Archive for February, 2006
Digital camera users snap up Kodaks
Florida Today
Maker leads U.S. market for second year
ASSOCIATED PRESS
ROCHESTER, N.Y. – Eastman Kodak Co. captured the No. 1 slot in the ballooning U.S. digital-camera market for a second straight year, extending its lead over Japanese rivals Canon Inc. and Sony Corp.
Domestic sales of digital cameras surged 21 percent to 28 million in 2005, and Kodak’s market share leaped to 24.9 percent from 21 percent in 2004, according to data released Thursday by IDC, a research firm in Framingham, Mass.
Kodak shipped 7.05 million digital cameras to U.S. retailers last year, 43 percent more than in 2004. Tokyo-based Canon moved ahead of Sony into the No. 2 spot with 5 million shipments, a 16 percent increase, but its market slice still shrunk from 18.3 percent to 17.7 percent, IDC said.
Japan’s Sony, which lost its front-runner position in the U.S. market to Kodak for the first time in 2004, was third in 2005. It shipped 4.78 million cameras, up 10 percent from 2004, but its share of the U.S. market slumped to 16.9 percent from 18.5 percent, IDC said.
Canon benefited from robust sales of digital single-lens reflex cameras, IDC said, and Kodak is increasingly shifting its focus toward boosting sales of higher-end models.
Digital cameras began outselling film cameras in the United States in 2003. And in 2005, Kodak generated more annual sales from digital imaging than from film-based photography for the first time.
In the global digital-camera race, Kodak was third in 2004 with an 11.8 percent market share to Canon’s 17.1 percent and Sony’s 16.7 percent. While the 2005 rankings are still a few weeks away, “we don’t expect any big changes” but Kodak will likely make up some ground, said IDC analyst Christopher Chute.
February 20th, 2006
Instructors reveal their studios’ secrets
Part-time professors feel the full-time attention of the Nash Gallery’s newest exhibit
By Katie Wilber
Minnesota Daily
n a converted dance studio on the second floor of a downtown building, Jeff Millikan creates photography.
He fills his studio with an enormous camera, sizable photos of beeswax and a darkroom.
In a very different space, Millikan teaches photography.
As an adjunct faculty member of the University’s art department Millikan splits his time between his studio and the University’s art classrooms. His work, in and out of the University, makes his contributions to each space more meaningful.
He’ll reveal a bit of what goes on in his work space in “Diverse Connections,†an exhibit that features almost 40 adjunct faculty members like him.
The exhibit is self-curated, so each artist decides what works he or she wants to expose. The result: an impressive hodgepodge of paintings, photography, prints, book art, ceramic works, sculptures and electronic art.
“This is a special exhibit,†said Nicholas Shank, director of Katherine E. Nash Gallery. “We had one a while back, but we thought it was time to do it again.â€
Every department hires adjunct faculty members to teach courses. The partnership gives students the chance to work with community artists and provides the department of art instructors.
Millikan has taught photography as an adjunct faculty member for 25 years. Although he’s a photographer, he steers away from digital cameras.
His work focuses on the relationship people have with nature and the environment. One of his projects centers on the structures bees make in honeycombs. He carves into their workmanship. The bees try to fix those carvings, and he tries to direct them.
“It’s starting to seem kind of hopeless, though,†he said.
But the works are incredibly crisp and detailed. Millikan works with a camera about the size of a dorm room. The floors and walls and desks of his studio are covered with photographs of beeswax in various stages of development. The photographs are large, some as big as 30-inches by 30-inches. The bees are just as big.
Over in a corner a series of four shadow-box style photographs have birds or butterflies perched on baseball gloves. It looks like the bird and the glove are inside the box, but a second, closer glance reveals that it’s only a photograph.
James Burpee is a painter and works with oils on canvas. He is creating a series that celebrates nature. He takes photographs and uses Photoshop to crop the photos and adjust the colors.
I like to take the anomalies and surprises of nature and meld that with what a painting should look like,†he said.
Burpee taught at the Minneapolis College of Art and Design for almost 30 years but applied at the University after being “downsized.†He’s been here since 1997 and teaches one or two classes a semester.
“I love teaching, and they just let me come in and do my job,†he said. “I teach at all different levels, and it’s great.â€
Millikan and Burpee are only part of the vast array of local artists who share their talents with University students. “Diverse Connections†gives them the opportunity to showcase their own work rather than grading others’. Perhaps now their students will grade them.
