Nikon Announces New D3 Digital SLR

Dubbed "Nikon FX" to differentiate it from the smaller "Nikon DX" sensors used in the company's DSLRs to date, the new sensor has an area of 36 x 23.9mm - about the same as a frame of 35mm film (hence "full frame"). It is still possible to use DX format lenses with the Nikon D3, but if you do so the camera will automatically set itself to the "DX Crop" mode, reducing sensor resolution to account for the smaller image circle of a DX lens. Resolution is twelve megapixels ordinarily, and 5.1 megapixels when in "DX Crop" mode. The Nikon D3 can shoot full-res photos at an impressive nine frames per second for 20 Raw or 64 JPEG Normal photos - just a hair behind the 10 fps to 30 Raw / 110 JPEG frames of Canon's EOS-1D Mark III. Bump the resolution down to the 5.1 megapixel "DX Crop" mode, and you can boost this to ten frames per second (with auto exposure limitations) or even to an incredible 11 frames per second (with further limitations to auto focus as well). The cropped area of the image is automatically masked out in the viewfinder when using "DX Crop" mode.

That's not the only trick the camera has up its sleeve though. The Nikon D3 combines modern CMOS sensor technology, a new image processor dubbed "Expeed", a large light gathering sensor area for the resolution, and a resultingly large pixel cell size (relative to, say, Canon's just announced 21 megapixel EOS-1Ds Mark III which has essentially the same sensor size). Add all that up, and you get the promise of relatively low noise at higher sensitivities than competitors - and based on the maximum ISO sensitivity limit in the D3, it look like Nikon is ready to deliver on that promise. Most SLRs max out at ISO 3200 or perhaps ISO 6400 - but with the Nikon D3 you can manage ISO sensitivities in a staggeringly wide range from ISO 100 to ISO 25,600. (Yes, you read that right - no typo there!) Of course like most SLRs, the ISO sensitivity is normally locked to a smaller range where image quality is least likely to be affected by noise - and on the Nikon D3 that range is ISO 200 to 3,200.

With the D3, Nikon becomes the latest manufacturer to support a "live view" function in a digital SLR - letting you preview the frame to be captured in the LCD display rather than having to hold the viewfinder to your eye. That LCD, by the way, should be easy on the eye with a diagonal of three inches, 640 x 480 pixel (920,000 dots) of resolution, and 170-degree wide viewing angle. Nikon's live view functionality has two operating modes. In "Handheld" mode, autofocus is allowed by dropping the mirror briefly to allow light to reach the camera's TTL phase detection autofocus module - the downside being an interruption to the live view while focusing is happening.. In "Tripod" mode, the camera uses contrast detection autofocus from the image sensor, allowing for autofocus to occur without interruption to the live view - and usefully, also allowing for the AF point to be set anywhere in the image area.

Speaking of autofocus, that's another area of improvement in the Nikon D3. A new Multi-CAM 3500 FX autofocus system has 15 cross-type sensors and 36 linear sensors, for a total of 51 autofocus points. 3D Focus Tracking is possible across all 51 points, with the camera automatically switching between focus points to follow your subject. A new Scene Recognition System is described as a "world's first" by Nikon and is said to recognize the scene being photographed, then use this information accordingly when calculating exposure, autofocus and white balance. An Active D-Lighting system corrects for shadows and highlights to produce more appealing images. There's also a new Picture Control System with four basic presets - Standard, Neutral, Vivid and Monochrome - which the user can then tweak to their taste, adjust imaging parameters such as saturation, brightness, sharpening and tone compensation. Up to nine different customized presets can be stored in each D3 body, and up to 99 can be stored on a CompactFlash card - enabling easy sharing of settings among multiple cameras (or for that matter, easy sharing of cameras between multiple photographers).

There are enough standout features on the Nikon D3 that a full discussion is rather beyond the scope of this news article. Briefly though, other features of note include the camera's general speed - undeniably swift with a claimed 0.12 second startup time and a 37 millisecond shutter release lag. There's also dual CompactFlash slots with the ability to copy files in-camera, write to both cards simultaneously or consecutively, or even place Raw and JPEG files on separate cards. An HDMI connection (cable not included) allows for the Nikon D3 to be connected directly to a high definition display. Some features are a little more exotic - for example, a Virtual Horizon function that indicates (in both LCD and viewfinder) whether the camera is true and level, based on information from a built-in digital level sensor, or in-camera correction of chromatic abberations based on information on the lens in use. Others are features you expect to see on a camera of this level, such as dust and water proofing measures, a magnesium alloy body, tempered glass over the LCD display, and a shutter mechanism rated to last to 300,000 releases.

