Photographium

CENTER VALLEY, Pa., January 7, 2010 – Olympus unveils the STYLUS TOUGH-3000, a shockproof, waterproof and freezeproof compact camera designed to capture all of life’s adventures from the extreme to the everyday. As the first Stylus Tough camera with High-Definition (HD) video, features like Magic Filter that expand your creativity and AF tracking to keep subjects in focus, the STYLUS TOUGH-3000 is as smart as it is durable. It’s also the first of several Stylus Tough cameras to be launched in 2010.

Whether it’s being flung into a backpack or passed around at a family party, you’ll never have to worry about getting the µ TOUGH-3000 back in one piece. But the model isn’t just sturdy – it has a number of new features to boot:

Chronicle all the action in an HD movie and show your friends on a TV connected via HDMI or flip through images easily on the spot with Photo Surfing. Thanks to Olympus’ new [ib] software, you can quickly locate those particular events, people and locations tagged using GPS, Face Detection, or the date. Group portraits as well as shots of a favourite band rocking-out on stage come out just as you imagined with the versatile 3.6x wide optical zoom (28-102mm*). Also a plus: you’ll never be left wanting for space or caught with a dead battery with the convenient 1GB of internal memory, an additional SD card slot and a practical USB charger.

Besides all that, the µ TOUGH-3000’s In-Camera Manual is on hand whenever you need help or some tricks. And just like with the rest of the TOUGH family, a variety of trusted Olympus features from Beauty Mode and i-Auto, AF Tracking to Dual Image Stabilisation make taking great shots easy.

The shockproof, waterproof and freezeproof µ TOUGH-3000 is an affordable solution to capture all of life’s surprises. It will be available in Oxide Red, Turquoise Blue, Hot Pink and Emerald Green from March 2010.

The Olympus µ TOUGH-3000 – main features:

• Shockproof to 1.5m**, waterproof to 3m***, freezeproof to -10°C and scratchproof

• 3.6x wide optical zoom (28-102mm*)

• Dual Image Stabilisation (combines mechanical and digital image stabilisation)

• HD movie recording and HDMI technology

• 12 Megapixels

• 1GB internal memory and SD**** Card compatible

• Photo Surfing and [ib] software

• 6.9cm/2.7” HyperCrystal III LCD (230,000 dots)

• Advanced Face Detection and Shadow Adjustment Technology

• Intelligent Auto Mode (i-Auto) and AF Tracking

• Magic Filters

• In-Camera Manual

• USB charging

* Equivalent to a 35mm camera
** Equivalent to MIL Standard (Olympus test conditions)
*** According to IEC standard publication 529 IPX8
**** SD is a trademark of SD Card Association

Advanced Face Detection Technology

A technology that searches for faces in a composition and recognises them as the main subject. It then automatically puts them in focus and optimally adjusts exposure to create an image that’s sharp in the right places and ideally exposed. Advanced Face Detection Technology can detect up to 16 faces.

AF tracking

This system tracks the moving subject automatically and keeps it continually in focus for pictures that are optimally focused and exposed. It also memorises subject data even when the subject goes out of frame and resumes tracking when it reappears.

Beauty Mode

Beauty mode touches up the appearance of subjects even while the shot is being taken. This feature recognises faces and automatically makes skin on the face and adjacent areas appear smoother, brighter and more youthful.

Dual Image Stabilisation

Providing two-fold protection, this special function helps to avoid image blur caused by camera shake or fast-moving subjects. It combines high ISO values with a CCD-based mechanical image stabiliser, where a built-in gyro sensor detects camera movement and adjusts the CCD accordingly.

Hamburg, 7 January 2010 – Ultra-slim yet bursting with power, Olympus’ latest pocket cameras are ready for their close-up. The new stylish models have retained the original µ series size, but their zoom power and features have grown exponentially. Fitted with up to 10x wide optical zoom and internal memory for endless shooting, these extra-thin zoom cameras are real technology heavyweights. And of course most of the models now boast HD movie recording. Sporting the trusted Olympus technology and available in a range of stunning colours, the µ-5010, µ-7030, µ-7040, and µ-9010 will hit stores in March 2010.

Slip a stylish µ out of your cocktail bag or jacket breast pocket and prepare to impress with one of the world’s smallest zoom power packages. New features in this line-up:

• 14 Megapixels
• HD movie recording and HDMI technology
• Up to 2GB internal memory
• Photo Surfing
• [ib] software
• In-Camera Manual

With 14 Megapixels and up to 2GB of internal memory the new µ cameras shoot brilliant pictures and leave plenty of space to save your masterpieces. Optical zooms ranging from the ultra-slim wide 5x (26-130mm*) and 7x (28-196mm*) to a staggering wide 10x (28-280mm*) ensure you’ll never be at a loss when capturing a group of friends or a point in the distance. Then simply flip through the results using the new Photo Surfing option. Thanks to Olympus [ib] technology, it allows pictures tagged by event, person, or location (using Face Recognition and GPS) to be located easily. LCDs measuring up to 3” make sharing or looking up the latest trick in the In-Camera Manual all the more enjoyable. And you can even shoot HD movies to capture important events in all their glory and relax by watching them on TV via HDMI. What more can you ask for?

