Samsung SGH-i310 - new camerphone with 8GB Hard Disk

Samsung has introduced the world's first 8GB Hard Disk smart phone, the SGH-i310

It reinforces its technology leadership by unveiling the world's first world’s first 8GB Hard Disk embedded smart phone (model: SGH-i310) at CeBIT 2006.

“Samsung's development of the 8GB hard disk drive phone opens a new world in telecommunication industry,” said Kitae Lee, President of Telecommunication Network Business of Samsung Electronics.

“As consumers’ needs of mobile entertainment are growing rapidly, we are continuously introducing breakthroughs in mobile phones. Our i310, 8GB HDD smart phone will be the best match for business consumers who want a colossal of business functionalities as well as rich mobile entertainment contents.”

Enjoy Maximum storage in Mobile

Samsung breaks the storage limit in mobile phones by introducing the world’s first mobile phone equipped with a 8GB hard disk drive (model: SGH-i310). With the large storage of 8GB, SGH-i310 will change the way people manage and use the mobile phone.

Samsung is the first to adopt a hard disk drive into mobile phones and has launched three models equipped with a hard disk drive; the world’s first 1.5GB HDD embedded phone (model: SPH-V5400), the world’s first 3GB HDD embedded phone (model: SCH-V7900) and the world’s first 3GB HDD Music smart phone (model: SGH-i300).

The i310 works as a perfect platform for users by combining a phone, a digital camera, and a MP3 player with its immense storage capacity. It enables users to carry around 2,000 songs (4MB/song) wherever they go.

The i310 comes with the latest version of Windows Mobile 5.0 for Smart phone which allows users to view files and easily carry their music library with them. This will sync the play lists, songs, and videos from your PC so that your experience is identical to the user’s personal computer. It also offers USB 2.0 and Plug & Play feature which allows the phone to be utilized as a removable hard disk. Businessmen and students can easily transfer files to / from their computers, as well as store and transfer files in any format conveniently.

The i310 has all the latest features including a 2 mega pixel camera with flash, microSD slot, document viewer and TV output. Users can record video with the 2 mega pixel camera in high quality resolution.

It also supports enhanced music function with Bluetooth® stereo (A2DP), digital power amp and dual speakers. Uses can download music conveniently from online music store from their personal computer or directly via air.

The i310 will be introduced in Europe during the second half of this year.


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The Fujifilm S3 price drop

Looks like something is happening with Fujifilm as there has been a rapid drop in price of the Fujifilm S3 Pro worldwide. Numerous stores have already dropping the prices. For example, www.expresscameras.com has the S3 Pro for $USD999; www.parkcameras.com has it for £699, £600 off the recommended retail price. Even in Germany, you can pick up the S3 Pro for €947, that’s around £633.

There could be many reasons for this:

This means one of several things:

(1) The Fujifilm S3 Pro is not selling well and they need to reduce excess stock.

(2) The Fujifilm S3 Pro is selling but they are reacting to increased competition from the Nikon D200 and the Canon 30D

(3) The Fuifilm S4 Pro may be announced soon.

I Hope it's the last option. Let’s wait and see.

Digital photos on a stamp!

Did you know you can now turn your photos into real US postage stamps with PhotoStamps. And yes, the stamps are officially authorized by the US Postal Service so it's real. PhotoStamps from Stamps.com are a valid U.S. Postage, based on a technology called PC Postage. Stamps.com, the company behind PhotoStamps, has been a United States Postal Service approved provider of PC postage since 1999. When PhotoStamps first launched in 2004, it was the first ever customized postage product in the United States with over 13 million PhotoStamps sold.

To create PhotoStamps all you need to do is upload a photo, customize it and place your order. The customization interface allows you to zoom, move, and rotate your image, and then select one of 10 different border colors to match your image. Cost of the PhotoStamps varies depending on the seven different postage denominations ranging from 24 cent postcards to 39 cent regular first class to $4.05 for packages. The minimum order is one sheet and each sheet contains 20 PhotoStamps labels.

This product is simply unique as I can order stamps based on some of my best pictures; I totally recommend it.

The future of the Foveon X3 sensor

Will the Foveon 10 megapixel X3 Pro CMOS sensor ever take off? On paper the sensor does sound very impressive with the following information from its specification sheet.

