June 2009

Lexar incorporates Micron’s NAND chips

Micron Technologies has announced the first flash memory cards to use its 34-nanometer process technology. Its subsidiary, Lexar, will incorporate the new 32Gb NAND chips into its 32GB Platinum II SDHC memory card. A 16Gb microSDHC card (commonly used in mobile devices), will also make use of the 34nm technology NAND chips. Lexar has said it will incorporate the technology into an increasing proportion of its flash memory card range.

Lexar incorporates Micron’s NAND chips

Micron Technologies has announced the first flash memory cards to use its 34-nanometer process technology. Its subsidiary, Lexar, will incorporate the new 32Gb NAND chips into its 32GB Platinum II SDHC memory card. A 16Gb microSDHC card (commonly used in mobile devices), will also make use of the 34nm technology NAND chips. Lexar has said it will incorporate the technology into an increasing proportion of its flash memory card range.

Cooliris V1.11 brings ’3D Wall’ to browser tabs

Cooliris has released the latest version of its image browsing plug-in. Version 1.11 allows the Cooliris 3D Wall to be used within a browser tab, enabling toggling between tabs of image walls. Users with Flickr accounts can now browse images complete with title, author, description and tags, and can choose to view their own sets and pools. It also supports MySpace, Facebook and other social networking websites.

AgfaPhoto announces DC-600uw rugged compact

AgfaPhoto has announced the DC-600uw rugged compact camera. It is claimed to be water-resistant up to 10 meters and can withstand pressure of up to two bar (29psi). Its exterior is designed to protect against dust and dirt. The camera has a 6MP sensor, a 2.4" LCD and includes Face Tracking and video recording for easy sharing on YouTube. Priced at €149, it will be made available next month.

Phase One and Leaf managers look to buy Leaf assets

Phase One and product managers of medium format maker Leaf are in the process of buying key elements relating to the Leaf brand from owners Kodak. These brand rights, research and development and production capabilities are being bought by a new company called Leaf Imaging Ltd which is 100% owned by Phase One. The new entity will have access to Kodak's intellectual property portfolio via a licensing agreement. The new company will continue to make and develop the Leaf Aptus range of digital backs but will not initially sell the AFi-II camera system. We spoke to Phase One's President and CEO who explained what the deal will mean for Leaf users.

SanDisk launches world’s fastest 32GB SDHC card

SanDisk has introduced the world's fastest 32GB SDHC card. It reads and writes at speeds of up to 30 megabytes per second and adheres to the new SD Association Class 10 specification. The card can record up to 160 minutes of 1920x1080 pixels HD videos at 24Mb/s data transfer rate. It will start shipping in August.

Pentax introduces Optio W80 rugged camera

Pentax has announced the Optio W80 rugged compact camera. It's certified waterproof at depths of up to 5 meters for two hours, shockproof for drops of up to 3.3 feet (1m) and coldproof up to -10 degrees Celsius. It's got a 12.1MP sensor, 5x optical zoom and a 2.5" LCD, and includes features such as HD movie recording and Pixel Track digital Shake Reduction.

DNG updated to allow RAW corrections

Adobe has updated its DNG digital negative specification to allow a series of image corrections to be embedded in the file. Version 1.3 of the non-proprietary RAW file format allows a series of 'corrections and enhancements', which Adobe is calling opcodes, to be defined in DNG files. These opcodes include the ability to specify corrections for lens aberrations such as geometric distortion and lateral chromatic aberration that should be made to the RAW data when it's processed.

Adobe releases Lightroom 2.4 and Camera Raw 5.4

Adobe has released Photoshop Lightroom 2.4 and Camera Raw 5.4. The full, release version of the ACR update, that was originally posted as a release candidate on the Adobe Labs site, is now available for immediate download along with the Lightroom update. Both provide additional Raw support for Canon EOS 500D, Nikon D5000 and 18 Hasselblad models.

Sigma posts firmware update for DP2

Sigma has posted a firmware update for its DP2 large-sensor digital compact. Version 1.02 improves autofocus performance and allows you to access magnified live view with a single button press when in manual focus mode.