UPLOAD YOUR LIFE ONLINE WITH SONY “BLOGGIE” CAMERAS

Two New Stylish Devices Deliver High Definition MP4 Video and Photos to the Web with Ease

LAS VEGAS (CES BOOTH #14200), Jan. 6, 2010 – Sony is providing consumers with networked products to enhance the entertainment experience and chronicle their everyday lives with Sony’s new portable bloggie™ cameras, which make their worldwide debut today. The bloggie camera offers simple, high quality MP4 video and still photo shooting, as well as easy web sharing capabilities.

With the MHS-CM5 and MHS-PM5 bloggie cameras that capture everyday moments in full high definition 1920×1080 MP4 video and 5-megapixel still photos, Sony offers innovative and stylish pocket devices. Once captured, the content can be easily uploaded online via the device’s embedded software and built-in USB arm.

“Pocket cameras are coveted by anyone who loves to capture and share spontaneous moments, so we made these devices compact, easy to use, and with high quality video,” said Andy Bubala, director of the camcorder business at Sony Electronics. “With the new bloggie cameras, Sony creates a new standard of mobility with products and technologies that answer consumers’ on-the-go needs.”

The MHS-CM5 camera sports a “pistol-grip” vertical design for more comfortable shooting, with a large flip-out 2.5” (measured diagonally) LCD screen. It also has 5x optical zoom to get you closer to the action. The bloggie camera even features an HDMI output, letting you enjoy photos and high definition clips on your HDTV.

The ultra-compact, lightweight MHS-PM5 camera slips easily into a pocket or purse so it can be taken anywhere to catch special moments on-the-go. This design is offered in four fashionable colors — dark purple, blue, pink, and white — and features a rotating lens that swivels 270 degrees to capture life from any angle: get down low, aim high or record yourself. The bloggie camera has 4x digital zoom and SteadyShot® image stabilization (cannot be used in 1920×1080/30p and 1280×720/60p recording modes) to reduce shake for smoother footage that can be viewed on a crisp 2.4″ (measured diagonally) LCD with full-screen, horizontal playback in landscape format.

Sony is also offering the MHS-PM5K, which is a bundled kit option that includes a lens to let you experience incredible 360 Video. After attaching the lens, the bloggie camera captures 360-degree footage that can be viewed on a computer with the supplied PMB (Picture Motion Browser) software. It’s a completely new way of seeing the world.

Las Vegas, NV, January 6, 2010 – SANYO North America Corporation (SANYO) is pleased to announce the release of a new Full HD, Slim Type Dual Camera Xacti, VPC-CS1, available in February, 2010.

The Dual Camera series aims to provide customers with more enjoyable video experiences, by offering cameras that allow users to easily capture both photos and videos in daily life, rather than devices that are merely used to record important events. By utilizing a convenient video format that can be easily handled on PC and Internet environments, and even on home TVs, these cameras are more than just hardware for capturing, viewing, and saving images. They are convenient products for sharing videos online, on blogs or on other multi-media sites, and they are able to easily import images to portable media devices. The VPC-CS1 is undergoing certification to be compatible with iFrame, a next generation video format that has been designed to allow users to easily import, edit and share high quality video. SANYO is offering new ways to enjoy images after they are captured, and the Dual Cameras have been well received by consumers all over the world.

Now, SANYO has introduced a new model with a much greater degree of portability in a compact, lightweight and slim design, in order to expand the use of Full HD cameras. It is a new style of video camera that can record events and occasions as well as capture unforgettable scenes or single frames from daily life in Full HD, just as easily as taking a snapshot.

Main Features

1. New style of Dual Camera with the world’s smallest, lightest and thinnest super-slim body

- Product development for the series has been carried out with an emphasis on a compact design that can be taken anywhere and anytime, using the concept of a handy device for recording the moments of daily life.

- In order to make the new models even more compact than previous models, SANYO has developed a slim sensor module and a new super slim lens.

- With its compact size (approx. 126 cc in volume), lightweight design approx. 5 oz), and slim body (1.06” in thickness) for superior portability, the VPC-CS1 is a new style of video camera that will radically expand the situations where it can be used.

- The original vertical ergonomic style enables slim body with usability^*3

2. Easily captures beautiful Full HD videos

- Not only it features a super slim and compact body, but also the VPC-CS1 can capture Full HD videos with a resolution of 1920×1080 pixels.