"The Foveon X3® Pro 10M is a 1.7 FLM (focal length multiplier)* high-resolution CMOS direct image sensor that incorporates breakthrough Foveon X3 technology. Newly enhanced, the latest version Pro 10M sensor achieves significantly longer exposure times, broader ISO selection, and improved dynamic range over its F7X3-B91 predecessor. Foveon X3 direct image sensors capture full-measured color images through a unique stacked pixel sensor design. By capturing full-measured color images, the need for indirect color interpolation and artifact-reducing blur filters is eliminated. As a result, the Foveon X3 Pro 10M delivers the highest effective resolution possible without color artifacts for the 1.7 FLM optical format. The Foveon X3 Pro 10M features the powerful VPS (Variable Pixel Size) capability. VPS provides the on-chip capability of grouping neighboring pixels together to form larger pixels that are optimal for high frame rate, reduced noise, or dual mode still/video applications. Other advanced features include: low fixed pattern noise and ultra-low power consumption."

So far the only digital SLR camera to have this sensor is the Sigma SD10.

Phil Askey from dpreview.com with his in depth review of the Sigma SD10 mentions the excellent sharpness of the sensor and says "Just like the SD9 the SD10 delivers extremely sharp and detailed images, the X3 sensors ability to capture the distinct color of a single pixel without being influenced by neighboring pixels means that we see levels of detail not achieved by any other sensor."

On the other hand as for the future of this sensor he concludes with "..Looking back at my SD9 review I stand by much of what I said about the X3 sensor being 'the first step in what must be seen as a revolution in digital photography'. Unfortunately the stranglehold the Bayer sensor and those mega-corporations who make them have on the market has ensured that we haven't yet seen the X3 sensor in another digital SLR"

Although I would like to see more development of this sensor in other cameras from other manufacturers, I have to agree with Phil that the likelihood is very small.




Click here for the Foveon X3 spec sheet

Canon 30D review by Dpreview

Phil Askey from Dpreview has an excellent review on the Canon 30D with the final rating being the "Highly Recommended"

Here's what he concludes.

" Maybe Canon do listen, with the i EOS 30D they have addressed no less than five of the 'Cons' from my EOS 20D review; Lack of spot metering, Fixed continuous shooting rate, Limited range of image parameter adjustment, Small LCD monitor and ISO sensitivity not displayed on viewfinder status bar while being changed. Of course everyone has different priorities and some of these changes may seem insignificant however it's fair to say we've seen all of these issues discussed at one time or another on our forums.

It wasn't surprising to see a certain level of disappointment among existing Canon owners in the evolution that is the EOS 30D, I'm sure some were at least expecting a nominal mega pixel upgrade as well as the changes included. I happen to agree with many who suggested that the EOS 30D should really have been named the 'EOS 20D Mark II'. To be fair an increase to ten mega pixels would have gained little in resolution and to one degree or another it’s encouraging to think that manufacturers are getting out of the routine mega pixel upgrade 'for the sake of marketing'. And of course Canon couldn't have gone to twelve mega pixels at this price point (yet) for the fear of spoiling the EOS 5D's position.

There are a few minor gripes, from an imaging point of view there's the risk of AI Servo banding which can manifest itself with some lenses at high sensitivities and there's also the average incandescent white balance performance. From a usability front I would like to have seen the pretty pointless print / share button customizable, the option for user memories and perhaps embedded comments which can be set in-camera.

We have to consider every camera as a whole, the sum of its parts. Compare it to the competition and it's clear that the 30D really can hold its own. The primary competition coming from Nikon's excellent D200, a camera which in many ways betters the EOS 30D, user interface, features and flexibility are all a step up. However as we have noted there's no significant difference between eight and ten mega pixels (especially considering the EOS 30D's "crisper" per-pixel sharpness) and that the D200's sensor just isn't as good as the Canon CMOS at higher sensitivities (ISO 1600 / 3200).

Nobody should then be too surprised that the EOS 30D, despite its relatively minor range of updates still deserves our Highly Recommended rating. It's a great camera to shoot with, image quality is excellent and the high sensitivity performance is still notably better than the competition, the EOS 30D inspires confidence and delivers shot after shot. "



Click here for the full review.

