Fuji Photo Film of Japan and Eastman Kodak Co of the US have collaborated over a new image file format for digital cameras that will ease conversion between Exif and Flashpix based cameras.The new format proposed to the Japanese Electronic Industry Development Association at the end of last month is based on Fuji’s Exif image file format but has added features that make it adaptable to the broader Flashpix standard that Kodak and other major US companies have been using for digitalized data (CI No 3,037). Industry analysts have said the new Exif format will stimulate the development of and supply of Flashpix based software and services enlarging the digital imaging market as a whole. They also claim introduction of the new standard will make it easier for users of digital cameras to shift their images onto computer software. According to the two film companies the Exif format will make it easier for people to take pictures written in Exif and transfer them to Flashpix but will retain the features of the current version. It will include specifications that correspond to the new functions of digital still cameras, such as the recording of audio and other related data when pictures are taken. Kodak introduced the Flashpix format last year together with Hewlett-Packard, Live Picture and Microsoft. The format is fast becoming a standard for consumers working with digital images, popular in image application software and in networked systems.
