01/22, 2:30pm
Limit Point Software promo
In brief: SmartSound has announced that it will now begin to bundle its software with video editing programs from Adobe, Roxio and Serif. David Pogue, a tech columnist for the New York Times has released a new book that is supposed to help photographers learn the basics of digital photography. The book covers topics that range from what to look for when purchasing a new digital camera to basic editing functions. Limit Point Software has announced that they will be offering a software bundle that will give users the ability to buy Mailings and iForm together at a 60% reduced price.
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01/07, 2:00pm
Creaceed Hydra 2.0
Creaceed (booth S-332S) this week unveiled version 2.0 of Hydra, its HDR photography application. According to the company, Hydra creates an High Dynamic Range (HDR) image which is "much closer to what one can actually see." The program is available as a Mac application or as the "the only" HDR plug-in for Aperture. Version 2.0 offers a new "Perceptive" default tone mapper for improved and more natural results and "Homography", the new default alignment technique that is very useful for small distortions. It also adds "The Loupe," a new tool for real time 1:1 full quality preview.
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11/03, 2:15pm
Photomatix Pro 3 1 update
HDRsoft has released the latest version of its High Dynamic Range (HDR) photography software, Photomatix Pro 3.1. The program now offers automatic chromatic aberration and noise reduction in HDR images. A Lightroom Export plug-in has been added, allowing integration with Adobe's photography software. Photomatix is designed to create HDR images by blending multiple photographs that were taken with different exposures.
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09/05, 11:35am
Canon shows EOS teaser ads
Canon has started up a teaser ad campaign centered around an upcoming digital SLR camera from its EOS line, triggering speculation of a likely update at the Photokina expo this month. While some believe the update to involve the long-expected full-frame, 21.1-megapixel 5D Mark II, with an integrated battery grip, another teaser ad on Canon's Japanese site shows a silhouette of what is most likely a regular-bodied DSLR. There has been no official information from the Japanese camera maker other than a confirmation of a DSLR timed for the event.
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09/04, 4:50pm
Sony A900 ad leak
The upcoming A900 digital SLR camera from Sony will come with a 24.6-megapixel CMOS sensor, an ad leak from a Danish photography magazine has revealed. The details echo earlier reports, which indicated a 24.8-megapixel unit. The camera will be the flagship offering in the company's Alpha line of digital cameras, offering a full-frame Exmor sensor. The ad also indicates that the backside of the DSLR will house a 3-inch hybrid LCD with a 921,000 pixel resolution, capable of an Intelligent Preview function which may resemble Canon's LiveView.
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08/21, 11:45pm
Canon leaks 50D details
Canon's Chinese branch has leaked details for the EOS 50D, the latest in the company's sport and high-speed photography camera line, offering user anti-shake technology in the camera hardware, among other features. The new model is based around 15.4 Megapixel DIGIC 4 sensor, but experiences a miniscule drop in framerate (6.3 frames per second, versus a former 6.5). Light sensitivity should also be enhanced, running from ISO 100 to an extremely high ISO 12800, while the 50D's buffer is able to store up to 16 RAW images, or 60 JPEGs.
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08/15, 3:10pm
Canon 50D, 5D MarkII spec
A forum member on a popular photography website recently posted what he believes are the preliminary specs for Canon's upcoming 5D Mark II and an all-new 50D digital SLRs. While the information cannot be treated as official or confirmed, it suggests the new 50D will sport a 12.2-megapixel APS-C sensor and Single Digic III Processor. The smaller sensor will allow the 50D to use lenses with the EFS mount in addition to Canon's EF-mount.
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08/06, 1:20am
Nikon D90 details leaked
Specs have leaked for the impending Nikon D90 digital SLR, with the camera allegedly sporting a 12-Megapixel sensor, which is capable of 4.5 frames per second, and live video/audio capture. According to Photography Bay, the new DSLR will also feature built-in HDMI and GPS connections, as well as a kit lens option of a 18-105mm f/3.5-5.6G DX VR lens. Nikon is allegedly positioning the D90 as next-generation competitor to current generation camera models.
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05/13, 12:20am
Adobe releases DNG 1.2
Adobe has released an update to the Adobe Digital Negative specification (DNG), its publicly available archival format for the raw files generated by digital cameras. The DNG 1.2.0 Specification (May 2008) provides new and expanded specifications that offer increased flexibility and improved workflow for their raw images, including formalization of the concept of a "camera profile" and allowance for multiple camera profiles to be embedded in a single DNG file. Adobe has also defined additional metadata tags for the DNG format, including a field to indicate the integrity of the raw data within the file, offering a tool to validate the safety of photographers' image data. Adobe's DNG SDK has also been updated to reflect the changes to the specification. In addition, a DNG Codec for Windows Vista -- only available for 32-bit editions -- has also been released on Adobe Labs. Adobe DNG Converter is available as a free download from Adobe's website.
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05/10, 4:40pm
Photon 1.1 workflow app
Green Volcano has released Photon 1.1, the first major update to its high-performance digital photo workflow application for Mac OS X. Version 1.1 brings an enhanced caching engine and better filesystem support. Designed for both professional photographers and advanced photography enthusiasts, Photon enables users to review and organize large numbers of photos by focusing on the front-end of the photo workflow process: ingest, review, and culling. Photon's intelligent on-demand caching engine offers full resolution views of the digital photos available within seconds. Additionally, Photon's innovative "stacking" feature streamlines the process of organizing large batches of images by making it easy to quickly shuffle photos into separate stacks using a single keystroke.
