Imaging Resource have reviewed the new sharpening software Nik Sharpener Pro 2.

“When we reviewed the initial release of Sharpener Pro in Nov. 2000, we were already big fans of Photoshop’s unsharp masking filter. And that review discusses unsharp masking in general, if you need a refresher course. But since we became acquainted with Sharpener, we’ve printed no inkjet or dye sub photo nor published any Web site image from Seybold or Macworld without it. There are few utilities than can go five years without an update, but Sharpener is one of them.”

Website: Imaging Resource - Nik Sharpener Pro 2 Review

PhoTags Press Release

PHOTAGS INTRODUCES VISIBLE, NON-DESTRUCTIVE CAPTIONS AND PASSWORD PROTECTION TO THE ADOBE EXTENSIBLE METADATA PLATFORM (XMP)

New York, NY—PhoTags Inc., the Portable Infoimaging company, today announced Active Captions® support for the Adobeâ Extensible Metadata Platform (XMP), which adds intelligence to media, as part of it newly released SDK 6.0.

PhoTags takes the power of the Adobe XMP to the next level by offering additional capabilities that are only possible with Active Captions. Active Captions enhanced XMP allows the user to choose any XMP metadata stored in a JPEG, make it visible on the picture, and then turn it on and off at any time. For example, users can add a visible copyright notice that will not destroy the photo. The copyright can then be updated or turned off.

ASMP Press Release

The American Society of Media Photographers (ASMP) is deeply concerned at the developing crisis that is threatening continued access to the world’s photographic heritage.  The RAW format is fast becoming the standard for professional and other serious imaging.  Encryption and the abandonment and termination of support for older RAW formats put in jeopardy the future use of many digital photographs.

As a result, the ability of photographers, clients, librarians, educators, and the public at large to access, use and control the photographs that make up our historical heritage and the economic livelihoods of professional photographers is at serious risk.

Breeze Systems Press Release

BreezeBrowser Pro v1.2 adds new image magnifier and improved raw conversion

8th July, 2005 : Breeze Systems announce the immediate availability of BreezeBrowser Pro v1.2, latest release of their acclaimed image browsing and raw conversion software.

Extensis Press Release

Free update includes added RAW camera support, plus Mac OS X 10.4 Tiger and Adobe Creative Suite 2 compatibility.

Wednesday 6th July, 2005 — Extensis, a division of Celartem, Inc., today released a free update to Portfolio 7 – the leading Digital Asset Management (DAM) solution for creative professionals – for both Macintosh and Windows platforms. Portfolio 7.0.6 provides compatibility updates for Adobe’s Creative Suite 2 and Apple’s Mac OS X 10.4 (Tiger). Additionally, Extensis has added support for 14 new camera formats on both Mac and Windows versions of Portfolio. Registered owners of Portfolio 7 are eligible to receive the free upgrades immediately through the Extensis website at http://www.extensis.com/portfolio

Total Training Extends Line of Training Videos for Adobe Creative Suite 2 Plus, Total Training for GoLive CS2 – Now Shipping

Carlsbad, CA, June 29, 2005—Total Training™, Inc., a pioneer in engaging and innovative video-based training, today announced the availability of three new DVD-ROM based training series. Total Training for Adobe® GoLive® CS2 and Total Training Presents Creative Suite 2: from Design to Delivery, complete the Adobe Creative Suite 2 Premium Edition training product offering. Total Training Masters Collections: Advanced Adobe Photoshop CS2 is a product line extension and one of the first video training solutions geared towards elite Adobe Photoshop® CS2 users.

PictoColor Corporation Press Release

Time-saving Photoshop plug-in features award-winning skin tone correction technology that gives every face the color of life

Burnsville, MN, USA, June 27, 2005 - PictoColor Corporation has released iCorrect Portrait, the newest in its line of digital photo software products.  Based on PictoColor’s point-and-click color correction technology, iCorrect Portrait offers professional portrait, wedding, school, sport, and event photographers a fast and easy way to color correct their digital photos. 

Phase One Press Release

Capture One 3.7.1 welcomes Epson into the family. Chat with Phase One’s R&D team. New promotion with iView.

June 24, 2005, Copenhagen, Denmark: Phase One, the world leader in professional digital imaging camera backs and software, announces new camera support in the upcoming Capture One RAW workflow maintenance release. Phase One will, from July 2005, initiate post release chat rooms at http://forum.phaseone.com/ , where the Capture One users can chat with the Phase One’s R&D team. In July Phase One and iView multimedia announce a new joint promotion.

The Plugin Site Press Release

June 23, 2005 - The Plugin Site (www.thepluginsite.com) released Version 1.04 of FocalBlade, a Photoshop-compatible plugin for sharpening your photos for screen display and printing as well as for producing great looking blur, soft focus and glow effects on 8bit and 16bit images. FocalBlade lets you sharpen photos without amplifying noise or artifacts and produces impressive sharpening results even on low quality images. FocalBlade is the second product in our new PhotoWiz product line, which sets a new standard for photo correction tools. It can be used with a wide range of graphics applications, e.g. Photoshop, Paint Shop Pro, Photo-Paint, PhotoImpact and Fireworks.

DPReview have just reviewed Adobe Creative Suite 2.

