The quest for the Ghrrrail continues!

Ricoh GX200 Press Release
This week, Ricoh announced their newest high-end compact digital camera, the 12-megapixel GX200.

We in the States probably don’t give Ricoh the attention they deserve, but they are to be commended for doing their best to create the grail that so many of us seek. Apparently, they’ve got a lot of things going for them in the camera usability department. The GR and GX-series cameras get solid reviews on the web, and they seem to have a strong following of satisfied customers.

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Macworld.com Loves PhotographyREVIEW.com!

Well, at least Macworld.com gave PhotographyREVIEW.com some love. To be more specific, Macworld loves our lens reviews. In an excellent article entitled, How To Buy A Camera Lens, Macworld staff writer Rick LePage, said the first site he visits to research lenses is PhotographyREVIEW.com. He then informs the reader that our lens review section “lists more than 900 lenses - 200-plus of which have been rated by five or more people.” Thanks for the attention (and the stats), Rick!
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Carl Zeiss announces new 18mm super wide angle lens for SLR cameras
Distagon T* 3,5/18: the super wide angle lens for dramatic perspectives

Thornwood, New York – June 2008. Carl Zeiss expands its range of SLR lenses with the addition of the Distagon T* 3.5/18 super wide angle lens. With an impressive field of view of 99°, this new, rectilinear lens provides dramatic perspectives for architectural, landscape and close-range photography for photographers utilizing full-frame DSLRs or film-based cameras. The Distagon T* 3.5/18 is a derivative of the ZEISS designs for the Contax RTS series of cameras, but utilizing all modern materials and eco-friendly glass materials.

The Distagon T* 3.5/18 is designed with a floating lens element in the rear lens assembly, which results in impressive image quality from infinity to the closest focus range. Utilizing the superior ZEISS T* anti-reflective coating and critically designed interior elements, the lens is remarkably free from stray light artifacts and internal reflections. Images are brilliantly rendered, with extremely crisp resolution right to the edges – even at wide-open apertures under the most difficult lighting conditions. Like all Carl Zeiss SLR lenses, the Distagon T* 3.5/18 uses the ZEISS ‘color matching technology’, which provides homogeneous color rendition across all focal lengths in the product range. The front filter diameter of 82 mm allows for use of standard screw-in filters when combined with the included lens shade.

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EPSON’S NEW ALL-IN-ONE DELIVERS VALUE, PRODUCTIVITY AND CREATIVITY TO BUSY HOUSEHOLDS
Epson Stylus NX400 Provides Complete Printing, Scanning and Copying Solution at an Affordable Price

LONG BEACH, Calif. – June 3, 2008 – Epson America Inc. today launches the flagship model of a new generation of all-in-one printers designed to meet any household’s printing, scanning and copying needs – the Epson Stylus NX400. The full-featured, well-priced all-in-one offers a combination of performance and ease-of-use delivering value, convenience and superior results on plain, photo or specialty papers.

“With intuitive features and outstanding image quality, the Epson Stylus NX400 is ideal for any household juggling day-to-day projects that require one central printer to print, scan or copy just about anything,” said Kristi Lanzit Fox, product manager, Consumer Ink Jet Printers, Epson. “Whether printing book reports, driving directions, presentations or party invitations, the Epson Stylus NX400 turns ordinary projects into amazing output. Its versatility, highperformance, durability, and affordable price make it the best solution for everyday home printing needs.”

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onOne Software Announces Availability of Plug-in Suite 4 for Adobe Photoshop
Updated award-winning software suite features the most complete collection of Photoshop plug-ins, solving the most common, time consuming Photoshop tasks in one integrated high value suite

Portland, OR - June 23, 2008 – onOne Software, Inc., announces today the availability of its new Plug-in Suite 4 software for Adobe Photoshop. onOne Software’s Plug-In Suite 4 combines full versions of six essential software tools – Genuine Fractals 5 Print Pro, PhotoTools 1.0 Professional Edition, PhotoFrame 3.1 Professional Edition, Mask Pro 4.1, PhotoTune 2.2 and FocalPoint 1.0 – an affordable combination that includes everything a photographer needs to make their images look their best.

The onOne Software Plug-In Suite 4 for Photoshop CS2 and CS3 is the latest upgrade to the award winning Plug-In Suite product line that combines several of onOne Software’s individual Photoshop plug-ins into a highly affordable package.

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NEW SONY α (ALPHA) FLAGSHIP FLASH UNIT EXPANDS CREATIVE POSSIBILITIES WITH QUICK SHIFT BOUNCE

SAN DIEGO, Jun. 19, 2008 – Sony is expanding its a (alpha) system of accessories to include the new HVL-F58AM flash unit with exceptional features for versatile and flexible external lighting control.

Quick Shift Bounce and Expanded Versatility
This new flash features a new and innovative Quick Shift Bounce system. It offers more creative ways to achieve lighting, flash and bounce angles you may not have been able to experience before.

The flash head can pivot 90 degrees left and right on a horizontal axis in addition to the conventional up and down vertical adjustment. With this system, the camera and flash unit can keep the same orientation regardless of portrait or landscape shooting. This gives a higher degree of flexibility when arranging the direction of light.

