DP Review

Just posted! Our lens review featuring Olympus's Micro Four Thirds superzoom, the M Zuiko Digital 14-150mm F4-5.6. This latest addition to the company's Pen range continues with its downsizing theme, and is dramatically smaller and lighter than most similar SLR lenses. It also promises fast and silent focusing optimized for video shooting. So is this mini-marvel the ultimate general-purpose travel zoom?

The SD Association has introduced symbols to denote the latest high-speed SDXC and SDHC cards and to help consumers identify ideal cards for their devices. A UHS-I specification indicates a card has an interface capable of transferring data at up to 104 MB/s, four times faster than the current limit of 25 MB/s. UHS-I cards will be compatible with existing devices but can only make use of their extra speed capabilities when used with a UHS-I reader or cameras. An additional 'Class 1' symbol on these cards promises real time recording of HD videos. This symbol differs from the Class 2, 4, 6 and 10 logos used for non-UHS-I cards that defined minimum write speed.

SanDisk has announced it is shipping its 1 GB Write Once Read Many (WORM) SD memory cards in volume to the Japanese police force. Introduced in 2008 in 128MB capacity, files recorded onto the WORM cards can be stored up to 100 years, and cannot be altered or deleted. The card is aimed at industries where unaltered content is vital such as police investigations, court testimony, electronic voting etc. The SD WORM card is available worldwide, with 'pricing dependent upon the quantity ordered.'

Toshiba has announced the development of its first wireless SDHC memory card in conjunction with Singapore based Trek 2000. In addition, the two companies will invite digital camera makers and other interested parties to join an industry forum to promote and share the technology with the aim of creating a standard for WiFi cards. The WiFi enabled 8GB SDHC card will feature 802.11 wireless transfer rates and support RAW file transfer. The cards will have to compete with Eye-Fi cards, first launched in 2007, that have seen increasing in-camera support from camera makers.

Panasonic has released more details of its AG-AF100 professional Micro Four Thirds HD camcorder. It is capable of recording up to 12 hours of video using its two SDXC compatible slots. It offers 1080 and 720 video recording in frame rates of 59.94, 50, 29.97, 25 or 23.98p with the top two rates interlaced in 1080 mode. The camcorder also features industry-standard HD SDI and XLR connectors and is compatible with the company's line up of Lumix G lenses, filters and adapters for using 35mm lenses.

Olympus's dust reduction system, incorporated both in its E-series DSLRs and Micro Four Thirds cameras has won an award in Japan's National Invention Awards 2010. The awards are organized by the Japan Institute of Invention and Innovation (JIII) every June to honor the most significant patents of awarded in the previous year. Olympus Development Division manager Kawai Sumio will receive the award sponsored by national newspaper Asahi Shimbun, for the dust reduction system. The original patent application was made in December 2000, with the technology first appearing in the company's E-1 DSLR in 2003.

Pentax has announced the addition of an orange color variant of its Optio W90 rugged compact camera. It joins the exisiting color choices of Pistachio Green and black. The Shiny Orange version will be available from August 2010 at a suggested retail price of US $329.95 and £269.99 GBP.

Samsung has released an updated version of its RAW converter software. Version 3.2 extends support to the company's recently released TL500/EX1 premium compact. The latest version is compatible with both Mac and Windows OS, except Windows 7.

Just Posted: Our group test of the latest travel zooms. The pocketable long zoom camera has been one of the great growth sectors in recent years, packing immense flexibility into small, easy-to-use cameras. We've taken 13 compact superzoom cameras from the leading manufacturers and subjected them to a selection of our usual tests to help you decide which deserves a place in your luggage this summer. So which do we think makes the best travel companion?

Sigma has issued a notice warning customers of a 'potential autofocus defect' in some of its recently released telephoto lenses. The problem affects a some examples of the APO 50-500mm F4.5-6.3 DG OS HSM, APO 120-400mm F4.5-5.6 DG OS HSM and APO 150-500mm F5-6.3 DG OS HSM lenses. The company has listed the serial numbers of lenses that could be affected - owners experiencing problems with any of these lenses are being offered a free collection, inspection and service.

