Colorplaza Ltd. Press Release

Imaging Software that Relieves the Frustrations of that Digital Camera Christmas Present

•    All-in-one programme to manage your photos
•    Shareware download with free 30 day trial

London, 14 January 2005 - Colorplaza Ltd., a leading independent European provider of online digital photo finishing today launches a new generation of end-user digital photo management software, Colormailer Photo Manager, that finally dispenses with the problems of imaging software incompatibility and locating your photos on your PC, and gives a single view of all images held on your hard disk.

AKVIS LLC Press Release

AKVIS LLC announces the release of AKVIS Retoucher V.1.5 for the Macintosh operating system.
 
AKVIS LLC Releases AKVIS Retoucher For Macintosh
Few things in life stir our memories and emotions the way photographs do. As durable a record of the past as they can be, time, improper storage and tragic events like house fires take their toll on these irreplaceable keepsakes. The AKVIS Retoucher image processing plug-in restores damaged photographs to optimal condition with minimal effort and amazing results. Surface defects such as scratches, water spots, flakes and stains can be removed automatically, just select and click, without the time-consuming aspects of manual editing. Even torn photos can be repaired using AKVIS Retoucher’s digital technology. The wide variety of capabilities are demonstrated at akvis.com/en/retoucher-tutorial/index.php.

Business Week Online of all places discusses the ways in which you can rescue digital photos that you think are lost from your memory cards. Touch wood, I’ve never actually experienced losing photos due to a faulty card, but if you have this article recommends several software packages that may help you to recover your images:

“I loaded three of the programs—RescuePRO, Image Rescue, and ImageRecall—onto my computer and used them to recover my pictures from a CompactFlash card. I was unable to deliberately damage the card, but I “lost” individual images by opening the card access door on my camera while it was still writing the image and index data to the card. Neither the camera nor my computer could see the pictures, but all three programs could find them and write them to the computer’s hard drive. I also reformatted the card: The software still found pictures, including a hundred or so that I’d deleted months ago.”

Thanks to Sanj for the link.

Website: Business Week Online - Lost Your Digital Photos? Stay Calm

Linspire, Inc. Press Release

Lphoto 2.0 Improves Photo Management on Desktop Linux With DVD and Flash Options

Linspire, Inc. Announces Major Upgrade to Open Source Digital Photo Software

SAN DIEGO, Jan. 12 /PRNewswire/—Linspire, Inc. today announced a new version of Lphoto, the complete desktop Linux solution for digital photo management. Besides convenient tools to import, re-touch, manage, and share digital photos quickly and easily, Lphoto 2.0 includes advanced features like album-to-CD and album-to-DVD functionality and options to create MP3 soundtracks on custom DVD slide shows. The photo manager is available for several popular Linux versions, including Linspire, MandrakeSoft, Xandros, Debian, SuSE, and Knoppix. Further details on Lphoto plus screen shots and a flash demo can be viewed at www.lphoto.com.

This is quite an old link, but a useful one none-the-less. Rangefinder Magazine cast thier critical eye over the image management software Extensis Portfolio 7.

“I have found Portfolio quite robust and easy to learn. I was able to use the software right out of the box and only needed the reference manual on several occasions. There were no crashes. Only once did I feel it was missing a capability: When opening the original file for editing (in the Preferences the program can be configured to launch an image editor by double-clicking rather than using the menu command), there was no place to select which editor to launch, so Portfolio uses the default editor.”

Thanks to Kurt Skeels for sending me the link!

Website: Rangefinder Magazine - Extensis Portfolio 7 Review

eSoft Imaging Press Release

eSoft Imaging has released FotoBalloon 2.0, a user-friendly image editor that lets you add floating annotations to your pictures. Captions, notes, and comments are inserted in the form of info-balloons, without degradation of the quality of the original image and without any attached files. Once included invisibly in each image, you can easily display your comments in a variety of ways.

In Auto Mode, the program displays your information balloons sequentially. It delivers a slide show, and leaves each balloon on the screen for the appropriate length of time, depending upon the amount of information in the balloon.

Thanks to Sanj for the link.

SoundPix Press Release

Macworld San Francisco 2005 Booth #2628

SAN FRANCISCO—(BUSINESS WIRE)—Jan. 11, 2005—SoundPix Inc., a leading developer of audio-imaging software solutions for handheld and desktop computers, digital cameras and web serving environments, announced today its first product for the Mac market, SoundPix(R) Plus Mac. SoundPix Plus Mac features a simple and familiar user interface to enable users to instantly capture and share sound-enhanced pictures, or “soundpix.” SoundPix will demonstrate this technology and software at MacWorld in Microspot’s booth, #2628.

