Digital Camera News: Maxxum 7D Wins Grand Prix, Kodak EasyShare Software Download

Konica Minolta Maxxum 7D Wins Camera Grand Prix 2005

Konica Minolta has announced that the Maxxum 7D - the first Digital SLR with "CCD-shift" anti-shake technology has been announced the winnder of the "Camera Grand Prix 2005" award from the Camera Press Club.

From the press release:

"This prestigious award is particularly meaningful because it reflects the judgment of an elite group of journalists in Konica Minolta's country of origin," said Todd Schrader, senior vice president of sales and marketing for Konica Minolta Photo Imaging U.S.A., Inc. "We are honored that Minolta's Maxxum 7D has been selected by the Japan Camera Press Club as a superior imaging product."

Camera Grand Prix Award
The Camera Press Club selected the Maxxum 7D because of the high evaluation given to the following points: Easier operation for users was prioritized in camera development and the high level of technological development that went into realizing that. This is seen by incorporating the body-integral Anti-Shake mechanism, the sophisticated features demanded by high-end amateurs, while employing the large LCD and operation menus that make it easy enough for beginners to use. The cameras nominated this year were all launched between April 1, 2004 and March 31, 2005. There were 192 cameras nominated.

The "Camera Grand Prix" is sponsored by the Camera Press Club (a committee of Camera Press Club members, chief editors and representatives of magazines affiliated with the Camera Press Club, experts selected by the Camera Grand Prix Steering Committee, camera magazine writers, and photographers). The award is conducted by the Camera Grand Prix Steering Committee, which selects the most outstanding camera model to receive the award each year from all still cameras put on sale domestically in Japan during that year. In previous years, the Maxxum 7000 (1985), Maxxum 707si (1994), Minolta TC-1 (1996), Maxxum 9 (1999), Maxxum 7 (2001) and DiMAGE X (Camera Grand Prix Special Award 2002 ) have won "Camera Grand Prix" awards.

Kodak EasyShare Software Version 5 Available for Free Download

Kodak has announced that version 5 of their free EasyShare software is now available for download from http://www.kodak.com/go/easysharesw.  The EasyShare software lets users of every level of expertise organize, print, edit, and share their pictures.  The Windows version is available now and the Mac OS version will be out later this summer.

With new video editing tools, KODAK EASYSHARE Software v5.0 gives people the ability to trim, splice, rotate and add music to digital videos made with their cameras. Improved picture editing options make it easy to automatically reduce red eye and enhance images at the touch of a button.

A new Scene Effects tool can even change the mood of pictures, providing greater control over each image's appearance. For those who want to exercise even more creativity, the Express Upload' feature makes one-click simple to send an album to the KODAK EASYSHARE Gallery (formerly Ofoto) for designing photo books, custom prints, calendars, greeting cards and more.

Effortless, intuitive organization tools help users quickly find and view their pictures. A new slider control saves time by allowing people to dynamically scale thumbnails and digital albums so that more pictures can be viewed at once. The Smart Transfer feature with duplicate picture detection prevents inadvertently storing multiple copies of the same image, saving hard drive space and eliminating confusion.

Sharing options have also been increased in version 5.0. Owners of recent KODAK EASYSHARE digital cameras can synchronize their favorite pictures between the camera's memory and EASYSHARE Software, turning cameras into portable picture galleries for on-the-go sharing. All users can now more efficiently share pictures with the people they e-mail most often by creating custom e-mail groups in the integrated address book. Improved CD and DVD burning capabilities help people share and store more pictures.

In addition, EASYSHARE Software is leading the way into wireless digital photography through its' support of the forthcoming KODAK EASYSHARE-ONE digital camera and printer dock, both of which are Wi-Fi compatible.