- The video format used for this model is “MPEG-4 AVC / H.264,” which is easy to use on PC and Internet environments, as it is a single file format, similar to the one used for still photos.

- Consequently, video files are displayed in the same thumbnail format as still picture files, and they can also be played back directly with Windows Media Player, and editable with Windows Live Movie Maker, and are Device Stage compatible. This makes the files even more convenient for use on computers.

New York, NY (January 6, 2010) – The New York Institute of Photography (www.nyi100years.com), America’s oldest and largest photography school, was founded in 1910 and celebrates 100 years of leadership in photography education this year.

In 1910 the Industrial Revolution was in full swing. The world looked to science and technology to make life better and American businesses led the way to that better life with new products, new inventions, and opportunities for people seeking to learn new skills. It was a natural time to start a school to teach the art and science of photography.

In 1910, America’s population was just over 90 million, less than one-third as many people as today. Transportation was bringing people closer and making the world smaller. Henry Ford sold 10,000 cars that year. In New York City, Penn Station, then the world’s largest train hub, opened. The Wright Brothers conducted the first commercial cargo flight and Thomas Edison demonstrated the first talking motion picture. In photography, the first infrared photographs were published in 1910 and the world’s first practical color photography process, the Autochrome, had appeared just three years earlier.

LAS VEGAS (CES Booth 14200) Jan. 6, 2010 – Sony Electronics is expanding its line of solid state camcorders with two new models designed to broaden the shooting capabilities for professionals and consumers. The company is introducing its first professional camcorder that implements the AVCHD format, the HXR-NX5U, as well as a consumer AVCHD model, HDR-AX2000.

The professional HXR-NX5U model is part of Sony’s NXCAM family of video products for professionals. It features Sony’s Exmor™ CMOS sensor with ClearVid™ array, to deliver full high-definition resolution and low light sensitivity with low noise. The camcorder will record AVCHD up to 24Mbps, delivering 1920×1080 high definition images with both interlace and progressive modes along with native 1080/24P, 720/60p and MPEG-2 standard definition recording. Only the professional NX5U camcorder includes both HD-SDI and HDMI™ outputs, as well as two-channel linear PCM audio capabilities. Other unique features for the professional NX5U camcorder include 720/60P recording, built-in GPS function, SMPTE Time Code I/O and an upgrade option for 60i/50i switchable.

AVCHD technology has been widely adopted in Sony’s consumer camcorder line. In the professional market, Sony has already introduced one AVCHD-based model: the compact point-of-view (POV) camera and solid-state recorder combination, model HXR-MC1.

According to Sony, AVCHD is a highly efficient long-GOP codec based on MPEG-4 AVC/H.264 Long-GOP image compression, a member of the MPEG family of codecs. This approach is consistent with Sony’s current line-up of MPEG professional camcorders, including the HDV™, XDCAM® HD optical and XDCAM EX™ series.

The new NXCAM model also shares the 20x optical zoom G lens used in Sony’s HVR-Z5U professional camcorder. The camcorder uses two types of consumer media along with an

LAS VEGAS, Jan. 6, 2010 – By developing the most innovative, stylish and high-quality digital still cameras, Sony has created a new standard of mobility with technologies that answer consumers’ on-the-go needs.

Sony today announced two new 14 MP Cyber-shot® cameras (models DSC-W370 and DSC-W350) with a CCD image sensor that provides the innovative Sweep Panorama™ feature in a slim, compact body, making it easy to get the best shot.

Sony also announced three cameras (models DSC-W330, DSC-W310 and DSC-S2100) that offer a new thin, stylish design with advanced features such as longer zoom and wide-angle lenses, which provide versatility when shooting.

“We’re expanding Sweep Panorama, which has been such a well received feature, to our more affordable models,” said Kelly Davis, director of the Digital Imaging business at Sony Electronics. “Allowing users to capture the impact of a full panoramic scene with an easy to use, practical camera provides a great value to our customers.”

Innovative Sweep Panorama™ Technology

Sweep Panorama mode, first introduced in Sony’s breakthrough Cyber-shot DSC-HX1, DSC-TX1 and DSC-WX1 CMOS models, utilizes a CCD sensor to capture dramatic panoramic scenes. The W370 and W350 cameras shoot images continuously to capture wide landscapes or tall buildings in one easy “press and sweep” motion. They automatically stitch the images together to create one stunning panoramic photo.

The W370 and W350 Cyber-shot models can take up to 243 and 268-degree panorama shots, respectively, in one easy press-and-sweep motion with an image size of 7152 x 1080 (horizontal wide panorama mode).

