|
A special service for PCPhoto Readers powered by
|
 |
|
|
|
 |
|
|
| |
Next |
|
| |
|
|
| |
What's New And Notable In
Photography And Computing |
|
| |
|
|
| |
 |
|
| |
|
|
| |
Compact
6 Mp Camera
Put a 6-megapixel camera in your pocket for shooting anytime.
Konica Minolta’s small
but potent DiMAGE G600 offers fast startup, center-weighted
and spot metering, and programmed and manual exposure
modes. The G600’s 39-117mm (35mm equivalent)
lens allows for flexibility with a wide range of subjects.
Estimated Street Price: $449. Contact:
Konica Minolta Photo Imaging USA, (877) IMAGING, www.konicaminolta.com/dimage.
Wide-to-Telephoto Zoom for
D-SLRs
Shoot wide-angle and long telephoto
images with one lens, using Sigma’s 18-125mm ƒ/3.5-5.6
DC zoom. Designed specifically for most D-SLRs’
smaller image sensors, the lens provides a 35mm-equivalent
focal-length range of about 27-188mm. Featuring low-dispersion
glass and two aspherical elements, the lens comes in mounts
for Canon, Nikon, Pentax and Sigma cameras. Estimated
Street Price: $269. Contact:
Sigma, (800) 896-6858, www.sigmaphoto.com.
Plug-In Filters for Photoshop
nik Color Efex Pro 2.0’s
powerful, photographer-friendly filters work with all
programs that accept Photoshop plug-ins. Available
filters soften skin, stand in for polarizers and perform
many other functions. Three filters alone boost the quality
of images converted from color to black-and-white. The
plug-ins are now compatible with 16-bit images, so you
can maintain all the quality in your RAW files. List Price:
$99.95 (Standard); $159.95 (Select); $299.95 (Complete).
Contact: nik multimedia,
(888) 284-4085, www.nikmultimedia.com.
Hi-Res Flatbed Scanner
Scan your prints and film at
high resolution with Epson’s Perfection 4870 Photo
scanner. Its built-in transparency adapter scans
slides and negatives up to 4x5 inches, and provides 4800
dpi optical resolution and 3.8 Dmax to reveal all the
detail in your images. The 4870’s 16-bit-per-channel
color scans allow more flexibility in adjusting your images.
Estimated Street Price: $449. Contact:
Epson, (800) GO-EPSON, www.epson.com.
6-in-1 Card Reader for Laptops
Transfer your images to your
laptop easily with SanDisk’s 6-in-1 PC Card Adapter.
The compact, stainless-steel adapter works without software
drivers or external cables. It slips into your laptop’s
PC card slot, and accepts SecureDigital, MMC, Memory Stick,
Memory Stick PRO, xD and SmartMedia cards. The cards behave
like removable hard drives when mounted. Suggested Retail
Price: $29.99. Contact:
SanDisk, (408) 542-0500, www.sandisk.com.
CD/DVD-Burning Software
Gain more flexibility when
burning your images and other data to CDs and DVDs using
RecordNow! Deluxe Suite 7. Sonic Solutions’
new software is drag-and-drop simple and supports data
archiving across multiple discs, so you can back up all
your files easily. When you’re not working with images,
the software handles MP3s and other audio formats, too.
List Price: $69.99. Contact:
Sonic Solutions, (415) 893-8000, www.sonic.com.
|
| |
|
|
Compact
Bag for D-SLRs
Protect your D-SLR from hard
knocks with the Tamrac Digital Zoom 4 Model 5684 bag’s
dual-foam technology. The bag’s oversized
top keeps your camera safe from dust and rain. Housing
a digital SLR with up to a 4.25-inch lens attached, the
compact bag’s front pocket organizes batteries and
media cards, and the side pockets carry a cell phone and
other small items. Suggested Retail Price: $44.95. Contact:
Tamrac, (800) 662-0717, www.tamrac.com. |
|
 |
| |
|
|
Improve
Lens Performance
Boost your D-SLR lenses’
image quality with DxO Optics Pro software. The
program knows the exact fix for your lenses’ aberrations
and distortions, and makes those corrections without a
lot of extra work. Avoiding a one-size-fits-all approach,
the software relies on a modular database for your particular
model of camera and lenses. List Price: Varies according
to camera and lens modules ordered. Contact:
DO Labs, www.dolabs.com.
