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Digital Outback Photo have published an article about EXIF metadata, which is a lot more interesting than it sounds! What is metadata, how can you access it, and what should you do with it? All these questions and more are answered…
“EXIF metadata is always at your fingertips, thus providing you with valuable information during every step of your workflow. However, the EXIF metadata of an image needs to be interpreted within the context of the camera/scanner which it was taken/scanned with and thus its correct use isn’t necessarily a “no brainer”. It requires some initial evaluation time to understand its potential and use in your workflow. But once you determined how to read and utilize it best, EXIF metadata becomes an even more powerful source of information to you and your workflow.”
Website: Digital Outback Photo - Using Metadata in Your Workflow
Digital Outback Photo have published an article about EXIF metadata, which is a lot more interesting than it sounds! What is metadata, how can you access it, and what should you do with it? All these questions and more are answered… “EXIF metadata is always at your fingertips, thus providing…
CameraHobby have posted a review of the Epson Stylus CX4600 all-in-one printer/scanner/copier.
“As briefly mentioned, the CX4600 offers direct printing capabilities from its memory card slots, or it can act as a memory card reader for the computer. I tried out the direct printing feature by copying an existing file to a Memory Stick, but the quality was not very good compared to printing the image via Photoshop and a color managed environment, even if it is the inadequate Epson ICM profiles.”
CameraHobby have posted a review of the Epson Stylus CX4600 all-in-one printer/scanner/copier. “As briefly mentioned, the CX4600 offers direct printing capabilities from its memory card slots, or it can act as a memory card reader for the computer. I tried out the direct printing feature by copying an existing file…
ShootSmarter have posted a first look at the long-delayed DSLR, the Fuji FinePix S3 Pro, including some sample images that you can download.
“Watching the evolution of digital technology is really fun and fascinating and we’re glad to be able to bring you info on items that raise the bar. The S3 offers the next generation of digital capture that moves us much closer to film-like images and is one very impressive camera. The secret is in the chip using their revolutionary"SR” technology that Fuji has been quietly putting into their consumer / prosumer cameras like the little F700 and the S20. These SR light receptors gather highlight and shadow and even some midtone values that the “main” CCD sensor misses, then applies the new data back to the file as it’s processed. This means we get another stop of highlight info and another stop of shadow info so that now digital capture will collect more light info than color trans film does, but it still has a ways to go to catch up with the 10+ stops that color neg film can gather in one exposure.”
ShootSmarter have posted a first look at the long-delayed DSLR, the Fuji FinePix S3 Pro, including some sample images that you can download. “Watching the evolution of digital technology is really fun and fascinating and we’re glad to be able to bring you info on items that raise the bar…
PCMagazine have just reviewed what is sure to be a popular digital camera, the 5 megapixel Canon PowerShot A95.
“The Canon PowerShot A95 is a fun, powerful 5-megapixel camera. Style-conscious point-and-shooters might want to look for something smaller, such as the Sony Cyber-shot DSC-T1, but if you go that route, be prepared to pay more for less. In addition to a host of features and manual controls, the A95 offers excellent image quality, making it a very good buy ($325 street).”
PCMagazine have just reviewed what is sure to be a popular digital camera, the 5 megapixel Canon PowerShot A95. “The Canon PowerShot A95 is a fun, powerful 5-megapixel camera. Style-conscious point-and-shooters might want to look for something smaller, such as the Sony Cyber-shot DSC-T1, but if you go that route…
The German website PhotoWorld have just posted their review of the new 8 megapixel Nikon Coolpix 8800.
The German website PhotoWorld have just posted their review of the new 8 megapixel Nikon Coolpix 8800. Website: PhotoWorld - Nikon Coolpix 8800 Review Check the Latest Prices for the Nikon Coolpix 8800
Luminous Landscape have posted a report on the long-delayed DSLR, the FinePix S3 Pro.
“As I review what I’ve written, I see that one could draw from it an overall negative conclusion about the Fuji S3. That certainly wasn’t my intent. I always was impressed with the image quality of the S2 Pro. But, I have to say that the extra year that Fuji took to release the S3 because of the chip redesign appears to have somewhat blindsided them in the competitive marketplace.
List prices for mid-range DSLR in early 2005 are around U.S. $1,500 from Nikon, Minolta and Canon. With a MSRP of a thousand dollars higher than this for the S3, one has to ask what it is that one is paying a premium for. That’s hard to see. The shooting speed isn’t the fastest, the size is larger than competitive bodies, the viewfinder isn’t as large or bright as some, and the colour rendition isn’t as accurate as that from several competitors.”