Apple Press Release

Major Upgrade Features New Versions of iPhoto, iMovie, iDVD & GarageBand

MACWORLD EXPO, SAN FRANCISCO, Jan. 11 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/—Apple(R) today announced iLife(R) ‘05, the must-have upgrade to Apple’s award-winning suite of digital lifestyle applications, featuring major new versions of iPhoto(TM), iMovie(R), iDVD(R) and GarageBand(TM) and including the latest version of iTunes(R). iLife ‘05 continues to lead the industry with the most innovative and comprehensive suite of software for organizing, editing and sharing digital photos; creating stunning digital movies and DVDs; and purchasing, managing and creating digital music.

Cardmedia Ltd. Press Release

VOSONIC MULTIMEDIA X’S-DRIVE RAW FORMAT SUPPORT FIRMWARE

XS Drive Super VP6210 / MMV VP6300

Date: 5th January 2005

Cardmedia (Europe) Ltd, the official UK distributor for the manufacturer Vosonic, has announced the availability of a new firmware allowing the XS Drive Super VP6210 and MMV VP6300 to display Nikon RAW files directly on the screen.
The next firmware is under development and will allow to support Canon Raw files.

The XS Drive Super VP6210 and MMV VP6300 allow to copy from any memory card to the internal HD any type of files and display on their 2” LCD screen JPEG photos, MPEG-1 videos or MP3 – WMA music.

KW Media Group Press Release

Photoshop for Wedding Photographers and How to Show Your Photos Like a Pro DVDs Released by Scott Kelby and KW Media Group

TAMPA, Fla.—(BUSINESS WIRE)—Jan. 10, 2005—KW Media Group, the premier training resource for the Photoshop community, announced today the release of 2 new DVDs - Photoshop for Wedding Photographers and How To Show Your Photos Like a Pro. These must-have DVDs feature Scott Kelby, author of the best-selling book The Photoshop CS Book for Digital Photographers, as he reveals the secrets to creating amazing wedding images and how easy it can be to transform photos into gallery-quality pieces. Packed with real world examples and presented in an easy to follow format, these DVDs are essential for photographers looking to take their skills and business to the next level. For the ultimate lessons on photography visit the website and order your copies today.

Trevoli Press Release

January 10, 2005 . . . Dallas, Texas – Trevoli, Ltd. announces the first ever fully automatic red eye removal you can buy in a consumer software product.

Photo Finale® Premium 3.0 has done what others haven’t been able to do: provide consumers using digital photography software with the ability to correct multiple red eyes in multiple photos with a single click.

“This wasn’t an easy task, because the software must be able to distinguish red eye when a person is sitting in a bed of red or pink roses, while wearing a patterned shirt,” said Lee Whitney, Chief Technology Officer for Trevoli.

“Knowing what is not red eye and maintaining the quality of the original photo is just as important as the correction process.”

REALVIZ Press Release

New Stitching Product Enables Professional & Amateur Photographers to Create Superb Panoramas From Simple Photos in Just a Few Clicks

Sophia Antipolis, France (January 5, 2005) - REALVIZ, a leader in image processing software development, has announced the release of a brand new stitching product called Stitcher Express. REALVIZ Stitcher Express draws on the award-winning technology of Stitcher 4.0, already used by thousands of professional photographers, architects, multimedia and 3D artists worldwide, and offers an intuitive and complete solution, which enables both professional and amateur photographers to create superb panoramas from a series of simple photos in just a few clicks. REALVIZ Stitcher Express 1.0 is now available in both English and French for Mac & Windows.

NewSoft Press Release

NewSoft Simplifies DVD, SVCD and VCD Photo Slideshow Creation with the Launch of Presto! PhotoDisc

Easy-to-Use Workflow and Themed Templates Turn Photos into Professional-Looking Slideshows in Three Quick Steps

LAS VEGAS, NV (CES, Booth 9017) - January 5, 2005 NewSoft Inc., a leading provider of innovative business and consumer software, introduced their new digital photo slideshow suite, Presto! PhotoDisc today from Booth #9017 at the 2005 International CES. A truly user-friendly solution, the software’s ready-to-use templates and step-by-step workflow walk users from photo collection to dynamic slideshow in three quick steps. PhotoDisc users can burn their slideshows to DVD, SVCD or VCD, for anytime viewing from the comfort of the family room couch, using a standard home DVD player and TV. Complete with DVD motion menus, animated titles, transition effects, sound bites and music, Presto! PhotoDisc makes it easy for users of all experience levels to show their memories to family and friends with confidence.