Compact Design and Rich Technologies

The W370 and W350 cameras are designed for customers who seek Sweep Panorama technology at an affordable price. For those seeking a long zoom and a compact body, the 14 MP DSC-W370 camera has a 7x long zoom lens for capturing far-away subjects, a 3-inch LCD screen (measured diagonally) for scrolling through images, Optical SteadyShot™ image stabilization, 720p movie recording capability and HDMI™ output for easily viewing movies on compatible televisions.

Rochester, NY, Jan. 6 — Eastman Kodak Company today introduced the new KODAK PLAYSPORT Video Camera, a rugged, durable and pocket-size HD video camera with an appetite for adventure. The KODAK PLAYSPORT Video Camera is specifically designed for consumers with active lifestyles, allowing them to capture full 1080p HD video – even underwater* – with the touch of a button.

Lake Success, N.Y., January 5, 2010 – Canon U.S.A., Inc., a leader in digital imaging, introduces the new EF 70-200mm f/2.8L IS II USM lens. Arguably the most popular focal range in Canon’s telephoto arsenal and a staple lens for any professional photographer, the EF 70-200mm f/2.8L IS II USM lens provides the focal length, maximum aperture and zoom power for capturing everything from fast-action sports to studio portraits. Built for the professional, the body structure of the new EF 70-200mm f/2.8L IS II USM lens has been enhanced to provide better durability and strength without a significant increase in weight. Canon has improved optical performance on the new EF 70-200mm f/2.8L IS II USM lens by redesigning the internal elements, incorporating a fluorite element and a fifth UD element. The use of the fluorite element and five UD elements helps to minimize secondary chromatic aberrations and produce better image quality with improved contrast and resolution through the entire zoom range; the end result is an optically precise lens worthy of becoming the leader of Canon’s L-series lenses.

Along with its redesigned optical elements, the new lens design features improved AF speed due to a new focusing algorithm and has reduced the minimum focusing distance to 3.9 feet (1.2 meters) through the entire zoom range, allowing photographers to capture tighter portraiture shots in a small studio space. The previous lens model’s minimum focusing distance was 4.6 feet (1.4 meters), whereas now photographers can stand nearly 8 inches closer to their subject and achieve sharp focus and tight crops. Canon has also enhanced the Image Stabilization allowing it to compensate for shutter speeds up to four steps slower than 1/focal length, a one step improvement over the previous lens model.

“Canon’s core has always been our optics, and we are constantly challenging ourselves to produce better and more advanced optical systems for our customers. The new EF 70-200mm f/2.8L IS II USM lens incorporates the best advancements in Canon lens technology from the past few years and packages it into what we believe will be the most popular lens for professionals and advanced photographers,” stated Yuichi Ishizuka, senior vice president and general manager, Consumer Imaging Group, Canon U.S.A.

The enhanced magnesium alloy barrel design of the EF 70-200mm f/2.8L IS II USM lens features added strength with a minimal 20-gram increase in weight compared with the previous model (1490g vs. 1470g) and retains Canon’s protective seals and fittings providing dust and water resistance for those photographers working in adverse conditions. A new bayonet mount on the front of the lens includes a locking mechanism to ensure the supplied lens hood remains securely in place. Other noticeable improvements include a wider focusing ring, and sleeker design by reducing the thickness of any protruding elements such as the switch panel. The new lens is also

Two New Optics from Lensbaby^® Expand a Photographer’s Creative Possibilities

Portland, OR (January 4, 2010) The addition of the new Fisheye Optic and Soft Focus Optic to the Lensbaby Optic Swap System of lenses and interchangeable optics brings even more ways for Single Lens-Reflex (SLR) camera owners to instantly create fun and unique images in camera.  Each new optic is available for use with the Lensbaby Composer^® and Muse^®* SLR lenses.  In addition, the Soft Focus Optic is compatible with the Lensbaby Control Freak^™ SLR lens.

“With the introduction of these new optics, Lensbaby now offers photographers a complete Creative Effects SLR lens system with six different optic options,” said Craig Strong, Lensbaby president and co-founder. “The award-winning new Fisheye Optic transforms a Lensbaby Composer into a fun fisheye lens and the new Soft Focus Optic creates images that are overall soft and diffused, much like a classic Imagon portrait lens. The Lensbaby Optic Swap System now offers three selective focus optics and three creative focus optics that provide even more options for consumers interested in creative photography.”

About the Lensbaby Fisheye Optic

Recently awarded a 2010 Hot One Award from Professional Photographer magazine, the Lensbaby Fisheye Optic allows photographers to turn their Lensbaby Composer or Muse into a fisheye lens by swapping out the installed optic and dropping the new Fisheye Optic into the lens. This optic features an ultra-wide 12mm focal length capable of capturing a 160 degree fisheye angle of view from infinity all the way down to one half-inch from the front of the lens.  The Lensbaby Fisheye Optic features a system of interchangeable aperture disks, with possible aperture settings ranging from f/4 to f/22.