Photo Club

Diving on Cocos Island with the Nikon D300 : When I was a little child, going to Cocos seemed as difficult to me as flying to the moon. Not within reality. Now, 20 years later, I am travelling on a ship, the Sea Hunter, to Cocos, where I will dive with hammerhead sharks. And where I will test the Nikon D300 SLR camera with the Subal ND30 underwater housing. It seems unreal to me… Every-thing on board of the ship aimed at diving with hammerhead sharks. During the trip, the dive masters offer us an extensive briefing. They emphasize that we are 700 km away from the coast so we need to be extra careful.

• Take a look at our full Cocos Island review now!

Subal underwater housing
One of the main characteristics of Subal underwater housings is the high quality of the materials that are used. Anodized aluminium is used for the housings with extreme surface hardening and corrosion resistance through HardCoating, preventing corrosion from making an appearance. A durable and high quality plastic is used for the operating buttons. And finally, the ports are equipped with glass lenses with a special coating on the inside to keep reflection to a minimum. It may be clear that the quality of this housing is extremely high. This does show in the price you have to pay for a Subal underwater housing. But then; if you pay peanuts you buy monkeys.

Nikon D300 digital SLR camera
With the D300 Nikon introduced a successor to the D200 that is also very appealing to the professional photographer. The camera is extremely solid and made of metal. The housing is well-sealed so that rain or a dusty environment is not a problem. The viewfinder has improved compared to its predecessor; now offering 100% view.

Diving on Cocos Island with Hammerhead sharks
Subal developed the ND30 for the Nikon D300. Although the D300 is a rather big camera, Subal managed to keep the underwater housing compact. Furthermore, the underwater housing Subal gave to me to test features a large viewfinder, the GS180. I took the equipment with me to Cocos Island, where I had to opportunity to dive both in day- as night time. Read the following review about diving on Cocos Island.

Think Tank Photo Airport backpacks : Think Tank Photo announces that it has enhanced the security features of its lineup of backpacks. With these new design solutions, photographers can now carry their bodies, lenses, and accessories onto aircraft with different carry on requirements, legally store them in overhead bins or under the seat, and secure them to immoveable objects once they land.
Think Tank Photo Airport Addicted backpack
The Airport Addicted V2.0 -Think Tank’s largest backpack just got better. Designed to comply with international travel carry on size requirements when the free Artificial Intelligenceв„ў 15 laptop case is removed, the Airport Addicted holds a 400 2.8 or 500 4 with lens hood, and multiple DSLR bodies and lenses. It now features Think Tank’s revolutionary security cable and lock, which allow the bag to be secured to immoveable objects or the laptop case to the backpack. The side pocket holds a monopod or tripod and the shoulder straps can be tucked away for travel. This is the ideal backpack for photographers who need to transport a great deal of gear from one point to another without exposing it to undue risk.

Think Tank Photo Airport Acceleration backpack
The Airport Acceleration V2.0 – This newly enhanced mid-sized backpack fits all international carry on size requirements when the laptop case is removed. The Artificial Intelligence 15 laptop case, which comes free with the backpack and slips in the compressible front pocket, can be easily removed, reducing the size of the backpack for either airline weight or size requirements. Designed to hold pro-size SLR cameras and up to a 500 4 lens without the body attached, it now features Think Tank’s revolutionary security cable and lock that allows the backpack to be secured to immoveable objects. It features “tuck away” shoulder straps and a removable waist belt, as well as a seam sealed rain cover and a tripod/ monopod attachment system.

Think Tank Photo Airport Antidote backpack
The Airport Antidote V2.0 – The smallest of Think Tank’s backpacks, it fits all international carry on size requirements. With the laptop case removed, it fits in the overhead bins of smaller “commuter flights.” The Artificial Intelligence 15 laptop case that comes with the backpack fits into a compressible front pocket so that it can be removed easily before sitting down. Designed to hold pro-size SLR cameras and up to a 400 2.8 lens without the body attached, it too features Think Tank’s security cable and lock system. It has “tuck away” shoulder straps and a removable waist belt, as well as a seam sealed rain cover and a tripod/ monopod attachment system.

