Archive for September, 2006
Future Publishing confirms magazine closures, but games titles safe
GamesIndustry.biz, UK
Tech titles in firing line but games mags not affected
Future Publishing has confirmed it is to sell or close a number of titles in its portfolio, but all games titles are currently safe.
“We are exploring options to sell titles, but none are from the games portfolio,” confirmed a spokesperson for the company.
Managing director Robert Price sent an email to all staff this afternoon detailing reasons for the refocus.
“Against a backdrop of challenging market conditions currently faced by all publishers, we simply cannot afford to invest on all fronts, so these changes enable us to support our core print businesses and our planned areas of expansion mid-term, particularly online,” he said.
“A number of magazines will be sold or closed,” said Price. Titles singled out include DJ, Total Mobile, Digital Camera Shopper and Home Entertainment Week.
Future publishes a range of videogame magazines, including Edge, GamesMaster, Xbox 360: The Official Xbox Magazine and PC Gamer.
September 29th, 2006
Canon IXUS i7 7.1 Megapixel Digital Camera
MobileWhack.com, Australia
Canon’s newest camera, the IXUS i7, is literally changing the face of digital cameras. The 7.1 Megapixel CCD camera has a 2.4x optical zoom and 1.8 inch LCD Screen.
The metal-clad camera is designed for compact use, like a pocket or small bag. It also comes in four different colors including steel gray, denim blue, dark brown, and sizzling pink.
Canon’s Face Detection AF/AE system is connected to the Digital IXUS i7 zoom in order to make people’s faces be clearer than ever with its Auto Focus and Auto Exposure. This process can automatically detect the faces of nine subjects within a frame and adjusts for a clearer, sharper picture. The camera automatically fills in the flash for strong backlighting by adjusting the exposure on the individual faces. This makes the camera ideal for parties and group photos.
Another feature is the Safety Zoom, designed to give maximum zoom magnification in shooting smaller size image without the reduced image quality. It also features 17 different shooting modes, as well as special scenes and movie modes.
Image management is handled with a special program called My Category, a method of cataloguing the shots by people, scenery, or event. These categories can be customized, but they also can be automatic, depending on the shooting mode and face detection activation. Also, the one-touch direct printing is easily managed with the camera’s Print/Share button that also acts as the shutter release. The Intelligent Orientation Sensor can automatically rotate any vertically shot photo and adjust them for the correct playback on LCD, TV, or PC.
The IXUS i7 also comes complete with a docking station that is useful as a base for printing out images. It can also use image transfer technology to beam straight into your television. The included remote control also gives you more power to select an image, or create a slideshow.
The Canon IXUS i7 should be available in October 2006, at about $470 USD.
September 28th, 2006
Famed analog camera makers seek digital niche
Macworld, CA
If you can’t beat them, join them. That’s the motto of two of the world’s most renowned makers of analog cameras, Germany’s Leica and Denmark’s Hasselblad, which have used the Photokina imaging show in Cologne, Germany, to launch several high-end digital cameras in an attempt to counter the market dominance of Asian manufacturers.
“Last year, we had serious economic problems to contend with,” said Josef Spichtig, Leica’s chairman of the management board at a news conference. “The key question was whether the company would be able to carry the values and quality characteristics it had developed in the analog world into the digital world. The answer is yes as our new products show.”
Spichtig’s colleague, Ralph Nebe, director of marketing and sales, said that the six new digital cameras launched at Photokina show the company is pursuing “a course of its own in the changed camera market.”
At the top of the range is the Leica M8 digital single lens reflex camera (DSLR) with the Leica viewfinder system. A low-noise CCD (Charge Coupled Device) image sensor ensures a resolution of 10.3 megapixels. Leica has developed two new lenses for the camera, which can also be used with virtually all lenses in the company’s M range produced since 1954.
The M8 will start shipping at the end of November. No pricing information was available.
Among Leica’s other new digital cameras is the V-Lux 1, an SLR model featuring a swivelling 2 inch TFT (thin-film transistor) display, and the 10 megapixel compact D-Lux . Both cameras will start shipping next month.
In a move to carve out its niche in the new world of digital photography, Hasselblad launched what the company claims to be the world’s first 48 millimeter full-frame DSLR camera.
The H3D is available in two models, the H3D-22, which offers a resolution of 22 megapixels, or the H3D-39, offering 39 megapixels on “the largest image sensor currently available in digital photography” — more than twice the size of a high-end 35 mm camera sensor, the company said.
The camera is built around a new digital camera engine. Information about lens and exact capture conditions are fed into the engine for ultra fine tuning of the auto-focus mechanism, taking into account the design of the lens and optical specification of the sensor. Another feature is Digital APO Correction (DAC).
Pricing and availability information was not immediately available.
