Design Art and Photography

Just Posted: Our Pentax K2000 / K-m review

admin — Sun, 15 Feb 2009 03:11:30 +0000

Just Posted: Our full review of the Pentax K2000 (or K-m to the Europeans amongst us). Pentax’s latest baby DSLR enters the ring with much of the K200D’s capability slimmed down into an even smaller, lighter, more use-friendly format. But the flyweight end of the DSLR market is home to some plucky competitors, so can the K2000 do enough to fight its corner? Read our 35 page review to find out.
(Full post Just Posted: Our Pentax K2000 / K-m review…)

Post switch makes for price reduction at The Touch

admin — Sun, 15 Feb 2009 01:43:35 +0000

Post switch makes for price reduction at The Touch

February 06, 2009

New York--Jewelry designer Steven Edward The Touch is changing things up at the company's manufacturing facilities.

From now on, all sterling silver, vermeil and rhodium-plated earrings will feature hypo-allergenic surgical stainless steel posts instead of 14-karat yellow gold.

The change will lower prices for earrings by $4.00 a pair. For retailers who prefer their posts in yellow gold, the 14-karat option is still available, priced at an additional $4.00.

Steven Edward The Touch is well known for its nautical-themed offerings, including cable and braid jewelry, as well as "Sailor's Valentines"--a medallion-like design crafted into pendants, bracelets and rings.

The company creates its designs in a variety of metals, including 14-karat yellow and white gold, sterling silver and vermeil. Earrings in titanium and stainless steel were recently added to the mix.

For more about the company, or for a peek at the designs, visit Steven Edward The Touch's Web site, The-Touch.com.

100-carat diamond gets its name

admin — Wed, 11 Feb 2009 08:24:16 +0000

Named by its new owner for his wife of 16 years, "The Shizuka Diamond" is a 101.27-carat stone mounted into a tiara for its sale at Christie's in May 2008.

Hong Kong--The rare, 101.27-carat diamond sold at Christie's spring 2008 Hong Kong auction is now known as "The Shizuka Diamond," Christie's announced on Thursday.

The giant stone's owner selected the name as a gift for his wife of 16 years.

The Shizuka diamond netted $6.2 million at "Jewels: The Hong Kong Sale" in May 2008 and, according to the release from Christie's, is the largest colorless diamond ever sold at auction in Asia. At the time of its sale, it was also the largest colorless diamond sold at auction worldwide in nearly 20 years.

Mounted into a tiara for the auction, the F-color Shizuka was cut from a 460-carat piece of rough and is shield-shaped with 92 facets.

According to the release, "The sale of this important gem in Hong Kong, rather than in New York or Geneva, was a testament to the vibrant Asian market and the growing number of collectors in the region."

According to the release, Christie's 2008 jewelry sales totaled a record $383.5 million in 2008, up from $394.7 million in 2007.

This included the December 2008 London sale of the historic Wittelsbach diamond, which dates to the 17th century.

The cushion-shaped, deep grayish-blue, 35.56-carat diamond sold for $24.3 million, making it the most expensive jewel ever sold at auction.

Christie's auctions take place in Amsterdam, The Netherlands; Dubai, United Arab Emirates; Geneva; Hong Kong; London; New York; Paris and Milan, Italy.

Out We Go

admin — Sun, 08 Feb 2009 23:20:51 +0000

“Summer evening in Vasiliki - Lefkas - Greece. 30C, wind just died off, photo taken from a small fish tavern on the water”. Taken by Mike Source: planetearthdailyphoto.blogspot.com
(Full post Out We Go…)

Breuning expands silver offerings

admin — Fri, 06 Feb 2009 20:23:19 +0000

These sterling silver rings are part of Breuning's new "Silver and Diamonds III" collection.

New York--Jewelry manufacturer Breuning is expanding its sterling silver offerings with a new collection of friendship rings.

The line, dubbed "Silver and Diamonds III," features 12 matched pairs of rings either in silver only or silver paired with yellow or rose gold inlays. Half of the rings in the collection also feature diamond accents.

Breuning is offering retailers the line, plus a complimentary display to showcase it, for under $1,000. Delivery time on re-orders is two to three weeks.

The brand's silver offerings already include the "Silver and Diamonds Collections I and II," plus the "Branded Silver Collection."

