Apr 30
Adobe Ships Creative Suite 5
Adobe has
shipped the final versions of its Creative Suite 5 software bundles that include Photoshop CS5. The five bundles contain various tools selected for use at different levels of print, web and video design and editing. Many of these tools, including Photoshop, Illustrator, InDesign, Premier and After Effects are also available separately. Trial downloads of all the suites are available from the Adobe website.
Review:
NIKKOR 85mm f/1.4D IF AF
Lens - Nikon's Best. A fast f/1.4 aperture
makes this lens a standout for
sports photography and photojournalism. With Nikon's typical attention to details, its aperture has extra blades, enabling the diaphragm shape to be a near-perfect circle. This ensures crisper images and more flattering highlights in the out-of-focus portion of the
image.
Typical internet price: $1240.00.
Apr 29
Best Free Digital Image Viewer
Image viewers belong to a software category where the quantity and quality of free programs is at least equal to that of commercial ones, so the selection isn't easy, and personal convenience will unavoidably appear as a main factor for this review.
And there's also the question of what exactly we mean by an "image viewer". With so many contenders that offer loads of features like editing, filtering, batch processing, organizing, publishing and the rest, that name may be a bit too restrictive, as we always tend to demand some additional editing features apart from the basic viewing and browsing functions (this one is sine qua non, in my opinion). Thus many imaging applications overlap categories, and the differences for our review should be based mainly on the aspects of access speed, zooming capabilities, and other tasks not directly related to extensive image editing. Though I know many users will prefer all-in-one programs, I feel they don't fit into this category, and feature bloat precludes their recommendation
Panasonic LUMIX DMC-TS1
12.1MP Digital Camera. Panasonic's
new Lumix DMC-TS1 is the world’s first waterproof, shockproof and dustproof digital camera to also feature AVCHD Lite
High Definition (HD) video recording capabilities. The TS1’s tough and
rugged design makes it the ideal choice for active users needing the
ultimate hybrid for capturing both still and motion images during outdoor
activities.
• Model: LUMIX DMC-TS1 Digital Camera, Megapixels: 12.1, LCD: 2.7
inch, Optical Stabilized: Yes, Optical Zoom: 4x wide, Colors: Orange, Silver
and Green, Typical Web Price: $289
Learn Digital Photography – Learn to Compose in 5 Easy Steps
You probably have heard that composition is what makes great photos. And, if you learn how to compose then you will produce fantastic shots. Knowing where to place your subject and the various elements in a photo is what makes a great image. But applying this in practise is what takes time and effort and a little help.
Once you know the basic principles it is remarkably easy to create a great composition resulting in a beautiful photo. But, putting all these principles together in one photo can be difficult and daunting. If you follow these five basic guidelines you will see an immediate improvement in your images. Here’s how easy it is.
Apr 28
Review:
NIKKOR 105mm f/2.8G IF-ED AF-S VR Micro
Nikon brings the benefits of
vibration reduction (VR) to the domain of Macro photography. It offers high-resolution, high-optical performance for both digital and 35mm film format SLR cameras. When used with digital cameras, equivalent focal length in 35mm terms is 157.5mm.
This lens incorporates Nikon's second-generation vibration reduction system (VR II) that allows flexible hand-held shooting by stabilizing the image to the equivalent stability of a shutter speed that is 4 stops faster when compared with a conventional lens. This in effect eliminates image blur caused by camera shake, particularly when shooting in low-light conditions.
Typical internet price: $895.00
JPEG vs RAW - Which is better?
As with almost every decision in digital photography, in the RAW vs jpeg dilemma you should consider the final use of the images and balance the effort involved with the quality of the results.
With most cameras when shooting RAW you will be able to see an increase in detail rendering, also in the dynamic range, but usually only if you look at the images close enough. This is due to the need of a very fast conversion to be done in camera, and even if dedicated processors are used, often the quality of a straight conversion of a RAW file using the original software on a computer will be superior of an
original jpeg from the camera. Lately, the “better”
DSLRs minimize this difference, some of them
making it pretty invisible.
ACD Systems Announces Photo Manager 12
ACD Systems
announces ACDSee Photo Manager 12 image editing and management software for beginners and hobbyists. The latest version focuses on sharing images online with features to directly upload images to social networking sites, an FTP uploader and an Online mode, which connects users to a free 2 GB account on
ACDSeeOnline.com. The software is available for US $69.99 for first time buyers and $35 as an upgrade to existing users
Apr 27
NEW
NIKKOR 200-400mm f/4G ED VR II
The AF-S NIKKOR 200-400mm f/4G ED VR II is a successor to the AF-S
VR Zoom-Nikkor 200-400mm f/4G IF-ED, offering improvements in performance and function. In addition to the adoption of Nano Crystal Coat and the VR II vibration reduction system, which offers camera shake compensation equivalent to a shutter speed increase of approximately 4 stops, the lens is equipped with A/M (autofocus with manual override, AF priority) mode. A wide variety of angles of view are supported by the 200 mm telephoto to 400 mm super telephoto range of focal lengths. This lens is perfect for capturing subjects that require zoom capability, including sports, press and bird photography.