Website: Luminous Landscape - FujiFilm FinePix S3 Pro Report
Luminous Landscape have posted a report on the long-delayed DSLR, the FinePix S3 Pro. “As I review what I’ve written, I see that one could draw from it an overall negative conclusion about the Fuji S3. That certainly wasn’t my intent. I always was impressed with the image quality of…
Imaging Resource have just reviewed VueScan from Hamrick Software, a third-party scanner software application.
“Flatbed or film, you can’t buy a scanner without scanner software. So this market is a tough nut to crack. Your competition has an inside angle.
For a while, anyway. Then you upgrade your operating system or change hardware and suddenly your scanner isn’t supported by the manufacturer anymore.
VueScan has been the lifesaver of the scanner world by supporting older hardware on new platforms even when the manufacturer throws in the towel. The VueScan solution has worked for pioneers on OS X with no place to turn as well as Windows and Linux users with no supported driver.”
Website: Imaging Resource - VueScan Review
Imaging Resource have just reviewed VueScan from Hamrick Software, a third-party scanner software application. “Flatbed or film, you can’t buy a scanner without scanner software. So this market is a tough nut to crack. Your competition has an inside angle. For a while, anyway. Then you upgrade your operating system…
DPReview have just reviewed the new Epson P-2000 Multimedia Storage Viewer.
“Let’s get one thing out of the way from the start; the P-2000 is a very well-designed, very sophisticated and very desirable addition to any serious digital photographer’s gadget bag. It has a fantastic screen that makes browsing images a real pleasure, is easy to use, and can be used to watch movies or listen to music whilst on the move. We managed to rip AVI files from DVD and watch them on the P-2000 relatively easily (though you’ll need additional software - and to be prepared for a little experimentation with settings to do this yourself), and the MP3 playback is not bad at all for a photo viewer!”
Website: DPReview - Epson P-2000 Multimedia Storage Viewer Review
DPReview have just reviewed the new Epson P-2000 Multimedia Storage Viewer. “Let’s get one thing out of the way from the start; the P-2000 is a very well-designed, very sophisticated and very desirable addition to any serious digital photographer’s gadget bag. It has a fantastic screen that makes browsing images…
Some Kodak-related news that I missed just before Christmas - further evidence that the photography-giant is back on track as they announce plans to build a new factory dedicated to photo printer supplies:
“Rochester’s largest company plans to spend $45 million on a new factory at Kodak Park that will produce supplies for turning digital images into high-quality photographic prints. The new digital media plant — the largest single capital investment at Kodak Park in at least five years — comes as digital photographers increasingly look to convert their pixels into pictures on paper.
Workers at the plant will manufacture a special dye-transfer ribbon for printers found in stores, homes and commercial photo studios dedicated to digital imaging. The ribbon will go into Kodak’s pioneering line of PictureMaker kiosks, the company’s EasyShare PrinterDock and related products.”
Rochester Democrat and Chronicle - Kodak to build $45M plant
Some Kodak-related news that I missed just before Christmas - further evidence that the photography-giant is back on track as they announce plans to build a new factory dedicated to photo printer supplies: “Rochester’s largest company plans to spend $45 million on a new factory at Kodak Park that will…
Digit Life have taken a look at the 6 megapixel Minox DC 6311 digital camera.
“Initially all digital cameras were individual and differed much from each other. Now we are entering the epoch when cameras as well as computers differ only by titles on their boxes. They are absolutely the same in appearance and in contents. A new model differs from a previous one in insignificant design modifications and some changes in the stuffing, which have little effect on the final result, as in case of office computers used for entering texts. Admit it, if you type texts on a computer with a 200 MHz processor or 2 GHz processor, the difference is hardly noticeable. And if these processors are installed into identical cases, perhaps you will feel no difference at all.”
Digit Life have taken a look at the 6 megapixel Minox DC 6311 digital camera. “Initially all digital cameras were individual and differed much from each other. Now we are entering the epoch when cameras as well as computers differ only by titles on their boxes. They are absolutely the…
Digital Outback Photo has updated it’s diary-like review of the Canon EOS 300D digital SLR with some new entries on very long exposures, purchase of new Canon lenses (17-40mm f/4 and 50mm f/1.8) and a list of fors and againsts.