February 20th, 2006
Photo finish in the digital world
By MELISSA LEE/For the Lincoln Journal Star
Not too long ago, customers would walk into Rockbrook Camera & Video and ask sales associate John Keller whether it was possible to develop film without a darkroom.
Today, the question takes a new form:Â Can digital film be developed and printed without a computer?
The answer is still yes, but to Keller, this new query is a sign of an evolving photographic market.
“Film photography is finding a smaller and smaller niche,†he said. “Everything’s better and quicker with digital.â€
Customers clearly agree. Drawn by the convenience and speed that digital cameras offer, they’ve seen to it that films and darkrooms are nearly things of the past.
For many photography businesses, it’s digital or bust.
Photo giant Kodak announced in 2004 that it would stop selling its film camera; Nikon has followed a similar path.
In Lincoln, too, business owners say they’ve had to adapt to digital or risk closing their doors as the film market dwindles.
“If you don’t embrace digital, you’re going to go out of business,†said Jeff White, general manager of The Photo Shoppe, which has locations at 301 N. Cotner Blvd. and 40th Street and Old Cheney Road.
White estimates he develops only half as much film as he did just a few years ago. Customers now demand digital prints, a demand he’s accommodated to keep thriving.
At Rockbrook, 70th Street and Pioneers Blvd., digital cameras now outsell film cameras by a 300-to-1 margin, Keller said.
Rockbrook still offers professional film developing and printing but in the decade the store has been in Lincoln, it’s had to adapt to digital to stay afloat, he said.
Now, the business even offers a digital photography class, taught by Keller, that offers customers the chance to learn how to use high-tech digital equipment.
“We’re still successful,†he said.
Not all photography businesses have been so fortunate. Harman’s Camera Center, for example, closed in January 2004 after 30 years selling and processing film in downtown Lincoln.
At the time, owner Jim Harman blamed the closing partially on the rapid rise of digital photography.
It’s a trend that hasn’t always been friendly, according to University of Nebraska-Lincoln photojournalism lecturer Luis Peon-Casanova.
“We’re seeing a brutal change of technology,†he said. “It’s an amazing shift. Companies are re-inventing the way they do business.â€
Today’s customers seek instant gratification, Peon-Casanova said, and digital photography offers them just that: They can shoot and re-shoot until they like the results, then get their prints the same afternoon.
In the past couple of years, the College of Journalism and Mass Communications at UNL has switched almost entirely to digital, Peon-Casanova said, and photographers at the student newspaper no longer need a darkroom.
Art students, though, continue to work with film.
White worries they may have increasing difficulty finding suppliers and developers.
“There’s so much competition. The small labs are closing up,†he said. “Digital has made the difference.â€
February 20th, 2006
Powering up digital cameras
Los Angeles Times
I would like to take issue with a reader’s comment recommending against lithium-ion batteries for digital cameras ["Quit Fixating on Those Megapixels," Letters, Feb. 5]. In my experience, rechargeable lithium-ion batteries have the highest shooting capacity and longest shelf-life when your camera is in the closet.
That said, the various batteries used in digital cameras are all satisfactory. Proprietary batteries suffer from the disadvantage that they can’t be replaced if they run out while you are shooting, so always have two. I have had no problem recharging batteries on trips; almost all chargers are universal and work at all voltages; all you need to use them in foreign countries is a cheap adapter plug.
February 20th, 2006
Expert’s tips put digital photography in focus
NorthJersey.com
By ABIGAIL LEICHMAN
STAFF WRITER
We asked Jim Miotke, author of “The Better Photo Guide to Digital Photography” (Amphoto, $24.95), for some basic how-to info.
Want more? Sign up for one of his 50 online courses at betterpho to.com.
Q. What are the basics of taking great pictures?
The easiest way to make a photo jump out is simply to move in closer to your subject.
Don’t use the LCD screen as a viewfinder. Even though it feels more comfortable, your pictures will turn out blurry because of camera shake. This is accentuated with telephoto shots, because it’s hard to hold the camera steady without a tripod.
For scenic nature photography, the best time of day is a half-hour before and after sunrise. That’s when you get the magic light. Photographing people right as the sun is setting produces a wonderful glow. Turn in the opposite direction from the sun and use that pink light.
When photographing kids, take many, many pictures. On a good day, it takes seven to 10 exposures to get one that really works.
Q. What is the “rule of thirds”?
A compositional principle originated by the ancient Greeks, this rule has been used in paintings for centuries.
