Wacom Press Release

Artists and Designers Get Exciting New Artistic Controls through the Combined Efforts of Wacom and Corel

Vancouver, WA, April 4, 2005 - Wacom® Technology Corporation, with the support of Corel®, has successfully developed a 6D Art Pen that gives artists and designers six dimensions of pen control in Corel Painter™ IX. Available immediately, the 6D Art Pen is supported on Wacom’s Intuos3 pen tablets and new Cintiq 21UX interactive pen display. The pen has a suggested retail price of $69.95.

State-of-the-Art Pen The 6D Art Pen builds on Wacom’s patented cordless, battery-free technology to offer artists and designers six dimensions of creative control:

1. X-axis (left and right)
2. Y-axis (up and down)
3. Pressure (force with which pen is applied to tablet)
4. Tilt (angle at which pen is tilted)
5. Bearing (direction in which pen is tilted)
6. Barrel Rotation (orientation of the pen around its long axis)

LaCie 2TB Bigger Disk Extreme is announced. The new version of the Bigger Disk Extreme has 2 terabytes capacity and uses the FireWire 800/400 interface. The LaCie 2TB Bigger Disk Extreme has a built-in RAID 0 configuration that allows for instant high-speed data transfers of up to 85MB/s. The 2TB Bigger Disk Extreme will cost $2299 MSRP in the US.

LaCie Press Release

LaCie’s Bigger Gets Bigger: 2TB Bigger Disk Extreme

  * Professional choice for video/audio editing and imaging
  * Largest storage with up to 2TB capacity
  * Fastest throughput for optimal editing via FireWire 800
  * No setup required with built-in RAID 0 array

LaCie’s popular Bigger Disk Extreme with FireWire 800/400 gets a boost in capacity to 2TB. This compact and sturdy drive is designed to support multi-stream audio/video editing in a variety of formats with burst transfer rates reaching up to 85MB/s and unrivaled 2TB capacity.

The winners of the March 2005 PhotographyBLOG Competition have now been decided. The theme for March was “Water” - you can view all of the entries in this gallery. Here are the 3 winners:

1st Place
“on the Gange” by 21nico
View this entry

Prize: 1 copy of Powerretouche Full Pro Pack
Kindly donated by Powerretouche.
http://powerretouche.com

2nd Place
“winter web” by nordic
View this entry

Prize: 1 copy of Digital Photography Expert Techniques by Ken Milburn
Kindly donated by O’Reilly.
http://www.oreilly.com

3rd Place
“Wibbly-Wobbly-Boy” by Photofillers
View this entry

Prize: Photobird.com one-year subscription with 100 megabytes of storage space
Kindly donated by Photobird.com.
http://www.photobird.com

Congratulations to the 3 winners and thanks to everyone who took part!

The April 2005 Competition is now open for entries. This is a monthly photography competition with a specific theme and prizes for the top 3 photos. The winning entries will be decided by a panel of judges. You just have to submit one photograph to the Competition Gallery that best interprets April’s theme, which is “Black and White”.

HumanEyes Technologies Press Release

Jerusalem, Israel – April 4, 2005 – HumanEyes Technologies, a leading innovator in advanced production solutions for easy 3D photo capture through output; says that only ten months after launch it has signed 17 distribution partners throughout the world. CEO Gideon Ben-Zvi attributes the rapid pace to aggressive market demand for new and novel media vehicles.

“High quality 3D has tremendous, proven impact on the buyer,” Ben-Zvi says. “Brand managers, printers, prepress specialists and photographers recognize that we can equip them with this powerful, extremely appealing medium, and know that their clients will want it. As a result, we’ve signed some of the world’s biggest names in graphic arts distribution to meet demand.”

HumanEyes has patented unique 3D software technology allowing: 1) easy creation of natural 3D images; 2) output on any size paper through large format, backlit displays and 3D displays including cell phones; and 3) very comfortable, natural 3D viewing (no special glasses; no headaches). The software also incorporates conventional special effects functions such as flip, morph, and zoom.

