News

Olympus marks the 50th anniversary of the legendary PEN F with the launch of the new OlympusPEN E-P5, a digital update of a classic film camera designed with breakthrough technology and incredible performance advancements. Designed for photographers looking for superior image quality in a portable body, the PEN E-P5 delivers a stellar shooting experience with 1/8000th of a second shutter speed – a world-first for the Compact System Camera class – built-in Wi-Fi, autofocus advancements, easy-access manual controls and a host of other features.

The League of Creative Infrared Photographers (www.irleague.com)
was officially formed in January 2008. It was established to promote the joy,
excitement, and creativity of infrared photography from in-camera capture to
enhancing images in the digital darkroom.

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Pana-Vue, manufacturer of Pana-Vue Slide Viewers, is introducing Pana-Vue Archival Pages. Designed to help photographers view, organize, preserve and protect their negatives, slides and prints, Pana-Vue Archival Pages are distributed exclusively by Argraph Corporation, a leading international supplier of digital and traditional photographic products. The extensive line includes pages to hold the most popular sizes of negatives, slides, and photographic and digital prints. Pana-Vue Archival Pages are acid-free, have no PVC and are safe for long term storage. They are designed for use in 3 ring binders and most of the pages will also fit in hanging files. Pana-Vue Archival Pages are available in packages of 25 and 100 pages. Contact: www.argraph.com.

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Pelican Products, Inc. has unveiled the 1430 Top Loader, a rugged, weatherproof
case for photographers who want the ultimate protection for their valuable gear.
This new model offers nearly 1,100 cubic inches of usable storage space and
features a unique top-loading design. Optional features such as a shoulder strap,
lid organizer, "mobile office" file holder kit and padded dividers
for photography and computer equipment are also available. Other optional accessories
include Pick `N' Pluck™ foam, canoe attachment brackets and
TSA-Accepted PeliLocks.

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As the price of D SLR's, high-end digicams and film scanners has declined
substantially, an increasing number of photo enthusiasts are able to make high
resolution images. At some point, most will recognize that their current printers
are due for replacement. Frankly, many existing machines cannot provide the
optimal quality -- or the large output sizes -- that high resolution image files
can support. Consequently, we're seeing a trend to superior photo printers
in letter size and especially in larger formats.



With more photographers doing more of their own printing the issue of print
permanence was certainly a hot topic, encouraged especially by Hewlett-Packard
who, at the recent PMA show, featured Henry Wilhelm as a speaker. President
of Wilhelm Imaging Resource, an independent stability testing lab, Wilhelm is
certainly an expert in all issues relating to archival issues. He recently made
news with the announcement of a new standard for print life, the WIR Display
Permanence Rating. Many existing photo printers and papers should qualify for
this Certification program, which requires a minimum on-display life of 25 years.
Do note, however, that some manufacturers may prefer to wait for standards to
be published by the international ISO or the American ANSI organization. This
could be a long wait, according to some insiders.



New Printers We've Seen

Employing the UltraChrome Hi Gloss pigmented inkset originally designed for
the (letter size) R800, the new Epson Stylus Photo R1800 uses the Gloss Optimizer
coating to produce beautiful 13x19" (or longer) prints on glossy papers.
Another fast machine, this one can also make an 11"x14" color image
in less than two minutes thanks to Advanced Micro Piezo ink jet technology with
180 nozzles per ink. The Stylus Photo R1800 offers resolution up to 5760 x 1440
optimized dpi and it can print on sheet and roll paper or onto inkjet printable
CDs and DVDs. (Street price $549.)

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The International Center of Photography (ICP) and the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum have embarked upon a unique project to make photographer Roman Vishniac’s (1897-1990) archive available to the public and the research community. Developing an innovative digital database to help facilitate access to this vast archive that is known to contain 40,000 objects and spans more than 60 years. The ICP and the Museum are pleased to invite scholars, students and families to explore the archive and to contribute their own family stories.