Sigma SD14 Review at CNET

CNET have reviewed the new Sigma SD14 DSLR camera. “Under the right circumstances, the Sigma SD14 can create very nice images, but once you move up to higher ISOs, the image quality degrades significantly. At ISO 100 or ISO 200, colors look quite accurate and the camera’s white balance is generally neutral. If anything, colors looked slightly oversaturated in our test images, especially reds and oranges. As you increase the ISO, however, not only do you see a increase in noise, but the entire color profile of the camera


http://www.photographyblog.com/index.php/weblog/comments/sigma_sd14_review_at_cnet/

Blog, Blog, Blog, Blog, Photoblog

During the recent silly season of national electioneering, blogs and bloggers appeared on the radar screens of America’s media in major newspapers and on TV. Unfortunately that awareness did not come with an explanation that a blog is short for weblog, or that a weblog is really an individual’s daily journal or diary self-published on the World Wide Web. So then, what is a photoblog? The answer put simply is that it is a photoblog when a photograph is substituted for a text message or part of a text message, as most photoblogs have some verbal content as well as pictures. There is yet one more neologism that is pertinent to this phenomenon, and that is moblog, which is short for mobile blog, or one that is posted by means of a mobile, wireless device like a WiFi-equipped laptop, a PDA, or even a cell phone.

As far as the history of personal computing and the Internet is concerned, blogs are not really new. A few bloggers, even photobloggers, have been doing this for a decade or more. What brings blogs and photoblogs to our attention is that the number of participants has grown exponentially and reached “critical mass” due almost entirely to the popularity and growth of some new technologies. As far as photoblogs are concerned, the limitation in the past had been the slowness of dial-up Internet connections and, until recently, the cost of good digital cameras. Recently, photoblog activity expanded like a field of mushrooms with the proliferation of inexpensive compact digital cameras, widespread adoption of broadband Internet connections, and the advent of cell phones with digital cameras built-in.

Technology alone however, does not explain photoblogs. There has been an association of the Internet and photography for some time, if you take into account the many websites which cater to photographers, such as AOL’s “You’ve Got Pictures,” or independent commercial sites like Ofoto and Shutterfly. Professional, fine arts, and even many serious enthusiasts have set up their own individual websites with galleries of their own photographs.

So, what is it about a blog, an individual journal of daily submissions of photographs, that has attracted so much participation? Part of it, I think, is inherent to the nature of people who are attracted to making pictures with a camera. Photographic enthusiasts tend to be rather individualistic—it is just you and your camera and it’s definitely not a team sport. However, once a photograph is made, what do you do with it? Rather than just filing pictures in shoe boxes once they are created, it is natural for most to want to share their view and perspective of the world, that dimension of reality and life they find interesting. A photoblog serves photo enthusiasts ideally to satisfy a need to “use” what they produce with a camera, in a free, individual, unstructured space that is open to all comers. Photoblogging is a low-cost, non-commercial, democratic “virtual gallery,” and because it is a daily journal, it’s ever changing with its attraction dynamic, always new and full of surprises for those who visit.

Exploring The World Of Photoblogs
Whether or not you have any interest in starting your own photoblog, exploring what is out there on the web can be entertaining, and more, as long as you realize there are just a few diamonds with a lot of rough surrounding them. In my own journey of discovery the first I came to that made me think I should take this photoblog phenomenon seriously was a site called A Walk Through Durham Township, Pennsylvania, at: www.durhamtownship.com/blog-archives/001412.html. Besides containing a collection of remarkably sensitive photographs that reflects a keen eye for light and atmosphere, the images, whether intended or not, promote the locale to other photographers who might just want to visit and photograph there themselves.

Today, finding interesting and rewarding photoblogs has been made easy by some dedicated people who have created websites that track individual photoblogs and provide links to many which the managers of the sites have found interesting or exceptional. From a photo enthusiast’s perspective, the website that offers the richest harvest is www.photoblogs.org.

http://www.shutterbug.com/features/0105sb_photblog/

The benefits of Digital Photograpy

Recently Print Digital was asked to explain the benefits of using a digital camera over a more traditional based film camera, we are sure those who use digital cameras already can think of many good reasons why a digital camera is more often than not a better choice for a camera. We decided it would be a great idea to put our reasons down into article for the site, if there are any more first time buyers out there and still need a little more information then we hope this will help you to join the digital world.

• Price of digital cameras have dropped significantly over the last few years. It is now easy to spend £100 and come away with a great digital camera with a host of advanced features for altering the camera settings to get a good picture.
  


• Once a picture has been taken with a film based camera you will not see it again untill the film has been developed. With a digital camera you can view the image on the camera and then decide to delete or keep the image before viewing it on a computer screen or printing it out.


