News tagged with "kodak"

Pre-CES 2006: Proof if it were required that the cost of compact class CCD's are now at very low levels Kodak has today announced a camera with two lenses and two CCD's. The EasySahre V570 has two 'fold optics' lens/CCD packages mounted above each other, the first providing a prime 23 mm equiv. field of view, the second a 37-117 mm three times optical zoom. Both lens systems are mated to a five megapixel CCD sensor. One selling point is a built-in 180 degree panorama feature which is achieved with just three shots from the 23 mm equiv. lens. Other features include MPEG-4 video capture and a 2.5" LCD monitor.

Just posted! The EasyShare P850, which has an image-stabilized 12x zoom Schneider-Kreuznach, is a direct competitor to the likes of Canon's S2 IS, Sony's H1 and Panasonic's FZ20 and is the first in a new class of 'advanced digital cameras', which Kodak hopes will provide an alternative to entry-level DSLRs.. As well as the new image stabilizing feature the P850 boasts RAW file capture and a flash hot shoe, plus a real wealth of photographic controls. Find out how it fared in our concise review, after the link.

Kodak has announced the world's highest resolution sensors for medium format cameras with the KAF-39000, 39 megapixels, and the KAF-31600 (pictured), which offers 31.6 megapixels. The CCD sensors will be used in Phase One's upcoming P45 and P30 digital backs.The KAF-3900 covers an area of 36x48mm, while the KAF-31600 offers high performance in a 33x44mm imaging area. These two new sensors join three other CCDs in Kodak's line up, including the KAF-22000, which used to be the company's highest resolution CCD at 22MP.

Just posted! The Easyshare Z740 is one of three new big zoom digital cameras introduced at the beginning of the year. It provides ten times optical zoom, a five megapixel sensor and a range of manual control. From a price point of view the Z740 slots in at the more 'affordable' end of the increasingly crowded compact super zoom digital camera sector. Read our review to see how the Z740 performed and how it compared.

Kodak has announced a new class of 'advanced digital cameras' today with the introduction of the P series, which it hopes will provide an alternative to DSLRs. The flagship of the range is the 24 mm wide angle lens EasyShare P880, which offers 8 megapixels, manual zoom ring and full manual control. The second camera in the range is the EasyShare P850, which has an image stabilized 12x zoom Schneider-Kreuznach lens, 36-432mm (35mm equiv). Both cameras can record RAW files and include a hot shoe. The EasyShare P880 wil be available beginning this September priced $599, while the EasyShare P850 is available at the beginning of this month, priced $499.

Kodak is to cut up to 10,000 more jobs, while the company makes the tough transition from film to digital, reports the Altus Times. The announcement coincided with reports of a second quarter loss and shares dropped by more than 2%. The new cuts are expected to affect around 7,000 manufacturing jobs, many in Kodak's home town. Eighteen months ago Kodak announced that it would cut around 15,000 jobs over the next three years. Despite the fact that Kodak will add around 8,000 employees, the workforce will eventually number under 50,000 compared to 86,000 people it employed in 1998.

In further evidence of its commitment to digital, Eastman Kodak has announced plans to accelerate moves into the CMOS image sensor market after news of a manufacturing alliance with IBM. The recently available three and five megapixel CIS devices are intended for mass market products such as camera phones and digital cameras. The KODAK KAC-3100 and KAC-5000 Image Sensors incorporate Kodak PIXELUX technology, which is designed to improve image quality and performance, and offer more features than other CMOS-based image sensors on the market.

As a direct result of the popularity of digital and further evidence that Kodak is dedicating its future to the digital market, it will soon end its century-old tradition of producing black and white photographic paper, according to Associated Press. The demand for the paper, specially designed for black and white film and used by fine-art photographers, has declined by 25% annually. The decision to end black and white paper production will mean the closure of its plant in Brazil and takes the company closer to its target of cutting around 15,000 of its workforce 2007.

Kodak has today confirmed that the DCS Pro SLR/n and DCS Pro SLR/c digital SLRs have been discontinued and will no longer be manufactured. In our conversation with Kodak Pro we were assured that existing owners will continue to be supported through 2008 and that this will include firmware and Photodesk updates if required. Kodak will continue to develop CCD and CMOS image sensors and this announcement does not affect their consumer digital cameras. Kodak was keen to stress that this does not mark the end of Kodak digital SLR's but that they wished to concentrate on market segments which are more profitable.

Kodak has delayed the launch of the unique Wi-Fi-enabled EasyShare One camera until October, reports the Wall Street Journal. It was originally scheduled for launch in June. A Kodak spokesman said, "Kodak is making significant, innovative advances to create the EasyShare-One camera. We are taking the necessary time to ensure the best-possible customer experience, making certain that all of the new system components interoperate as expected." The four megapixel camera has a tilt-and-swivel, 3-inch touch-screen LCD, that is designed to change the emphasis from 'point and shoot to point and share,' says Kodak.

