TAMRON 18-270MM DI II VC PZD 15X ALL-IN-ONE ZOOM LENS WINS THE FIRST CAMERA GP 2011 LENS OF THE YEAR

Tamron's 60th Anniversary Model Is The World’s Smallest And Lightest[1] 15x Zoom Lens For Digital SLR Cameras (APS-C Size)

May 19, 2011, Commack, NY — Optical equipment manufacturer Tamron Co., Ltd. (Headquarters: Saitama City, Japan / President and CEO: Morio Ono) that is celebrating its 60th anniversary last year has won the first Camera GP 2011 Lens of The Year held by the Camera Journal Press Club (Japan). That award was won for Tamron’s 18-270mm F/3.5-6.3 Di II VC PZD*2 (Model B008), the world’s smallest and lightest 15x zoom lens.

The following highly acclaimed aspects are the reasons for selection as Lens of the Year. The lens incorporates the new Piezo Drive (PZD) autofocus drive system[2]. It has a more compact and light optical system, even while achieving high image quality. It is equipped with a vibration compensation (VC) image stabilization mechanism that is even more compact than before. And it is a lens symbolizing Tamron as a pioneer in all-in-one zoom lenses that is always striving for more.

TAMRON SP 70-300MM Di VC USD (MODEL A005) WINS

Tamron's 60th Anniversary Telephoto Zoom Lens Delivers Both Best-In-Class Resolution And Easy Operation

May 19, 2011, Commack, NY — Optical equipment manufacturer Tamron Co., Ltd. (Headquarters: Saitama City, Japan / President and CEO: Morio Ono) , celebrating its 60th anniversary last year, has won Best Entry Level Lens at the TIPA Awards with its SP 70-300mm F/4-5.6 Di VC USD (Model A005) telephoto zoom lens for both full-frame and crop-sensor digital SLR cameras. This same lens has now won two of the top photography awards in Europe following the honor of receiving the European Zoom Lens 2010-2011 at the EISA Awards.
Tamron's SP 70-300mm Di VC USD telephoto zoom has been highly praised by editors and technical writers of Europe's top photography magazines for its best-in-class resolution and great ease of use.

Reason for Winning TIPA award
This premium, state-of-the-art, telephoto zoom lens supports full-frame and APS-C format digital SLR cameras. It includes many features that make it stand out even amongst other products in the telephoto zoom class. Built to exacting Superior Performance (SP) standards, it features Tamron's first application of an Ultrasonic Silent Drive (USD) for enhanced auto-focusing speed and responsiveness. The SP 70-300mm also incorporates Tamron's exclusive Vibration Compensation (VC) low-friction tri-axial image stabilization system to demonstrate impressive capabilities even in handheld, low light shooting.

Canon U.S.A. Announces New Solutions Company: Canon Information And Imaging Solutions, Inc.

New Subsidiary to Deliver Total Imaging Solutions and Services Offerings for Organizations Seeking Increased Efficiencies

Canon U.S.A., Inc., a leader in digital imaging, today announced the establishment of Canon Information and Imaging Solutions, Inc., a new, wholly owned subsidiary dedicated to expanding Canon's overall solutions business. Mr. Joe Adachi, president and chief executive officer, Canon U.S.A., Inc., will serve as Chairman of Canon Information and Imaging Solutions and Mr. Seymour Liebman, executive vice president, chief administrative officer & general counsel, Canon U.S.A., Inc., will serve as President of Canon Information and Imaging Solutions. In addition, the new company will be initially comprised of personnel from Canon U.S.A.'s current professional services organization.
With an initial focus on accelerating the growth of existing Canon office solutions, including Business Process Optimization, Security Services and Imaging & Records Management Services, the new company will allow Canon to build out its business solutions infrastructure to specifically deliver solutions comprised of software, middleware and services. Additionally, the new company will be strategically focused to deliver a number of solutions in the area of Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) as well as leverage Canon's cloud computing technologies. Canon Information and Imaging Solutions will be well positioned to fully realize the market potential of Canon's innovative cross media imaging solutions, as demonstrated at Canon's 2010 Canon Expo in New York.

