January 2004 news and reviews

Pentax USA today announced that it is cutting $300 from the retail price of the *ist D digital SLR as well as an additional $200 from the 16-45 mm DA lens if bought with the camera. By our estimates this means you should be able to get the *ist D with the 16-45 mm lens for around $1630 ($1399 for the discounted body and $229 for the lens), that's the camera and lens bundle for around $60 under the original retail price for the body alone. In addition Pentax USA has also cut $30 from the Optio S retail price and $50 from the Optio 550, 555 and 33WR.

According to a story yesterday on CNET it seems that we will have yet another flash memory format after February 5th, from the Universal Transportable Memory Association (UTMA). The UTMA is a consortium of unnamed consumer electronics manufactures. The cards will be smaller than Secure Digital (SD) cards, and initially be available in 1GB format with capacity increasing over time. From the URL of the web site it may be called "Fish Memory" Update: More details from the Inquirer, its a USB stick!!

Pre-PMA 2004: Due the popularity of this feature in the last two years and knowing the importance of the PMA show I have now activated our PMA 2004 show report page. The show report will enable you to stay informed about all the latest product announcements as well as live updates from the show floor once the show commences. We are expecting several announcements in the next two weeks which will be posted both on the front page of the site and linked from the 'New Product Index' page in the show report.

Pre-PMA 2004: Canon today announced the impressively specified EOS-1D Mark II which features a new 8.2 megapixel CMOS sensor, it can shoot at just over eight frames per second and has a 40 frame JPEG image buffer (20 frames in RAW mode). This means that shooting at full resolution at full speed the camera is buffering 69 megapixels per second (or 100 MB/sec). Other changes include the addition of a USB port, an SD slot, the removal of the external white balance sensor as well as some subtle body styling changes. The cost? $4,499 to you Sir... We have a detailed preview available.

Pre-PMA 2004: Canon today announced the latest version of its Data Verification Kit, the DVK-E2 kit is designed to deliver validation of an unmodified original image from a single camera body. This kit is aimed at law enforcement, insurance, news and other such agencies and can detect single bit discrepancy in modification of an image since it was taken. The new kit is much smaller than the old and uses a unique SM (secure mobile) card which is the same size as a Secure Digital card. The card reader connects to a computer USB port (only Windows 2000/XP compatible at the moment).

Pre-PMA 2004: Canon has today announced the new EF 70 - 300 mm F4.5 - F5.6 DO IS USM zoom lens, the first zoom lens ever to use Diffractive Optical (DO) elements. These new elements, seen previously only in the 400 mm F4.0 DO lens enable this 4.2x telephoto zoom lens to measure less than 10 cm long at the 70 mm position. On a digital SLR with an 1.6x FOV crop such as the EOS 10D this lens has an effective field of view of 112 to 480 mm, on the new EOS-1D Mark II the lens has an effective field of view of 91 to 390 mm. The lens will be priced at $1,299 (US) / €1,299 (EU).

Pre-PMA 2004: Canon today announced the new EF 28 - 300 mm F3.5 - F5.6 L IS USM lens. This new lens provides almost eleven times push-pull zoom from a wide angle 28 mm and also adds Image Stabilisation (IS). On a digital SLR with an 1.6x FOV crop such as the EOS 10D this lens has an effective field of view of 45 to 480 mm, on the new EOS-1D Mark II the lens has an effective field of view of 36 to 390 mm. The lens will be priced at $2,499 (US) / €2,499 (EU).

Pre-PMA 2004: Nikon today announced details of its $1000 D70 digital SLR. The D70 appears to be based around either the same or a similar CCD as the D100's (not LBCAST as some had predicted). Body design is also very similar to the D100, a few of the new design hints such as the triangular red stripe on the hand grip come from the D2H. This clearly opens up the entry level digital SLR market yet further providing real competition to the Canon EOS 300D. The D70 will cost $999 as body only and $1299 with the new 18 - 70 mm DX lens. We have a detailed preview available.

