New Sinar Hy6 Digital Medium-Format Camera

EDISON, NJ, May 2007 - Sinar, the legendary Swiss company that pioneered the use of digital imaging technology in the professional photography market, is bringing to market its much-anticipated Sinar Hy6 medium format digital camera system. The Sinar Hy6, which received the Photokina Star 2006 award for most outstanding new product, is the result of collaboration between Sinar, the technology giant Jenoptik and Franke & Heidecke (Rolleiflex). Designed to capture images using both digital and conventional film backs, the Hy6 offers photographers a true 6x6 cm medium-format size with the flexibility of a 4.5x6 cm camera.

"The Sinar Hy6 embodies the technological know-how, precision engineering and manufacturing of three world-renowned companies whose single objective was to create a medium-format camera system that is intuitive in design and second to none in performance," said Cathy Strobel, President, Sinar Bron Imaging. "A fully integrated digital system, the Sinar Hy6 will support the entire Sinar digital product line-up."

Open System
The Sinar Hy6 is based on an 'open system' design and can easily adapt to advancements in future chip technology by allowing the insertion of larger (higher-resolution) image sensors of up to 56x56 mm.

Sinar's Legendary Image Quality and Operational Flexibility
The camera's synchronized flash speeds of up to 1/1000 second, combined with a wide selection of high-quality Sinaron, Schneider and Zeiss lenses, deliver optimum image quality and edge-to-edge sharpness in any situation. The Sinar Hy6 can be operated either by using the controls on the camera or remotely via computer by using the Sinar CaptureShop™ software, a key feature for studio photographers. An integrated LC display on the rotating control grip allows photographers to see and read settings from nearly any angle. This is especially important for photographers working from the computer.

"The Sinar Hy6 offers numerous features that give photographers the freedom, flexibility and functionality they need to remain competitive in today's digital imaging marketplace," said Ms. Strobel. "Sinar's legendary commitment to quality combined with support from parent company Jenoptik is a winning recipe for the success of this camera."

Availability and Pricing
The Sinar Hy6/Sinarback eMotion 75LV medium-format digital camera system will begin shipping in the U.S. in mid-July with a suggested catalog price of $32,500. The Sinar Hy6/Sinarback eMotion 54LV will have a suggested catalog price of $30,500. The Sinar Hy6 System will be supported worldwide through authorized Sinar service centers.

Award Winning Wide-Angle Ricoh Caplio GX100

Tokyo, Japan - Caplio GX100 high-resolution compact camera released by Ricoh Co., Ltd. in April 2007 has been named Best Prestige Camera in Europe 2007 at the TIPA Awards 2007. The winners of these photo and imaging awards are chosen by the Technical Image Press Association (TIPA), an organisation made up of European camera and video magazines.

The following aspects of the Caplio GX100 were highly regarded, earning the camera this award. The Ricoh Caplio GX100 is one of the very few digital compact cameras with a true wide-angle zoom lens, starting at 24mm (35mm film equivalent). The optional wide conversion lens enables users to shoot 19mm ultra wide-angle photography. The Caplio GX100 is also the first digital camera to support a removable electronic viewfinder. This option is great for photography in bright, outdoor environments, while still offering 100% viewfinder coverage without parallax error and multi information display similar to a LCD monitor.

TIPA is an organisation of photo and imaging magazines that focus on technology and quality as well as innovative products. It currently has 31 member magazines in 12 countries in Europe. The TIPA Awards recognise the best products in individual categories in the photo/imaging field. These awards were inaugurated in 1991, and are today recognised as Europe's most prestigious awards of their kind. This marks the fourth time that Ricoh has been recognised at the TIPA Awards. The last time was in 2006, when the Ricoh GR DIGITAL won Best Prestige Camera in Europe 2006.

Macworld Reviews Dreamweaver CS3

David Sawyer McFarland of Macworld takes a closer look at the new Dreamweaver CS3 from Adobe. Originally a Macromedia product, before Adobe purchased Macromedia, Dreamweaver has now been integrated into the Creative Suite editions now available from Adobe. Below is an excerpt from the Macworld online article.

Adobe Dreamweaver CS3 has always been a solid tool for creating and maintaining Web sites. The latest version builds on an already powerful product by adding support for Intel processors, Photoshop integration, and templates and tools that simplify CSS (Cascading Style Sheets) design. It also expands into new territory by adding the Spry Framework for Ajax, a combination of technologies that includes JavaScript, CSS, and HTML for building interactive user interfaces such as pop-up navigation menus, tabbed panels, interactive tables, special visual effects, real-time form validation, and more, without having to return to the server to refresh the page.

Read the entire Macworld article.

Bruce Davidson West Coast Tour May 3, 4 & 6

Magnum photographer Bruce Davidson is making a three-day West Coast tour to talk about his work, most famously documenting the Civil Rights Movement. His images from 1961 to 1965 will be featured in the exhibition Time of Change at Aperture Gallery, which opens May 17.

May 3, 7 pm
Hammer Museum
Gallery Six
10899 Wilshire Blvd., Los Angeles

May 4, 7:30 pm
PhotoAlliance at the San Francisco Art Institute
800 Chestnut St., San Francisco

May 6, 5 pm
Henry Art Gallery
15th Ave. NE and NE 41st St., Seattle
Image provided by Bruce Davidson.

