DIWA member and Danish website Digital Magasinet have just reviewed the recently released Adobe Photoshop CS2 digital imaging software.

Website: Digital Magasinet - Adobe Photoshop CS2 Review

DxO Labs Press Release

DXO OPTICS PRO V3.0 SOFTWARE TO SUPPORT NEW FULL-FRAME CANON DIGITAL SLR

Photographers worldwide to benefit from DxO Labs’  image enhancement technologies with the new Canon EOS 5D, Canon EOS-1D Mark II N and new Canon lenses

Paris, France, August 22, 2005 – DxO Labs announced today that DxO Optics Pro v3.0 Digital SLR and lens automatic image quality enhancement software will soon support Canon’s new Digital SLRs and lenses. DxO Optics Pro v3.0 incorporates revolutionary optics, noise and exposure corrections in an all-new, easy-to-use, feature-rich application for both Mac and PC users.

“DxO Optics Pro has always been about allowing Digital SLRs and their compatible lenses to automatically achieve peak performance – beyond what is possible with the hardware alone. We are very excited by Canon’s announcements today and in particular by the new full-frame Canon EOS 5D. We plan to support these major products from Canon in the weeks following their availability,” stated Luc Marin, vice president of the Photography Business Unit at DxO Labs.

Photodex Corporation Press Release

Austin, TX - August 17, 2005: Photodex Corporation today released ProShow Producer, the first high-end multimedia slide show presentation product designed specifically for professional photographers. Producer joins the industry leading ProShow product line as the top tier program. It is equipped with powerful new features that streamline workflow and enable professional photographers to quickly and efficiently create quality slide show presentations that sell. Unique features in ProShow Producer include multiple layers per slide, RAW file support, custom show templates, professional DVD menu authoring, color profile awareness, watermarking, caption interactivity, and manual show control.

“Photography consumers now want more than just print packages. The need for professional tools is felt industry wide among photographers,” says Paul Schmidt, President, Photodex Corporation. “Producer allows a photographer to create a compelling DVD slide show to sell as the cornerstone of their digital services, as an add-on product, or as a promotional tool to boost their business.”

MAGIX Press Release

Burn DVDs from Internet Video, TV Cards, Camcorder Home Movies, VHS Films, and Commercial-Free TV for Enhanced Home Entertainment

Miami, FL, August 18, 2005 – MAGIX, the market leader for photo, video, and audio software (1), announced today MAGIX Movies on CD & DVD 4 for enhanced home entertainment.  MAGIX Movies on CD & DVD 4 livens up everyday TV and video viewing by restoring and preserving collections of home videos, favorite TV shows, VHS films, and video downloaded from the Internet.  MAGIX Movies on CD & DVD 4 converts all your favorite movies into high-quality CDs or DVDs to enjoy on your home or portable entertainment systems.  Available in the retail channel starting September 15th, 2005, MAGIX Movies on CD & DVD 4 is priced at $39.99.

Ulead Press Release

Ulead Announces CD & DVD PictureShow 4 - New Version of Software for Creating Slideshows to Watch on TV.

Latest Version Takes Ease-of-Use to the Next Level Offering High-Quality Themed Templates and Creative Expression Functionality Together in One Package.

Northampton August 18th 2005 – Ulead Systems, Inc., a 15-year industry leader in video, image and DVD software, today announced the release of CD & DVD PictureShow 4, the latest version of its award-winning slideshow creation software. CD & DVD PictureShow 4 is the must have software accessory for digital camera users who want to easily make a photo album slideshow that they can watch on TV and also share with family and friends.

Acoustica Press Release

(Acoustica Inc, Oakhurst, CA, August 1, 2005) - Acoustica Inc. has released Acoustica CD Label Maker Version 2.41. that now automatically imports your iTunes play list. Simply click the “iTunes” button and it will integrate automatically with iTunes and your playlists. Acoustica CD Label Maker automatically imports your track information from Acoustica MP3 CD Burner, WinAmp, Easy CD Creator or any other popular play list or previously burnt CD! Full of custom art for holidays and special occasions like Christmas, Valentines, birthdays, vacations, weddings and more! Print on over 400 paper or stock sticker labels and CD jewel case templates.  Acoustica CD/DVD Label Maker also supports direct-to-CD printing on over 40 printers.

Bibble Labs Press Release

Bibble Labs releases version 4.3 Update with support for D50 - Includes support for new plug-in interface to support BPTLens lens distortion plug-in.

