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PhotoPlus 2008 New Product Round-Up by Frank Lovece Recently Frank Lovece walked around the floor of PhotoPlus and provides this great wrap up report Article rating: 9.57

When what is now the PDN PhotoPlus International Conference + Expo began 25 years ago, digital photography was science-fiction and one-hour photo processing was cutting-edge high-tech. A quarter-century later, the art of photography itself remains reassuringly human – Ansel Adams didn't have all these high-falutin' gadgets you see here, and he did OK – but, as they say, a carpenter is only as good as his tools.

The three-day expo, held Oct. 23 to 25, 2008, at the Jacob K. Javits Convention Center in Manhattan, was a cornucopia of countless panels, workshops, seminars and more covering every topic from technical ("RGB or CMYK? How Should You Submit Files to Clients?") to topical ("Adapting to Change in Photography and the Environment"). And of course, the convention floor was awash with new products and services.

The 20 appearing below are just a sampling of the dozens and dozens on display, to give you a taste of the breadth and depth of what's available for photo enthusiasts. From $60 instant-print cameras to $2,700 professional models, from Web-based services to printers to reflectors to flashes and more, here's a representative grab-bag of new technology up for grabs.

Canon EOS 50D camera
$1,399

Want to move beyond snapshot cameras but not yet ready for the most high-priced, high-tech model? Well, you'll cross that bridge when you come to it – in the form of such "bridge" cameras as this new Canon SLR, which bridges the span between casual hobbyist and semi-pro. Like most of the latest generation of cameras, it incorporates face-detection technology that digitally keeps your peeps in focus, and has automatic image-correction settings to help you take your best pictures until you can learn to drive stick, metaphorically speaking. Add a 3-inch LCD monitor, an APS-C sized 15.1-megapixel CMOS sensor, a DIGIC 4 image processor, an HDMI (High Definition Multimedia Interface) output for displaying your pix on high-def TVs, and ISO capability up to 12,800 for super low-light shooting, and you'll want to find yourself playing bridge.

Canon 50D

Canon EOS 5D Mark II camera
$2,699

The next generation of Canon's full-frame EOS 5D builds on such EOS-series technology as "auto lighting optimizer" and "peripheral illumination correction," and does it with a fully 21.1-megapixel CMOS sensor. That's a lot of megapixels. Like its less-expensive brethren, the 5D Mark II has all the computing power you'd expect – DIGIC 4 image processor, HDMI (High Definition Multimedia Interface) output, etc. – as well as the company's highest ISO range so far, expandable up to 25,6000! And since its full-frame, you get the angle of view as on a 35mm camera without a conversion factor. It shoots up to 3.9 frames-per-second, and has HD Video capture at 1920 x 1080 resolution. Mark my words.

Casio Exilim EX-FH20 camera
$599

Go, Speed Racer ... Go, Speed Racer ... Go, Speed Racer, go-ohhh  – because we can capture you at a startling 40 frames-per-second. Try and outrun that! The second in Casio's high-speed line of cameras, following its 60 fps Exilim Pro EX-F1, this mid-priced model also shoots HD video (at 1280 x 720 resolution) and what the company oxymoronically calls "high speed slow motion." Gotta love that. The camera has a 20X optical zoom starting at 26mm wide-angle; an anti-shake that automatically synthesizes multiple images captured during high-speed shooting; and a high-speed night-shot setting, among other features. See you at the finish line.

The Copyright Registry
Free web-based service

Digital technology has allowed photography to go more places than a diplomatic courier with frequent-flyer miles. But it's also allowed easy unauthorized copying of your photos all over the Web. The New York City-based Copyright Registry (www.c-registry.us) aims to help you take aim at those who would lift your work and use it without compensation. At the free basic level, it uses a Web spider to show you when and where you content is on the Internet, so that you can tag it with unique ID and notify alleged infringers that they'd be happy to pay you a license fee. At additional cost, the registry can issue Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) take-down orders to Internet service provides (ISPs), and create reports that confirm the identity of claimed copyright holders, specify the date range of publication, and who knows, send a nun over to slap wrists with a ruler.

Fuji Instax 200 instant camera
$69.99

Don't mention the P-word. That iconic company behind instant-picture cameras is no more. But in these days of digital everything, Fuji cannily captures the hands-on feel and retro coolness of the non-pixel pictures. The easy-to-use, single-control-panel Instax 200 instant camera can be handy for hard-copy pictures for insurance documentation and other such purposes – no Photoshopping suspicions here! – and for just sharing with low-tech grandma ... who's probably busy putting images from her Mediterranean cruise on Flickr and creating YouTube videos of the grandkids, but she should get a nostalgic kick nonetheless.

