Tamron AF18-270mm Di II VC Lens Official Press Release

Tamron Announces Second Vibration Compensation (VC) Lens With 15x Zoom Range

Hot on the heels of my review for Tamron’s very first Vibration Compensation (VC) image-stabilized lens (Tamron AF28-300mm F/3.5-6.3 XR Di VC Lens Pro Review), Tamron announces they’re working on a second VC lens. This is great news for photographers shooting with Nikon and Canon APS-C sensor digital SLRs. One of the things I said in my review of the Tamron AF28-300mm f/3.5-6.3 XR Di VC lens was that it would be nice to have a shorter, wider version for cameras like the Canon EOS Rebel XSi / 450D or the Nikon D60. Apparently Tamron’s designers were thinking ahead - because the 15x 18-270mm Di II VC lens is exactly what I was asking for. The 15x zoom will be roughly equivalent to a 28-420mm lens on a 35mm camera. And at 3.8-inches (101mm) it will actually be smaller than Tamron’s 28-75mm f/2.8 XR Di or the Canon EF 28-135mm IS lens (see lens size comparison in the Tamron 28-300mm VC lens review). The Vibration Compensation image stabilization worked great on the AF28-300mm VC lens I tested and it’s exciting to see that more VC lenses are already in the works, even if they aren’t yet sure about pricing or when the new lens will be available.
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The Zeiss ZF lens lineup at of August 2008

Introduction

In this era of plastic-barreled mass-produced lenses, the Zeiss ZF lenses stand out in sleekly-elegant fashion, with their beautiful and durable all-metal design. For the past year, I’ve used the entire Zeiss ZF lines extensively on both Canon EOS and Nikon, with outstanding results(see the diglloyd blog beginning June 2008). My Guide, Zeiss ZF Lenses, goes into depth on the lenses. This page captures my thoughts on this superb lens line. If you’d like specifications on weight, size, etc, please see the Zeiss web site; this review won’t go into that stuff. You might also want to see the Zeiss July 2008 Camera Lens News.

The unanswerable question that will invariably be asked is whether the Zeiss ZF lenses are “worth it”—are they actually “better” than an equivalent Nikon or Canon lenses? There is no unequivocal answer to that question unless priorities are specified. Here are just a few of the considerations:
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Major Software Upgrade Further Simplifies Photography Workflows

SAN JOSE, Calif. — July 29, 2008 — Adobe Systems Incorporated (Nasdaq:ADBE) today announced the immediate availability of Adobe® Photoshop® Lightroom® 2 software, the photographer’s essential toolbox for managing, adjusting and presenting large volumes of digital photographs. With new enhancements such as dual-monitor support, radical advances in non-destructive localized image correction, and streamlined search capabilities, Lightroom 2 is a compelling upgrade that simplifies photography from shoot to finish. As Adobe’s first application to support 64-bit for Mac OS X 10.5 Macintosh computers with Intel® processors and Microsoft® Windows® Vista® 64-bit operating systems, Lightroom 2 also provides improved memory performance for dealing with large scale images.

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The Tamron AF28-300mm F/3.5-6.3 XR Di VC Lens:
Tamron’s First Image Stabilized Lens

Street Price: Approximately $600 US

Tamron’s AF28-300mm F/3.5-6.3 XR Di VC LD Aspherical (IF) Macro lens is a do-it-all superzoom lens with Tamron’s new, proprietary “Vibration Compensation” optical image stabilization system. It’s their first lens to include image stabilization. The Tamron 28-300mm F/3.5-6.3 XR Di VC lens is compatible with 35mm and digital SLRs and is currently available with Canon and Nikon lens mounts.

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JOBO Introduces State-of-the-Art, Ultra Stylish New 15-Inch Digital Picture Frame
New JOBO digital picture frame features 3 interchangeable frame colors and 1GB of
 internal memory capable of storing up to 4,000 images in optimum resolution

Gummersbach, Germany (July 21, 2008) – JOBO AG announces the addition of a new ultra stylish, state-of-the-art digital picture frame to the growing JOBO family of digital picture frames. The new JOBO Photo Display PDJ152 includes three interchangeable clip-on frames in black, white and silver. It also features a large 15” high intensity luminous resolution and vibrant TFT-Color-LCD display designed to beautifully showcase digital images, a big internal memory for easy access to images and many other user-friendly functions.

This new JOBO PDJ152 digital picture frame is designed to keep memories alive by showcasing digital pictures in an automatic slideshow presentation giving precious digital memories new life. Additionally, this frame enables users to highlight their special photographic moments and easily share them with family and friends. This new JOBO digital picture frame features a handsome Acrylic frame design with three new interchangeable frame options so users can adjust the frame’s trim color to fit in with any décor in the home or office.

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DIGITAL FOCI ANNOUNCES PHOTO SAFE II - ULTIMATE PHOTO COMPANION FOR TRAVELERS
No Need to Bring Laptop with You When Taking Photos on Vacation

Los Angeles, California, July 17, 2008 – Digital Foci, Inc. http://www.digitalfoci.com announced today Photo Safe II, the ultimate photo companion for travelers.  Photo Safe II provides portable on-the-road digital photo storage with 80GB and 160GB hard drives and built-in memory card readers, so you can quickly and securely save your digital photos wherever you go.  Photo Safe II lets you keep snapping away without worrying about losing important photos or running out of memory card space while on the road.