PENTAX IMAGING COMPANY ANNOUNCES HOPE FOR JAPAN RELIEF EFFORT

PENTAX Imaging Company announced a HOPE FOR JAPAN initiative to benefit the AMERICAN RED CROSS JAPAN EARTHQUAKE AND PACIFIC TSUNAMI relief efforts.  Effective today, the company will donate $25.00 USD on behalf of every digital or sport optics product* purchased on www.pentaxwebstore.com.  The initiative is intended to provide help and hope to the disaster victims and families affected by the quake and tsunami that occurred in Japan on March 2011.
   “Our Japan-based parent company, Hoya Corporation, pledged 100 million yen to relief efforts, and here in the United States, we want to make a meaningful donation on behalf of the U.S. digital imaging division of PENTAX,” said Ned Bunnell, president, PENTAX Imaging Company. “We think some customers who were going to buy a camera will appreciate that proceeds from their purchase will aid Japan.”

PMA and CES announce colocation at 2012 International CES

JACKSON, Mich. – The Photo Marketing Association International (PMA) today announced a partnership agreement with the Consumer Electronics Association (CEA), owner and producer of the International CES, to move the September 2011 PMA International Convention and Trade Show (aka CliQ 2011) to colocate at the 2012 International CES, scheduled for January 10-13 in Las Vegas.
PMA@CES will offer industry-specific content and display products representing all aspects of digital imaging. PMA will also offer its well-known educational seminars, complementing and enhancing CES programming.

DDLAB hosts FREE Webinar on Marketing Photographs Fri May 6th

Harness the POWER OF COUPONS and Convert them into CASH!

Space is limited.
Reserve your Webinar seat now at:
https://www1.gotomeeting.com/register/195315265

Picture Day Photography, Action Photography, On-site or Online, Weddings and Portrait Studios: coupons have replaced the standard business card or flyer as the “Marketing Tool of Choice” by delivering “an incentive to purchase”.
In this marketing seminar, we will demonstrate several ways to implement strategies: from how to design, print and deliver your marketing message for all fields of photography. Spend 45 minutes with us and we promise you will not only see the power of coupons, but how simple and powerful your PSP Marketing System is to use.

Title: Harness the POWER OF COUPONS and Convert them into CASH!
Date: Friday, May 6th, 2011
Time: 11:00 AM - 12:00 PM EDT

Create your own colors: BASF and X-Rite break new ground in color coating of tablets

A new system using X-Rite's ColorEye XTH instrument for color measurement and BASF's Kollicoat® IR Coating Systems for formulations allows pharmaceutical companies to quickly and easily determine tablet colors and create coating recipes.


REGENSDORF, Switzerland -- May 4, 2011 – BASF and X-Rite Inc. now offer an easy-to-handle on-site approach to color coating tablets by combining X-Rite's ColorEye XTH handheld spectrophotometer for color measurement with BASF's Kollicoat® IR Coating Systems. The ColorEye XTH determines the precise colors of  tablets that are then easily translated into BASF's Kollicoat IR Coating Systems recipe, matching the desired color shade perfectly. This collaboration is part of the ongoing trend towards immediate availability of results without any outsourcing activities.

"This unique, systematic and easy-to-apply approach to color matching draws on the expertise of both BASF and X-Rite to provide a solution that responds to the specific challenges faced by pharmaceutical formulators today. This solution goes beyond anything else currently available," says Dr. Kathrin Meyer-Böhm, Pharma Ingredients and Services, BASF SE. Within minutes the color of a tablet can be determined by ColorEye XTH and translated into a Kollicoat IR Coating Systems recipe that can be formulated easily on-site. This approach replaces complex logistic processes and ensures that in-house formulation knowledge remains confidential.

Paul Waterworth named as Hasselblad’s new Global Photographer Relations Manager

02/05/2011 In a move that emphasizes Hasselblad’s ongoing commitment to its legion of worldwide users, Paul Waterworth has been named as the company’s new Global Photographer Relations Manager.

