Archive for March, 2006
Konica Minolta exits camera market
Pocket-Link.co.uk
30 March 2006 - Konica Minolta, has we previously reported in January will withdraw from the photographic market tomorrow.
The company has cited its inability to keep up with the demands and changing speed of digital photography for the move.
The company has said that from tomorrow customers with any servicing requests of Konica, Minolta and Konica Minolta branded products either within or outside of warranty, including Digital Still Cameras, DSLR cameras, Analogue SLR cameras, Analogue LS, Flashguns, lenses and accessories, Film Scanners is to be handled by the sole appointed servicing agent need to contact JP Service Solutions in Newcastle under Lyme.
Konica Minolta, which was created last year from the merger of Konica and Minolta announced that it was withdrawing from the digital camera by tomorrow and the photo business by 31 March 2007 to concentrate on other areas of its business.
In a statement issued in January the company said, “In today’s era of digital cameras, where image sensor technologies such as CCD is indispensable, it became difficult to timely provide competitive products even with our top optical, mechanical and electronics technologies.”
March 31st, 2006
Nikon says brisk digital camera sales to lift profits
Channel NewsAsia
TOKYO : Japan’s Nikon said that rising sales of high-end digital cameras were expected to boost its operating profits by 70 percent over the next three years.
Nikon, which has decided to stop selling most of its film cameras in favour of hot-selling digital models, said it would invest 265 billion yen (2.25 billion dollars) over the same period to strengthen its core business.
Under its three-year business plan, the company is aiming to post operating profit of 90 billion yen, current profit of 80 billion and revenue of 900 billion by the fiscal year to March 31 2009.
“The new business plan should allow us to enhance our leadership position in the high-end single-lens reflex (SLR) digital cameras market, while permitting us to grow even in a highly competitive market,” president Michio Kariya said Wednesday.
In the current year Nikon, which also makes ’steppers’, or etching machines used in the production of semiconductors, expects operating profit of 53 billion yen, current profit of 34 billion and revenue of 710 billion.
To enhance its position in the SLR digital camera and stepper markets, Nikon said it will spend some 165 billion yen on research and development alone to speed up the development of new products.
Nikon aims to boost its share of the SLR digital camera market to 42 percent by the third year of its business plan, from 32 percent now, Kariya said.
Nikon, along with Japanese rival Canon, is increasingly focusing on high-end digital SLR cameras which are more profitable than cheaper digital compacts where competition is fierce and demand peaking.
The Camera and Imaging Products Association of Japan sees low-end compact digital camera demand rising just four percent in 2006.
However shipments of high-end SLR digital cameras are seen expanding 23.4 percent this year. - AFP/de
March 31st, 2006
Camera in booths
OUR BUREAU/Calcutta Telegraph, India
Calcutta, March 30: The Election Commission has decided to use digital cameras for the first time in polling booths of the state to prevent false voting.
During the previous elections, EC-appointed observers would go from booth to booth with photographers on polling day to record the proceedings.
Chief electoral officer Debashis Sen said today that 3,000 digital cameras would be installed in polling booths to keep a record of voters without electronic photo-identity cards and prevent impersonation.
“Installation of cameras will help identify false voters and prevent booth capturing as election authorities will be able to identify irregularities at a booth,’’ said Sen.
The EC has informed the state government about its decision and the process of procuring the cameras has begun.
With polling to be conducted at 50,000 booths in five phases, about 10,000 booths would be set up for each phase on an average. The 3,000 cameras will be pressed into service in each phase.
According to poll panel directives, district magistrates and superintendents of police, in consultation with election observers, will identify the booths to be placed under camera surveillance.
Booths in areas where electronic photo-identity card coverage has been the lowest and those declared sensitive are likely to be brought under such surveillance. The EC is also contemplating use of cameras in booths where an extremely high percentage of polling took place in the 2001 Assembly elections.
Photographers from the media will not be allowed inside the booths.
The poll panel will also decide on the deployment of central paramilitary forces and state armed forces outside polling booths. The extent of their deployment is being worked out. The forces will be under the EC’s command.
Sen said both central forces and state forces would work in tandem at the booths. “It is not as if only central forces would be used and state armed personnel kept idle. Both will work hand in hand.’’
March 31st, 2006
Digital sales focus for Jessops
IT-Analysis.com
Camera and photographic goods retailer Jessops has reported a steady increase in sales, fuelled by buoyant demand for digital cameras.
Like-for-like sales - which strip out new store openings - in the 25 weeks to 26 March were up by 2.6% on a year ago, the company reported.
Profit margins were improved by exclusive merchandising deals together with developing and printing, it said.However, Jessops warned that conditions remained tough on the High Street.
New boss
Digital camera sales remained strong, it said, as consumers were eager to replace their old digital cameras with state-of-the-art cameras.