• Once the camera has been purchased there is little else to pay for, if you decide to print out the pictures yourself then there will be more to pay for ink, photographic paper and even a good quality printer.
  


• It is easy to transfer the photos onto a personal computer through a USB connection, the only way that this can be done with a film based camera is to scan the pictures, which adds more cost and time to the whole photography experience.
  


• Storage of images is easier to manage, as once they are on the PC then they can be archived. For extra safe storage they can be stored on a CD or DVD and then put away for safe keeping.
  

• It is easy to crop and rotate images once on the PC with cheap or free image editing software, there are many advanced techniques that can be done with software such as Photoshop but this comes with a more hefty price tag. Altering the colour, contrast, hue levels, saturation can be done more freely with a digital camera, making a completely different image made up of several others can eaily be done once you come to grips with the software.

These are only a few reasons why Print Digital like to use digital cameras over film cameras. A digital camera comes into its own with the different amount of features that they come with and how versatile they are. We never mentioned how verstaile the storage is on the camera itself for example.

http://www.print-digital.info/articles/benefits-of-digital-photography.html

The benefits of Digital Photograpy

Recently Print Digital was asked to explain the benefits of using a digital camera over a more traditional based film camera, we are sure those who use digital cameras already can think of many good reasons why a digital camera is more often than not a better choice for a camera. We decided it would be a great idea to put our reasons down into article for the site, if there are any more first time buyers out there and still need a little more information then we hope this will help you to join the digital world.

• Price of digital cameras have dropped significantly over the last few years. It is now easy to spend £100 and come away with a great digital camera with a host of advanced features for altering the camera settings to get a good picture.
  


• Once a picture has been taken with a film based camera you will not see it again untill the film has been developed. With a digital camera you can view the image on the camera and then decide to delete or keep the image before viewing it on a computer screen or printing it out.


• Once the camera has been purchased there is little else to pay for, if you decide to print out the pictures yourself then there will be more to pay for ink, photographic paper and even a good quality printer.
  


• It is easy to transfer the photos onto a personal computer through a USB connection, the only way that this can be done with a film based camera is to scan the pictures, which adds more cost and time to the whole photography experience.
  


• Storage of images is easier to manage, as once they are on the PC then they can be archived. For extra safe storage they can be stored on a CD or DVD and then put away for safe keeping.

• It is easy to crop and rotate images once on the PC with cheap or free image editing software, there are many advanced techniques that can be done with software such as Photoshop but this comes with a more hefty price tag. Altering the colour, contrast, hue levels, saturation can be done more freely with a digital camera, making a completely different image made up of several others can eaily be done once you come to grips with the software.

These are only a few reasons why Print Digital like to use digital cameras over film cameras. A digital camera comes into its own with the different amount of features that they come with and how versatile they are. We never mentioned how verstaile the storage is on the camera itself for example.

http://www.print-digital.info/articles/benefits-of-digital-photography.html

Fujifilm FinePix S9000 Digital Camera Review

he Fujifilm FinePix S9000 has the look of a digital single lens reflex camera and almost has the feel, but its 10.7x optical zoom lens is not detachable. This digital camera aims to bridge the gap between compact cameras with ultra-zoom lenses and the growing market of low-end digital SLRs. Indeed, the FinePix S9000 is somewhere in between. It has 9 megapixels on a 1/1.6-inch CCD, an RP image processor, and its long Fujinon lens to round out its Real Photo Technology. This Fujifilm digital camera, known as the S9500 outside the United States, has a unique 1.8-inch LCD monitor that folds outward from the camera and tilts at different angles. It does not rotate in a camcorder-like fashion, but simply tilts outward for a better viewing angle. The Fujifilm FinePix S9000 has the functionality of a low-end SLR with its manual and priority modes. The camera also has some elements from the compact end of the market: full live preview on its LCD, a VGA movie mode that shoots at 30 frames per second, and five scene modes located on its main mode dial. In some areas, the FinePix S9000 incorporates elements from both segments of the market; the camera accepts both CompactFlash and xD-Picture Cards and should be an intriguing option for consumers looking at both compact ultra-zoom models and entry level single lens reflex alternatives.

http://www.digitalcamerainfo.com/content/Fujifilm-FinePix-S9000-Digital-Camera-Review-.htm

Super CCD technology moves digital camera image quality closer to film

Highlight:
High-end photographers and hobbyists have resisted the digital wave, due to the superior image quality produced by film cameras. A new technology from Fuji may change that over the next few years. The company’s new 6.2-megapixel FinePix F700 camera uses a new CCD technology that doubles the number of pixels on the CCD, giving the camera four times the dynamic range found in previous generations. The F700 will retail for $599.99.

