In the short history of digital photography, manufacturers have released numerous cameras with constantly evolving RAW formats. This has lead to the existence of a vast number of RAW “dialects,” even within each major brand, that store image and camera setting data in a different manner.

The OpenRAW Solution - OpenRAW want camera manufacturers to publicly document their RAW image formats — past, present, and future. The goal of OpenRAW is to encourage image preservation and give creative choice of how images are processed to the creators of the images. To this end, we advocate open documentation of information about the how the raw data is stored and the camera settings selected by the photographer.

The OpenRAW initiative is conducting the first international survey of photographers and digital image users about their experiences, requirements, preferences and concerns regarding RAW imaging technology. You can add your voice to this effort by completing the Web questionnaire (see link below).

Website : OpenRAW Launches RAW Survey announcement

Website : Complete the OpenRAW Web questionnaiire

Website : The RAW Problem more information

“Canon’s fiscal 2005 results reveal that the company posted a decent but not spectacular performance for the year. For the year, the company’s sales were up 8.3% to 3,754.2 billion yen ($31.82 billion), while net income improved by 11.9% to 384 billion yen ($3.26 billion). Sales and profits both benefited from a stronger dollar. Based on the exchange rate improvements between the dollar and both the yen and the euro, the company’s sales appear to have benefited by approximately 2% in both cases.

As an imaging company, cameras have traditionally been Canon’s strong point, winning frequent praise for their high-quality images. With such a reputation, it’s no surprise that Canon’s camera sales improved by 15.2% (12.8% with currency gains removed) this year. While competition in this business is fierce, Canon seems to hold a position of strength; longtime competitor Konica-Minolta decided to exit the photography business altogether, selling some of its technology to Sony, while rival Nikon abandoned film cameras to focus exclusively on digital cameras.”

Website : The Motley Fool Article

This is probably one of the most commonly asked questions since the launch of the new Canon EF 24-105mm f/4 IS lens. There’re always pros and cons. The EF 24-105mm f/4 lens has the 3rd generation IS from Canon that gives you 3-stop Image Stabilizer for outstanding camera shake reduction. It has longer reach in the focal lengh (extra 35mm) and it is .7″ shorter, .2mm narrower and .6 lbs. lighter than the EF 24-70mm f/2.8 L.

However, there’s a flare issue at the launch that prompt the recall of all new Ef 24-105mm lens. It’s slower than the 24-70mm lens, which gives you a constant f/2.8 aperture for shooting indoors and produces a very nice bokeh (background blur) when shooting portraits. Another advantage of the 24-70L lens is the extra AF accuracy when using the center AF point under low-light situations. Here’s the summary of the comparison from The Digital Picture:

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With the cooperation of Japanese camera manufacturers, the Japan Camera and optical instruments Inspection and testing Institute (JCII) was founded in 1954. It was formed to inspect all cameras exported from Japan in order to maintain quality standards. JCII in 1969 started to designate some cameras as “Historical Japanese Cameras” and began efforts to preserve these important items. Several thousand cameras are housed at the museum. The JCII Camera Museum was established to expose as many people as possible to cameras and the history of photography, and to educate people about the discipline. From February 7th 2006 to June 18th 2006, JCII Camera Museum has a special exhibition on the Pentax cameras, starting from “Asahi Flex”, the first 35mm SLR camera in Japan by Asahi Kogaku (Pentax). The exhibition address in Japan is JCII Ichiban-cho Bldg., 25, Ichiban-cho, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo 102-0082 Japan. The cameras in the above picture (from left to right) :

• Asahi Flex, the first 35mm SLR camera in Japan in 1952. It has a cloth curtain focal plain shutter and shutter speeds range from 1/20 to 1/500 sec.
• Pentax 645, the world’s first multi-mode medium format film camera in 1984
• Pentax Auto 110, the smallest interchangeable lens SLR with TTL metering ever made in 1979
• Pentax 6×7, first released in 1969, underwent some minor modifications while in production, namely the addition of a mirror-lock-up (MU), which is a useful addition for tripod photography that will improve image quality.
• Pentax *list D, at the time of the launch, is the world smallest digital SLR camera in 2003.