The VR II has added a $1,000 over the previous lens.
Knock Your Socks Off 360° Virtual Tours Using
a Fisheye Lens
See
how to create a full screen 360° Virtual Tour using the power of Java software,
a fisheye lens, a tripod with special head and Photo Stitching software to generate
stunning 360° Virtual Tours that will help you sell your home or
promote your business. You can create the ultimate virtual tour - real tours, like only 360 Degrees of Freedom makes possible.
Virtual tours are not simple spinning panoramas. In the same way that websites vary from simple pages to amazing interactive environments - so do virtual tours.
Apr 26
Fujifilm: New firmware for 20 FinePix cameras
Fujifilm has today released updated firmware applicable to twenty of its various FinePix AV-, AX-, JV- and JX-series Digital Camera Review by Gene Wrights.
In all cases, the firmware makes but one stated change, related to an issue with PictBridge printing functionality. Fuji has identified and corrected an issue in its PictBridge code whereby an incorrect number of copies could be printed for an image, potentially wasting printer supplies. The new firmware is available for a total of twenty different digital camera models.
50 Photo Projects - Ideas to Kickstart Your Photography
Fun to Read, and Something for Everyone
Let me start by saying that I love reading Lee Frost's books. His work always has a certain style that makes them fun to read. He never has that "I'm the master and this is what you must do" approach. He's more like the guy down the
Typical web who just discovered something new and runs over to tell you about it. The discovery might not interest you, but you'll still enjoy hearing about it.
Review:
Canon EF 85mm f/1.2L II
USM -
Canon's Best
Average User rating 9.9. The L-series is
Canon's flagship professional lens range, designed and
built to meet the needs of the most demanding
professional photographers. The superb optics represent the pinnacle of optical performance, enabling focal length/speed/quality combinations not readily attainable using traditional optical technologies. In addition to
optimized lens shaping to reduce reflections and the use of anti-reflective material inside the lens barrel,
it employs Canon's patented Super Spectra lens element
coatings. These suppress flare and ghosting - more prone
to occur with digital cameras due to reflection off the
image sensor.
Typical web price $1,999
Apr 25
Review:
Bower 85mm f/1.4 Manual Focus Telephoto
Lens The Bower 85mm
f/1.4 Manual Focus Lens is a special effort in the independent lens manufacturer world, being a popular focal length for serious portraiture combined with an extra large f/1.4 maximum aperture. Most independent manufacturer lenses are either zooms or very short or long focal length fixed lenses.
With the appropriate mount, this lens is appropriate for
Canon, Pentax, Sony and Nikon FX "full frame" cameras in addition to their 15.6 x 23.7mm "APS-C" style digital 'DX' SLR cameras, and works similarly upon the cameras as later-model Nikon manual focus lenses. This lens is precision manufactured in South Korea.
Typical web price $349.99.
Apr 24
Apple releases RAW compatibility update
Apple has released a Digital Camera RAW Compatibility Update for Aperture 3 and iPhoto '09. Update 3.2 extends RAW support to nine additional cameras and addresses processing issues of files from the Canon EOS 30D, Pentax K-x and K-7 digital SLRs. The update is available for immediate download from Apple's website.
Adobe updates Lightroom, Camera Raw, DNG Converter
RAW support added for nine popular new cameras
Adobe has announced the immediate availability of Lightroom 2.7, Camera Raw 5.7, and DNG Converter 5.7 for free download for Photoshop owners. The new software supports the Canon Rebel 2Ti, Sony A450, Olympus E-PL1, and other new cameras....
Review:
Olympus
8mm f/3.5 Fisheye ED Zuiko Digital Lens High Grade
Series Dust & Splash Proof
Construction. The Zuiko Digital ultra-wide
fisheye lens helps you master light more effectively, even while providing an extreme 180-degree
angle of view. Built from the ground up for digital photography, it channels more light to the image sensor for outstanding edge-to-edge results. This pristine glass lens delivers light directly to each of the imager's
pixels. From center to
edge, each image is filled with rich, accurate color, high contrast and subtle
gradation
Apr 23
Making Fast Money with Stock
Photography
Stock photography can be defined as "Images made on speculation to be sold later". In making stock images the photographer is his own client and the images made are marketed & licensed to image buyers directly, or submitted to a stock photo agent or library (such as
Photoshelter,
Getty,
Corbis,
Jupiter Images or
Alamy) in hopes of future sales. The photographer incurs all costs to produce these stock images and there is no guarantee any image will sell.