Summary:

* Digital cameras have become a phenomenon in the photography world.
* They are small, easy to use and make sharing photos simple and fun.
* However, one problem we've seen with digital is the often inferior quality of the photos.
* The company's proprietary Super CCD SR technology helps improve image quality and is now available in the company's new FinePix F700.
* Digital Highlighting If you're an avid digital photographer, you may have noticed that the highlights and shadows of your images are never completely true to life.
* This is due to the camera's limited dynamic range.
* Since you love those kids, you want to make sure they're the subject of the picture, with the beautiful scenery as background.
* Fujifilm's answer to this is the Super CCD SR (Super Dynamic Range) which is, as of this writing, the first and only 6.2 million-pixel digital camera available for the consumer market.
* Double The Fun The Super CCD SR technology doubles the number of pixels found on a typical CCD chip.
* It uses two types of octagonal pixels, which are arranged in what Fujifilm calls a double-honeycomb structure.
* Larger, high-sensitivity S-pixels sit below smaller, lower-sensitivity R-pixels.
* Fuji also designed SR so that the photodiodes (particles of semiconductor material that detect light and convert it to electricity) in each pixel are bigger--which, in turn, makes the dynamic range almost four times greater than before.
* The camera combines the data from both the S- and R-pixels to produce an image that lets you see your kids and the Grand Canyon clear as a bell.
* We could see every particle of snow, every bump and shadow.
* The F700 also has a combined 6.6x zoom capability with a 3x optical zoom and 2.2x digital zoom.

http://www.newstarget.com/003476.html

Digital camera exports from China rise sharply

Highlight:
Exports of digital cameras from Mainland China in 2004 are estimated at 73 million units valued at $5.5 billion, up from 48.63 units worth $2.96 billion in 2003, a 190% increase. The 2003 total represented 86% of global production. With higher resolution and steady supply stabilizing prices, further explosive growth is seen for 2005.

Summary:

* Mainland China dominates global output as Taiwan and Hong Kong roll out higher-resolution models.Steady supply stabilizes prices.
* About 200 makers are in mainland China's digital camera industry, with less than a third of them active and into mass production.
* About 90 percent are located in Guangdong province, shipping 56 percent of the country's exports.
* A healthy mix of domestic and foreign-invested makers have set up manufacturing bases in the mainland to capitalize on the country's support industries that serve as suppliers of digital camera parts and components, as well as of services such as mold-making, plastic injection, metal stamping and machining, and surface mounting of sensor modules.
* These include Hong Kong and Taiwan makers that mainly focus on the OEM/ODM business for overseas markets, although some of them plan to promote their own brand.
* Others, such as famous domestic IT brands Lenovo and Founder Tech, are subcontracting their manufacturing capabilities to mainland makers as they strengthen their in-house design and brands.
* Taipei-based Market Intelligence Center (MIC) translates this to total shipment value exceeding $500 million, rising 18.5 percent from Q1 2004, and more than 50 percent in terms of year-on-year change.
* Digital cameras adopting CCD image sensors remain the driving force in shipments volume, accounting for 70 percent of exports in Q2 2004.
* Guangzhou Darling Industrial Inc.'s first camera models with MPEG-4 video decoder and MP3 playback support would have been put into production by end-2004.
* In Hong Kong, Sunox Technology Ltd plans to release 4MP models in 2005, using interpolation technology.
* Models with MP3, radio, voice recording and binocular/telescope features have already been released and more are expected to come out in early 2005.
* In Taiwan, BenQ Corp.'s digital sports cameras have video and voice recorders, FM radio tuners and MP3 player functions.


http://www.newstarget.com/003252.html

Camera phones, digital cameras converge in new Samsung model

Samsung announced a new 7-megapixel digital camera phone at the annual CeBIT trade show in Hanover, Germany. The camera phone has a 3x optical zoom, similar to those found on conventional digital cameras, and a flash. The unit can be accessorized with a wide-angle converter and a tele-converter.

* his year, Samsung used the conference environment to spotlight one of their upcoming gadgets, the SCH-V770 mobile phone.
* What makes the SCH-V770 so attractive to consumers and industry experts is the addition of a 7 mega-pixel camera, which will be featured with the unit.
* The SCH-V770 is similar to a 3-megapixel model released last year by Samsung and is distinctive because at first glance it resembles a digital still camera.
* Its camera-like looks are thanks in a large part to a 3X optical zoom lens, just like that found on conventional digital still cameras, and a camera-style flash.
* On the rear of the phone there's a 2-inch color TFT (thin film transistor) display and a keypad for operating the phone and camera functions...
* Users can also clip a wide-angle convertor and tele-convertor to the front of the lens on the SCH-V770.

See more articles and news on Samsung
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http://www.newstarget.com/003714.html