Bright Inkjet Paper
Make inkjet prints with the
feel of photographic paper with Konica Minolta’s
line of inkjet photo papers. Brightened to keep
your whites their whitest, the media feature a photographic
RC-paper base with a quick-drying, smudge-resistant surface,
and a choice of finishes and weights. Suggested Retail
Price: From $6.99. Contact:
Konica Minolta Photo Imaging USA, (877) IMAGING, www.konicaminolta.us.
Photoshop Tips for the Traveler
Control your color and transform
drab shots into interesting ones with Photoshop CS for
the Outdoor & Travel Photographer. The CD features
nine lessons from digital expert Rick Sammon on Photoshop’s
Levels, Curves, Hue/Saturation and other controls, as
well as its histogram. Learn how to improve your black-and-white
images and shoot better portraits as well. List Price:
$49. Contact: Software
Cinema, (858) 538-9957, www.software-cinema.com.
|
| |
|
|
17-inch
LCD Monitor
Get a bigger monitor without
hogging space on your desktop with ViewSonic’s VX715
17-inch LCD. Its flat design and elevated neck
save room and give you a higher, more comfortable viewing
position. The monitor’s 450:1 contrast ratio and
1280 x 1024 native resolution provide sharp images. Estimated
Street Price: $525. Contact:
ViewSonic, (800) 688-6688, www.viewsonic.com. |
|
 |
| |
|
|
Dye-Sub
Printer
Make long-lasting, smudge-proof,
4x6-inch prints directly from your camera or memory card
with Sony’s DPP-EX50 dye-sub printer. The
unit’s Memory Stick and CompactFlash slots accept
your media, and two USB ports provide a connection to
your camera or computer. Standing upright, the printer
fits easily on your desktop. Estimated Street Price: $179.95.
Contact: Sony, (800)
222-SONY, www.sony.com.
Software Filters for Portraits
Soften skin tones and create
a warm, summery glow with the B+W Portrait & Family
digital filter set. The software plug-ins work
with Photoshop, Photoshop Elements and other image-editing
programs, offering a simple way to enhance colors and
improve the look of your images. The set also includes
filters for creating simulated moonlight. A companion
collection improves your outdoor pictures. Suggested Retail
Price: $65. Contact:
Schneider Optics, (631) 761-5000, www.schneideroptics.com.
|
| |
|
|
Simple
Image Browser/Editor
Browse through your pictures
and carry out sophisticated color corrections with just
a few quick mouse-clicks with PictoColor CorrectPhoto
software. Identify your highlights and shadows
with the program’s easy Point-and-Click correction
system, and the software automatically removes the color
cast from your images. The program also fixes red-eye
and sharpens images. List Price: $39.95 (download only);
$49.95 (download plus backup CD). Contact:
PictoColor, (952) 894-6247, www.picto.com. |
|
 |
| |
|
|
12x+/8x-
Multi-format DVD Burner
Quickly archive a lot of data
with TDK’S Indi DVD Multiformat burner. Available
in internal and external versions, the latter boasting
USB 2.0 and FireWire connectivity, the drive burns DVD+R
and DVD-R discs at 12x and 8x, respectively. It also burns
the rewriteable (RW) discs at 4x, CD-Rs at 48x and CD-RWs
at 24x. Estimated Street Price: $169.99 (internal); $269.99
(external). Contact:
TDK, (800) 835-8273, www.tdk.com.