Pre-PMA 2004: Nikon has today announced the eight megapixel, eight times optical zoom Coolpix 8700. Looking very similar to the Coolpix 5700 the 8700 appears to share an almost identical body (although the LCD monitor is larger) and lens system (35 - 280 mm equiv, F2.8 - F4.2). The Coolpix 8700 has a magnesium alloy body, a Compact Flash Type I/II media slot, is powered by a rechargeable Lithium-Ion battery and can shoot continuously at 2.5 frames per second for up to five frames. This camera becomes only the second eight megapixel prosumer level digital camera announced to date (Sony's DSC-F828 being the first).

Pre-PMA 2004: Nikon has today announced the AF-S DX Zoom-Nikkor 18 - 70 mm F3.5 - F4.5 G IF-ED lens (what a mouthful!). This new lens joins the range of DX Nikkor lenses which are designed specifically for DX compatible Nikon digital SLR's. Of course the 18 - 70 mm DX is the perfect complement to the newly announced D70 digital SLR. On any Nikon DX compatible digital SLR this lens provides an equivelant field of view of 27 to 105 mm (approx. 4x zoom). This lens is also obviously aimed to 'one up' the Canon 18 - 55 mm lens which now falls short at the telephoto end.

Pre-PMA 2004: As part of a range of announcements and to complement the new D70 Nikon has today announced the Speedlight SB-600. "When used in combination with Nikon's latest digital SLRs, the D70 or D2H, the SB-600 supports Advanced Wireless Lighting as a remote Speedlight that can be positioned as one of multiple remote flashes to significantly extend creative possibilities. To assist in such situations, the Speedlight SB-600 also has two Ready Lights located on both the left and right of the front that can be easily seen from a distance. The SB-600 can also emit an audible alert for further assistance."

Pre-PMA 2004: Nikon enter the mobile storage market with the new CoolWalker product line, starting with the MSV-01. The CoolWalker MSV-01 has a 2.5" TFT LCD monitor, rubberized body finish, a Compact Flash Type I/II slot (other media supported via CF adapters), 30 GB hard disk, Hi-Speed USB 2.0 interface, Audio/Video output plus supplied IR remote control, is powered by a Lithium Polymer battery and has PictBridge direct printing support. The CoolWalker MSV-01 measures 130 x 81 x 35 mm (5.1 x 3.2 x 1.4 in) and weighs just 350 g (12.3 oz). The CoolWalker supports JPEG, TIFF and NEF (Nikon RAW from digital cameras) as well as the playback of audio and video clips (Motion JPEG).

Pre-PMA 2004: Nikon today announced PictureProject a new application set to replace NikonView for new Nikon digital cameras. The new software supports automatic transfer of images from the camera as soon as it is connected, a new single window management system, quick browsing, searching and keyword attachment. "Beginning this spring, it will be included with newly released Nikon digital cameras, not merely as a complimentary offering, but as a powerful tool that adds value and enjoyment to digital photography. Signaling Nikon's intention to expand and further strengthen its software portfolio with add-on tools and higher-function products to come, PictureProject is about to change the digital photography experience."

Casio today posted firmware Version 1.0.2 for the Exilim EX-Z4. This firmware fixes a problem that occurs in the Voice Recoding Mode when the memory becomes full, and also improves white balance performance. As usual please read carefully the firmware installation information before installing the Casio Exilim EX-Z4 firmware!

Olympus today announced that the latest version of its Olympus Viewer or Olympus Studio (1.1) can automatically check for new firmwrare updates for E System digital cameras over the Internet (starts 28th Jan). "Once they have the latest version of the software, updating the firmware is incredibly easy. After connecting the camera to a Mac or Windows computer* and logging onto the internet, the user just needs to start the ‘Firmware Update’ function in the ‘Help’ menu in Olympus Viewer or Olympus Studio. This initiates a check of the firmware in the camera body and any connected lens and flash. If necessary, the latest version can be automatically downloaded and installed."

Canon today posted firmware Version 2.0.1 for the EOS 10D digital SLR. This firmware fixes the display of color temperature in playback mode after pressing the INFO button, this is clearly a small step update from version 2.0.0. Updating is very easy, simply drop the firmware update file onto a Compact Flash card, insert it into the camera, power on and select 'OK'.