You imagine two lines dividing your photo horizontally and vertically, like a tick-tack-toe pattern. Instead of placing your subject in the center, use these guidelines to place it in one of the inner sections or on one of the lines.
Generally, you should move in one-third from the left or right and one-third from the bottom or top.
Q. What kind of digital camera should I buy? What features are “must-have”?
Certain cameras fit certain people better. Are you a soccer mom? A nature enthusiast? What kind of pictures do you like to take? Ask yourself those questions and then look for features for your application.
To take pictures of friends and family, it’s essential to have a fairly large camera center with a high-quality zoom lens so you can get closer to your subject.
Megapixels are overhyped. A pixel is a picture element, like a tile on a mosaic. Megapixels are a million pixels; the more dots, the bigger you can make the picture. If you use your camera to print 4-by-6 photos or to e-mail photos, a 2- or 3-megapixel camera is fine. If you’re going to print 5-by-7 or larger photos, get a 4- or 5-megapixel camera.
If you want to get creative, the most essential feature is the ability to control aperture (lens opening). Look for a camera that lets you control it with a dial or knob.
For really great pictures, I recommend an SLR (single lens reflex) camera rather than the more common compact model. SLR gives you the ability to see exactly what you’re going to get. In a compact camera, you’re not looking through the lens, but through the viewfinder, and you just trust that you’ll get what you’re seeing. You can also add lenses to an SLR. However, SLRs are a bit bulkier.
Q. What is the best camera for taking everyday family-and-friends shots?
I like Nikon and Canon for SLRs and compact digitals and Sony for compact digitals.
Ask the salesperson to line up different cameras and press the shutter button on each one to see how long it takes to take the picture.
Q. I’ve heard the term “raw” associated with digital photos, but I don’t know what this is. Can you explain?
Raw is a file format popular among professional photographers, where no processing is done to your photo in the camera. You get to make the choices for how your photo looks afterward on the computer, like a digital darkroom.
Most people should stick with JPEG (a storage and compression format developed by the Joint Photographic Experts Group). It’s a fantastic application.
Q. How do I get my pictures off my camera?
Some come with docking stations. But what’s best for anyone halfway comfortable with computers is to get a little card reader, $30 to $40, that plugs into the USB port. You take out the camera’s memory card and plug it into the reader and your images are on your screen.
If that’s too intimidating, take the memory card to any photo lab in your neighborhood.
You also need software programs to organize your images and to make small changes like cropping and resizing. Programs such as Adobe PhotoShop Elements and Google’s Picasa do both.
Q. How do I get hard copies for my photo album?
It depends how much control you prefer to have and how fast you want your prints.
Take the whole camera or the memory card in to any local developer. (First delete those photos you don’t want to print.)
Use one of many professional online printing services (POPS), such as shutterfly.com or york photo.com. You upload the images to an online album, then use a credit card to order prints that come in the mail about a week later.
Buy your own digital photo printer. I really like the Epson line of inkjet printers. The one I use (the Photo 2200) is in the $700 range. I also highly recommend the Epson PictureMate at about $150. This makes 4-by-6 printing so easy!
February 17th, 2006
Fujifilm FinePix F10 Receives DIWA Platinum Award 2005 for Best Digital Amateur Camera
[Press Release] Business Wire via Yahoo! Finance
Monday February 13, 4:53 pm ET
Popular Consumer Digital Camera Recognized for its Design and Performance of Fujifilm’s Real Photo Technology
VALHALLA, N.Y.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Feb. 13, 2006–Today, the Digital Imaging Websites Association (DIWA) – a group of independent Web-based specialist publications dedicated to digital imaging – awarded its Platinum Award 2005 for “Best Digital Amateur Camera” to the Fujifilm FinePix F10.
In addition to praising the FinePix F10 for being a “beautifully designed camera in a robust metal casing”, DIWA highlighted Fujifilm’s Real Photo Technology for delivering, “low-noise images even at high-sensitivity, a perfect combination for sharp, blur-free images in dark surroundings and extended range for the built-in flash.”
DIWA members from Europe and the United States review digital imaging products on a regular basis. For digital cameras, more than 200 details are checked, tested and evaluated after which each review is carefully monitored and compared by DIWA to ensure error-free, reliable and comprehensive test results.
About Fujifilm
Fuji Photo Film U.S.A., Inc. is a subsidiary of Fuji Photo Film Co., Ltd. and delivers technology solutions to meet the imaging and information needs of retailers, consumers, professionals and business customers. As a global leader in digital imaging, Fujifilm pioneered the development of digital medical systems, and today is the leader in digital minilab systems. The company was ranked number 15 for U.S. patents granted during 2004, employs more than 75,000 people worldwide and in the year ending March 31, 2005, had global revenues of more than $23.6 billion.
