News

AgfaPhoto, the independent company which has emerged from the Consumer Imaging
division of the Agfa-Gevaert Group, has announced it has created a unified website
to give consumers a single destination for a wide range of photo processing services.
The new site -- www.agfaphoto.com -- merges two of the company's earlier
web portals, www.agfanet.com
and www.agfaphoto.com.



AgfaPhoto's new website features an improved design and user interface as
well as a selection of new Photo Service pages tailored to the needs of users.
Visitors to the site will find useful facilities such as the AgfaPhoto Print Service
for ordering prints from digital photos, as well as services for creating personalized
postcards and designing original photo gifts. With the AgfaPhoto Web Album, users
can show their digital photos online to family and friends and enable them to
order prints. This service is available free of charge for the first ten days
after a consumer's initial visit to the site.



www.agfaphoto.com
...

The
new KODAK EASYSHARE V550 and V530 zoom digital cameras blend video and still photography.
The V550 and V530 cameras are equipped with 5-megapixel (MP) resolution sensors
and the packages include the KODAK EASYSHARE Photo Frame Dock 2 -- which provides
one-touch picture transfer to a connected computer while keeping the cameras'
high-capacity battery charged and ready to go. Users can play video and photo
`slideshows' on the cameras' high-resolution LCD screens. The
V Model V550 has a SCHNEIDER-KREUZNACH C-VARIOGON 3X optical zoom lens and nineteen
scene modes such as beach, snow, sunset and party. The EASYSHARE V550 camera will
be available worldwide beginning this June for US$399 (MSRP). The EASYSHARE V530
camera will be available worldwide beginning in July 2005 for US$349 (MSRP).



V-series cameras include KODAK EASYSHARE software for WINDOWS and MACINTOSH systems,
providing effortless digital picture organization, editing, sharing and printing
-- and even CD and DVD burning. The exclusive One Touch to Better Pictures feature
takes advantage of proprietary color technologies developed by Kodak to help users
get prints from inkjet printers. Version 5.0 -- available as a free download from
www.kodak.com beginning this
summer -- will feature new video editing tools that allow users to quickly and
simply trim, splice, rotate and add music to videos.
...

Microsoft Corp., together with leading companies in the digital imaging industry,
today announced enhancements to the family of Windows operating systems that will
enable consumers to easily work with RAW files in current and future versions
of Windows. Working closely with digital imaging industry leaders including Adobe
Systems Inc., Canon Inc., Fuji Photo Film Co. Ltd. and Nikon Corp., Microsoft
plans to deliver native support for digital camera RAW images in the next major
version of Windows, code-named "Longhorn."



In addition, Microsoft is enhancing the digital imaging experience for Windows
XP with the upcoming availability of the Microsoft RAW Image Thumbnailer and Viewer
for Windows XP, allowing consumers to view thumbnails and preview and print Canon
and Nikon RAW files from Windows Explorer in Windows XP. These features, as well
as the ability to organize and edit Canon and Nikon RAW files, will also be available
in a future version of Digital Image Suite.



Microsoft also announced it is developing a certification program for third-party
RAW image codecs that will ensure their solutions provide a consistent experience
for consumers who are using RAW image files. With this new RAW support across
the Windows platform and products, Microsoft is enabling a seamless experience
for consumers working with RAW digital images and delivering an extensible architecture
for hardware and software industry partners.



Microsoft worked with imaging leaders to develop the digital camera RAW architecture
in "Longhorn" and to provide the best digital photography experience
for Windows consumers. "Longhorn" will deliver dramatic innovation
in RAW support for independent software developers, camera manufacturers and consumers.
Hardware and software partners will benefit from the standardized architecture
for image codecs, which allows them to contribute their own codecs to be certified
and implemented in Windows.



Microsoft's platform approach provides built-in support for RAW files, enabling
Windows-based applications to use all supported image types, including RAW. This
architecture enables software applications to seamlessly support new image types
upon codec certification by Microsoft. In addition, "Longhorn" will
provide an application programming interface (API) that enables software vendors
to exercise a higher degree of control over the RAW conversion in their applications,
while enabling market opportunities for professional-level conversion tools.



In addition to announcing the imaging enhancements planned for the next version
of Windows, Microsoft is helping Windows XP consumers realize the potential of
RAW files. The Microsoft RAW Image Thumbnailer and Viewer for Windows XP will
soon be available for free download* at http://www.microsoft.com.
...

Lowepro has introduced its new CompuRover AW backpack. Designed with three
distinct compartments, the CompuRover AW comfortably fits a large professional
digital SLR camera, additional lenses, a 17-inch notebook computer, digital
accessories and personal gear. The CompuRover AW provides heavy duty padding
throughout its design to make transporting equipment extremely comfortable.
The backpack's shoulder harness is reinforced with additional padding
to alleviate shoulder stress when carrying heavy gear for extended periods of
time. In addition, the removable waistbelt is reinforced with thick padding
for added support and balance of the backpack.

...

Alera
Technologies has announced an industry first, the DVD/CD duplicator with LightScribe
technology that Laser burns labels directly on DVD/CD discs. The 1:1 DVD/CD Copy
Cruiser Pro LS is the only personal disc publisher that records and duplicates
DVDs and CDs and prints custom silkscreen quality labels without a printer --
all in a machine that fits easily on your desk. You can create your own custom
labels, with text and graphics, using the software included with the unit.



The 1:1 DVD/CD Copy Cruiser Pro LS, the first LightScribe DVD/CD Personal Publisher,
has anestimated street price of $399.



To print labels you simply place LightScribe certified media with the label side
down in the recorder, attach the DVD/CD Copy Cruiser Pro LS to your PC and burn
any label you have created. The LightScribe printing technology is very high resolution
and offers superior quality and clarity that can be compared to silkscreen. The
DVD/CD Copy Cruiser Pro LS incorporates 16x DVD recording technology and can function
as a 1:1 DVD/CD Duplicator or an external USB 2.0 DVD/CD Recorder. The 1:1 DVD/CD
Copy Cruiser Pro LS is a package that is truly desktop with only a 7 x 11 inch
footprint and weighing less than 12 pounds.



Complete information available at http://www.aleratec.com...

Danish and U.S. digital imaging software specialists Pixmantec and Imagenomic,
have announced that they will be jointly marketing their respective software products,
RawShooter essentials 2005 and Noiseware. Working together, these two highly sophisticated
and complementary "tool sets" extend RAW conversion and noise removal
to an elevated level of workflow performance and convenience The companies will
initially cross-promote RawShooter essentials 2005 and Noiseware as a precursor
to joint marketing and distribution. Pixmantec and Imagenomic also intend to explore
the potential to forge closer cooperation through joint product and technology
development.



www.pixmantec.com
...

The new Olympus Stylus 800 offers an array of innovative technologies: Bright
Capture Technology for low-light photography; a HyperCrystal LCD for high-contrast
viewing; metal, all-weather construction for protection against the elements;
manual exposure and aperture settings for creative control and versatility;
as well as an 8.0-megapixel image sensor.
...