PictureCode Press Release

April 18, 2006—Noise Ninja Standalone 2.1.1 release candidate for Linux, Mac Intel, Mac PPC, and Windows. The latest Noise Ninja Standalone release candidate introduces native support for Linux and Mac Intel platforms. It also includes some minor enhancements for all platforms. The release candidates will be promoted to official release status as soon as we receive feedback from users indicating that they are functioning as intended.

Light Crafts Press Release

Palo Alto, CA—April 17, 2006—Light Crafts, Inc., today announced that the suggested retail price for it’s award-winning software LightZone is now $149.95. Designed and built from the ground up for professionals and other serious photographers, LightZone is available for computers running Windows and Mac OS X. The new Universal version runs natively on both PowerPC- and Intel-based Mac computers. Version 1.3 is now available to all current owners of LightZone as a free software update and offers increased performance and camera compatibility. LightZone provides a unique visual approach that focuses on what photographers want to do with their photos rather than how to do it. With LightZone, photographers are able to retouch their photos in a simple and natural way. The company also announced the availability of LightZone RT. LightZone RT (for ReTouch) responds to the need for better integration of the LightZone method with current image editing workflow solutions, and may be used with other RAW converters or image browsers.

Digital Outback Photo have taken a look at the image resizing software SizeFixer.

“I have been working with Sizefixer since mid November 2005 and have used it to upsize over 100 different images. I have found that I can get excellent results from a 2.74mp D1 shot all the way to a 16mp 1DSMKII file. Each time I have found that the output from Sizefixer has amazingly accurate details. Even with the issues that have been pointed out, I prefer the output enough to develop work a-rounds to overcome these problems.”

http://www.outbackphoto.com/workflow/wf_92/essay.html

Nikon Press Release

Capture NX and Nikon View Pro software release dates changed

Nikon Corporation announced on 21st February that Capture NX and Nikon View Pro software would be released in spring and in May respectively. However, the release schedule for these products has been changed due to a slight delay in their development schedule.
We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause for customers waiting for the product release due to the delay from the original date projected in the initial announcement. We are working hard on completing the development process and we appreciate your patience and kind understanding.

Apple Aperture 1.1 is available now for $299 and as a free update for current owners of Aperture 1.0. Version 1.1 offers increased computer and camera compatibility. The first Universal version of Aperture, the upgrade allows photographers to run Aperture on both PowerPC-based and the new Intel-based Macintosh computers, including MacBook Pro. Click here for a full list of the new features.

Apple UK Press Release

Universal Version Delivers Improved RAW Quality, Incredible Speed & New Lower Price

CUPERTINO, California—April 13, 2006—Apple® today released Aperture™ 1.1, a significant update to the revolutionary all-in-one post production tool for photographers that runs natively on both Intel- and PowerPC-based Macs. Aperture 1.1 features dramatically improved RAW image rendering and a new set of advanced RAW adjustment controls. Aperture 1.1 also delivers impressive speed gains on any Mac® including desktop performance on a MacBook™ Pro* with image adjustments and searching up to 4x faster. At a new lower price of £219 (inc. VAT), Apple is putting Aperture within reach of anyone shooting with a digital SLR camera.

Extensis Press Release

Free update includes added RAW camera and MS Office support for digital asset management needs. 

PORTLAND, Ore. — April, 12th, 2006 — Extensis, a division of Celartem Inc., today released two free updates to Portfolio 8 – the leading Digital Asset Management (DAM) solution for creative professionals. These updates include two file format support filters, which add support for Microsoft Office allowing users to catalog, find and view files from Microsoft Word and Excel on the Windows platform. Additionally, Extensis has added support for 22 new camera Raw formats on both Mac and Windows versions of Portfolio. Registered owners of Portfolio 8 are eligible to receive the free upgrades immediately through the Extensis website at http://www.extensis.com/portfolio. “These free updates demonstrate Extensis’ commitment to supporting the file formats that matter most to our customers,” said Dan Harlacher, Extensis Portfolio product manager. “We added MS Office support and updated the Portfolio Raw Filter so that our customers can more effectively utilize Portfolio in their daily workflow from cataloging to finding to viewing the files and images that are most critical in their day-to-day business.”

Phase One Press Release

Capture rate speeds up with new Capture One 3.7.4 on Intel-based Macs and Windows - Updated RAW workflow software supports all Phase One P Series digital camera backs, the new Canon EOS 30D, Pentax *ist series and Sony DSC-R1

April 11th 2006, Copenhagen, Denmark: Phase One®, the world leader in professional digital imaging solutions, has updated Capture One™ RAW Workflow to support more cameras, more RAW file formats and Intel-based Macs. Capture One is the most efficient, fully color-managed RAW Workflow image-processing solution and delivers the highest possible image quality from the new generation of digital SLRs and Phase One digital camera backs.

ePhotoZine have just reviewed Capture One Pro raw editor from Phase One.