Think Tank Photo Airport Ultralight backpack
Airport Ultralight V2.0 – Photographers on the move now can have the best of low weight design in a backpack. The Airport Ultralight V2.0 holds a full array of equipment, including one to two pro-size SLRs, multiple lenses, and accessories. The optional Artificial Intelligence 15 laptop case fits into the front pocket. The inside lid also has clear zippered pockets for pens, pencils, notebooks, credentials, and other essentials.

Think Tank Photo backpacks for photographers
“Last year we created a new category of bags – secure travel gear for photographers,” said Doug Murdoch, Think Tank Photo’s founder and lead designer. “With the release of these revised and upgraded backpacks photographers have a complete solution for different travel circumstances. Selecting the right bag, or combination of bags, depends on the photographers’ preferences and where they are traveling. With our line-up, the one constant is that photographers can rest assured that their gear is better secured.”

New Sony Exmor image sensors : Sony announced the commercialization of “Sony IMX060PQ”, a new type 1/2.5 CMOS image sensor “Exmor” for use in camera enabled mobile phones that leverages Sony’s proprietary formation technology to realize the industry’s smallest unit cell size (1.4Вµm), and the industry’s highest pixel count (12.25 effective megapixel resolution). The “Sony IMX060PQ” is designed to meet the increasing need for advanced image quality within mobile phone enabled cameras. Sony also announced the launch of “IMX046PQ”, a type 1/3.2 CMOS image sensor “Exmor” with 8.11 effective megapixel, and “IMX045PQ”, a type 1/4 “Exmor” CMOS image sensor featuring 5.15 effective megapixel resolution.

New Sony camera phone sensors
Furthermore, Sony will also commercialize “IU060F”, a type 1/2.5 lens module with 12.25 effective megapixel resolution, and “IU046F”, a type 1/3.2 lens module with 8.11 effective megapixels. Equipped with lens and auto focus functions, the two modules are the industry’s smallest and thinnest in their class, and with the launch of these products Sony will seek to enhance the enjoyment of taking high quality images using camera enabled mobile phones.

Sony IMX060PQ CMOS image sensor
The newly developed CMOS image sensor “IMX060PQ” leverages Sony’s proprietary formation technology to deliver the industry’s smallest unit cell size (1.4Вµm), and the industry’s highest pixel count (12.25 effective megapixel resolution). The implementation of a Cu process that achieves extremely fine interconnections, together with the sensor’s unique pixel structure and improvements in condensing efficiency have realized high sensitivity levels and a high S/N ratio, despite the industry’s smallest 1.4Вµm size unit cell. Furthermore, Sony’s proprietary “Column-Parallel A/D Conversion technique” minimizes image quality degradation cased by noise that arises during analog processing, while also enabling higher pixel count and frame rates (10 frames/s for “IMX060PQ” and 15frames/s for “IMX046PQ”).

Mobile phone camera technology
In recent years, the convenience offered by cameras in mobile phones has driven an increase in their use, while demand for higher image quality has also continued to grow. In addition, as mobile phone designs have become more refined, and models become smaller and thinner, the need for further miniaturization in mobile phone camera technology has also increased. To meet these requirements, improvements in both image quality and sensor miniaturization must be achieved, but the more the shrinking process is continued, the more difficult it becomes to gather light into the sensor pixels, leading to the risk of image degradation resulting from reduced sensitivity and S/N levels.

Camera enabled mobile phones
By enhancing its “Exmor” range of CMOS image sensors, used in product line-ups such as digital SLR cameras and high definition digital video cameras as well as mobile phones, Sony will aim to meet customer needs for advanced imaging performance comparable to dedicated compact digital still cameras in slimline, camera enabled mobile phones.

SanDisk Sansa View review at LetsGoMobile : The Sansa View series is already the next generation of portable media players by SanDisk. Even at first sight, the SanDisk Sansa View looks sleek and neat; the device fits perfectly in my hand and has an expensive businesslike appearance. The SanDisk View is available in black. The front has a shiny coating and the back a rubber finishing touch. The thing that struck me straight away is the fact that the Sansa View has very few buttons, which looks good and functions perfectly.

• Read the full SanDisk Sansa View review at LetsGoMobile.