Paul Waterworth named as Hasselblad’s new Global Photographer Relations Manager02/05/2011 In a move that emphasizes Hasselblad’s ongoing commitment to its legion of worldwide users, Paul Waterworth has been named as the company’s new Global Photographer Relations Manager.

Already a familiar face to many of Hasselblad's UK users after having held the role of Northern Area Sales Manager for the past three years, Paul Waterworth (40) is eagerly anticipating getting to grips with his new position, which will see him oversee the development and enhancement of Hasselblad's support to the international photographic community.


One of the key points he will be looking to address is support for the large number of professional photographers using older Hasselblad models such as the H1/H2 or V-series cameras with proprietary backs. "I'll also be talking to users of 35mm-style DSLRs to encourage them to see what the world of medium format can offer their businesses," he says.

Although he'll still be based in the UK, Paul is now under the umbrella of Hasselblad in Denmark and he'll be traveling widely and communicating with photographers on an international basis. "One of the things I'll be doing is talking to Hasselblad users as a group about the services that are now provided that increase the interactive opportunities for photographers," says Paul. "These include such tools as the new Hasselblad UK Studio, the Masters competition, exhibitions, the VICTOR Online magazine, the Hasselblad Bulletin and other corporate programs. Another part of my remit will be to strengthen and extend the relationship between Hasselblad and its select band of business partners, which includes the likes of HP, SanDisk, Broncolor and Hahnemühle."

Chris Russell-Fish, Global Sales & Marketing Director of Hasselblad, is delighted that Paul Waterworth has joined the company's corporate global team. "Although I know he will be greatly missed in the UK, this new role allows us to re-engage with all photographers throughout the world and to build on the success of his predecessor," he says. "Paul will bring new ideas, solutions, enthusiasm and a vibrancy to this challenging and exciting task, fully conversant with the needs of those photographers and the challenges they face in today's global social networking marketplace."

An experienced photographer and seasoned medium format user himself, Paul will be engaging with the entire Hasselblad community right the way through from high-end professional user to photo enthusiast, ensuring that existing relationships are maintained and enhanced. "Everyone is important to me," he says, "and I want to make sure that we reach out to all of those who are working with a Hasselblad camera or who might benefit from using one but have not had the opportunity yet to see what these cameras can do for them. I am hugely excited and motivated by the challenges of this new job. Thanks to the ever-increasing ease of communication through the rise of the Internet and social media sites such as Twitter and Facebook the world is now a much smaller place. It's really important to recognize this fact and to engage and support Hasselblad users wherever they might happen to be in the world."

OLYMPUS IMAGING AMERICA NAMES PRESIDENT

Management Taps Successful Company Veteran Nacho Abia of Europe

CENTER VALLEY, Pa., Monday, May 2, 2011 – Olympus, a precision technology leader whose global business lines include creating innovative digital cameras and audio products, has appointed Nacho Abia as president of Olympus Imaging America Inc., effective April 1. In this role, he is responsible for leading and expanding all business activities related to the performance of the company's award-winning consumer electronics product line, including digital cameras, professional and consumer interchangeable lens imaging systems as well as related underwater products and accessories, digital and microcassette recorders, digital media and binoculars in the United States, Canada, Mexico, the Caribbean, and Central and South America.

Abia reports directly to Shuichi Takayama, president of Olympus Imaging Corporation in Japan. Abia brings more than 11 years of success creating and managing new businesses and product lines for Olympus Europe.

FUJIFILM LAUNCHES “FINDING & GROWING NEW MARKETS” CONTEST

Submit Your Creative Ideas for a Chance to Win Up to $2,500 and Public Relations Support

Valhalla, N.Y., May 2, 2011 – FUJIFILM North America Corporation today announced the "Finding & Growing New Markets" Contest, providing owners and employees of Independent Photo Retailers, Labs and Studios in the U.S., with the opportunity to share ideas that enable businesses to break into new markets and drive sales of creative photo products. The “Finding & Growing New Markets” Contest runs now through June 30. For complete details and the official entry form, please visit www.PhotoBusinessBuilders.com.