
SUPER SHOT With Panasonic’s DMC-FZ30 Lumix, you get a powerful zoom lens on a small body. The 8-megapixel camera has a Leica DC Vario-Elmarit lens with a 12x optical zoom (35-420mm 35mm equivalent). Plus, blurry shots aren’t as problematic because of a built-in sensor that detects hand movement and then triggers the lens to counteract unwanted shake. Other notable features include a two-inch rotating LCD, manual focus and zoom rings. List Price: $649. Contact: Panasonic, (800) 211-PANA, www.panasonic.com. HIGH-TECH SCREENS Using the latest color-reproduction technology, NEC Display Solutions’ new flat-panel LCD MultiSync 90-series delivers sharper images. The monitors come in sizes of 19, 20 and 21 inches. In addition to improved image quality, the screens have some eco-friendly features, like a mode that adjusts the display’s brightness relative to the ambient lighting. List Price: $749 (19-inch); $1,199 (20-inch); $1,599 (21-inch). Contact: NEC Display Solutions, (866) NEC-MORE, www.necdisplay.com. TRANSPARENT DRIVE Spinning at 10,000 rpm, Western Digital’s Raptor X SATA hard drive is swift. In addition to speed, the drive’s capacity has doubled to 150 GB, along with the buffer size to 16 MB. If you really want to see how it works, a clear-top version with a durable see-through cover allows you to view its inner mechanisms in action. The Raptor X measures 5.8x4x1 inches and weighs 1.8 pounds. List Price: $289 (standard); $349 (clear-top). Contact: Western Digital, (949) 672-7000, www.westerndigital.com. THE GO-ANYWHERE DRIVE When you leave, take your key files with you using Verbatim’s sleek Store ‘n’ Go USB HD Drives. The compact devices come with Mobile Launchpad, allowing you to download and run programs directly from the drive along with accessing personal files and data. At just 1.8 ounces and 2.7x2.1x0.5 inches, these drives really can go wherever you do. They come in capacities of 4 GB and 8 GB, and with a travel wallet and USB cable. List Price: $129 (4 GB); $199 (8 GB). Contact: Verbatim, (800) 538-8589, www.verbatim.com. STUDIO SOLUTIONS With better support for MPEG-4 files, Pinnacle’s latest version of its editing software lets you export video in one click to portable devices, like an iPod or PDA. Studio Plus version 10.5 Titanium Edition is designed for easy use, with a three-step process for capturing, editing and sharing your videos. Also included in the upgrade are hundreds of real-time effects and a built-in DVD creator. List Price: $99. Contact: Pinnacle Systems, (800) 293-2948, www.pinnaclesys.com. NEW RAW TOOL RAW file processing and batch editing are some of the major new upgrades to Picture Window Pro 4.0, image-editing software from Digital Light & Color. The program now opens RAW files from most major cameras and lets you create profiles for different models. You’ll also work faster with the new batch-editing tool for automatically transferring, editing and resizing multiple images at once. Other new features include a slideshow-style image preview and an improved browser. List Price: $59 (upgrade); $89 (new users). Contact: Digital Light & Color, (617) 489-8858, www.dl-c.com.

Hard Copy

Outdoor Photographer Landscape and Nature Photography with Photoshop CS2 by Rob Sheppard (Wiley, 2006; ISBN: 0-471-78619-5). PCPhoto and OP Editor Rob Sheppard shows you how to apply Photoshop techniques to landscape and nature photography by exploring topics such as using the correct exposure and managing color correction.

Photoshop CS2: Before and After Makeovers by Taz Tally (Wiley, 2006; ISBN: 0-471-74901-X). Break down the steps for doing dimensional makeovers, exposure enhancements and color corrections with this all-inclusive guide, which covers a range of topics, including brightness, fixing contrast and matching color across images.

Color Confidence: The Digital Photographer’s Guide to Color Management by Tim Grey (Sybex, 2006; ISBN: 0-471-78616-0). In this updated edition, you’ll get the color-management lowdown, from capture to output, by learning how to calibrate your monitor accurately and quickly, configure Photoshop color settings and more.

Adobe Photoshop CS2 Visual Encyclopedia by Stephen Romaniello (Wiley, 2006; ISBN: 0-7645-9860-0). Go from A to Z using this reference book, which shows every Photoshop tool and how to use them, and provides step-by-step instructions for more than 130 key tasks and techniques. Topics are arranged alphabetically.