Sterling silver was a hot topic over the holiday season and at the JA New York Winter Show, where a number of retailers interviewed by National Jeweler said they were seeking out silver designs so that they might offer a lower price point to customers.

Designers at the show in turn, appeared to have heard silver's call, with many introducing new silver collections or expanding their silver offerings.

For more information on Breuning's Silver and Diamonds III line, call (866) 872-2842.

Catalog in Motion show set for Tucson

admin — Thu, 05 Feb 2009 17:10:57 +0000

Rio Grande will hold one of its popular hands-on showcases for jewelry-makers in Tucson this year.

The Catalog in Motion show is set to take place from Feb. 6-9 at the Tucson East Hilton in Tucson, Ariz.

Hosted by Rio Grande, this hands-on tools, equipment and techniques showcase for jewelry-makers is being held during the Tucson Gem and Mineral Show. Through a combination of product demonstrations, seminars, classes and face-to-face conversations, attendees will have an opportunity to get their questions answered as they see and try out the latest tools and techniques alongside industry experts.

This year, topics include new BRONZclay, Argentium Sterling, wax-carving, stone-setting, bench tips and engraving. In addition, the show will host free demonstrations of techniques such as glass-bead fabrication.

Participants can also register for affordable, limited-size classes to learn new hands-on techniques and increase their skills. Class topics include PMC and BRONZclay, bench skills, soldering, stone-setting, pearl stringing and more; class sizes are limited to ensure a personalized experience. PMC certification classes are also offered through Rio Rewards.

Admission to the show is free. Pre-registration is now open and on-site registration begins on Feb. 6 at 8:00 a.m.

For more information, call (800) 545-6566 or visit CatalogInMotion.com.

Watch phone from LG

admin — Wed, 04 Feb 2009 21:41:27 +0000

LG GD910 watch phone : LG Electronics, a worldwide technology and design leader in mobile communications, intros the worldвЂ™s first market-ready Touch Watch Phone (Model: LG-GD910) with 3G Video Telephony (VT) service and GSM Quadband Network capabilities. This chic, wearable mobile phone is a follow-up to the prototype that LG introduced at CES 2008 (Consumer Electronic Show Las Vegas) and includes a number of upgrades, including a full touchscreen interface, 3G capabilities and video calling. Most importantly, this watch phone will actually be available for purchase. The wrist watch phone also includes stereo Bluetooth and a built-in speaker for playing back music files. A large phonebook and scheduler help with organization.

LG Watch phone
вЂњOur new 3G LG Touch Watch Phone is stylish, sophisticated and the height of technology, but itвЂ™s also undeniably fun. How else can you reenact those scenes from your favorite sci-fi or spy movie?вЂќ said Dr. Skott Ahn, President and CEO of LG Electronics Mobile Communications Company. вЂњThe new LG Watch Phone also demonstrates LGвЂ™s technological leadership, proving that we can bring all the components in todayвЂ™s most advanced mobile phones down to a very small scale.вЂќ

LG GD910 watch phone features
At first glance, LGвЂ™s new Watch phone appears to simply be a high-end timepiece. LG used materials and stylistic elements found in watches from top manufacturers to ensure that people will be comfortable wearing it for any occasion. The LG GD910 watch phone has a curved tempered glass face, high quality metal casing and is a mere 13.9mm thick. The 3G LG watch phone is as technologically advanced as it is stylish. It is the first touch watch phone in the world to feature 7.2 Mbps 3G HSDPA compatibility, enabling high-speed data transmission and video phone calls using the built-in digital camera.

LG Touchscreen watch phone
LG did not sacrifice functionality in favor of size and the Wrist Watch Phone is fully capable of sending text messages, making phone calls, and, of course, keeping accurate time. This is all achieved using the phoneвЂ™s touchscreen interface on its 3.63cm (1.43-inch) screen and LGвЂ™s intuitive Flash Interface. Voice recognition features, which can be used with or without a Bluetooth headset, make it easier to place calls and look up contacts. Text to Speech (TTS) reads text messages and other information out loud for even greater convenience.