September 27th, 2006
Kodak Intros 7.1 Megapixel Digital Camera
TechWeb
By W. David Gardner, TechWeb Technology News
Eastman Kodak unveiled several new digital photography products and upgrades to its self-service kiosks at the Photokina trade show in Europe Monday.Kodak unveiled Easyshare Z710 Zoom Digital Camera, which features a 7.1 megapixel image sensor and 10x optical zoom. Kodak said the camera can make high-quality prints of up to 30 by 40 inches.
It also introduced the Easyshare Photo Printer 350, which utilizes Bluetooth wireless technology. The printer prints 4 by 6 photos directly from Bluetooth devices.
Kodak also beefed up its kiosks with new software and an upgrade for its Picture Kiosk GS Digital Station. The Picture Kiosk GS Digital Station supports printing by different methods including Bluetooth. The upgrades enable users to print photos at 11 seconds per print.
The Kodak Picture Kiosk G4 Software V1.1 enables users to create different specialty products ranging from greeting cards, calendars and collages.
September 26th, 2006
New Canon Powershot S2
Byte Camera.com
NEW CANON POWERSHOT S2 IS DIGITAL CAMERA ADDRESSES HIGH PERFORMANCE PHOTOGRAPHY AND VIDEO RECORDING NEEDS Five Megapixel Hybrid Digital Camera Features 12x Image Stabilized Optical Zoom, High Quality VGA Movie Mode, New “MovieSnap” Function and Stereo Sound LAKE SUCCESS, N.Y., April 22, 2005 – Family vacations. Weddings. Sporting events. Baby’s first steps. Just hanging around.
Canon’s new five megapixel PowerShot S2 IS digital camera allows consumers from the novice to the photo enthusiast the ability to capture high quality still images and movie clips of life’s most significant events.
“Canon leads the photo industry.
Our convergent digital imaging technologies allow consumers to enjoy both high quality photos and video in one portable imaging device,” stated Yukiaki Hashimoto, senior vice president and general manager of the consumer imaging group at Canon U.S.A., Inc, a subsidiary of Canon Inc. (NYSE: CAJ). “The PowerShot S2 IS digital camera combines exceptional ease-of-use, functionality and image quality in a lightweight package.”
September 25th, 2006
Samsung Set To Enter SLR Camera Market
Smart House, Australia
David Richards - Friday, 22 September 2006
The onslaught of 10-megapixel digital SLRs continues as Samsung gets ready to throw its hat into the ring with a new GX-10 which is built using Pentax technology.
The model borrows many of the features of the recently announced Pentax K10D, including its dust reduction system, weather-resistant housing and CCD-shifting image stabilisation. Samsung and Pentax partnered last year to develop digital SLRs and other imaging technologies.
The GX-10 joins Samsung’s existing d-SLRs (the GX-1 and GX-2). It is expected to ship later this year and will compete heasd on with Canon and Sony.
It features a one-touch RAW shooting button, a 210,000, 2.5-inch LCD screen, 3 fps shooting to an unlimited number of JPEGs or up to nine RAW images.
Schneider optics will launch five new D-Xenon lenses for Samsung’s GX-series of d-SLRs. The lenses will include a 10~17mm, F3.5-4.5 fish-eye zoom, a 12~24mm, F4 ultra-wide zoom, a 16~45mm, F4 wide zoom, a 35mm, F2 fixed focus and a100mm, F2.8 macro lens. Prices were not announced.
Samsung’s SLRs also work with Pentax’s KAF2, KAF and KA mount lenses.
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September 22nd, 2006
Samsung launch GX-10 DSLR digital camera
Pocket-lint.co.uk, UK
21 September 2006 - Samsung today announced the launch of the 10.2 mega-pixel GX-10 digital SLR, which it says will be positioned firmly towards the “discerning enthusiast photographer searching for comprehensive functions, stunning design, ease of use and real value for money - all in one camera.”
Samsung also announced the launch of five more lenses, that each would be released before the end of 2006 that will work with the new model and the company’s current DSRL the GX-1 series.
The new model will feature a 2.5-inch TFT LCD (210k pixels) and built-in Optical Picture Stabilization (OPS) technology, support high sensitivity ISO 1600, offer TTL phase-matching 11 points wide AF and TTL open-aperture 16 segment metering system.
Furthermore, Samsung is stating that the GX-10 come with a special water-proof and anti-dust coating to allow users to take photographs in difficult situations.
Continuous shooting at 3 fps (frames per second) is possible; RAW files can be shot at the same speed up to 9 frames, and the RAW files can be checked on the LCD and then be directly converted to JPEG format via the built-in converter for convenience.
The GX-10 and lenses are expected to be available from October, with the price being announced at that time.