“One of the problems you will encounter with long exposures is what is commonly referred to as Hot Pixels. Hot pixels are sensor pixels that turn white during a very long exposure. Because the 300D, and all other Canon DSLR cameras, uses a CMOS sensor it exhibits a much lower number of hot pixels than digital cameras using a CCD sensor. However, you will still get hot pixels during long exposures, although far less than with a CCD camera.”
Digital Outback Photo has updated it’s diary-like review of the Canon EOS 300D digital SLR with some new entries on very long exposures, purchase of new Canon lenses (17-40mm f/4 and 50mm f/1.8) and a list of fors and againsts. “One of the problems you will encounter with long exposures…
DCResource have just published a review of the Olympus C-470 ZOOM (also known as the D-590), a digicam with four megapixels, 3x optical zoom and a 1.8” anti-glare LCD screen.
“The Olympus D-590 Zoom is a fairly unremarkable point-and-shoot digital camera best suited for outdoor vacation pictures. I say this because low light focusing and LCD visibility weren’t great, redeye levels were above average, and the lens is on the slow side (in terms of aperture, or how much light is let in). Photo quality is good for the most part, though there are some issues with “fuzzy” details and soft edges at times. Performance is comparable to other cameras in this class. The D-590Z is easy-to-use, with absolutely zero manual controls. There are some useful scene modes, though an action mode would’ve bee nice. The bundled Olympus Master software is quite good, especially compared to what the some of the competition throws in the box.”
DCResource have just published a review of the Olympus C-470 ZOOM (also known as the D-590), a digicam with four megapixels, 3x optical zoom and a 1.8” anti-glare LCD screen. “The Olympus D-590 Zoom is a fairly unremarkable point-and-shoot digital camera best suited for outdoor vacation pictures. I say this…
The Czech website Digineff have today published their review of the 8 megapixel Canon EOS 20D DSLR.
Website: Digineff - Canon EOS 20D Review
The Czech website Digineff have today published their review of the 8 megapixel Canon EOS 20D DSLR. Website: Digineff - Canon EOS 20D Review Check the Latest Prices for the Canon EOS 20D
DigiCamReview have published a preview of the Konica Minolta DiMAGE E40 digital camera.
“The Konica Minolta Dimage E40 is also known as the BenQ DC E43, Minox DC4211, Premier DC4331, and so on… there appear to be 2 or 3 flavours of this digital camera, a 4mp digital camera with a 2” TFT screen, and 5mp and possibly 6mp versions with a 2.5” TFT screen - although the 5mp/6mp versions do not have an optical viewfinder. 5mp versions include the BenQ DC E53, the Rollei Prego dp5200, etc. It is believed that Premier manufacture these ‘OEM’ cameras for other companies to re-badge/bundle etc.”
DigiCamReview have published a preview of the Konica Minolta DiMAGE E40 digital camera. “The Konica Minolta Dimage E40 is also known as the BenQ DC E43, Minox DC4211, Premier DC4331, and so on… there appear to be 2 or 3 flavours of this digital camera, a 4mp digital camera with…
Oleg Novikov has published a detailed review of the new Nikon F6 film SLR (found via digicamera.net).
“The F6 is rather evolutionary than revolutionary. To cut a long story short, it brings to perfection almost all* the things which, on the one hand, are not entirely crucial if compared with the F5 and the F100, yet, on the other hand, do bother you in the F6’s predecessors every now and then. It is like you have a wife you love and are almost perfectly happy with but, just at times, you kind of think, if only she smiled more and talked less… paradise on earth… you get the picture.”
Website: Oleg Novikov - Nikon F6 Review
Oleg Novikov has published a detailed review of the new Nikon F6 film SLR (found via digicamera.net). “The F6 is rather evolutionary than revolutionary. To cut a long story short, it brings to perfection almost all* the things which, on the one hand, are not entirely crucial if compared with…
Imagenomic Press Release
NOISEWIRE, 12/23/04 - Imagenomic, LLC today announced three major new additions to its highly acclaimed Noiseware product line for noise removal in digital images.
For the Mac OS X user community, Noiseware is now available in Standard and Professional Plug-in editions, with support for 8-bit and 16-bit images respectively, and is compatible with leading image editing tools including: Adobe Photoshop 7.0 and CS; and Adobe Photoshop Elements 2.0 and 3.0.
For PC system users, the Noiseware Plug-in is now also available in both Standard and Professional editions to give greater flexibility to users when choosing the Noiseware tool that best meets their needs.
Noiseware Standard Plug-in for PC and Mac is priced at $49; Noiseware Pro Plug-in for PC and Mac is priced at $69.
