| Nikon announces D200 digital SLR |
| Nikon has officially introduced the D200, a 10.04 million image pixel, 5 fps digital SLR that's expected to sell for about US$1700 in the U.S. when it ships in late December 2005. The new model appears to be the digital heir apparent to Nikon's venerable F100 film camera, combining an impressive list of pro-class features in a body that is much less expensive than the company's flagship D2X. |
October 31, 2005 | FULL STORY  |
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| Bringing Aperture into focus |
| At an invitation-only media event earlier this month, Apple introduced Aperture, the company's new professional photo workflow application. Simultaneous with Apple pulling back the covers on Aperture, they posted pages of information, screenshots and slick QuickTime videos showing the software in action. Given the potential for Aperture to really change the pro photography software landscape on the Mac platform, however, we wanted more information. A lot more. To that end, staff writer Eamon Hickey and I have been peppering Apple representatives with the many questions raised by Aperture's impressive feature set. This article is a compilation of the answers we've received. |
| October 30, 2005 | FULL STORY |
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| RAW Image Thumbnailer and Viewer 1.1 coming in early November |
| Microsoft is gearing up to ship a new version of the freeware RAW Image Thumbnailer and Viewer for Windows XP. Version 1.1 will add support for RAW files from the Canon EOS-1D Mark II N and EOS 5D, as well as Nikon D2Hs, D70s and D50. It also fixes a problem with certain TIFF files being locked when v1.0 of the software is installed, a problem that affects EOS 5D CR2 files also. The new version is slated for release in early November 2005. |
| October 29, 2005 | FULL STORY |
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| Microsoft releases Color Control Panel applet |
| Microsoft has released the Color Control Panel applet, a freeware add-on for Windows XP that provides a one-stop shop for performing basic colour management tasks such as installing and uninstalling profiles, setting the default monitor profile and renaming profiles with the ability to synchronize both the internal name and file name. It also enables the changing of the monitor profile without having to subsequently run a separate utility to load the profile's look-up table (LUT) into the video card, as this task is performed by the applet. |
| October 29, 2005 | FULL STORY |
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| Canon publishes service notice regarding EF 24-105mm f/4L IS |
| Canon today has published a service notice advising owners of the EF 24-105mm f/4L IS that this lens can exhibit a pronounced flare problem with point light sources. A repair program will commence on November 14, 2005, enabling 24-105mm f/4L IS owners to send in the lens for an unspecified parts replacement. In the USA, both the repair itself, and shipping costs, are being absorbed by Canon. |
| October 28, 2005 | FULL STORY |
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| Canon updates firmware for EOS 20D, Rebel XT/350D |
| Canon this week has released firmware updates for the EOS 20D and the Digital Rebel XT/350D. |
| October 27, 2005 | FULL STORY |
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| Public beta of Photo Mechanic 4.4 expected by November 1 |
| Camera Bits has been talking openly about the impending arrival of v4.4 of Photo Mechanic for some time; now, they've put a date on when photographers can first touch and try the new release of the company's pro photo importer and browser. Version 4.4, a workflow-focused update of the program for Windows and Mac, will emerge initially in public beta form by November 1. The public beta period, says Dennis Walker of Camera Bits, is anticipated to be brief. Assuming that no significant gotchas are unearthed by testers, Camera Bits plans to roll out v4.4 officially by November 15. Photo Mechanic 4.4 will be a free update for anyone who purchases v4.3.8 now, or any user who ponied up for the software on or since November 1, 2004. If the software was registered prior to that date, and is v3.0 or later, the upgrade cost to 4.4 will be US$90. We have a preview of what's new in Photo Mechanic 4.4. |
| October 24, 2005 | FULL STORY |
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| Extensis unveils Portfolio 8 |
| Extensis today has announced version 8 of its Portfolio image cataloging suite for Windows and Mac. Both the client and server versions of the software are slated to ship in December 2005. |
