| PREVIEW-Canon to target another year of record profit | | Posted Monday, January 29, 2007 2:48:36 PM by Blog57 Team | | TOKYO, Jan 25 (Reuters) - Canon Inc. is expected to report a 15.5 percent rise in quarterly profit and to forecast an eighth year of record earnings in 2007 on robust sales of digital cameras and colour copiers, as well as a weak yen. Analysts expect most Japanese precision gear makers will post solid earnings for the most recent quarter, with Olympus Corp. and Nikon Corp. possibly beating targets and Fujifilm Holdings Corp. raising annual estimates. Operating profit at Canon, the world's top camera and copier maker, may rise to 195.5 billion yen ($1.62 billion) for the October-December period from 169.3 billion yen a year ago, according to five analysts surveyed by Reuters Estimates. The market also expects Canon's annual profit to total 771.7 billion yen in the year to December, up 12 percent from the company forecast of 691 billion yen for calendar 2006.... | |
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| | | Olympus Stylus 770 SW Camera: One Tough Mother | | Posted Thursday, January 25, 2007 12:55:24 PM by Blog57 Team | | These are some ugly cameras, the photographic equivalent of those Panasonic Toughbooks we kinda like. It's a 7MP camera you can basically beat the crap out of, try drowning, and freezing, without harm. It'll hit depths of 33 feet under water, laugh at drops of nearly 5 feet, and be warm as a kitten in an microwave at 14 degrees Fahrenheit. (But more functional than the Kitten.) What's to explain this camera except that it's got a Wolverine-like healing factor. I just don't see it working any other way. There's little else info on this camera, but we'll update when we know more.–Brian Lam Olympus Stylus 770 SW [DP Review] .... | |
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| | | Get insider's look at design | | Posted Tuesday, November 14, 2006 2:49:41 AM by Blog57 Team | | Anyone who has ever experienced a New York fashion show from the vantage point of backstage knows the mix of chaos and coordination, ennui and adrenaline that goes into producing 20 minutes of fashion perfection. In the new book "Look: Portraits Backstage at Olympus Fashion Week" (Powerhouse Books, $39.95), veteran photographer Timothy Greenfield-Sanders takes his camera behind the scenes and comes back with something unexpected: a series of composed, almost formal portraits of the designers, editors, models, celebs and various exotics who make up fashion's inner circle. With a roll of pale-gray seamless as the only backdrop, the nearly 200 portraits are devoid of setting (not a champagne bottle, cigarette or makeup-littered table in sight). But they make for an entertaining "Who's Who." In Greenfield-Sanders' words, "Where else would you find Beyoncé, Salman Rushdie and Jenna Jameson all under the same roof — or in this case, the same tent?" Indeed.... | |
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| | | Everyday Cameras | | Posted Saturday, November 11, 2006 12:52:03 PM by Blog57 Team | | These shooters offer many of the features found in high-end D-SLRs, but are compact enough to drop in bags and jacket pockets without much hassle. You'll be ready and able to snap and save unexpected happenings at a moment's notice. Better still, a good point-and-shoot will come loaded with an excellent array of useful scene modes and handy manual controls. Armed with these abilities, chances are you'll be able to capture great pictures no matter what the situation demands. For example, Canon's PowerShot A630 sports both a bright articulating LCD display and a more traditional glass viewfinder for shooting under intense sunlight conditions. Also, just because a camera is small, doesn't mean it can't pull off tricks that'll make a robust D-SLR turn green with envy.... | |
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| | | Japanese Stocks Advance on Toyota Earnings Outlook, U.S. Gains | | Posted Friday, November 10, 2006 2:50:27 PM by Blog57 Team | | Nov. 7 (Bloomberg) -- Japanese stocks rose on speculation Toyota Motor Corp. will report a record second-quarter profit today and after U.S. indexes had their biggest gain in a month. ``Toyota is a leading company in Japan and is constantly expanding market share globally,'' said Yoji Takeda, who helps manage $900 million in Asian stocks for RBC Investment (Asia) Ltd. in Hong Kong. ``That gives encouragement for other companies that they can do the same kind of thing.'' Oil-related companies including Mitsubishi Corp. and Inpex Holdings Inc. climbed after the price of crude closed above $60 a barrel for the first time since Oct. 27. The Nikkei 225 Stock Average added 63.15, or 0.4 percent, to 16,427.91 as of 1 p.m. in Tokyo. The broader Topix index advanced 5.02, or 0.3 percent, to 1621.73.... | |