Harman Photo Gloss FB AL Warmtone inkjet photo paper

The British stalwart Harman Photo adds to its well-reviewed Gloss FB AL line of true fiber-based inkjet papers with this specialty product for photographers looking for a warmtone tint to help make your black-and-white prints velvety-black-and-creamy-white prints. The new paper is available in Letter, Ledger (B), Super B and A2+ (17x25-inch) sheets, as well as 17-inch, 24-inch and 44-inch rolls – and in what the company says is "in direct response to customer requests," it's selling the paper in 25-sheet packs not just at A2+ but at B and Super B sizes as well.

HP Photosmart B8550 printer
$550

Debuting in stores in three or four months but getting a more formal introduction at Expo, HP's newest photo printer works with both photographic paper and card stock that can range in size from 4x6-inch to 13x9-inch, including 12x12 scrapbooking pages. And since it has built-in card slots for memory cards and comes with a 2.4 inch color display, you don't even need to have a PC handy. The B8550 lets you print directly from PictBridge-enabled cameras, and whatever your source, a new five-ink printing system promises what the company calls "lab-quality photos." At this rate, labs will soon be bragging about "home-printer-quality photos."

Lastolite LL LR34xx Uplite 4:1
$261

Not only is reflection good for the soul, it's good for photography. Nobody knows that better than the British background and lighting-control specialist Lastolite, whose latest product, scheduled to be available in the U.S. in January, is this self-supporting reflector with two three-foot by four-foot, double-sided panels that you can arrange in 30- to 90-degree positions. They even detach from each other. The frame is waterproof steel, and the reflector comes with a waterproof shower cap. Given all the rain and fog they have over in Merrie Olde, you'd have to figure when they say waterproof, they mean waterproof.

Lexar Professional UDMA 300x 16GB CompactFlash Card
Price: $413.99

We remember Flashcubes and manual film-advance. Now we have digital memory cards. What's next? Cameras built right into our eyes? Until that time comes, this product from Lexar Media may be the next best thing for capturing reality. Ultra Direct Memory Access (UDMA) technology allows for ultra-fast performance: The company's new card is speed-rated at 300x, which represents a minimum sustained write-speed of 45 megabytes per second. *Whoosh!* What was that? It was this memory card, writing 45 megabytes per second. The card comes with a limited lifetime warranty, free dedicated tech support, the full version of the Lexar Image Rescue 3 recovery software, and a free six-month subscription of Corel Painter Essential 4 software.

Metz 15 MS-1 macro-flash
$400

Johnny Cash sang about a ring of fire. He was referring to love, but he might as well have been referring to this wireless, ringed flash for macro picture-taking. The new circular design is meant to ensure even, precise lighting in the super-close-up range, with individually adjustable zero-  to 20-degree reflectors. You can vary the amount of light thanks to six levels of output. Powered by rechargeable NiMH batteries good for 200 flashes, the 15 MS-1 is compatible even with cameras that don't have a built-in flash. If we were a sportswriter, we'd call this the Miracle Metz.

Nikon D90 camera
$999.95 (body only), $1299.95 (body and lens outfit)

"D-Movie" may sound like something you'd see on Mystery Science Theater 3000, but fear not – in fact, look forward to it. Because that's the name Nikon has given what it calls a first in digital SLR cameras: the capability of shooting HD sound-and-image video clips, doing so at 1280 x 720 resolution, a 24 frame-per-second rate, and an HDMI (High Definition Multimedia Interface) output. Building on the very popular D80, this latest in the line has a CMOS image sensor with 12.3 effective megapixels, an 18-105mm VR (Vibration Reduction) image-stabilization lens, 11-point auto focus, a burst rate of up to 4.5 fps, and a whole lot more. Nikon's new GP-1 GPS, sold separately, is slated to be available for the camera in November; it lets you geotag your  to images with latitude, longitude and altitude data.

Nikon Coolpix P6000 camera
$499.95

The newest in Nikon's compact-camera line also offers geotagging (see above) and somehow seems to offer even higher resolution (13.5 megapixels) than the new Nikon D90 that's twice the price (ditto, see above).  The Coolpix comes with the new WC-E76 0.76x wide-angle converter that offers focal lengths as wide as 21mm, and in addition to its pop-up flash has an accessory shoe that supports Nikon's i-TTL flash control. A dedicated Ethernet port makes it easy to upload directly to the secure Picture Bank service on the quirkily capitalized website www.myPicturetown.com.

Olympus Stylus 1050 SW camera
$299

You may or may not be able to tap dance, but you can tap shoot with this compact, 10.1-megapixel number that has a tap-motion sensitive body – meaning that in wintry days when you're wearing gloves, you don't need to remove and freeze your fingers off in order to use control buttons. Naturally, that means this camera is meant for the great outdoors, and specs out as freezeproof to 14 degrees F, waterproof to 10 feet deep, and shockproof up to a five-foot drop. That whole "outdoors" thing also accounts for the in-camera panorama mode – so as long as you're outdoors, why not shoot that mountain range. All you need is glove.

