Epson StoryTeller Photo Book Creator is announced. StoryTeller Photo Book Creator is a convenient, easy-to-use kit with everything consumers need to turn their digital pictures into a glossy, hardbound photo book to preserve and share personalized life stories and events. StoryTeller Photo Book Creator kits will be available for purchase in the USA in late April 2005 for $19.99 for the 5” x 7” version, $24.99 for the 10-page 8” x 10” version, and $29.99 for the 20-page 8” x 10” version.

Epson Press Release

Epson’s storyteller Photo Book Creator MAKES PUBLISHING your own “Best Seller” of cherished MEMORIES a snap at home

Easy-to-Use Kit Gives Chief Memory Officers and Photo Enthusiasts Tools to Preserve and Share Special Occasions

LONG BEACH, Calif., Feb. 22, 2005 – Epson America Inc. today announced the debut of the StoryTeller™ Photo Book Creator, a convenient, easy-to-use kit for creating and publishing personalized, hardcover photo books entirely at home that are ideal for gifts or display.  StoryTeller Photo Book Creator provides Chief Memory Officers™ (CMOs) and photo enthusiasts everything they need to publish a book of their own photos to remember and share special events and memories easily and affordably at home.

Photodex ProShow Gold 2.5 is released today. ProShow Gold 2.5 is a slide show software package aimed at photographers. ProShow Gold 2.5 is priced at $69.95 for electronic delivery. ProShow 2.5 is also available in a standard edition for $29.95.

Photodex Press Release

Photodex(R) Corporation Releases ProShow(R) Gold 2.5, the Newest Version of Its Award Winning Slide Show Software for Photo Enthusiasts and Professionals

AUSTIN, Texas, Feb. 23 /PRNewswire/—Photodex(R) Corporation today released ProShow(R) Gold 2.5, the newest version of its award winning slide show software for photo enthusiasts and professionals. ProShow Gold 2.5 allows users to easily and efficiently create quality multimedia slide show presentations to share with friends and family. Slide motion effects, captions effects, over 280 quality transitions, and unmatched performance make ProShow Gold the industry leading tool for creating quality DVD, PC, and Web slide shows.

Corel Press Release

Corel Expands Camera Raw Support with RawShooter essentials 2005 from Pixmantec

Free Software Automates Batch Downloads, Saving Photographers Time and Money While Providing Maximum Control Over Digital Images

Orlando, FL- PMA- February 20, 2005 - Corel Corporation announced that, starting today, it will offer RawShooter essentials 2005 as a free download from its website at www.corel.com/downloads. Developed by Denmark-based Pixmantec, RawShooter essentials 2005 enables photographers to automatically import and convert large batches of camera RAW images, saving them time and money with powerful, easy-to-use tools that previously cost hundreds of dollars. RawShooter essentials 2005 works with leading digital imaging software including Corel’s Paint Shop Pro, Paint Shop Pro Studio, Paint Shop Photo Album, and Corel PHOTO-PAINT.

Phase One® to offer additional tethered support for Canon® EOS DSLRs in Capture One™ RAW Workflow Software.

February 20th, 2005, PMA, Florida, USA: Phase One®, a world leader in professional digital imaging camera backs and software, announces tethered support for all Canon® EOS DSLR cameras (1Ds MKII/ 1D MKII / 1Ds / 1D / 20D/ 10D / 300D / D60 / D30) in their Capture One RAW Workflow Software. This extended tethered support will be available in Capture One PRO v3.7 and will be a free update for all existing owners of Capture One PRO. The release date is May, 2005.

iView Press Release

ORLANDO, Fla., PMA 2005 CONFERENCE, Feb. 21 /PRNewswire/—Digital asset management pioneer iView Multimedia Ltd. today launched a survey designed to answer the question: “What are the most pressing concerns of professional photographers as they embrace digital media?” The first part of the research will be conducted at PMA 2005.

Copies of the survey are available for pick up and drop off at the iView booth (# 5140). At this time the survey is only open to PMA attendees. iView’s research will garner opinions from photographers and the industries that support them, such as camera manufacturers, press bureaus, software providers, etc. All participants will be entered into a prize draw for a copy of the award winning iView MediaPro to be held on the last day of the conference.

Pixel Genius Press Release

Chicago, IL ­ February, 21st, 2005 - Pixel Genius LLC announces the release of PhotoKit-EL3.