(see interviews and links with 28 Stock Photographers)
Apr 22
Olympus PEN series firmware updates
are now available for
download.
The updates can be downloaded via the Olympus Digital Camera Update software
application. One of the biggest criticisms aimed at the PEN series of cameras
has been the speed of their autofocus. With its most recent firmware updates
(version 1.1 in the case of the E-PL1), Olympus has tried to address the issue.
Leica firmware update for S2 digital camera
Leica has released a function-enhancing firmware update for its S2 medium format DSLR. Version 1.0.0.16 adds a white balance preset for working with HMI (Hydrargyrum Medium-arc Iodide) lamps, provides additional viewfinder information and offers selectable OLED screen standby time. It also brings in a host of improvements including more options for customization of buttons. Registered users can download the latest firmware via the Owner's Area on Leica's website.
Leica firmware update for S2 digital camera
Leica has released a function-enhancing firmware update for its S2 medium format DSLR. Version 1.0.0.16 adds a white balance preset for working with HMI (Hydrargyrum Medium-arc Iodide) lamps, provides additional viewfinder information and offers selectable OLED screen standby time. It also brings in a host of improvements including more options for customization of buttons. Registered users can download the latest firmware via the Owner's Area on Leica's website.
Pentax posts DSLR firmware updates
Pentax has announced firmware updates for four of its DSLRs. Updates for the K-m/K2000, K20D, K200D and K10D improves stability while recording images in some SDHC cards. The latest firmware versions are available for immediate download from Pentax's website
Easy Sports Photography
Sports photography refers to the genre of photography that covers all types of sports. In the majority of cases, it is a
branch of photojournalism.
The main application of sports photography is for editorial purposes;
dedicated sports photographers usually work for newspapers, major wire
agencies or dedicated sports magazines
Apr 21
Review:
Kodak EasyShare Z981
14MP digital camera
Bring your world closer for everyone to see. Where creativity and versatility come
together. It zooms in faster, wider, and closer than ever, giving you sharp, steady shots you'll be proud to share. Kodak's Share button lets you tag pictures directly from your camera for uploading to YouTube, Facebook, Flickr, and Kodak Gallery sites, plus e-mail too. And its unique vertical shutter release and detachable grip give you the flexibility to go from horizontal to vertical shots with ease. From dramatic wide angles to the convenience of ultra-zoom, the Z981 delivers extraordinary performance.
•
Images
Kata Announces Spring Rebates on
Photography Bags
Over 20 bags, $10-45 rebates on prepaid Visa
Kata has launched rebates on over 20 photography bags including satchels, DSLR holsters, Backpacks, and dSLR / laptop bags.
The rebate period has already begun, and extends through June 30, 2010. Rebate amounts range from $10 to $45 and are sent to consumers on a VISA Prepaid card.
10 Most Important Things You Need to Know About Digital Cameras
The popular misconception is that more megapixels lead to better pictures. This is
simply not true.
Sure, higher resolution gives you the ability to crop more aggressively or print large pictures, but only a fraction of
digital photographers will benefit from this ability. If you're a casual
photographer who won't be printing pictures larger than 8x10" or doing lots of computer editing, then a camera with 5- or 6-megapixel resolution will be
plenty.
More advanced photographers will likely get more use with the flexibility of higher resolution, but a 10 megapixel
plus camera is by
just not necessary to create stunning pictures. Choose a camera you can understand and afford, and don't be
suckered by over-stated high-resolution specifications.
Apr 20
Leica makes V-Lux 20 compact ultrazoom official
The V-Lux 20 compact is a mild reworking of the Panasonic Lumix ZS7 but with a more expensive price tag of US $699 and gives it Leica's signature matte black finish and other high-end materials while retaining the core functionality. As a camera, the new V-Lux is Leica's first compact with both a 12X zoom lens and GPS-based geotagging, making it a possible good fit for travelers.
Apr 19
Samsung Fast Flash Memory
Samsung announces production of the first flash memory cards to use its
20-nanometer
(nm) process technology. It will incorporate the new 32 gigabit MLC NAND chips
into memory cards ranging from 4GB through 64GB capacities. According to the
company, the 20nm-class MLC NAND chips deliver 50% higher productivity level and
30% faster write speeds than the previous generation 30nm chips. Samsung has
started shipping 20nm-class 32Gb NAND based SD card samples to customers and
plans to expand production later this year.
35mm Equivalent focal length
On any 35 mm film camera, a 28 mm lens is a
wide-angle
lens, and a 200 mm lens is a telephoto lens. However, now that
digital cameras
have mostly replaced 35 mm cameras, there is no direct relation between the
focal length
of a lens and the
angle of view,
since the size of the
camera sensor
also determines angle of view, and sensor size is not standardized like film
size was. The 35 mm effective focal length of a particular lens-sensor
combination is the focal length that one would need for a
35 mm
film camera to obtain the same angle of view.
