News

Support grows for new digital photography standards

February 26, 2002

ORLANDO, Fla. - Improved printer capabilities and uniform standards for viewing photographs burned to discs were among the items discussed by leading digital photography trade groups during the 2002 Photo Marketing Association's (PMA) annual convention, which wraps up Feb. 27 at the Orange County Convention Center in Orlando, Fla.

According to CNET news.com, Eastman Kodak Co. (NYSE:EK), which has deployed about 35,000 digital photo kiosks worldwide, has come out in support of a new version of the Exchangeable Image File Format (EXIF), the standard system for recording image data on digital cameras.

EXIF version 2.2 will make data on each digital photograph - including exposure settings and time/date information - available to compatible printers. The printer can then adjust its settings to produce sharper prints.

Kodak, Canon Inc. (NYSE:CAJ), Hewlett-Packard Company (NYSE:HWP), and Adobe Systems Inc. all announced plans to support EXIF 2.2 in future systems during the PMA show.

Two digital imagery trade groups, the Optical Storage Technology Association and International Imaging Industry Association, announced on Feb. 24 that they are developing a standard for how images and videos stored on CDs and DVDs are displayed. The new standard would include formats for directories, table of contents, and slide shows.