Former employee sues KODAK

Maya Raber, a director of engineering since 2002 at Kodak's was dismissed when she voiced her objections against a cost saving project that may damage the file through compressions when uploading a file to their website.

She was in charge of developing software for Kodak's popular Easy Share Gallery in Emeryville, however the company came up with a plan to save money that she believes was deceptive to the Kodak users. This process was made through a compression algorithm, used when uploading a photo onto the Kodak site for storage.

Her concerns were that in order to save money, the company planned to implement a cost-saving project where consumer photos will be compressed irreversibly by an average of 50 percent. When you want to use the photo in prints, or when you want to crop a small part of the photo, the results can look grainy.

Maya Raber says when she voiced her concerns to Kodak managers she was fired. Raber acknowledges Kodak has yet to implement much of its plan, but claims the company did begin compressing photos from users who chose the faster easy upload option on the Web site.

A New York-based spokesperson for Kodak issued this statement: "We can assure you that Ms. Raber's accusations are completely false. We have not compressed images that are stored in the gallery without our customer's knowledge. We feel that Kodak has acted in a manner that is consistent with our corporate policies and ethics, and we will vigorously defend ourselves against all claims to the contrary."

Raber filed a wrongful termination lawsuit in Alameda County.



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How to clean your DSLR camera sensor

If you’re new to Digital SLR cameras, then cleaning your digital camera sensor is a scary thought. My first experience is to use the professionals, however considering the frequency, the regularity of dust contaminating the sensor and the cost; it does make sense to do it yourself. Once you'll learn how to do it, it gets easier after that.

Luckily I've found a great article on cleaning your cameras sensor by www.macworld.com. Click here for the full article. So why not give it a try.

Click here for the science behind cleaning a sensor.

Nikon D200 versus the Canon 5D

www.DigitalCamerainfo.com has an excellent head on comparison between the Nikon D200 and the Canon EOS 5D. Although they did not give their own recommended conclusion, they did highlight the advantages and disadvantage of each camera.

Here is the their conclusion

"We elected to debut our Head-to-Head review format with a comparison of the Nikon D200 and Canon EOS 5D - the latest designs by the two premiere DSLR manufacturers. Again, we chose the Canon EOS 5D and not the EOS 30D because the 30D internals are over a year and a half old, while the 5D much more accurately illustrates where Canon is in their developmental progression. In comparing these cameras, many core differences between Nikon and Canon’s approach becomes apparent. Canon has directed their efforts towards developing and engineering the camera’s internal components – manufacturing most of their own parts, particularly their sensors, and concentrating on high ISO performance, dynamic range, and obviously high resolution. Nikon on the other hand, has focused more on furthering the general design of the camera – engineering fast, reliable autofocus, flexible metering, logical control layout, and advanced flash capabilities. Both the D200 and EOS 5D have a lot to offer consumers: high resolution, strong dynamic range, fast internal processors, and extensive control at price points that would have been impossible just a year or two ago. However, neither presents a perfect camera.

The D200 is a much faster camera with a more logical ergonomic design. With the Nikon, users can turn the camera on and snap off a shot in a single motion - an action that would require two hands and far more time with the 5D. The D200 can also shoot 5 frames a second, while the 5D can only muster 3. This combined with the D200’s more robust body (not to mention its more affordable price tag), makes it a much more formidable alternative for photojournalists or casual shooters.

At lower sensitivity settings (ISO 100-400), the two cameras produce images of comparable quality in terms of noise, color, dynamic range and sharpness. While the 5D still retains a slight edge, the difference is negligible for the quality both cameras produce. However, once the sensitivity is pushed to ISO 400 and beyond, Canon earns the extra $1,300 tacked on the 5D’s price tag. At sensitivity settings beyond ISO 500, the 5D continues to create images of exception quality, while the D200 falters and produces results more consistent with consumer-level designs.

Most photographers will admit that timeless images and their relationship to the equipment that produced them has had more to do with the design of the camera than the quality of images it produced. However, image quality is where the EOS 5D justifies its price tag and pulls away from the D200, and depending on the demands of the shoot or profession, the additional quality may be necessary.

