Alphabetical list (page 3)

Note: Some of the stand shots were taken before the show was open to the public (hence the lack of anyone at the stand).

Konica

Konica didn't make a web based press release about their two new digital products before the show, but information was available at the stand. The Revio C2 is an ultra-compact, lightweight digital camera with a 1.3 megapixel CMOS sensor and fixed focal length (and fixed focus) lens. The C2 is powered by two AAA batteries and stores images on its 14 MB of internal flash RAM. The Revio KD-500Z uses a now common 1/1.8" 5.2 megapixel CCD but interestingly outputs a larger 2592 x 1944 image size (strange). It has the same body design (albiet now in a muddy black) and lens as the four megapixel KD-400Z, other specifications are also virtually identical.

Konica stand	Konica Revio C2 with various body covers
Konica Revio C2	Konica Revio KD-500Z
Site links • Konica Revio C2 • Konica Revio KD-500Z	External links • Konica Europe • Konica USA

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Kyocera / Contax

Kyocera / Contax introduced three new digital cameras at Photokina. The Finecam S3L and S5 make up the new ultra-compact Finecam 'S' range with a new silvered body, pop-up flash and lens system. The S5 uses a 1/1.8" 5.2 megapixel CCD sensor, the S3L a 1/1.8" 3.34 megaxpiel CCD sensor otherwise the two cameras appear to be identical. Also made official (but leaked some time before the show) was the new Contax TVS Digital. This compact five megapixel digital camera appears to use the same digital engine as the Finecam S5 but has a slightly different control layout, the TVS 'clean' style body and a 'Carl Zeiss' three times optical zoom lens.

The Contax N Digital was also available for live demo on the stand, although I would say it's future is looking decidedly questionable. Especially considering the recent recall, lack-luster image quality and inability (or unwillingness?) of Contax to get cameras to independent reviewers.

Kyocera / Contax stand	Contax N Digital
Kyocera Finecam S3L and S5	Rear of Finecam S3L (rear of S5 is identical)
Contax TVS Digital	Rear of Contax TVS Digital
Site links • Kyocera Finecam S3L • Kyocera Finecam S5 • Contax TVS Digital	External links • Kyocera Germany (EU HQ) • Kyocera USA

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Lexar Media

Lexar introduced four new products at Photokina. First off was their small 'Digital Photo Player', this unit connects to your TV and acts as a simple slideshow unit which supports Compact Flash Type I or II as well as SmartMedia. Output is via composite video or S-video jacks, the unit comes with a remote control which can be used to navigate through images, zoom, rotate or delete. Priced at $79.95 this little black box could be useful for home or office installations. To keep up with the other manufacturers Lexar also introduced a six-in-one USB (1.1) card reader, useful for camera reviewers like ourselves but of limited use to others.

On the professional side Lexar announced their new 'Write Acceleration Technology' which is implemented on thier new line of 24x Professional cards, it works by reducing the overhead involved in the write process and requires the camera in which the card is used to also have a firmware update. So far Nikon's D1H and D1x are due to get this update and all Kodak Pro DCS D-SLR's also support the new WA protocol.

We were invited to a technical discussion and demonstration of WA technology, this was carried out using a Nikon D1x with a monitor board connected to its CF slot, this board is completely passive and simply 'snoops' on the signal between the camera and card. This board then connects to a data monitor which can time and capture all data between the camera and card. Lexar staff ran through tests with the normal 24x card and the new WA 24x card and the results were impressive, in the region of 28% write performance improvement with a burst of frames and just a little less for single shots.

Lastly comes the availability of their Image Rescue product to every day consumers. Previously Image Rescue was a 'dealer only' pack designed to be used in a shop for the rescue of images from damaged, formatted or accidentally deleted Lexar cards. Now Image Rescue can be bought in the stores and for the first time is also available for Mac OS X. Caveats with this product are that it only works with a Lexar USB JumpShot cable and Lexar CF cards. A bonus for professional buyers is that the new WA cards will come with a free copy of Image Rescue on the CF card.

Lexar Media stand	Lexar Digital Photo Player
Lexar 'WA' CF cards and retail Image Rescue	Image Rescue running on Mac OS X
Nikon D1x with CF monitor board connected	Data Monitor (timing and bus data examiniation)
Witnessed WA speed results
Site links • Write Acceleration • Image Rescue	External links • Lexar Media

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Minolta

Just before Photokina Minolta revealed the DiMAGE Xi (a 3 megapixel version of the DiMAGE X) and the DiMAGE 7Hi (a black bodied, deeper buffered and more feature rich version of the DiMAGE 7i). Despite my personal reservations about the X lens (vignetting / softness) the camera does seem to be selling well and I'm hoping that a few tweaks may have been made in the Xi (we'll see). The stand seemed to attract a good amount of interest throughout the show with helpful demonstrators and plenty of opportunity for hands-on. We also got an opportunity to check ou tthe MC-DG100 waterproof 'Marine Case' designed for the DiMAGE X or DiMAGE Xi. This case will allow you to use either camera at depths of up to 30 m (approx 100 ft).

Minolta Stand	Minolta DiMAGE Xi
Minolta DiMAGE 7Hi demonstrated	Minolta DiMAGE Xi demonstrated
Minolta Marine Case MC-DG100 (DiMAGE X / Xi)	Minolta Marine Case MC-DG100 Rear
Site links • Minolta DiMAGE Xi • Minolta DiMAGE 7Hi • Minolta DiMAGE 7Hi first look	External links • Minolta Europe • Minolta USA

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