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04/26, 1:20pm
dpMatte 2.1 for Aperture
dvGarage this week released dpMatte 2.1, a greenscreen keyer for Apple's Aperture 2.1 photography solution. Based on technology used in dvGarage's existing keyer, the new background replacement tool is the first plug-in to be released using Aperture’s new SDK. It uses Apple's SDK for Aperture, which allows developers to use existing Cocoatools to develop full-featured applications inside of Aperture's existing framework; it is designed to easily remove green and blue backgrounds used in film and still photography in order to composite subjects into new backgrounds. Still photographers use the same kind of technology to add backdrops rather than commit to a specific backdrop while shooting. With dpMatte, users can select backgrounds that range from simple colors to photographs to complex 3D backgrounds.
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02/28, 8:50pm
Aperture 2.0 appeals
Apple's post-production photography software, Aperture, is more usable to both amateurs and pros since the company released version 2.0, according to one report. The New York Times writes that Aperture 2.0 provides a more accessible, streamlined interface and eases the process of handling photos in full-screen mode. The update also increases speed considerably when dealing with large numbers of photos, but maintains original versions of those photos more efficiently than iPhoto -- Apple's consumer-oriented photo software.
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02/15, 1:00pm
Aperture 2 free trial
Apple has released a free trial of Aperture 2, the latest release of its professional post production photography software for Mac OS X. The trial is a fully functional version of Aperture that photographers can use and experiment with, according to Apple, including all the features available in a licensed copy. The trial expires 30 days after it is first launched. The Cupertino-based company released Aperture 2.0 earlier this week, adding a new sleeker interface that allows users to flip between Browser and Viewer modes with a single keystroke.
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02/14, 5:55pm
Macworld show videos
Organizers of the Macworld Expo have posted numerous videos of special sessions held at the conference. Featured videos include Microsoft Office 2008, Digital Photography Safari, and iPhone Super-Session. Other videos are categorized under Mac OS X, Applications, Photography, Design, iPod, and Technology. Various videos include Best of Leopard OS X Hints, Mac OS X Features You Don't Use but Should, Real World Mac Troubleshooting, and Running Your Mac Clean and Mean.
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01/21, 6:05pm
PhotoAcute Studio 2.7
Almalence has released PhotoAcute Studio 2.7, an update to the software for enhancing digital photo quality that provides focus stacking functionality. The application processes different images of the same scene taken at different focal lengths and automatically produces a new image with a greater depth of field than any one of the single source images, and can merge misaligned images while compensating for scene movement as well as rotation and scaling. The application is priced from $50 for consumer cameras to $120 for DSLR cameras with support for the RAW format and 16-bit color, requiring Mac OS X 10.4.8 or later.
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01/02, 5:35pm
BurnAgain, DockStar
- ImageBuddy 3.5.5 ($20) photo printing program. The release includes Auto Image Orientation Detection and improved Cropping and Scaling controls for Page Layouts as well as a number of bug fixes. Imagebuddy is a digital image layout program designed especially for the Macintosh that is quick and easy to use. ImageBuddy offers Drag and Drop support from iPhoto allowing you to greatly expand on iPhoto's limited printing options. [Download - 10.9MB]
- Comic Life 1.4 ($20) lets you create comics, picture albums, how-tos. The new release features oft-requested brightness and other image fine tuning, iPhoto '08 'Events' and 1:1 display of images. This free update for all users also includes custom page sizes, jagged balloon tails, and neater caption positioning. [Download - 3.3MB]
- BurnAgain DVD 1.2.2 ($24) multisession burning application. Simply adds files to a disk several times without creating an individual volume for each session. If items are burned again BurnAgain DVD automatically only adds new or changed files. BurnAgain DVD allows to change the title of the disk at each burn, hiding of previously burned sessions and preserves all HFS specific attributes (resource forks). Version 1.2.2 fixes DVD-RW and CD burning issues with certain drives and includes interface tweaks for Leopard. [Download - 10.9MB]
- MBS REALbasic plug-ins 7.8 ($270) a collection of several plug-in parts which extend the REALbasic development environment with over 900 classes and 2 controls featuring over 17000 documented functions. This release adds: addsDesktopFolderMBS now works for Windows, NSScrollViewMBS, NSTextMBS and NSTextViewMBS, updated to Mac KRM 1.0.7; SControlMBS and NSButtonMBS classes. You can add a checkbox to a NSSavePanelMBS using this class.[Download - 84MB]
- DockStar 2.1 ($10) way for Mail to users keep track of email with 5 colorful badges on the Mail dock icon. The update brings new clickable indicators on the menu bar, support for monitoring RSS feeds and To Do items, and improved Smart Mailbox support for Leopard users. DockStar helps you keep track of email in various accounts and folders, RSS feeds, Notes, and To Do items with customizable badges in the Mail icon, menu bar, Dashboard, and even in a Screen Saver. [Download - 5MB]
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