The workflow in panoramic photography is increasingly digital and our digital products are on the rise.

This is why we are focusing our resources on our digital business. We are therefore stopping the production of our film cameras - the Roundshot Super 220 VR and the Roundshot 28-220.

At this moment we are producing one last series of Roundshot Super 220 VRs and Roundshot 28-220s.

Have you ever wanted to own a Roundshot film camera? Do you need additional accessories or spare parts? Now is the time - contact us for an offer.

Of course we continue to service and maintain our customer's film cameras as we have done in the past. Selected accessories and technical support will continue to be available for these camera models as it is for all our other - legendary - Roundshot cameras. 

This is the second year we exhibited our cameras at PhotoPlus in New York City and the first time we brought the new Seitz 6x17 Digital to North America. Of course "big boy" (as some our North American friends call our Seitz 6x17 Digital) created a lot of enthusiasm.

Besides the show we also gave the D3 cameras a workout at night, taking the Roundshot D3 to the streets of Manhattan. What could be a better testing ground for the 2nd generation Seitz D3 digital scan back than Times Square with its brightly lit billboards, dark sky and the hustle and bustle of NYC nightlife? Or a 360° scan of a hotel lobby with a large swings in luminance and light sources?

Click on the thumbnail images to see the enlarged 360° panoramas. All images taken with Roundshot D3 and a 35mm Schneider Apo Digitar lens (original images up to 225 million pixels in resolution):

So thank you again. If you would like to try the Seitz 6x17 Digital or Roundshot D3 contact our representative in New York - Fotocare - for a rental or a demo. The Roundshot D3 (with second generation digital scan back) is now in store and the Seitz 6x17 Digital follows shortly.

www.fotocare.com

Photokina 2008 was a very successful show and we thank all of you who visited us at our booth. We have had many interesting discussions and meetings, especially around the generation 2 of our Seitz D3 digital scan back and the new 32-bit HDR capability of our D3 cameras (Seitz 6x17 Digital and Roundshot D3). The beautiful 6x17 panoramas captured with the Seitz 6x17 Digital were also a true eye-catcher and many photographers went very close to observe the image quality of this new camera.

We also took our Roundshot D3 on a walk and took some interesting panoramas throughout the show (click to enlarge).

All images taken with Roundshot D3 (original images up to 225 million pixels in resolution):

   Our neighbours Alpa - "Things Are Simple At The Top" (lens: 35mm Schneider Apo Digitar XL)

   Panoramic scan of all Canon lenses as a courtesy for Canon Canada (lens: 150mm Schneider Apo Digitar)

   Nikon - 360°! (lens: 35mm Schneider Apo Digitar XL)

   Seitz Roundshot booth and staff in 360°! (lens: 35mm Schneider Apo Digitar XL)

So thank you again - we are looking forward to seeing you at photokina 2010!

Next stop: PhotoPlus 2008 in New York City from 23 - 25 October 2008 - Jacob Javits Exhibition Center - booth 748

Now that the new generation of Seitz D3 digital scan backs is available we also deliver the 2nd series of Roundshot D3 360° cameras as well as the first series of Seitz 6x17 Digital.

Visit the updated Seitz Roundshot D3 product pages for more background information on the cameras.

Seitz 6x17 Digital  [3.00 MB]

Roundshot D3  [3.00 MB]

We are a small company with the mission to develop and innovate with fast growing digital products.

This is why we have to focus our resources on our digital business. We will therefore stop the production of our film cameras - the Roundshot Super 220 VR and the Roundshot 28-220 - after photokina 2008. 

Of course we continue to service and maintain our customer's film cameras as we have done in the past. Accessories and technical support will continue to be available for these camera models as it is for all our other - legendary - Roundshot cameras. 

A camera can only be as good as the image that it produces. We have given the Roundshot D3 and the Seitz 6x17 Digital a workout in the field and have come back with many interesting new panoramas. 

Come to our booth to have a look at the prints and at the files on the computer. As you can imagine the sheer pixel size is quite astonishing.  

Some highlights:

• A 110 x 560 cm print of "Street Parade" - a techno festival in Zurich / Switzerland - with plenty of happy moving people, taken with the Roundshot D3 by Heinz Erismann
  
• A 200 x 566 cm 6x17 32-bit HDR panorama of a Swiss waterfall and some new 100 x 280 cm 6x17 architecture and interior shots, taken with the Seitz 6x17 Digital by Urs Krebs
  
• The gigapixel panorama view of the Swiss Alps (with Matterhorn), taken with the Roundshot VR Drive and a digital SLR camera by Matthias Taugwalder

We keep improving the VR Drive Panorama Set to adapt it to the changing needs of the VR photographer.

For the hardware part we have made the VR Drive bracket tougher, ideal for attaching larger / heavier cameras. We have added a third spirit level on top of the VR Drive motor for easy levelling.

We have also modified the VR Drive firmware. A new continuous shot release makes it possible - with a number of new cameras* - to create automatic HDR exposures very rapidly.