PhotoKit-EL3 is a Photoshop® Elements® 3.0 Automate Plug-in that gives you all the wonders of a darkroom without the chemicals, letting you achieve the same effects on digital images that you once could only do in a darkroom, With a retail price of $39.95, PhotoKit-EL3 offers a comprehensive toolkit for all Elements 3.0 users on both Macintosh and Windows.

SEEFILE INTRODUCES SOFTWARE FOR MAKING ONLINE CATALOGS EASY AND CHEAP FOR DESIGNERS, PHOTOGRAPHERS AND LABS

News Highlights…
—The Mac-based software allows users to easily post their photos, artwork, text files and PDFs online in minutes;
—As an introductory promotion, SeeFile and its dealers are combining a 10-user version of the software with Apple’s new Mac mini for $995.
—For more information, please visit the SeeFile website (www.seefile.com) or contact their Boston offices at 617-262-2464.

ORLANDO—February 17, 2005—At the Photo Marketing Association’s (PMA) annual conference, SeeFile, a Boston-based start-up, will introduce a software package that not only simplifies the process of creating online catalogs, but makes the process and maintenance quite affordable. The Macintosh-based software is aimed at photographers, designers, and smaller graphic arts shops who are looking for a way to promote their work and interact with customers on the Internet. Traditional solutions to this problem have cost as much as $50,000. The SeeFile system is being introduced at PMA for an early adopter’s special price of $995, including hardware.  Once plugged into a network, it provides instant Web access for any images stored on the system.

Nikon Press Release

Three new optional PictureProject Plug-ins expand Nikon PictureProject software capability for even greater shooting, editing and sharing options when using Nikon digital cameras

PictureProject COOLPIX Remote Control, nik Color Efex Pro 2.0 Express Edition and PictureProject DVD Show.

TOKYO — Nikon Corporation is pleased to announce the introduction of three optional Plug-ins for expanded functionality. Nikon’s exclusive PictureProject software is bundled with every Nikon digital camera and Nikon Capture software is purchased separately. PictureProject COOLPIX Remote Control Plug-in enables users to operate the COOLPIX 8400 and COOLPIX 8800 cameras remotely from a computer. The nik Color Efex Pro 2.0 Express Edition, compatible with Nikon’s PictureProject and Capture software provides users a host of highly creative visual effects. PictureProject DVD Show allows automatic creation of advanced videos made from still images and movie clips that are combined with music and special effects, then saved on a recordable CD or DVD.

Imagenomic Press Release

NOISEWIRE, 02/15/05 - Imagenomic, LLC today announced two new software builds for its popular Noiseware Plug-in and Standalone products.  For Noiseware Professional Plug-in for Windows and Mac OS X, build 3101 increases Noiseware’s superior processing speed by an additional two times in 16-bit mode.  Noiseware Professional Standalone Edition also gains an additional 2x improvement in processing speed through build 2501.  Both Pro Editions support many shared and unique features (see Product Features List at www.imagenomic.com/see.asp), which make Noiseware the best noise removal tool in terms of picture quality, processing performance and ease of use.  These new Noiseware software builds are available for immediate download from Imagenomic’s website: (www.imagenomic.com and www.noiseware.com).

Hamrick Software Press Release

Used extensively by professional photographers, film processing labs and consumers around the world, VueScan 8.1.30 offers an enhanced, user-friendly interface with support for raw files for 109 digital cameras, and support for more than 400 scanners, including all Canon and Epson scanners

PHOENIX, Feb. 14 /PRNewswire/—When a married couple became embroiled in a bitter argument over the poor condition of the pictures in their wedding album, they didn’t go to a marriage counselor, but to Professor “A.”

Owned and operated by Alec Fromm, Professor “A,” based in Mississauga, Ontario, is an independent training service for Apple’s Mac OS X operating system. Alec agreed to help the couple restore their wedding memories. Even though a “professional photographer” took the pictures, Alec determined that the black & white and color 35mm negatives were underexposed and improperly processed for the types of film used. How could this marriage be saved?

Alec turned to Hamrick Software’s, VueScan, the award-winning program that lets users easily produce better looking digital images from color snapshots, negatives, slides, and documents. Using VueScan, Alec was able to capture the film data at a level that allowed him to manipulate the images to a point where the output was astounding, when compared to the original prints.

PicaJet.Com Press Release

PicaJet.Com Releases PicaJet 2.4

PicaJet 2.4 puts Picasa to shame.