Website : Special Pentax Exhibition at JCII Camera Museum (in Japanese)

Asahi.com published an article about film photography with the following comments from Fuji Photo Film Co.:

“Photographs express every human joy, sorrow, love and emotion, and as such are indispensable to people. … In particular, film pictures are superior to digital pictures in their power of expression. They may be said to embody the very basics of photography.” It is quite a forceful statement.

Website : Asahi.com article

Some interesting comments from Yoshiyuki Nada, technical product manager for Olympus, regarding the live view function of the new Olympus E-330 camera.

“We expect all digital SLR will have this live view function in the near future. Some customers who haven’t used an SLR but a digital compact camera simply wonder why a DSLR doesn’t have the live view function. They are used to using the live view function. Therefore in answer to your question the live view function is due to customer demand.

On the other hand, some professional photographers such as nature, macro and studio photographers have requested a DSLR that has the live view function.

…The E-330 has a newly developed image sensor that we call the live MOS sensor -the FFT CCD can’t show the live view. We developed it in order to get better battery consumption and image quality. This sensor can provide low noise image.

There are some DSLRs, which can show the live view using a main image sensor. But these are limited in the time they can show the image on the LCD. This is because to continue showing live view makes a sensor overheat and that affects image quality. We solved this as well and the E-330 has no such limitation.”

Website : Interview with Yoshiyuki Nada

Four Thirds published a review on the Olympus E-330. The conclusion is :

“There’s only so much we can comment on given this is a pre-production model of the EVOLT E-330. We have no qualms with the 7.5MP count as this is really a non-issue for 99% of those interested in photography. The build quality is done in typical Olympus fashion feeling solid in your hand and more certainly above average at this DSLR price point. While the body is overly thick to accomodate the articulated LCD, it’s ergonomics are improved over the E-300 giving it more of the feel of the E-1. Many could not complain about that!

The viewfinder could always be bigger and a little brighter - ideally we’d expect something more like the E-1. And lastly, we come to the Live View feature. It’s obviously not for everyone’s style of shooting - personally one of us would choose a Live View camera over one that didn’t have that feature while the other wouldn’t use anything but a good 100% optical viewfinder. Fortunately there will be a lot of individuals entering the DSLR market who will love this feature and come March 2006, the only company capable of tooting their own horn over yet another market first will be Olympus.”

Website : Olympus E-330 Review at Four Thirds

Olympus announced the new E-330 digital SLR camera. It is equipped with the world’s first Full-time Live View function that makes it possible to frame images on the LCD, as well as to use the traditional shooting style by looking though the finder. Manual focus with the Macro Live View function makes close-up focusing–an operation that was once very difficult to carry out–much easier. You can freely select the exact part of the image that you want to focus on by using the cursor, and then the Macro Live View’s 10X magnification assures accurate macro focusing.

Here’re some other main features of the camera :

• World’s first interchangeable lens SLR with live LCD preview
• High performance 7.5-Megapixel Live MOS image sensor
• SuperSonic Wave Filter for image sensor dust protection
• Lens mount for Zuiko Digital Specific lenses
• 2.5″ flexible HyperCrystal LCD monitor with 160° viewing angle
• Program AE, Aperture Priority, Shutter-speed Priority, Manual and 31 Scene modes, including two for use underwater
• Metering modes: 49 point ESP, Center weighted, Spot (2%), Spot High Light and Spot Shadow
• 3-point (selectable) TTL Auto Focus
• Capture 3fps up to 4 frames in SHQ (in HQ or SQ up to the capacity of high speed CF card)
• Dual Memory Slots support xD-Picture Card and CompactFlash/Microdrive storage

The Olympus EVOLT E-330 Digital SLR will be available in the end of February 2006. It includes: The EVOLT E-330 Body with 14-45mm f3.5/5.6 Zuiko Digital Zoom Lens, USB Cable, Video Cable, Li-Ion Battery Pack (BLM-1), Li-Ion Battery Charger (BCM-1), Shoulder Strap, OLYMPUS Master Software CD-ROM, Manuals, Warranty card. The Estimated Street Price is $1099.99 USD.

Website : Olympus Official press announcement

Website : Olympus E-330 Detail Specification

Website : Olympus E-330 Official Sample Images

Website : Olympus E-330 Hands-on Preview at DPreview