Dptips :. Digital Photography Tips, Tricks, and Techniques

Pentax has today posted a firmware update for its K100D digital SLR. Version 1.01 appears to contain one important update; support for SD-HC cards (SD type cards with a capacity of 4 GB or greater) and one minor update; focal length input into the Shake Reduction menu is now displayed accurately in Pentax Photo Browser 3. The firmware can be easily installed by loading the BIN file onto an SD card and starting the camera holding the MENU button (just make sure you’ve got fresh batteries).

Both Fujifilm and Olympus (the only two companies utilizing the xD format) have today announced a step up in capacity for xD card to 2 GB. The new 2 GB xD-Picture Card is twice as large as the current largest and utilizes Multi-Level Cell technology to pack so much storage into such a small package. This new card will be available in September, there’s currently no word on price.

Kodak has announced today a handful of new EasyShare cameras. The 7.0 megapixel EasyShare V705 Dual Lens and the 8 megapixel EasyShare C875 both feature a 5x all glass Schneider-Kreuznach optical zoom lens and a 2.5-inch LCD and the V705 also sports an additional ultra wide 23mm lens. Kodak has also announced two entry level cameras; the C743 and C433.

Kodak also introduces today the EasyShare G600 Printer Dock, which features a built-in handle, smart paper tray storage and battery for easy portability. Available from this month the G600 is capable of producing a high quality photo in just 60 seconds. The G600 features automatic Kodak Perfect Touch technology providing red-eye reduction and is PictBridge and ImageLink compliant.

Pentax releases firmware update version 1.01 for the K100D digital SLR, which provides the following new functions: 1) Integration of support for SDHC (High Capacity) memory cards. 2) Focal length which is input on the Shake Reduction menu can be displayed with Photo Browser 3. The new firmware is available for download from the Pentax support website…

Casio announces the Exilim Card EX-S770, offering 7.2 megapixel image resolution and high-quality movie recording in MPEG-4 format. While featuring a Super Bright 2.8 inch 230,000-pixel wide-screen LCD, the S770 still retains the ultra-slim card size of its predecessor, the EX-S600. Casio has also added a number of new functions to make the most of the EX-S770’s new wide screen. The EXILIM Card EX-S770 will be available in three colors: premium silver, blazing red, and graphite blue…

Casio has today revealed an all new ultra-slim ‘Exilim Card’ series digital camera, the seven megapixel EX-S770. Sporting a new smoothed, rounded design and glossy finish it looks slick and expensive. The S770 features a three times optical zoom lens, a large bright 2.8″ LCD monitor, and 16:9 format MPEG-4 video capture. The S770 is 17 mm (2/3 in) thin and weighs just 127 g (4.5 oz) without its Lithium-Ion battery. UPDATE: Additionally Casio US has confirmed the already announced EX-Z70 and EX-Z700 will be available there.

Pentax announces the Optio W20, the new 7 Megapixel follow-on to the 6 Megapixel Optio W10. The Optio W20 is capable of underwater photography without requiring a waterproof case or other accessories. In addition, the Optio W20 features a new Blur Reduction High ISO mode, a Portrait mode offering AF with Face priority and High-quality movie mode capturing QuickTime motion JPEG (640 x 480) at 30fps. The new Optio W20 will ship, unfortunately after the holidays, in September 2006 for under $300US…

Pentax has announced today the Optio W20.The replacement for the popular waterproof Optio W10, the W20 has been upgraded to 7 million pixels and adds a blur reduction mode. The W20 also features a 2.5-inch LCD, Face Recognition AF and a 3x zoom.