Organize and Edit Your Images
Keep track of all your images
with PhotoShow Deluxe 3.0. The software organizes
your photos into albums and lets you perform basic image
editing, like removing red-eye and adjusting brightness,
contrast and saturation. A unique feature ranks your images
based on how often you access them so you can quickly
find the images you use the most. List Price: $49.99.
Contact: Simple Star,
(415) 861-7529, www.simplestar.com.
Photoshop Actions
Improve the look of your pictures
and save time working in Photoshop with PhotoGia software.
Consisting of a set of actions for Photoshop to follow
automatically, PhotoGia reproduces the steps an experienced
Photoshop user would take to enhance their images. Among
the included actions are fixing backlighting and softening
skin tones in portraits. List Price: $199.99. Contact:
ClearHeart, (512) 422-8074, www.photogia.com.
|
| |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| |
|
|
| |
Hard Copy
The Complete
Guide to Digital Color Correction by Michael Walker
with Neil Barstow (Lark Books, 2004, ISBN: 1-57990-543-9).
This comprehensive color management guide takes you from the
basic theory of color to advanced techniques for enhancing
photographs and rescuing problem shots.
The Portrait Photographer’s
Guide to Posing by Bill Hurter (Amherst Media,
2004, ISBN: 1-58428-126-X). Featuring approaches for all types
of portraiture, from weddings to families, children to high-school
seniors, this guide to posing teaches the classical rules.
It also encourages you to break them when appropriate.
Master Lighting Guide for Portrait
Photographers by Christopher Grey (Amherst Media, 2004,
ISBN: 1-58428-125-1). Whether you’re shooting with film
or digital, this book will provide insights and techniques
on controlling light effectively for more flattering, creative
portraits.
Photoshop CS for Digital Photographers
by Colin Smith (Charles River Media, 2004, ISBN: 1-58450-321-1).
Learn how to enhance, correct and manipulate your images in
Photoshop’s most recent version, which is packed with
improved digital tools. A CD-ROM is included.
|
|
| |
|
|
| |
|
|
| |
|
|
| |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| |
Next |
|
| |
|
|
| |
What's New And Notable In
Photography And Computing |
|
| |
|
|
| |
|
|
| |
|
|
| |
Compact
6 Mp Camera
Put a 6-megapixel camera in your pocket for shooting anytime.
Konica Minolta’s small
but potent DiMAGE G600 offers fast startup, center-weighted
and spot metering, and programmed and manual exposure
modes. The G600’s 39-117mm (35mm equivalent)
lens allows for flexibility with a wide range of subjects.
Estimated Street Price: $449. Contact:
Konica Minolta Photo Imaging USA, (877) IMAGING, www.konicaminolta.com/dimage.
Wide-to-Telephoto Zoom for
D-SLRs
Shoot wide-angle and long telephoto
images with one lens, using Sigma’s 18-125mm ƒ/3.5-5.6
DC zoom. Designed specifically for most D-SLRs’
smaller image sensors, the lens provides a 35mm-equivalent
focal-length range of about 27-188mm. Featuring low-dispersion
glass and two aspherical elements, the lens comes in mounts
for Canon, Nikon, Pentax and Sigma cameras. Estimated
Street Price: $269. Contact:
Sigma, (800) 896-6858, www.sigmaphoto.com.
Plug-In Filters for Photoshop
nik Color Efex Pro 2.0’s
powerful, photographer-friendly filters work with all
programs that accept Photoshop plug-ins. Available
filters soften skin, stand in for polarizers and perform
many other functions. Three filters alone boost the quality
of images converted from color to black-and-white. The
plug-ins are now compatible with 16-bit images, so you
can maintain all the quality in your RAW files. List Price:
$99.95 (Standard); $159.95 (Select); $299.95 (Complete).
Contact: nik multimedia,
(888) 284-4085, www.nikmultimedia.com.