LG GD910 watch phone
вЂњThis LG Design Watch Phone is the result of a great deal of research and development, something that is very important to us at LG. We will continue to invest in creating innovative new products and technologies like this and setting trends in the mobile phone industry,вЂќ Dr. Ahn said. At the CES show in Las Vegas, LG will demonstrate some of the Watch Phones main features including its Flash Interface, MP3 player, Voice Calling, Text messaging and Text to Speech. The LG Watch phone is set to go on sale in Europe sometime this year.

Source: www.letsgodigital.org

Colored stones, hoops top picks at SAGs

admin — Mon, 02 Feb 2009 02:55:27 +0000

Jane Krakowski wore dramatic drop-hoop style earrings from Bochic to the 2009 Screen Actors Guild Awards. The earrings are crafted in 22-karat yellow gold and feature ruby studs and rubies at the center. Photo: Courtesy of D'Orazio and Associates.

Los Angeles--It seems First Lady Michelle Obama has set a new style edict--one that's extending all the way to Hollywood--with a number of starlets following her inaugural lead and choosing one-shoulder gowns to wear to last night's Screen Actors Guild (SAG) Awards.

To accentuate the look, actresses such as Teri Hatcher, Laura Linney and Evan Rachel Wood avoided adorning their necks and instead paired their asymmetrical gowns with drop earrings, rings or bracelets on one wrist.

Hatcher chose jewels from Neil Lane, including earrings with lapis, onyx and diamond, plus diamond and sapphire rings, and a huge diamond and rock crystal bracelet, all set in platinum. Wood went with Lane too, pairing a large lapis and gold bracelet with a platinum and diamond eagle pin featuring emerald and ruby accents. She topped it all off with a diamond, ruby and emerald ring.

Linney, meanwhile, winner of the SAG award for outstanding performance by a female actor in a miniseries or television movie, picked Cathy Waterman diamond bracelets, earrings and two diamond rings.

Another trend that made a mark on last night's red carpet was a proliferation of hoop earrings, which ranged from oversized and statement-making to small and simple.

Samantha Who?'s Christina Applegate went the statement-making route, pairing massive drop-style diamond hoops from Lorraine Schwartz with stacked diamond bangle bracelets and diamonds-by-the-yard necklaces. And actress Jane Krakowski also wore a drop-style hoop, pairing the 22-karat yellow gold and ruby earrings from Bochic with a matching bracelet.

On the other end of the spectrum, Angelina Jolie paired a relatively subdued gown with small hoops from Tiffany and Co., and 30 Rock's Tina Fey, one of the night's big winners, chose simple diamond-studded hoops from Judith Ripka.

Among the sea of diamonds, colored gemstones also held their own, from Lorraine Schwartz sapphires on Desperate Housewives' Marcia Cross to Bochic aquamarine cabochon earrings on Lisa Rinna. Nominees Amy Adams and Taraji P. Henson each looked to H. Stern for their color fixes. Adams picked the brand's "Nature" diamond earrings with amethyst and rose quartz drops, while Haraji chose the "Sunrise" bracelet and earrings in varying shades of citrine, from golden yellow to dark amber.

Jewelry designer Caroline Ballou closes up shop

admin — Wed, 28 Jan 2009 20:57:25 +0000

Jewelry designer Caroline Ballou closes up shop

January 26, 2009

Difficult economic conditions have forced Attleborough Falls, Mass.-based designer Caroline Ballou to close up shop, the company announced late last week.

Attleborough Falls, Mass.--Jewelry designer and manufacturer Caroline Ballou LLC is the latest member of the jewelry industry to fall victim to the economic crisis.

In an e-mail distributed on Friday, the Attleborough Falls, Mass.-based company announced that it was going out of business and will be conducting a closing sale this week.

The sale is open to everyone through the close of business on Jan. 30. Credit card is the only accepted form of payment.

"We are sorry to say that the dramatic impact of the current economic crisis on our industry and the expectation that it will continue throughout 2009 has caused us to discontinue the Caroline Ballou business," the e-mail stated. "Thank you to our loyal customers: We appreciate the support you have given us through the years. We've enjoyed seeing you at the shows and felt particularly fortunate when we were able to visit your stores. We wish you the best of luck in 2009 and beyond."

The sale includes sterling silver and sterling silver/18-karat gold jewelry at 60 percent off and 20 percent off 18-karat gold jewelry.

There is no minimum purchase requirement even for first-time customers, but all sales are final.