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SONY INTRODUCES THE WORLD’S FIRST CAMCORDER WITH SMILE SHUTTER TECHNOLOGY

SAN DIEGO, June 18, 2008 – Sony is taking the lead in the camcorder industry by introducing the first high-definition camcorder with both Smile Shutter and face detection technologies.

The HDR-CX12 Memory Stick Handycam camcorder can record full 1920 x 1080 HD video and 10-megapixel photos on Sony Memory Stick PRO Duo media and any Memory Stick PRO Duo (Mark2) media cards. Roughly the size of a soda can (2.8-inches wide by 5.3-inches tall by 2.8-inches deep), this ultra-compact model will allow for easy transfer of video and stills from media cards to a compatible PC to share via email, uploading to the Internet or burning to disc.

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The Right Tripod and Head
Bogen Pros Share Tips and Tricks on Identifying Which Supports
Are Best For Your Equipment

Ramsey, N.J. (June 9, 2008)– Bogen Imaging, a leading distributor of top quality photographic support products and accessories in North America, is proud to announce a free webinar titled “Selecting the Right Tripod and Head.” Held from 2:00 p.m. to 3:00 p.m. (EDT) on June 27, 2008, this course will provide photographers with useful tips and tricks when it comes to identifying which support products fit their needs.
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WD My Book Mirror Edition Photo Storage And Backup Solution

Western Digital My Book Mirror Edition Press Release >>

Western Digital’s new My Book Mirror Edition external USB hard drive is a digital storage and back-up solution for people who need to store and back-up large amounts of data. Digital photographers - that means you! With digital camera resolution averaging 10-megapixels, and more photographers shooting RAW, reliable high capacity storage is no longer just something for the pros to worry about. Every digital photographer needs to be thinking about high-capacity, redundant storage for his or her digital images. My photo storage needs seem to double every year and the thought of losing photos because a drive kicks the bucket makes me want to cry. The My Book Mirror Edition USB drive offers 1 or 2 terabytes of simple USB storage with automatic backup in an attractive, compact, and inexpensive package. The 2 TB My Book I installed offers 1 TB of mirrored photo storage for an MSRP of $550. That’s a pretty sweet deal for 1 TB of redundant storage.

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TAKE CONTROL OF YOUR IMAGES: NIKON INTRODUCES UPGRADED CAPTURE NX 2 PHOTO EDITING SOFTWARE
Powerful New Tools Make Photo Editing Quick and Easy

MELVILLE, N.Y. (June 3, 2008) – Nikon Inc., today introduced the latest generation of its robust image processing and editing software, Capture NX 2, which provides photography enthusiasts with a suite of powerful tools and a simple, visual operation to streamline photo editing. Capture NX 2 utilizes revolutionary U Point® technology to give photographers access to powerful Control Points that enhance color, exposure, and other image quality settings quickly and easily. New technologies abound in Capture NX 2, including the innovative new Selection Control Point that places a commanding suite of image editing tools at the user’s fingertips to simplify and accelerate the image editing experience.

In addition, Capture NX 2 adds an advanced Auto Retouch Brush for seamless retouching, an improved yet simple user interface, updated menus, browser functionality and an increase in performance. Whether you choose JPEG, TIFF or RAW (NEF) files, Capture NX 2 is the perfect complement to the growing Nikon Digital System. It also offers advanced RAW (NEF) processing capabilities, simplified image-browsing, selection and labeling as well as improved batch-processing capabilities, superior color management and comprehensive system compatibility with Nikon’s EXPEED image processing concept.

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Now’s your chance to move the world. Nikon Photo Contest International 2008-2009
One of the world’s most renowned photo contests, entries to the 32nd Nikon Photo Contest International will be accepted from September 1 to November 30, 2008.

A contest with an impressive history
The Nikon Photo Contest International has been held by Nikon Corporation since 1969 to provide an opportunity for photographers around the world to communicate and to enrich photographic culture for professionals and amateurs alike. Renowned among photo enthusiasts worldwide, the contest has so far attracted more than 1,270,000 images from a total of 306,000 photographers. In fact, so popular has the contest become among photographers that a total of over 47,000 images were received from more than 16,000 entrants in 135 different countries for the 31st contest alone.

This year’s theme: “At the heart of the image”
“At the heart of the image” is not only the brand statement of Nikon Imaging Company, but it is also the theme of the 32nd contest. We have carefully selected categories as stated below and we look forward to receiving images expressing the emotions that are true to your heart.

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PANASONIC ADDS TWO NEW HD CAMCORDERS TO ITS LINE –WORLD’S FIRST AVCHD MODELS WITH A 3MOS SYSTEM
New High Definition Camcorders Offer Increased Manual Functions for More Creative Use and Intelligent Auto Mode to Make Shooting More Intuitive

Secaucus, NJ (June 18, 2008) – Panasonic today expanded its High Definition (HD) suite of products, with the announcement of two new full-HD camcorders, the HDC-SD100 and HDC-HS100, the world’s first* AVCHD camcorders with a 3MOS system which provides superb video image quality. The HDC-SD100 records to SD Memory Card, while the hybrid HDC-HS100 records to both SD Memory Card and to its internal 60 GB* hard drive. Both models include manual functions for the user wanting more precise control over zoom, focus, iris, shutter speed and white balance. The models also include Panasonic’s new Intelligent Auto (iA) mode, an intuitive set of technologies that automatically activate, making video shooting an easy, seamless process.

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