Review of DPI Show in London

On Thursday Howard and I attended the Digital Photo and Imaging Show at the Business Design Centre in Islington. My first impression on entering the show was one of disappointment as it seemed a little on the small side, however this was soon to change as I made my way around the show. There were a few manufacturers present who were showing their solutions and we managed to spend some valuable time, one on one with their reps.

On the software front there were a number of vendors showing their wares including Apple and Adobe. OnOne and Nik Software were also there showing their respective photoshop plug-ins and running continuous demos. A number of distributors and resellers were also on hand demonstrating other solutions. The live theatres from Adobe, Apple and DPI were running all day and were well attended, often with crowds spilling out into aisles.

Printer manufacturers were there in force with stands from Canon, Epson and HP well manned and equipped with the latest in large format printers. Nikon were notable in their absence, disappointing really as there were plenty of Pro Users in attendance.

There were the usual publications and associations present and it was nice catching up with some of them. The BPPA, BIPP and The SWPP were there looking for new members and spending time with existing members. Magazines such as F2, The BJP, Digital Arts Magazine and Macworld were on hand, giving out free copies and selling subscriptions.

I was pleased with Canon's presence at the show as they were demonstrating a start to finish capability which other manufacturers lack. My associate Howard Carson, noted that Canon was able to demonstrate a complete solution for Photographers from Capture, Acquisition through to output. In addition to their pro cameras and output solutions they also had their projectors and pro video solutions on hand for demo.

Other exhibitors included Skillset, who were there discussing their training programs for Digital Skills, photography and creative workflows. It's definitely worth checking them out. A number of retailers and resellers such as AJ Purdy, The Flash Centre, The Pro Centre and Rapid Group were there promoting their wares and services and selling discounted products and providing some excellent show specials.

Other Vendors included Wacom who were demoing their excellent tablet solutions. Computer Unlimited were also in attendance demoing solutions from Corel, Datacolor, Shiraz and Vertus.

The lecture program and seminar at the show was full and possibly offered many useful and valuable insights. Speakers presented on lectures and seminars useful to photo-libraries, portrait photographers, on documentary photography, celebrity shots, visual journalism and on the art of photography.

Overall the show was small in scale but big on delivery, We were able to spend some valuable time with the companies we wanted to see. I hope that next years show will be similar in nature but somewhat larger in scale. Nikon should really be there, as should a few more third party software and hardware vendors.

Datacolor’s Spyder3 Gets Price Reduction

Datacolor announced a price reduction for its Spyder3 range. As of June the 1st 2008, their award-winning Spyder3Elite is reduced in price from £175 to £155.99 whilst Spyder3Print is reduced by £60 to £253.99, including VAT. For more information on the Spyder3 range visit Datacolor.

Wacom Wins 2 Coveted Red Dot Awards

Wacom have won 2 Red Dot Awards for the Bamboo Fun Pen Tablet and their Cintiq 12WX hybrid interactive pen display. This is the second red dot award for the Bamboo range, as the first model in the series also received the same accolade in June 2007. The Cintiq 12WX features a high quality 12.1” screen, which is optimised for direct input using the ergonomically designed digital pen. With this form of interaction activities such as drawing, painting, sketching, storyboarding, finishing, retouching and compositing allow the creative to work much as they would on paper. For more information on the Bamboo Fun and the Cintiq 12WX visit Wacom.
For more information on the Red Dot award visit Red-Dot.org.

Akvis Relocate Headquarters To Canada

AKVIS Software Inc., the manufacturer of some excellent photo editing tools and plug-ins, has moved its head office to Vancouver in British Columbia, Canada. Founded in Russia, AKVIS is determined to improve their market presence by being able to get easier access to the North American software market.

Toshiba Tecra M9 Laptop review

Reviewed by: Mario Georgiou, June 2008
Manufactured by: Toshiba
Requires: Intel® Core™2 Duo Processor T7500 2.2 GHz,Intel® Wireless WiFi™ Link, Genuine Windows Vista® Business Edition, 2GB of 667MHz DDR2 RAM (maximum 4GB), 160GB hard disk drive, DVD Super Multi drive (Double Layer), 14.1" (1,440 x 900) display, NVIDIA® Quadro® NVS 130M mobile video card supporting TurboCache™ technology, Bluetooth version 2.0 plus Enhanced Data Rate (EDR)Wi-Fi™, 802.11a/b/g/Draft-N, 87 key keyboard, spill-resistant keyboard, type II PC card slot, 5-in-1 media card reader, VGA out, mic/headphone connectors, IEEE-1394 (FireWire), three USB 2.0 hi-speed ports, serial port
MSRP: US$1299.00

I currently own a terrific Toshiba m400 tablet PC. So when TalkToshiba called to tell me that they had a Tecra M9 available for review I jumped at the opportunity to find out what the latest generation of Toshiba laptops has to offer. The Tecra M9 is a laptop designed with business users in mind. The M9 ships with Windows Vista Business Edition.