SanDisk Sansa View features a photo viewer function
LetsGoMobile says: “The photo viewer of the Sansa View has the same qualities as the video player. The monitor shows to full advantage, and unlike the video player there are no blurred pixels in sight. The pictures are reproduced extremely clear. If you happen to have an incredible amount of pictures on your SanDisk Sansa, thumbnail mode will save you. This reproduction mode facilitates finding the picture you need. It is ever so nice to share your pictures with others, since a slide show belongs to the possibilities too, even accompanied by appropriate music. The options for random and continuous play are available in photo mode. The Sansa View supports JPEG format.”

SanDisk Sansa reviews
In addition to a sleek appearance and neat looks, the SanDisk Sansa View features a large memory capacity, a huge and clear 2.4 inch monitor and a microSD slot. All of this stands for joy in the present and sufficient possibilities for the future. SanDisk continues to experiment with the price/quality ratio. Read the enhanced SanDisk Sansa View review at LetsGoMobile.

Panasonic Gallery : The Panasonic LUMIX FZ28 Megazoom camera was introduced in the summer of 2008. The introduction took place in Monaco, where Panasonic not only introduced the LUMIX FZ28, but also a threesome compact cameras. The Panasonic FZ28 is a 10.1 Megapixel camera based on Panasonic’s reliable Megazoom concept. Including a large optical zoom range of 18x starting with a 27mm wide angle, ideal for landscape shooting up to and including 486mm for distant telephoto pictures. The VENUS Engine IV enables fast image processing and provides optimum image quality. ISO sensitivity ranges up to 6400, although this range will hardly be used in practice. In particular while the quality drops drastically at an ISO sensitivity this high.
Panasonic Lumix FZ28 gallery
Besides the optical zoom range, the Panasonic FZ28 digital camera features a so-called IA mode; an intelligent mode at which the camera goes extremely far in overtaking the user’s actions. In addition, the Panasonic LUMIX FZ28 features an improved face detection mode, making portrait photography child’s play. It enables continuous AF / AE adjustment even when a face moves or approaches the camera sideways. The Intelligent Exposure function ensures natural, realistic pictures by blocking shades and adjusting white-washed spots.

Panasonic LUMIX DMC-FZ28 features
The Panasonic DMC-FZ28 digital camera combines a 27mm wide angle LEICA DC VARIO-ELMARIT lens with a bright F2.8-4.4 and powerful 18x optical zoom (equivalent of 27-486mm at a 35mm camera) with a 10.1 Megapixel CCD in a compact housing. The large zoom range of 27mm to 486mm, equivalent of 18x, also thanks to the attractive wide angle, makes the Panasonic FZ28 the perfect digital camera to shoot wide landscapes as well as close-ups of a distant subject.

Panasonic DMC-FZ28 photo gallery
The Panasonic FZ28 test photos were taken with a full production camera, which means that this Panasonic FZ28 is equal to the model the consumer will find on the shop shelves. Additionally, the Panasonic LUMIX DMC-FZ28 digital camera will be fully technically tested in our DIWA test lab in a laboratory environment. We will concentrate and focus on the test in practice with the Panasonic LUMIX FZ28. The Panasonic LUMIX pictures of this article have been taken in and around Purmerend, a small town near Amsterdam in the Netherlands. Please use the link below the pictures to download the original Panasonic LUMIX FZ28 pictures in order to check the quality of these pictures for yourself.

Download original : Panasonic Lumix FZ28 test photo (Warning: approx. 2.1MB file size!)

Download original : Panasonic FZ28 test photo (Warning: approx. 2.2MB file size!)

Download original : Panasonic DMC-FZ28 test photo (Warning: approx. 2.0MB file size!)

Download original : Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ28 test photo (Warning: approx. 2.3MB file size!)

Download original : Panasonic Lumix FZ28 sample photo (Warning: approx. 1.6MB file size!)