DxO Labs Press Release

DXO OPTICS PRO ADDS SUPPORT FOR KONICA MINOLTA MAXXUM 7D / DYNAX 7D

Paris, France, April 4, 2005 – DxO Optics Pro, the award winning image enhancement software application from DxO Labs, now supports the Konica Minolta Maxxum 7D / Dynax 7D digital SLR camera and an initial selection of compatible lenses. Support for the Maxxum 7D / Dynax 7D is available immediately for both Macintosh and Windows as part of DxO Optics Pro “standard” edition.

- DxO Optics Pro automatically eliminates distortion, vignetting, lens softness and lateral chromatic aberrations on both RAW and JPEG images produced by the Konica Minolta Maxxum 7D / Dynax 7D.
- DxO Optics Pro includes the advanced DxO Raw Engine module to convert RAW files into JPEG, TIFF or Adobe DNG files.
- DxO Labs has tuned DxO Optics Pro to be fully compatible with the Konica Minolta Maxxum 7D / Dynax 7D’s innovative Anti-Shake Technology.

Adobe Photoshop CS2 is announced. New features in Adobe Photoshop CS2 include an enhanced Spot Healing Brush, one-click Red-Eye Correction, Smart Objects, Vanishing Point and Image Warping. The popular File Browser has been upgraded to Adobe Bridge and the new Camera Raw 3.0 is included.  Photoshop CS2 will begin shipping in May to customers in the United States and Canada and in late May / early June internationally. Adobe Photoshop CS2 has an estimated UK street price of £439.

Adobe UK Press Release

Adobe Pushes the Boundaries of Digital Photography and Imaging with Debut of Photoshop CS2

New Vanishing Point Feature, Dramatic Camera Raw Workflow Enhancements, Customisable Menus and Smart Objects Headline Milestone Photoshop Upgrade

SAN JOSE, Calif. — April 4, 2005 — Adobe Systems Incorporated (Nasdaq:ADBE) today announced Adobe® Photoshop® CS2, a major upgrade to the professional industry standard for digital image editing and creation. Available as a stand-alone software application or as a key component of Adobe Creative Suite® 2, also announced today, Photoshop CS2 software brings a new level of power, precision and control to the digital photography experience and to the overall creative process.

“Photoshop CS2 pushes the envelope with powerful features and simplified workflows that provide photographers and creative professionals the freedom to deliver stunning images,” said Bryan Lamkin, senior vice president of Digital Imaging and Digital Video Products at Adobe.  “In light of the four million digital SLRs expected to ship this year, more photographers than ever will be making Photoshop CS2 their digital darkroom of choice.”

Adobe Stock Photos is introduced as part of Adobe Creative Suite 2. Adobe Stock Photos is accessed through Adobe Bridge, anew version of the File Browser, and contains more than 230,000 royalty-free images from five elite stock photography providers. Adobe Stock Photo image pricing is competitive with the prices that are available directly from the participating stock photography library providers.

Adobe UK Press Release

All-New Adobe Stock Photos Service Gives Access to Top Image Libraries

More Than 230,000 Royalty-Free Images Available for Purchase Directly Within Adobe Creative Suite 2

SAN JOSE, Calif. — April 4, 2005 — Adobe Systems Incorporated (Nasdaq:ADBE) today announced Adobe® Stock Photos, a new stock photography service that offers designers one-stop shopping for high-quality, royalty-free images for layout and design.  Adobe Stock Photos is available in Adobe Creative Suite 2 Premium and Standard Editions, Adobe Photoshop® CS2, Adobe InDesign® CS2, Adobe Illustrator® CS2 and Adobe GoLive® CS2 (all announced today).  Adobe Stock Photos provides a single destination point to access hundreds of thousands of images from some of the world’s leading stock photography providers, including: Photodisc® by Getty Images; Comstock Images® by Jupitermedia®; Digital Vision®; imageshop™ royalty free by zefaimages™; and amana.

Adobe Creative Suite 2 is announced. Adobe Creative Suite 2 includes new versions of Photoshop, InDesign, Illustrator, Acrobat and GoLive. Creative Suite 2 also includes a brand new program called Version Cue, a powerful file-version manager and collaboration tool. Adobe Bridge is a new visual file browser and Adobe Stock Photos has 230,000 images from some of the world’s leading stock photography providers. Adobe CS2 will be available in two editions. The Premium Edition of Adobe Creative Suite 2 will cost £889. The Standard Edition of Adobe CS2 will cost £669. Adobe CS2 will be available in the United States and Canada in May, and internationally in late May / early June.