The Toshiba Tecra M9 is a very clean looking machine, and the 14.1 inch screen looks a lot bigger than it actually is. With the higher than normal resolution for a 14.1" display I was quite comfortable with using it compared to similar laptops. The display on this notebook and the lid feel very secure, with very little flex. As a result I didn't experience any of the usual warping and momentary discolouration seen when adjusting the angle of the screen. The matte finish does a good job of diffusing any reflections. The vertical viewing angles are more limited than I would like, causing most dark or midrange colours to washout or completely disappear moving vertically above or below normal viewing angles. Horizontal viewing is somewhat better, but still washes out sooner than I've experienced with other laptops.

The Toshiba Tecra M9 is a very comfortable typing machine. The keys have a great feel, providing just the right amount of movement and feedback. Toshiba describes the M9's keyboard as spill resistant. The touchpad and pointer worked as expected, I also found that the left and right buttons used with the pointer control button were very nicely implemented. The keyboard and palm rest area exhibited a bit of movement when used compared to other laptops. However it wasn't enough to cause me any problems. The inclusion of a fingerprint reader for security also enhances the business-centric approach to the M9's design.

Moving around the M9, starting on the front, you will find the indicator light array, a wireless on/off switch, firewire connector, headphone/mic jacks, and volume knob. The left side of the laptop features a modem jack, Kensington lock slot, exhaust port, one USB port, PC-card Slot and the SD card slot. The back of the unit has a serial port, VGA connector, and AC plug port. The right side features two USB ports, the optical bay, and the LAN port.

The audio capabilities were what I expect from a laptop - clear and easy to hear. However I would always recommend using decent headphones for anything you really care to hear well. You can even try a pair of bluetooth headphones using the A2DP profile and the easy device discovery via Vista and Toshiba Bluetooth manager. The headphone jack had none of the telltale hiss and noise you would get from a sub-par connector, indicating good quality parts being used.

Starting up and shutting down the M9 was quick and painless. With this unit's 2GB of memory and the 2.2 GHz T7500 Intel Core 2 Duo processor and nVidia NVS 130M graphics card, I found no noticeable issues while using any of the standard productivity software or even the creative tools(and resource hogs) like Photoshop. Trying any of the graphically intensive games (like Crysis) was problematic and I found there was no point in attempting to squeeze any sort of decent gamely out of the M9 as the graphics capabilities weren't up to the task. It's not really much of an issue though, because the M9 is really meant to be a business machine.

Heat and noise didn't appear to be an issue at all for the M9. I kept the laptop running almost constantly for one day and found it quite comfortable to touch. The fan kept up quietly even when I took the laptop into a hot, noisy neighbourhood pub to test it out on a public wireless network.

Battery life was as expected, with the standard battery giving about 2.5 hours (on average) use. I did find the hard drive shock protection alarm a little on the sensitive side. The warning popped up with the slightest knock of the M9. This feature however can be disabled/enabled by pressing the Toshiba Assist button located next to the power on/off on the top of the keyboard.

Cons: Premature drop-off in display brightness. Somewhat oversensitive shock protection alarm. It's a business machine not a game platform, but a bit more graphics horsepower would provide a better all around experience with what is basically a very good laptop. Excellent screen resolution, but off-angle viewing could be better.

Pros: Nice spill resistant keyboard. Standard three year warranty. Excellent wireless support. Solid build quality. Runs Microsoft Office, Photoshop CS3 and most common business software very smoothly. I was initially a little afraid that the screen on the M9 would be a little on the small side, but after working with the unit for a few weeks I found that the high quality and high resolution more than met my needs. The Toshiba Tecra M9 is a nice business laptop that will more than do the job. Recommended

Quark Announce QuarkXPress 8

QuarkXPress 8 is nearly complete and will be available within the next two months. Already Quark are promising to provide a free upgrade to folks who purchase and register QuarkXPress 7 in the next couple of months. XPress 8 includes new pen and picture tools, new drag and drop features, better file handling of Illustrator files, and better control over typography and layout. For more information on what's new in XPress 8 visit Quark.

ACDSee Photo Editor 2008

ACD Systems have released ACDSee Photo Editor 2008, the next version of their easy-to-use digital photo editing and design software. The new version offers:
• Faster processing time
• More custom creative tools and options for resizing, cropping and masking
• Quick Web optimization & advanced printing functions
• Artistic effects that can be added, modified or deleted
• "Trim to shape" for quick-and-easy design templates
• Advanced journaling and text curving capabilities
Photo Editor 2008 is available for a 30-day trial ... for more info and to download a demo visit ACDSee.

DPI Show Reminder

For those of you who will be in and around London between the 26th and 27th of June, the Digital Photo & Imaging Show, taking place at the Business Design Centre in Islington, will the place to be. The DPI Show will provide pro-photographers and the whole photographic industry with a knowledge-based event where they can see and try the state of the art in creative tools and photographic equipment.

Exhibiting at the DPI Show are Adobe, Apple Solutions' Experts, BJP, BPPA, Canon, Colour Collective, CU, DataColor, Digital Arts, Digital Photo Solutions, Dreamtek, Epson, Hasselblad, HP, Macworld, Native Digital, Nik Software, OKI Printing Solutions, onOne, Pantone, Peartree, ProCentre, Profoto Ltd, Rapid Group, Republik Agency, Shiraz, Skillset, SWPP, Vertus, Wacom....
For more info visit The DPI Show.