PMA 2006: RawShooter essentials 2006 is introduced, including improved performance and camera support for 15 additional cameras. Also announced today is RawShooter premium 2006 which supports Nikon D200 including improved performancean is free for existing users. Finally RawShooter Color Engine has been updated to v1.1 to include additional camera support including Pentax and Konica Minolta.

Pixmantec Press Release

Orlando, FL. – February 25, 2006 – Pixmantec, a leading manufacturer of digital imaging software, continues to provide photographers at all levels of experience and expertise with the latest in RAW Workflow management technology with the introduction of RawShooter | essentials 2006, RawShooter | premium 2006 V1.02 and RawShooter | Color Engine V1.1, all being FREE updates. The software offers many new features, upgrades and is compatible with the most popular digital SLR camera models on the market including newly introduced models such as the Nikon D200, Canon EOS 5D, 1Ds Mark II, and 1D Mark II N, Sony R1 and several other brands and models. RawShooter | essentials 2006 continues to be offered as a forever FREE download via Pixmantec’s Website and has set the standard in the industry for quality, speed and certainly affordability.

Pixmantec has also released its latest update of the company’s best-selling RawShooter | premium 2006 RAW conversion software application. Designed as an upgrade path for RawShooter | essentials 2006 users, RawShooter | premium 2006 offers a “superset” of the features in the FREE version and is available as a $99 download which breaks pricing tradition for full featured RAW converters.

“Pixmantec’s goal is to provide the best and fastest RAW conversion software available on the market at pricepoints which allow photographers at all levels to experience and enjoy the benefits of shooting in Raw,” said Kenneth T. Laerke, CEO of Copenhagen-based Pixmantec.

“By providing RawShooter essentials as a FREE download, Pixmantec is providing a valueadd to consumers and pros that is unprecedented in the marketplace. Our reward has been literally hundreds of thousands of downloads of RawShooter | essentials 2005 with similar growth in our $99 upgrade ‘premium’ suite,’” Mr. Laerke added.

Pixmantec’s RawShooter | essentials 2006 continues to be the ideal digital workflow tool for amateurs, students and enthusiasts who are just beginning to experience the benefits of shooting in the RAW format but don’t have an immediate need for the extended features and functions available in RawShooter | premium 2006 upgrade path. RawShooter | essentials 2006 continues to provide an easy solution for two of the most common problems faced by digital SLR users today, namely editing large numbers of images and converting these into the best quality output with a minimum of time and knowledge. The software suite offers a range of sophisticated slider-driven correction tools using proprietary (patent pending) technology for obtaining optimum results with minimal effort by the
photographer. In addition to its basic corrections to white balance, exposure compensation and saturation, the software offers noise suppression, sharpening and new scene adaptive image correction technology. The software supports over 65 proprietary RAW camera formats including Adobe DNG for the each natively supported camera.

The ultimate purpose of Pixmantec’s RawShooter | premium 2006 is to allow any photographer at any level of experience, to gain the most from their RAW workflow. This is achieved by reducing the need for several workflow products to a single, integrated software suite. Non-Destructive Image Versioning™ (NDIV™) is an integral part of the RawShooter design philosophy.

The new update of RawShooter | premium 2006 incorporates all the features and functions that has made it one of the best-selling RAW conversion software products in the industry, along with new speed, quality, feature and resource optimizations. Key features include:
· RAW vs. RAW Comparison which allows side-by-side comparisons of similar images taken seconds apart to quickly compare and determine the optimum image while safely discarding the others.
· Integrated Downloader quickly transfers RAW files from an external card reader or other source to a specific target directory on the computer for instant viewing and color correction
· Image Formatting Toolbox allows photographers to format their images such as correct skewed horizons with “Horizon Straighten”, rotate images as required and crop images.
· Personalized Appearances (User Adjustment Presets) allows photographers to save a combination of corrections as a personalized appearance such as the ability to match the output of high saturation slide films.
· FastProof™ quickly (Approx. 1 sec per RAW file) allows the creation of low resolution proofs to send to clients for approval or to family members and friends, while FastProofHQ™ creates high resolution proof sized TIF and JPEG RAW conversions as fast as 1 every 2 seconds. This essentially eliminates the need to shoot RAW+JPEG which maximizes camera memory capacity.
· Curves / Levels allow Curves and Levels adjustments of an image and also allows users to save a custom curve for future use.
· Magnifier (Digital Loupe) enlarges small sections of an image to determine sharpness · FastBrowse allows the software to act as a browser for large numbers of RAW thumbnails without degrading the performance of the host PC · Scene Adaptive Technology™
· New “Re-size” functionality allows the creation of Print-Ready conversion files.
· Additional features and functions including with RawShooter | premium 2006 include:
Interpolation, Noise Suppression software, Batch Renaming, Vibrance and Color Balance Correction Tools.

Beyond its compatibility with newer camera models introduced to the marketplace, RawShooter | essentials 2006 is now compatible with Pixmantec’s RawShooter | Color Engine Plug-In, which offers sophisticated color profiles for a variety of Canon and Nikon digital camera models. With this new update, the proprietary camera color mapping are now available for selected Konica-Minolta and Pentax RAW camera formats as well. Like many aspects of photography, “color” is very subjective and can be interpreted differently.

Pixmantec’s RawShooter | Color Engine (powered by technology and intellectual property licensed from Etcetera Consulting) provides a great alternative to the standard “internal” camera color profiles included within RawShooter for each supported camera. The plug-in software is easy to install, use and maintain, regardless of the photographer’s experience or skill level. The RawShooter | Color Engine Plug-In is available as a software download at www.pixmantec.com for $59.00. Future Upgrade versions to Color Engine will be available for $29.95 for existing users. This first Upgrade is being made available for free, as a thanks to the early adopters of RawShooter | Color Engine.

These new additions build on existing features and functions that have made the RawShooter | essentials 2006 software suite an incredible success. User feedback from the 2005 version was overwhelmingly positive and has allowed Pixmantec to take suggestions from existing users and incorporate some of these suggestions into its 2006 version.