| October 20, 2005 | FULL STORY |
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| ImagePrint for Epson 4800/7800/9800 printers to ship next week |
| Support for the Epson Stylus Pro 4800, 7800 and 9800 printers in Colorbyte's ImagePrint RIP software will debut next week. Shipments of ImagePrint 6.1 containing the necessary drivers for Epson's wide-format K3-ink printer models will begin on Monday, October 24, 2005. |
| October 20, 2005 | FULL STORY |
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| DSLR Remote Pro 1.1 adds new camera support, auto-bracketing |
| Breeze Systems DSLR Remote Pro 1.1 for Windows, a program for controlling Canon digital SLR cameras via a FireWire or USB cable link, adds support for the Canon EOS 5D, 20D, Digital Rebel XT/350D, EOS-1D Mark II and EOS-1Ds Mark II. It also now includes an auto bracketing feature that will capture up to 15 frames in sequence, varying the shutter speed or the aperture. DSLR Remote Pro also adds colour managed and sharpened display of image previews. |
| October 20, 2005 | FULL STORY |
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| Lens performance is the main focus of new web site |
| The folks behind the Imaging Resource web site have launched a new site that focuses on the testing of lenses for digital SLR cameras. Utilizing DxO Analyser and some custom graphing software, the results at slrgear.com for the lenses they've tested so far provide an interesting glimpse into the optical capabilities of Canon, Nikon and other makers' glass. |
| October 20, 2005 | FULL STORY |
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| iView MediaPro 3.0 announced |
| iView Multimedia has announced v3.0 of MediaPro, a new version of the company's flagship image cataloger for Mac and Windows. The upcoming release beefs up the program's image import, image assessment and captioning features, improves web gallery generation, rolls in support for additional multimedia and text file formats and adds a progress indicator for certain operations. MediaPro v3.0 is slated to ship November 1, 2005 for US$199. |
| October 20, 2005 | FULL STORY |
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| Apple announces Aperture software for pro photographers |
| At a media event today in Manhattan, Apple unveiled Aperture, a new application for Mac that's aimed at professional photographers. The software, says the Apple web site, is "the first all-in-one post-production tool for photographers. Built from the ground up for professionals, Aperture offers an advanced RAW workflow, powerful compare and select tools, nondestructive image processing and versatile printing and publishing." The U.S. Apple store lists the software as shipping in 6-8 weeks at US$499. |
| October 19, 2005 | FULL STORY |
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| Shipping of Lexar Pro CompactFlash card readers commences |
| Lexar is now beginning to ship the Pro CompactFlash card readers they first announced in September of 2004. The USB 2.0 version is emerging on store shelves now, says John Omvik, Lexar's Director of Professional Product Marketing, as is the companion 4-port USB 2.0 hub. The FireWire version of the reader is expected to ship from Lexar in late October 2005. |
| October 19, 2005 | FULL STORY |
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| ACDSee Pro Photo Manager announced |
| ACDSee Systems has announced ACDSee Pro Photo Manager for Windows, an upgraded version of the company's popular photo browser aimed at professional photographers. Its professionally oriented features include support for RAW file display and conversion, batch IPTC captioning, and more extensive color management capabilities. |
| October 18, 2005 | FULL STORY |
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| Bibble 4.4 released |
| Bibble Labs has updated its RAW workflow software, Bibble, to v4.4. New features include a shadow recovery function called "Fill Light", as well as support for the Canon EOS 5D and EOS-1D Mark II N, the Konica Minolta 5D, and the Pentax *ist DL. Bibble 4.4 is available in Pro and Lite versions for Windows, Macintosh, and Linux. |
| October 17, 2005 | FULL STORY |
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| BreezeBrowser Pro v1.3 released |
| Breeze Systems has released v1.3 of BreezeBrowser Pro, the company's Windows-only image browsing/raw conversion program. Headlining its new features are automatic lens distortion correction and support for RAW files from Canon's EOS 5D and EOS-1D Mark II N cameras. |
