ArkiPix I/S Press Release 23/11/04

ArkiPix I/S is now offering an English version of their image archive management software ArkiPix in version 2.0

With this new and highly improved ArkiPix 2.0 for PC, photographers, companies and digital photography enthusiasts will find a wide range of functions for archiving, importing and searching for photos.

ArkiPix 2.0 turns the job of archiving into a positive experience with fast results. New users become familiar with the program quickly because ArkiPix in daily use requires only a few clicks of the mouse. The many essential and unique features of ArkiPix make it a strong competitor for established and more costly image archiving programs.

ArkiPix will archive your images directly from your hard drive and CD/DVD’s. You will not have to reorganize your images collection. When archiving your images ArkiPix collects the EXIF and IPTC information from your images. All original information from your digital camera remains in the archive images. The information is stored in a JPEG image file made from each of your original images and used for searching and preview.

Triscape, Inc. Press Release 22/11/04

Triscape Announces FxFoto Version 2.1 and New Online Photo Sharing Partners

FxFoto Standard, Deluxe Collage, and Pro Media now provide easy Upload Wizard for online photo sharing and printing partners

WINDHAM, NH, Nov. 22, 2004 - Triscape, Inc. today announced enhancements to its popular software suites, officially making available FxFoto 2.1 Standard, Deluxe Collage, and Pro Media Editions.  FxFoto is targeted at photography enthusiasts and advanced multimedia users giving them everything the need to edit, organize and present their digital pictures.  FxFoto 2.1 Standard is available today as a fully functional free download, while the Deluxe Collage Edition can be obtained for $29.99 and Pro Media Edition for $39.99.  All titles are upgradeable to Pro Media Edition.

Triscape is providing its updates free of charge for all current users. Included in the update is a new “Upload Wizard” that facilitates seamless uploading of images to Triscape’s newly announced online photo sharing and printing partners abcphotolab.com, Smugmug.com, and Myphotoalbum.com. Additional partners will be announced in future versions.

Digital Outback Photo have posted a brief review of the Bibble 4.1 RAW file conversion program.

“Bibble 4.1 is not just a minor update (if you don’t know Bibble read first our 4.0 review below). It should be reason enough for you to reevaluate Bibble again.

Here are the main new features:

Support for the Canon 1Ds Mk. II (first 3rd party raw converter available for this camera)
Highlight recovery (see below)
Improved Sharpening
New noise handling
Better demosaicing and detail rendering”

Website: Digital Outback Photo - Bibble 4.1 Review

ACD Systems Press Release 22/11/04

ACD Systems Announces Availability of ACDSee 7 and ACDSee 7 PowerPack in French, Italian, German and Spanish

VICTORIA, British Columbia - November 22, 2004 - ACD Systems International Inc. (TSX: ASA), makers of ACDSee photo management software and Canvas technical illustration software, announced today the availability of ACDSee 7 and ACDSee 7 PowerPack in the French, Italian, German and Spanish (FIGS) languages. ACDSee 7 and ACDSee 7 PowerPack FIGS are available through the company’s electronic software distribution (ESD) channel and in retail stores throughout Europe.

Renowned for its speed, ACDSee is used the world over as the leading choice for image viewing and management. ACDSee 7 and ACDSee 7 PowerPack continue to be highly recommended by leading international computer and photography trade magazines. Ordinateur Individuel (France) magazine gave ACDSee 7 a five star rating for its product features and Testticker.de, VNU Publications (Germany) wrote that ACDSee has some impressive performance enhancements and that the program continues to be effective in managing large quantities of images. PC World (Denmark) wrote that ACDSee’s most important feature is the upgrade of the user interface and that ACDSee’s categories offerings allow for easier search capabilities.

FotoBuzz Press Release 20/11/04

We’re proud to announce the first release of the FotoBuzz viewlet. With just a few small changes to your existing website you can have image commenting.

This release of FotoBuzz requires PHP or Python support on your server and version 7 of the Flash Player. Since comments are actually stored inside your images, there is a current limitation that your images must be on the same server as the FotoBuzz script files.

The download includes a sample page to test your setup and our how to page shows you how to modify your existing pages to support FotoBuzz.

Give it a try and let us know what you think! Finally, comment on images the way you were always meant to!

http://2entwine.com/fotobuzz/

iView Press Release 18/11/04

Now users can catalogue DNG files, including import and export of XMP and IPTC annotations

LONDON, November 18, 2004 - Dedicated to delivering the industry-standard media management solutions for creative professionals, iView Multimedia (iView) announced today that its flagship product iView MediaPro now supports the Digital Negative Specification (DNG), the new public archival format developed by Adobe Systems Incorporated for digital camera raw files. The digital photography market is a core area for iView, and immediate support of the DNG format is one of the ways it continues to demonstrate its responsiveness to the needs of its customers.

