Sensitive Light is a well-designed weblog that features some absolutely stunning photography by it’s owner, Sensiti. This experimentation on the theme of smoke is particularly beautiful, and there are also some great hoverflies and damselflies images. Sensitive Light is a great way to start your Sunday morning!

Website: Sensitive Light

Digital Photography Now yesterday reported the imminent release of 2 new budget printers from Epson. The Stylus C64 and C84 printers are priced at ?69 and ?99 respectively (exc. VAT) and will be avialble in September.

Normally the release of yet more low-end, budget printers wouldn’t cause much of a stir, but the new Epsons both use DURABrite ink, rather than the more conventional dye-based ink. Epson claims that their new new DURABrite inks “ensure laser sharp blacks and vivid, life-like colours that are waterproof, smudge proof and fade resistant for up to 80 years*. Ian Burley of DP-Now expands on this:

“Espon says its new Durabrite inks borrow much of the knowledge used to formulate their UltraChrome pigment inks developed for professional large format ink-jet photo printers. Like UltraChrome, microscopic Durabrite ink particles are encapsulated in a resin coat that helps prevent coagulation and promotes a smooth printed surface with better light reflecting characteristics. Epson also says it has improved the colour gamut of its Durabrite inks. To date, Epson is the only consumer ink-jet printer manufacturer to use pigmented colour inks as well as black.”

Fade-resistant inks in relatively cheap printers like the C64/C84 can only be a good thing. How long will it be before Epson uses the DURABrite ink across it’s printer range? Maybe the problem of fading, a serious concern with dye-based inkhet printers, will soon be a thing of the past.

According to Ian “Epson wants us to seriously consider adopting its new four colour pigment ink printers, the Stylus C64 and C84, for general purpose photo printing, as well as document printing. Here at dp-now.com we think their argument has some merit, though photo print perfectionists may not yet be persuaded.” Epson are also releasing a Durabrite new glossy paper to go with the new printers.

Website: DPNow - Epson Stylus C64/C84 Printers

I’ve just posted my review of “Photos on CD & DVD 2.0 DeLuxe”, a software package from FastTrak Software that allows you to incorporate your photos into professional-looking slideshows.

“Photos on CD & DVD 2.0 DeLuxe is the ideal software package to create professionally produced slide shows with ease. Packed with a number of new features it is the perfect partner to your digital camera. Just read in your photos, add 3D crossfades, music, commentary and text and burn slide shows onto all leading disk formats (VCD, SVCD, DVD, Mini-DVD, CD-ROM) to watch them comfortably on your TV or PC).”

Website: Read the Full Review of Photos on CD & DVD 2.0 DeLuxe

The August issue of Nature Photographers Online Magazine has been posted today and features some new articles that will appeal to nature and non-nature photographers alike. There’s a review of the new Fuji Velvia 100 slide film, “The ‘Ethics’ of using Filters”, which discusses the use of filters in landscape photography, and “The Africa Safari Primer” - well, we can all dream, can’t we?!

Website: Nature Photographers Online Magazine - August Issue

As usual on the 1st day of the new calendar month, a number of online magazines and publications have posted their monthly updates. First up is ePhotoZine with a new range of techniques for August. This month’s articles include “Fill-in Flash explained”, “Selective toning in Photoshop” and “Using Graduated Filters” - once again there’s a nice balance between digital and more general photography techniques for you to try.

Website: ePhotoZine August Techniques

The next review from Imaging Resource is the Minolta DiMAGE S414, which has the same $399 price tag as the Casio Exifilm EX-Z3.

“With 4.0 megapixels and a tack-sharp 4x optical zoom lens, the S414 carries on the tradition of excellent creative control at bargain prices that have made the line a success. The S414 is an evolution of the S404, rather than a revolutionary new product. The S414 has the same high speed CPU as the prestigious DiMAGE 7Hi, for faster processing, and an improved internal memory system enables faster cycle times. The S414 also features enhanced color and filter options, a new live histogram display, and Grid and Scale alignment LCD display modes.”