Manfrotto has updated its tutorial website with additional features and improvements. 'The Manfrotto School of Excellence' now includes features such as live chat, news updates and photo-features in addition to free tutorials from established photographers, most of which have an understandable three-legged slant to them. The website also promotes products from other brands from the Vitec Group including Gitzo, Lastolite, Elinchrom and Kata.

Japanese manufacturer Rayqual has announced adapters for the Sony NEX-5 and NEX-3 interchangeable lens cameras to mount Nikon, Canon FD, Pentax and Leica lenses. Priced between ¥19,950 - ¥25,200 (~ US $210 -$275), the adapters will start shipping next month. The company already makes a selection of adapters for different systems including a range for Micro Four Thirds cameras.

Sony has helped us confirm that the cameras supplied to us for review do not match the performance of the models on sale. Following the publication of our review we became aware of reports of starting up significantly faster than any of the cameras we’d been using (despite repeated assurances that they were production standard). Having discussed this with Sony, we have now been supplied with a camera that reflects the behaviour buyers will experience and have updated the relevant sections of our review accordingly.

Nikon has announced a number of its products including the Nikon D3S, D3X DSLRs and telephoto lenses will be used in the Russian segment of the International Space Station. The company says that no modifications will be made to any of the products and they will join the existing Nikon film and digital cameras/lenses used by the astronauts working in the segment. In a press release the company also mentions the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) had ordered 11 D3S bodies and 7 AF-S Nikkor 14-24mm f/2.8G ED lenses for use in the Space Shuttle and ISS in 2009.

Adobe has issued the second prerelease version of the Lens Profile Creator utility for immediate download from its Adobe Labs site. The upgraded version fixes 'several reported issues in the initial build.' The utility enables users to create custom lens profiles for Photoshop CS5, ACR 6.1 and Lightroom 3.

Sigma UK has announced the price and availability of the SD15 digital SLR. Announced at the Photokina 2008 exhibition, this 14MP camera (4.7 million pixel images with three pieces of color data recorded at each location) with a large FOVEON X3 sensor will start shipping in the UK from July at a suggested retail price of £899.99. The company has also announced its 17-50mm f/2.8 EX DC OS HSM lens is now available in Canon EF-S mount at a suggested retail price of £649.99. Sigma, Nikon, Sony and Pentax fit will follow shortly.

Bibble Labs has announced version 5.1 of its RAW workflow software, extending support to ten additional cameras including Sony NEX-5, NEX-3 and Panasonic DMC-G2. Both the Pro and Lite versions of Bibble 5.1 also gain features such as Perfectly Clear one-touch auto image correction tool, and Heal and Clone tools for removal of unwanted elements in images. The latest version is currently available as a free upgrade for existing Bibble 5 customers.

Eye-Fi has released an update for its X2 series of wireless memory cards allowing access to hotspots that require login credentials. The change means users with personal subscriptions to Wi-Fi providers such as Orange, Vodaphone, BT Openzone etc., can add their credentials to their Eye-Fi accounts, allowing their card to connect to those networks. The update, a result of the company's partnership with software maker Devicescape, can be used to access other networks that would usually require logging-on via a browser. The update is available to users paying for Eye-Fi's Hotspot Access service.

Phase One has released an updated version of its Capture One 5, PRO and DB RAW workflow software. Following the acquisition of Microsoft's Expression Media digital asset management software, version 5.1.2 improves compatibility between the two applications allowing users to create albums, transfer ratings and preview Capture One files using Expression Media. Version 5.1.2 also enhances support for Leaf digital backs and extends RAW support for additional cameras including Leaf Aptus-II 10R and Olympus E-PL1. The update can be accessed via Capture One's update feature for existing users or is available as a free 30 day trial.

Sony has released the DSLR-A390 and DSLR-A290, its latest entry level digital SLRs. As suggested by the images leaked on the internet, the cameras essentially add a new grip design to the existing A230 and A380 models. The other major change is that both now get the image-stabilized 14.2MP CCD sensor seen in the A380. As with the previous models, the higher-priced A390 features the company's fast liveview system and a 2.7 tilting LCD, while the A290 has a fixed LCD, no liveview and larger viewfinder. The rest of the features are shared by both cameras including on-screen camera guides and HD outputs. The A390 and A290 will start shipping next month at a retail price of $600 and $500 in the US market and €500 and €450 in the European market.