Fuji cuts FinePix A400, A500 pricing
Fujifilm is making more price cuts today, dropping the A400, and A500 by 13% and 17% repectively. Announced at C.E.S. this year, the Fujifilm FinePix A400 and A500 are both based around SuperCCD HR imagers which increase the maximum detail in pictures.
The A400 features a four megapixel sensor, and the A500 bumps this to five megapixels. Both cameras also include a 3x optical zoom lens, as well as both a 1.8″ LCD display with 77,000 pixels, and a real-image optical viewfinder.
When they first hit the market, the FinePix A400 was priced at $149, while the A500 was $179. After today’s price adjustment, the cameras can be had for $129 or $149 respectively.
Death of the Battery Vampire
A story on ScienCentralNews says researchers at MIT are working on a new type of battery which is more like a capacitor than the chemical reaction batteries we use today. A capacitor has a far lower capacity for its size than a regular battery, but using tiny nanotube filaments to increase the surface area within the capacitor will increase its storage. These new batteries could in theory, atleast, charge in a matter of seconds rather than minutes or hours, and they would not need replacing like current rechargeable battery technology as they would not degrade as current batteries do.
Leica M Lenses Coding
Here is an interesting story, it seems Leica has announced a new lens system called M which will carry a new 6-bit code of black and white dots. These dots will allow the upcoming digital M series camera to identify which lens is being used and also store this information in the metadata of the captured image. This will allow you to know more about how the images were shot, as well as letting budding photographers understand better what lenses really worked well for them in past shots.
One other little thing for thos other there thinking this is a great idea, but they already bought a M series lens. You can get them coded so the digital M camera will recognize them. I don’t really understand why someone would want to upgrade their current non-coded M series lenses, but Lecia offers that service for 95 EUROs each.
LCD or Viewfinder? How Do You See the World?
A very well written, great article is up on The New York Times that talks about the shifting trend to move away from optical viewfinders and digital viewfinders towards just using the LCD screen on the back of the digital camera.
Millions of people no longer see eye-to-eyepiece with their cameras. It has been such a subtle shift that digital photographers, without realizing it, are developing a new relationship with their cameras. They are no longer looking through the camera but holding it at arms’ length.
Pressing a camera to your face and peering into its optical viewfinder — an intimate human-machine moment — is becoming quaint, if not antiquated, for a generation of photographers who prefer to study their cameras’ liquid-crystal display screens at a distance.
I find that personally, I am about 50/50 when it comes to using the viewfinder or LCD, depending on the shot I am going to take. Most people with digital cameras review the images taken on the LCD, so why not take the next shot on the same screen. Most people find it easier, and some cameras have done away with viewfinders at all, preferring to give large LCD’s for people to use to frame their shots.
I find that LCD’s are not very good for bright outdoor shots, and so I use the digital viewfinder in my camera in those situations. I also find it a great alternative to use it more often when I know battery life is going to be a concern for me as the LCD uses much more battery life than the viewfinder.
The LCD can be much more convenient though, especially on my digital camera, as it can move in a wide range of motion, allowing me to frame group shots with my friends while being in the shot, or taking perspective shots from angles that would be difficult for me to position myself to look through the viewfinder.
The fact is, Mr. Porter said, optical viewfinders take up more space in a digital camera’s body than you may suspect. Far from being a glass or plastic window, viewfinders in many point-and-shoot cameras usually require variable lens systems so they can replicate whatever zoom abilities the camera has.
Eliminating the optical viewfinder, camera makers say, reduces a camera’s size, something that consumers, in focus groups, say that they want.
We have entered the age of LCD’s for most consumers, leaving viewfinders only to those that won’t give them up, or realize their use, like many professionals and certain hobbyists.
Google Picasa Online?
Recently, someone spotted a link on Picasa.com that read “New! Picasa Web Albums”. Most people have basically speculated that Google is going to launch an online photo hosting/sharing service. This could possibly be set up as a Flickr competitor, or just an empty rumor, but Google recently registered picasawebalbums.com on May 17th. I think that is a horrible domain name, but Google is known for covering all bases when they are even a year or two away from a product launch.