Website: Imaging Resource - Minolta DiMAGE S414 Review

Imaging Resource have just posted 2 new reviews. The first one looks at the EX-Z3 from Casio, a tiny digicam (87 x 57 x 23 millimeters) that has an RRP of $399.

“With the new Exilim series of ultra-thin, very compact digital cameras, Casio continues to innovate. The latest in the series is the EX-Z3, which boasts a 3.2-megapixel CCD and a true, 3x optical zoom lens in its tiny dimensions. (The lens being the same clever design developed by Pentax for their own Optio S model.) The Z3 also has no less than 21 preset shooting modes, making it a versatile choice for just about any situation.”

Website: Imaging Resource - Casio Exilim EX-Z3 Review

DCRP have reviewed the Toshiba PDR-M700, a 3.2 megapixel digital camera with a massive 10x Canon lens and 2.5 inch LCD display.

“If you excuse the pun, the biggest feature on the PDR-M700 is its 10X optical zoom lens. This F2.8-3.1 lens is made by Canon, as is often the case with Toshiba cameras. The focal range of the lens is 5.7 - 57 mm, which is equivalent to 37 - 370 mm. The lens barrel is threaded, and you can use the included lens adapter to attach filters and add-on lenses.”

Website: DCRP - Toshiba PDR-M700 Review

I’ve been hard at work recently preparing some new Reviews for you - expect to see the following software, hardware and print service reviews during the next week or so:

- Online Print Services
In this new 7 part Review, I’m going to take a look at some online print services that operate in the United Kingdom. I’ll let you know what I think about the service and print quality that I receive from each one. Part 1 has just been posted.

*COMING SOON*
- Vosonic X-Drive
Storage is often a problem for digital photographers. Memory cards quickly fill up and are relatively expensive to buy. Find out why I bought an X-Drive and what I think about this portable storage solution.

- Photos on CD and DVD 2.0 DeLuxe
I’ve taken a look at this software package from FastTrak Software that enables you to create slide shows and burn them onto CD or DVD.

PhotographyBLOG Reviews

Microsoft are continuing their quest for world domination by announcing Microsoft? Digital Image Suite 9, which the software giant claims is “the first digital imaging software package on the market to combine all the tools consumers want and need to organize, archive, edit and share the soaring number of digital photos accumulating on their PCs.” I wasn’t aware that there had been 8 previous releases of the Digital Image Suite - if anyone has been using them then please let me know what you think of the software.

Microsoft Digital Image Suite 9 is available for an estimated retail price of $129 (U.S.).

Website: Microsoft Press Release

The second new Rollei digital camera is the dt3200. The new 3.23-megapixel camera has a 1/2.5” CCD sensor and offers a maximum image resolution of 2720 x 2040 pixels. The popular 3xD-VarioApogon HFT zoom lens f2.8-4.8 covers focal lengths from 5.8 to 17.4mm, which is roughly equivalent to 35 - 120 mm in 35mm photography. In the video mode, brief movie scenes can be recorded with a resolution of 320 x 240 pixels and a frequency of 15 to 20 frames per second. A built-in microphone and loudspeaker allow the simultaneous recording of voice commentaries.

Website: DCViews - Rollei dt3200

Website: Lets Go Digital - Rollei dt3200

Rollei have followed up their announcement of the dc3100 digital camera a few days ago with 2 more new cameras. The first is the Rollei dp300, which has a 3x zoom lens, autofocus and a zoom range from 6.2-18.6 mm (equivalent to 40-120mm in 35m photography). In addition to digital still pictures, the Rollei dp300 will also record both videoclips and, thanks to a built-in microphone, voice commentary.

Website: DCViews - Rollei dp300

Website: Lets Go Digital - Rollei dp300

ePhotoZine have also reviewed the X’S Drive II from Vosonic, a neat and inexpensive backup device for your digital images. I own the original version, which isn’t all that different to this new model, and have been using it without any problems for the last 4 months.

”...a multitude of devices are appearing that allow you to backup your memory card to a CD or hard-disk whilst on the move. The Vosonic X’S-Drive II we’re looking at here uses a hard-disk, in this case a 20Gb one, although it is available with larger drives. It uses a fast USB 2.0 interface and at a glance offers a quick and simple method of backing up our memory cards.”