Hi-Res Flatbed Scanner
Scan your prints and film at
high resolution with Epson’s Perfection 4870 Photo
scanner. Its built-in transparency adapter scans
slides and negatives up to 4x5 inches, and provides 4800
dpi optical resolution and 3.8 Dmax to reveal all the
detail in your images. The 4870’s 16-bit-per-channel
color scans allow more flexibility in adjusting your images.
Estimated Street Price: $449. Contact:
Epson, (800) GO-EPSON, www.epson.com.
6-in-1 Card Reader for Laptops
Transfer your images to your
laptop easily with SanDisk’s 6-in-1 PC Card Adapter.
The compact, stainless-steel adapter works without software
drivers or external cables. It slips into your laptop’s
PC card slot, and accepts SecureDigital, MMC, Memory Stick,
Memory Stick PRO, xD and SmartMedia cards. The cards behave
like removable hard drives when mounted. Suggested Retail
Price: $29.99. Contact:
SanDisk, (408) 542-0500, www.sandisk.com.
CD/DVD-Burning Software
Gain more flexibility when
burning your images and other data to CDs and DVDs using
RecordNow! Deluxe Suite 7. Sonic Solutions’
new software is drag-and-drop simple and supports data
archiving across multiple discs, so you can back up all
your files easily. When you’re not working with images,
the software handles MP3s and other audio formats, too.
List Price: $69.99. Contact:
Sonic Solutions, (415) 893-8000, www.sonic.com.
|
| |
|
|
Compact
Bag for D-SLRs
Protect your D-SLR from hard
knocks with the Tamrac Digital Zoom 4 Model 5684 bag’s
dual-foam technology. The bag’s oversized
top keeps your camera safe from dust and rain. Housing
a digital SLR with up to a 4.25-inch lens attached, the
compact bag’s front pocket organizes batteries and
media cards, and the side pockets carry a cell phone and
other small items. Suggested Retail Price: $44.95. Contact:
Tamrac, (800) 662-0717, www.tamrac.com. |
|
|
| |
|
|
Improve
Lens Performance
Boost your D-SLR lenses’
image quality with DxO Optics Pro software. The
program knows the exact fix for your lenses’ aberrations
and distortions, and makes those corrections without a
lot of extra work. Avoiding a one-size-fits-all approach,
the software relies on a modular database for your particular
model of camera and lenses. List Price: Varies according
to camera and lens modules ordered. Contact:
DO Labs, www.dolabs.com.
Bright Inkjet Paper
Make inkjet prints with the
feel of photographic paper with Konica Minolta’s
line of inkjet photo papers. Brightened to keep
your whites their whitest, the media feature a photographic
RC-paper base with a quick-drying, smudge-resistant surface,
and a choice of finishes and weights. Suggested Retail
Price: From $6.99. Contact:
Konica Minolta Photo Imaging USA, (877) IMAGING, www.konicaminolta.us.
Photoshop Tips for the Traveler
Control your color and transform
drab shots into interesting ones with Photoshop CS for
the Outdoor & Travel Photographer. The CD features
nine lessons from digital expert Rick Sammon on Photoshop’s
Levels, Curves, Hue/Saturation and other controls, as
well as its histogram. Learn how to improve your black-and-white
images and shoot better portraits as well. List Price:
$49. Contact: Software
Cinema, (858) 538-9957, www.software-cinema.com.
|
| |
|
|
17-inch
LCD Monitor
Get a bigger monitor without
hogging space on your desktop with ViewSonic’s VX715
17-inch LCD. Its flat design and elevated neck
save room and give you a higher, more comfortable viewing
position. The monitor’s 450:1 contrast ratio and
1280 x 1024 native resolution provide sharp images. Estimated
Street Price: $525. Contact:
ViewSonic, (800) 688-6688, www.viewsonic.com. |
|
|
| |
|
|
Dye-Sub
Printer
Make long-lasting, smudge-proof,
4x6-inch prints directly from your camera or memory card
with Sony’s DPP-EX50 dye-sub printer. The
unit’s Memory Stick and CompactFlash slots accept
your media, and two USB ports provide a connection to
your camera or computer. Standing upright, the printer
fits easily on your desktop. Estimated Street Price: $179.95.