Demand was also fuelled by an advertising campaign showing the merits of new cameras with better features such as bigger screens, better lenses and longer battery life.
Sales of high-performance SLR cameras were up 52%, while sales growth for digital cameras overall was 15%.
Jessops said it expected its interim results to be in line with expectations.
Meanwhile, the company is preparing to welcome a new chief executive, Chris Langley, who will succeed Derek Hine when he retires on 17 May.
Mr Hine has been at the helm for eight years and steered the company towards its flotation in 2004.
March 31st, 2006
Lyra Says Nearly Half a Trillion Digital Pictures Will Be Captured in 2009
March 30, 2006/Tekrati Industry Analyst Reporter, CA
According to Lyra Research, the number of digital images captured worldwide will grow from under 40 billion in 2002, to almost half a trillion in 2009. A key concern in the digital camera industry is the growing importance of camera phones, rocketing from virtually nowhere in 2002 to nearly 60 percent of digital images captured in 2009. Lyra expects that many of these camera phone images will be short-lived, never making it to print.
March 31st, 2006
Top 10 Digital Camera Shooting Tips At PC Photo
Digital Camera Tracker (press release)
These days with digital darkroom tools like Photoshop digital shooters think they can not concentrate on taking the “perfect” picture because they can always “fix” it later in the computer. According to PC Photo, “How you first capture your subject tremendously affects what you can do in the computer and how you do it.”
The following tips will help you get the most from your digital camera. Once you hop over to PC Photo there is a complete description of each tip.
1. Be wary of underexposure.
2. Get what you pay for.
3. RAW is no substitute for shooting it right.
4. Avoid increasing noise.
5. Minimize banding.
6. Overexposure is bad, too.
7. Expose to use the whole tonal range of your sensor.
8. Sharpness comes from shooting sharp.
9. Think ahead as you shoot.
10. Compose to get the best shot from the start.
March 29th, 2006
Consumer News-Panoramic camera
ABC12.com, MI
UNDATED (WJRT) - (03/28/06)– If you’re sick of taking big group shots that cut off the people on the ends, or landscape photos that don’t get the whole mountain range, Kodak has a new wide-angle camera that might solve your problems.
Consumer Reports just checked out the new five-megapixel Kodak EasyShare V570–it’s the first subcompact digital camera that can take super-wide photos.
This camera actually contains two lenses. It has a regular zoom lens like most subcompact digital cameras, but in addition it has a fixed wide-angle lens that allows you to take those wide-angle shots. When it comes to print quality, the Kodak EasyShare did a very good job
Another feature Consumer Reports likes–the new Kodak can automatically stitch together two or three images to form a panoramic photo. You’ll lose a little resolution, but what that means is you’ll be able to print that photo directly from the camera.
But Consumer Reports says that the wide-angle Kodak EasyShare has some drawbacks. Testers are not impressed with its flash capabilities. And the camera uses a rechargeable lithium-ion battery instead of AAs, which can be more convenient. And unlike other digital cameras, you need a docking station to recharge the battery.
The main drawback, however, is the price. You’ll pay about $400 for the new Kodak EasyShare. But if you love the wide angle and the convenience of built-in panoramic capability, it may be worth the extra dollars.
If you don’t need an extra-wide-angle lens on your digital camera, Consumer Reports recommends a less-expensive alternative. The subcompact Canon Powershot S60 offers higher resolution and a much better flash range. And at $260, it’s a relative bargain!
March 29th, 2006
Canon launches new EOS 30D camera
By Joyce Au-Yong
The Edge Daily
Canon Marketing Malaysia has unveiled its latest digital single lens reflex (D-SLR) camera, the EOS 30D, a successor to its previous EOS 20D multi-range D-SLR camera.
Designed based on the older EOS 20D model, the new EOS 30D has several new features and enhancements that make it stand out from other competitors
“Through incorporating feedback from our EOS users with our strong heritage in imaging, we have developed a next generation digital SLR that will live up to the EOS reputation for superior performance at its price point,” said Canon’s senior director and general manager, Richard Yeow.
He was speaking to reporters in Kuala Lumpur on March 16 after the unveiling of EOS 30D.
Among some of the features that the EOS 30D offers include a larger LCD screen, measuring 2.5 inches, 1.9 times larger than the EOS 20D. It also has the ability to store as many as 9,999 pictures.
Equipped with a DIGIC II image processor (to enhance and speed up the image processing speed) and a CMOS image sensor (to produce pictures with less noise), the EOS 30D provides users with sharper and clearer pictures.
Another unique characteristic includes the interchangeable lens system. Previous EF and EF-S lenses as well as EOS accessories will fit into this new model, thus giving past users a stronger incentive to continue using Canon’s products.