“We are so pleased with the overwhelming amount of support we have received to date for the DNG format and its adoption by established 3rd party, cross platform suppliers such as iView. iView shares our view of promoting interoperability and forward-looking compatibility between file formats,” said Kevin Connor, director of product management for professional digital imaging products at Adobe. “We developed DNG to address a real problem that our customers are facing and our hope is that companies will join us in ensuring photographers will be able to access their raw files in the future with an open standard supported by individual camera models.”

PCMagazine have published a review of DXO Optics Pro, a software package that is designed to enable digital camera owners to correct images which suffer from distortion, vignetting, blur and chromatic aberrations.

“After processing, you can see before-and-after comparisons, because Optics Pro is nondestructive: It automatically corrects and saves images without disturbing the original files. Every test image we shot displayed slight to significant improvements, such as more even corner illumination, greater delineation of detail, straightening of bulging or bowed lines, and elimination of purple fringing.”

Website: PCMagazine - DXO Optics Pro Review

PCMagazine has posted a review of the photo-management application ACDSee 7.

“When you first launch the app, it gives you an Explorer-like view of your Microsoft Windows folder tree, and as you move from folder to folder, it seamlessly - and quickly - weeds out everything but your digital images, rendering thumbnails of each photo in the blink of an eye. You can instantly move all your photos into a single virtual folder, known as the Image Well, so you can browse your entire collection without having to move from folder to folder.”

Website: PCMagazine - ACDSee 7 Review

DPReview yesterday published their review of Adobe Photoshop Elements 3.0.

“If you are on a tight budget and/or are a beginner, Photoshop Elements 3 will go a long way and is an excellent starting point on the Adobe Photoshop learning curve. It gives you the benefit that most of what you learn in Elements 3 can be used again in Photoshop CS, should you decide to upgrade in the future because most of the commands and shortcuts are the same.”

Website: DPReview - Photoshop Elements 3 Review

Check the Latest Prices for Adobe Photoshop Elements 3

Northlight Images have just reviewed DxO Raw Engine, a new module for DxO Optics Pro which allows RAW files to benefit directly from the image enhancement capabilities of DxO Optics Pro.

“For image quality I’m well impressed with the software - it has more than lived up to what I expected after looking at the JPEG version. I’m not so happy about its speed on my Mac or ease of integration into a busy commercial workflow. This is a tool I’ll use for my best work, where a few extra minutes in creating the file is nothing to the hours I can spend working on some images. Well worth a look.”

Website: Northlight Images - DxO Raw Engine Review

The Washington Post have published a brief comparative review of three popular photo editing software packages, including Adobe Photoshop Elements 3.0 (pictured).

“Don’t let the name of Adobe’s Elements fool you—this suite is far friendlier to beginners than the professional Photoshop package after which it’s named. Its Editor program can repair many photo problems using nothing more than automated functions and simple slider controls. A Smart Fix one-click repair does a superb job of adjusting the lighting, color balance and sharpness in most photos.”

Website: Washington Post - Among 3 Digital Photo Fixes, Adobe’s Is No. 1

Check the Latest Prices for Adobe Photoshop Elements 3

Pixel Genius LLC Press Release 13/11/04

Chicago, IL - November 13th, 2004 - Pixel Genius LLC releases PhotoKit Color, a new product by PixelGenius. PhotoKit Color is an Adobe Photoshop Plug-in that applies precise color corrections, automatic color balancing and creative coloring effects. With a retail price of $99.95, PhotoKit Color offers a comprehensive set of coloring tools for Photoshop 7.0 and Photoshop CS for both Macintosh and Windows.

Color plays a huge role in how we perceive and describe the world we see, so it?s hardly surprising that one of the first things we want to do to a photograph when we bring it into Photoshop is to adjust accurately or play creatively with the color in the image. Photographers in particular have long desired to reproduce traditional photographic processes digitally using Photoshop. PhotoKit Color provides a comprehensive suite of effects that let you recreate creative effects like black and white split toning and cross processing. All these effects are applied as separate layers so the user can make further variations, adapting each effect to suit their own tastes. But that?s not all! With PhotoKit Color, you can enhance specific colors in your photographs. You can make skin tones less red or lighter. With the Blue Enhance effect you can darken a blue sky and enhance the cloud contrast. And with the RSA Gray Balance set, you can automatically remove color-casts from almost any type of image.

BIOS magazine have just reviewed Nero 6 Reloaded.

“Nero 6 Reloaded is the most complete all-in-one digital media solution available today. The suite includes all of the features most users demand from an authoring package - as well as a whole lot more you’ll likely never use - including tools to rip audio CDs to various formats, record LPs and tapes to CDs, make a compilation of all your favourite music by mixing titles in various formats, as well as create backups, DVD-Movies and share files over a network. Its features are quite extensive, especially considering its aggressive pricing, but it’s not a unified or elegant solution - utilities open in new, unfamiliar windows and have different menu structures and wizards. If you’re prepared to wade through the software’s menus and experiment with all of its options, Nero 6 Reloaded is outstanding value for money. If you only need to complete a few tasks daily, such as author CD/DVDs and create slideshows, Roxio’s Creator 7 is much more approachable.”