These two models stand to represent the leading DSLR manufacturers and indicate that professional-level quality is now accessible to general consumers. Nikon has voiced that they will remain with APS-sized sensors, alluding to less expensive models than Canons counterparts; while Canon will continue to develop their full-frame designs and at least for the time being, offer an advantage at high sensitivities. Although there is a significant degree of differentiation in these two particular models and each manufacturer’s current design ideology, both represent remarkable breakthroughs in their own right that continue to force the rest of the industry to play catch-up."

My bet is the more affordable Nikon D200. Click here for the full review

A Brief History of Pixel

Here is a very interesting paper by Richard F. Lyon from Faveon titled "A Brief History of ‘Pixel"

The abstract of the paper is as follows:

"The term pixel, for picture element, was first published in two different SPIE Proceedings in 1965, in articles by Fred C. Billingsley of Caltech’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory. The alternative pel was published by William F. Schreiber of MIT in the Proceedings of the IEEE in 1967. Both pixel and pel were propagated within the image processing and video coding field for more than a decade before they appeared in textbooks in the late 1970s. Subsequently, pixel has become ubiquitous in the fields of computer graphics, displays, printers, scanners, cameras, and related technologies, with a variety of sometimes conflicting meanings."


Click here for the paper

Digital Images of Mars - NASA

NASA has just released the first images of Mars from its new camera system. This will provide a platform of what type of images the Mars Reconnaissance Orbitor will provide when its main mission begins in fall.

Three cameras were used in this mission, these are 1. High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment, 2. Context Camera and 3. Mars Color Imager. Together they gathered up to 40 minutes of data which was used to merge and form the image.

According to Steve Saunders, Mission's program scientist at NASA Headquarters. He says...

"These images provide the first opportunity to test camera settings and the spacecraft's ability to point the camera with Mars filling the instruments' field of view,".. "The information learned will be used to prepare for the primary mission next fall." The main purpose of these images is to enable the camera team to develop calibration and image-processing procedures such as the precise corrections needed for color imaging and for high-resolution surface measurements from stereo pairs of images."

In essence this is very interesting stuff from NASA.

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Canon 30D review by Dsresource

Jeff Keller from Dcresource has an excellent review on the much anticipated Canon 30D. Although the Canon 30D is an upgraded 20D, the improvements are not as large as the Nikon D200 is to the Nikon D100. Beside the softer images and a less bright LCD, the Canon 30D still gets a top rating from Jeff. Here's a conclusion of his review.

"The Canon EOS-30D is an excellent midrange digital SLR. While it’s new features aren't exciting enough to get this 20D owner to run out and upgrade, those who are moving up from point-and-shoot or entry-level D-SLRs should definitely give the 30D a look.

From most angles the 30D looks just like its predecessor, the EOS-20D. But take a look at the back of the camera and you'll see the most noticeable difference: a large 2.5" LCD display. While the screen isn't as bright or sharp as the one on the Nikon D200, it's still much nicer than the one found on the 20D or Rebel XT. The 30D is very well put together, with a metal core and solid plastic and rubber outer shell. The controls are well-placed, and Canon hasn't gone overboard with buttons. Some of the controls, like the four-way controller and playback zoom buttons, are downright useful. Like the 20D before it, the 30D supports both EF and EF-S lenses, and the 1.6X focal length conversion ratio is unchanged.

The 30D is a power user's dream camera, with tons of manual controls and custom settings. You've got all the usual manual exposure controls plus class-leading white balance controls. The camera now has the same Picture Styles menu as the EOS-5D, which lets you quickly change things like sharpness, color, and contrast. If you're not an enthusiast, don't fret: the 30D has an auto mode and several scene modes as well. The camera is fairly easy-to-use, too.

People buy digital SLRs for their great performance, and the 30D delivers in this area. From its near-instant startup speed to the "shoot as fast as you can compose" shot-to-shot speeds, the 30D is a screamer. The continuous shooting mode is excellent, and now you have two speeds to choose from, in case 5 frames/second is too fast. Low light focusing was both accurate and responsive, thanks to the camera's flash-based AF-assist system. Battery life is also very good and about 10% better than on the 20D.

