Sears announces pre-sale of Samsung digital cameras

Sears Holdings Corp., Hoffman Estates, Ill., announces an online pre-sale program for customers who want to be among the first to get their hands on the much anticipated Samsung DualView Cameras -- the TL225 and TL220 with front and back LCD screens. Now, picture takers will be able to see themselves in the shot to ensure that they turn every scene into a frame-worthy photo opportunity.

Leica S2 available in September

Leica Camera AG , Solms, Germany, announced its new professional SLR, the Leica S2, will be available at the end of September this year.

The camera features a 37.5 megapixel image sensor in the new format of 30-by-45 mm, which was developed by Eastman Kodak Co., Rochester, N.Y., especially for the Leica S system. In spite of its enormous resolution, the camera can take serial pictures as fast as 1.5 fps by means of the new Maestro image processor, which is also capable of creating high-quality JPEG files directly in the camera -- a feature that is not available with any other medium-format camera, according to Leica. While U.S. prices are not yet available, pricing in Germany starts with Euro 18,600 (including VAT) for the body. Initially, Leica will offer two lenses for the S2, but has announced the availability of another two lenses before the end of this year.

Accru rebate system can reduce customer equipment costs up to 25 percent

More employers planning to reverse pay, other cutbacks, survey finds

The number of employers planning to reverse salary cuts and freezes and restore matching contributions to 401(k) plans has increased in the past two months, according to the latest update to an ongoing series of surveys by global consulting firm Watson Wyatt, Washington, D.C. Nevertheless, the survey also found that many employers remain concerned about retaining their top performers.
  The survey found 33 percent of employers that froze salaries plan to unfreeze them within the next six months, up from 17 percent two months ago. Forty-four percent plan to roll back salary cuts in the next six months, compared with 30 percent two months ago. Additionally, 24 percent of employers plan to reverse reductions to 401(k) match contributions in the next six months, versus 5 percent in June.
  "Some employers are seeing the light at the end of tunnel and feeling optimistic about the prospect of improved business results," said Laura Sejen, global director of strategic rewards consulting at Watson Wyatt. "However, even as some of the program cuts are rolled back, many employees are facing smaller raises, lower bonuses and higher health care costs."
  The survey found 66 percent of respondents that increased the percentage that employees pay for health care premiums do not expect to reverse that decision. Also, 40 percent of respondents are planning to shift more health care benefit costs to workers by increasing the percentage of premiums they pay. Another 41 percent of companies expect to increase the deductibles, copays or out-of-pocket maximums for their 2010 health care plans.
  In addition, a majority of employers (52 percent) are now more concerned about retaining their top performers and critical-skill employees than they were before the economic crisis hit. In an effort to keep employees engaged, 83 percent of employers have increased communication and 40 percent have held additional employee forums such as town halls or other interactive sessions to address economy-related concerns. While almost half (47 percent) have changed employee roles to expand responsibilities, a far smaller number is expanding the use of recognition programs (27 percent) or creating special compensation programs for high-performing or at-risk employees (18 percent).

This week in PMA educational multimedia

In addition to industry-leading editorial and marketing research, PMA offers on-going podcasts and video content to help photo businesses stay competitive. Here's a round up of what's new this week:

AIE Imaging Executive Podcast

 Although many business leaders don't see much potential, a number of companies are finding great success, at zero cost, marketing on Twitter. In this week's AIE Imaging Executive podcast, Denise McVey, president of creative agency S3, Boonton, N.J., explains how her company has helped many clients, including 150-year-old Eight O'Clock Coffee, expand their markets on Twitter -- and how you can, too.

  AIE Imaging Executive Podcast, from the Association of Imaging Executives (AIE), offers leadership insights and a glimpse at the future of imaging. Hosted by Paul Worthington, editor of The 6Sight Report, the weekly podcast offers interviews with leading experts, as well as the editors of PMA magazine and The 6Sight Report, to provide imaging industry executives with insight into management practices and relevant discussions about innovative technology.

DIMAcast

Toshiba Corp., Tokyo, Japan, claims its 64 gigabyte SDXC card will have the world's fastest data transfer rate for reading and writing to a flash storage card: a maximum write speed of 35 megabytes per second, and a read speed of 60 megabytes per second. In addition, 64GB is the largest capacity yet available in the market.
  "The combination of large storage capacities and increased data transfer rates will meet the needs of a wide range of consumer electronics applications such as digital still cameras and digital camcorders that require high bandwidth data communication," Toshiba says. "For example, digital SLR cameras will be able to shoot longer continuous bursts in the highest quality RAW format. Similarly, with these cards, it will be possible to download a 2.4GB video in only 70 seconds."

  iPhone app publisher, Unique Apps, Tamps, Fla., released a new iPhone application called PhotoScatter . This app allows users to submit photos to most of the top photo sharing sites on the internet.
  Users simply select or take a photo, choose the sites to submit to, add a title and description, if desired, and submit.
Version 1 of PhotoScatter supports Facebook, Flickr, Shutterfly, PhotoBucket, Picasa, and Twitter (TwitPic). More photo sharing sites will be adding to future versions.