LOW-COST ZOOM Finding a long lens that won’t break your bank account can be challenging, but that’s what Sony offers with the Cyber-shot DSC-H5. The 7.2-megapixel camera has a three-inch LCD screen and a Carl Zeiss Vario-Tessar 12x optical zoom lens with a focal range of 36-432mm (35mm equivalent). The new model uses Sony’s SteadyShot image-stabilization technology to help reduce blur caused by hand movement. List Price: $499. Contact: Sony, (800) 222-SONY, www.sony.com. FAST MOVERS With 100x speed ratings, Kingston’s CompactFlash Ultimate Cards get down to business quickly when transferring images. The memory cards deliver a read speed of up to 18 MB/sec. and a write speed of up to 15 MB/sec. Designed for pros and photo enthusiasts, the cards come in 1, 2 and 4 GB storage capacities. Estimated Street Price: $59 (1 GB); $99 (2 GB); $189 (4 GB). Contact: Kingston, (800) 337-8410, www.kingston.com. CAPTURE THIS With Phase One’s latest version of Capture One, you get RAW image-processing software that supports more cameras, more file formats and Intel-based Macs. Tests for Capture One 3.7.4 have shown faster RAW processing rates for both Macs and Windows. The software is a universal Mac application designed to run natively on both Intel and PowerPC-based Mac computers. Existing users can upgrade for free. List Price: $499 (new users). Contact: Phase One, (888) PHASE-ONE, www.phaseone.com. CARD HOLDER Stay organized when you’re on the road by keeping all your memory cards in one place. Digital Foci’s Memory Card Travel Case holds up to eight cards and fits all types, including CompactFlash, Secure Digital, xD Picture Card and Sony Memory Stick. The holder has a durable, silver-brushed aluminum shell with rubber lining for protection. The lightweight case weighs 3.5 ounces and measures 4.2x2.8x0.7 inches. List Price: $19. Contact: Digital Foci, (310) 763-9100, www.digitalfoci.com. IMAGE OPTIMIZER Get your photos and video to pop off the screen with Avivo, image-enhancing technology from ATI, first introduced through the Radeon X1800 Series video cards. An advanced 10-bit-per-color display engine creates vibrant colors and sharp images for true-to-life image reproduction. Other Radeon features include video-scaling tools for maintaining cleaner images at high display resolutions and hardware processing for smooth video playback. Estimated Street Price: $398 (256 MB); $519 (512 MB). Contact: ATI, www.ati.com. REEL MAGIC Jumpstart your creative side with software that will help turn any video footage into stylish home movies. CyberLink’s PowerDirector 5.0 offers time-saving editing tools for adding special effects and screen frames, sharpening photos, stabilizing video and removing red-eye in one step. You can also add music, design stylish titles and work with timeline controls. The program supports high-definition and widescreen formats. List Price: $89. Contact: CyberLink, (510) 668-0118, www.cyberlink.com. MEMORY BOOKS Make photo albums of your latest family vacation in minutes with ZoomAlbum. The photo book creator allows you to build 3x3-inch mini-albums with minimal effort. Drag-and-drop your photos into the ZoomAlbum Creator template, print the images out on a ZoomAlbum photo sheet, and assemble the pocket-sized album. You can rotate, crop, zoom, rearrange and add text to customize your album. List Price: $24 (two albums). Contact: ZoomAlbum, www.zoomalbum.com. FOCUS FINDER Get the best sharpness and detail from your images with the latest version of DxO Optics Pro. Among the upgrades is a new Optics Engine for correcting lens distortion and chromatic aberrations, faster processing and an improved user interface for easier image selection and viewing. DxO Optics Pro v3.55a also supports more cameras. Upgrading is free for all v3.0 or v3.5 users. List Price: $79 (Starter); $149 (Standard); $299 (Elite). Contact: DxO Labs, www.dxo.com. MORE FOR LESS The new version of Apple’s Aperture software, 1.1, works faster, has more features and is less expensive. Searching through RAW files is up to four times faster than before, and there’s a new set of adjustment tools for noise reduction, highlight recovery and sharpening when converting images. Aperture 1.0 owners can upgrade for free. As we went to press, Apple announced a new update, Aperture 1.1.1, which includes improved white balance and tint value controls. List Price: $299 (Aperture 1.1). Contact: Apple, (800) MY-APPLE, www.apple.com. QUALITY CONTROL Protect your digital prints with Moab’s Desert Varnish™. The archival-safe spray provides a clear, water- and UV-resistant surface designed to protect most dye and pigment inkjets. The varnish comes in 13.5-ounce aerosol cans, and safeguards prints from scratches and water, and portfolio pages from normal wear and tear. List Price: $16. Contact: Moab Paper, (435) 259-3161, www.moabpaper.com. ON-THE-GO STORAGE Leaving behind your most valuable data just isn’t an option anymore, so check out Transcend’s new portable hard disk drive. The StoreJet OTG combines a stylish, compact design with plenty of room (30 GB) for storing, transferring and backing up your data from anywhere. Plus, the StoreJet fits into the palm of your hand and comes with a tough, lightweight aluminum case. The drive weighs less than a pound and measures 4.2x2.8x0.8 inches. List Price: $213. Contact: Transcend, (714) 921-2000, www.transcendusa.com. SMALL STROBE Designed for the digital photographer, Adorama’s Flashpoint DigiPopper is a new electronic flash that’s lighter and offers an easy, affordable way to shoot portraits. At 8x4x3.5 inches and less than two pounds, the self-contained strobe is ideal for small studios. Full-, half- and quarter-power settings allow you to control the output. The light can be fired with a sync cord or built-in slave. List Price: $129 (200-watt); $169 (300-watt). Contact: Adorama, (800) 223-2500, www.adorama.com. CUSTOM BORDERS Frame your images instantly with downloaded framing designs from Instant Imagers. Whether your photos are from a wedding, sporting event or holiday, Framers offers a variety of high-resolution designs in 4x6, 5x7 and 8x10 print sizes, and works with most photo-editing software. Select designs are available for a free trial. List Price: $1.95 to $3.95 (per frame). Contact: Instant Imagers, www.instantimagers.com. SPACE METER With the Memorex TravelDrive ID, you know exactly how much room is left on your portable drive. The USB 2.0 flash drive has a built-in, customizable LCD screen that displays how much space is left. A bar chart also shows remaining capacity. Plus, if you’re the type with multiple drives for different files, this offers a convenient way of labeling content and keeping organized. List Price: $49 (512 MB); $69 (1 GB). Contact: Memorex, (877) 474-8548, www.memorex.com.

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