Magix Press Release

The Software of Choice for Hobbyist Filmmakers for Perfect Video Editing

February 2, 2006, Miami, FL – MAGIX, the market leader for photo, video, and audio software1, announced today the release of MAGIX Movie Edit Pro 11, easy-to-use home video editing software for up and coming filmmakers and hobbyists alike. Be it HD support for crystal clear movies or fast and fun-packed editing with a few clicks: Movie Edit Pro 11 brings a complete film studio onto the PC. MAGIX Movie Edit Pro 11 will be available March 30th, 2006 for Windows through major retailers for $59.99 MSRP.

Digital Outback Photo have reviewed Alien Skin Exposure, an all-new plug-in for Adobe Photoshop and other compatible programs which claims to bring look and feel of film to digital photography.

“Alien Skin Software just released a plugin package called Exposure. This is a plugin to edit your images and simulate a wide variety of films. To get it out of the way, this package costs $199 and this is not really cheap. But we have also to realize that plugins like this cost a lot of work to design, implement and test. The best way is to download the demo and check it out yourself.”

Website: Digital Outback Photo - Alien Skin Exposure Review

Are you using Apple Aperture, but feel that some aspects of the RAW conversion process are not quite right? Well, now you have have the opportunity to help make Aperture a better product by submitting problematic images to Apple, courtesy of PDNOnline.

“Apple approached PDN and asked us to provide the development team with sample images for comparison, so the Aperture programmers could improve raw performance. We asked Apple to include not just the in-house reviewers, but the PDN readership at large…Apple is inviting PDN readers to submit images to their development team for help tweaking the raw image conversion process.”

Website: PDNOnline - Apple Asks PDN Readers To Help Improve Aperture

H&M System Software Press Release

H&M System Software Announces StudioLine Photo Classic 3 - New Version of the High-performance Image Database

Rödermark, 31st January-06 – H&M System Software today unveils StudioLine Photo Classic 3. This new version adds major features, including a new user interface, an enhanced descriptor panel, a new load assistant, custom layouts of web galleries, import and export of image descriptions in XML format, management of sound and video data from digital cameras and a search by time spans. This update also marks H&M’s plans to diversify the StudioLine product portfolio. Following the “Classic” version of this software for easy and safe management, editing and presentation of digital photos, a professional version is to be released later in 2006. For beginners H&M continues to offer the new version StudioLine Photo Basic 3 as a free download. StudioLine Photo Classic 3 for Windows XP, 2000, ME and 98 is available from H&M’s online shop at www.studioline.net priced €59 (download), €69 (CD) and coming soon, a boxed product at €89.

iView MultiMedia Press Release

iView MediaPro’s new Alamy Wizard speeds professional photographers’ time to market

LONDON, Jan. 30, 2006 – Professional photographers must no longer endure the cumbersome and time consuming submission process to market their images via online stock photography services. A pioneering collaboration between image cataloguing software developer iView Multimedia and stock photography service Alamy has radically reduced the time required by professional photographers to prepare images for sale online. The Alamy Wizard ­– a new addition to iView MediaPro 3.0, the award winning, cross-platform, digital asset management and cataloguing solution for photographers and creative professionals – simplifies the stock photo submission process into just three easy steps.

Realviz Press Release

New Product For the Creation of Photo-real 3D Virtual Tours Available from Februrary 2006

Sophia Antipolis, France (January 30, 2006) - REALVIZ, a leader in image processing software development, will launch VTour, the latest addition to their software portfolio for content creation, at IMAGINA in Monaco this week. VTour draws on the award-winning technology of Stitcher and ImageModeler and offers users of all levels an innovative and effective solution for the creation of photo-real 3D environments from 2D pictures or panoramas. The REALVIZ team will be demonstrating VTour, along with a selection of their other applications at IMAGINA, which takes place at the Grimaldi Forum in Monte Carlo from 1-3 February 2006.

ePhotoZine have reviewed Alien Skin Exposure, an all-new plug-in for Adobe Photoshop and other compatible programs which claims to bring look and feel of film to digital photography.

“You could do most of the things you can here with the controls available to you in programs such as Paint Shop Pro or Photoshop, but not with the ease or clarity that Exposure allows. The program is so simple to use, and what makes it even more foolproof in mimicking your favourite film is that a series of presets have already been worked out for you. These include black & white films such as Kodak T-Max, Konica 750 Infrared and Fuji Neopan or colour films such as Kodachrome 25, Fuji Velvia 100 and Agfa RSX II.”

Website: ePhotoZine - Alien Skin Exposure Review

FotoNation Press Release

Saves Time, Money & Development Headaches by Ensuring Problem-Free Communication Between Digital Cameras and Other Devices - FotoNation is the Developer of PTP Standard and Led the CIPA Standardization of PTP-IP

Burlingame, California – January 23, 2006—FotoNation Inc. (www.fotonation.com), one of the world’s leading imaging and connectivity solutions companies for the digital photography industry, announced today the availability of the new PTP-IP Analyzer. 