The Nikon D3 digital SLR goes on sale from November 2007, priced at just under $5,000.
provided by Imaging Resource.

Macworld Reviews Kodak EasyShare 5300 Printer

Macworld reviews the recent Kodak EasyShare 5300 multifunction ink-jet printer. Here is an excerpt:

… The Kodak EasyShare 5300 is a multifunction device that features scanning, copying, and printing capabilities. It also comes with a special promise from Kodak: the company asserts that this multifunction printer will save you money on ink, thus reducing the cost per print. The EasyShare 5300 utilizes a two-cartridge, six-ink system; the total cost for an ink refill is only $25 ($10 for black and $15 for five-ink color). And although you’ll save money in the long run, there won’t be a compromise in the quality of your scans and prints. In my testing, the EasyShare 5300 was a solid performer, with the exception of a minor scanning glitch that Kodak says it plans to fix in a software update soon…

Read the entire Macworld review.

Photo And Statue Nudes Cast Out Of Calgary Garden

The Calgary Fringe Festival wrapped up on the weekend but not without controversy. During its final days, organizers were ordered to remove statues and pictures of naked people from the city’s Devonian Gardens.

“The city did not think that body art & photography exhibits were appropriate uses for public space. They received three phone complaints on the 311 line,” festival producer Blair Gallant said in an e-mail to the National Post, in which he also noted that “we had over 1,000 people come to the exhibit with glowing reviews.”

The city’s parks director told the Calgary Herald on the weekend that when the show was approved, officials were not aware it was “an adult art exhibit.”

The interdisciplinary festival includes The Canadian Body Art Championship and Exposed Calgary Photography, both of which work with the naked body. Judging by the Body Art winner shown above as well as the Web sites of both events, what’s on display is not especially racy.

provided by Rob A. McKenzie in The National Post
image - [Mark Eadie with his winning entry in the body-art competition; photo courtesy Calgary Fringe Festival]

Ohio County Settles Morgue Photos Suit

An Ohio county agreed Tuesday to pay $8 million to settle a lawsuit over photos taken of posed bodies in the county morgue.

Hamilton County will pay the money to 532 families during a two-year period, formally apologize to them and make sure offensive photos and copies are destroyed under an agreement that must be approved by U.S. District Judge S. Arthur Spiegel. The settlement also includes grief counseling and a memorial.

The photos were of bodies posed with fruit, doll house furniture and other props. The photographer, Thomas Condon, said he took them as part of an art project to illustrate the cycle of life from birth through death. He was convicted in 2001 of eight counts of gross abuse of a corpse for taking the pictures. His 2 1/2-year sentence was reduced to 18 months on appeal.

'The current settlement, based on unauthorized manipulation and photography of bodies over a four-month period in the morgue, is viewed by both sides as a fair compromise, particularly with the focus on continuing improvement at the Coroner's Office,' said a joint statement by the county and plaintiffs.

Hamilton County Commissioner Todd Portune said those responsible are no longer in county government and that current officials pledge to remain vigilant.
provided by The Associated Press

Canon's New EOS 40D DSLR And Picture Style Editor

Canon has announced their new EOS 40D Digital SLR. Included with the camera is a CD containing several digital software tools. Dpreview.com takes a closer look at one of these packages called Picture Style Editor as well as a preview of the Canon EOS 40D itself.

Sony Announces New Additions To Their T-Series Digicam Line

Sony has announced two additions to its T-series, the Cyber-shot DSC-T200 and DSC-T70. The models follow up the T100 and T20, introduced in February. The new 8-megapixel point-and-shoots borrow HD viewing abilities from the previous models, but offer larger, 16:9 aspect ratio LCD screens and a Smile Shutter function that detects a smile and automatically snaps a photo. The Sony T200 will retail for $400 when it ships in September, and the T70 for $300 in October.

Sony adds a few features to the T-series models, known for their touch screens. Using the touch screen, users can select the subject to focus on in Shooting Mode and select the image and zoom level in Playback mode. The T200 sports a 3.5-inch, 230,000-pixel Clear Photo LCD Plus, up from the T100's 3-inch screen. The T70 has a 3-inch, 230,000-pixel resolution Clear Photo LCD Plus monitor, compared to the 2.5-inch LCD on the T20. Both the new models' LCD screens maintain the same resolution as the older models.

Sony added 16:9 viewing capabilities to these point-and-shoots, making them the largest 3- and 3.5-inch LCDs with 16:9 aspect ratios on the market, according to the company website. In 16:9 view, users can play back images in wide format, as well as view images captured in 4:3 aspect ratio as wide photos.