“Capture One excels at reproducing fine detail, the crop taken from the singer’s hair shows more clearly defined detail than with Rawshooter Essentials, but is matched by Adobe Camera Raw. Regular patterns are also clearly rendered, the crop taken from the singer’s scarf is ever so slightly smoother than both the other processing solutions. Noise is also well controlled, giving images a film-like appearance, unlike the harsh regular pattern produced by Rawshooter Essentials.”

Website: ePhotoZine - Capture One DSLR Review

FixerLabs Press Release

FixerLabs, developers of the award winning SizeFixer and FocusFixer software for digital image enhancement, have today released an update to their patented LensFIT technology to increase the range of supported cameras. Over 150 of the very latest models have been added to extend the range of cameras that can benefit from our unique Deconvolution and Super-Resolution technology. Examples of new supported cameras include:

• Canon – EOS 5D and EOS 30D
• Nikon – D50 and D200
• Panasonic – Lumix DMC LC1 and Lumix DMC LX1
• Olympus – E-330 and E-500
• Fuji – FinePix S9000Z and S9500Z

SeeFile Press Release

SeeFile Introduces Revolutionary Pro Photography Software For Ordering Prints and Images Online

Las Vegas, NV (PRWEB) April 7, 2006—At the Wedding and Portrait Photographers International Conference (WPPI), Seefile Software is announcing their latest innovation- an eCommerce module for Seefile 2.0, their award winning Webserver software for photographers. Seefile has been praised by Shutterbug, Seybold and Studio Photography and Design and was rated best of Show at PMA 2005. SeeFile is exhibiting at WPPI booth 1208. Seefile already allows photographers to simply save files to folders on their hard disk for clients to view and comment on. Now, those photographers can let their customers purchase and download images and order prints, directly off the server through a convenient shopping cart feature. Photographers can price the images as they wish - offering discounts for larger orders or special clients. As with all existing SeeFile features, this requires only a standard Mac or PC Web browser, with no additional software at the client site. According to pro photographer Nat Clymer, “this looks like a great way for photographers like me to add value and service to their client relationships”.

Bibble Labs Press Release

WPPI 2006 Las Vegas, NV (April 7th, 2006) - Bibble Labs, Inc. today announced immediate availability of version 4.7 of its popular Raw Workflow software. Building upon the recent seamless integration of Noise Ninja technology, Bibble 4.7 fully integrates Athentech’s DIMA Award winning Perfectly Clear® automatic image correction technology into the raw workflow. Perfectly Clear® is new, award winning technology, invented for the digital world, modeled on the physics principles of light. Unlike traditional analogue based approaches that actually damage true color, create artifacts, and cause clipping, Perfectly Clear is the only solution that operates like the human eye… optimizing the light in each and every pixel… perfectly preserving the photographer’s memory. The result is stunning pictures regardless of how viewed - electronically or printed on media.

Apple Press Release

Apple Boot Camp - Public Beta Software Enables Intel-based Macs to Run Windows XP

CUPERTINO, California—April 5, 2006— Apple® today introduced Boot Camp, public beta software that enables Intel-based Macs to run Windows XP. Available as a download beginning today, Apple Boot Camp allows users with a Microsoft Windows XP installation disc to install Windows XP on an Intel-based Mac®, and once installation is complete, users can restart their computer to run either Mac OS® X or Windows XP. Apple Boot Camp will be a feature in “Leopard,” Apple’s next major release of Mac OS X, that will be previewed at Apple’s Worldwide Developer Conference in August. “Apple has no desire or plan to sell or support Windows, but many customers have expressed their interest to run Windows on Apple’s superior hardware now that we use Intel processors,” said Philip Schiller, Apple’s senior vice president of Worldwide Product Marketing. “We think Apple Boot Camp makes the Mac even more appealing to Windows users considering making the switch.”

ProFotoSoftware Press Release

London United Kingdom, 5th April 2006 - ProFotoSoftware Ltd have today released PFS Browser - a free image browser for Windows. PFS Browser supports all the major image formats, including the RAW formats from most camera manufacturers, including Canon, Nikon, Kodak, Pentax and Olympus. PFS Browser features rapid thumbnail generation and caches thumbnails to increase performance. Additionally, PFS Browser supportc ICC profiles for printing and viewing images. Image enahancement is provided by the built in Levels and Curves tools and images can be saved in variety of formats. A number of plugins for PFS Browser will be released in the near future, expanding its capabilities further.

