Canon continues to be number 1 for photography in Europe, according to new figures from research company GfK. Canon attained the top position in both digital SLR and digital compact markets in 2007. “Not only did the company maintain its number one position, it did so against a background of increasing competition. Canon’s superior image quality makes its cameras the natural choice for photographers of all levels.” said Mogens Jensen, head of Canon Consumer Imaging, Europe. The IXUS 70 was the world’s most popular digital compact in 2007, and the EOS 400D remained Europe’s most popular consumer DSLR model.

Canon UK Press Release

United Kingdom / Republic of Ireland, 27 February, 2008: Canon is proud to announce its position as Europe’s number 1 camera manufacturer for the 6th year running1. New figures from research company GfK show that Canon attained the top position in both digital SLR and digital compact markets in 2007.
“2007 was an outstanding year for Canon in the growing European camera markets,” said Mogens Jensen, head of Canon Consumer Imaging, Europe. “Not only did the company maintain its number one position, it did so against a background of increasing competition. Canon’s superior image quality makes its cameras the natural choice for photographers of all levels.”

DSC: The ongoing trend
Thanks to a growing number of users who buy more than one camera - plus the increasingly common scenario where every family member owns a camera - 2007 saw continued growth in the European digital compact camera market. Canon’s extensive range of digital compact models has opened up this market to its widest audience yet - with the stylish IXUS 702 proving the world’s most popular digital compact in 20073.

1 GfK WEU14 Jan 2002 ~ Dec 2007
2 Canon Digital IXUS 70 / PowerShot SD1000 / IXY Digital 10
3 CINC 2.8 million consumers purchased worldwide

D-SLR: Leading through innovation
Having introduced European consumers to the possibilities of D-SLR photography with the EOS 300D in 2003, Canon has continued to lead the way ever since. 2007 saw the EOS 400D remain Europe’s most popular consumer D-SLR model, with close to 700,000 units sold4. This, together with the enduring popularity of Canon’s professional EOS-1 series cameras and EF lenses, has seen Canon’s leading position increase to a 48.7%5 share of the European D-SLR market.

2007 also marked two milestones in Canon’s SLR history: the 20th anniversary of the groundbreaking EOS system, and production of EOS film and digital SLR cameras passing the 30 million mark.

Linhof and Studio has once again teamed up with five other leading figures in the industry to put together the must-see event of this year’s Focus-on-Imaging.

Presented by Linhof and Studio, BJP, Alpa of Switzerland, Light & Land and Ag, The Hub was a new concept for the annual show at the NEC last year. The companies have their exhibition stands around a central hub area and this is where they will host a programme of free seminars at Stand Q26.

Details of the varied seminar programme are now listed and include talks by Charlie Waite, Rhubarb Rhubarb and many more and cover a range of subject matters from Large Format techniques, Digital and Publishing to name a few.

The British Journal of Photography will curate the Hub seminar programme and you can book your place by emailing Fotoulla Michael at bjp.sales@bjphoto.co.uk with ‘focus talk bookings’ in the subject line.

ALPA of Switzerland will be joining us at the Hub this year and promise the first glimpse of the ALPA 12 Max Prototype. They promise to bring over a few more exciting product launches so don’t miss this opportunity to see Together with their full range of cameras , they will be on hand throughout the show to answer all your questions.

The Linhof Studio will be on hand with their usual extensive range of toys ! Linhof Hensel Bergger Lotus Shen Hao and numerous accessories for Analogue and Digital.

In addition we will be joined by a representative of Silvestri Cameras at THE HUB. From Focus , The Linhof Studio will be the official UK importer of Silvestri cameras and a selection of products will be available .

Stand visitors will also be able to take advantage of special show deals at THE HUB and take a look at new product launches from all the manufacturers.

The latest version of the photo book software is available. We have enhanced the performance in a number of areas enabling the photo book software to perform to much greater levels. No great changes in functionality just making what works better. Enjoy. Go to photo book area on the site and download FREE.

http://www.reflectionsofyou.co.uk/photobooks/

Do You Feel that what you give for Mothers Day a bit repetitive? Giving Flowers or Chocolate is all very nice but how about something personalised that pts a smile on the Your Mothers face every day. We have a couple of ideas that will be remembered for a long time to come.

Personalised calendar with your mothers name set in some great scenes and places. A large calendar that has great images that can be hung on any wall and enjoyed and will put a wonderful smile on any Mothers face.

How about creating a very personalised photo book which can be created by you reflecting all the great moments for your mother. Great days, family pictures, children, at different times in her life - creat a photo book of great memories that will last a life time. Various styles of books across the style range and price range to suit. Professionally produced and delivered to you.

Getting Married, Been to a Wedding then do not forget to create a full blown story book that captures the pictures but also has the story written so people can go through the day funny bits as well as the beautiful parts.

Click this link and see some of the moments that should but rarely get in the album.

