Fujifilm teams up with Man Utd
Fujifilm has announced a significant commercial tie-in and sponsorship deal with leading football club Manchester United.
The major aspect of the development is the launch of a new photo-dedicated website, developed by Fujifilm which will allow
supporters of the club to order exclusive pictures of their favourite stars online. Print sizes range from 4x6 to 10x15 inches, with prices
from �2.49 to �14 (excluding postage). Orders will be dispatched within two days.
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Durst brings three new numbers to UK
Italian minilab manufacturer Durst has been adding to its range in the UK with three new products previewed earlier this year at Photokina.
Among the new releases is the Durst Sigma high speed film scanner. The device is capable of scanning a 35mm transparency or negative in 3.5s,
producing a 15MB file. The Sigma accepts both colour and b&w film rolls
in 35mm, APS and 120 format, together with sheet film sizes ranging from 9x12cm to 4x5 inch. The maximum file size possible is 322MB, produced
from a 4x5 inch sheet film, taking 34s.-
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Colenta's Creator arrives in UK
German-based manufacturer Colenta Labortechnik is introducing an LED printer processor to the UK. First previewed at Photokina this
September, the Creator Digilab can output digital and conventional silver halide papers from digital files. Capable of producing 50 8x10
inch prints per hour, and priced �43,000 +VAT, the machine is aimed at low volume labs and commercial photographers.
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Lyson now keeps going longer
Lyson is introducing a bulk feed ink set system which it claims can reduce printing costs up to six-fold. The colour and monotone archival
inks are available in 125ml bottles, each equal to 20 standard Lyson cartridges, but costing the equivalent of just four. Available for a
number of Epson printers, the Continuous Ink System produces the most
dramatic cost savings with Epson's 1160 printer, says Lyson, but users of the 1270, 1290 and 2000P models can also expect to reduce ink
expenditure four-fold.
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Hitachi goes for smaller MMC form
Hitachi has unveiled a miniaturised version of the currently available MultiMedia (MMC) memory card format, claiming it to be the world's
smallest flash card.
The Reduced Sized MultiMediaCard (RS-MMC) is roughly half the size of a conventional MMC card, but features the same capacities and write
speeds. Measuring 18x24x1.4mm, the cards are the first to be commercially developed since the MultiMediaCard Association approved the
new, smaller format last month.
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New peak for Mountaineer
Gitzo has extended its range of Mountaineer carbon-fibre tripods to include several new even lighter models.
Among them, the new 0 series G1027 and G1028 both weigh just under 800g, which combined with Gitzo's G1077 Ball Head bring the total kit weight
to under 1kg. Claimed to be 30% lighter than equivelant alloy tripods, the carbon Mountaineer tubes are manufactured from carbon fibres which
are wrapped under high pressure and temperature with epoxy resin to a 1.5mm wall thickness.
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Quantum boost for batteries
Quantum has introduced a new Turbo 2x2 battery, boasting twice the power of its predecessor and featuring dual outputs for use with both digital
cameras and flashes.
The battery functions include programmable voltage; low for digital cameras and high for flashes.
Quantum says the nickel metal hydride battery can power either a Canon EOS1D or Nikon D1 and a dedicated flash for between 300 and 500
exposures from a single charge. Connection cables are available for most brands of flash and digital camera.
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DX lenses reinforce Nikon's digital line-up
Sweeping aside suggestions that it is about to unveil a full-frame digital camera, and following the launch of an upgrade service for its
existing D1H and D1X cameras (BJP, 16 October), Nikon has announced a new line of lenses designed specifically for use with its existing
D-series digital SLRs.
The first 'DX' lens is an AF-S DX Zoom-Nikkor 12-24mm f/4G IF-ED wide-angle that offers the same fields of view as an 18-36mm zoom lens
used on full-frame 135 format film. Despite being compact, the constant aperture lens is said to offer 'the same high performance as a more
cumbersome 135 format lens'.
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Kodak pulls the plug on R-type
Kodak has announced that it is to stop selling R-type papers and materials. The move is being seen as one of the first major culls in
conventional film processing in the wake of the rapid growth of digital imaging. The company says it will stop selling its Ektachrome Radiance
111 papers next autumn, and that R3 chemicals will be available until
the end of 2004. The decision follows a year on year decline in sales, which, says Kodak, reflects the rise in alternative digital processes.
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Microtek adds new ScanMaker
Microtek has added a new high speed flatbed scanner to its ScanMaker range. Featuring a top resolution of 2400x4800dpi, the ScanMaker 5900
uses the new Hi-Speed USB (2.0) interface and has a built-in 4x5inch
transparency adaptor. It accepts prints up to A4 size (210x297mm), and the adapter allows multiple slides and filmstrips to be batch scanned.
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Common digital process close
A consortium of manufacturers hoping to drive sales of photographic prints from digital images says it is the final stages of developing a
new common standard to make the process easier. The International Imaging Industry Association (I3A), the US based international trade
body which is overseeing the initiative, says the Common Picture Exchange environment should go live next spring. Agfa, Kodak,
Hewlett-Packard and online photofinisher FotoWire announced their
support last month with the creation of a consortium which will initially fund the scheme.
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Prints from film still hold the edge, says US report
A new report from US research company IDC says worldwide film sales remain steady, despite the recent rapid growth of the digital camera
market. In its 2002 Image Bible IDC estimates 78bn images will be captured digitally, but that only a third of these will ever be printed.
Those figures compare to an estimated 100bn images captured on film and
then printed - a figure that has reportedly remained stable for the past several years. The report suggests that consumers still turn to film
cameras when they want to preserve captured moments, and says the growth of print sales from digitally captured images is dependent a better
infrastructure.
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