Olympus SP-565 UZ camera
$349

If it worked once, do it again. Olympus took its SP-570 UZ ultra zoom digital camera given us a smaller, lighter that's a full five digits lower in model number! Amazing!  The SP-565 UZ has the same 20x zoom lens (26-520mm equivalent, plus a 5x digital zoom on top on that) and all the latest bells and whistles (dual-image stabilization, shadow adjustment, face detection, etc.  – all that good stuff we're used to). The 10-megapixel camera offers 13.5 frame-per-second shooting, and like the Stylus 1050 SW (above), it's MicroSD and xD compatible.

Pentax K-2000 camera
$699.95

Another "bridge camera" filling the niche between hobbyist and pro, this digital SLR aims to be uncomplicated while offering picture-taking capabilities that'd make you think this thing has an MFA. Or maybe it's more like the professor – a  programmable help button serves up explanations of your current camera settings "to guide and teach the user about digital SLR photography," as Pentax puts it. The 10.2 megapixel camera, which comes with an 18-55mm, f/3.5-5.6 lens, has a plethora of automatic features and is also small enough to allow shooting with one hand. So all you photographers running from Dr. Richard Kimble, you're all set.

Pentax Optio W60 waterproof compact camera
$299.95

Our idea of the great outdoors is watching the Travel Channel, but all you more intrepid sorts may this pair of outdoorsy compact cameras more suitable to your lifestyle. Waterproof up to 13 feet underwater for up to two hours (though what anyone would be doing 13 feet underwater for two hours I can't imagine – do scuba tanks last that long?), the Optio W60 models, introduced in July but being showcased here, are also dustproof-rated at  JIS (Japanese Industrial Standards) Class 5 against sand and dust, and freezeproof down to 14 degrees F. They have 10-megapixel sensors, 5x zooms lens from  28mm wide-angle to 140mm telephoto, HD video at 1280 x 720 resolution, several automatic features and, of course, most important of all, they come in your choice of silver or blue – you know, so that you can match them with your hiking-boot and hat ensemble.

Sekonic Prodigi C-500 light meters
$1,099

The major light-meter manufacturer Sekonic bills these as "the world’s first color meter created for digital and film color control," and given the company's reputation, that's probably not just whistlin' "best coffee in town." Designed to read spectral sensitivity of both color film and CCD and CMOS sensors, the C-500 measure both Kelvin color temperature and LB/CC filter numbers. Along with its various pushbutton controls and calibrations, the device also comes with the C-500R Pocket Wizard radio flash trigger.

Sony DPF-D80 and DPF-D100 digital photo frames
$179.99 & $279.99

Sony has been such an electronics innovator since its founding in 1946 as Tokyo Tsushin Kogyo K.K. that it's kind of amazing the company can still score with the little things. Case in point: these latest in its line of high-tech frames, which, unlike its V-series brethren in the DPF line, which used a 15:9 aspect ratio, gives you instead a 4:3 – as in, the typical size of mom and dad's snapshots back in the film age. With an eight-inch and a 10.4-inch (diagonally measured) panel, respectively, they're among the largest and are the largest, respectively, that Sony makes. Their 200MB capacity is only half that of the V series, but what's neat is that if you turn the frame from base to side or vice-versa, the image moves with it to stay right-side-up. Cool! The D80 is available now, and the D100 is scheduled for November 8.

Sony DPF-D100 Digital Photo Frame

Tamron SP AF10-24mm lens
$499

An extended-range lens wider and longer that previous ultra-wide zooms, the latest offering the venerable lens-maker provides 35mm-equivalent coverage from 16mm ultra-wide-angle to 37mm semi-wide for an impressive 2.4x zoom ratio. The f/3.5-4.5 lens with a molded-glass aspherical element and three hybrid aspherical elements, plus an High Index/Dispersion (HID) element and two Low Dispersion (LD) elements, can focus in to 0.8 feet. It fits C/N/P/S mounts – although with a lens this good, you practically don't need a camera!

Tamron SP AF10-24mm Lens

Think Tank Photo Shape Shifter backpack
$249.00

Many of us know what it's like having to haul around large foam boxes to protect our cameras and other photo gear while traveling. The Santa Rosa, Calif., company Think Tank Photo now offers an alternative with the Shape Shifter backpack, which the company says is "designed to expand and contract to fit DSLR equipment." An inside compartment has neoprene pouches made to hold two cameras bodies; a 70-200mm, a 24-70mm and a 16-25mm 2.8 or similar lens, with hoods reversed; and two strobes or other accessories. A rear compartment had medium padding for protecting a laptop up to 17 inches. There are front straps for holding a tripod or a monopod. And most saliently, after your remove the gear, you can compress the 20x12.5-inch backpack from its seven-inch depth to a three-inch depth. Now, when we think "shape shifter," we're thinking Rebecca Romijn as the hot mutant Mystique in the X-Men movies. But a dedicated photographer, of course, would take this Shape Shifter over that shape shifter anytime.

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