Protect private pictures against the curious eye by placing them into a secure encrypted container. Secure AES protection, ultimate convenience and ease of use make Hide Photos a perfect digital photo album for every amateur photographer.
 
Bolide Software announces the release of Hide Photos v1.1, a secure container for digital pictures. A perfect combination of security, convenience and ease of use make Hide Photos a perfect choice for digital photographers.
 
Digital photography changed the way people take, develop and print photos radically. No more need to bring films to a photo lab to make perfectly looking prints. Digital made it possible to perform the entire process of developing, editing and printing photographs at ones home, eliminating the possible embarrassment of a lab employee looking at photos intended strictly for private view.
 
Storing the digital photographs is just another matter. Naughty home stuff or pictures of your ex are equally not intended to be viewed by an inappropriate eye, yet for completely different reasons. What are your choices here?
 
Of course, you could just store the digital pictures hidden deep on your computer in a hope that no one stumbles upon them. That means no protection at all. Or you can put the pictures into an encrypted ZIP or RAR archive, making them impossible to access without a password.

That could work to protect your photos. The problem is that the protection works in both ways, making it inconvenient for you to access the images. Besides, due to the nature of how archivers like ZIP and RAR work, your photos will be extracted and stored unprotected somewhere on the hard disk every time you access them. To sum it up, archives are neither convenient nor secure as a means to protect digital photo albums.
 
The solution? A dedicated photo protection tool just like Hide Photos! The product combines the convenience of unrestricted access with the security of encrypted archives. Hide Photos keeps the digital images securely encrypted (AES-256 if you’re worried about the degree of security) yet handily available. You can view, add or delete digital pictures in the protected album at any time by just entering a password once. The images are never saved to the hard disk, thus eliminating the security hole of the password-protected archives.
 
What if you forget your password? If that would be a ZIP or RAR archive, you’d just lose your pictures or spend an awful lot of time trying to recover the original password with recovery tools. Lost passwords are no problem with Hide Photos! You can specify a password hint to remind you and you only about the right password. Just make sure the hint isn’t too obvious for anyone but you!
 
Hide Photos includes a full-featured image browser, viewer and organizer, making access to the protected pictures as easy and convenient as possible. Tag pictures with keywords, organize them by folders, specify passwords for the entire album or separate images, browse and view pictures from within the program without saving anything onto the hard drive.
 
Hide Photos is a simple, easy and completely secure digital photo album that keeps away the curious eye. Download your evaluation copy free at http://hidephotos.com/

Bridesmaids may soon be forced to sign contracts agreeing not to put on weight or get pregnant before a friend’s wedding.

One in five brides-to-be is so concerned that her bridesmaids might let her down that she would ask her maid-of-honour to sign a written “pre-nuptial agreement”, according to a new poll.

Despite the fact that 61 per cent of brides picked a best friend as their choice of bridesmaid and 49 per cent chose their sister, 48 per cent would sack a bridesmaid who failed to stick to the rules.

The survey of 1,000 women, commissioned by You & Your Wedding magazine, asked women which clauses they would put in their contract.

It found that respondents’ biggest gripes were with bridesmaids who put on weight, became pregnant or changed their hairstyles before the big day.

A series of suggested clauses included that bridesmaids should not consume more than 10 units of alcohol or make any advances towards “inappropriate male guests” - or the groom.

Many women who had already married reported stories of their bridesmaids letting them down on their big day.

One woman said her maid-of-honour left her dress at a service station on the way to the wedding after deciding she didn’t like it, while another revealed a bridesmaid had left 30 invitations unsent in her desk drawer.

Colette Harris, editor of You & Your Wedding magazine, said: “Planning weddings can be a stressful time for brides and while our contract is meant to be tongue-in-cheek, the survey demonstrates that issues with bridesmaids are of concern to many readers.

“Perhaps official contracts are the way forward for brides struggling to keep the peace.”

Siobhàn Craven-Robins works with hundreds of brides a year in her role as wedding planner and has organised the weddings of celebrity clients including Joan Collins and Barbara Windsor.

“There has been a spoof contract like this on the internet in recent years but I’m not sure if the brides I know would actually use the real thing,” she said.

The bridesmaid’s contract is the latest American-style trend for brides. It follows the opening in Berkshire of the country’s first bridal boot camp for women determined to shape up to fit into their dresses.

Trudy Dixon, the director of Bridal Boot Camp, said while many of the bridesmaids that work out at the boot camp had complained about the colour or style of the dresses chosen for them, few brides she knew would resort to such draconian measures to keep their ladies in line.

“I’ve been a bridesmaid several times and if I was presented with a contract, I would suggest they found another friend to do the job” she said.

The Photo Marketing Association 2008 convention is winding down and has been a huge success and a centre for information and news on the latest camera technology.

 Major announcements on cameras have been wide and varied.

Follow this link to see the latest