PentaWare Press Release

Simplifying the Management of Digital Images

LAS VEGAS, NV – (January 6, 2005) - PentaWare, Inc., announced today the release of PentaSuite DigiPhoto, a program designed to meet the needs of the growing popularity of digital photography. PentaSuite DigiPhoto packs in all the powerful and necessary imaging tools needed to create a user-friendly program for all digital camera enthusiasts, home users, professional photographers and graphic artists. Many of the new digital devices are causing systems to be overrun with files that hinder the computer’s performance and eat up storage.

“PentaWare prides itself on valuing our customers by creating first-rate products for digital photography. This product was created after many customers came to us looking for a comprehensive solution to their storage and digital imaging needs,” said Claude Ostfeld, President and CEO of PentaWare, Inc. “The new PentaSuite DigiPhoto is the perfect resource for all, including everyone from the professional photographers to the novice.”

Northlight Images have just reviewed the Noise Ninja plugin for Adobe Photoshop, which claims to solve the image noise problem using new, patent-pending technology.

“The Canon 1Ds that Keith regularly uses, has very little noise in images produced at the ISO 100 setting, however at higher speeds noise can become objectionable. Just as with film it’s the price you pay for increased sensitivity. Noise Ninja has been round a while as a standalone application, but is soon to be released as a Photoshop plugin. As a plugin it potentially becomes a much more usable part of Keith’s imaging workflow. Keith has been reviewing some of its features and finding just how well it works. Do bear in mind that as of writing this review, the plugin is still Beta software, and may well still have some glitches.”

Website: Northlight Images - Noise Ninja Review

Website: Noise Ninja

Rob Galbraith has posted a review of the photo browsing software Photo Mechanic 4.3, which is due to be released later this week.

“Version 4.3 of Photo Mechanic continues the program’s march forward. We’ve been using successive beta releases on both supported platforms for some time now, and already can’t imagine going back to an earlier version. This is a way cool release.”

Website: Rob Galbraith - Photo Mechanic Review

Verbatim Corporation Press Release

Verbatim Digital CD Photo Album Kit, All of the Tools Digital Camera Users Need to Save, Share Memories in One Convenient Package

Complete Solution for Creating Entertaining Slide Shows, Includes Photo Burning Software, CDs, Label Kit and CD Storage Album

LAS VEGAS, NV (January 3, 2005) – In response to the growing number of consumers switching from film to digital photos, Verbatim Corporation is now shipping Digital CD Photo Album, a new all-in-one digital photo kit.  Digital CD Photo Album includes everything consumers need to import digital photos, create entertaining slide shows, burn them to CDs, produce label artwork and safely store the CDs in an attractive album. With the new kit, even inexperienced users can quickly and easily turn their photos into high-resolution slide shows that can be viewed on virtually any TV equipped with a DVD player.

The Plugin Site Press Release

The Plugin Site Released LightMachine For Achieving Breathtaking Photo Corrections

January 3, 2005 - The Plugin Site (www.thepluginsite.com) is proud to announce the release of LightMachine, a plugin for performing all kinds of light adjustments in photos. It combines shadow/highlight, virtual lighting and color-based correction tools for performing sophisticated corrections without the need for time-consuming selections and layer stacks. It lets you selectively correct photos taken under bad light conditions or with inadequate camera settings and achieve results that rival photos taken under the best circumstances. Additionally LightMachine can achieve special effects like glows, sunsets, high key and selective b/w effects, replace one color with another and simulate polarizing filters. LightMachine works in dozens of graphics applications including Photoshop, Paint Shop Pro, IrfanView, Photoshop Elements, PhotoImpact, Photo-Paint and Fireworks. LightMachine can be applied to 8bit and 16bit RGB images.

About Photography have just published a review of the software package Panorama Factory.

“I started using Panorama Factory with some images I’d previously used testing panoramic software. The first was a simple two image scene on a canal, its rippling water giving a tricky blend with pictures a second apart, and a large modern warehouse with straight lines shows up any alignment problems. The wizard walked me through the process, and five minutes later I was looking at an almost perfect panorama.”

Website: About Photography - Panorama Factory v3.3 Review

Canon have had a busy Christmas - they’ve also just released Zoom Browser 5 for Windows.

“ZoomBrowser EX 5.0, as well as managing images shot using a digital camera, also enables you to take full advantage of your camera’s built-in functions. Not only does ZoomBrowser EX 5.0 provide a simple straightforward procedure for everything from downloading, organizing and editing images through to printing your images or sending them as e-mail attachments, it also offers a range of features specifically designed to combine with and make the most of your camera’s functions. Some of these features are RAW image processing, panorama image composition, and a remote shooting function that lets you control the camera from your PC. ZoomBrowser EX 5.0—software that knows your camera and will change your total digital camera experience.”

Website: Canon - ZoomBrowser 5.0 for Windows