Essential Digital Camera Companion
Perfect for business travelers and summer vacations, Photo Safe II lets you go away without the need of a laptop to download your photos for safe-keeping.  Based on the previous version of Photo Safe (winner of American Photo 2007 Editor’s Choice Award), Photo Safe II brings together its award-winning portable storage technology with a new compact design and additional features, such as support for MS Duo and miniSD; a safer card slot with rubber covers for more protection from dust; and a battery slot that makes it easier to insert/remove the rechargeable battery.

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Official Panasonic Lumix DMC-FX150 Press Release

2008 is shaping up to be the year that compact cameras got their mojo back. Technically it started with the Canon PowerShot G9 and the “Return of RAW” in late 2007. And 2008 has seen several new digital camera announcements that aspire to pack DSLR-like photographic control and image quality into normal-sized pockets. Among the contenders so far are the aforementioned Canon G9, Sigma’s DP1, Ricoh’s GX200, and now the long-awaited evolution of Panasonic’s LX-series, the LX3. There are also rumors of a RAW-capable Nikon P6000 to be released in August. All this with Photokina 2008 just around the corner!

There was some question about whether we would ever see an LX3. As a loving Panasonic Lumix LX1 owner looking to upgrade, I was particularly interested in this week’s announcement. What kind of heritage will be established by the next generation LX digital camera? As usual the announcement is filled with flowery promises of photographic nirvana, so let’s see what we can expect by reading between the lines of Panny’s LX3 press release.
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Casio introduces the world’s slimmest* digital camera with a wide-angle 4x optical zoom
Features CCD-shift anti-shake function and a large 3.0 inch LCD display

DOVER, NJ, JULY 14, 2008 — Casio America, Inc. announced today the release of the newest model in its EXILIM digital camera series — the stylish, slim EXILIM Zoom EX-Z150, which features a wide-angle zoom lens, a CCD-shift anti-shake function, a 3.0” LCD monitor and an 8.1 effective megapixel resolution.

The EXILIM Zoom EX-Z150 contains the features and functions needed to meet the demanding requirements of today’s digital camera users, all within a slim form factor.  The EX-Z150 comes complete with a built-in wide-angle 28 mm (35 mm film equivalent) and 4X optical zoom lens, at just .79” thick (.74” at the thinnest section).

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Official Panasonic Lumix DMC-FX150 Press Release

Today, Panasonic announced two new FX-Series Lumix pocket cameras - the FX37 and the FX150. The new Lumix FX150 should be very exciting to serious photography enthusiasts who want it all in a digital camera that fits in a jeans pocket. The FX150 has a 14.7-megapixel sensor and can capture in RAW mode for maximum image quality and post-processing flexibility. Being able to shoot RAW is a top priority for professional photographers and many digital photography enthusiasts. PhotographyREVIEW.com encourages all photographers who have RAW-capable cameras to shoot RAW.

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PANASONIC ANNOUNCES MUCH-ANTICIPATED ADDITION TO ITS LX-SERIES OF LUMIX DIGITAL CAMERAS
New LUMIX DMC-LX3 Combines Enhanced CCD Technology, LEICA Lens, and a Wide-Range of Manual Shooting Controls For Increased Creativity

SECAUCUS, N.J. (July 21, 2008) – Panasonic today introduced the LUMIX DMC-LX3 digital camera, the successor to the highly-regarded and popular DMC-LX2. Designed for easy, creative shooting, and high-performance in low-light conditions, the DMC-LX3 features a F2.0 24mm LEICA DC VARIO-SUMMICRON lens, 10.1 megapixels and an ultra-sensitive 1/1.63-inch CCD developed specifically for this model. By combining a high-quality lens and sensor ready for a variety of shooting conditions with a wide-range of accessories and manual controls, the DMC-LX3 is ideal for professional photographers and serious amateurs looking for a compact digital camera that furthers their creative photography.

At the heart of the DMC-LX3, is its 1/1.63-inch CCD. Making the intentional choice to limit the number of megapixels to 10.1 on its CCD, Panasonic was able to give more space for each pixel and also redesigned the peripheral circuits and other components to further minimize noise generation. As a result, sensitivity is almost 40 percent higher and saturation is increased by 35 percent, when compared to Panasonic’s 10 MP digital cameras*, giving the DMC-LX3 outstanding image quality and a wide dynamic range, and meeting the demand for a camera that works optimally in low-light environments. The CCD is also capable of reproducing images in three aspect ratios – 4:3, 3:2 or 16:9. The new Multi Aspect mode allows the camera to take an image in all three aspect ratios simultaneously, allowing users to choose the version that best suits their needs.
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Official Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ28 Press Release

Panasonic is adding to their popular Lumix FZ superzoom digital camera series with the new 10.1-megapixel FZ28, which features a 27-486mm (35mm equivalent) image-stabilized Leica optical zoom lens. Like previous Panasonic Lumix superzooms, the FZ28 is a full-featured compact digital camera with both auto and manual exposure controls to satisfy all types of photographers. Panasonic’s Venus Engine IV keeps the camera quick and the Intelligent Auto Mode (iA) makes automatic shooting easier and more accurate than ever.

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Official Panasonic Lumix DMC-FX37 Press Release

Panasonic has introduced an updated version of the FX35 digital camera that we reviewed in April of this year. Like the FX35, the new FX37 has a 10.1-megapixel sensor, a 25mm super wide zoom lens, as well as Panasonic’s MEGA O.I.S. image stabilization and their latest Venus IV imaging processor.

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