PTP-IP Analyzer is a software suite that tests and analyses firmware in digital imaging devices to the most rigorous and exhaustive extremes, ensuring that the embedded firmware is totally ready for market and operates in complete conformity to CIPA PTP-IP, the communications protocol connecting digital cameras to other devices, such as TVs, PCs, mobile phones, printers, in-store kiosks and other cameras.  The verification is carried out automatically, flagging any deviations from the standard, with a minimum amount of development time and cost.

ExpressDigital Press Release

ENGLEWOOD, CO—January 23, 2006 — ExpressDigital, the leading provider of digital workflow software, internet storefronts, and lab solutions, has won the Professional Photographer Hot1 Award for its ExpressDigital Darkroom software.

The Professional Photographer magazine Hot1 Awards represent a must-have list of this year’s hottest, most sought-after new products. Selected by a panel of working professional photographers, the awards are chosen based on innovation, overall quality and value for price. In its seventh year, the Professional Photographer Hot1 Awards are one of the biggest product competitions in the industry, representing 60 categories of gear from a couple hundred different companies.

Through the Lens Press Release

StudioFlow 2.0 extends functionality and ease of use for professional photographers

Through the Lens, Inc. today announced it will be previewing at Imaging USA the latest version of StudioFlow, the all-in-one software tool designed specifically for professional photographers. StudioFlow 2.0 will be available in early February.

StudioFlow simplifies the business of photography by providing complete, end-to-end workflow management. From marketing to clients and scheduling the photoshoot, to proofing, ordering final prints and preparing invoices, StudioFlow saves time and money by making the process easier and faster.

Adobe have officially released Camera Raw 3.3 for both Windows and Mac platforms. Support for the following cameras has been added in this update.

Canon EOS 5D, Canon EOS 1D Mark II N, Canon EOS 20Da
Kodak EasyShare P850, Kodak EasyShare P880
Fujifilm FinePix E900, Fujifilm FinePix S5200/5600, Fujifilm FinePix S9000/9500
Mamiya ZD
Nikon D200
Olympus E-500, Olympus SP-310, Olympus SP-350, Olympus SP-500UZ
Pentax *ist DL, Pentax *ist DS2
Sony DSC-R1

Website: Adobe Camera Raw 3.3 (Windows)

Website: Adobe Camera Raw 3.3 (Mac)

Digital Outback Photo have cast a critical eye over Portfolio 8, the latest version of the digital image management (DAM) software tool.

“Portfolio includes a feature called FolderSync, which allows you to synchronize the contents of folders (with or without sub folders) with your Portfolio catalogue. In previous versions, the synchronization was done manually by clicking on the Sync button. The nugget that Extensis added in Portfolio 8 is automated synchronization of folders, either immediately when changes are detected or on a timed schedule. This is exciting news! Why? Because automated synchronization immediately picks up any changes you make to your images, thus enabling you to implement a metadata-driven workflow in which Portfolio becomes a “super Adobe Bridge”.”

Website: Digital Outback Photo - Portfolio 8 Review

CorelDRAW Graphics Suite X3 will be available in English, French, German, Italian, Dutch, Spanish, and Brazilian Portuguese in February 2006. Suggested retail pricing is £329 for the full product, £149 for upgrade, and £85 for the student and teacher edition. (All prices exclude VAT).

Corel Press Release

New Suite Delivers a Higher Standard of Ease of Use and Graphics Power for Design Professionals and Business Users

Maidenhead, UK - 17 January 2006 - Corel Corporation today unveiled the latest version of its award-winning graphics suite, CorelDRAW® Graphics Suite X3. With more than 40 new and enhanced features, CorelDRAW Graphics Suite X3 will be available for purchase to customers around the world in English, French, German, Italian, Dutch, Spanish, and Brazilian Portuguese in February 2006.
Whether they are design professionals on deadline or small business owners creating their own marketing materials, customers will enjoy a significant productivity boost from CorelDRAW Graphics Suite X3. The suite simplifies the design process for projects of any scale, including logo creation, professional marketing brochures, and eye-catching signs. Customers choose CorelDRAW Graphics Suite X3 because it delivers a combination of superior design capabilities, speed, ease of use, and affordability that’s unmatched in the graphics software industry.

PictoColor Press Release

PictoColor Releases iCorrect EditLab Pro 5.0 Color Correction and Color Editing Software for Photoshop Users

New digital photo software features advanced auto black and white conversion, auto sepia tone, sharpening, and noise removal for turning everyday pictures into fine art images.

January 17, 2006—Burnsville, MN, USA, PictoColor Corporation has released iCorrect EditLab Pro 5.0 (http://www.pictocolor.com/editlabpro.htm), a new version of its highly acclaimed color correction and color editing software. The new version features advanced automatic black and white conversion and automatic sepia tone for sophisticated artistic effects.  In addition, iCorrect EditLab Pro 5.0 now includes sharpening and noise removal technology for enhanced image quality and productivity.  Version 5.0 builds on iCorrect EditLab Pro’s tradition of fast and easy color correction and color editing by offering sophisticated, yet easy to use black and white conversion and toning tools for adding an additional level of expression to an image.  As photographers continue to rediscover the timeless beauty of black and white photography, iCorrect EditLab Pro 5.0 will help them turn everyday shots into stunning fine art images.