Canon EOS photo gallery : Canon introduced a new EOS DSLR camera, the Canon EOS 50D at the end of August 2008. This was not supposed to be the successor to the 40D yet a stand-alone digital SLR camera. At first quite a surprise whilst on the surface the Canon EOS 50D D-SLR is fairly similar to the 40D, however, upon taking a closer look at the two cameras there are a lot of significant changes. The increased resolution combined with an entirely new sensor technique is one of them. This technique should offer improved noise ratio compared to the 40D. In addition, the large 3 inch monitor with VGA resolution ensures perfect reproduction. Prior to the upcoming Canon EOS 50D review, we’re happy to show you several sample photos.
Canon EOS 50D Digital SLR
The Canon EOS 50D camera features a 15.1 Megapixel CMOS sensor, good for 6.3 pictures per second and the latest Canon DIGIC 4 image processor that offers top speed and high resolution for an interesting price. New manufacturing processes, plus redesigned photo diodes and micro lenses, extend the light gathering capabilities of the sensor – allowing more pixels to be fitted on the CMOS sensor without compromising image quality. High-speed, low light shooting is enabled by ISO levels of 3200, expandable to an ultra-sensitive 12800.

Canon 50D sample photo gallery
In addition the Canon 50D features a new DIGIC 4 processor that is fast enough to allow up to 6.3fps continuous shooting, in bursts of up to 90 JPEGs with a fast UDMA card. Used with Canon’s wide area AF system, which locks onto subjects with 9 individual cross type sensors, action moments can be captured – even in low-light conditions. DIGIC 4 works with the CMOS sensor to deliver 14-bit image processing, for smooth gradation and natural-looking colors – as well as ensuring ultra-fast start-up times and near-instant image review after shooting.

Canon EOS 50D photo gallery
The Canon 50D sample photos were taken with a full production camera which means that this camera is equal to the model that the consumer can expect to purchase. Our DIWA test lab has already fully tested the Canon EOS 50D digital SLR camera under laboratory circumstances from a technical viewpoint. The next few weeks we will test the EOS 50D in practice and come up with a review soon. The Canon EOS sample photos are taken in Amsterdam, The Netherlands. The pictures in this article have been reduced to enable correct reproduction and compressed to ensure a faster loading time. To download the original Canon EOS photos, simply click on the link below images. Enjoy the Canon EOS 50D gallery!

Download original : Canon EOS 50D test photo (Warning: approx. 6.9MB file size!)

Download original : Canon EOS 50D sample photo (Warning: approx. 7.1MB file size!)

Download original : Canon 50D test photo (Warning: approx. 7.0MB file size!)

Download original : Canon 50D sample photo (Warning: approx. 5.8MB file size!)

Download original : Canon EOS photo (Warning: approx. 9.9MB file size!)

Download original : Canon EOS picture (Warning: approx. 4.6MB file size!)

Download original : Canon EOS image (Warning: approx. 6.7MB file size!)

Christopher Davis, whose portraits were the subject of an article in (AP)’s 11 October issue, was sentenced to six years in prison for sexually assaulting boys, according to a subsequent investigation by the magazine. The offences occurred at Davis’s home near Caernarvon, North Wales. He was convicted in April 2000.

wants to make it clear that it published the feature article about Davis, now aged 78, in good faith and was not aware of his offences at the time.

AP would like to apologise for any offence the publication of this article may have caused and wishes to reassure readers that it had no knowledge of Davis’s past at the time of publication. The magazine’s Editor adds: ‘We strongly condemn the crimes this person committed, and would not have published the article had we had this information beforehand.’

Caernarvon Crown Court confirmed that Davis pleaded guilty on three counts of indecent assault on a male. He appeared in court on 10 April 2000.

Davis, who now lives in Lincolnshire, declined to comment when contacted by AP yesterday. He told us that all enquiries should be sent to him in writing.

Davis’s ‘adopted daughter’ Sue Blackbourne, contacted us today from Newcastle-upon-Tyne. She told us: ‘He’s an elderly man in bad healthВ… He thought he had not done anything wrong by sending in photographs [to AP]. I wasn’t aware of this at the time.’