Skooba Design, Rochester, N.Y., expanded its original Checkthrough "checkpoint-friendly" laptop bag collection, with the addition of an ultralight backpack and a rolling laptop/business case. Checkthrough bags are specially designed and tested to pass through airport security X-ray screening without having to remove the computer. According to the company, its Checkthrough bags-developed in close coordination with the Transportation Security Administration (TSA)-are the best-selling items in Skooba's 10-year history, and the new styles are in response to customer demand for additional versions of the product. The company has multiple patents pending on both current and future Checkthrough products, and also offers a range of checkpoint-friendly laptop skins.

  Both the backpack and roller feature durable, weather-repellant ballistic exterior fabric, nickel-finished hardware, Doc Pocket organizers for airline tickets and passport, clear zippered pouches for allowable liquids, and many other travel-friendly features. Plenty of pockets -- 20 in the backpack and 18 in the Roller -- organize gadgets, accessories and other small items.

Kubota Image Tools, Bend, Ore., introduced the Kubota RPG SpeedKeys for Lightroom 2, which is a wireless USB keypad with 1-button access to: essential adjustments such as brightness, exposure, fill light and more; the most popular Kubota Lightroom presets; and advanced tools such as paint with light, burn, soften skin, and hand-color. The Kubota RPG SpeedKeys comes with 29 Kubota Lightroom Presets. As a bonus, the SpeedKeys comes with the entire collection of Kubota Lightroom Presets v3, which includes develop, export, print, filter, and more. All of the presets included in Kubota Lightroom Presets v1 and v2 are also included in the set, plus new presets. There are more than 100 presets in all (a $49 value).

  The Kubota RPG SpeedKeys for Lightroom are available for purchase online for  $349. Also available is the Kubota RPG SpeedKeys with Kubota RAW Workflow for Lightroom 2. This video tutorial helps photographers learn how to efficiently use Adobe Lightroom 2. This combination pack is available now for $399 (a savings of $50 if purchased separately). Kubota Image Tools is also already developing future updates to allow for customization of the Kubota RPG SpeedKeys for Lightroom. These updates will be available as free upgrades to early adopters of the Kubota RPG SpeedKeys.

Getty Images Inc., Seattle, Wash., has two new Web & Mobile image products featuring very small file sizes -- 170 pixels and 280 pixels -- designed specifically for online and mobile use. These new Web & Mobile products enable customers to license high volumes of high-quality, simple-to-use imagery for the digital element of their campaigns and communications.

   "As media consumption continues to accelerate towards digital, our customers tell us they want high quality imagery quickly, easily and at the appropriate price points in order to develop compelling digital campaigns that connect with their audiences," says Andy Saunders, vice president of creative imagery at Getty Images.

  Getty Images' Web & Mobile images are priced according to pixel size and license model, ranging from $5 for RF and $15 for RM, to the current $49 (413 pixels/500kb) Web-resolution product.

Eastman Kodak Co., Rochester, N.Y., introducesdthe new i1200 Plus and i1300 Plus Series Scanners, with up to 50 percent speed increase over their predecessor models. With no additional cost to its customers, the Kodak i1200 Plus and i1300 Plus Series Scanners will improve document capture productivity for departmental and workgroup scanning.
  The Kodak i1200 Plus Series Scanners will boast speeds of up to 45 pages per minute (ppm), compared to 30ppm of previous models. The Kodak i1300 Plus Series Scanners also feature an improvement of scanning speed for color at 200 dpi to 40 ppm -- a 33 percent increase.

ShoZu Ltd., London, United Kingdom, is poised to enhance social networking on BlackBerry smartphones with the introduction of a new, highly integrated client, available on BlackBerry App World .
  The new ShoZu client takes the ShoZu service on BlackBerry smartphones to a higher level of functionality -- beyond just uploading to multiple social networking sites simultaneously. It provides two-way interactivity with a variety of social networking sites mobile users want to interact with on a daily basis through one interface.
  The new mobile client provides two-way interactivity with a host of social networking sites on BlackBerry smartphones, including the ability to receive updates from multiple sites to one integrated spot directly on the handset, read and reply to comments in real-time, update status, upload images and video, add tags, titles and descriptions before or after uploading, and much more. The mobile client also offers the ability to edit, add, and remove destination sites to/from a user's account.