“As more photographers begin to take their photography seriously, we believe that this affordable camera will be highly sought after serve as a launching pad into our EOS system, renowned as the world’s most comprehensive interchangeable lens system and huge range of flash units and accessories,” said Yeow.
The EOS 30D is retailed at RM5,499 for just the camera alone. With the additional EF18-55 lens, it retails at RM5,899.
March 27th, 2006
One camera. Many lenses.
PC Authority, Online
Dan Rutter’s column in Atomic 62, Enough with the megapixels, already!, talked a lot about, oddly enough, megapixel counts on consumer-level digital cameras. While he did make a great point about megapixels no longer being much of a benchmark for camera performance - ie. more doesn’t necessarily mean better - he only touched on the other critical part of any camera, digital or analog - the lens.
A camera is only as good as the lens it’s attached to and, if you buy yourself a Single-Lens Reflex (SLR) camera you’ll more than likely be able to remove and replace the camera’s lens
Why is this important? Why is your 3-megapixel Sony Cybershot not going to compete with a Nikon D70 or Canon 300D? True, the two latter cameras have superior image sensors and processors, but they can also support a variety of lenses. The fixed lens on the cheaper camera is exactly that — cheap. Not only that, it’s designed to cope with all sorts of situations, from landscape to portrait to macro. This presents a number of design challenges, some of which cannot be overcome.
Like the human eye, a lens is designed to focus light onto a sensor (for us, that would be the retina). And, just like your eye, a lens has to focus. If you have a bad lens then it’s not going to focus that light properly onto the sensor and you’ll end up with a fuzzy image, or one with bad colours. Lenses can cause a range of problems, from chromatic aberration (glowing purple edges on sharp colour or contrast transitions), vignetting (a darkening around the edges of the images), distortion (usually only found to a serious degree on large-range focal length lens like 18-125mm) and blurring. Obviously, a consumer-level camera with a fixed lens will be custom made for that camera, but it will be built to the same price ceiling as that camera and it will severely limit any creative impulses you may have.
Material quality also plays a role. If the lens glass isn’t the greatest, it may diffuse the light before it hits the sensor. A bad lens can even enhance chromatic aberration and no matter how much you play with the lighting you’ll still have problems. This is why people rave about lens from companies like Carl Zeiss, because they are damn nice.
Unfortunately, Carl Zeiss doesn’t make lenses for Canon or Nikon cameras — but you can buy special attachments to get Zeiss lenses for other cameras onto these more affordable models.
To give you an example of the power of interchangeable lenses, here’s a shot I recently took with a fixed focal length 90mm Tamron macro lens. You can’t do these kinds of shots with a kit lens, and there’s no way you can do it with any fixed lens consumer-level camera.
If you’re going to buy a camera, you might as well get one you can upgrade.
March 27th, 2006
Panasonic’s AG-HVX200 wins ‘Camera of the Year’ award at the second Digital Studio Industry Leadership Awards 2006
AME Info
Panasonic, the leading global manufacturer of consumer electronics, has announced that its newly launched AG-HVX200, the world’s first hand-held high definition solid-state memory camcorder has won the ‘Camera of the Year Award’ at the second Digital Studio Industry Leadership Awards 2006 that was held recently on the sidelines of Cabsat 2006.
The HVX200 uniquely combines multiple high definition and standard definition formats, multiple recording modes and variable frame rates, and the vast benefits of P2 solid state memory recording in a rugged, compact design.
Commenting on the achievement, Ono Asahiko, General Manager, System Solutions, Panasonic Marketing Middle East, said, ‘Ever since the launch of the HVX200, we were confident that it would be an attention-grabber, as it is loaded with a host of features, powerful capabilities and exceptional image quality. Winning this important award is indeed satisfying and the credit goes to the entire team that has been involved in making this product.’
‘The fact that this year witnessed a significant increase in participation from across the Middle East region, makes winning this award all the more special to Panasonic. We are certain that the HVX200 will be a fast-selling product in this market, with a growing number of consumers looking for high quality, multi-format cameras,’ he added.
With the ability to capture images in 21 video formats, the ultra-versatile HVX200 records in high definition in 1080i and 720p in production-proven 100 Mbps DVCPRO HD quality. The DVCPRO HD format offers users cost-effective, intra-frame compression, where each frame stands on its own for editing, and its full 4:2:2 color sampling allows the image to hold up under color correction.
The camcorder has two P2 card slots and offers a variety of record modes including hot-swap recording to ensure continuous recording. With the P2, all moving parts are eliminated from the recording path, which ensures that the HVX200 is extremely reliable and resistant to environmental conditions including the shock and humidity that threaten camcorders based on mechanical recording transports. Moreover, for operator convenience, the camcorder is highly customizable with features including six user scene files, three user setup buttons, and Camera Setup Memory.
March 27th, 2006
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