Motorola ZN4 : Tap into the media that moves you with Motorola Krave ZN4, the first touch phone to feature an interactive clear flip. This multimedia phone offers the latest entertainment and phone features to put you in touch with your own multi-dimensional world of music, videos, TV and more. The Motorola ZN4 mobile phone combines the cutting-edge convenience of touch with the familiar comfort and easy handling of a flip phone design. Experience two layers of touch with this innovative device. With the flip closed, the interactive clear flip provides fast, one-touch access to the camera, picture gallery, live TV, music, VZ Navigator, and viewing of pictures and text messages so it’s easy to access your favorite features.

Motorola Krave ZN4 offers extensive operation
With the flip open, you can access the full range of menu options. Haptic technology provides reassuring sensory feedback so you know your touch was registered. The durable flip helps protect the touchscreen underneath, and a prominent side key locks access to the external buttons, preventing accidental use when the phone is in your purse or pocket.

Motorola ZN4 mobile upgrades voice control
An attractive multimedia device, the Motorola ZN4 Krave is a great mobile phone, making calls easier and clearer. The science and technology behind the clear flip and its emblazoned earpiece provide high-quality audio, a familiar feel and reliable connectivity on phone calls. Motorola Krave ZN4 simplifies staying in touch with Visual Voice Mail from Verizon Wireless, a dedicated voice recognition key to make calling easy, a virtual landscape QWERTY keypad, haptic feedback, conveniently-sized buttons and direct access to personal email accounts with Mobile Email from Verizon Wireless.

Motorola ZN4 phone supports multimedia rich content
Keep your media content by your side and easily select and play it whenever you want. Flip open the phone to see full menu options, all displayed on a vibrant, high-resolution interactive touch screen. Premium multimedia features such as V CAST Mobile TV, V CAST Music with Rhapsody, Visual Voice Mail, Mobile Email, HTML browser, streaming video and support for up to 8GB microSD optional removable memory all make Motorola Krave almost impossible to put down. Live TV can be enjoyed with the flip open or closed in stunning landscape mode on the large, vibrant color display. Rich media such as Web video clips can also be played directly from the browser, and videos and pictures can be enjoyed directly from MMS messages without the need to download them to the device first.

Motorola Krave ZN4 specifications
• Talk/Standby time: 500 hours of standby time; 250 minutes talk time
• Bands/Modes: RF: CDMA EV-DO 800/1900; CDMA 1X/EV-DO
• Weight: 130g
• Dimensions: 51x105x19 mm
• Battery capacity: 950mAh
• Connectivity: Class 2 Stereo Bluetooth wireless technology, 3.5mm, USB 2.0 HS
• Display: 2.8” 240×400 65k TFT; flip resolution 240×320 pixels
• Messaging: EMS, MMS, SMS, Email (Brew App) IM (Dwnld BREW), OW 7 (WAP 2.0), BREW 3.1.4
• Audio: AAC, AAC+, AAC+ Enhanced, AMR NB, MIDI, MP3, WMA v10, WMA v9
• Video: Capture/Playback/Streaming, H.263, H.264, MPEG4, WMV v9
• Camera: 2.0 Megapixel camera, Digital zoom, Fixed Focus
• Memory: Up to 8GB microSD optional removable memory, 130MB user available memory

Motorola Krave communicates wireless
Motorola Krave also keeps your favorite tunes and playlists on hand with access to millions of songs on V CAST Music with Rhapsody, or by quickly loading songs from a computer. Wireless and wired listening options are available through stereo Bluetooth wireless technology and a 3.5mm jack, respectively. The convenient, touch-controlled 2.0 megapixel camera can be quickly accessed with a dedicated camera key, and takes landscape and portrait shots easily using the accelerometer.

Tamron lens assortment at Photokina 2008 : Tamron, presented in quite a large booth, showcased several new lenses. Tamron will undoubtedly stay close to the continuously growing DSLR market, and will be able to reap the fruits of their efforts. It won’t be the lens assortment that is to blame, because we spotted many interesting consumer lenses among the heap. However, Tamron is not the only player in the field; competing brands such as Sigma are still very much in the game and it is a matter of continuous innovation and making sure to act according to the demand of an unpredictable DSLR market. Whether Tamron will also produce lenses for the new Micro FourThirds segment is yet to be revealed. Tamron have not yet answered the question. This might just be a question of supply and demand, and if there is sufficient market share, the Micro Four Thirds system will also become an interesting segment for Tamron.