Austin Texas (August 11th, 2005) - Bibble Labs today announced the availability of version 4.3 of its popular Raw Workflow software. In addition to adding support for the new Nikon D50, D70s and Espon R-D1 cameras, this version adds a powerful plug-in interface to the program. Simultaneous to the release of Bibble 4.3, Bibble Labs has also released its first free plug-in. Released under the GPL, The BPTLens plugin is designed to quickly and easily remove common types of lens distortion from raw images. By performing its corrections on linear data at the earliest phase of the image pipeline, BPTLens and Bibble are able to deliver the highest quality images possible.

Shutterfly Press Release

PUT YOUR PICTURES ON THE BIG SCREEN WITH SHUTTERFLY’S PHOTOSHOW DVD

Shutterfly Brings Memories to Life with Customized Multimedia DVD

REDWOOD CITY, CALIF. - (August 10, 2005) — Responding to customers’ requests for more options to preserve and share memories, Shutterfly®, Inc., the leading independent e-commerce company specializing in digital photo products and services, today introduced PhotoShow DVD, a product that enables customers to transform their favorite photos into an entertainment experience.

With PhotoShow DVD, Shutterfly enables customers to be the producer of their own multimedia slideshow by helping them pair their pictures with music, visual transitions and special effects. Slideshows are easy to design directly on the Shutterfly website and customers are not required to download special software as part of the order process. Customers and their families can enjoy their DVD slideshow on their televisions in the comfort of their living room or on their personal computers.

Imaging Resource have just reviewed the recently released Adobe Photoshop CS2 digital imaging software.

“Adobe told us they used Photoshop’s 15-year milestone to rethink some basic operations. The goal was to make the product more user-friendly for the legions of digital photographers marching their way. We highlight the improvements to tools, workflow and customization before taking a closer look at a few significant new features.”

Website: Imaging Resource - Adobe Photoshop CS2 Review

The Plugin Site Press Release

August 3, 2005 - The Plugin Site (www.thepluginsite.com) released Version 1.60 of Plugin Commander. Plugin Commander is a tool for dealing with various image formats, plugins and effect types from various graphics applications. It allows you to manage and preview your plugin, tube and add-on collection quickly and easily. There is commercial Pro Edition as well as a feature-limited Light Edition of Plugin Commander, which is freeware.

Vosonic have released new firmware updates for three of its portable storage devices, including the Vosonic X’S Drive II Plus VP2160 (pictured).

DSP Firmware Update 0A-1.1.8 for VP6210/ VP6300
Improve broadcasting system (NTSC / PAL ) seeting
- Add supporting for Canon 350D RAW, Minolta RAW
- Add supporting for video preview.
- Add supporting for Thai language

Firmware Update v1.08 for VP2160
- Improve the USB read/write speed up to approx. 20MB/sec

- Firmware Update V1.09 for VP3320
- PS1161 Firmware V1.09EV:Improve the file searching.
- PS2101 Firmware V1.09 :Support xD -1G (M-Type)

Website: Vosonic

Celartem Press Release

onOne Software purchases popular line of productivity enhancement products for Photoshop and QuarkXPress.

Northampton, UK — July 29, 2005 — Celartem, Inc. and its company brands — Extensis and LizardTech — today announce the sale of its popular Photoshop Plug-ins and QuarkXPress XTensions to independent software developer, onOne Software. Products included in this purchase are pxl SmartScale, PhotoFrame, Intellihance Pro, Mask Pro, PhotoTools, and QX-Tools Pro from Extensis and the Genuine Fractals product from LizardTech. Extensis and LizardTech will continue to support these products until July 31, 2005 when onOne Software will take control of all aforementioned titles.

Celartem, Inc. is selling these products to refine its existing product lines focusing on digital content management and distribution — GeoExpress, Document Express, Portfolio, Font Reserve and Suitcase.

Ever wondered what happened behind the scenes at one of the world’s largest software companies? Well, wonder no more, as PhotoshopNews takes you on a journey to the heart of Adobe.

“I thought it would be interesting for Photoshop users to see what it’s like to visit the Photoshop engineers. Before a recent class that I taught on the West Coast, I took a couple of days to go down to San Jose and visit Adobe. This was in late June, 2005 and many of the engineers were just starting to work the kinks out of the post Photoshop CS2 ship trama. But they were in good cheer-particularly because Adobe had just reported a record quarter of earnings (even though the anaylists were a bit dissappointed by conservative future estimates).”

Website: PhotoshopNews - A Visit to Adobe

Digital Outback Photo have briefly reviewed ConvertToBW Pro 3.0, a black and white conversion filter for both PC and Mac platforms.