Samsung also announced that five kinds of lenses will be launched by the end of 2006. These lens have been designed to enable real freedom in the creative process and include: fish eye lens (fish eye 10-17mm F3.5-F4.5 ED), an ultra wide zoom lens (12-24mm F4 ED AL), a wide zoom lens (16-45mm F4 ED AL), a fixed focus lens (35mm F2 AL) and a macro lens (Macro 100mm F2.8). The lenses will also be compatible with the DSLRs launched by Samsung earlier in the year – the GX-1S and GX-1L, which were aimed towards the serious amateur photographer.
September 21st, 2006
Minox updates retro digicam
imaging resource, GA
By Michael R. Tomkins, The Imaging Resource
(Tuesday, September 19, 2006 - 02:41 EDT)
German camera company Minox (famous for its sub-miniature “spy” film cameras of days gone by) has announced an update to one of its digital camera models.
The Minox Digital Classic Camera Leica M3 5.0 retains much the same styling as its predecessors, which date all the way back to the DCC M3 1.3 announced back in September 2002.
Resolution remains identical to the most recent two versions - the DCC M3 3.2 and 4.0 - which have both used a 3.2 megapixel CMOS image sensor. Where the M3 4.0 interpolated the 3.2 megapixel sensor data to a resolution of four megapixels, the DCC M3 5.0 interpolates even further to five megapixel resolution. Thankfully, the camera’s native 2048 x 1536 resolution is offered as well, so users won’t be forced to expend valuable storage space on data that could have been interpolated on a PC once home. The three megapixel sensor is coupled to a 42mm-equivalent fixed focal length, fixed aperture, fixed focus lens with glass elements.
Increased interpolation is far from the only change - the new DCC M3 5.0 is probably the biggest update to the line since the original 1.3 megapixel model, and should prove much more useable thanks to two changes in particular. Firstly, where the previous models offered only a Galilean optical viewfinder, the M3 5.0 supplements this with a new 1.5″ LCD display - perhaps a bit small for a digicam these days, but that’s understandable given the size of the M3 5.0 (and a welcome addition that will allow both more precise framing, and the ability to review images immediately after capture). The other main change is the addition of a Secure Digital card slot - meaning that users will be able to store many more images than was previously possible in the camera’s limited 32MB internal memory. The built-in memory is retained, allowing the camera to be used straight out of the box.
Pricing and availability have not been announced at this time.
September 20th, 2006
Canon Ixus i7 7.1-Megapixel Digital Camera
Gizmodo.com, Hungary
Canon’s about to release the Ixus i7, a 7.1-megapixel digital camera that comes in an all metal case. The camera will be available in four different colors, blue, gray, sepia (dark brown) and pink. It’s able to detect a person’s face so as to focus on it, hopefully making it easier for people with shaky hands to take better pictures.
That’s a feature that’s been making its way into Canon’s cameras for a while now.
The pink i7 will be available exclusively through John Lewis, some UK-based mail order/online retailer. It’s expected to be available in October for around $470. – Nicholas Deleon
John Lewis bags exclusive on Canon’s sizzling pink IXUS snapper and Bright new IXUS i7 snappers zoom into view [Gadget Candy]
September 19th, 2006
Canon allows comfort with A540
The Money Times, India
One up from the low end of the camera models announced by Canon, prior to the Spring 2006 PMA show, the PowerShot A540 comes in just above the A530 model. The extra money you spend on this A540 will be well-spent though.
The A540 features six-mega pixels of resolution together with a retractable 4x optical zoom lens with a focal length of 35-140mm (35mm equivalent). This model incorporates 22 shooting modes from fully automatic to fully manual to achieve optimum results for any photographic application
The maximum movie frame rate is a full 30 frames/second, even at 640×480 resolution. But the pinching part at that resolution is that all you can click is some six frames.
ISO light-sensitivity ranges from 80 to 800. But one will have to tolerate more noise as the price of higher sensitivity.
The camera also features a large 2.5- inch 85,000-pixel LCD color monitor, making it easier than ever to review captured images and even to do limited in-camera image editing. Shutter speed ranges from 1/2,000 to 15 seconds, depending on aperture.
The Canon A540 stores its images on SD memory cards, which is rapidly becoming the dominant memory card format for digital cameras. Consumers benefit from accelerated image transfer speed thanks to the inclusion of a Hi-Speed USB 2.0 port.
‘My colors’ mode has been enhanced by Canon. Where previously, users could only enable ‘My Colors’ while shooting, the current model permits captured images to be retouched as well, without the need for special software applications or tools.
It’s pretty lightweight at 7.8 ounces. “Canon has used the space intelligently, turning it into a hand grip with most of the A540’s weight in the grip. That makes it easier to handhold in low light, giving it a little more resistance when you press the shutter” Said Andrew Wilson, a user.
The digital camera kit includes a USB cable, audio and video cable, wrist strap, 16MB MultiMediaCard and two AA-size Alkaline batteries as well as the Canon Digital Camera Solution Disc Version 22. A540 can be a good choice for budding photographers and can be yours for $299.99.
September 18th, 2006
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