HP Recalls 679,000 Cams or Update your Firmware
Hewlett-Packard is recalling around 679,000 Photosmart R707 digital cameras, but you don’t really need to send your camera in if you feel comfortable updating the firmware on the camera yourself. The problem is that the batteries are overheating and could potentially start a fire, but the problem only occurs if you plug in your camera when it does not contain rechargeable batteries.
So if you only use rechargeables, you should be fine, but if you put in one use batteries, grab the update first or send in your camera to have it done or you risk lighting yourself on fire.
Check out HP’s website for the firmware update, or call 1 (866) 304-7117 to see about sending your camera in.
Source: Yahoo News
Sony Alpha DSLR-A100 Released
Sony has entered the digital SLR market with a bang, introducing its new α (Alpha) DSLR-A100 system yesterday. The Alpha DSLR-A100 system has a 10.2 megapixel APS CCD image sensor, and will be introduced with 19 high quality interchangable Sony lenses and a wide variety of accessories as well. The camera also features ISO ratings as high as 1600, and an image stabilization system called Super SteadyShot.
“Our system will be attractive to people who are ready for something beyond what’s available in D-SLR cameras today,” said James Neal, director of marketing for digital imaging products at Sony Electronics. “Sony enthusiasts who want to upgrade from point-and-shoot cameras, as well as former Konica-Minolta digital and film SLR camera users who have already made substantial investments in lenses, will welcome this initiative.”
The camera is able to burst mode capture upwards of 3 frames per second continuously at the full 10.2 megapixel rating and the finest JPEG compression. The camera is said to have a long battery life as well, as the supplied litium ion is rated at up to 750 shots per charge. You can also expect it to support JPEG and RAW file formats, and for holding the pictures you take it has a slot for CompactFlash Type I/II and Microdrive media cards. The camera also accepts Memory Stick PRO and Memory Stick PRO Duo cards through a supplied adaptor.
You can expect to get the DSLR-A100 camera body for around $900 USD, and the DSLR-A100K kit, which includes the body and a 18-70mm zoom lense for around $1,000USD. Both ship in July and will be available at SonyStyle.com or Sony Style retail stores.
Canon to drop Film Cameras
You mean there are companies out there that are producing film cameras still, other than the disposable ones? It seems so, but the number of film camera producers might lose another in its ranks to the digital world as Canon considers dropping their development of new compact and SLR film cameras.
They will continue to support and sell existing models while keeping tabs on the marketplace for further efforts to withdraw from the film market sometime in the future.
Earlier this year, Nikon said something along the same lines, as the film camera market is shrinking fast as digital adoption continues, and thus with a smaller market is less profit.
Fujifilm Drops FinePix E900 Price Reduction
Fujifilm USA has lowered the suggested list price of the critically acclaimed FinePix E900 digital camera to $399.
The price move adds extra appeal to an already outstanding camera.
Some of the most popular and trusted sources of digital imaging information have applauded the FinePix E900 for its operational performance and picture quality, including Rangefinder Magazine, Imaging Resource, Popular Photography and PC Magazine, which honored the FinePix E900 with an Editors’ Choice Award.
PRAKTICA DCZ6.3
If modern colour psychology is right, red stands for passion and the desire for happiness. PRAKTICA is adapting this passion – this fire –to its latest model – the DCZ 6.3.
Every single pixel of the six million on the CCD sensor is taking care that even the most filigree detail is stored accurately and brought to life on the 2.5” monitor afterwards.
High resolution video clips are no problem either. Whether you record with 320×240 or 640×480 pixels with a constant rate of 30 frames per second – the world around you starts to move.
But what happens if you want to print out your pictures? There’s nothing easier like that. The DCZ 6.3 is operating on the PictBridge standard and allows you to print your images directly to a printer without using a computer. Print-outs are only one fingertip away.
The focal length rages from 5.8 to 17.4 mm and with exposure times from 2 to 1/1000 seconds and exposure values set up between +/- 2.0, images can be adapted manually as well. The PRAKTICA DCZ 6.3 uses standard alkaline batteries or Ni-MH rechargeable batteries and distinguishes itself by a low energy consumption. The already built-in 32 MB memory can be extended with additional SD cards.
Each camera comes with a USB cable, a TV cable, a software CD, a pouch, a wrist strap, a manual and a pair of batteries.
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