Lonestar's Layer Blended Halo Reduction Sharpening Action

The second generation of Lonestar's Layer Blended Halo Reduction sharpening action, dubbed "LBHR2", is designed to sharpen images with a minimum of fuss, and without halos and increased chrominance noise. Two variants are available - one using unsharp masking and working with Photoshop 5, 6, 7, CS, CS2, and CS3, while the second variant only works in the latter two versions and instead uses their new Smart Sharpen feature.

Both variants work on Macintosh and Windows computers, and can be downloaded free of charge from the Lonestardigital website.

New PhotoUpLink Export Plug-In for Aperture

Developer Mark Morris has announced that PhotoUpLink is available for Aperture 1.5 and can be downloaded and purchased from http://www.photouplink.com.

PhotoUpLink for Aperture contains all the features of the iPhoto plugin with some enhancements. The ODBC export feature now allows users to append to existing database tables as well as create new tables in any ODBC data source that supports binary large objects, including MySQL, Oracle, IBM DB 2 or Microsoft SQL Server. PhotoUpLink for Aperture fully supports all resize, file format and renaming options of Aperture and combines them with the unique feature set of PhotoUpLink for ultimate flexibility. A couple of clicks and a group of images can be added to a ZIP archive as thumbnails for example.

Images can be processed by Aperture export and then with PhotoUpLink sent to a secure FTP server, a FileMaker database or inserted into a Microsoft PowerPoint or Word document as well as being sent to any ODBC data source. When exporting to an ODBC database, complete property lists of IPTC, Exif and custom metadata are included in the database in XML format for easy querying.

"This really opens up many possibilities for monetizing and distributing photographic assets," said PhotoUpLink creator and author Mark Morris. "All the work of cataloging and keywords can now be amortized across multiple delivery platforms and sent to customer facing web applications with ease and flexibility." ODBC data features were developed with MySQL Server and the high performance, stable and easy to install ODBC drivers from Actual Technologies.

PhotoUpLink streamlines the process of photograph distribution from Aperture with innovative email attachments that automatically import these files into a local iPhoto album or Windows My Pictures folder after an FTP upload. Photos and videos are not limited by size restrictions or email server limits, as the PhotoUpLink-generated email triggers the downloads directly from the designated FTP site.

For additional information about PhotoUpLink for Aperture, visit http://www.photouplink.com.

Pentax Offers 'Plethora Of Rebates' On Products

Buying a PENTAX has always been a bargain! And, building a PENTAX SLR system is easier than ever! Cash in on a plethora of rebates on purchases of: K10D/K100D, AF-360FGZ/AF-540FGZ flash units, BG2 Battery Grip and an array of PENTAX lenses. Download the rebate coupon and act now to build the system that is essential to your experience. Rebate offer valid May 1, 2007 through July 31, 2007.

PENTAX just made it easier to own the powerful Optio A30, the fun-to-use Optio T30 or the easy-to-use Optio E30. Buy one or all three of these popular compact digital cameras and you can cash in up to $50 per camera. So, download a rebate coupon and capture picture perfect dads, grads and brides! Rebate offer valid May 1, 2007 through July 31, 2007.

www.pentaximaging.com/purchase/rebates_offers/

Image Moments Digital Frame Mother's Day Promotion From Digital Foci

Los Angeles, CA, May, 2007 - Digital Foci, Inc. www.digitalfoci.com announced today their Mother's Day Promotion for their award-winning Image Moments 8" digital photo frame. The perfect Mother's Day Gift, customers will receive a FREE Gold or Silver interchangeable frame (a $20 value) for a limited time when they purchase an Image Moments digital photo frame.

Priced at $199, the Image Moments digital photo frame comes with a Standard Black Frame that matches perfectly with living room or office d�cor. To celebrate Mother's Day, from now until May 13th, Digital Foci is offering a free Gold or Silver interchangeable frame with any Image Moments digital photo frame purchase. In addition to the free frame, customers can also receive another Gold or Silver frame for just $10 more. In addition, there are 10 other different frame styles to choose from Digital Foci's frame selection, sold separately at $19.95 each.

This Mother's Day, give your mom a Digital Foci Image Moments digital photo frame and let her display, share, and re-live her precious memories at home or at the office on a selection of beautiful interchangeable picture frames. Just insert any digital camera card into Image Moments and memories will instantly come to life in sharp, vibrant color on its big 8-inch high-resolution digital LCD screen.

The handy "Slideshow Mode" lets your mom automatically scroll through her photo collections. MP3 music soundtracks and MPEG video can be also added for more creative options to personalize her experience. Slideshow intervals and transitions can be changed with a touch of the included remote control. The frame also includes an automatic on/off timer, which can be set to activate or turn off Image Moments according to her schedule.

With its built-in memory card slots, Image Moments can display photos directly from digital camera memory cards without a computer or subscription. Image Moments reads from virtually all cards, including CompactFlash I/II, MD, MMC, SD Card, Memory Stick, MS PRO, miniSD, MS Duo, and xD-Picture Card (Standard & H-Type).

For more details, go to: http://www.digitalfoci.com/mother_day_special.html and http://www.digitalfoci.com/image_moments.html