In the United States, Fujifilm is a leader in delivering high quality, easy-to-use imaging and information solutions in the following categories: Digital Imaging Systems, Film and Imaging Systems, Recording/Storage Media, Motion Picture Film, Graphic Arts and Printing Systems and Medical Imaging and Diagnostics Systems. Fujifilm is an environmentally friendly, humane enterprise and an exemplary corporate citizen.
For more information on Fujifilm products, consumers can call 800-800-FUJI or access the Fujifilm USA Web site at www.fujifilm.com.
Consumers also can receive news and information direct from Fujifilm USA via RSS. Subscription is free at www.fujifilm.com/rss.
February 17th, 2006
Fujifilm FinePix F10 Receives DIWA Platinum Award 2005 for Best Digital Amateur Camera
[Press Release] Business Wire via Yahoo! Finance
Monday February 13, 4:53 pm ET
Popular Consumer Digital Camera Recognized for its Design and Performance of Fujifilm’s Real Photo Technology
VALHALLA, N.Y.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Feb. 13, 2006–Today, the Digital Imaging Websites Association (DIWA) – a group of independent Web-based specialist publications dedicated to digital imaging – awarded its Platinum Award 2005 for “Best Digital Amateur Camera” to the Fujifilm FinePix F10.
In addition to praising the FinePix F10 for being a “beautifully designed camera in a robust metal casing”, DIWA highlighted Fujifilm’s Real Photo Technology for delivering, “low-noise images even at high-sensitivity, a perfect combination for sharp, blur-free images in dark surroundings and extended range for the built-in flash.”
DIWA members from Europe and the United States review digital imaging products on a regular basis. For digital cameras, more than 200 details are checked, tested and evaluated after which each review is carefully monitored and compared by DIWA to ensure error-free, reliable and comprehensive test results.
About Fujifilm
Fuji Photo Film U.S.A., Inc. is a subsidiary of Fuji Photo Film Co., Ltd. and delivers technology solutions to meet the imaging and information needs of retailers, consumers, professionals and business customers. As a global leader in digital imaging, Fujifilm pioneered the development of digital medical systems, and today is the leader in digital minilab systems. The company was ranked number 15 for U.S. patents granted during 2004, employs more than 75,000 people worldwide and in the year ending March 31, 2005, had global revenues of more than $23.6 billion.
In the United States, Fujifilm is a leader in delivering high quality, easy-to-use imaging and information solutions in the following categories: Digital Imaging Systems, Film and Imaging Systems, Recording/Storage Media, Motion Picture Film, Graphic Arts and Printing Systems and Medical Imaging and Diagnostics Systems. Fujifilm is an environmentally friendly, humane enterprise and an exemplary corporate citizen.
For more information on Fujifilm products, consumers can call 800-800-FUJI or access the Fujifilm USA Web site at www.fujifilm.com.
Consumers also can receive news and information direct from Fujifilm USA via RSS. Subscription is free at www.fujifilm.com/rss.
February 17th, 2006
Panasonic Compact 10x Optical Zoom Camera
BIOS
Panasonic has introduced the Lumix DMC-TZ1, which is apparently the world’s smallest 10x optical zoom digital still camera.
The powerful 10x optical zoom Leica DC lens is incorporated into a compact, easy-to-carry body, made possible by the integration of a retractable lens system with folded optics technology.
Similar to all models in Panasonic’s line of digital still cameras, the TZ1 also features MEGA Optical Image Stabilization to reduce blurry photos caused by an unsteady hand. But boy does it look naff! What’s with the clunky finger grip?
The DMC-TZ1 is pitched as a high-performance camera, and features the newly developed Venus Engine III LSI, which claims to reduce chromatic aberrations that often occur in high-sensitivity modes of shooting.
The lens part of the DMC-TZ1 features the world’s first integration of a retractable lens system with folded optics technology, realised by the inclusion of a prism. It also incorporates three aspherical lenses, the crystallisation of Panasonic optics technology, all resulting in a powerful 10x optical zoom Leica DC Vario-Elmarit lens contained within a compact body. Sweet!
The DMC-TZ1 has a 2.5-inch LCD that promises clear and easy viewing, even in low-light situations, by automatically increasing the brightness levels when needed. It also has a recording capacity of 250 pictures on a single charge, thanks again to the Venus Engine III LSI’s advanced processor.