Adobe UK Press Release

Adobe Accelerates Print, Web and Mobile Publishing Workflows With Introduction of Adobe Creative Suite 2

Adobe’s Complete Design and Publishing Environment Integrates New Adobe Stock Photos Service, Introduces Adobe Bridge and Enhanced Adobe Version Cue CS2

SAN JOSE, Calif. — April 4, 2005 — Adobe Systems Incorporated (Nasdaq: ADBE) today announced a new release of Adobe® Creative Suite, the powerhouse design environment that revolutionised print and Web workflows for creative professionals worldwide. Adobe Creative Suite 2 Premium Edition integrates new full-versions of indispensable design software — Adobe Photoshop® CS2, Adobe InDesign® CS2, Adobe Illustrator® CS2, and Adobe GoLive® CS2 (see separate press releases) — with the all-new Version Cue® CS2.  The recently released Adobe Acrobat® 7.0 Professional also is included, as a key application in this milestone software release.

HP Officejet 7210 All-in-One Printer is announced today. TThe HP Officejet 7210 All-in-One allows images to be printed directly from a Pictbridge-enabled digital camera or via the built-in memory card slot. Thre HP 7210 can use the HP No. 348 Photo Inkjet Print Cartridge for true-to-life photos and the the HP No. 100 Grey Photo Inkjet Print Cartridge for black and white images. The HP Officejet 7210 All-in-One printer, fax, scanner and copier will cost £279.

HP UK Press Release

Built-In Networking Delivers Intelligent Features to be Shared Across the Small Office and Home Office

The HP Officejet 7210 All-in-One Printer, Fax, Scanner and Copier offers outstanding features as well as uncompromising functionality, quality and reliability

LONDON, UK, 4 April, 2005. HP (NYSE, Nasdaq: HPQ) today announced the launch of the versatile HP Officejet 7210 All-in-One printer, fax, scanner and copier which boasts HP’s renowned reliability and quality. Equipped with built-in networking capabilities, this All-in-One allows high performance tools to be shared across up to five computers, while helping people de clutter and save space.

Samsonite Trekking Pro and Trekking Premium camera bags are unveiled. The Samsonite Trekking Pro and Trekking Premium have both been redesigned. The Samsonite Trekking Pro comes in 13 different sizes with new colours available. The Samsonite Trekking Premium is also available in 13 sizes, all in black.

Samsonite Press Release

Samsonite expands its trekking range

Three – in One

Hama designed both the new Samsonite Trekking Pro and Trekking Premium camera case according to their expanding upon success principle. Those features that made the Samsonite Trekking series a bestseller, such as the covers for the equipment cases that open away from the body, still remain.

Trekking Pro
The thirteen most popular sizes of the original series were adopted for the Trekking Pro and the colour variations black, black and blue and black and grey were added. The durable nylon material was given a new trendy look and even the design was slightly changed. The new series has a soft fleece lining, an ultra flat front compartment and practical net pockets on the side.

Apacer Share Steno CD311 is introduced. The Apacer Share Steno CD311 is a portable storage device. Digital cameras and other USB devices can be connected to the CD311’s USB 2 interface. The Share Steno CD311 has password and hidden-file protection. The 40GB Share Steno CD311 allows you to store more than 40,000 3 megapixel photos.

ODS Distribution Press Release

ODS Distribution introduces the stand-alone Apacer Portable Photomate, the OTG USB Share Steno CD311, which is designed to copy image files from a digital camera without the need for a PC. At just 220 grams, the Share Steno CD311 is lightweight and easy to carry, even outdoors. The device has been nominated for the 2005 “National Gold Awards of Excellence”, for products made in Taiwan. The Share Steno CD311 allows users to access every precious moment captured with a digital camera anywhere, anytime. The Share Steno CD311 is a perfect solution for any digital storage requirement and aims to let everyone enjoy digital life to the full.

