1 Introduces Lens+ and Focus+ Technologies Broadens DSLR Camera Support

Phase One today released Capture One 4.1, the RAW workflow software designed to deliver superior image quality.

Breakthrough Capture One 4.1 features tethered shooting with Phase One digital backs.The application introduces image-enhancing Lens+ and Focus+ technologies, initially supported on “Mamiya”-mounted Phase One digital backs with selected Phase One and Mamiya lenses.

“Superior image quality is Phase One’s consuming passion,” said Jan H. Christiansen,marketing director of Phase One. “We are committed to extending new technologies to answer the needs of the world’s most demanding photographers.”

Capture One 4.1 camera support now includes Mamiya ZD, ZD Back,Canon 450D/Rebel XSi,Nikon D60, Pentax K20D, K200D, K110D,K100D Super and Sony models DSLR-A350, DSLR-A300, DSLR-A200.The application is now available in 9 languages; other highlights include Hot Folder functionality (permits images shot with third-party applications to automatically appear in Capture One).For all cameras and files supported, please see: http://www.phaseone.com/4

Pricing and Availability
Capture One 4.1 is available today free to existing Capture One 4 users: see http://www.phaseone.com/4.The software is available to new users for a 30-day free trial, and the purchase price is 129 USD / 99 EUR. For a list of Phase One partners,please see: http://www.phaseone.com/partners. Capture One 4 PRO is expected later this year.

The ringflash was originally invented for medical photography. Its shadowless light makes it ideally suited to creating warts 'n' all images of, er, warts. We'll come back to that later. It was quickly adopted by macrophotographers, because having a flash that surrounds the lens makes it almost perfect for close-up work. Then in the 1970s, some bright spark thought of using it on people and the soft, even light has been in and out of popularity ever since.

Traditionally, ringflash units fall into two camps; expensive, specialist and dedicated to a camera, or really expensive, specialist and too heavy to use outside the studio. The common words - 'expensive' and 'specialist' - meant that until recently the ringflash was the preserve of the professional. The Ray Flash puts paid to that elitism; it's an adaptor that fits in front of your flashgun and uses a series of internal plastic prisms that redistribute the light output from your flash to a ring around your lens. The unit just slips on the front of your flash and a little plastic lever clamps it in place - no need to modify your flash, and you only sacrifice a stop of power in the process.

Ringflash creates a unique image, especially on people. Unlike many lighting systems, ringflash produce great photos when the subject is close to the background, because the flash casts an even, soft, halo-like shadow behind the subject or subjects. The light hitting the subject itself is shadowless,...

The Zeiss ZA Vario-Sonnar T* 24-70mm f/2.8 SSM will surely find many fans. In terms of resolution is may well be the hottest cake around in this class and neither distortions nor vignetting are problems to worry about (all within the APS-C scope). Lateral CAs may be visible at times in wide-angle images but it's a non-issue in the middle to upper zoom range. The only sour aspect of the lens is the quality of the bokeh (character of the out-of-focus blur) which could be better @ 70mm f/2.8 - this may cause headaches for some users. The lens is also somewhat prone to flare. The build quality of the Zeiss is very good although we expected a tad less plastic and some sort of sealing in a lens targeting the professional market. Both tested lens samples showed a centering problem at 70mm - this may be as simple as bad luck but it's unfortunate nonetheless. A highlight of the lens is the extremely fast and silent SSM AF drive - if you think the Canon or Nikkor variants are fast here you may need to prepare for a surprise. Regarding the sum of its characteristics the pricing of the Zeiss seem to be quite fair - it's similar to the Nikkor AF-S 24-70mm f/2.8 ED - although it isn't really a lens for the mainstream at around 1700US$/1450€.

more : photozone

Advanced Media, Inc., manufacturer and marketer of the popular Ridata brand of recordable DVD, flash media, electronic storage products, and digital accessories, has introduced a 32GB model to its 233x Lightning Series of CompactFlash® cards. Proving size does matter in memory cards, it boasts one of the largest capacities, fastest transfer rates available in a CF card. It joins existing 233x Series models featuring 2GB – 16GB storage capacities.

“Mobile digital products continue to get more and more sophisticated,” commented Harvey Liu, president of Advanced Media, Inc. “To that end, they require more data storage and faster read times. Our new 32GB 233x Lightning Series CompactFlash card delivers both. In today’s digital flash media world, size matters. And Ridata has it.”

The new Ridata 32GB/233X CF card is perfect for users of higher megapixel digital cameras. Its large 32GB capacity allows the user to store more photos, while virtually eliminating nagging wait time for data to record. Consumers are strongly urged to check the hardware device specifications to ensure the device used will work with higher capacity CF cards using the FAT32 file system.

As with all Ridata CF products, this latest introduction conforms to the CompactFlash Association Standard, is PC card Standard and PC card ATA compatible as it is with true IDE mode. It is designed to work with most devices and operating systems. It is also very durable and can withstand an extreme temperature range from below freezing to very high heat.
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You may know that there are a lot of great art galleries in Lansing, many of them centered in the Old Town neighborhood. Well, from now until June 30, the AE Gallery at 523 E. Grand River near old town is running a Lansing Photographers exhibit. Some great photographers are hanging their work there, including Doug Elbinger, Stan Simmons, Gabe Lopez, and many others including yours truly. I have five Polaroid pieces up, and I'm quite proud to be in my second show.

If you have the inkling of checking out what the local talent is up to, head over to AE Gallery, which is open between 11-7 Thursdays through Sundays. The first Sunday of every month is the Lansing Gallery walk, which would be a great time to check out the area. While you're there, don't miss your chance to eat at some local favorites, like Golden Harvest or Pablo's.