The Venus Engine III consumes only 80 per cent of the power used by the Venus Engine II in previous Panasonic cameras, even though the camera has significantly improved performance levels. Shutter release time lag is as little as 0.006 seconds, and shutter interval is approximately 0.5 seconds. Start up time is a rapid 0.95 seconds, claims the company.
The MEGA Optical Image Stabilizer is an indispensable feature for all digital cameras. It compensates for hand-movement by shifting the lens unit to keep the optical axis aligned straight against the CCD. The result should be images free from blur and with no deterioration of image quality, at slower shutter speeds of more than three steps compared to other conventional models that do not have Optical Image Stabilization.
This technology should also improve shooting long distance with the powerful zoom, as well as in low-light conditions when shutter speeds tend to slow, without worrying about image blur.
Also, the DMC-TZ1 allows shooting at a manually adjustable sensitivity setting of up to ISO 800 in full resolution, thanks to the greatly improved noise reduction levels which are achieved by the separate detection of both chromatic and luminance noise by the newly developed high performance image processor, the Venus Engine III.
The DMC-TZ1 is the first Panasonic digital still camera to adopt a Linear AF system. In addition to the increased focusing times, the noise of the motor is also reduced and it is now possible to zoom while recording motion images.
In addition to standard VGA (640×480 pixels) at 30fps motion image recording, the camera also records full-size movies in wide-aspect VGA (848×480 pixels) at 30fps, so they can be viewed on a widescreen TV.
The DMC-TZ1 features a total of 18 scene modes and the ‘High Sensitivity’ mode is designed for shooting moving subjects clearly without blurring at a maximum sensitivity setting of ISO1600. The newly incorporated ‘Beach’ mode is perfect for shooting in strong sunlight and the ‘Aerial’ mode assists with shooting through the windows of an airplane.
Additionally, there is the ‘Under Water’ mode which, when shooting with the separately available marine case, helps produce decent underwater shots. The marine case boasts a water-resistance of up to 40m deep and the ‘Under Water’ mode helps create images with ‘superb’ natural color, even at depths where there is little sunlight, says Panasonic.
The DMC-TZ1 incorporates 13.4MB of built-in-memory, enabling picture taking even without an SD Memory Card. The camera will be available in March for an MSRP of $349 (£199).
February 17th, 2006
Sony to launch two new compact digital cameras
MacCentral Online
By Martyn Williams, IDG News Service
Sony Corp. has updated its W-series digital still camera line with two new models that feature large LCD (liquid crystal display) monitors and are more compact than previous models.
The two new cameras, the DSC-W30 and DSC-W50, both offer a 6-megapixel resolution and have a 3X optical zoom lens. The main difference between them is in the size of the LCD monitor on their rear, the W30 has a 2-inch monitor while the W50 has a 2.5-inch monitor.
Other features include a light sensitivity setting up to ISO1000, which should make it easier to capture images in low-light conditions. Sony has also reworked the software to offer on-screen textual explanations of the various icons that appear on camera displays and sometimes confuse users. The explanations can be turned off if they are not needed. The cameras record images on Memory Stick Duo cards.
The W30 measures 89 millimeters by 59 mm by 23 mm (3.5 inches by 2.32 inches by 0.91 inches) and weighs 153 grams (5.4 ounces) and the W50 measures 89 mm by 57 mm by 23 mm (3.5 inches by 2.4 inches by 0.91 inches) and weighs 157 grams (5.54 ounces).
The DSC-W30 will be available later in February in the U.S. and will cost $230 and the DSC-W50 will be launched in March and will cost $250.
February 17th, 2006
360 Camera Remains Stationary While Top Rotates
Gizmodo
READ MORE: 360, Design Concept, Digital Cameras, Gadgets, Panaramic Photography
Cedric Tay of Yanko Design has dreamed up this 360 Camera, a cylindrical digital camera whose top section rotates to take a series of panoramic pictures while its bottom section remains stationary. Since the bottom part doesn’t need to move, it’s possible to secure the camera on a tripod and take an accurate series of shots to be stitched together later. The camera’s design even includes a built-in inclinometer which helps you make sure it’s level before you begin shooting. Take a series of shots, put it into QuickTime VR, and whoever looks at your photos will feel like they are there. It’s a design concept—no word if it will actually be manufactured—but let’s hope so.
February 17th, 2006
Next Posts
Previous Posts