The 5x optical zoom T200 and 3x optical zoom T70 feature the 8-megapixel Super HAD CCD image sensors and optical zoom from the earlier T100 and T20 models.

The Cyber-shot T200 and T70 add a new Smile Shutter feature, a first in digital camera still history, according to the website. Smile Shutter works in concert with the cameras’ face detection system that sets focus, exposure, white balance, and flash automatically on up to eight faces in a scene. When engaged, Smile Shutter detects faces, as the name implies, that are smiling. Users can set different levels of smile sensitivity from High for faint smiles, Medium, and Low for wide smiles. Users can also select which subject to use the Smile Shutter on with the touch screen control. The feature works in both vertical and horizontal shooting, according to the website.

Both Cyber-shots share the Bionz processor, a feature borrowed from the Sony Alpha SLRs. The processor was first introduced to the point-and-shoot line with the T100 and T20. In addition, the T200 and T20 carry over the double Anti-Blur system with mechanical and digital stabilization. Super SteadyShot technology reduces camera shake with a built-in gyro sensor and a High Sensitivity mode for up to ISO 3200 sensitivity.

The DSC-T200 and T70 retain HD viewing abilities that allow users to view photos at a high definition 1080-pixel resolution. Users can see their photos on HD-enabled television screens via an HD cable or cradle. Both point-and-shoots are compatible with the optional Sony GPS-CS1 device that tracks longitude and latitude coordinates on photos.

The Sony Cyber-shot T200 will be available in silver, black, and red, and the T70 in silver, black, white, and pink.
provided by digitalcamerainfo.com

Sony Announces New Cybershot DSC-H3

The new Sony Cybershot DSC-H3 features an 8 megapixel sensor, 10x optical zoom Carl Zeiss Vario-Tessar lens (38-380mm) and a 2.5 inch LCD screen.

It includes super steady shot optical image stabilization, face detection (auto exposure, focussing, white balance and flash), ISO of up to 3200, 31 megabytes of internal memory and an advanced sports mode with predictive auto focussing and high shutter speeds. It comes in silver and black.

Aside from the zoom difference, the H3 borrows many features from its predecessors. The Cyber-shot compact still retains the 2.5-inch LCD with 115,000 pixel resolution, like the H7, but lacks the flip-out screen of the H9.

The H3 maintains Sony’s face detection system which automates exposure, focus, flash, and white balance on up to eight faces for portrait photography. The H3 also contains the Bionz processor Sony uses in its Alpha line of digital SLRs and includes in the H9 and H7 compacts. With the processor comes the Dynamic Range Optimizer (DRO) feature that automatically selects exposure before JPEG compression to produce a broad range of tones.

Users can retouch images with built-in editing functions such as fish-eye effect and cropping. The Cyber-shot camera also includes HD (high definition) output so users can view their photos on HD televisions. The camera can be hooked up to an HDTV with the Sony VMC-HD1 high definition component cable that currently retails for $40.

The Sony Cyber-shot DSC-H3 accepts lithium-ion batteries and is compatible with MS (Memory Stick) Duo, MS Pro Duo, and MS Pro HG Duo. Expect a retail price of $299.99 USD when it hit stores in September.

New Claria Dye-Based Inkjet Printers From Epson

Epson has added a new printer and two all-in-ones to its line of inkjet devices that use Claria dye-based inks. The printers use six individual ink cartridges, and can output images on both paper and CDs or DVDs.

The compact Stylus Photo R280 Ultra Hi-Definition printer produces droplets as small as 1.5 picoliters. It can print photos at sizes up to 8.5x11 inches, and can also output prints as wide as 44 inches on specialty paper. Its Auto Photo Correction feature uses face-detection technology to distinguish people from scenery, and optimizes exposures, skin tones, and color vibrancy, in addition to correcting redeye and sharpening images.

Adding copying and 1200x2400 dpi, 48-bit scanning functions to the R280's feature set, the larger RX595 also includes a 2.5-inch color LCD, memory card slots, PictBridge support, and a USB port to enable printing without a computer. An optional Bluetooth adapter can be plugged into the USB port to transfer camera phone images via Bluetooth, and the RX595 can print photos directly from a USB flash drive. Photos can be printed from memory cards in the order of their dates. Other notable features include automatic color restoration for scanned prints, direct-to-JPEG and -PDF scanning, and an index sheet feature that lets users select images to print, paper size, and paper type by marking and scanning a paper index sheet.

The pricier RX680 is very similar to the RX595, but includes a built-in auto duplexer for printing on two sides of each sheet of paper, as well as separate input trays for plain and photo paper.

The $99.99 R280, $149.99 RX595, and $199.99 RX680 will be available in September 2007.

provided by Popphoto.com