Minox announces the new DC 8122 digital camera, with 8 Mp resolution and 6x optical zoom. A new standard feature is protection against blurred images, especially when using the long zoom range, by the built-in image stabilizer. The camera records your video clips in VGA resolution, with a duration only limited by the size of the inserted memory card. The DC 8122 has an SD card slot for cards of up to 1 Gigabyte as well as an internal memory of 32 Megabyte. The power supply comes from a re-chargeable Lithium-Ion battery…

In the digital photography world, like everywhere else, the news is scarce this time of the year. Therefore this period is known as the Silly Season, as all sorts of “silly” and vamped-up articles are being published in the media. The period is also called “Big Gooseberry Season” because of articles on farmers growing the biggest gooseberries ever. For the same reason the Dutch call this period “Komkommertijd”, meaning “cucumber time” and the Germans speak of “Saure-Gurken-Zeit”… BBC News runs an article on boiling eggs…

Just posted! Our Concise Review of the unique Panasonic DMC-TZ1; the world’s smallest 10x image-stabilized zoom camera. Whilst not what you’d call ‘pocketable’ (unless you have very large pockets), the TZ1 is considerably less bulky than its ‘SLR-like’ siblings (and their competitors), and, though it offers little in the way of truly manual control, it is packed with features. But is it any good? Find out what we thought after the link…

Casio has released two new firmware updates for the EX-Z850. Both updates provide SDHC memory card support and version 1.1B improves the HQ Mode movie quality, at the same time however, it narrows the field of view angle with about 40%. Casio states that this is the reason for these separate versions. The solution is both unique and awkward, and an in-camera function to select the narrow movie mode would have been the way to go. As you know, there’s always some risk involved when loading new firmware versions…

Kodak has reached an agreement with Flextronics for the design, production and distribution of its consumer digital cameras. Kodak will continue to develop the high-level system design, product look and feel and user experience, and will conduct advanced research and development for its digital still cameras.The agreement will allow Kodak to bring their cameras to market more quickly, with greater predictability, flexibility, and cost efficiency while maintaining the innovative ease-of-use for which the Kodak brand is known for…

Sony camera users can add an extra dimension to their pictures, allowing them to see exactly “where” as well as “when” they were taken. With the new GPS-CS1 GPS unit, still images shot with latest Cyber-shot digital cameras, Handycam camcorders or the A100 D-SLR camera can be enhanced with satellite-based positional information. Using Picture Motion Browser software, images can be displayed at exactly the place they were taken in an online map. The unit will be available for about $150 from the end of August…

Sony takes the ultra-compact DSC-T9 a step further with the launch of the new Cyber-shot T10, featuring 7.2 megapixel, higher sensitivity and double anti-blur technology, which combines Super SteadyShot with extremely high sensitivity to make blurred images a thing of the past. The large high resolution 2.5″ LCD is perfect for sharing images using the built-in Slideshow with Music function. All of this comes packaged in a stainless steel body less than 0.8″ thick and weighing only 4.7 oz, for a price of about 400 dollars…

Sony has today announced a very interesting little device for recording the position where photographs are taken. The GPS-CS1 is a small (9 cm / 3.5 in) cylindrical device which you simply attach to a backback or belt loop and carry with you while you shoot, it records your GPS location and this information can later be synchronized with your digital images to provide a map of where your photos were taken. We assume it does this using date and time information stored in the image header (which obviously requires your camera’s clock to be synchronized). Interestingly the mapping solution is an online website with maps provided by Google Maps (it appears that the synchronization software will write the GPS location into JPEG EXIF headers).

Sony has today launched the colorful 7-megapixel Cyber-Shot DSC-T10 camera. The DSC-T10 features sensitivity up to ISO 1000, Sony’s Super Steady Shot OIS, a 3x Carl Zeiss Vario-Tessar lens, 56MB of internal memory and a 2.5-inch LCD. It will be available to order from this month in a choice of colors - pink (yes!), white, black or silver.

Canon announces four new scanners, the CanoScan 8600F, LiDE 600F, CanoScan 4400F, and LiDE 70. Digitizing photos, slides, and negatives is easier than ever before with the newest features on these scanners. The CanoScan 8600F and 4400F scanners scan photos at 4800 x 9600 dpi and feature a built-in Film Adapter Unit (FAU) to make scanning of 35mm negatives and mounted slides a breeze. The CanoScan 8600F unit can also handle medium format negatives, ideal for the amateur or even professional photographer…