Apr 18
NIKKOR 80-200mm f/2.8D ED AF
Lens. A superb telephoto-zoom
lens for
sports and
nature photography;3 ED glass elements for high resolution and high contrast even at
maximum apertures; Maintains fast f/2.8 aperture throughout zoom range.
Street price: $900.00.
Fill flash
Fill flash is a photographic technique used to brighten deep
shadow areas, typically outdoors on sunny days, though the technique is useful any time the background is significantly brighter than the subject of the photograph. To use fill flash, the
aperture and
shutter speed are adjusted to correctly expose the background, and the flash is fired to lighten the foreground.
Apr 17
Review:
NIKKOR 55-200mm f/4-5.6G IF-ED
AF-S DX
VR Lens. The newest addition to Nikon's world-class Nikkor lens lineup, the DX Nikkor series was
developed for professional and advanced amateur digital SLR users who demand high optical performance. This 55-200mm lens offers such features as two extra-low-dispersion (ED) glass elements for minimized
chromatic aberration, an exclusive Silent Wave Monitor that allows for accurate and quiet high-speed autofocusing, and a nine-blade rounded
diaphragm. And thanks to the 200mm maximum focal length and 3.6x zoom, you can shoot everything from
close-up sports shots
to national park wildlife without standing right next to your subject. Street price: $150.00.
New:
7 Applications for Pictures, Video, and Sharing
These applications can help you choose the right camera, improve your
photos, share images with social networks, and take more video. Here are seven
handy ones to check out for personal or business.
Create photo galleries for your clients, friends, and family with MobileMe Gallery. Just upload your images from your computer, iPhone, or iPod Touch. Invite friends to view your gallery, download high-res files, and even contribute their own images. You'll be able to view galleries while on the go.
Apr 16
New: Hoya's new filter transmits 25% more light
THK today announced a new Hoya brand HRT Circular Polarizer filter that
uses a new High-Rate Transparency film that transmits 25% more light and has UV absorbing properties. THK Photo Product, Inc announces the new HOYA HRT circular polarizer filter. This filter uses a newly developed High-Rate Transparency film that passes more visible light through the filter while still filtering the same amount of polarized light. The HOYA HRT circular polarizer filter transmits as much as 25% more light through the polarizing film giving the photographer about 1/3 stop more light than a standard circular polarizer. This new polarizing film is also used in the latest HD LCD TVs.
Price Announced for
Sigma 70-200mm OS Lens The f/2.8 Sigma 70-
200mm f/2.8 APO EX DG HSM OS FLD Large Aperture Telephoto Zoom Lens for Sigma Digital DSLR Camera
with mounts for Canon, Nikon, Pentax, Sigma and Sony Cameras - $1,699.00
Pre-order Sigma 8-16mm f/4.5-5.6 DC HSM Lens
Sigma 8-16mm f/4.5-5.6 DC HSM FLD AF Ultra Wide Zoom Lens for APS-C sized Lens available for pre-order
to fit Canon and Nikon Digital DSLR Cameras - $699.00
Pre-order Sigma 17-50mm F2.8 EX DC OS HSM Lens
$669.00 an image-stabilized fast standard zoom for APS-C SLRs. The 17-50mm EX DC OS HSM offers a
more competitive slightly wider angle of view than the company's previous models in this class, and alongside optical stabilization also adds a hypersonic autofocus motor for users of all mounts (Canon, Nikon, Pentax, Sigma and Sony). It uses two elements made from Sigma's new 'FLD glass', plus two glass mold and one hybrid aspherical elements, to reduce aberrations. The minimum focus distance is 28cm across the entire zoom range, giving a maximum magnification of 0.2x, and the 77mm filter thread does not rotate on focusing.
Wildlife Photography
Columbian Black Tail Deer in Amador County California
Sigma 18-200mm lens @200mm and cropped 50%
- I was driving down a Northern California Foothills road when these three deer
crossed the road in front of me. Fortunately. I had my DSLR camera with an
attached 18-200 lens attached. I stopped the car and got of four shots of these
Black Tail Deer
Photoshop CS5 Lens Correction to support Sigma
The Sigma Corporation is pleased to announce that, through collaboration with Adobe Systems Incorporated (Headquarter: Shinagawa-Ku, Tokyo), Sigma lenses will be compatible with the “Lens Correction” feature of the professional digital imaging standard, “Adobe® Photoshop® CS5” and “Adobe® Photoshop® CS5 Extended” software (hereinafter referred to as Adobe Photoshop CS5)” (Windows® version/Macintosh® version).
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