Monday, October 18, 2004

TAMRON ANNOUNCES THE DISCONTINUATION OF BRONICA SLR CAMERAS IN THE U.S. MARKET: "SALES DECLINE IN THE DIGITAL AGE FUELS THE DISCONTINUATION OF BRONICA MEDIUM FORMAT SLR PRODUCTS Commack, New York, October, 2004 – Mr. Takashi Inoue, president of Tamron USA, Inc. announced the discontinuation of Bronica SLR cameras and accessories as of October 31, 2004 in the U.S. market. The Bronica RF645 Medium Format Rangefinder will continue to be distributed and Tamron USA, Inc. will offer the current rebates on that product line through 6/30/05. "Since the advent of digital photography, medium format sales have declined at a rapid pace. Imports today are just a fraction of what they were even two years ago," stated Inoue. "For Bronica, that slip has been faster since our core customer base, portrait and wedding photographers, has adapted well to digital SLR equipment." "These photographers are now providing customers with a quality and cost-efficient product that has virtually eliminated their need for the higher quality results that medium format film or digital backs can provide," added Stacie Errera, Chief Marketing Officer. "While some customers are faithful to the format, the current sales volume and devastating purchasing forecasts cannot sustain the production of Bronica SLR products."" (Via Digital Camera Websites: Digital Photography News - The Latest Digital Photography News.) 7:10:38 AM

Review of Nikon Coolpix 4800 posted: "Today DCresource posted its review of the Nikon Coolpix 4800, an ultra zoom camera that DCresource was pretty lukewarm about." (Via DCResource.com.) 7:10:15 AM

New Versions of Alias Design Software Announced: "Alias today announced that it has updated its StudioTools 12, ImageStudio 2 and Portfolio Wall 2 design tools and announced a November 2004 ship date. In development for about a year, this is the first major design software release from Alias since its independence from SGI. The company said that the new releases will help to accelerate the design process, and has enhanced the applications concept design, model evaluation, design review, and production modeling capabilities. "We are living in the age of design," said Bob Bennett," business manager, Design and Entertainment Products at Alias. "Design is seen as a competitive differentiator. People are surrounded by great design, from cars to consumer products to the packaging of those products."" (Via DTVprofessional.) 7:04:28 AM

Laird Creates Camera System For People with Disabilities: "Laird announced today the launch of a new system for mounting a video camera on a wheelchair. This system, named VGO, gives a wheelchair user full control over their video camera. This new wheelchair video system helps broadcasters, educators, AV and media departments meet ADA and Section 508 compliance in a new creative way. “Up until now, the use of a video camera for someone in a wheelchair has been difficult if not impossible,” said Chase Pierson from DCTV. “Laird has tackled and solved this problem by working with its engineering team, consultants, and from the personal experiences of our own employees who use assistive devices to access technology,” said Laird Director of Operations, Paku Misra." (Via CreativeMac.) 7:02:19 AM

Update: BasaOne 1.2: "The object-oriented web development environment adds QuickTime support, enhanced speed. tabbing to select objects in document windows, and other changes." (Via MacInTouch.) 6:31:03 AM

ZyGoCasterE expands QuickTime streaming options: "San Diego, Calif.-based ZyGoDigital announced on Friday that it is currently developing ZyGoCasterE, which can stream video from a non-QuickTime capable system to a QuickTime streaming server and deliver it to computers running QuickTime. The company noted that it has demonstrated the solution on Pocket PC handhelds and plans to use it to stream video from an embedded computer in an F18 fighter plane later this year." (Via MacCentral.) 6:20:10 AM

Digital Photography Now - News - Make your own ISO camera test target?: "Have you ever wished you could test your own camera like the professionals? Here at dpnow when we test digital cameras we use a variety of test targets, including the standard ISO 12233 resolution target for testing electronic cameras. Stephen H. Westin, a research project leader at the Cornell University's Light Measurement laboratory, appears to have created a replica ISO 12233 test target using ISO specifications and made a pdf version of it available for free download." (Via DP Now.) 6:20:00 AM

© Copyright 2006 erik goetze.