Archive for March, 2008

Apple® today released Aperture™ 2.1, which introduces an open plug-in architecture that makes it easy for photographers to use specialized third party imaging software right from within Aperture. Available today as a free software update, Aperture 2.1 includes the Apple-developed plug-in, Dodge & Burn, which adds brush-based tools for dodge (lighten), burn (darken), contrast, saturation, sharpen and blur. Over the coming months, third party software developers will deliver image editing plug-ins for localized editing, filters and effects, noise analysis and reduction, fisheye lens correction and more.

“The image quality in Aperture 2 has won over the most demanding photographers,” said Rob Schoeben, Apple’s vice president of Applications Product Marketing. “Now, thanks to our open plug-in architecture, users can access an entire industry’s worth of imaging expertise without ever leaving Aperture.”

“To date, maybe two percent of my photographs needed to be touched up outside Aperture,” said John Stanmeyer, founding member of the VII Photo Agency and contributing photographer for Time and National Geographic magazines. “Now that I can dodge and burn right within Aperture’s new plug-in, I can’t imagine when I’ll have to open any other application to tone my images.”

More info at apple.com

Digital picture frames have been around for some years now and come in all shapes, sizes and functions. With the technology trickling through to the masses, BT has got in on the act. But does this stand out from the crowd?
The BT eFrame 200 offers a 7-inch digital display to show off your family snaps. The frame follows the trend of offering slots for SD, MMC, MS Pro and standard USB sticks, as well as 128MB of internal memory. It is worth bearing in mind that if you plan to use a USB stick, it needs to be small, or it will form an unsightly protrusion at the side of your lovely frame.
You don’t need a computer to use the frame, it works straight out of the box and combined with the remote control, it is simple to run a slideshow of your favourite photos. The buttons on the top of the unit allow direct control, but the remote is by far the easiest option.

More info at pocket-lint

Peachpit announced the publication of The Photoshop Elements 6 Book for Digital Photographers, the definitive book on using Photoshop Elements 6 to create the best possible images, by Scott Kelby and Matt Kloskowski.
Kelby and Kloskowski show readers how to work with their images like a professional, from importing to organization to correction to output. Readers will learn all they need to know about the digital photography workflow, as well as how to create the best special effects, apply the most useful sharpening techniques, and avoid many of the hassles and problems that are encountered in digital photography.
The Photoshop Elements 6 Book for Digital Photographers is now available at Peachpit.com, Amazon.com, and other retailers nationwide.
About The Authors
Scott Kelby is the world’s #1 best-selling author of computer books (since 2004), according to Nielsen BookScan data, as well as Editor and Publisher of Photoshop User magazine, and President of the National Association of Photoshop Professionals (NAPP). He’s the co-host of the highly acclaimed Photoshop User TV podcast, and trains thousands at digital photo and imaging workshops around the world. An award-winning author of more than 40 books, including Scott Kelby’s 7-Point System for Adobe Photoshop CS3, Photoshop Classic Effects, The Digital Photography Book, and Photoshop Down & Dirty Tricks, his easygoing, plain-English style of teaching makes learning Photoshop Elements fun.

More info at imaging-resource

Peachpit announced the publication of The Photoshop Elements 6 Book for Digital Photographers, the definitive book on using Photoshop Elements 6 to create the best possible images, by Scott Kelby and Matt Kloskowski.
Kelby and Kloskowski show readers how to work with their images like a professional, from importing to organization to correction to output. Readers will learn all they need to know about the digital photography workflow, as well as how to create the best special effects, apply the most useful sharpening techniques, and avoid many of the hassles and problems that are encountered in digital photography.
The Photoshop Elements 6 Book for Digital Photographers is now available at Peachpit.com, Amazon.com, and other retailers nationwide.
About The Authors
Scott Kelby is the world’s #1 best-selling author of computer books (since 2004), according to Nielsen BookScan data, as well as Editor and Publisher of Photoshop User magazine, and President of the National Association of Photoshop Professionals (NAPP). He’s the co-host of the highly acclaimed Photoshop User TV podcast, and trains thousands at digital photo and imaging workshops around the world. An award-winning author of more than 40 books, including Scott Kelby’s 7-Point System for Adobe Photoshop CS3, Photoshop Classic Effects, The Digital Photography Book, and Photoshop Down & Dirty Tricks, his easygoing, plain-English style of teaching makes learning Photoshop Elements fun.