Tamron 18-270 mm f/3.5-6.3 zoom lens
Tamron’s new lenses are beautifully showcased behind glass on a stretched-out wall at the Photokina 2008. Among the line-up is the new 18-270 mm f/3.5-6.3 zoom lens. This lens is the world’s first 15x zoom lens with integrated image stabilizer, called Tamron VC (Vibration Compensation) by Tamron. According to Tamron, the VC system is one of the most advanced stabilization systems available on the market and differs from other systems by the application of three different sensors that detect 360 degrees around and coordinate each other instead of only making use of the X and Y axle as coordination points. As for features, the new Tamron 18-270 mm is similar to the 18-250 mm and built on the same platform. The new Tamron 18-270 mm f/3.5-6.3 is already available.

Tamron SP 10-24 mm f/3.5-f4.5 lens
Another interesting lens is the Tamron SP 10-24 mm f/3.5-f4.5 aiming at the advanced and professional photographer. According to Tamron this is the world’s first 2.4x ultra zoom lens. This lens will be available by the end of October / beginning of November. The demand for DSLR lenses is high and Tamron strives to improve its assortment and meet the market demands. The growing market of full frame digital SLR cameras inevitably requires an equal growth of the quality level. This is one challenge for a manufacturer like Tamron.

Tamron product line-up at Photokina 2008
• Tamron 18-270mm lens
• Tamron 10-24mm lens
• Tamron macro lenses

Photokina 2008 Booth Tours
• Canon
• Casio
• Fujifilm
• Hasselblad
• HP
• Kodak
• Leica
• Nikon
• Nikonians
• Olympus
• Panasonic
• Pentax
• Samsung
• Sigma
• Sony
• Tamron

Tamron 17-50mm lens

Tamron 28-75mm lens

Tamron 28-300mm lens

Tamron 70-200mm lens

Tamron 70-300mm lens

Tamron 200-500mm lens

Tamron booth at Photokina 2008 in Cologne, Germany

HP photo printers at Photokina 2008 : HP doesn’t seem to have anything left to offer when it comes to cameras. The company seems to have bid these farewell and instead focuses on image editing for cameras and printing solutions in any which way you can imagine. HP offers many printer solutions, from compact trendy photo printers portable in an equally trendy bag, to large format printers that print ultra big poster sized prints. HP no longer manufacturing digital cameras is a loss for the digital imaging industry, since the company used to develop and manufacture interesting models. Sadly, HP lacked the strategy to actually claim a market share. Perhaps their choice is not a permanent one, since the imaging industry is subject to ongoing changes.

HP Z3200 Professional Photo printer
One of the large sized printers is the new HP Z3200 Professional Photo Printer. The main adjustment done to this new printer is the integration of an additional red color; HP number 73. This increases the gamma range and it enables using a more enhanced media package for printing. Additionally, the mechanism has been altered thus ensuring the printer can take on heavier tasks such as special printing media and large sticker pages. Effort was also put into the required software and firmware updates in order to make the HPZ3200 up-to-date again. The new HP Z3200 Professional Photo Printer is expected to become available from October in the United States. For information about availability in other countries, it is advised to contact your local HP representative.

Compact HP photo printers
HP had some other news for consumers; a series of compact photo printers. The improvements might not seem major, however; in particular improvements on user-friendliness and printing speed seem to appeal to the consumer. The next few years, there will undoubtedly be a fierce battle as to who gets to print the digital images that are waiting at the consumers’ houses. Will the consumer take command and print via a home printer or will he or she simply press a few buttons to have his digital images processed online? There are significant interests at stake and we are curious to see how this market is going to develop.

Photokina 2008 Booth Tours
• Canon
• Casio
• Fujifilm
• Hasselblad
• HP
• Kodak
• Leica
• Nikon
• Nikonians
• Olympus
• Panasonic
• Pentax
• Samsung
• Sigma
• Sony
• Tamron

HP Photosmart A826 compact printer

HP Photosmart C8180 All-in-One

HP Photosmart D7460 All-in-One

HP booth at Photokina 2008 in Cologne, Germany

HP Photosmart A636 compact photo printer

HP printer case