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| | | REFILE-UPDATE 1-Olympus won't outsource software to IBM | | Posted Monday, November 06, 2006 10:50:43 PM by Blog57 Team | | TOKYO, Nov 1 (Reuters) - Japan's Olympus Corp. said on Wednesday it did not plan to outsource development of software used in its digital cameras and endoscopes to IBM , denying some details in a report by the Nihon Keizai business daily. IBM will instead help Olympus develop new software and cut costs at Olympus's in-house unit, an Olympus spokesman said. The Japanese subsidiary of International Business Machines Corp. will buy a 10 percent stake in the Olympus software unit, which has a capitalisation of about 100 million yen ($850,000), and send a few engineers, the spokesman said. The Nikkei said Olympus would outsource all of its software development to IBM Japan in a deal worth about 4 billion yen, aiming to cut such costs by half. .... | |
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| | | Fashion festivities | | Posted Friday, November 03, 2006 6:52:53 AM by Blog57 Team | | Style-savvy sisters, rejoice. You don't have to jet set to a chic big-city to find a flock of fashion-related festivities. All of these events -- and more -- are right here in the Pensacola Bay Area.Meet the modelsYou've seen them on the pages of a magazine, but have you seen them face to pretty face?Professional models from Gulf Breeze-based IZON Models and Talents are scheduled to mug for the cameras, and you're invited behind the scenes to watch.Dan Risen, who recently finished two spreads for Cosmopolitan magazine, will be one of the models at the event, which is from 5 to 9 p.m. Nov. 17 during Gallery Night at Guava, a soon-to-open furniture store at 8 S. Palafox Place. Howard Robinson, a photographer who shoots commercial fashion, will be taking the photos at the event.It's rare that the public gets to witness an event like this, said Lisa Robinson, who will be applying the models' makeup."I think it will give people an idea of how much goes into a photo shoot," she said.... | |
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| | | Olympus Imaging America Begins Advertising Agency Review | | Posted Monday, October 30, 2006 10:50:23 AM by Blog57 Team | | Olympus Imaging America Inc. today announced that it is placing its advertising account in review. The company has retained consultants A-Team Advisors to manage the review. "Olympus has grown significantly over the years, and continues to offer leading innovations in cameras in both the point-and-shoot and digital-SLR categories," said F. Mark Gumz, president and chief operating officer, Olympus Imaging America Inc. "We've had a long and positive relationship with our current agency, however, our business objectives have evolved. As we look to the future, this search is a reflection of our desire to re-examine all aspects of our advertising and consumer outreach efforts." The Martin Agency is the current agency of record for Olympus Imaging America Inc. and will not participate in the review.... | |
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| | | Japanese Stocks Rise on Fed Rate Decision, Earnings Outlook | | Posted Thursday, October 26, 2006 10:48:02 PM by Blog57 Team | | Oct. 26 (Bloomberg) -- Japanese stocks rose after the U.S. Federal Reserve left interest rates unchanged for a third month and suggested inflation will not pick up, sending the Dow Jones Industrial Average to a record. Exporters such as Matsushita Electric Industrial Co. led gains. Shares also advanced after companies including Sharp Corp. reported sales and profit that exceeded expectations, boosting confidence that more companies will beat predictions. ``The U.S. market rallied on the Fed decision to leave rates unchanged and the same thing should occur here,'' said Juichi Wako, a strategist at Nomura Securities Co. in Tokyo. ``Investors are focusing on earnings at this moment as well.'' The Nikkei 225 Stock Average advanced 97.35, or 0.6 percent, to 16,796.65 as of 9:32 a.m.... | |
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| | | Olympus E-500 | | Posted Monday, October 23, 2006 12:48:43 PM by Blog57 Team | | In cooperation with other companies, Olympus decided to launch an entire new class of cameras. E-series models belong to this family. To be more exact, they are the first representatives of the 4/3 format. Olympus E-1 was the pioneer here, to be followed by the E-300. But the camera under review (E-500) seems to be launched to attract more attention to the Four Thirds format. What's unusual about this camera? It's the price. The price for a reflex camera with interchangeable lens and the bundled 17.5-45mm lens is below $600. It delivers a serious blow to positions of top cameras with fixed lenses. The 4/3 is an open format. But there are more open questions so far than answers. Lens of this format cannot be manufactured by any volunteer. The official position is expressed on the site four-thirds.org: "Full specifications cannot be provided to individuals or other educational/research entities".... | |
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