Kodak has today announced a new series of cameras with the launch of the the EasyShare V530 and V550 Zoom (pictured right). The Canon IXUS lookalikes are smaller than a deck of cards, boast five megapixels and despite only having a 3x optical zoom, incorporate image stabilization. Aside from minor cosmetic differences and the size of the LCD, technically they are pretty similar. The V550 has a 2.5-inch screen and is available in black and silver, while the V530 has a 2-inch screen and comes in Absolute Pink, Red Shimmer, Midnight Black and Silver Essence colors. The V550 will be available in June priced US$399, and for US$50 less you can get the V530, which will be available in July. Both cameras come with the new EasyShare Photo Frame Dock 2.

After all the bad news that has beset Kodak in the last year, things appear to be on the up as the company took the number one slot for sales in US in the first quarter of this year. It shipped 900,000 point and shoot digital cameras, a 41% increase on sales this time last year, according to a market research company. Kodak is followed by second-placed Canon (850,000 units), which recorded a whopping 72% increase, and perennial front-runner Sony was ranked third with sales of 800,000 units. UPDATE: Chief executive Dan Carp will step down as president in June, although he will remain in the post until he retires in January 2006. He will be succeeded by Kodak president Antonio Perez, who joined Kodak in April 2003 after 25 years at HP.

Kodak has slipped out another camera today, which will join the Z series. The EasyShare Z760 boasts 6.1 million pixels, 3x optical zoom and 2.2-inch LCD screen. It also has 16 scene modes plus five color modes. It appears to have a less pronounced handgrip and Kodak has chosen to market this one in black; the rest of the range is silver. It is available this month priced US$449.95 (approx €347).

Kodak has quietly introduced three new C series cameras today. The EasyShare C360, C330 and C310 will join the C340 and C300 models, launched at PMA, to be sold as a package with the Kodak EasyShare Printer Dock Series 3. The C360, which tops the range, offers five megapixels, while the C330 and C310 both have a resolution of four million pixels. The C360 and C330 also boast 3x optical zooms and will retail for US$279 and US$179 respectively. The lower end C310 is priced US$139. Packages will range from US$239 to US$379.

Despite a growth in the digital arena, Kodak has reported a net loss of $142 million, or 50 cents per share, compared with net income of $21 million, or 7 cents per share, in the first quarter of 2004. Sales also fell by 3% to $2.83bn from $2.92bn in the same period last year. Kodak Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Daniel Carp says, "While the first quarter's performance was disappointing, such short-term volatility is to be expected as we transform Kodak into a digital company." Kodak's outlook is more positive as it predicts that it will achieve operational earnings of $2.60 to $2.90 a share in 2005.

When it comes to women and digital cameras, recent research from imaging industry market research company Lyra reveals that Kodak really pushes their buttons. The Digital Photography survey showed that more than 20% of women use Kodak cameras while only 10% of men choose to use the brand. The most popular camera manufacturer among the male of the species is Canon, with 17% of men using its products, followed by Sony. Lyra's president and director of the Digital Photography Advisory Service, Charles LeCompte, explains the findings: "The explanation is that women in general are less comfortable with technology and therefore are more attracted to trusted brands." So ladies, dump your D-SLRs and pick up an EasyShare!

Kodak has today announced the the worldwide availability of the first products compatible with its one-touch printing system, ImageLink. The Printer Dock Series 3 is currently available bundled with ImageLink-compatible cameras the EasyShare Z740 and EasyShare Z700. The Printer Dock will be on sale as a standalone product from May 2005. The ImageLink Print System is designed to simplify at-home printing and is supported by Konica Minolta, Nikon, Olympus, Pentax, Ricoh, and Sanyo.

Kodak has today issued a press release which reveals a little more information about the sensor used in Pentax's yet to be fully revealed 645 medium-format digital camera. The sensor is named the KAF-18000CE, it has 18.6 million total pixels producing an 18 million pixel final image. Pixel pitch is 9 x 9 µm, no other specs are currently available but if we assume a 4:3 aspect ratio we can guess the total pixel size to be something like 4992 x 3744 which would make the active sensor area approximately 45 x 34 mm (a 1.3x FOV crop for a 645 medium format camera).

PMA 2005: Kodak has announced a new website for the ImageLink Print system, which is designed to simplify at-home printing. The system is supported by Kodak, Konica Minolta, Nikon, Olympus, Pentax, Ricoh and Sanyo and will mean that images taken with these manufacturers' cameras can be printed just by pressing one button when the devices are docked in compatible 'snapshot' printers. www.imagelinkprintsystem.com, which will go live in March, will have links to compatible cameras and printers, a frequently asked questions section and news related to the specification.

PMA 2005: Kodak has today announced two new five megapixel additions to the Z-series, which include the 10x zoom EasyShare Z7590 and EasyShare Z730. The SLR-like Z7590 offers manual and automatic exposure and features a Schneider-Kreuznach Variogon 10x optical zoom lens (38 – 380 mm equiv). The second zoom lens compact offers a 4x optical zoom (33-132 mm equiv), a 2.2-inch LCD and is powered by a lithium battery. Both available in May, the Z7590 will cost £349.99 (approx $546) and Z730 will cost £199.99 (approx $312).