It's that time of year again where we've more than reached the limits of our current hardware and are ready to switch to new servers. They're already up and running and most of the 'background' transfer work has already been done, the new servers are now handling dns, mail and basic web service. At some stage in the next fourty eight hours we will need to shut down the main site to transfer the forums database to the new database server, during this time the site will not be available and this may take up to six hours (we will also be re-arranging the database files). See inside for more detail.

CES 2004: Panasonic has today announced two new digital cameras. The Lumix DMC-LC50 and DMC-L70 appear to have either the same or a very similar body to the DMC-LC33 and DMC-LC43. The only visual difference being that the entire case is silver. The DMC-LC50 has a three megapixel sensor, the DMC-LC70 has a four megapixel sensor. Included in the press release for these two new cameras is the compact four megapixel, three times optical zoom DMC-FX5 which we revealed in October last year.

CES 2004: SanDisk has today announced the largest capacity Memory Stick to date, the new 2 GB Memory Stick Pro. This new capacity joins SanDisk's existing line of Memory Stick Pro cards which range from 256 MB to the new 2 GB and with the addition of a new range of Memory Stick Pro DUO cards are now available in a rather fetching semi-transparent blue color. "SanDisk Memory Stick PRO cards are expected to be available in February 2004 with capacities that range from 256MB to 2GB and suggested list prices from $100 to $1,000."

CES 2004: Kodak has today announced two additions to its EASYSHARE digital photography system, the KODAK EASYSHARE LS743 and LS753 zoom digital cameras. Both the LS743 and LS753 cameras feature a new SCHNEIDER-KREUZNACH C-VARIOGON 2.8X compact optical zoom lens and the new KODAK Color Science image processing chip. The LS743 camera boasts 4 megapixel resolution and 16 megabytes of internal memory. The LS753 camera goes one step further with 5 MP resolution and 32 MB of internal memory. The LS743 camera (US$349 MSRP) will be available worldwide beginning in April 2004 and the LS753 camera (pricing to be determined) will be available beginning in June 2004.

CES 2004: Concord Camera, a leader in high-quality low-priced digital cameras, today announced at CES shipment of their new 4 Megapixel 3x optical zoom point & shoot digital camera, the Concord Eye-Q 4360z. With a suggested retail price of $199, the Concord Eye-Q 4360z delivers exceptional price/performance.

CES 2004: In a feat of miniturization Toshiba has today revealed it is working on the worlds first sub 1 inch Hard Disk Drive. The new 0.85 inch HDD will have a capacity between 2 and 4 GB. This new device is clearly aimed at the portable music / multimedia players, PDA's and pocket notebook PC's. However it's not a far stretch to imagine these HDD's in use in digital cameras and 'cross over' products which also shoot digital video.

Olympus Europe has today announced the new CAMEDIA C-760 Ultra Zoom. The 3.2 megapixel C-760 is the smallest/lightest, at just 280 grams, digital camera in the world featuring an optical 10x zoom (equiv. 42 – 420mm on 35mm). The new Olympus Ultra Zoom will be available from February 2004. Note that this product has not been announced in the US.

CES 2004: Casio has today announced the five megapixel, three times optical zoom QV-R51. This compact five megapixel digital camera is based on the body as the QV-R40 but this time is made from magnesium alloy. Casio claim an 'industry leading' startup time of 1 second and shutter release lag of 0.01 seconds. The QV-R51 has a large 2.0" LCD monitor (bigger than the QV-R40 but the same resolution), has 9.7 MB of internal flash memory, has an SD/MMC slot and is powered by two AA batteries. The QV-R51 should be available from March 2004.

CES 2004: Nikon has today announced the new Coolpix 3200 and 2200. These two cameras are based around the same body (which is similar to the Coolpix 3100) and have a three and two megapixel CCD sensor respectively. Both have a three times optical zoom lens. This pair of entry level Coolpix digital cameras also feature 14.5 MB of built-in flash memory for storage without the optional SD card or for instance in an emergency when the SD card is full. They are powered by two EN-MH1 NiMH batteries which are included along with the charger. Nikon has also introduced a waterproof case for these cameras (although this won't be available in the US).