“‘This new filter allows the preview to be as large as your screen. Because the controls are in a separate window you can use in a dual monitor setup even the full screen to judge the image. This is exactly what we wanted to see.”

Website: Digital Outback Photo - ConvertToBW Pro 3.0 Review

H&M Systems Software Press Release

StudioLine Photo 2 Optimizes Image Management Workflow for All Photographers

Release 2.11 Brings a New Level of Ease to Archiving and Managing Photos
Along With Enhancements for Desktop Publishing and Online Albums

Upper Saddle River, NJ; July 25, 2005—H&M Systems Software, Inc. today introduced Release 2.11 of its award-winning StudioLine® Photo 2 digital imaging software.  Release 2.11 benefits photographers and designers of all skill levels with ease-of-use enhancements when loading photos and by streamlining image management. Users also benefit from easier online album creation and improved interfacing with desktop publishing tools.

ExpressDigital Press Release

ENGLEWOOD, CO—July 19, 2005— ExpressDigital, the leading provider of digital workflow software, internet storefronts, and lab solutions, has won the American PHOTO Editor’s Choice Award for ExpressDigital Darkroom software. 

American PHOTO looks closely at the state-of-the-art imaging technology that enables photographers to turn their vision into reality. The American PHOTO Editor’s Choice Award is the most authoritative and comprehensive award issued in the industry, honoring many imaging products essential to readers. It is ‘the best of the best’, a symbol that conveys to consumers – quality products on the cutting edge of technology.

So you’ve calibrated your monitor and maybe even invested in some custom printer profiles. Looking for something else to calibrate? PhotographyBLOG reader Gordon McKinney has let me know about LCD Color Corrector, an application that will calibrate your web browser (amongst other applications) - - MS Internet Explorer (tested with IE5.x and IE6.0), Opera (tested with 6.0.x, 7.0.2), Netscape (tested with 6.2.3, 7.0.2) and Mozilla (tested with 1.2.1) are all supported. You can download this shareware program and try it out for free for 30 days - it then costs $15 if you decide to register it.

“LCD Color Corrector transforms colors in some application windows in such a way that image in those windows appears on your LCD display as close as possible to the same image represented by calibrated sRGB-compliant display. LCD Color Corrector would be especially useful for web-designers, because web design tools as well as browsers commonly do not provide proper color management.”

Website: LCD Color Corrector

Simple Star Press Release

PhotoShow Lets PENTAX Customers Make Fun, Multimedia Photo and Video Clip Albums in as Little as Five Clicks

SAN FRANCISCO , July 6, 2005 – Simple Star, the leading developer of easy-to-use consumer photo software, announced today that PENTAX will bundle Simple Star’s PhotoShow software suite into its new line of PENTAX Optio digital cameras.

With PhotoShow, people simply plug their cameras or insert media cards into their computers - PhotoShow automatically opens and imports the photos and can automatically create a multimedia album containing digital photos and video clips, titles, music and other fun features in as little as five mouse clicks. Users can then select from more than 300 songs that come with PhotoShow Deluxe, import their own .mp3’s, change transitions, drop in clip art, add captions and titles, and more.

Simple Star Press Release

Simple Star Announces Availability of PhotoShow 4 Software and All New PhotoShow Circle Online Sharing Service

Easiest-To-Use Consumer Imaging Software Now Supports Video and Provides Users With a Free, Personal Website to Showcase Memories

SAN FRANCISCO, July 12, 2005—With PhotoShow 4 desktop software, it’s easier than ever for consumers to bring digital photos and video clips to life, create and share captivating musical PhotoShows with friends and family, manage collections, and easily perfect all of their photos. What’s more, PhotoShow users always know exactly where their photos are and can quickly search their growing collections, thanks to an intuitive system that enables anyone to easily tag photos and videos on import and then find them in intuitive ways.

Microsoft Digital Image Suite 2006 is announced. Digital Image Suite 2006 is a siftware application that allows you to find, view and organize photos and videos. Available in 2 versions, Digital Image Suite 2006 and Digital Image Standard 2006, for $99.95 and $49.95 respectively.

Microsoft Press Release

Microsoft Debuts New Tools to Help Consumers Do More With Their Growing Number of Digital Memories

Consumers can get organized with Digital Image Suite 2006 and discover the many shades of black and white.

REDMOND, Wash. — July 5, 2005 — Microsoft Corp. today launched Microsoft® Digital Image Suite 2006, a powerful package of easy-to-use tools designed to help consumers organize, enhance and share their rising number of digital memories. The new digital imaging software helps consumers, from the novice to the sophisticated photographer, easily find their favorite snapshots and video clips and do more with them in just a few clicks.