LAS VEGAS--Camera cleaning accessory maker LensPen announced a new product to help remove dust, hairs, specks, and other detritus that sticks to digital SLR sensors.

The $59.95 SensorKlear Loupe, announced here at the Photo Marketing Association (PMA) show, is a magnifying glass that attaches to a camera's lens mount. Its four battery-powered LEDs illuminate the sensor, and unlike rival products such as VisibleDust's Sensor Loupe, a gap in the side allows you to clean off the sensor.

Unsurprisingly, the company recommends use of LensPen SensorKlear II to actually clean off the schmutz. The pen and loupe together … Read more

LAS VEGAS--It's probably the least stylish digital camera on display here at PMA 2009, but it's also one of the most unusual.

As a result, Fujifilm is getting a lot of attention at its booth in the Las Vegas Convention Center with its FinePix Real 3D camera, even though it first showed the unit at Photokina last fall. It's just a prototype, but the point-and-shoot camera is capable of taking and displaying 3D photos.

The camera has two lenses, which take two different images. Then Fujifilm's RP Processor 3D takes the two images and combines them … Read more

LAS VEGAS--ScanCafe, a start-up that digitizes film images using relatively cheap labor in Bangalore, India, announced a new service on Tuesday to scan black-and-white negatives.

The Burlingame, Calif.-based company already scanned color slides and negatives as well as prints, but film scanners have trouble with black-and-white negatives. ScanCafe uses a "wet mount" process for which the company has applied for a patent, said Wade Lagrone, vice president of marketing, in an interview at the Photo Marketing Association (PMA) show here.

The process is more expensive but still competitive, Lagrone said. Color negatives cost 24 cents each, color slides 29 cents, prints 27 cents, and black-and-white negatives 69 cents apiece. The cost includes retouching and color correction. … Read more

LAS VEGAS--Olympus has set a ship date, albeit one with a lot of wiggle room, for its first high-end compact camera using the Micro Four Thirds technology.

The camera maker first showed a nonworking "concept model" of the camera at the Photokina show last September, and the same model is on display here at the Photo Marketing Association (PMA) trade show. Now, though it sports a label, "launching this summer." … Read more

If you know anyone who has asked for just a basic point-and-shoot camera to stick in their back pocket, point them to the Casio Exilim Zoom EX-Z29. Priced at $149.95, this 10-megapixel ultracompact camera is low on features outside of having 23 Best Shot scene modes and the ability to set the menu system color to one of six options: black, chocolate, cinnamon, rose, sky blue, and olive green.

Up front is a pedestrian 3X f2.8-5.2 38-113mm-equivalent lens, and in back is a 2.7-inch LCD for framing your shots. Here's hoping at least it's … Read more

LAS VEGAS--Panasonic's camera group isn't happy with its U.S. market share and is working on a new marketing plan to improve it, executives said Tuesday at a photography show.

"In looking at the U.S., we have not positioned the Lumix brand to our satisfaction," said Panasonic Executive Vice President Robert Perry at a press event at the Photo Marketing Association show here.

The company has No. 1 digital camera share in France and routinely is first or second in various other areas, but it's working to fix its sales problem in the United States, he said. Specifically, the company has begun a market review, he said.

"Over the coming months, we will see many changes," trying to win the hearts and minds of buyers and trying to fire up the resellers "whom we need to get behind the product and support it and make sure they communicate our value proposition," Perry said. … Read more

JVC joins the rest of the direct-to-Web video party with its Everio X camcorder. It's relatively compact and designed to fit into a jacket pocket. The X has some design novelties, including a 2.8-inch LCD that flips all the way around so that you can view videos while it's closed.

The X incorporates a 1/2.33 10.3-megapixel CMOS to capture 1920x1080 AVCHD video; that's better than most of their higher-end single chip camcorders (which says more about their other camcorders than this one). It can shoot up to 2.4 seconds of 600fps stills … Read more

When I reviewed Panasonic's groundbreaking Lumix DMC-G1 hybrid camera, my biggest criticism about its features was its lack of movie capture; since Panasonic had announced it would ship a model this year which included the capability, it felt a bit premature to recommend that version. Well, next year is here, and so is the movie-capable version of that interchangeable-lens non-SLR camera, the Lumix DMC-GH1.

While technically the camera records 1080p HD video (1920x1080), that's at 24fps, which isn't quite as nice as 30fps; it drops to 1280x720 for 30fps 720p recording. It's also the first still … Read more

LAS VEGAS--Apple on Monday added support in its software for raw image files from Nikon's top-end SLR, the $8,000, 24.5-megapixel D3X.

Apple's Digital Camera Raw Compatibility Update 2.5 also adds support for Epson's Epson R-D1x digital rangefinder camera, according to the Apple support page.

The software enables Aperture 2, iPhoto '08, and iPhoto '09 to interpret the cameras' raw files, proprietary formats that include more information than JPEGs. The update requires Mac OS X 10.4.11, Mac OS X 10.5.3, or later.

A full list of Apple's raw image support … Read more