Shutterbug Staff

The third sale of cameras from the collection of the late James A. Collins,
Jr. brought a total of $708,000 and record prices for a number of rare items.
"The star of the auction was an extremely rare Leica MP-2 camera with motor
and two battery packs," says Chris Everard, one of the principals of Everard
and Company. "Only 27 cameras and 15 motors are known to have been produced.
Something like this comes up once in a collector's lifetime, and it set an Internet
auction record of $86,250."

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ACD Systems International Inc.has announced updates to its two flagship products,
ACDSee 8 Photo Manager and ACDSee Pro Photo Manager. The enhancements are designed
to improve speed, performance and productivity, and include advanced support
for RAW formats.

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Olympus Imaging America Inc. has introduced the new Zuiko Digital ED 8mm F3.5
Full Frame Fisheye Lens. The Zuiko 8mm fisheye is designed to be digital specific
and render sharp edge-to-edge images, in an easy to handle size, and with a close
focus of less than 5 ½ inches.



Along with its many attributes this 8mm fisheye promises to set a new professional
standard for ultra wide-angle underwater photography because it can be used in
conjunction with the EVOLT E-300 digital SLR and the new PT-EO1 underwater housing
and PPO-E04 lens port at depths of up to 196 feet (60m).



This full frame fisheye lens has a 180º field of view diagonally to the Four
Thirds image sensor, and a focal length of 8mm (equivalent to 16mm in a 35mm camera).
Because of this it can be used to create extremely dramatic photographic images
that cannot be seen unaided with the human eye. Because this lens is specifically
designed for digital cameras and conforms to the "Four Thirds System,"
it will provide reliable photographic performance even at the edges of the images.




With a minimum focusing distance of 5.3 inches (0.79 inch from the front of the
lens to the subject), this lens can be used to approach the subject aggressively
for wide-close-up photography. This feature is the key to the creation of images
with exaggerated perspective effects.



Because of the different refractive indexes of light in air and water, the angle
of view underwater will be reduced to approximately 153º, and since it is
often more difficult to capture light underwater, it is necessary to get closer
to the subject. To remedy the problem, the super-close-up capability of this lens
allows photography of the subject just 0.79 inch from the front of the lens to
achieve the wide-close-up effects for which fisheye lenses are famous.



The new Zuiko Digital ED 8mm f3.5 Fisheye will go on sale in January 2006.



Estimated Street Price: $799.95

www.olympusamerica.com
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