What's also new is that the VR Drive can now be used with video cameras to create smooth pans. The panning stops can be programmed in 45° steps, with the video camera being accelerated or slowed down using the new ramp-up and ramp-down speed function. The high precision VR Drive gears allow an extremely smooth and precise movement. This makes the VR Drive a very cost-efficient, compact yet powerful tool for the movie industry.

* Cameras equipped with mode for continuous bracketing

Over Whitsunday (Pentecost) Seitz Roundshot presented the Roundshot D3 to the International Association of Panoramic Photographers (IAPP) during their 3-day workshop in Peyresq / France.

During the workshop Roundshot D3 captured some stunning panoramas:

A big "thank you" to IAPP for inviting us to the workshop and for the interesting exchange of ideas.

The product images of the new ALPA MAX are now available for download. Please note that these are images of the preseries model - the final ALPA MAX camera (first delivery in June 2008) may look slightly different.

To see all Alpa MAX images please visit the Alpa website:

http://www.alpa.ch/contactsheets/ALPA12MAX/ 

.. and read more about this exciting new camera model here:

http://www.alpa.ch/index.php?path=products/cameras&detailpage=267 

                                                              Winning Entry of the 2007 IAPP Contest - Landscape - image: Maciej Duczynski

The International Association of Panoramic Photographers has launched the 2008 edition of the IAPP Photo Contest:

http://www.panoramicassociation.org/photo_contest.php 

Prizes of a total value of more than USD 6,500 can be won. Seitz Phototechnik of Switzerland is the proud sponsor of the
Best in Show Award: a Roundshot VR Drive Panorama Set worth USD 2,200.

This contest is open to all amateurs and professionals alike. The categories for submissions include landscape, groups of
people, cityscape, architecture, black & white (including infrared), other (including abstracts & experimental) as well as
VR/immersive imaging.

The deadline for submission of images for the first phase of judging is 23 May 2008. Download the detailed Contest Rules.

We wish all participants best of luck!

The latest addition to the ALPA family of cameras is ready: the ALPA MAX.

As for all other ALPA cameras the ALPA MAX is fully integrated in the ALPA platform and all lenses, back adaptors, digital and rollfilm backs viewfinders etc. can be used without any restriction.

The ALPA MAX will be presented for the first time at Focus on Imaging in Birmingham / UK from 24 - 27 February 2008. See this exciting new camera at booth Q26, “THE HUB”. Sales of the ALPA MAX will start in spring 2008.

Download the "sneak preview" for the ALPA MAX:

ALPA_Brochure12MAX [824 KB]

... or visit the ALPA website for more information:  >>> ALPA MAX 

We congratulate ALPA for this exciting new product!

Adam Woolfitt has taken the Roundshot D3 on a real test. In his article recently published in the British Journal of Photography he explores not only the camera build and underlying technology (TDI) but also its application in the field.

You can now download this substantive article and read more about Adam's experience with the Roundshot D3:

Roundshot_D3_BJP_January_2008  [460 KB]

Copyright: Adam Woolfitt / British Journal of Photography   www.bjp-online.com

The new price lists for this year are now available and we are pleased to inform our customers about two price improvements:

• Thanks to currency swings, technological progress (computer RAM) and negotiation (larger volumes) the prices of the
  Motion tablet PCs for our D3 cameras have dropped by 20%. At the same time, the RAM upgrade from 2 GB to 4 GB is now available at a competitive price
• Our shipping volumes have been growing. As a result, we have been able to negotiate better prices with UPS,
  thus reducing UPS shipping charges for our customers by 10% on average

The new price lists come into effect as of today. All outstanding offers will automatically adopt the above-mentioned price reductions. This means as well that all our D3 customers for the 2nd series of cameras will benefit from lower tablet PC prices and shipping charges.

Are you interested in a particular camera model? Do not hesitate to contact us for a detailed offer.

Having enough of the grey of winter and wanting to escape to the sun? We invite you on a journey to our newest Roundshot Livecam high altitude installations in France, Spain & Switzerland.

Enjoy the beautiful scenery, the snow, the sun, the changing light and colours - all in high definition Roundshot quality!

In December 2007 the Roundshot D3 went East to visit our Asian customers in China, Thailand, India and Japan.

See some group panoramas and fascinating landscapes taken with the Roundshot D3 during our
D3 workshops and other assignments:

Thereafter the camera flew South for a well-deserved holiday in Australia and Canada:

Throughout this long journey the camera worked flawlessly and scanned panorama after panorama, sometimes producing 20 GB of data per day!

The camera is now back in our factory where the Seitz engineers are busy to incorporate some important hardware and software upgrades for the next series of cameras that will be ready soon. More information will follow as soon as these improvements are ready.

100th Anniversary of the French Mayor's Association (AMF) in Porte de Versailles / Paris / France

On 20 November 2007 photographers Arnaud Février and Daniel Donzel photographed the 4'000 Mayors of France for a group panorama with the Roundshot D3 and a 80mm Schneider Apo Digitar lens.

The 360° Panorama (0.9 GB in raw/dng, 2.7 GB in tiff) was created during a 1 minute scan and was ready for the press the same evening.

See the 4,000 Mayors of France in their tri-colores here:

http://photodes100ans.com/

We congratulate Daniel and Arnaud for this success!