2007 DIMA Innovative Digital Product Award winners announced.

Of the hundreds of digital products on display at PMA Sneak Peek 2007, the official press event of PMA 07 in Las Vegas, Nev., 18 were selected by a panel of digital imaging editors to receive the prestigious DIMA Innovative Digital Product Award, which is given to products or services utilizing new technologies and/or applications that make the product either distinct or the first of its kind. A panel of industry press evaluated the entries. Companies honored for their innovative products, in alphabetical order by company, are:

Zigview S2

Argraph Corp., Carlstadt, N.J.

The Zigview $2 revolutionizes SLR photography with its remote detachable 2.5-inch LCD viewfinder, which can be used both on and off the camera. The Zigview S2 attaches to a DSLR viewfinder and displays a live video feed from the viewfinder to its high-resolution LCD screen that tilts and rotates for viewing at any angle, including from the front of the cameras. The Zigview S2 offers a motion detection shutter release, a sophisticated intervalometer, and a bulb exposure controller.

SensorScope System

Delkin Devices Inc. Poway, Calif.

The SensorScope System is a complete sensor cleaning system kit for DSLR cameras. The system includes components to safely inspect and clean DSLR camera sensors of all types of contaminants, wet or dry. There is a SensorScope for inspecting the camera sensor. The SensorVac is a miniature vacuum designed to remove loose particles from the sensor chamber. More stubborn pieces or wet contaminants are removed with the use of the SensorWand and SensorSolution. The SensorWands are double-sided, designed for quick, one wand cleaning and drying of the sensor. The SensorSolution is safe to transport by air.

Nexlab 1000 with Print Tower

DNP Photo Imaging America Corp. (Formerly Pixel Magic Imaging Inc.), San Marcos, Texas 

The Nexlab 1000 with Print Tower is a high-speed dry digital minilab solution. The new Print Tower allows for multiple high-speed dye-sublimation printers to work together to produce more than 1,600 unique prints per hour. A single tower can produce prints sizes from 4-by-6 to 8-by-12. The Print Tower includes a back printer and order sorter. The Nexlab 1000 with Print Tower offers output speeds that rival chemical based digital minilabs.

Epson Stylus Photo 1400

Epson America Inc., Long Beach, Calif.

The latest in the Epson line-up of Ultra Hi-Definition ink jet printers, the Stylus Photo 1400 shares the same technology as the Epson Stylus Photo R260 and R380, including Claria ink and DX5 MicroPiezo print heads. With an estimated street price of $399.99, this new photo printer is designed to deliver the ultimate combination of image quality, high-speed performance, and value in the 13-by-19-inch category.

FacePro for Mobile Phones

FotoNation (Ireland) Ltd., Dangan, Galway, Ireland

FotoNation FacePro for Mobile Phones is an advanced face tracking product designed to be embedded in mobile cameraphones. FacePro finds and tracks human faces in the phone's camera module during the capture preview, enabling the camera to continually optimize the acquisition parameters of focus and exposure, increasing the quality of the captured image. FacePro for Mobile Phones also uses the captured face information for associating a face with the address book on the phone.

Fujifilm IS-1

Fujifilm U.S.A. Inc., Valhalla, N.Y.

The Fujifilm IS-1 is a 9-megapixel point-and-shoot camera capable of capturing both visible and infrared light, designed for law enforcement, medical/dental and science professionals. The IS-1 digital camera features a Fujifilm Super CCD sensor and ISO 80-1600 capabilities. Fujifilm Real Photo Technology enables IS-1 users to capture images using visible and infrared light. Users can apply lens filtration to isolate specific wavelengths to achieve a desired effect. In addition, Fujifilm Picture Stabilization technology uses the heightened sensitivity of the IS-1 and high-speed shutter settings to reduce blur caused by camera shake and subject movement.

HP Designjet Z Photo Printer Series

Hewlett-Packard Co., Palo Alto, Calif.

The HP Designjet Z Photo Printer Series is designed to deliver intuitive, dependable, repeatable color accuracy for museum-quality prints up to 24 and 44 inches wide. The HP Designjet Z2100 and Z3100 photo printers feature a built-in spectrophotometer with Eye-One Color Technology from GretagMacbeth/X-Rite for accurate, repeatable color matching. Designed around a thermal inkjet print system, the HP Designjet Z series uses HP Vivera pigment ink technology to deliver a wider color gamut, vivid color, and black-and-white prints. The 8-ink HP Designjet Z2100 and 12-ink HP Designjet Z3100 produce prints lasting more than 200 years on a wide variety of HP media. (Display permanence rating by Wilhelm Imaging Research Inc. and/or HP Image Permanence Lab using original HP 70 inks with Vivera.

Hitachi Hybrid

Hitachi Home Electronics America Inc., Chula Vista, Calif.

The Hitachi Hybrid camcorder provides the flexibility to choose between formats by offering the convenience of DVD, plus the capacity of HDD. Users may, for example, record an entire event to HDD, but only save the magic moments to DVD. With just the push of a button, users can edit and make DVD copies right on the Hitachi Hybrid, without a PC.