Also, there is no stock balancing. Standard shipping and insurance charges apply.

Orders will be based on availability and there are no back orders or custom orders.

Panasonic launches DMC-FS7 and DMC- FS6

admin — Tue, 27 Jan 2009 22:37:28 +0000

Panasonic has launched the DMC FS7 and FS6, a pair of budget-level digital compact cameras. Both feature 4x zoom lenses, starting at the slightly wide-angle 33mm equivalent. Both the 10.1 megapixel FS7 and the 8.1 megapixel FS6 feature Panasonic's Mega O.I.S image stabilization system and the latest, fourth generation of the company's Venus Engine image processor.

Press Release:

Slim and Stylish With Simple Operation –
Introducing the DMC-FS6 and DMC-FS7

January 16th 2009 : Panasonic is pleased to introduce the latest additions to its award winning Lumix FS series – the new 10.1-megapixel DMC-FS7 and 8.1-megapixel DMC-FS6 cameras with a bright F2.8 Leica DC lens and with 4x optical zoom (equivalent to 33mm to 132 mm on a 35mm film camera). The FS series, a sister line of the world-acclaimed FX series, pursues easy and simple operation with its high specification for users at every stage to enjoy taking beautiful pictures. 　

Every Photographer Can Be a Good Photographer Thanks to Intelligent Auto
Panasonic incorporated Intelligent Auto mode in pursuit of the ultimate ease of operation and the reduction of misshots. Comprising of four major functions (MEGA O.I.S, Intelligent ISO Control, Face Detection and Intelligent Scene Selector) that work together to provide the best possible shooting results everytime. The two most advanced countermeasures against blurring – MEGA O.I.S (Optical Image Stabiliser) to compensate for hand-shake and Intelligent ISO Control to detect and suppress motion blur – are built into the FS6 and FS7. The MEGA O/I/S conventionally has mode 1 and mode 2, and now it has AUTO mode to select the suitable one between the modes according to the zoom ratio being used. Both image stabilising technologies have been further advanced in detection accuracy and correction effect thanks to the new image-processing LSI, Venus Engine IV.

In addition to these two paramount anti-blurring technologies, the Face Detection system helps the camera to recognize human faces and to focus and set the exposure automatically. Up to 15 faces can be recognized simultaneously. Face detection accuracy has also been increased, allowing continuous AF/AE adjustment even if a face moves or turns sideways to the camera. Not only that, the unwanted red-eye effect caused by the use of flash can be digitally corrected.

The Intelligent Scene Selector automatically sets the appropriate scene mode according to the scene you're going to take from among the most frequently used scene modes, such as Portrait, Scenery, Macro, Night Scenery and Night Portrait mode. It now features an automatic backlight compensation function that activates whenever the camera detects that the light source is behind the subject. The Quick AF system allows the camera to keep focus on the subject while the camera is in recording mode even before pressing the shutter.

The user can activate all of these useful, convenient functions by simply pressing an independent iA button on the top of the camera, which is newly equipped for direct activation of the mode.

Zoom in
The 10.1-megapixel DMC-FS7 and 8.1-megapixel DMC-FS6 package a bright F2.8 Leica DC VARIO-ELMARIT lens with 4x optical zoom into a slim, compact body. Comprising 6 elements in 5 groups, including 3 aspherical lenses with 4 aspherical surfaces, this advanced lens unit realizes the outstandingly slim and compact body yet passing Leica's stringent standards to deliver an exceptional optical performance. The zoom ratio can be extended up to7.1x (234mm*, FS7) and 6.4x (211mm*, FS6) in 3megapixel resolution mode with minimal deterioration thanks to the Extra Optical Zoom. By using the central part of the CCD, this powerful zooming function allows you to easily capture and magnify distant subjects.

