Staff

Panasonic has announced the world's first Micro Four Thirds system camera,
the LUMIX DMC-G1, the world's smallest and lightest digital interchangeable
lens camera, weighing in at approximately 385 grams (0.85 lbs). Based on the
new Micro Four Thirds System standard, the LUMIX G1 eliminates the internal
mirror structure that defines digital single-lens reflex (DSLR) cameras, thus
reducing the size and weight by nearly half. With the mirror-less system, the
G1's flange back, which is the distance between the mount and the image
sensor, has been reduced from 40 mm -- as specified in the Four Thirds
System -- to approximately 20 mm.

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Lexar Media, a leading global provider of memory products for digital media, announced today that the company has further increased the capacity of its widely popular Platinum II flash memory card line by introducing a Platinum II 60x 16GB Secure Digital High Capacity (SDHC) card and Platinum II 80x 16GB CompactFlash® (CF) card. The new, high-capacity cards give value-conscious video and photo enthusiasts the ability to shoot longer and faster, while taking advantage of new higher-resolution and high-definition digital camcorders, digital SLRs and point-and-shoot cameras. When used with many of today’s popular flash-based digital camcorders, the Platinum II 16GB memory cards allow up to six hours of 1080 high-definition video recording. The Platinum II SDHC memory card is speed-rated at 60x, capable of a minimum sustained write speed of 9MB per second, while the Platinum II CF memory card is speed-rated at 80x, which represents a minimum sustained write speed of 12MB per second. The high-speed cards provide faster transfers of high-resolution video and photos, as well as large audio and digital multimedia files.

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WD (NYSE: WDC) introduced its new 500 GB capacity My Passport Portable USB Drives which are designed to make it easy to store a half a terabyte of music, videos or photos and carry them in the palm of your hand. Available now at WD’s online store (www.shopwd.com), the new 500 GB capacity is offered on the My Passport Elite and My Passport Essential portable drive models.

Weighing in at less than 7 ounces and designed to withstand the rigors of everyday use, the new 500 GB My Passport portable drives are small enough to fit in a pocket or backpack for easy portability.

WD’s My Passport Portable USB Drives with 500 GB capacity are available now at WD’s online store (www.shopwd.com). MSRP for the My Passport family of portable drives with 400 GB and 500 GB capacities ranges from $179.99 USD to $219.99 USD depending on model. The My Passport Elite and My Passport Essential portable drives are offered in the following capacities: 160 GB, 250 GB, 320 GB, 400 GB and 500 GB.  

Unique features of the My Passport Elite and My Passport Essential portable drives include: USB-bus powered, which eliminates the need for an external power adapter[; synchronization software that lets users sync their changes and protect their information with 128-bit encryption; plug-and-play capability with gaming consolesto make it easy to play music and view photos and video files on a TV. My Passport Essential portable drives are available in 11 fashionable colors.

Additional features of the My Passport Elite portable drives include: Capacity gauge that enables users to know at-a-glance how much space is available; powerful automatic backup software lets users designate files and folders for automatic and continuous backup; retrieve forgotten files from the road from any MioNet-enabled PC (compatible with Windows only) and copy them to My Passport portable drive using the unique MioNet Key software.

 www.westerndigital.com

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SanDisk today announced that it is now shipping an upgraded family of SanDisk Extreme IV CompactFlash (CF) memory cards to better meet the needs of professional digital photographers. The entire series of SanDisk Extreme IV high-performance memory cards has received a 12.5-percent speed boost up to 45 megabytes per second (MB/s) 1 and the newly-released 16-gigabyte (GB) 2 card is twice as large as previous capacities.

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