Gorillapod Family

Joby Inc., San Francisco, Calif.

The Joby Gorillapod is a bendable, flexible camera tripod that secures a digital camera to virtually any surface. Its legs bend and rotate 360 degrees, allowing users to wrap it around a tree branch, hang it from a railing, or perch it on a rock while camping. The original Gorillapod was first launched at PMA 2006. Now, the Gorillapod is available in three sizes: Gorillapod, Gorillapod SLR, and Gorillapod SLR-Zoom. Each size is intended to capture a unique market segment.

Photobook Pro

KIS Photo-Me Group, Echirolles, France and

Digital Portal Inc. Grand Prairie, Texas 

The Photobook Pro makes high-quality photo albums, photo books, and double-sided photo products utilizing silver-halide photographic paper, as well as many inkjet and nonphoto paper materials. It is an automated on-site photo book binding and assembly system, yielding the lowest cost per book in the industry, the companies say. The system applies adhesive, scores the paper, folds the pages and delivers a bound Photobook in less than 3 minutes. It offers a range of options for customizing, and can be ordered for use with the KIS/Digital Portal DKS minilabs and KIS e-Station Kiosks, or with non-KIS branded minilabs.

Lensbaby 3G

Lensbabies LLC Portland, Ore.

Lensbaby selective focus SLR camera lenses take photos with one area in sharp focus, with that "sweet spot" surrounded by graduated blur. Photographers can move the sweet spot of sharp focus anywhere in the photo by bending the flexible lens tubing. The Lensbaby 3G SLR lens locks in the desired bent position simply by pressing a button. Then, using a traditional barrel focus mechanism, photographers can do fine focusing and precisely place the sweet spot of sharp focus before pressing the shutter release.

Freedom Universal with Snooze Feature and

Freedom Universal with Product Finder 

Merchandisin Technologies Inc., Hillsboro, Ore.

Freedom Universal, with the new snooze feature, is a shop and compare tool--a powered merchandising and security system integrated with a digital merchandising screen that delivers SKU-specific information instantly when a product is lifted. The snooze feature allows retailers to disarm a single position on the display, providing for a more thorough, untethered, one-to-one product demonstration.

Freedom Universal with the Intuition product finder feature is a shop, gather, select and compare tool--a powered merchandising and security system integrated with a digital signage screen that delivers SKU-specific information instantly when consumers touch the screen. An attract loop invites shoppers to interact with a touch screen to input their purchasing criteria. Consumers can narrow down product selection, and compare the features and benefits of multiple products. Visual indicator lights built into the display at each position will then guide shoppers to the live product that best meet their needs, where they can pick it up and experience its features and capabilities.

Stylus 770 SW

SP-550 UZ Ultra Zoom and EVOLT E-510

Olympus Imaging America Inc. Center Valley, Pa. The Stylus 770 SW is a 7.1-megapixel ultra-compact camera designed to take great photos in nearly any environment, including in water to depths of 33 feet and in winter weather as frigid as 14 degrees Fahrenheit (-10 degrees Celsius). It can also survive falls up to 5 feet and up to 220 pounds of pressure. Within the camera exterior is an array of innovative technologies to ensure clear, sharp images in the roughest of shooting situations. It features a 2.5-inch HyperCrystal LCD and Digital Image Stabilization. The new Olympus SP-550 UZ Ultra Zoom compact camera with an 18x optical zoom lens (28-504mm equivalent in 35ram photography), gives users the ability to shoot telephoto, wide-angle, and macro with one lens. It offers Dual Image Stabilization and the broadest focal range available on any digital point-and-shoot, the company says. The full manual exposure control provides professionals and photo enthusiasts with unlimited creativity, while its automatic settings and Built-in Help Guides will put novice users at ease. The EVOLT E-510 DSLR camera features a Live-View LCD that enables photographers to compose shots from a wide range of angles; Digital and Mechanical Image Stabilization; a Dust Protection System; and a 10-megapixel image sensor, among other innovations.

rotation360

Think Tank Photo Santa Rosa, Calif.

The rotation360 backpack incorporates an innovative beltpack that slides to the front for easy access to lenses, flashes, filters, memory cards, and other accessories; then it slides back around and secures into place at the base of the backpack, all without removing the pack from your back. While the main attraction of the rotation360 is the revolving beltpack, the camera strap and the speed with which its O-rings can be clasped to the shoulder harness are other features. The shoulder harness bears the weight of the camera, making it seem noticeably lighter.

iGen3 Digital Production Press

Xerox Corp., Stamford, Conn.

Even flawed original photos can look good in print when they are made on the Xerox iGen3 Digital Production Press, thanks to image-improving software invented by Xerox Corp. Xerox has developed image-quality software, providing ultimate color reproduction by improving color consistency in prints, making it easier to know when to reset the press for optimum color performance, and more effectively rendering photos--all designed to help commercial printers, online photo companies, and design shops boost productivity and profits on image-intensive documents.