Design Art and Photography

Our new lens review featuring the Pentax smc P-FA 50mm 1:1.4. This is the latest in our on-going series scrutinising the optical credentials of the camera manufacturers’ various "fast fifties", and looks at a lens which has been around since the days of 35mm film. Designed as a fast ‘standard’ prime, it’s now being pressed into service as a short portrait telephoto on the APS-C sensor. So how well has it adapted to this new role?
(Full post Just posted! Pentax 50mm F1.4 lens review…)

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Portrait- Taiwan. Taken by J.C Wang
(Full post Imagination…)

Western Digital’s My Passport Studio portable drives now offer FireWire800 in addition to FireWire400 and USB 2.0 interfaces. Although the drives are formatted for the Mac, and can be hooked up via FireWire800 to the new Apple MacBook Pro, they can be reformatted for PC’s.

(Full post FireWire 800 Added to Western Digital My Passport Studio Drive…)

Sony today announced several new Memory Stick options. The first, the new HX series, comes in 4GB and 8GB capacities and include a USB adapter for quick and easy transfer. Read and write speeds (20 MB/s and 15 MB/s, respectively) provide an almost 3x speed increase over regular Memory Stick PRO Duo media. The increased speed, according to Sony, will also provide continuous shooting of five frames per second on Sony Alpha DSLRs.
(Full post Sony Expands Memory Stick Line…)

Fujifilm S100fs review : Fujifilm enters the battlefield with the Fujifilm S100fs, a camera that has by now received a number of awards. Striking detail on the S100fs is the image sensor being quite large. Naturally, this is a Super CCD of already the eighth generation. The 11.1 Megapixel on the Super CCD VIII HR are being processed by a new RP (Real Photo) III processor. A special feature is the dynamic range that can be increased to 400%, or 2 stops.
(Full post Fujifilm FinePix S100FS review…)

Hoya has launched a new range of ‘High Definition’ (HD) filters.

Priced from £32.99 they come in three versions: Protector, UV and Circular Polariser, in sizes ranging from 52mm-82mm.

The filters are claimed to deliver 99.35% light transmission from an 8-layer, anti-reflective, multi-coating that is designed to be scratch and stain resistant.

They use the same polarising film as used in the latest HD LCD televisions, according to Hoya.

(Full post Hoya launches new photographic filters…)

Olympus has unveiled a limited edition 10-million-pixel camera studded with ‘crystallized’ Swarovski Elements.

Priced around £175, the ‘midnight black’-coloured Olympus mju 1040 Crystal sports a lens designed to deliver the 35mm viewing angle equivalent of a 38-114mm zoom.

Olympus UK has confirmed that fewer than 1,000 units are expected to go on sale in the UK and Ireland.

(Full post Olympus debuts В‘Crystal camera’…)

A photography enthusiast has been banned from taking pictures of apples on trees in a Birmingham orchard.

Philip Foster feels staff from nearby Crowley House Probation Hostel overreacted when they spotted him taking pictures from a footpath he says is regularly used as a shortcut by members of the public.

Though Philip concedes that the path crosses private land, he feels he has been the victim of discrimination by being seen with a camera.

(Full post Photographer in apple pictures ban…)

Olympus Micro FourThirds camera concept at Photokina : Most surprising was the presentation of a twosome so-called Micro FourThirds system concept models at the Photokina 2008. However, it does not come across as a well thought-out strategy; on the contrary, it seems that Olympus wants to tickle us with something that in the end might not be available. At least, that is what it looks like to an outsider.
(Full post Olympus digital cameras at Photokina…)

Today Fujifilm announced the launch of its first-ever line of SD cards. Designed for high resolution digital cameras and video capture, with large capacities and faster speeds, the SD cards are available in 1GB and 2GB capacities. SDHC cards start at 4GB, with 8GB and 16GB SDHC versions also available.

Micro-SD cards will come in 1GB and 2GB capacities and 4GB and 8GB in the micro-SDHC format.

(Full post Fujifilm launches its first SD cards…)