“Vanishing point is an innovative feature which allows you to select, paint, clone, and transform in perspective. Cloning away an open window in the example image we used on the previous page will not work with the regular Clone Stamp tool because the perspective makes each row of windows smaller until it “vanishes” into a “point” at infinity. So you would have to copy the row below it, paste it into a new layer, rescale it, adjust perspective, adjust the effect of the different lighting, etc. The Filter -> Vanishing Point dialog box makes this much easier. It allows you to draw a mesh that matches the perspective so that the Clone Stamp tool takes into account the perspective differences between the source and the destination rows.”

Website: DPReview - Adobe Creative Suite 2 Review

DxO Press Release

DxO Optics Pro v3.0 Software now Available in Stores and Online

Thousands of beta testers confirm the ease-of-use and significant image quality improvements of the latest version

New support added for Nikon D70s and Nikon D2X

Paris, France, June 23, 2005 – DxO Labs announced today that DxO Optics Pro v3.0 Digital SLR and lens automatic image quality enhancement software is available on the company’s e-store (http://store.dxo.com) and via selected resellers. 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.

BIOS Magazine have today reviewed Adobe Creative Suite 2.

“The original Creative Suite, launched a year and a half ago, offered an outstanding collection of software at a great price. With Version 2, Adobe has made general improvements to the functionality and integration of all the included programs, and even topped the whole package off with a more attractive price. Some of the new tools feel a little experimental, but overall the suite is a class-leading design package.”

Website: BIOS Magazine - Adobe Creative Suite 2 Review

Nikon have released a new version (6.2.6) of their Nikon View software.

This update (version 6.2.6) includes the following additional functons and improvements:

* Support for RAW images captured by the D50 has been added.
* The Red Eye Correction function can now be used on RAW and 16-bit TIFF images.

Website: Nikon View 6.2.6

Serif Press Release

Great value product contains Serif’s award-winning digital image-editor and brand new AlbumPlus 4

Serif (Europe) Ltd – the UK’s leading independent desktop publishing, design and graphics software developer – today announced the launch of PhotoPlus 10 Studio Pack, a powerful combination of software designed to help PC users get the most from their digital images.

ProFotoSoftware Press Release

London, UK 16th June 2005

ProFotoSoftware have today released V1.73 of PFS Image Darkroom, the Canon EOS Raw Image processor for Windows.

This new version adds support for the Canon 350D/Digital Rebel XT camera. PFS Image Darkroom now supports Raw image processing for the entire range of Canon EOS Digital SLRs.

A 30 day trial version can be downloaded from:
http://www.profotosoftware.com/download.php

Microsoft have released the RAW Image Thumbnailer and Viewer for Windows XP. The Microsoft RAW Image Thumbnailer and Viewer is a free “PowerToy” for Microsoft Windows XP that provides the ability to view, organize, and print photos captured in RAW image formats from supported digital cameras. Not that the download is 49 Mbs in size and you must have Service Pack 2 for XP installed.

Overview
Often likened to a ‘digital negative,’ a RAW image is the native image format for a growing number of quality digital cameras. Because of the camera-specific nature of RAW files, they are not supported natively within Microsoft Windows. As a result, photographers shooting RAW have not been able to take advantage of the built-in features provided in Windows XP for viewing, organizing, and printing RAW photos—until now.

Extensis Inc has released free updates for all its Photoshop Tools products, including Mask Pro, PhotoFrame, Intellihance Pro and pxl SmartScale. The free updates for registered users will provide Adobe Creative Suite compatibility.

Website: Extensis - Product Compatibility Information

Digital Outback Photo have reviewed Inkjet Control, a software application that promises to deliver true black and white printing on Epson printers (not including the new K3 Ultrachrome range).

“We all know that the Epson driver, at least until now and before the release of Epson’s K-3 line of inkjet printers, was woefully inadequate at providing neutral (let alone “good”) black and white prints. Things may change with the latest generation of Epson printers. However, this is hard to say since at the time I am writing this I have not tested the black and white printing capabilities of these new printers yet…Introducing Inkjet Control, the solution you have been waiting for.”

Website: Digital Outback Photo - Take control of your black & white inkjet printing with Inkjet Control

Nikon have released a new version of their Capture 4 raw conversion software for Nikon digital SLR cameras.

What is new in Nikon Capture 4.3

  * Support for the D50 has been added.
  * Color aberration control option has been added to the “Image” menu (available only with digital SLR camera RAW images).
  * The Red Eye Correction feature included in Nikon View and PictureProject has been added.
  * A Performance tab has been added to the Tools / Options… menu.
  * Correction of other known issues.

Website: Nikon - Capture 4.3

H&M Systems Software, Inc.‘s Alliances With SmileShot.Com, EveryoneSmile.Com, and SimplePhoto Offer eCommerce Integration

UPPER SADDLE RIVER, N.J., June 13 /PRNewswire/—H&M Systems Software, Inc. today announced alliances that integrate its award-winning StudioLine Photo 2 digital imaging software with SmileShot.com, EveryoneSmile.com and SimplePhoto.  The integration raises the bar on imaging software by enabling StudioLine Photo 2 to be first in its class to conveniently package the entire imaging workflow—from camera or scanner download to printing, posting and selling photos.  Photographers benefit by using a single, intuitive software tool to streamline their daily imaging tasks, leaving more time for lucrative picture shooting.