Five New Digital Camera Reviews Posted

New digital camera reviews posted in the Recent Digital Camera Reviews section.

• Nikon Coolpix S620
• Olympus SP-590 UZ
• Panasonic Lumix ZS1
• Samsung SL420
• Sigma DP2

Self-Publish Your Own Photo Book

Joe Farace of Shutterbug.com has posted an informative article explaining easy ways to self-publish your own photo book.

Read entire article.

Google Releases Picasa 3.5

Google releases version 3.5 of its popular Picasa imaging and organization software. Picasa now has name tags, based on the same technology that powers name tags on Picasa Web Albums. With name tags, you can organize your photos based on what matters most: the people in them. In this new version, you can also more easily geotag photos using Google Maps, plus import photos from your camera and upload them to Picasa Web Albums in one step.

Download directly from Google.

Adobe Releases Photoshop Elements 8

Adobe has announced the release of Photoshop Elements 8. Adobe Photoshop Elements 8 software combines power and simplicity so you can make your photos look extraordinary, share your life stories in unique print creations and web experiences, and easily manage and protect all your photos and video clips. Automatically create perfectly lit shots that show every detail using new Photomerge capabilities — just one of the many great new editing options in Photoshop Elements 8.

Easily bring all your photos and video clips together in one convenient place, and then dive in to a full range of creative activities and share virtually everywhere.

Adobe Photoshop Elements 8 Plus includes the award-winning software, 20GB of online storage, and ongoing deliveries of exclusive tutorials, artwork, and templates delivered regularly to your desktop. Adobe is currently offering the basic version for $79.99 and Elements 8 Plus for $119 after $20 mail-in rebate.  Purchase both Elements 8 and Elements 8 Premier for $119 after $30 mail-in rebate.

Find out more at adobe.com

Diana Adaptor for Canon and Nikon DSLR

If you’ve been asking yourself ‘how can my Canon or Nikon DSLR produce images like the Diana’ ask no more. Seek psychological help, but ask no more. Actually I have a couple of Holgas and love using these classic no-frills plastic medium format cameras to get simple, artistic images. The Diana is the queen of such cameras and has quite the cult following. Lomography, distributor of optics from Hong Kong-based Diana has now made it possible to get Diana results without having to carry the camera. They have released affordable F+ lens adaptors for Canon EOS and Nikon F-mount SLR and DSLRs so there is no need to carry multiple cameras to get results.

Text from the Diana+ website…

With the brand new Diana F+ SLR adaptors you can now introduce the whole range of effects achievable with the Diana F+ lenses and accessories to your 35mm Canon EOS or Nikon F series cameras. Bring on Fisheye wackiness, sweeping wide-angles and close-up curiosity - just some of the fantastic effects you can experiment with when you combine the Diana F+ SLR Adaptors with the Diana F+ creative add-ons! Simply attach and twist the SLR adaptor to the Canon EOS or Nikon F mounts and then you are ready to slap on your Diana weapon of choice! These adaptors are compatible with Diana's 50 special-effect lenses. The lenses range from Super-wide, Telephoto, Close-up, and Pin-Hole.

The beauty of the SLR Adaptors is that they open up the whole series of Canon EOS and Nikon F cameras to the world Diana effects. This means whether yours is one of the earliest Nikon Fs from the late 1950s or an ultra-swanky Canon digital SLR – you can join in with the whole Diana experience!

See for yourself at the Lomography website.

Fall 2009 Youth Sports: First Photos

The Fall youth sports season if finally underway. The kids here in Gilbert, Arizona can compete and play in only 103 degree sunshine of September instead of the balmy 113 degrees of August. Lucky tikes! Currently the two most popular sports are football and soccer, so naturally that is what I’m shooting. Gilbert Youth Soccer Association and Gilbert Youth Football League offer some great, affordable programs for kids. While the football is very competitive for the older kids, the soccer, especially at the 4-5 year old level is enjoyable to watch, as the girls in this case, learn the fundamentals of the game. Of course at 4-5 years old, it’s pretty much six little girls running up and down the field trying to steal the ball from each other, even if on the same team.

My typical outdoor gear for youth sports is my trusty Sony Alpha 100 and the classic Minolta 70-200mm F4 AF Lens, affectionately called the ‘beercan’. While it was a typical sunny day in the Valley of the Sun(stroke) with lots of natural light, I still choose to utilize ISO 200 to ensure I freeze all of the action.

I’ve posted a handful of images and provided a link to the gallery, or it can be viewed from the Recent Photo Galleries section.

Pentax (and Sony) Thinking About Micro Four-Thirds Format

Speaking of Pentax, they may be investigating the possibility of producing a Micro Four-Thirds format camera to compete with Olympus and Panasonic. Stephen Sanderson, product coordinator at Pentax UK's Imaging Systems Division, has stated they are investigating different options. Apparently Sony is also contemplating a Micro Four-Thirds model. Micro Four Thirds is an interchangeable lens camera system first announced last year by Olympus and Panasonic. Manufacturers say they hope to win over compact camera users who find DSLRS 'big, heavy and difficult to operate'. The absence of a mirror box - a feature of digital SLRs - helps to keep down the size of the camera.

Olympus recently released the E-P1 to compete with larger DLSR models.  See the Recent Digital Camera Reviews section for a preview of the E-P1 from dpreview.com.

Pentax To Offer New K-x 12.4MP DLSR

Pentax has announced a new 12.4MP CMOS sensor DLSR for around $649 with an 18-55mm lends. Like all Pentax (and Sony) DSLR models the K-x includes built-in image stabilization. It also features Live View, HD Video capture, in-camera HDR, and 4.7 FPS capture speed among others. The K-x will even be available in limited, special edition colors such as red and navy.

See the brief hands-on preview by dpreview.com