Hiya! I have some news from the Technical Imaging Press Association (TIPA), which is regarded as the most influential photo imaging press association in Europe.

TIPA has 31 member magazines in 12 countries and their editors judge the best photo and imaging products in Europe at an annual meeting. The tradition started in 1991 and today it is considered as the most prestigious awards of their kind. The panel gives their verdict after a number of tests and careful consideration.

This year the experts have given three awards to Epson and one to GR DIGITAL. The Epson Perfection V750 Pro scanner has won the “Best Flatbed Photo Scanner in Europe 2006”, the Epson Stylus Photo RX640 has got the “Best A4 Multifunction Photo Printer in Europe 2006” and Epson UltraChrome K3 ink has been voted as the “Best Printing Technology in Europe 2006”. While GR DIGITAL of Ricoh Co. Ltd was named the “Best Prestige Camera in Europe 2006”.

Epson Perfection V750 Pro is a flatbed scanner, which incorporates a Dual Lens System that enables film scanning at a high resolution of 6400dpi, as well as  reflective scanning at 4800dpi. It also features an optical density value of 4.0, an anti-reflection coating applied to the lenses and a high reflection mirror. That all help capture detail in the darkest of shadows, to eliminate reflection and ghosting and allows faster scanning speeds.

Epson Stylus Photo RX640 combines photo quality printer and a 3200dpi scanner with built-in transparency unit. It allows to automatically restore colour to faded photos and film thanks to the Epson’s Easy Photo Fix technology. This technology also automatically detects the image type and adjusts image brightness and contrast accordingly. With the PhotoFine LCD monitor you can print directly from memory cards and PictBridge-enabled cameras.

Epson Ultrachrome K3 ink is unique. It spots 8 new colour pigments, that better the quality and durability of colour and black & white printing. It also enables to use two black modes: Photo Black or Matte Black.

GR DIGITAL is a high-resolution digital camera for professional photographers and advanced amateurs. The camera was released in 2005 and has a stylish lightweight body of only 25mm thick. It has a 8 CCD mega pixel imager and 2.5 inch TFT LCD display. It is also equipped with 28mm (35mm film equivalent) lens that cover an angle as wide as 21mm.

Technorati Tags: Technical Imaging Press Association, Epson Perfection V750 Pro, Epson Stylus Photo RX640, Epson Ultrachrome K3 ink, GR DIGITAL

Share This

Hi! As I promised, I continue with night photography, and in this post we’ll talk about photographing the moon.

To start with, let’s define what kind of equipment you’ll need for your moonlight photography. So, make sure that you have:

• a 35mm camera that will allow you to manually set very long exposure times;
• a tripod;
• a stopwatch to record exposure lengths for moon photography shoots;
• lenses with which you are already comfortable;
• a notebook, a pen and a flashlight for recording exposure times. 

From the very beginning, I should mention that no matter how good your digital camera is, you won’t be able to take high quality images without some knowledge of the phase of the moon. It’s important, because it influences the type of equipment you’ll need for your nighttime photography.

 The best times for moonlight photography is either when the moon is full, or the two days before and after the full moon. Also, remember that there are lots of factors that may influence the amount of light and thus may change necessary exposure time. Take the following into account, when you consider the time: the degree of available moonlight, any other light sources, clouds, rain and light reflective surfaces.

So, as you see it’s difficult to define general exposure time for your moonlight photography, thus experimentation is a must. The time may differ from 8 seconds to 10 hours on one shot! That’s why, it’s recommended when photographing the moon to record your exposure time, weather conditions and the phase of the moon. It will come at handy in future when you decide to repeat your experiments.

It’s a good idea to try on different exposure lengths so you’ll feel your camera. Also, you’d better choose longer focal length lens, as the longer  lens you use, the better  images you’ll take.

And the last, remember that any landscape photography encourages creativity and experimentation. Don’t afraid of inventing interesting compositions and bringing some “extras” and move locations. Probably you won’t get perfect images at you first attempt, but you’ll get some experience, that will definitely help you next time. 

Technorati Tags: moonlight photography, photographing the Lunar Eclipse, nighttime photography, landscape photography, digital camera

Share This

Hello, people! Today I’d like to introduce you a comparison of two Panasonic digital cameras of LZ-series.

The Panasonic Lumix DMC-LZ3 is a 5 megapixel digital camera with a 2.0 inch LCD display. The LZ5 has a 6 CCD megapixel imager and a 2.5 inch LCD screen.

The both models feature a 6x Optical Zoom lens with a built-in MEGA O.I.S.(Optical Image Stabilizer) and a High Sensitivity mode (ISO 1600), that make possible to take pictures of moving subjects and in low light situations.

The LZ3 and LZ5 spot the image stabilization system and the enhanced Sensitivity mode. These two features are essential for taking sharp and clear images in different situations.

MEGA O.I.S. is the image stabilization system that has two corrective modes. The system prevents graininess and blur caused by hand shaking. Besides, thanks to this feature, the cameras produce perfect shots even in dim light and at night and allow shooting at slow shutter speeds.

The new models have the improved ISO range, which records at up to 1600. The enhanced High Sensitivity mode reduces a handshake effect and improves images of moving subjects.

The DMC-LZ3 and LZ5 incorporates  6x optical zoom lens (equivalent to a 37 – 222 mm zoom on a 35 mm film camera), that can be extended  up to 8.3x (7.5x for LZ3) in 3-Megapixel image. The Extra Optical Zoom function allows you to easily capture and magnify subjects in distant locations, as well as to take impressionable photos with soft-focused backgrounds.

The LZ3 and LZ5  models are also equipped with the Venus Engine Plus, that improves image processing in both speed and image quality.  It saves energy consumption, making the battery more durable. (The DMC-LZ3 and LZ5 use 2 AA batteries).

 The large 2 and 2.5 inch LCD screens are perfect for recording and composing shots as they allow the display of images even in tiny thumbnail size. Besides, the High Angle LCD function makes the cameras easy to view from bottom angle.

The LZ3 and LZ5 have 14 Scene Modes, that help you to get high quality pictures. Thanks to the Simple Mode, the cameras are very easy to use, as it makes most settings automatically. The Movie Mode with built-in microphone records in VGA size at 30 fps.

The cameras are supplied with 14 megabytes of internal memory, and there is a function that makes it possible to copy photos from the built-in memory to the SD Memory Card and vice versa.

The LZ3 is available in silver and the LZ5 – in silver and black. They measure 100 x 62 x 45 mm (3.94 x2.44 x 1.77 inch) and weigh 183g. (LZ3) and 186g (LZ5).

Technorati Tags: Panasonic Lumix DMC-LZ3, Panasonic Lumix DMC-LZ5, Panasonic digital cameras, digital cameras comparison, digital camera

Share This