Imagenomic Press Release NOISEWIRE, 12/23/04 - Imagenomic, LLC today announced three major new additions to its highly acclaimed Noiseware product line for noise removal in digital images. For the Mac OS X user community, Noiseware is now available in Standard and Professional Plug-in editions, with support for 8-bit and 16-bit…
PCWorld have taken a look at 3 different slide-show software packages, perfect for showing off your latest photo masterpieces to friends and family:
“I looked at Magix PhotoStory on CD and DVD 2005, $40; Photodex ProShow Gold, $70; and Ulead CD & DVD PictureShow 3 Photo Album and Slideshow Suite Deluxe, $50.
Each of these packages allows anyone with a writable DVD or CD drive to create a multimedia slide show that can be played back on a PC or on a TV using a DVD player. All of these programs also offer ways to optimize your slide show, making them small enough to easily share over the Internet.
With each package, I created impressive slide shows of my favorite photos, complete with soundtracks, animated transitions between images, and fancy 3D effects.”
Website: PCWorld.com - Slide-Show Software Adds Life to Still Digital Images
PCWorld have taken a look at 3 different slide-show software packages, perfect for showing off your latest photo masterpieces to friends and family: “I looked at Magix PhotoStory on CD and DVD 2005, $40; Photodex ProShow Gold, $70; and Ulead CD & DVD PictureShow 3 Photo Album and Slideshow Suite…
The New York Times has published an interesting article which compares the recent upturn of Kodak and its digital camera/printer products with the company’s old Brownie camera:
“The reason people buy a Canon is not fundamentally ease of use, and the reason they buy Sony is not ease of use,” Mr. Schaeffer said. It was a position that resonated with the history of Kodak, which popularized the Instamatic camera, and long before that, the Brownie, which had the slogan “You push the button and we do the rest…
Kodak sold a million printer docks in the first year. Printers have the potential to be far more profitable than cameras, because customers are locked into years of buying ink and paper. Even more important, the printer dock helped Kodak’s cameras stand out in crowded electronics stores, as Kodak convinced many retailers to put its printers right in the aisle that sold cameras, not in the printer section.”
Website: The New York Times - Kodak Updates Its Brownie to Compete in a Digital Age
The New York Times has published an interesting article which compares the recent upturn of Kodak and its digital camera/printer products with the company’s old Brownie camera: “The reason people buy a Canon is not fundamentally ease of use, and the reason they buy Sony is not ease of use,”…
GIMP Release Notes
The GIMP developers are proud to release version 2.2 of the GNU Image Manipulation Program. About nine months after version 2.0 hit the road, we have completed another development cycle and can bring a new stable GIMP to our users’ desktops.
About The GIMP
The GNU Image Manipulation Program, the GIMP, is ideal for amateur photographers, web designers, and many other people who want to create and edit digital images. It is a very powerful application, with features including: channels, layers and masks; colour operations such as levels, curves and threshhold; advanced selection operations using intelligent scissors and selection channels; and much more.
GIMP is free software, which means it can be freely distributed and modified. This makes it well suited to be included on cover disks of magazines dedicated to digital photography or image editing, or to be included with digital cameras, scanners, printers etc. As free software, its capabilities are ultimately limited only by the collective imagination of the community of free software contributors. More information about the GIMP is available at www.gimp.org.
GIMP Release Notes The GIMP developers are proud to release version 2.2 of the GNU Image Manipulation Program. About nine months after version 2.0 hit the road, we have completed another development cycle and can bring a new stable GIMP to our users’ desktops. About The GIMP The GNU Image…
You’ve just been given a digital camera for your Christmas gift and gone crazy taking 100’s of pictures, now that you don’t have to worry about expensive film and processing. But what’s the best solution for actually making prints of them - do it yourself on a photo printer, or take it to your nearest store? News-Leader.com claims that the majority of you are leaving it to the experts:
“The availability of special theme cards and treatments, along with competitive prices, will lead 37 percent of digital-camera owners to use retailers and 15 percent to use online services this year, estimates InfoTrends/CAP Ventures, a Massachusetts researcher.
That’s a big increase from last year, when about 14 percent had pictures printed by retail processors and 9 percent used online services, said InfoTrends analyst Ed Lee.”
Website: News-Leader.com - Digital camera users still turn to pros for prints
You’ve just been given a digital camera for your Christmas gift and gone crazy taking 100’s of pictures, now that you don’t have to worry about expensive film and processing. But what’s the best solution for actually making prints of them - do it yourself on a photo printer, or…