The Power of the Venus Engine IV
The image-processing LSI, Venus Engine IV, features advanced signal processing technology for rendering high quality images. Featured in the DMC-FS7 and DMC-FS6, the multi-task image-processing engine Venus Engine IV supports a super-fast response time. The shutter release time lag is as short as 0.007 (0.006 for FS6) second and the camera's quick response makes it easier to capture sudden, spur-of-the-moment photo opportunities. In burst shooting mode, the DMC-FS7 can snap 2.5 shots and DMC-FS6 can snap 3 shots per second at full resolution**. In High-Speed Burst shooting mode,*** it fires off an incredible 6 (5.5 for FS6) shots per second. You also get unlimited consecutive shooting****, which lets you keep shooting until the memory card is full. The Venus Engine IV also supports a High Sensitivity mode that lets the DMC-FS7 and DMC-FS6 record at a setting of up to ISO 6400, sensitive enough to capture subjects in near-total darkness without using a flash.***

As Easy as LCD
The DMC-FS7 incorporates an easy-to-see, large, 2.7-inch (2.5-inch for DMC-FS6) 230,000-dot high-resolution LCD for comfortable viewing while both monitoring shots and playing back the results. The Intelligent LCD function detects the light condition and automatically boosts the LCD backlighting by a maximum of 40% when shooting outdoors in bright sunshine, and adjusts the frame rate when shooting in low-lit situations in addition to using the pixel mixed readout method to secure clarity in such situations. Detecting the lighting condition precisely and automatically controlling the brightness with a total of 11 fine steps, this function gives the display the most appropriate clarity in any situation without using extra energy. The High Angle mode makes the LCD screen extremely easy to view when the camera is held high, such as when shooting over a crowd.

View your Photos with Pleasure
To increase your enjoyment when playing back your images, the FS6 and FS7 provide slideshows complete with music. Just select the pictures you want to show and choose the mood that best matches your selection from natural, slow, urban or swing, and you'll get an emotion-filled slideshow with a variety of slide change effects and matching music without any annoying adjustments to the newly added speaker.

Additionally, all Lumix cameras can take 1920x1080 pixel high-definition quality photos that are ideal for full-screen viewing on a wide-screen (16:9) HDTV. Panasonic has long focused on making photography more enjoyable, such as by letting people view their images easily on a Panasonic Viera TV with Viera Image Viewer (internal SD card slot).

Not forgetting motion pictures*****, the FS6 and FS7 can record WVGA****** (848 x 480) motion pictures at 30 frames per second in addition to standard VGA 640 x 480). The WVGA motion picture also fits a wide-screen (16:9) TY perfectly to offer impressive viewing.

The Fun of Photography
Technically specified, yet remaining easy to use – the new models feature of variety of features to expand the fun and convenience for users. For example, the user can select from among several icons for the camera to use for indicating when the subject is in focus. In addition to the conventional dot, a flower, car and several other new shapes are available. The FS7 and FS6 also adds a new “Photo Frame” mode that lets the user put attractive borders around the photo. When printed, the photos look like postcards in picture frames, making them ideal as presents. With the My Scene setting, the user can assign up to two specific scene modes, which you use most often, and switch instantly to those modes when desired.

Included software
The latest version of exciting software PHOTOfunSTUDIO 3.0 comes bundled with the DMC-FS7 and FS6. The PHOTOfunSTUDIO 3.0 allows the user to edit or organize a collection of photos with more ease and fun. It features Face Recognition function that recognizes the faces in the picture stored in your PC to sort the photos by faces. Conventionally, you had to pick up one by one out of hundreds of photos when you only want the picture of a specific person. But with the PHOTOfunSTUDIO 3.0, the software automatically does it once the face is registered regardless of the camera type you used – perfect for digging out all photos of Aunt Mary for her birthday surprise for example! On the sophisticated interface, you can also enjoy emotional slideshow with a variety of effects. Motion pictures (MOV or MPEG2) can also be upload directly to YouTube.*******

* 35mm film equivalent.
** Max. 5(FS7)/7(FS6) images in standard mode, 3(FS7)/4(FS6) images in fine mode.
*** In 3-megapixel(4:3), 2.5-megapixel(3:2), 2-megapixel(16:9) recording
**** The consecutive shooting speed varies with the memory card, image size, and image compression mode. The number of shots depends on the memory card size, battery life, image size and image compression mode.
***** Motion pictures can be recorded continuously for up to 15 minutes in some countries
****** When you set the picture quality to WVGA or VGA, we recommend using a high-speed card with “10MB/s” or greater displayed on the package. SD speed class is the speed standard regarding continuous writing.
******* YouTube is the registered trademark of Google Inc. All other company and product
names are trademarks of their respective corporations.

Source: www.dpreview.com