Website: BIOS - Nero 6 Reloaded Review

About Graphics Software have published their review of Adobe Photoshop Elements 3.0.

“Regular readers of this site probably know that I’m a big fan of Adobe Photoshop Album for photo organizing. Now all the features of Album are included in Photoshop Elements for Windows, making it a perfect all-in-one solution for the majority of digital photographers. The Photo Browser is essentially Album, fully integrated, and with several enhancements. Now users can stack similar photos under a single thumbnail to save space in the photo browser. Similarly, Elements tracks variations of the same edited photo, and saves them all together in a “version set.” The Photo Browser also lets you easily review and compare photos.”

Website: About Graphics Software - Adobe Photoshop Elements 3 Review

Check the Latest Prices for Adobe Photoshop Elements 3

ProFotoSoftware Press Release 11/10/04

ProFotoSoftware have today released version 1 of PFS Image Darkroom for Windows, a program for converting Canon RAW images from EOS Digital SLRs into 16 bit and 8 bit TIF files as well as 8 bit JPEG files.

PFS Image Darkroom improves digital photographer’s workflow by removing the frustrating delays associated with Raw image processing. The software remains fully operational during Raw processing, enabling users to prepare the next image or set of images for processing instead of pausing whilst the processing is performed.

Digital Outback Photo have published a brief review of a new sharpening tool called Focus Fixer.

“Focus Fixer claims to use some info from the camera and lens if it can detect the info from EXIF information. We have no idea how much this contributes to the really good result.”

Website: Digital Outback Photo - Sharpening with Focus Fixer

OptikVerve Labs Press Release 03/11/04

virtualPhotographer Filter Proves Popular Photoshop Plug-In Adds Rich Professional Film Styles to Digital Photos With Just One Click

PORTLAND, OR - November 3, 2004 - virtualPhotographer, a software plug-in by OptikVerve Labs that allows photographers and graphic artists to instantly apply high quality, professional photographic styles to digital images, has passed 200,000 downloads since the filter debuted three months ago.  The software can be used with Photoshop, Photoshop Elements, Paint Shop Pro, Photo-Paint and other popular imaging applications. The plug-in is free and available for download at Download.com, Pluginsworld.com and the company’s web site at www.optikvervelabs.com.

FixerLabs Press Release 01/11/04

SizeFixer SLR Released - Revolutionary Upsizing Software for Digital Photographers

Watford, UK. FixerLabs Ltd. November 1 2004.

FixerLabs announced the launch of their stand-alone software application for increasing the resolution and definition of a digital image at Photokina in October, SizeFixer SLR is now shipping.

SizeFixer SLR has been designed as a tool for the professional photographer. SizeFixer addresses the major area of concern when upsizing: images become soft as size increases. SizeFixer uses a radically different approach to the existing software solutions - it is
the first commercial product to offer genuine super-resolution. For the technically minded: super-resolution correctly extends the Fourier domain content of an image beyond the original Nyquist limit.

Phoenix Global Software Press Release 03/11/04

Phoenix Global Software Announces Release of Namo Interactive WebEditor 6.0 Suite.

London, November 2004, Phoenix Global Software - a leading re-publisher of software - is delighted to announce the release of WebEditor 6.0 Suite from Namo Interactive. Namo WebEditor 6.0 is visually intuitive, web-authoring software that will give the user a complete set of tools to design, set-up and run a cutting-edge Web site with ease.

For end users new to creating Web sites, or for non-professional users needing a Web site up and running quickly who don’t need fine control over site design and structure, WebEditor 6.0 Suite features a ‘Site Wizard’ that creates an entire site automatically. What’s more, it is fast, easy and fun.

InterVideo Press Release 03/11/04

Easy-to-use Consumer Movie-Making Software Records to DVD/VCD/SVCD

FREMONT, Calif.—November 3, 2004—From the makers of WinDVD, the world’s ultimate DVD playback, and WinDVD Creator, an easy-to-use DVD and VCD creation software, InterVideo, Inc. (NASDAQ: IVII) announced today the new release of Instant Movie Maker. This simple-to-use video editing and production solution is for people who want to quickly create professional-looking videos of special memories and events.

Designed for ease of use, Instant Movie Maker gives consumers a brand new movie-making experience. From novice users to professionals, Instant Movie Maker can take raw video footage and instantly change it to an entirely new look and feel. With three easy steps, users can create their own movie with various movie clips, audio tracks, and scene transitions. Step one imports media sources such as video or image files, and allows for insertion of the desired background music. In step two, users select one of the twelve preset movie styles. In step three, users specify the output preferences such as DVD, VCD or SVCD, as well as output to the hard drive. Additionally, users can use the preview button to view the movie before it is actually output to the source.