The Epson PictureMate allows you to print 10x15 cms borderless photos at up to 5760 x 1440dpi-optimized dpi in the comfort of your own home. The Epson PictureMate uses a 6-colour high gloss pigment ink printing system and print life is claimed to be 104 years. The PictureMate has a built-in memory card reader supporting 9 different formats and can also be directly connected to any PictBridge or USB DIRECT-PRINT compatible device. The Epson PictureMate has a monochrome LCD screen that allows you to select which photos you want to print. A few weeks ago I reviewed the similar HP Photosmart 375 printer, awarding it 4.5 out of 5 stars - can the Epson PictureMate compete? Read my review to find out.

Website: Epson PictureMate Review

Find out about the latest colour management products in the March Colour Confidence Newsletter. Spyder2Plus from ColorVision (which I will be reviewing soon) and iCorrect EditLab Pro 4.5 are the featured products.

Website: Colour Confidence Newsletter

Konica Minolta make some very nice digital cameras, but it doesn’t sound as if that is enough, as the company announced a 38% cut in its operating profit target for the next business year. Ominously the digital camera side of things was blamed at a press conference on Friday:

“Konica Minolta gets more than half of its sales and most of its profit from office equipment, but its photo imaging division, which handles film and cameras, has been its Achilles’ heel. The division is headed for a ¥9 billion loss this business year. “We will scale down our photo imaging business in step with the shrinking of the overall market and will rush to get the business out of the red,” Konica Minolta President Fumio Iwai told a briefing held to unveil a new medium-term business plan.”

Website: CNN Money - Konica Minolta cuts profit target by 38%

If you’ve read the many articles that urge you to shoot in RAW format (if your camera offers it) rather then JPEG and are still not convinced, here’s another one to read, looking specifically at Adobe’s Digital Negative format:

“Essentially, a Raw file is like color negative film in that it has a large recording range—restated in photographer’s jargon, it has very wide latitude. In contrast, slide film and print have a strongly limited range to what they can reproduce.”

Website: Publish.com - Raw’ Format Is a Lifesaver

Professional photographer Thom Hogan has decided to let you all take a peek inside his camera bag - find out what a professional typically carries with them.

“Articles showing what gear a pro is using are always popular with readers, but I’ve hesitating doing one on this site because my equipment since my switch to digital has been in an almost constant state of flux. With the appearance of the D2x, I find myself once again honing in on a more stable set of gear, so I’ve decided to let you take a look in the bag, complete with short explanations for many of the items I’ve chosen.”

Website: Thom Hogan - It’s in the Bag

Photoxels have reviewed the 5 megapixel Nikon Coolpix 5600 that was announced at PMA in February.

“CA is minimal in everyday shots. It’s not too sunny here, but out of our high contrast shots, we found a couple with a bit of purple fringing at full image size. In the above photo, the corner delimited by the red square at top middle, and reproduced at 100% crop at bottom right, showed some purple fringing. At 4x6 in. prints, this should not be a problem at all and won’t show up.”

Website: Photoxels - Nikon Coolpix 5600 Review

Check the Latest Prices for the Nikon Coolpix 5600

Write a Review of the Nikon Coolpix 5600

DIWA member and Slovenian website e-fotografija have just posted their review of the new 5 megapixel Konica Minolta Z5 digital camera.

Website: e-fotografija - Konica Minolta DiMAGE Z5 Review

Check the Latest Prices for the Konica Minolta DiMAGE Z5

Write a Review of the Konica Minolta DiMAGE Z5

Pocket-Lint have published their review of the new Nikon F6 film SLR camera.

“Overall the F6 is as impressive a camera as you are likely to see at the top-end of the market. Make no mistake, this is not the camera for 98% of photographers, the F6 is aimed at the kind of people who already know what the camera does without having to open the manual and can actually use AUTO FP High-speed Sync Capability correctly (it’s a flash thing). It’s not simply enough to flash the plastic for the F6, you must first acquire the knowledge of how to use it. This is how you obtain enlightenment, and very good photographs on the way.”

Website: Pocket-Lint - Nikon F6 Review

Check the Latest Prices for the Nikon F6

Write a Review of the Nikon F6

The Czech website Digineff have just published their review of the Canon Digital IXUS 700 digital camera (also known as the Canon PowerShot SD500 Digital ELPH).

Website: Digineff - Canon Digital IXUS 700 Review

Check the Latest Prices for the Canon Digital IXUS 700

Write a Review of the Canon Digital IXUS 700