Imaging Briefs

Mahwah, N.J. — Konica Minolta's entry into the burgeoning digital SLR market, the Maxxum 7D, will carry a suggested retail price of $1,599 (body only) and $1,689 for the body and the Maxxum AF Zoom 28-100mm f/3.5-5.6 lens. The company also unveiled newly designed packaging for its entire line of inkjet papers. Available now, the paper is compatible with all dye and pigment type inks and includes professional photo paper, professional photo double-sided, premium photo paper (available in glossy and satin), premium self-adhesive, and everyday matte. The new packaging features the new Konica Minolta corporate logo, explanations for the surface and optimum use of each product, product specifications in the upper right corner, and a chart on the back highlighting the entire line of Konica Minolta inkjet papers.

Weymouth, Mass. — A new survey of Internet households conducted by the InfoTrends Research Group shows digital camera penetration at 59 percent. The report, titled “2004 Digital Camera Survey: End User and Non-User Analysis,” indicates that the market has grown from 45 percent of Internet households last year. The survey also noted that as the market widens, the “demographics of digital camera owners are shifting towards people of more moderate means and that women are increasingly likely to own digital cameras and to spur the purchasing decision for the household.” Digital camera owners also hunger for sophisticated technology, InfoTrends said, noting that 26 percent of digital camera households have a wireless home network, vs. 16 percent of non-camera-owners. “Since digital camera manufacturers are expected to introduce Wi-Fi-enabled digital cameras in 2005, this study shows that there is already a growing potential market for Wi-Fi-enabled digital cameras,” said Michelle Slaughter, director of digital photography trends, InfoTrends/CAP Ventures. “It's important for manufacturers to consider emerging subsegments like this one to target a growing market of replacement digital camera buyers, who are initially more likely to appreciate advanced features, such as Wi-Fi-enabled cameras,” Slaughter added.

Upper Saddle River, N.J. — Imaging software vendor H&M Software announced the release of version 2.5 of its flagship StudioLine Photo imaging software. The new release lets users design and print customized calendars, CD cases or greeting cards. The software includes templates for automatically printing indexes, covers and inlays for photo CD jewel cases. According to the company, H&M will continuously extend the library of available print templates, eventually adding the ability to produce coffee table photo books. The software features support for RAW image files and has added new archiving capabilities to better store and search for images saved on hard drives. The software is available now for a suggested retail price of $49.00.