Two years after entering the photo organizers market, PicaJet has created quite a stir, with some folks calling it “Picasa killer” or “Swish Army Knife of photo albums”.  But, all the hype aside, PicaJet’s success lies within a simple strategy on concentrating on few important features, rather trying to be many things to many people.  As Gregory Anderson eloquently put it in his October2004 article in Smart Computing, “unlike many other digital imaging programs, PicaJet focuses on doing one thing and doing it well.”

Luminous Landscape editor Michael Reichmann has taken a look at 3 of his favourite Photoshop plugins - Noise Ninja, Convert To B&W Pro and Photokit Sharpener.

“One of the questions that I’m asked most often, both at my seminars, and by e-mail, is – what software tools do I use; particularly for noise reduction and sharpening. And, how do I do my B&W conversions. Over the past several years I have tried many of the programs and plug-ins to come to market, on both Mac and PC platforms. Below are brief looks at the ones that are my current preferred choices. The ones that I use every day, and that I count on when producing my commercial images and fine-art display prints.”

Website: Luminous Landscape - Three Must-Have Photoshop Plug-ins

DxO Optics Pro 2.2 has been made available by DxO Labs. Optics Pro 2.2 now supports the Canon EOS 1Ds Mark II digital SLR camera, the new Adobe Digital Negative file format and has a simplified pricing structure.

DxO Labs Press Release

DXO LABS SHIPS DXO OPTICS PRO 2.2 ADDING SUPPORT FOR CANON EOS-1DS MARK II, ADOBE DIGITAL NEGATIVE SUPPORT (DNG) AND A SIMPLIFIED PRICING STRUCTURE

Paris, France, February 10, 2005 - DxO Labs, a software developer focused on research in image processing, announced today the immediate availability of DxO Optics Pro 2.2 software. This latest version of DxO Labs’ flagship product for demanding photographers adds:

- Support for the Canon EOS 1Ds Mark II.
- Support for the Adobe Digital Negative (DNG) file format as an output option.
- A simplified pricing structure and even better value. DxO Optics Pro is now offered either in a “Standard” version for expert amateur cameras or “Elite” version for all cameras including professional D-SLRS. DxO Raw Engine is now included in both versions.

DxO Labs has introduced DxO Lighting and DxO Noise technologies, adding to its range of image enhancement software. Photos enhanced with DxO Lighting more accurately reflect the reality of the scene, whilst images corrected by DxO Noise will need up to 4 times less light to deliver identical image quality.

DxO Labs Press Release

Leading imaging software company DxO Labs adds two major technology components to its DxO Technology Foundations

Paris, France - February 10, 2005 - DxO Labs, a software company developing image generation and image enhancement technologies, announces that it has added two major technology components to its DxO Technology Foundations:  DxO Lighting and DxO Noise.

“Our mission at DxO Labs is to transfer the latest results in applied mathematics academic research to technologies and solutions for our customers,” comments Frederic Guichard, DxO Labs Chief Scientist. “DxO Lighting and DxO Noise are good examples of our academic partnerships – both are based on recent academic breakthroughs which have been very quickly adapted to real life challenges to serve the imaging community.”

“The DxO Technology Foundations are at the heart of all our imaging solutions,” adds Jerome Meniere, CEO of DxO Labs. “As a result, DxO Lighting and DxO Noise will soon be integrated in all our products and solutions – for digital camera and cameraphone vendors, mobile operators, as well as demanding photographers.”

ProFotoSoftware Press Release

ProFotoSoftware have today issued V1.6 of PFS Image Darkroom, their Canon EOS Raw Image conversion software for Windows.

This new version adds image Cropping to the post conversion processing tools and Click White Balance to the Raw Conversion settings as well as numerous usability enhancements.

These new features provide PFS Image Darkroom the ability to be a true one stop shop when it comes to preparing EOS Raw Images for printing, publication and display on the Internet.

The Sparrk Printable Photo Album will be on show at PMA 2005, which starts next Sunday (20th) in Orlando, USA. The Printable Photo Album is a software package that allows you to create and print photo albums directly using your computer and a printer.

Spaark Press Release

Spaark to demonstrate Printable Photo Album range at PMA 2005

Toronto, Canada, 8th February 2005 - Spaark will be demonstrating the unique Printable Photo Album solution at PMA 2005 in Orlando, Florida (Feb 20th-23rd). This follows a successful UK launch during 2004. The Spaark Printable Photo Album provides digital camera users with a complete solution to create and print albums direct from digital photos using a personal computer and inkjet printer. Available in a range of styles and sizes the Printable Photo Album includes software to create the album together with pre-cut punched inkjet papers which clip into the album covers.