More info at imaging-resource

Sony showcased their latest flagship, Alpha DSLR-A900 at Photo Imaging Expo 2008 in Japan, which is a full frame 24.6 Megapixel digital camera.

The camera is not yet released officially, which Sony has plan to release it officially either in August during IFA or September during Photokina.

The Sony Alpha DSLR-A900 camera will feature a full frame sensor and boast a whopping 24.6 Megapixel. The further details of this camera is not yet known. But it should have superb focusing speed, ISO up to 25600 in order to compete with the Nikon D3. Wondering if Canon will make any move to catch up in order to stay competitive with the two

Source techchee

Carl Zeiss announces its latest member of the ZM lens family, the C Biogon T* 2,8/35 ZM lens is the perfect addition to your light, mobile photo equipment. The new ZM lens series from Carl Zeiss is suitable for cameras with M-bayonet. As with the other lenses in this line, the C Biogon T* 2,8/35 ZM features an intuitive operating concept, a robust all-metal frame and a precise, noticeable click in 1/3 aperture stops. Delivery of the C Biogon T* 2,8/35 ZM is scheduled to begin in mid 2008. for a price of approx. € 590.00 excluding VAT…

More info at dcviews

Mamiya has announced an exciting new addition to their professional line of medium format film/digital cameras - the Mamiya 645AFDIII.
“The Mamiya 6454AFDIII builds upon the Mamiya 645AFDII’s success,” states Jeff Karp, Mamiya Marketing Product Manager. “The enhancements in the 645AFDIII camera take us to an even higher level of compatibility and performance with digital backs and lenses.”
The 645AFDIII’s updated intercommunication protocol MSCE (Mamiya Serial Communication for External), provides increased information transfer between the digital back and the camera body, making data transfer fast and reliable.
The Mamiya 645AFDIII employs a new, powerful and silent coreless motor that makes auto focusing faster and quieter than ever before. To further improve focusing control, the focusing point is user-selectable and can be positioned in the center, right or left side of the screen or set on “auto” to let the camera select the focus point.
The new Sekor AF 80mm f/2.8D lens introduced with the 645AFDIII is equipped with an auto/manual focus switch ring that allows fast one-touch selection of auto or manual focus mode. Consistent with all new lenses being developed for the D range, the new 80mm lens contains a 16bit CPU. The 16bit CPU is advantageous for easier firmware upgrading, finer lens characteristic correction and faster, more reliable communication between the lens and the camera body.

More info at imaging-resource

Digital frames are cool but unfortunately not very popular… Luckily, some companies like Sony are working hard promoting these products. Today they launched three new digital frames with the S-Frame line-up. All three models have a WVGA screen resolution of 800×480, from 256MB up to 512MB of internal memory, a 15:9 aspect ratio, ten pattern slide show, USB and HDMI terminals (for high end models only), support JPEG, RAW, TIFF and BMP, support BIONZ technology, a position censor (adapts the size of each picture regardless of its position, landscape or portrait), a clock display, and a multi card reader.
Three models means three different products, DPF-V900 with its 9” LCD and HDMI, DFP-V700 with its 7” LCD and HDMI, and DFP-D70 a 7” LCD without HDMI support.

Source akihabaranews

More Canon products in April with the arrival of the Ixy 95 IS and 25 IS, sold respectively at 42.000JPY (266€) and 37.000JPY (234€). Some of the technical specifications include 10 MPx sensor, 2.5" screen, 35-105mm zoom, f2 .8-4.9, ISO 1600 (3200 at 1600×1200).
The major differences are the dimensions, weight, body design and screen size:
-XY DIGITAL 95 IS, 91.6×20.9×56.8mm at 155g, 3" screen
-IXY DIGITAL 25 IS, 86×20.4×54mm at 130g

Source akihabaranews

Polaroid has just released info about their new cameras, which look identical. I mean really, really identical. The specs are incredibly similar, as the i835 and the t831 both check in at 8 megapixels, a 3 inch TFT LCD screen and both have a 3x optical zoom and 4x digital zoom. Scratching your head yet? I’ll continue. They both have 20 different scene modes, 32 MB of built in storage and a face tracking system. There’s also the option of still image compression, they’re PictBridge compatible and both have an electronic self timer. The difference in these models? Well one works off AA batteries and one has a Li-ion rechargeable battery. Oh, and a wrist strap. Whoopee! No release date yet, but we’re told they’ll be out in the next few months.

Source shinyshiny.