| October 14, 2005 | FULL STORY |
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| Atlanta Photojournalism Seminar to be held Dec 2-3 |
| The 2005 Atlanta Photojournalism Seminar will be held December 2-3 in Atlanta, GA. The impressive list of speakers includes Mary Ellen Mark, William Albert Allard, Carolyn Cole, and Al Tielemans, among others. Early registration, which must be postmarked by November 18, costs US$55 for pros and US$30 for students for the seminar only. For US$105 or US$80, respectively, you can attend the seminar plus three optional workshops. |
| October 13, 2005 | FULL STORY |
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| Several photojournalist accounts of hurricane coverage published |
| SPORTSSHOOTER.COM and PDNONLINE have recently published accounts of the experiences of photojournalists covering Hurricane Katrina and its aftermath. |
| October 12, 2005 | FULL STORY |
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| Firmware updates for EOS-1D Mark II, EOS-1Ds Mark II released |
| Canon has released firmware version 1.2.4 for the EOS-1D Mark II and version 1.1.4 for the EOS-1Ds Mark II. The new firmware for both cameras includes a fix for file numbering errors during bulb exposure shooting and improves the reliability of operation with certain unspecified CompactFlash cards. A problem that could lead to the appearance of horizontal line noise when P.Fn-21 is enabled in the EOS-1Ds Mark II has also been addressed. |
| October 12, 2005 | FULL STORY |
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| GretagMacbeth Eye-One Match 3.3 released |
| GretagMacbeth has released v3.3 of Eye-One Match for Windows and Mac. The new version adds a profile editing module to the software bundled with the company's Eye-One colour management packages. |
| October 7, 2005 | FULL STORY |
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| Nikon launches D2X "Special Site" |
| Nikon today has launched a "Special Site" devoted to the D2X. The Flash-heavy web site includes features on four photographers (with six more to come in the weeks ahead) and light technical information on Nikon's 12.21 million image pixel digital SLR camera, the WT-2/2A transmitter and Nikkor lenses. |
| October 5, 2005 | FULL STORY |
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| Digital Photo Professional 2.0.3 released |
| Canon has released Digital Photo Professional 2.0.3 for Mac and Windows, an update to its primary RAW file browsing and processing application. For owners of older camera models it adds a handful of new features relative to v1.6.1 plus, for Mac users, incompatibilities when running the application in OS X 10.4 have been fixed. Version 2.0.3 also addresses several problems in earlier v2.x releases found on EOS Solution Disk 11 (which is bundled with the EOS 5D and EOS-1D Mark II N). |
| October 5, 2005 | FULL STORY |
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| GretagMacbeth prepping new Eye-One software, hardware |
| GretagMacbeth is readying both a new release of Eye-One Match software as well as new hardware for inclusion in certain Eye-One colour management packages. Eye-One Match 3.3 will include a simple profile editing module, while a new scanning ruler, backing board and soft case are about to be rolled into Eye-One offerings that include an Eye-One Pro spectrophotometer. |
| October 3, 2005 | FULL STORY |
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| Nikon Capture updated to v4.3.2 |
| Nikon has released v4.3.2 of Nikon Capture for Windows and Mac. This is a bug fix release, addressing a problem in v4.3.1 that would cause Nikon Capture Editor to quit in some cases "when images were adjusted using the Color Boost slider displayed by selecting Better Quality (HQ) in the D-Lighting palette." |
| October 3, 2005 | FULL STORY |
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| Calibrate Epson's newest printers with ColorBase 1.1 |
| Epson has developed an application for the Stylus Photo R2400 and Stylus Pro 4800/7800/9800 printers that enables their colour output to be calibrated to match that of Epson's reference printer for each model. Called ColorBase and currently at v1.1, the Mac and Windows software is a free download from various Epson web sites. |
| October 3, 2005 | FULL STORY |
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| Digital Camera Battery releases capacity tester |
| Digital Camera Battery has released a device for testing the capacity of the company's line of camera and flash batteries. |
| October 2, 2005 | FULL STORY |
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