Adobe UK Press Release

Adobe Revolutionises Post-Production Workflows with All-New Adobe Production Studio, Includes Powerful New Versions of After Effects, Adobe Premiere Pro, Adobe Audition, Adobe Encore DVD; Introduces Adobe Dynamic Link; and Delivers Advanced Flash Video Support

London. — January 17, 2006 — Adobe Systems Incorporated (Nasdaq:ADBE) today unveiled Adobe® Production Studio, an extension of the Adobe Creative Suite family of products. The most complete post-production software solution available today, Adobe Production Studio combines full new versions of Adobe’s world class video and graphics applications—Adobe After Effects® 7.0, Adobe Premiere Pro® 2.0, Adobe Audition® 2.0, Adobe Encore® 2.0 (also announced today, see separate releases) and the latest versions of Adobe Photoshop® CS2 and Adobe Illustrator® CS2—with time-saving innovations such as Adobe Dynamic Link that deliver a highly efficient workflow experience. Adobe Production Studio also integrates Flash video (FLV) export capabilities to provide video professionals with a new, fluid method of delivering content to the Web using this ubiquitous web video standard.

The Plugin Site Press Release

January 16, 2006 - The Plugin Site (www.thepluginsite.com) is pleased to announce the release of the MacOS X versions of FocalBlade. FocalBlade is a Photoshop-compatible plugin for sharpening photos for screen display and printing and for producing great looking blur, soft focus and glow effects on 8bit and 16bit images. FocalBlade sharpens photos without amplifying noise or artifacts and produces impressive sharpening results even on low quality images. It can be used with a wide range of graphics applications, e.g. Photoshop, Photoshop Elements, Illustrator, Painter, Fireworks, Canvas, Photoline and GraphicConverter.

Light Crafts Press Release

LightZone for Macintosh most significant advance in digital photo editing in more than a decade.

Palo Alto, CA & San Francisco Macworld Expo 2006 (PRWEB) January 13, 2005—Light Crafts, Inc. today announced that it’s breakthrough photo editing software – LightZone for Macintosh – has received a “Macworld Best of Show Award,” representing the most exciting hardware and software products announced at Macworld Conference & Expo in San Francisco. LightZone provides a complete photo editing tool that significantly reduces the time photographers spend after a shoot, producing high quality photographs. LightZone offers photographers an advanced RAW editing experience that is easy to use while delivering a highly integrated editing environment that produces professional results.

Centico Press Release

Centico Photo Album Keeps Photos Safe with Time Warp Backup

JERUSALEM, ISRAEL (January 12th, 2006) - Centico Ltd. announced today the release of Centico Photo Album 1.0, a digital photo management application for Windows 2000/XP with advanced support for backing up photos.

Centico Photo Album uses an advanced backup mechanism for digital photos called Time Warp Backup. Time Warp Backup backs-up editing changes (such as cropping and sharpening) independently from the photos themselves. In case of data loss, the photos will be restored along with all of the editing changes that had been made to them, even if these changes were made AFTER the photos were backed up. This makes it much easier to backup photos than with regular backup software, because the user only has to backup the photos once in their lifetime, instead of being forced to backup again and again whenever the photos are edited.

ACD Systems Press Release

The wait is over for the fastest end-to-end photo management solution for professional photographers

VICTORIA, British Columbia – Jan. 11, 2006 – ACD Systems International Inc. (TSX: ASA), today began shipping ACDSee™ Pro Photo Manager, the highly anticipated advanced version of its award-winning ACDSee photo management software. Developed for professional photographers, ACDSee Pro lets photographers view, process, edit, catalog, publish and archive their photographs with unparalleled speed and ease of use. Led by fast RAW file viewing and batch processing, ACDSee Pro’s feature set is designed to increase productivity with its wealth of professional photo management and customizable workflow tools.

Apple Press Release

Major Upgrade Features New Versions of iPhoto, iMovie HD, iDVD & GarageBand and Introduces iWeb

MACWORLD EXPO, SAN FRANCISCO—January 10, 2006—Apple® today announced iLife® ‘06, the most significant upgrade to Apple’s award-winning suite of digital lifestyle applications ever. iLife ‘06 features iPhoto® 6 with blazing performance, new printed books, calendars and cards, and Apple’s innovative new Photocasting™ for sharing photos over the Internet; iMovie® HD 6 with new motion themes for adding spectacular production value to your movies; iDVD® 6 for authoring custom DVDs for today’s widescreen TVs; and GarageBand™ 3, now the complete solution for creating professional-quality Podcasts. iLife ‘06 also introduces iWeb™, a new iLife application that makes it super-easy to create amazing websites with photos, blogs and Podcasts and publish them on .Mac for viewing by anyone on the Internet with just a single click.