[ ] · · ფოტო სიახლეები, სიახელეები ფოტო სამყაროში

[nachkebia]

კონიკა მინოლტა იყიდია სონიმ და კონიკა მინოლტა როგორც ასეთი აღარ არსებობს (bye bye black bird)

Konica Minolta withdraw from camera business
http://www.dpreview.com/news/0601/06011901...aminoltaout.asp

Konica Minolta has long been a leading company in photo imaging business covering wide range of imaging from input to output. In addition, we have provided inspiring products and services by fusing our unique technologies.

In camera business, we have expanded picture-taking opportunities by developing innovative technologies such as the world’s first autofocus cameras. In 1962, our camera, well-accepted for its high reliability, boarded on the US’s first manned spaceship “Friendship 7.” Also, ever since introduction of the world’s first body-integral autofocus SLR camera, Maxxum/Dynax series, in 1985, SLR cameras have become more popular among picture-takers, and we have succeeded in selling 16 million units of interchangeable lenses since then.

However, in today’s era of digital cameras, where image sensor technologies such as CCD is indispensable, it became difficult to timely provide competitive products even with our top optical, mechanical and electronics technologies.

In photo business, represented by the silver-halide photography such as color film and color paper, we have produced Japan’s first photographic paper in 1903, and Japan’s first color film in 1940, thus pioneering joy of photography for more than a century. In 1984, we introduced the world’s first compact washless photofinishing system known as a minilab system. The minilabs contributed to the expansion of worldwide photographic market by making photos closer to consumers and amazingly shortening delivery time.

However, traditional silver-halide photographic market is shrinking astonishingly by the surge of the worldwide digitization. In such a changing world, profits for camera and photo businesses worsened in recent years, and it became necessary to drastically reform business structure for the further growth of Konica Minolta. Ever since we decided and announced restructuring guidelines of our businesses on November 4, 2005, we have been considering practical and detailed plan, and we would like to announce our decision made today as follows:

[Iki Bazadze]

Photos transformed into 3D model
Microsoft's Photosynth

Technology that transforms digital images into 3D models will be unveiled at a conference on Thursday.

Microsoft's Photosynth takes collections of images, analyses them for similarities, and then displays them in a reconstructed 3D space.

The system, to be previewed at a computer graphics meeting in Boston, will allow users to walk or fly through a scene to see photos from any angle.

Microsoft says Photosynth should be available for use later this year.

Richard Szeliski, principal researcher at Microsoft Research who developed the technology with Noah Snavely and Steven Seitz, of the University of Washington, said: "The system builds a 3D model just from a raw collection of photographs."

He said the technology works by scanning collections of photographs, which can be taken from different cameras at different times. The prototype can use as few as two pictures but, said Dr Szeliski, it becomes a lot more exciting when several dozen images are used.

The 3D model will enable people to move through a scene, looking at pictures from any angle, click on specific photos, zoom in or out of a feature, and see where snaps were taken in relation to other images.

Dr Szeliski said: "I think the photo-sharing websites will be early-adopters of this technology. "Wherever people share photos, instead of just seeing a gallery of unorganised photos, now you can pull everyone else's photos together and make a rational sense out of it."

The other obvious application, he added, would be for tourism and property, where a city could provide a virtual tour or a hotel could potential visitors walk through its lobby.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/5235724.stm