We're just back from a press conference in Paris where Hercules were previewing their new netbook, the eCAFE.

We had the chance to take away a test model which we will be looking at very soon.

Here are the some first snaps:

Back in the 1970s, Pentax had two sets of film-based SLRs.

Its K series were for professional photographers, while the M models were intended for the general public.

Hugely popular, the three M cameras were renowned for the small cases and light handling.

At Photokina today, Pentax unveiled the long-lost descendents of the two lines, the new K-m.

The model we saw in Cologne had taken plenty of features from the K side of the family, including a stabilized 10 Megapixel sensor and a pentaprism viewfinder.  It showed its more populist roots in a lightweight case, stripped of a depth-of-field detector and high-end screen, swapped out to make room for a help button just next to the shutter release.

When you get your hands on it, it's a very light camera, but the cuvy handle makes it easy to keep hold of it. 

The usual Pentax build quality is evident from the quality of images on the LCD screen, which are exceptional even using the default settings.  Modifying the configuration, meanwhile, is a doddle using the controls on the back.

The onboard sensor is the same as that found on previous Pentax digital cameras, but now sees the addition of a 3200 ISO feature, suggesting the manufacturer has made some improvements to the optical system.

We're looking forward to confirming this in a full test later, but our first impression was that these improvements haven't made the camera any slower.

In short, a snappy, entry-level digital SLR that matches the characteristics of two of Pentax's most popular lines--we can't wait to try it out for longer.

We saw this prototype on the Olympus stand at Photokina in Cologne.  It demonstrates just how much the launch of the Micro Four-Thirds system might change the form factor of digital cameras.

It's much like some of the mock-ups we saw when µ4/3 was first floated.  Back then, it was all about ultra-flat compacts, with Leica-like styling and 'pancake' lenses.

Olympus have gone for a rather striking red and silver color scheme, but it's in terms of size and shape that the arrival of µ4/3 promised so much. 

The world's first production model to use the system, the Panasonic G1 has already been criticised for being too bulky and not making the most of what the µ4/3 has to offer.  It was hardly much smaller than a fully-fledged bridge like the FZ28, for example.

We must stress that this photo only shows a prototype, and we haven't yet seen any details of a specification for Olympus' first µ4/3, but this is certainly one of the most interesting cameras we've seen recently.

It only happens every two years, so you didn't think we'd miss Photokina 2008 did you? 

The world's biggest professional photography and imaging trade fair started in Cologne yesterday, and we've got two reporters scouring the exhibition halls to bring you news of all the latest announcements.

2008 will see the thirtieth edition of this huge event, dedicated this year to the theme of a 'World of Imaging,' and we're sure it'll be as exicting as ever.

SanDisk has unveiled plans to sell albums on SD cards.  The manufacturer reckons that, instead of picking up a CD in a record store, consumers will be attracted to the idea of buying a tiny slotMusic chip for their cellphone or PDA.

The cards should be available soon in the USA, and from 2009 in Europe, and will fortunately be DRM-free.  The target audience is apparently mobile phone owners, who will the advantage of not having to copy an album from a computer onto a portable device.

An agreement has been signed with the 'Big Four' record labels, Sony BMG, EMI, Universal and Warner to allow access to their content using this platform.

Content

SanDisk plan to offer 1 GB cards, which will mostly be filled with MP3s of the album in question encoded at 320 kbit/s, artwork, and in, some cases, videos. 

The user will be free to use the rest of the space on the card.

Physical Media

It's not the first time that the big labels have made music available on memory cards. 

Albums released on USB keys did not really take off, and it wasn't the paltry number of digital MP3 players that featured pre-loaded tracks that made this such a successful market.
The problem for the labels, though, is that CDs just simply aren't selling any more.  The legal download market is growing, but there are still plenty of unanswered questions around DRM and the fixed pricing of tracks, no matter how popular they are. 

slotMusic is entering a very complex market, and one where the overwhelming trend has recently been away from physical media. 

Sure, the"High Quality, DRM-Free MP3 Music on microSD Cards" trumpeted by SanDisk sounds great, but is anybody actually going to want to carry around memory cards to listen to music?

The F60fd is Fujifilm's latest offering, and, while it lacks some of the features of its older brother, the F100fd, it's certainly an affordable option.  Does the lack of a wide-angle lens let it down, though?  Our review is just the latest to join our ongoing survey of digital compact cameras.

> Product Test: FujiFilm FinePix F60fd