News

Manfrotto
has announced a new line of carbon fiber tripods, dubbed "CX. "
The new CX family is highlighted by redesigned locking levers, new leg angle
selectors, and re engineered magnesium and aluminum castings. The new ergonomic
locking levers are much easier for shooters to operate and thanks to their new
design, become a seamless element of all CX tripods. Much like the aluminum
190XPROB, the new CX PRO models feature Manfrotto's innovative Q90°
(Quick Center Column System). The Q90° system allows the center column to
be rotated to a horizontal position with one simple motion, all without removing
the head or disassembling the column itself, making switching between framing
and positioning setups easier. Additionally, Manfrotto has redesigned the top
plate on 190CXPRO4 and190CXPRO3 tripods. The magnesium top plate on the CX PRO
series now incorporates a bubble to help aid in leveling the camera and tripod,
and has also been refined for a more attractive look. The redesign of the plate
also yields a significant reduction in weight.



In order to reach high-quality standards and high levels of performance, rigidity
and lightness, the new Manfrotto CX tubes are made of 100 percent carbon fiber.
When it comes to the use of composite materials-- especially carbon fiber --
in the manufacture of photographic supports, the end result can vary and ultimately
depends on the production process and the ratio of carbon fiber material to
epoxy present in the tubes. For its CX carbon fiber tripods, Manfrotto utilized
nothing other than 100 percent carbon fiber and employed pultrusion, pull winding
technology to manufacture the tubes. Pultrusion is a production process that
allows for the manufacture of carbon fiber tubes that excel in both flexion
resistance and torsion rigidity; features that matter most for camera support
applications.



The 190CXPRO4 and 190CXPRO3 feature all carbon fiber tubes, including a tri-faceted
center column, while the simpler CX3 version features carbon fiber tubes paired
with an aluminum center column and aluminum top plate.

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Eastman Kodak Company (NYSE: EK) and Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. (NYSE: WMT) have announced
the launch of a national program to recycle used materials from in-store picture
kiosks. The program is underway at about 4,100 Wal-Mart stores and Sam's
Clubs in the U.S. that operate KODAK Picture Kiosks, and is expected to annually
recycle 2 million pounds of thermal printer ribbon, spools and cartridges. That
amount is equivalent to the weight of approximately six, 250-passenger commercial
airliners.

Calumet Photographic has released another original production for its collection
of educational and instructional DVDs, The Essence of Photography with John Upton.

Corel Corporation (NASDAQ: CREL; TSX: CRE), a leading developer of graphics,
productivity and digital media software, today announced that it has launched
The Painter Factory (www.painterfactory.com), a new online community open to
all Corel Painter artists and enthusiasts. This global community site is the
newest in a series that Corel is launching to support its various user communities.

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DxO Labs today announced that DxO Optics Pro v5, the latest version of its
award-winning flagship software application for automatic image quality enhancement
for Digital SLR camera users, now supports the new Nikon D3 camera body and
an initial selection of lenses. The addition of this professional Digital SLR
comes close on the heels of support for the recently released Nikon D300 advanced
Digital SLR. Lens correction modules for three popular Nikkor lenses are available
for the Nikon D3: the AF-S Nikkor 24-70mm f/2.8G ED, the AF Nikkor 50mm f/1.4D
and the AF-S Nikkor 14-24mm f/2.8G ED. Support for the Nikon D3 and lenses is
available in DxO Optics Pro v5 Elite.

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Calumet Photographic offers affordable yet sophisticated self-contained flash
units, the Genesis 200w/s and 400w/s moonlights. These flash units provide all
the power and lighting control needed to create professional-looking portraits
and great still-life tabletop photographs. They provide recycling times as low
as one second. The Genesis flash units' 5-volt sync voltage is even safe
for today's digital cameras.

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