Website: ePhotoZine - X’S Drive II Review”

ePhotoZine have published a comprehensive round-up of matt inkjet papers, testing 9 different brands on 5 different printers. If you’ve been struggling to find the best matt paper for your inkjet then look no further.

“With so many variables in the printing process it’s difficult to gauge exactly the perfect paper for your printer. The solution many photographers put up with is stumbling across a paper they like and sticking with it, others are more adventurous and experiment through trial and error with a variety of papers until they find one that suits their needs best.

We’ve tried hard to help matters for you by doing a roundup test of a selection of Matt papers with some popular printer models.”

Website: ePhotoZine - Matt Inkjet Paper Review”

Joe Ringham from gophoto.net has let me know that there’s a free film offer in the US magazine Popular Photography:

“The latest Popular Photography magazine has an offer from Kodak to get 5 free rolls of film with the purchase of 5 rolls of film. It has to be USA film, you have to send in your receipt and proof of purchase with the card. Limit one per address, household, etc. No copies. But it would more than cover the cost of buying a copy of the magazine.”

Website: Popular Photography”

Adam Harvey from zoozoom.com has asked me to let everyone know about a photography project that you can all help out with.

“I’m working on a collaborative photo project, that I though you might be interested in and looking for ways to ask for help with the project. The working title is “Internet Portrait Project” and it involves using the internet as an artistic medium to create a portrait from user’s images (headshots). You can look at it at the zoozoom website where it is hosted (it is a collaborative effort between the magazine and myself).

Website: http://www.zoozoom.com/projects/main.html”

Pictographics International Corporation has just released as stand-alone version of iCorrect EditLab 4.0, which is already available as a plug-in for Photoshop. Here’s an excerpt from the press release that explains what iCorrect EditLab does:

“iCorrect EditLab offers a revolutionary, yet simple and straightforward way of color correcting any digital picture. iCorrect EditLab leads you through a simple four step process including:

- color balance - Removes unwanted color cast
- white/black point - Improves tonal range
- brightness/contrast/saturation - Corrects Exposure settings
- Hue selective editing - Refines colors on a hue selective basis including predefined Memory colors such as Skin tones, Blue sky ad Foliage green.”

iCorrect EditLab Application, version 4.0, is compatible with the following operating systems: Macintosh 9.2, and 10.1and 10.2 in both Native and Classic modes and Windows 98SE, ME, 2000, and XP. iCorrect EditLab is available for $79.95 (software download) at www.picto.com. iCorrect EditLab Plug-in for Adobe(r) Photoshop products is priced at $99.95 (software download) and is available for both Windows and Macintosh operating systems.

Website: iCorrect EditLab 4.0

Michael Reichmann has posted an overview of the various digital backs that are available for medium-format cameras, which is just the start of an in-depth look at digital backs.

“As previously announced I am beginning a series of reviews of all of the major medium format digital backs. This first installment is a survey of where the marketplace stands today, what’s available, and what photographers can expect from these mega-priced megapixel marvels.”

Website: Luminous Landscape - “Medium Format Digital Backs”

Steve’s Digicams have reviewed the Cyber-shot DSC-U60 digital camera from Sony and its non-weatherproof sibling, the DSC-U30.

“The CyberShot DSC-U60 is an entry level, weatherproof, miniature digicam that begs to go everywhere with you, even swimming! Although its waterproof body is almost toy-like in size and appearance, it is a quite capable camera within its limited range of functions.”

Website: Steve’s Digicams - Sony Cyber-shot DSC-U60 Review

Website: Steve’s Digicams - Sony Cyber-shot DSC-U30 Review

Pride Parade Portraits #1	Pride Parade Portraits #2	Pride Parade Portraits #3
Pride Parade Portraits #1	Pride Parade Portraits #2	Pride Parade Portraits #3

Following on from the dancing Supermen images that I posted a couple of days ago, here are 6 of the best portrait shots that I took at the Pride Parade 2003.




Website: Pride Parade