Contact: Sony, (800)
222-SONY, www.sony.com.
Software Filters for Portraits
Soften skin tones and create
a warm, summery glow with the B+W Portrait & Family
digital filter set. The software plug-ins work
with Photoshop, Photoshop Elements and other image-editing
programs, offering a simple way to enhance colors and
improve the look of your images. The set also includes
filters for creating simulated moonlight. A companion
collection improves your outdoor pictures. Suggested Retail
Price: $65. Contact:
Schneider Optics, (631) 761-5000, www.schneideroptics.com.
|
| |
|
|
Simple
Image Browser/Editor
Browse through your pictures
and carry out sophisticated color corrections with just
a few quick mouse-clicks with PictoColor CorrectPhoto
software. Identify your highlights and shadows
with the program’s easy Point-and-Click correction
system, and the software automatically removes the color
cast from your images. The program also fixes red-eye
and sharpens images. List Price: $39.95 (download only);
$49.95 (download plus backup CD). Contact:
PictoColor, (952) 894-6247, www.picto.com. |
|
|
| |
|
|
12x+/8x-
Multi-format DVD Burner
Quickly archive a lot of data
with TDK’S Indi DVD Multiformat burner. Available
in internal and external versions, the latter boasting
USB 2.0 and FireWire connectivity, the drive burns DVD+R
and DVD-R discs at 12x and 8x, respectively. It also burns
the rewriteable (RW) discs at 4x, CD-Rs at 48x and CD-RWs
at 24x. Estimated Street Price: $169.99 (internal); $269.99
(external). Contact:
TDK, (800) 835-8273, www.tdk.com.
Organize and Edit Your Images
Keep track of all your images
with PhotoShow Deluxe 3.0. The software organizes
your photos into albums and lets you perform basic image
editing, like removing red-eye and adjusting brightness,
contrast and saturation. A unique feature ranks your images
based on how often you access them so you can quickly
find the images you use the most. List Price: $49.99.
Contact: Simple Star,
(415) 861-7529, www.simplestar.com.
Photoshop Actions
Improve the look of your pictures
and save time working in Photoshop with PhotoGia software.
Consisting of a set of actions for Photoshop to follow
automatically, PhotoGia reproduces the steps an experienced
Photoshop user would take to enhance their images. Among
the included actions are fixing backlighting and softening
skin tones in portraits. List Price: $199.99. Contact:
ClearHeart, (512) 422-8074, www.photogia.com.
|
| |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| |
|
|
| |
Hard Copy
The Complete
Guide to Digital Color Correction by Michael Walker
with Neil Barstow (Lark Books, 2004, ISBN: 1-57990-543-9).
This comprehensive color management guide takes you from the
basic theory of color to advanced techniques for enhancing
photographs and rescuing problem shots.
The Portrait Photographer’s
Guide to Posing by Bill Hurter (Amherst Media,
2004, ISBN: 1-58428-126-X). Featuring approaches for all types
of portraiture, from weddings to families, children to high-school
seniors, this guide to posing teaches the classical rules.
It also encourages you to break them when appropriate.
Master Lighting Guide for Portrait
Photographers by Christopher Grey (Amherst Media, 2004,
ISBN: 1-58428-125-1). Whether you’re shooting with film
or digital, this book will provide insights and techniques
on controlling light effectively for more flattering, creative
portraits.
Photoshop CS for Digital Photographers
by Colin Smith (Charles River Media, 2004, ISBN: 1-58450-321-1).
Learn how to enhance, correct and manipulate your images in
Photoshop’s most recent version, which is packed with
improved digital tools. A CD-ROM is included.
|
|
| |
|
|
| |
|
|
| |
|
|
| |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