Photo quality was excellent on this 8.2 Mega pixel camera. Photos were well-exposed, with accurate colors, very low noise levels (even at high ISO sensitivities), and minimal purple fringing. As is the case with most D-SLRs, photos are on the soft side straight out of the camera, and you can compensate for this by increasing the in-camera sharpening a bit. One thing that really got nailed home during my time with the 30D is how important lens quality is. I bought the Canon 17 - 85 EF-S lens a few months back, and have been less than thrilled with its sharpness -- and you'll see the results in the photo gallery. Slap on some better glass and you'll get much sharper photos, as the photos taken with my 50 mm lens attest.

There really aren't any major negatives to talk about here. The only thing that pops into my head is that the 30D isn't a very exciting upgrade over the 20D. Then again, that camera didn't need a lot of improving in the first place.

The EOS-30D earns my highest recommendation, and its right up there with the Nikon D200 as a best-in-class midrange D-SLR.

What I liked:

* Excellent photo quality (with the right lenses)
* Very low noise, even at high ISOs
* Solid, well designed body; useful playback zoom buttons
* Large 2.5" LCD display
* Full manual controls, including nice white balance controls
* Robust performance, especially in terms of continuous shooting
* Great low light focusing
* All the expandability you'd expect from a D-SLR; two ways to attach an external flash
* USB 2.0 High Speed support
* Impressive software bundle; camera can be controlled from Mac or PC

What I didn't care for:

* Images on the soft side straight out of the camera; some lenses just exacerbate the problem
* LCD not as bright/sharp as the one on the Nikon D200

Some other digital SLRs worth looking at include the Canon EOS-20D (still available for $1299), Fuji FinePix S3 Pro, Konica Minolta Maxxum 7D, Nikon D200, Olympus EVOLT E-500, and the Pentax *ist DS2.

As always, I strongly recommend trying the EOS-30D and its competitors before you drop the big bucks on a digital SLR! "

Click here for the full review.

Will kodak re-enter the DSLR market again?

Kodak pulled out of the lucrative DSLR market last year with the last camera being the full frame 14 mega pixels Kodak DCS Pro. Although not a big player in this market, they are a major player in the compact market. In addition, they are also a major supplier of CCD sensors and are also moving into CMOS imaging sensors via technological tie-up with Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company, the world's largest semiconductor manufacturer. Owning your own imaging sensor technology is a big issue to camera manufacturers as so clearly demonstrated by Canon's success and also starkly shown with Konica-Minolta recent withdrawal from the photographic market.

Although Kodak's consumer digital stills camera division is dong well in the home market, they are gradually reducing dependency on film products for survival. Their CEO even recently announced that 'Kodak is now a thriving digital company'...

Having said all the above, Kodak currently lacks the ability to produce their own camera body platform for a DSLR revival, nor the lenses and other peripherals that is required to go with building a DSLR system.

Their previous DSLR business model of building DSLRs using camera platforms were supplied by two major camera manufacturers, Canon and Nikon. This is no longer valid as both manufacturers now have their own thriving and profitable DSLR businesses which makes it illogical for them to supply camera bodies to other manufacturers.

Although I'll concede that building alternative DSLRs for popular lens-mounts such as Canon and Nikon still have some business validity, if one is not aiming high for sales volumes!

It was noted that photographic products writer Thom Hogan speculates that Kodak can still return to the DSLR market by a business venture with Sigma... I'll agree that that is one possible scenario (perhaps the only possible scenario!), but Sigma would need to re-design their current and aging and slow DSLR cameras to compete with the latest Canon, Nikon and Olympus cameras. Sigma would also need to be prepared to flush their investment with Foveon down the toilet to partner Kodak... A very big if!

Fujifilm S4 Pro ?

The Canon 30D was one DSLR camera predicted to be announced at this year PMA and it did. The other was the successor to the Fujifilm S3 Pro, the S4 Pro.

Currently, Fujifilm fans are disappointed that the camera has not been announced yet. Prior to the PMA, there was even talk about Fujifilm senior management flying over to the convention in Florida to take part in the launch of the "new Fuji S4 Pro Digital SLR camera". So far we're still waiting.

Something must be happening soon as the Fujifilm S3 Pro has just dropped in price (03.01.06). The new price is $1699 and includes additional value such as the AC adapter and the HS-V2 Hyper Utility software. Both of which were optional accessories.