For full details, visit http://www.profotosoftware.com

WnSoft Graphics Press Release

PixBuilder Studio Professional Instrument For Digital Photo Editing And Images Manipulations

April 6, 2006 – WnSoft Graphics announces the release of PixBuilder Studio 1.25. The saying goes, “A picture speaks a thousand words.”, and with advances in digital photography and software for image production, one photo can have a thousand uses. WnSoft Graphics has captured this idea and designed PixBuilder Studio as a multi-faceted graphics editor in a compact package. PixBuilder Studio is an ideal tool for working with digital photos with a focus on ease of use, speed and exceptional image quality. All the professional functions are accessed through a simple interface, including layering, adjustment of levels, curves, color balance, brightness and contrast, application of effects, image resizing and rotation, all with instant preview on-the-fly, in real time. This application offers multi-step undo, printing and saving with preview, text operations, and creation of icons. All the features of PixBuilder Studio are described at http://www.wnsoft.com/pbs/index.html.

muve Press Release

Singapore and New York, NY - April 3, 2006 - muvee, the pioneer and leader in Instant Personal Video, has won the Innovation Award for its muveeOnline web service at the 9th Annual DigitalFocus Awards. The Awards honor the best of the products showcased at the DigitalFocus event preceding the PMA tradeshow from February 26 to March 1, 2006. Dr. Pete Kellock, muvee’s founder and CEO, said, “muveeOnline is a breakthrough for the web that gives any photo or video-sharing portal a huge edge by enabling end users to automatically create finished productions out of their digital media. It’s like having an experienced video editor at your beck and call 24 hours a day. Instead of making do with plain slideshows or unedited video clips, users can now easily create professional-quality music-driven productions full of emotional impact, in over 100 styles, ready to share or stream. Online photo sharing has taken off in a big way, and just keeps growing. Last year, more than 20% of camera owners posted photos to an online service, up from 16% in 2004, and muveeOnline is in a really great position to help fuel this online growth. We’re very honored to receive this award, and will continue to push the envelope in making home video production simple, fast and fun for everyone.”

FotoWare Press Release

Oslo, April 3, 2006 - FotoWare Cameleon – New image archive solutions for the corporate market! With more than 12 years as a software development company FotoWare plays a pioneer role in the industry of digital imaging. FotoWare has for more than a decade delivered solutions to particularly demanding newspaper and publishing customers with thousands, even millions, of pictures. We know the importance of being able to allocate resources to the creative work, and focus less on the actual storage and retrieval work. Even if most businesses will never have to deal with such great quantities, organizing visual assets within the organization is still called for. Today’s launch of the Cameleon suite is an expression of FotoWare’s experience and proficiency in this field.

DxO Labs Press Release

Free upgrade improves product while support for new Samsung, Kodak and Fuji cameras increases versatility of DxO Optics Pro.

Paris, France, March 30, 2006 – DxO Labs announces today the immediate availability of DxO Optics Pro v3.55a, a free upgrade to DxO Optics Pro v3.5. Version 3.55a of DxO Labs’ flagship product for automatic image quality enhancement contains a number of significant refinements which will improve users’ experience when using DxO Optics Pro. Notably:

New configurable “docked palette” mode for easy access to all adjustment tools;
Improved configuration wizard;
The “Automatic” mode of DxO Optics Pro is now easily and fully configurable thanks to a “Default preset”;
Option to save or not .dxo sidecar files;
Option to set application level output setting preferences (can be locally overridden);
Numerous other improvements and fixes.

Corel Press Release

MAIDENHEAD, UK - 28 March 2006; Following this year’s extremely cold and gloomy winter period, the delights of spring seem all too far away; however, with Spring officially beginning and the sun starting to show its face, many households will honour the time-old tradition of spring cleaning - whether it be their homes, cars, PC or lives. This year Corel provides tips on how to re-organise, improve and spring clean those photo snaps that have been cluttering up your camera, PC or shoebox for too long! Corel® Photo Album* 6 offers the broadest range of easy-to-use features for organising, enhancing, sharing, showcasing and protecting digital photography. With Corel Photo Album 6 users are able to spring into action by simply plugging in their digital camera, card reader or scanned photos to a PC. Corel Photo Album 6 then automatically organises those photos into date order and vertically rotates photos for easy viewing. The user can further arrange their photos by using Folders, Collections, Keywords, Favourite Photos, Recent Downloads etc; whilst also using basic Improve and Enhance functions to add that air of professionalism to everyday photos.

Earthbound Light have just reviewed version 2.1 of a Photoshop plugin called Curvemeister (PC only), which adds some missing functionality to Photoshop’s Curves feature.

“As the title of this article says, Curvemeister is Curves on steroids. The main Curvemeister Curves window shows a combination histogram and curves display that can be configured to show any one channel or be split into displays for all channels simultaneously. It can be freely toggled between RGB, wide-gamut CMYK, Lab, and HSB (Hue-Saturation-Brightness) color models at any point while working on a curve so you can use whichever seems best for the task at hand. And it works the same in Photoshop Elements as it does in the full version of Photoshop. Sure would be nice if Adobe would take a cue from Curvemeister in this regard, now wouldn’t it?”

Website: Earthbound Light - Curvemeister Review

ePhotoZine have just reviewed version 1.0 of Apple’s Aperture software.

“Aperture from Apple is one of the first of a new generation of all-in-one RAW workflow solutions that incorporate both image management features and RAW image processing in one package. In this review, professional social photographer, Mike French takes a look at the main features of Aperture version 1.0. The review will be updated with a comprehensive look at Aperture’s RAW processing abilities upon release of Aperture 1.1, due out by the end of March.”

Website: ePhotoZine - Apple Aperture Review