Canto Cumulus 6.5 is a new version of the Canto’s digital asset management software program, aimed at the enterprise market. Cumulus 6.5 now supports Image Color Management (ICM).

Canto Press Release

Canto Cumulus 6.5 Delivers Digital Asset Management Throughout the Enterprise

Latest version is optimized for greater performance, improved workflow, convenient administration, and offers enhanced features for enterprise-wide deployment.

February 8, 2005 – San Francisco, Berlin. Canto, a global leader in Digital Asset Management (DAM) solutions, today announced the release of Canto Cumulus 6.5 with enhancements designed to manage content more effectively and significantly reduce learning time for easier enterprise-wide deployment.

With its fast growing role as a core component of the enterprise infrastructure, the newest version of Cumulus focuses on simplifying administration with enhanced authentication methods including LDAP support and new administration tools for increased system control.

“Setting up a flexible solution that allows easy administration and intuitive workflow can be labor-intensive and complex,” said Ulrich Knocke, Canto’s Senior Product Manager. “With Cumulus 6.5, we’ve managed to add more functionality for enterprise-wide deployment and at the same time offer ease of use and help drive down the cost of implementing a valuable system. Cumulus 6.5 offers the benefits and technology required to manage the wealth of digital content large organizations work with daily, without the pain and expense of competitive solutions.”

Nikon have released a new version of their Capture 4 raw conversion software for Nikon digital SLR cameras (found via Rob Galbraith).

What is new/Content Description

  1. Support for the D2X has been added.
  2. The “Digital DEE” function has been replaced by the improved “D-Lighting” function.
  3. The “Color Noise Reduction” functions has been improved.
  4. A “Find Tool” option has been added to the View menu.
  5. “Straighten” Tool added to Image menu.
  6. A Check for updates option has been added to the Help menu.
  7. Camera Control can now be used over a wireless connection to the Wireless Transmitter WT-2 and D2X.
  8. A problem that prevented Nikon Capture from launching with some systems running Windows XP Service Pack 2 (SP 2) has been corrected.

There are numerous feature additions and improvements to this new version of Nikon Capture, see the accompanying “Read Me” for specifics. This updater will update any version of Nikon Capture 4 to the latest 4.2 release.

Nikon Capture supports NEF editing from the D1-series, D2-series, D100, D70 and all Coolpix cameras with the ability to shoot NEF images. Be aware that Nikon Capture Camera Control does not support Coolpix cameras. See the included “Read Me” file for a complete list of new features and changes.

Website: Nikon - Capture 4.2 (Windows)

Website: Nikon - Capture 4.2 (MAC)

Website: Nikon - Capture 4.2 Windows

Noise Ninja plugin for Photoshop released. Noise Ninja is a noise reduction software program from Picturecode, available either as a stand-alone program or now as a plugin for Photoshop (Winodws and MAC versions).

PictureCode Press Release

February 7, 2005—Plug-in version of Noise Ninja released

PictureCode today officially released a Photoshop plug-in version of its top-rated Noise Ninja software, which removes high-ISO noise and grain from digital images. The plug-in has been in a public beta test for the last few months, and license keys have been on sale since December, allowing the general public early access to the technology while the product remained under development.

“Response to the Noise Ninja plug-in beta test was extremely positive,” remarks Jim Christian, founder of PictureCode. “The software was downloaded approximately 20,000 times, and we already have thousands of paying customers for it. We’re also seeing rapid adoption by first-tier newspapers, and it was used at the Superbowl yesterday. Now that the product is officially released, we expect accelerated adoption in all of our key market segments.”

Corel Press Release

COREL NOW DELIVERING PAINT SHOP™ PRODUCTS TO THE MARKET!

Paint Shop Family of Products Shipped by Corel

London, UK - 8th February 2005 - Corel Corporation, a leading provider of easy-to-use personal productivity software, today announced that it is now shipping the award-winning Paint Shop family of products, as of January 2005.

Following the acquisition of Jasc Software in October 2004, the Paint Shop products (including Paint Shop Pro® 9) are now being supplied and distributed by Corel. The products can be obtained from the online Corel store (www.corel.co.uk) as well as a number of leading resellers and distributors across the UK including:
- GEM Distribution
- Ingram Micro
- Computers Unlimited.